Activity Center

Grandma and Grandpa Kennedy gave Oliver this Baby Einstein activity center. We came home late one evening and there it was just inside the front door. Here he is at 19 weeks enjoying the spinning frog. He LOVES his time in it. Such a big boy....

Loving Diaper Laundry

One of my favorite mom bloggers Amalah writes about cloth diapering here. I feel the same. I've loved using our bumGenius diapers. We never have to run to the store for diapers and I love Oliver's fat squishy behind. And then there are the environmental and health benefits -there's some nasty stuff in conventional disposables. I just can't stand the thought of chucking all of that paper, plastic and polyacrylamide gel into our local landfill every single day for the next 2+ years.

With the cloth diapers we've had a few issues with wicking and diaper rash, but nothing insurmountable. Mostly minor annoyances. Jay has expressed concern over the stiff Velcro strip at the waist confining Oliver's mobility (i.e. toe touching). I've adjusted how I secure the diapers to allow more room in the waist. Seems to be working so far. Only time will tell...

I really want to try out the FuzziBunz- those bright colors are so cute and the snap system might solve the issue with the Velcro strip. Now, we just need a nice big refund check to make that happen.

(Update: Just discovered that bumGenius makes an organic cotton one-size all-in-one with snaps! The reviews look promising. The ones we use are micro-fleece with micro-fiber inserts. I would much rather use organic cotton and not have to deal with stuffing inserts.)

Benches

from here via remodelista - this too.

There is something soothing to me about sliding up to your place at the table along a bench. Some of my best childhood memories took place while sitting on a bench of my parent's dinner table.

At 9, crammed between my siblings at dinner I went into a fit of giggles so hard I fell backward off the bench and just rolled on the ground until it passed. I've done hours and hours of homework on those benches. It was a regular ritual growing up to sit and talk with my grandmother while she enjoyed her daily beer and a cigarrette at the end of the table. Sometimes we didn't say much at all, I would just sit with her and trace the grain of the wood on the table or watch the thin trail of smoke float up to the ceiling.

On Sundays after church I would sit at the table to read the comics. Nearing 16 I would also flip through the classified ads looking for my dream car. I have celebrated almost every single birthday sitting at the end of the table while my friends and family flanked the sides sitting on those benches.

And while celebrating Easter with my family yesterday, Jay sat at the table on one of the benches and it made me smile hoping he knew what a special place that was for me and knowing another good memory was just created.

Kid's Music

I bought Oliver his first kid's music CD last week at Kid Genius. My favorite two songs are "Race Cars Go" (which just makes me smile) and "Captain Sleep". You can check out the whole album here.

I'm looking forward to finding music geared towards children that we'll enjoy listening to also. NPR did a story on a kid's music blog called Zooglobble that I plan on checking out. The Pokey Pup also recommends and reviews good stuff out there.

Easy

I would like nothing more than to wear pretty dresses and sandals all summer long.

from top to bottom: A.P.C., Sunja Link, Church & State

Emeco

I want this chair, many of them. Just gorgeous...

from here.

Making Bread

photo by Soulemama

Oh, I love this. I've made a few attempts at homemade bread and they were not successful. I think I need to just keep trying. The linen bread bag is such a good idea.