Spotlight On: Signing

Dane speaks Whinese. We are not happy to hear moaning and groaning whenever Dane's sippy is empty or he needs help. We have been working with Dane since he was about 6 months old with sign language. We do not know sign language, but we have a cool book with tips and flashcards and a signing dictionary for the most common words that will help you communicate with your toddler. Dane Thomas first signed around 9 months, and his very first sign was - surprise, surprise - eat.
Dane isn't saying much yet. Still the babytalk: Mama, Dada, Boo (Blue), Duhguh (Dingo), and many many animal sounds (a post all in its own!). But Dane signs all the time, all day.
So here's a list of the signs that Dane Thomas has so far mastered: eat, more, all done, drink, please, car, no, stop. Again and help are the signs we're working on now.
This is such a great time to be working with him because he is so open to learning. So many opportunities come up daily to learn new signs, and Dane is quite receptive. He totally understands the concept and he is doing great. It's really helping us communicate with him and we are sooo proud of him!

Spotlight On: Dane's Room

Now that Dane has a new room, we thought we would show it to you. And having never showed you his room at the old house, we thought we'd show you that too!

Old Room
The stripes are turquoise on white with a lime accent stripe on either side. Jackie painted the room entirely on her own, and it took around 40 hours of labor. The lamp and letters were painted by Jackie and the crib bedding, valance and changing pad cover were Jackie's first sewing projects. Monkey accessories scattered the room, matching the bedding, and maybe causing Dane's later obsession.

New Room
These are pictures without the furniture, to show off the paint job. We did not do this, it was a perk of the house. Dane loves waving at the monkeys, and he likes to touch random animals. The fourth wall is mainly two giant windows. It's an adorable room, but a little hard to furnish with bedding, curtains, nursery letters and the like. We're still working on situating the furniture just right to maximize space and the mural visibility - of key importance!

Spotlight On: Cloth Diapers

In celebration of Earth Day!

We cloth diaper Dane. Not while we're out so much, but while we are home anyway. It was something we looked into when we were pregnant and it had so much appeal for a variety of reasons: saves money, less waste in the landfills (the average baby goes through 3500 dipes before potty training!), fewer diaper rashes, and what may have been the cincher - cloth diaper babies typically potty train 1/2 - 1 year earlier than those in disposables. We have had fewer leaks in cloth and they hold up so much better at night. It has definitely paid off for us, and it's so nice not ever having to run out in the middle of the night because we're out of diapers. And because we use cloth wipes as well, Dane is now 10 months old and we have not yet used all of the baby wipes we received at our baby shower! Cloth diapers have come a long way since your grandma used them and they're not the hassle you think. It's definitely worth it to preserve our planet for our little boy and we're proud to be doing our part for a greener world.

Here's a few pics of Dane's fluffy bum over the months.

Dane at three weeks old in a prefold. Look, no pins!

Dane around 4 months old in a Mommy made monkey print fitted diaper.

A couple of Dane in the elite BumGenius 3.0. These are top-of-the-line pocket diapers that come with inserts so you can stuff it to the absorbency you need. Velcro tabs make them as easy to use as disposables. And so much cuter!

Spotlight On: New Books!

Dane was gifted 37 new books for Christmas. Soft books, board books, noise books, picture books, story books - such a range in every way. Dane likes to read, but we think he likes to hold the books and grab at the pictures much more than he enjoys the story. With a New Year's Resolution to read to Dane every day, these will certainly be put to use. These are our favorites so far.* The first one pictured is from Dane's cousin, one Ben Parker. He gave Dane a delightful little soft book. A simple rhyme on jazzy fabric with splendid teething corners and a handle. This one Dane "reads" his self and totes along from place to place.

* The next one is from Nana and Papaw, a cute Dane-sized "My Peter Rabbit Cloth Book". Thank God that this is a washer machine friendly book (tag says hand wash - psshh!), because it spends more time in Dane's mouth than on the bookshelf. Pretty pictures on bright cloth makes this one a hit.

* The third book is from Uncle Brian, Aunt Jeannie and cousin Sophie. The 105 Bible stories are so cute and the artwork is very cool. This is one of those books we love to read from, so I know our family will enjoy it for years to come.

* Dane was given the classic "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" from his Gramps and Granny K. They were so thoughtful that they included the monkey finger puppets to go along with the reading of this book (It's like they've done this whole baby thing before). They also gave Dane "... Sitting in a Tree", which we will get to.

* "Five Cheeky Monkeys" is an adorable big board book with fun shaped pages and a sound button. You press the button when cued, and it makes the monkeys chatter to each other. The illustrations are precious and the rhyming tale helps teach counting. Thanks to the Spicer cousins for this one!

* Aunt Jenny gave Dane "Is There Really a Human Race?", by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell. We'll have to get this writing team's whole collection, because this book is awesome. There are so many small verses that pack powerful messages in this book, like to create and be fair and learn from your mistakes and try your best and love. One day Dane will love this book for more than grasping at pictures and chewing on corners.

* The last of our favorites is from us, called "I am the Biggest Thing in the Ocean" and it follows a boastful giant squid around the ocean as he proudly lists the sea life that he's bigger than. He loses his smile for a second when a whale eats him, until he looks around and happily tells the reader "I am the biggest thing in this whale!". Cute story with great brilliant pictures.

Lucky Dane got so many fantastic books, which are always a sure winner in our house. Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful reads.

Spotlight On: Grandpas

In honor of Grandpa Kyles who today turned 21 (... times 2... plus 10), we are showcasing Dane with all of his grandfathers. Happy Birthday, Papaw!

Larry, the Birthday Boy with Dane (early days). Larry is Danny's Step-Father.

And this is Dane with Danny's dad, Bobby.
And this is Dane with Jackie's dad, Jimmy.

Spotlight On: The D-O-G's

If you've been to our home to visit Dane, you've undoubtedly been closely monitored by our Baby Police. If you photographed Dane, they're likely in the background watching you attentively or licking him. You've most likely commented on this. We aren't surprised.

Uncle Dingo and Aunt Blueberry love their "baby-friend". They kiss, they protect, they check. Blue gets in our faces if Dane cries, in her opinion, longer than necessary to convey his message. Whenever at all possible, she'll cuddle up to him. Dingo assists us in tucking Dane in at night. If the door is open during naptime Dingo sleeps on the floor next to the crib. And when we come home with the carseat in hand, they always check it right away to make sure Dane is in there and intact. I believe we're passing their critiques.

We worked diligently to prepare our dogs for the arrival of what we feared they would view as their rival. We heard many warnings from concerned advisers that the dogs would be jealous of Dane. We told the dogs often that the room we were making up was for the "baby-friend". We let them smell the baby products regularly. And when Dane was born, Danny brought them each a hospital blanket that Dane had been wrapped in to smell/eat/bury/shred/whatever. They still occasionally snuggle with them. We are surprised at just how well the dogs have taken to Dane and also Dane's interest in them. I guess we're all lucky.

There you go. Took all of 3 posts for the dogs to make Dane's page.