Post Thanksgiving Activity

Last week was a very quick, very productive week. Ivy and I ran through our usual plus some packing prep for Helena. She's my first mom that actually did the packing! I kept offering but she put together a list, chose the packaging and actually put the items in. Of course I was included, looked over and added to/subtracted from the list, gathered together items on list and calmed any concerns regarding packing in general - I stayed almost two hours later at work on Wednesday than usual [I was cooking, Helena was packing, Ivy was napping and Mitchell was snacking].

Ivy spent the long weekend four hours away with her parents and extended family. Helena values Ivy's schedule but Mitchell finds it an obstacle to his Ivy-on-demand-time. Thus her three nap days became 1.5 nap days while on vacation. This caused her to feel overtired and wrecked havoc with her nighttime routine. Instead of getting to sleep [for the night] by 9:15pm, as is her usual, she was up until 10:30 or 11:30pm each night. This pushed her wake up time a tad later, but still gave her an overall deficit of three hours each day.

This week we will get back on schedule. There are a few other things on my plate too. I'd like to get together a food chart for Ivy. I've done them for all of the most recent families, over the last five years, and each time I do one - I start from scratch.

Now we are in the research portion of that task. I've taken out six or seven books from the library and will combine them with books I have, internet suggestions and various other resources to create a chart ideal for Ivy [but generalizable enough for readers to use if they are so inclined].

In addition we're getting ready to start signing. In the past I've only used simple signs, more, please, all done, etc. With Ivy we're going to offer as many as she is interested in. A few years back Norah had a little one that knew hundreds of signs and spoke in full sentences before ever using verbal communication [or one year old]! I'm not aiming that high, I'd really love for Ivy to start speaking as soon as possible, but in the meantime I'm offering signs to make things a bit more palatable for her.

So far I've introduced please, help, more and baby massage. This morning I offered thumbs up and she was enthralled. Completely distracted her from the regular I-don't-want-to-get-dressed fuss. I'll keep you posted as I learn more and we grow our vocabulary. Then you can party with me when Ivy uses her first sign.

Finally I've started a booklist. I read aloud to Ivy every day - as do her parents. It's something we've done from the beginning and ALL enjoy. Especially Ivy. Helena has actually noticed that after Ivy has been read or sung to she's especially chatty and verbal. It is almost as if she's practicing or processing what she just enjoyed. It is very adorable and she becomes very animated. I love it and also sing to her multiple times each day.

Right now my booklist is twofold, recommended reading and books we've already read. I'm hoping to compile a list of each book she's heard and keep it current. So far it's just a list without dates or anything. And I've made a point to label the columns story or book because we read a lot of compilations and each story inside is special.

Here is my list thus far, I've abbreviated author as "a.".

Story or Book	Date Read
Goodnight Moon a. Margaret Wise Brown
The Very Hungry Caterpillar a. Eric Carle
Madeline a. Ludwig Bemelmans
The Story of Ferdinand a. Munro Leaf
Make Way for Ducklings a. Robert McCloskey
The Tale of Peter Rabbit a. Beatrix Potter
Curious George a. H.A. Rey
Where the Wild Things Are a. Maurice Sendak
Doctor De Soto a. William Steig
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? a. Bill Martin Jr., Eric Carle
Suggested Reading

Story or Book	Date Read
Mr. Grumpy’s Outing a. John Burmingham
Freight Train a. Donald Crews
The Carrot Seed a. Ruth Krauss
Miss Nelson is Missing! a. Harry Allard
The Snowman a. Raymond Briggs
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel a. Virginia Lee Burton
Millions of Cats a. Wanda Gág
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse a. Kevin Henkes
Swamp Angel a. Anne Isaacs
The Snowy Day a. Ezra Jack Keats
Leo the Late Bloomer a. Robert Kraus
John Henry a. Julius Lester
Swimmy a. Leo Lionni
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom a. Bill Martin Jr & John Archambault
Snowflake Bentley a. Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Officer Buckle and Gloria a. Peggy Rathmann
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs a. Jon Scieszka
Caps for Sale a. Esphyr Slobodkina
The Polar Express a. Chris Van Allsburg
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day a. Judith Viorst
Tuesday a. David Wiesner
A Chair For Mother a. Vera B. Williams
Seven Blind Mice a. Ed Young
Harry the Dirty Dog a. Gene Zion
A Rainbow All Around Me a. Sandra Pinkey
Of Colors and Things a. Tana Hoban
Daddy Kisses a. Anne Gutman
Run, Mouse, Run! A. Peter Horacek
Bunny’s First Snowflake a. Monica Wellington
Spot Goes to the Park a. Eric Hill
I Like It When… a. Mary Murphy
My Car a. Byron Barton
Whose Tail? a. Sam Lloyd
Baby Beluga a. Raffi
The Grumpalump a. Sarah Hayes
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! a. Bob Barner
Tough Trucks a. Tony Milton
Ten Little Fish a. Audrey Wood
I Love Trains! a. Philemon Sturges
Moonbeam Bear a. Rolf Fanger
Dinosaur Roar! a. Paul and Henrietta Stickland
Fire Truck a. Peter Sís
Ballerina! a. Peter Sís

Many of my book suggestions have come from books about reading. So far I've used most of these as reference guides, but there are a couple I'm saving and one I've ingested every word.

There are still other projects I'd like to begin and establish but for now I'll focus on these three plus some regular social activities. Ivy will be six months before I finish Christmas shopping and with that I hope that she'll be sitting and able to enjoy her world even more. She also has another big transition ahead but I'll save that for another post.