We just rounded up a ton of booties for work over at Corporette, and one area we didn’t quite get to was the burgeoning trend of the lace-up bootie. These Dansko boots look comfortable, walkable, chase-able (on the playground and beyond), and work-appropriate — huzzah. They’re $180 at Zappos, in gray or black. Dansko Lucille Oxford
POSITA says
Can anyone recommend their favorite books for a 2 yo? Our daughter has outgrown most of her board books, but isn’t up to sitting through longer stories yet. For instance, Cat in the Hat is still too long–she will only sit for 2/3 of the book or so at most. She also seems to prefer non-fiction or realistic fiction books to more creative stories. Harold and the Purple Crayon, for example, has been a complete flop.
mascot says
Dr. Seuss can be long. Don’t feel like you have to read it all at once though. Soon, if not already, she can remember some of the story line and keep up the next time you sit down to read.
Does your library have a children’s section? Just grab a stack of books and see what clicks. She might like books about animals and learning the sounds. Or even ones about colors/shapes. That big Richard Scarry book about things that go has a ton of things to talk about and not much in the way of a storyline. I will say, taking my son at 2 to the library didn’t work. Too much noise and grabbing. I was better just running in alone. He got better as he got older and can now pick out books with me.
In House Counsel says
At 2, my daughter loved the Llama Llama series (Anna Dewdney — also check out Nobunny’s Perfect), the Bear books (Karma Wilson – also check out Hogwash), Pip and Posy series, Brownie and Pearl series. Also agree that the library can be a good place to explore and see what types of books click with your child.
NewMomAnon says
Based on the recommendations of folks here, I picked up a couple of the Llama Llama books for my 19 month old, and she loves them. I was afraid they would be too long, but the rhyming and the pictures keep her attention. Also, far more interesting than some of the other books we had been reading.
Also, try Pete the Cat – there are a ton of them. We like the Four Groovy Buttons, Rocking in His School Shoes, and the other one about shoes (new shoes? white shoes?). My daughter has them memorized and will chime in, shouting “goodness no!” and singing the little songs in them. Not a ton of words (but enough to be interesting for you), repetition, and similar format across all the books.
Meg Murry says
Some board books are shortened versions of the originals – and unlike a lot of abridged books, they work as well or better shorter. We have board books of Little Engine that Could and Are you My Mother? among others – and the shorter version helps.
Also, don’t feel like you have to read every word on the page. My kids liked to turn the pages themselves, and they usually would turn it after only one sentence. So feel free you just say “Look, there’s the cat!” turn the page “Cat says hi to the boy and girl” turn the page, etc.
My son is almost 4, and even now he gets too impatient for more than 2-3 sentences per page sometimes.
Where’s Spot is a good book with only 1-2 sentences per page, and a lift the flap on each one. Books that are just “Cow says moo! Sheep says baaa!” were hits for a long time, even after they were technically “too old”
mss says
The Pigeon series and the Knuffle Bunny series by Mo Willems – lots of fun illustrations.
CHJ says
Oh my goodness the Pigeon series. DS is obsessed. LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!
CHJ says
For more realistic books, DS likes:
– The Snail and the Whale (not a realistic story, but realistic pictures)
– The Gruffalo (same)
– Curious George books
– Around the Town All Year Round
– Pancakes for Breakfast
– Goodnight Gorilla
– The Dot
– Mr. Tiger Goes Wild
– Little Blue Truck
He also loves this science book about forests that my mom got him at a library book sale. I think it’s supposed to be for 10 year olds, but he loves it anyway. I just read him one line from each page and he looks at the pictures.
Styling help needed! says
I just bought the following Seraphine maternity dress, and I love it.
http://www.destinationmaternity.com/Product.asp?Product_Id=154780022&MasterCategory_Id=MC3
Now trying to figure out the best color blazer/tights/shoes to wear with it in the fall. The background color is a neutral falling somewhere between a dark gray and a brown. I was thinking a black blazer might be too harsh. Thoughts?
Tunnel says
Black tights, black blazer would be my choice. Then again, I am not that adventurous.
Carrie M says
I think a black blazer and tights would work. The “pink dots” look a little red to me on my screen, so you’ll have to see what it looks like in real life, but if it is more pinkish a cardigan in mustard yellow or bright blue or light gray might look nice, or a colored blazer if you think the black is too harsh.
sfg says
LO has been on solids for a few weeks now and it seems like she’s getting a tad constipated. (Side note: I really did not understand how much time I would be spending discussing the bowel movements of others). I’d like to give her some prunes to help, but have no idea what an appropriate amount is – I don’t want to swing too far the other way! FWIW, she gets oat cereal, not rice, and not too much in the realm of apples or bananas.
Meg Murry says
Buy the pureed prunes, and start with stirring in a spoonful or two in her oatmeal. I would say half a pack a day is enough to start, maybe up to a whole pack if you don’t see much results after half – but I would suspect 1 4 oz pack a day would probably be max (and who knows if you can even get that much in her)
NewMomAnon says
The advice I got from my pediatrician was that any of the mushes that start with P are good for getting the system moving – peas, prunes, pears, sweet potatoes. I tried to make my sure my kiddo got one of those each day, since she loved applesauce and bananas.
Also, are you offering her a sippy cup of water with meals? That could help too. I wouldn’t worry too much about swinging to the opposite extreme; just make sure the prunes are part of her diet and not her whole diet. If you swing too far, you’ll know and you can stop the prunes.
sfg says
We are offering the water at meals but, at least last night, she was mostly interested in chewing on the spout. Our nanny offers water at lunch, but as I was traveling the past few days, I don’t think my husband offered her any with dinner. Thanks for the “p” food tip – she loves sweet potatoes already, and adding in peas this weekend.
Ciao, pues says
My my kid was 8 months old she went through a painful bout of constipation. Our pediatrician recommended up to 7oz of fruit juice per day (e.g. prune juice), not cut with water. She recommended pears, peaches, prunes, plums, avocado. Avoid starches, including peas and sweet potatoes. You can also add a little olive oil to her food.
FWIW, this is apparently very common as babies transition to solids!
LSC says
If this becomes an ongoing problem (as it was for us) let me recommend the miracle cure: probiotics and a tablespoon of wheat germ daily. Worked wonders!
Anon. says
Currently 13 wks preg. Have a slight “belly” but haven’t popped… don’t fit in my regular shirts, but maternity shirts are mostly way too big. When is it acceptable to just wear baggy maternity stuff? I feel sort of not put together in these large shirts, but don’t feel like I have much of an option.
sfg says
I bought 2-3 tops with a looser cut in the next size up to tide me over.
POSITA says
It’s nice to have transition clothes in a larger size for post partum wear. I’d get a couple of comfy loose non-maternity tops. I tried to avoid this with my first and really regret not just buying a few things. It was so much harder to shop with an infant. I wished I had something to pull out of my closet.
Anon. says
Totally agree with this… except I’m still wearing my “larger” sizes from the last baby, so if I go up another size the shoulders are huge and the armholes are too big. I think maybe I need to look for a few more forgiving styles of shirts.
B says
Buy a few skinny belts to wear WITH maternity tops, to kind of adjust them until you get a little bigger.
You can also belt cardigans over maternity or regular tops.
TBK says
My husband and I have never been very sporty people (we’re really not built for it). We’d like to be in better shape, be more outdoorsy, and set a good example for the kids. This is a weird question, but for those of you who would classify yourself as athletic or outdoorsy (not the same, but often go hand in hand), what does your weekend look like? If you have small children, how do you keep active? We have frame backpacks for the kids and will sometimes go for a short hike with them (the kids go IN the backpacks, if that wasn’t clear — it’s not that we have tiny hiking backpacks to put on the kiddos). Or we’ll pile them in the big stroller and bring the dog and do a long-ish neighborhood walk (1 hr or so — or until Twin B is DONE with the stroller). Otherwise, I just don’t know what else we can do. I feel like I never really got into sporty things when I was younger and it’s harder to jump in cold now. (I mean, I did the whole DC lawyer “I run marathons” thing, played sports in high school, do the gym thing, and have taken dance and yoga classes here and there. But it’s not like I’m big into any one thing.) Just trying to visualize what being super active would even look like.
meme says
In addition to hikes and walks with the kids (which we also do), we have a bike trailer and pull them on trail rides (I’m too nervous about cars and kids to pull them on road bikes), and we sign up for a few races a year sans kids, so that keeps us training. Signing up for team races with friends really turned me into much more of a sporty person than I ever was before. It’s really fun, and the group dynamic is great for motivation. We like 10ks and half marathons (complete alone but sign up and start together), and team adventure races (usually include biking, running, paddling or some other disciplines – think Amazing Race only smaller scale). Those are all short enough that we don’t feel like we need to spend half our lives training. If we train 3-4 times a week for 40-60 minutes, we’re in plenty good shape to finish, which is our only goal.
Preg in VA says
What you’re doing sounds great, especially with kiddos as young as yours– they are still solidly at “tag along” age right? (E. G. No family bike rides for a while). I would think at their age, it’s more important to do short, fun activities so that being active is enjoyable for them. Walks around all the great DC parks or even on the Mall, or combine something outdoorsy with something you and DH want to do more (short hike + wine tasting at a vineyard where kids can run around or nap in their strollers?)
I think it’s much harder to raise outdoorsy kids in the city. I’m relatively active/outdoorsy– a weekend of hiking and camping is my idea of a great time, and I love being in nature, but I don’t have any desire to hike the AT or anything. I think a lot of that stems from unstructured time playing in the woods all the time growing up while most kids my age were watching TV.
I also have no children yet, so I could be off base, just some thoughts.
Ciao, pues says
I am loving the image of your kids wearing tiny hiking backpacks :)
CHJ says
I don’t know if I would classify our lifestyle as super active, but we do try to get out as much as we can. For us, that looks like:
— DH does martial arts on two weeknights. I get DS to bed and then either do a workout video/run on the treadmill (possibly) or crash on the couch and read novels (more likely).
— On Saturday mornings, I get up early and go for a long run while DH takes care of DS.
— We go for short hikes (a few miles) with DS in a framed backpack. He can usually tolerate an hour as long as he has snacks and we talk to him.
— We take DS and the dog out for long walks with the jogging stroller, either on flat trails or around the neighborhood.
That’s about it. If you like running, I think it’s fun to sign up for fun runs/5Ks and bring your kids. We’ve done them with DS in the jogging stroller or had my parents hang out with him while we run. My mom always did that when I was growing up, and I think it set a good example to see my mom out enjoying an active hobby that she loved.
Jdubs says
I’m totally not sporty or outdoorsy, but I try to have us do active weekend activities, but you can think outside the box too. It doesn’t have to be just hiking/biking etc. We have a zoo membership so we will go there for a saturday – in a few hour visit we rack up like 10,000 steps. Or a trip to a museum instead of taking them to a park where you sit on the bench and they run around – I consider any activity where you are up moving as “active” even if it isn’t necessarily “sporty”.
anne-on says
My husband and I swap off gym visits with bath duty, so my son is very used to hearing ‘mommy/daddy is at the gym so that we can stay strong and play with you lots’. I probably go 3-4x week, my husband has a longer commute and is more likely to do 3x week.
Sounds simple, but on the weekends do you actively play with your kids? I’m always surprised by how few parents at the playground are actually playing tag, going down the slides, swinging, etc. My kiddo has a ball playing ‘chase’, with mommy/daddy picking him up and throwing him in the air/swinging him from our arms, and ‘stealing him’ (grabbing him up and running with him). All very active stuff and I’m often sweaty after playing in our backyard. It helps that before/after we try to mention that mommy and daddy go to the gym so our muscles are strong enough to pick you up and we have enough energy to run with you.
NewMomAnon says
I’m not very sporty or outdoorsy, but my daughter loves water so I try to capitalize on that – we visit the beach, we walk down by the river, we experience puddles, we water our plants and talk about why that’s important (I talk, she mostly just spills water).
I think exploring nature with my daughter is the fun part for both of us – discovering bugs in the yard, pointing out flowers and different plants/birds/etc, looking at pictures of nature, meeting new types of animals, pointing out how the seasons are changing. We go to the zoo, to playgrounds and parks, to the farmer’s market (because I’d like her to know where food comes from), and we always take a minute to stop and experience new things that interest her (rain was the latest interesting experience; it doesn’t take much at this age).
I love the answers. I’m glad you asked because these are some good ideas.
Famouscait says
We do the exact things you listed with our 11m old. Also on the outdoorsy front, we also camp with him. We’ve found that walk-in campsites at a state park are the best bet. You have access to toilets and showers, and are just a few yards walk from the car, so it’s convenient but doesn’t feel like sleeping in the parking lot. From camp we do hikes or easier nature-walk type excursions. For older kids, my nephews like geocaching, which is another good outdoor activity (and seemed to always involved running around excitedly to find the geocache).
EB0220 says
One thing we like to do is go to a local park with playgrounds and trails. One of us runs or mountain bikes while the other plays on the playground with the kids. I also take the kids on walks or runs in the jogging stroller and bike rides in the bike trailer on sidewalks/greenways. We also take at least one camping trip a year, although we haven’t been since baby #2 joined us last July.
Ciao, pues says
Related to TBK’s question about being outdoorsy: what are your recommendations for lightweight hiking backpacks to carry a toddler? Bonus points for something that works for a person of small stature.
anonymom says
We absolutely loved the Deuter Kid Comfort. It has an adjustable torso length and was the only backpack that fit both my husband and me comfortably. It also keeps the kid’s weight much closer to the adult’s body than the Kelty models we tried. It seems to be pretty durable too. We passed it along to another family that used it heavily with their two kids, so it lasted through three kids and is still apparently in good shape.
Msj says
+1 to the Deuter Kid Comfort Air! Comfortable for kids and parents
meme says
If you have an REI in your area, I’d recommend going there (along with anyone else who may wear it too – they’re adjustable) and trying on the different options. We have the REI-branded one and really like it. My SIL liked another brand because of the way it fit her frame.
Famouscait says
We bought an REI model from a friend and adults and child both find it comfy. I wear a Deuter pack for backpacking (carrying ~40 lbs.) that I bought on ebay and it is also great. I’d highly recommend either brand.
Side note: I was initially concerned that the REI pack we bought didn’t have a shade or rain cover for the kiddo. But, we realized that 1) if it’s raining more than a drizzle, we’re going inside anyways, and 2) we hike in the forest, so a sun cover isn’t necessary.
meme says
Interesting. Mine has a rain cover and a sun shade, and we use both fairly regularly (for unexpected sprinkles when we’re out on the trail, and hiking in the sun).
FVNC says
We get a ton of use out of our Kelty Tour 1.0. I’m small, and it’s comfortable and easy for me to use. My 2 yr old loves it, so I think it is comfortable for her, too. The only downside is that it doesn’t have a sunshade.