...and such a full on toddler now. As I may have mentioned in previous posts, the daytime nap is showing alarming signs of disappearing altogether, and is down to an hour or so tops. Yikes! Other areas of development are more pleasing. Jess loves to sit in her booster seat at the dining table rather than her highchair, and has enjoyed making the transition from babygros to pyjamas at night time.
Thank God all our classes and groups have now started again; there is only so much trawling round supermarkets and parks I can take before I expire through boredom. Bath is becoming a new haunt of ours; we have discovered the egg cafe (I can't wait until I can take Jessicat to the theatre properly) and have signed up for Kindermusik classes on Mondays. You never know how she will take to a new activity, but I felt we needed something to do with our day in addition to St Luke's Toddler Group.
Autumn has really come early this year, with lots of rain and nights dark by 8pm if not earlier. I am probably the only person in England who appreciates it, but it's great to have the kind of weather that invites you to snuggle indoors in something warm and cosy whilst (pre-baby - drinking wine and watching films) playing tea parties or making Duplo Blok creations with Jess.
A few of the books we have on the go at the moment include:
When Poppy and Max Grow Up - Lindsay Gardiner
Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose - Julia Donaldson
Let's Go, Anna - Vivian French. An unexpected hit this. Jess loves the idea that poor Anna has an accident on each page, and of course, she is very familiar with the shopping experience!
Something for Daddy - Ted Dewan. A Bing book. Jessicat finds the concept of "goo" highly amusing.
At Home with Tom and Pippo - Helen Oxenbury. Collection of 6 stories; sheer class.
Peepo - Janet Ahlberg. This would always be in my top 5 books to read to Jess. In fact, it's so utterly brilliant, it would probably be one of my desert island choices (well, you never know....)
Noisy Poems - Jill Bennett. And Jessicat can say "I love that poem"!
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Monday, 25 August 2008
Bank Holiday respite
Dave has kindly taken Jessicat to Keynsham park, so I have an hour to myself with which to catch up with paperwork and update the blog. As Jess woke us at 3am last night (bad dream? too hot?), I am not feeling too sparky today, but I did want to update the blog to list the title of some of the books we are currently enjoying.
Ouch! I need a plaster! - Nick Sharratt. Jessicat enjoys the rollicking rhythm and likes to point to the appropriate part of the body that is injured as we turn the pages.
What's in the parcel Postman Pat? -Author not identified. Since I learnt that the National Literacy Trust use Postman Pat in some of their teaching/materials, I'm a lot keener. And reading the books and watching the TV programmes with Jessicat, I can see that they do spark off a lot of discussion about everyday objects and routines.
Is It Bedtime Wibbly Pig? - Mick Inkpen.
Lulu Loves the Library - Anna McQuinn. Sweet little story about a young girl's enjoyment of a trip to the library and the cafe with her mummy; just the right amount of detail for Jess to savour at the moment.
Say Hello to the Snowy Animals - Ian Whybrow. Jess enjoys this book, but not as much as the Wobble Bear series.
Elephant and the Bad Baby - Elfrida Vipont. A longer story than Jessicat is used to, but it seems to hold her concentration (whilst she is eating anyway). And given that we are at the stage of saying "what's the magic word?", it seems strangely apt.
Polly's Puffin - Sarah Garland. At first glance, her pictures can seem a bit wishy-washy and too vague to appeal to a toddler. But they are great; Jess loves to identify the detail and there is something very human in the way Sarah Garland depicts exasperated, tired parents and excited children. Always reminds me of the last picture of The Baby's Catalogue by the Ahlbergs.
Emergency Vehicles - Felicity Brooks. A winning combination of flaps to lift and detailed pictures of ambulances etc.
Harry Goes to Bed - Lydia Monks.
Tomorrow is our third wedding anniversary! We are hoping to fit in a meal at Cafe Rouge and a trip to the cinema. I can't wait!
Ouch! I need a plaster! - Nick Sharratt. Jessicat enjoys the rollicking rhythm and likes to point to the appropriate part of the body that is injured as we turn the pages.
What's in the parcel Postman Pat? -Author not identified. Since I learnt that the National Literacy Trust use Postman Pat in some of their teaching/materials, I'm a lot keener. And reading the books and watching the TV programmes with Jessicat, I can see that they do spark off a lot of discussion about everyday objects and routines.
Is It Bedtime Wibbly Pig? - Mick Inkpen.
Lulu Loves the Library - Anna McQuinn. Sweet little story about a young girl's enjoyment of a trip to the library and the cafe with her mummy; just the right amount of detail for Jess to savour at the moment.
Say Hello to the Snowy Animals - Ian Whybrow. Jess enjoys this book, but not as much as the Wobble Bear series.
Elephant and the Bad Baby - Elfrida Vipont. A longer story than Jessicat is used to, but it seems to hold her concentration (whilst she is eating anyway). And given that we are at the stage of saying "what's the magic word?", it seems strangely apt.
Polly's Puffin - Sarah Garland. At first glance, her pictures can seem a bit wishy-washy and too vague to appeal to a toddler. But they are great; Jess loves to identify the detail and there is something very human in the way Sarah Garland depicts exasperated, tired parents and excited children. Always reminds me of the last picture of The Baby's Catalogue by the Ahlbergs.
Emergency Vehicles - Felicity Brooks. A winning combination of flaps to lift and detailed pictures of ambulances etc.
Harry Goes to Bed - Lydia Monks.
Tomorrow is our third wedding anniversary! We are hoping to fit in a meal at Cafe Rouge and a trip to the cinema. I can't wait!
Saturday, 9 August 2008
Some bargains...
Managed to pick up a couple of excellent paper back picture books for Jessicat this morning, from Asda, at the unbelievable price of £1 each. They are:
Not So Loud, Oliver - Tony Maddox. A very sweet little story, with nice illustrations, and lots of animals to identify in each picture. One caveat - the storyline bears a striking resemblance to Cock a Moo Moo by Juliet Dallas-Conte.
Flora's Blanket - Debi Gliori. A writer/illustrator that we are familiar with and enjoy very much.
A day of never-ending rain put paid to our hopes of attending the Balloon Fiesta. Instead, we mooched around supermarkets (terrible if you need to do a shop and control Jess; lots of fun if you can follow her as she runs around, aiming for the toys, magazines and the flowers) and had a day of playing indoors - doing crayons, stickers, imaginative role play etc. I surprised myself by really getting into the spirit of it and enjoying myself.
Not So Loud, Oliver - Tony Maddox. A very sweet little story, with nice illustrations, and lots of animals to identify in each picture. One caveat - the storyline bears a striking resemblance to Cock a Moo Moo by Juliet Dallas-Conte.
Flora's Blanket - Debi Gliori. A writer/illustrator that we are familiar with and enjoy very much.
A day of never-ending rain put paid to our hopes of attending the Balloon Fiesta. Instead, we mooched around supermarkets (terrible if you need to do a shop and control Jess; lots of fun if you can follow her as she runs around, aiming for the toys, magazines and the flowers) and had a day of playing indoors - doing crayons, stickers, imaginative role play etc. I surprised myself by really getting into the spirit of it and enjoying myself.
Monday, 4 August 2008
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Lots of frustrations and lots of joys
The heading just about sums up our experiences of being parents at the moment. It is tiring and frustrating sometimes coping with Jessicat's oppositional behaviour. I do get annoyed with her constantly throwing her cup of juice onto the floor, running in the opposite direction from the way we want to go, and screaming if she does not get her own way. But, strangely, we are having the best times ever together as well. Her responsiveness to and enthusiasm about the world around her are infectious. She makes connections and I have to be constantly on my toes trying to work out what she means. For example, when she sees a picture of a windmill, she often shouts "Teletubbies" (one of her favourite programmes that just happens to feature a windmill in its title sequence. D'oh!)
Books featuring other toddlers or children going about their normal, day to day activities continue to be popular. Jess is really enjoying the Tom and Pippo series (Helen Oxenbury), which feature the perfect amount of text per page for her taste, and very simple storylines around subjects such as going out for a walk, or asking your parents to read to you. No gimmicks, no flaps, no noises, just lovely pictures and a simple narrative to share. Jessicat is also enjoying a Wobble Bear book (and loves to call out "yellow" when prompted), and adores looking at her Usborne Look and Say books. So, we have lots of reading sessions together throughout the day; from first thing in the morning snuggled up in the bed together and chanting nursery rhymes to last thing at night with a cup of milk. Magic.
Jessicat loves:
watching Peppa Pig on TV
Pinching crisps and chocolates from her parents
Playing seasides and shops in the back garden
Stickers
Being tickled and "rough play"
Going to the park
Stroking cats
Picking flowers
Jessicat hates:
the big bath (scared by the transition from baby bath to normal bath; we are hoping a non-slip mat and some bath crayons do the trick)
Thunder
Doing as she's told(!)
Strange people coming up close and saying hello to her
Books featuring other toddlers or children going about their normal, day to day activities continue to be popular. Jess is really enjoying the Tom and Pippo series (Helen Oxenbury), which feature the perfect amount of text per page for her taste, and very simple storylines around subjects such as going out for a walk, or asking your parents to read to you. No gimmicks, no flaps, no noises, just lovely pictures and a simple narrative to share. Jessicat is also enjoying a Wobble Bear book (and loves to call out "yellow" when prompted), and adores looking at her Usborne Look and Say books. So, we have lots of reading sessions together throughout the day; from first thing in the morning snuggled up in the bed together and chanting nursery rhymes to last thing at night with a cup of milk. Magic.
Jessicat loves:
watching Peppa Pig on TV
Pinching crisps and chocolates from her parents
Playing seasides and shops in the back garden
Stickers
Being tickled and "rough play"
Going to the park
Stroking cats
Picking flowers
Jessicat hates:
the big bath (scared by the transition from baby bath to normal bath; we are hoping a non-slip mat and some bath crayons do the trick)
Thunder
Doing as she's told(!)
Strange people coming up close and saying hello to her
Sunday, 20 July 2008
After Much Ado - Dad's first blog entry!
Well, Jessica is now over 20 months old and due to a mix of peer pressure and desire to write something, I find myself moved from the position of chief commenter to 'blogger'.
Jess is an absolute joy at the moment. I love having a day off in the week with her although my work doesn't like my part-time hours too much - well you know what you can do with that don't you?
As I get older and see so many people 'married' to their jobs it makes me worry even more for the human race. Where are your prioirities? A child is by far the most important thing that will ever happen in most lives and work is somewhere down near the lower 98th centile...just below knitting your own yoghurt. I just don't get these people (who have kids) that think the best thing to do is give 'em what they want as long as it doesn't involve attention or nurturing. It makes no sense and smavks of having kids as fashion accesories rather than want to put in any effort to develop a free thinking individual interested in the machinations of the world.
I told Val it was risky giving me time as chief blogger! Anyway, off my orange box now....
Jessica is coming along in leaps and bounds. She has gone back to loving books. Even to the extent that we are distracting her with other things. Her speech is coming on in leaps and bounds and comprehension is even better. Jessica's first word of most days is 'book'. This occurs when I pick her out of her cot for some 'cuddle' time with Mum and Dad prior to work. We leave a few books in her cot and she won't leave them behind. There's a couple of ABC and picture books and a copy of Usborne's 'That's Not my Kitten' which she still loves.
Jessica loves to spend time outside in the garden. She started off just wandering but now she's wondering! She likes to look under stones at insects and play with her toy pushchair (no doll) and bouncy balls. She also likes to chase about (and be thrown in the air) and has recently developed an interest in inventive play - particularly 'seaside'. This is a game where Jessica invents seaside scenarios. She 'feeds' the horses and donkeys over the wall, goes on a boat 'row/row/row' by sitting on the wall and rocking and goes swimming by lying flat on the patio. She also paddles by sitting and stamping her feet in 'the sea' and enjoys her ice-cream.
As well as inventive play she is also stringing words together with frequency. these range from body parts 'Daddy's nose' to what she wants, 'back garden' and 'fruit flakes' being currently popular.
Anyway, enough about her development and back to one of the sources of it - books. She absolutely loves them. We are particularly enjoying 'Ten Out Of Bed' as it gives parents the ideal opportunity for discursive reading. Jessica also enjoys 'Bing' - more so that me it has to be said. She loves the rhymes and simple drawings - 'bunny rabbit!'. OK - It's a Bing Thing! It's also a toddler thing.
We are really enjoying the Usborne books with the little duck on each page and something unusual (sheep wearing glasses, pig in a flat cap etc). This is a lovely series and also aids communication between parents and children with lots to talk about and a feeling of great satisfaction when items are located. I think that there are a few in the series. We have 'Farm', 'Zoo' and 'Seaside' I think!
Anyway must trundle. Jessica is being Christened next weekend. We think she will throw a blue-hairy fit as she doesn't like being the centre of attention. In a way I hope she does - rebellion isn't such a bad thing, as long as you know what your rebelling against!
It will be lovely to see friends and family. My Mum and partner are down to stay for a few days so that will be nice.
See you again soon for another comment.
Jess is an absolute joy at the moment. I love having a day off in the week with her although my work doesn't like my part-time hours too much - well you know what you can do with that don't you?
As I get older and see so many people 'married' to their jobs it makes me worry even more for the human race. Where are your prioirities? A child is by far the most important thing that will ever happen in most lives and work is somewhere down near the lower 98th centile...just below knitting your own yoghurt. I just don't get these people (who have kids) that think the best thing to do is give 'em what they want as long as it doesn't involve attention or nurturing. It makes no sense and smavks of having kids as fashion accesories rather than want to put in any effort to develop a free thinking individual interested in the machinations of the world.
I told Val it was risky giving me time as chief blogger! Anyway, off my orange box now....
Jessica is coming along in leaps and bounds. She has gone back to loving books. Even to the extent that we are distracting her with other things. Her speech is coming on in leaps and bounds and comprehension is even better. Jessica's first word of most days is 'book'. This occurs when I pick her out of her cot for some 'cuddle' time with Mum and Dad prior to work. We leave a few books in her cot and she won't leave them behind. There's a couple of ABC and picture books and a copy of Usborne's 'That's Not my Kitten' which she still loves.
Jessica loves to spend time outside in the garden. She started off just wandering but now she's wondering! She likes to look under stones at insects and play with her toy pushchair (no doll) and bouncy balls. She also likes to chase about (and be thrown in the air) and has recently developed an interest in inventive play - particularly 'seaside'. This is a game where Jessica invents seaside scenarios. She 'feeds' the horses and donkeys over the wall, goes on a boat 'row/row/row' by sitting on the wall and rocking and goes swimming by lying flat on the patio. She also paddles by sitting and stamping her feet in 'the sea' and enjoys her ice-cream.
As well as inventive play she is also stringing words together with frequency. these range from body parts 'Daddy's nose' to what she wants, 'back garden' and 'fruit flakes' being currently popular.
Anyway, enough about her development and back to one of the sources of it - books. She absolutely loves them. We are particularly enjoying 'Ten Out Of Bed' as it gives parents the ideal opportunity for discursive reading. Jessica also enjoys 'Bing' - more so that me it has to be said. She loves the rhymes and simple drawings - 'bunny rabbit!'. OK - It's a Bing Thing! It's also a toddler thing.
We are really enjoying the Usborne books with the little duck on each page and something unusual (sheep wearing glasses, pig in a flat cap etc). This is a lovely series and also aids communication between parents and children with lots to talk about and a feeling of great satisfaction when items are located. I think that there are a few in the series. We have 'Farm', 'Zoo' and 'Seaside' I think!
Anyway must trundle. Jessica is being Christened next weekend. We think she will throw a blue-hairy fit as she doesn't like being the centre of attention. In a way I hope she does - rebellion isn't such a bad thing, as long as you know what your rebelling against!
It will be lovely to see friends and family. My Mum and partner are down to stay for a few days so that will be nice.
See you again soon for another comment.
Sunday, 29 June 2008
June reading
Goodnight moon Brown, Margaret Wise
Hardback
Spot's baby sister Hill, Eric
Toddlerobics Newcome, Zita
Fizz the fire engine! Wojtowycz, David
Works 7: Classic poems Moses, Brian
Little red hen: a touch and feel book Randall, Ronne
My blanket is blue: sleeptime, dreamtime Offen, Hilda
Bedtime! Swain, Gwenyth
Chimp and Zee Anholt, Catherine
Goodnight me, goodnight you Mitton, Tony
Duck is dirty Kitamura, Satoshi
Go picnic Dewan, Ted
Doing the washing Garland, Sarah
Hello, little bird Horacek, Petr
My beak, your beak Walsh, Melanie
Five noisy ducks Claire, Page
Maisy's nature trail Cousins, Lucy
Picture this..... Jay, Alison
Come and play Mr.Croc Lodge, Jo
Monkey and me Gravett, Emily
This is the current books that Jessicat and I have out from the library and have been sharing together. Jess currently has a fascination for books about vehicles (to think I thought that having a daughter meant I would escape all the crappy Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise!) and books that depict everyday domestic activies.
Hardback
Spot's baby sister Hill, Eric
Toddlerobics Newcome, Zita
Fizz the fire engine! Wojtowycz, David
Works 7: Classic poems Moses, Brian
Little red hen: a touch and feel book Randall, Ronne
My blanket is blue: sleeptime, dreamtime Offen, Hilda
Bedtime! Swain, Gwenyth
Chimp and Zee Anholt, Catherine
Goodnight me, goodnight you Mitton, Tony
Duck is dirty Kitamura, Satoshi
Go picnic Dewan, Ted
Doing the washing Garland, Sarah
Hello, little bird Horacek, Petr
My beak, your beak Walsh, Melanie
Five noisy ducks Claire, Page
Maisy's nature trail Cousins, Lucy
Picture this..... Jay, Alison
Come and play Mr.Croc Lodge, Jo
Monkey and me Gravett, Emily
This is the current books that Jessicat and I have out from the library and have been sharing together. Jess currently has a fascination for books about vehicles (to think I thought that having a daughter meant I would escape all the crappy Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise!) and books that depict everyday domestic activies.
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