Baby Signing

Joe and I strongly believe in baby signing.  It is our desire to find out what is going on in Bethany's mind. Questions like: What does she need? What does she want? What does she observe? What does she remember?

I read it from somewhere that It is a fact that infants develop the fine muscles in their hands before they develop those required for speech, so they’re equipped to communicate with you before they can speak.
We have registered Bethany for Baby Signing Class starting next Monday for a duration of 4 weeks.  At the same time, we have been signing with Bethany for almost a month now... signs like: eat, drink, milk, juice, all finished, more, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, cat, dog, bird, horse, frog, diaper, potty etc.  We did not really expect Bethany to sign back until she is like 10 months old.
Last sunday, we were out for brunch after church, and I was feeding Bethany yogurt... and all of a sudden, she signed "more" and "eat"!
 

First Date Night Part II

So Joe and I went out last night, for the first time since B was born.

Meghan and her fiance arrived at 5:30pm while I was out walking the dog.  So Joe took time to explain to them when to feed B, B's bedtime routine and dos and don'ts.  Joe and I were out of the door before 6pm.

We went to Milestones for dinner.  Since they did not take dinner reservations on Fridays, so we had a pre-dinner drink in the lounge area while waiting for our table.  I had a Wolf Blass Yellow Label (my second favorite!  My all-time favorite is Wolf Blass Grey Label, but just that I am not prepared to pay $30 for a 6oz glass of wine!)  We probably spent less than 10 mins at the lounge and our table was ready.

For appetizer, we had:

World Inspired Dips with Grilled Naan and Ciabatta Toast

I had Roasted Mushroom Soup (5 thumbs up... only if I had 5 thumbs!) and Sesame Shiitake Mushroom Sea Bass.

Joe had a Cesar Salad and Certified Angus Beef 8oz Top Sirloin with Shrimps.

One d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. dinner! For the first time in the last 8 months, we finally had the luxury to not rush through a dinner, get to enjoy the food and the atmosphere, and most importantly of all, get to enjoy each other's company.

Throughout dinner, I only asked Joe t.w.i.c.e. if we should call home to make sure everything was ok. (and I think I did pretty good as I did not really freak out and starting crying at the restaurant!) Of course, Joe would not let me.  (We left both of our cell phone numbers with Meghan and told her to call us if anything (either major or minor) happened to B.

We got home at 9pm.  I was relieved to know that B did not have a major (not even a minor one) meltdown when Joe and I left the house.  It took her an hour to fall asleep but other than that, everything went as smooth as it could be!  

Joe and I are super glad that we have found a great babysitter for B.  Seriously, Meghan and her fiance r.o.c.k.!

 *** Joe was checking his iPhone to see if Meghan had called!

First Date Night...

Joe has been bugging me about date night for a while now.  Before B was born, we used to have date nights twice a month and Joe and I would take turn to pick an activity (dinner or movie or shopping) to do on date night.

Since B was born, I have been giving B my 110% attention and devotion.  The idea of being able to enjoy a sit down dinner without rushing through it is just foreign to me.  So when Joe mentioned resuming date night, I was like, "Seriously????"

After spending a few months looking for the "perfect" babysitter, we found one who comes with very impressive references!  We interviewed her a few months ago and tonight, will be the first night Megan will be babysitting B!


Megan will be here in about an hour... funny thing is that I am not even freaking out or hyper-ventilating and this is just w.e.i.r.d.!

Playdate with Bethany...

Yesterday B's schedule was way off.  She usually has two naps a day, one in the morning from 9am to 10:30am and one in the afternoon from 3pm to 4:30pm.  For some reason, she decided that she is a big girl and naps are for babies, so she did not have her morning nap!  So we played, read stories and sang and by 10am, she was rubbing her eyes and was so cranky that I needed to feed her a bit early so she could go down for a nap.  She fell asleep halfway through the bottle and napped till 1pm.  Our schedule was so off that I decided just to stay home and chill with B. 

While I was watching B playing on the playmat with all her toys, suddenly I realized that she was a bit lonely playing all by herself, though my dog attempted a few times to play with B, but ended up being kicked by B! (My dog and B have a love-hatred relationship going on since day 1!)  Then the idea of organizing a playdate with Bethany came to my mind!

After a few messages on FB ... B's first official playdate is scheduled for next week! :-)

Bethany's Classes

Joe and I believe in early child development.  There are a lot of "baby classes" out there that claim to help to stimulate a baby's brain development and motor skills through music, color, objects etc.  When Bethany goes to daycare in the fall, we are pretty much at the mercy of the daycare about what types of activities Bethany is going to have.  Therefore, Joe and I really want to get Bethany to be exposed to different areas of learning for her development.   We have been to the drop in playgroup organized by the City but I find that the playgroup is not structured and I doubt B gets anything out those drop ins. Joe and I have spent quite a bit of time in researching and narrowing down to what classes we want Bethany to attend, and most importantly if she will enjoy the class.

Here is B's schedule:
Monday -- Baby Signing Time  -- I bought the Baby Signing Time 1 package (DVD, CD and flash cards) about a month ago and have been signing with B since.  Those are all basic signs: Milk, Eat, Water, Juice, Drink, More, Frog, Dog, Cat, Horse, Bird, Diaper, Hurt... etc!  All the songs are catchy and easy and I think those songs are stuck in my head! B loves watching the DVD!
http://www.signingstart.com/

Tuesday -- Kindermusik Village Program -- it comes with a take home CD and a book!  Again, those songs are very catchy and the "Hello Hello" song and "I roll the ball to you" song are stuck in my head!  Last night, I caught myself singing the "Hello Hello" song in the shower! :-)
http://www.kindermusik.com/Classes/Village.aspx

Wednesday -- Baby Sensory Playtime
www.indigogreen.com/sensoryplaytime

Thursday -- Baby Story Time

Friday -- Mommy and B both need to rest!

Saturday -- Swimming
 

Though the schedule looks packed and it is indeed, pretty packed, I enjoy taking Bethany to all these classes.  I think I enjoy the classes as much as she does!  We did a preview class of Sensory Playtime this Monday and B was so happy that she was giggling and laughing throughout the class!  When we got home, I told Joe that B enjoyed the class so much that she was waving and laughing when the parachute went over her head (apparently it is an activity that a lot of babies get mesmerized with the movement of the colors.)!  So we have registered B for Baby Sensory Playtime which starts on May 5.