One of my favorite things to blog is William’s monthly photo shoots. As usual he did his own thing throughout, and I had fun capturing some attempts at posing. This month’s theme was toys for night time. The colors of the toys matched the card and his outfit so well. I had originally planned on a second outfit, and decided partway through to keep just the one.
Children’s books are full of ways to entice the child to look at the pages such as contrasting colors and shapes. I was delighted I’d have the chance to introduce William to a book with sounds entitled, “Toot, Toot, Boom!” The book is one of a press and listen series to help children be an active participant.
The book was one I received as part of his monthly Bluum subrscription. As these items and were to be part of his Easter basket, it was fortuitous that it arrived when it did, the same month he was to receive the musical toy, a Hand Drum Piano from his Godmother and Godbrother that I will review on Friday.
One important aspect about toys and books that make noise for babies is knowing how hard you have to push on things to get a sound. Additionally, some have on/off switches whereas others are always on (assuming batteries are installed if applicable). This one does require batteries and does thus have an on/off switch.
Inside the pages high contrast drawings show musical instruments with animals playing them. Each musical instrument is described by words suggesting what the sound is. Then tabs to the right allow the sound itself to be heard. At first I thought there would be alliteration with the type of animal and instrument having the same letter as both have P as their first letter.
However, the next page had a bear playing the trumpet instead of a tiger (which shows up later in the book). At this point I was pressing the tabs hard and in different spots and having little luck.
This colorful tiger is especially engaging. I think children will definitely enjoy the visuals in the book. Yet, still you have to press very hard to get any sounds.
My guess is either, the batteries in the book are worn out a bit, or the toy is meant to not be especially loud. Yet the book, billed as being for all ages, should in my opinion, make loud sounds especially as it’s supposed to engage young readers.
William did like the book, yet he, and other kids would like it better if the sounds were more easily heard. With an on/off switch, there really is no reason it couldn’t make loud sounds all the time.
Rating – three baby booties out of five
~ Danielle
Every week William amazes me with how much more active and engaged with his surroundings he is becoming. I’ve been telling people for a long time that he wants so much to crawl, to stand to walk, that I just sense his determination even though his body isn’t there yet.
Matt has been friends with Jason since they were young kids. He has great parties at his house which are attended by many adults and his twin boys who are now 6. When we arrived I showed William a Jack in the Box, and he seemed rather nonchalant about it, even after a few tries.
Although I usually put William into the church nursery, I looked forward to taking him to the Sunrise Easter service at church. It took quite a bit of effort to get us both ready to go. Somehow we were there early.
The chairs were set up on the stairs outside to catch a glimpse of the sunrise to our right sides.
I wasn’t sure if William would sleep or be awake. He stayed awake the entire half hour service.
As always Pastor Mariellen got really into the tone of her service.
These are probably the most animated photos I have of her preaching.
The sun came up adding beautiful light to the service. At the end we had Alyss play the role of Mary Magdalene who was the first witness to Jesus after his resurrection.
It was such a beautifully acted out sermon, half ad libbed to include answers to questions from the audience. I was glad I was in attendance and that I’d brought William.
That afternoon it was time to see our relatives in San Mateo and celebrate the commercial part of Easter. While we waited for everyone to arrive we gave William the toy from his Godmother and Godbrother. With it on it lights up and makes lots of noise.
William liked it a lot, even when it was in the off mode.
At five months he was the youngest child there and received a lot of attention, even from other children.
This year there was a special Easter egg hidden for adults amongst the eggs hidden for kids. The finder of this one would win tickets to a home SF Giants game of their choice. I felt confident I’d find it, but instead Matt did even though he was carrying William at the time.
William received three Easter baskets this year. From left to right, they are from Aunt Gina and Uncle Pat (our hosts for Easter), me and Candy. We put it all out for him to see all his great presents.
Contained are some great toys and books. Some of the items are educational and some just for fun.
He did not like wearing these bunny ears at all. At one point, one of the dogs running in the house had them on and was wearing them happily. Unfortunately the dog was too fast for me to take a photo.
He did like this bunny which makes noises and has ears that wiggle.
I enjoyed showing him his new book which has buttons to be pressed to make musical sounds for him.
We ate outside on the back patio. William wore a new bib from his Easter basket. In the light Matt’s shirt and Matt’s eyes appear the same color.
We had a great time today enjoying so many wonderful parts of Easter.
~ Danielle
I heard it once, possibly on a TV show, that one of the benefits of having a boyfriend was having an extra wardrobe of clothes. I definitely started borrowing outfits from Matt when we were dating and still am apt to wear his T shirts with him as my husband. I used to borrow his Ray-Ban sunglasses all the time before he bought me my own pair for Christmas. One day when I left them in my car, he took a photo of himself wearing mine for a change.
Sometimes memories come through apps on my phone of small moments in my life that remind me just how much things have really changed. The app, On this Day, sent me three photos from 9 years ago that really captured a time in my life right before a very important job became part of my life. I was delighted at the reminder and all the fun in the photos.
Continue reading “Lunch in the Trolley Car – Throw Back Thursday”
On Monday I hit an achievement of a year of having this blog. I’ve had blogs for longer, including one dedicated to a part time wedding photography business, but this one has far more entries and is much more personal. For today’s entry I’ll share some of my favorite moments from my life and this blog and some insight into what I’ve learned.
After having taken William to see Santa, I felt like I knew quite a lot about the process and thought taking him to see the Easter Bunny would be similar. One thing I had loved about that visit was the chance to get a special book with an insert for the photo, and I was delighted to find one like it with the Easter Bunny as well.
Continue reading “What Bunny Wants for Easter – Book Review”
Some weeks the baby development descriptions seem spot on to where William is, others them seem less so. William definitely is into peek-a-boo now with more on an understanding, yet this was true of him even weeks ago. We’ve definitely been thinking he was is or teething for months now. Still, with no teeth fully breaking through yet, it’s hard to know when one will be out and fully visible.
Over 40 First Time Mom 