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Katie’s Favorite Books – 14 Months Old

Like her parents, Katie loves to read. Or, I should say that she loves to spend time flipping the pages through her books and having people read to her, especially when she’s sitting in their lap. Some days, she’ll sit and enjoy three or four books at a time while other days she loves flipping the pages before we can get the words out of our mouth. Regardless of her mood or the day, we always read at least a few books together. In fact, each night, as part of our bedtime routine, I read two or three books to Katie while rocking her. These peaceful moments are often my favorite part of the day.

I thought it would be fun to share some of Katie’s favorite books now that she is 14 months old. Some of these have been favorites since the very beginning and others are new additions.

 

Katie’s Favorite Books at 14 Months Old

  • Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes: Bo and I both love reading this book to Katie as part of the bedtime routine. The gentle rhyme seems to calm her and I love counting kissing her nose at the very end. The story is a wonderful one, helping teach children that the world is filled with all different children who still have things in common.
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar:  Somehow Katie didn’t own this book until two weeks ago. While walking through a Walmart store in Arkansas during a work trip, a number of co-workers asked me about Katie’s favorite books when we passed the book aisle. When they realized Katie didn’t own this book, they changed that immediately. It’s such a fun story and the bright colors and holes in the books keep Katie entertained. This weekend she dragged the book over to me no less than five times, hoping to hear about the very hungry caterpillar who ate too much.
  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
  • The Going to Bed Book: We have a number of Sandra Boyton’s bright, vibrant, lyrical books, but this one is my favorite. I read it to Katie every single night before bed. Unlike some “bedtime books” , I like that it is short and an easy-to-read even in a dimly lit room. Katie now enjoys turning the pages once I finish reading them and knows that it is a bed time book. Earlier today Bo lifted it out during reading time and she pushed it away, replacing it with another book.
  • Sniff, Munch & Lick Books: I bought these after seeing no less than five local moms rave about them on their Instagram or Facebook feeds. Katie loves the movement in this book as it is filled with moving animals, flaps and textures. Unfortunately, many of the heads are now taped in the book after Katie ripped them off but, she still enjoys flipping and reading the book with me even though not every animal’s beak, tail or mouth moves anymore.
  • Pat the Bunny: Personally, this book makes me laugh as it is such a classic and very retro. But, whether due to the multiple textures, flaps or fun holes, Katie has gravitated towards this book since she was very young. Ours has been hugged, gnawed, flipped and loved on a daily basis over the past few months.
  • Where’s Spot: We’ve replaced this book twice due to Katie aggressively ripping off the flaps but regardless, it’s still a favorite.
  • First 100 Words: We’ve had this book since Katie was born and originally, she seemed attracted to the bright, small, thick pages. These days we read the book slowly, trying to draw her focus to at least one of the items on each page. Some days, she just wants to quickly turn the pages and other days we almost have her repeating the words – sort of.
  • Elmo at the Zoo: Katie loves turning the pages in this book and the fun animals allow us to practice different animal sounds with her as we read the book. She pulls this off the shelf at least once a day, in hopes that we’ll read it to her and include all the fun Sesame Street and animal sound effects.

 

 

Pictures courtesy of Alexis Damen photography.

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Nursery Tour

pink and white nursery

Good afternoon! I can’t believe that it has taken me four months to give you all a tour of Katie’s nursery. This room has become my favorite spot in our home. The cozy space provides a sense of calm even on the craziest of days. When Bo and I decided to transition my home office into a nursery, we decided that the gray walls would remain, as well as the large white Ikea closets. Otherwise, we decided that we would use fabric, prints and other decor to create a peaceful, soothing nursery for our daughter. When purchasing furniture for the nursery, we had to keep in mind that the space of our Brooklyn nursery is only 7 x 12 feet. Many cribs or gliders were too large for the space, so our consideration set quickly reduced. Due to our space constraints, there are some things that aren’t ideal; but overall, we are very pleased with the space.

We decided, from the beginning, that we didn’t want to go overboard with a theme for our nursery. We chose Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit as an overarching theme as both our childhood nurseries had this theme. These prints and this adorable mobile are the main Peter Rabbit items in the room, while there are also some smaller touches like the switch plate and a few books.

Nursery 1

nursery book shelves

We placed the mobile above the changing table versus the crib as a book recommended this as a great way to help babies enjoy diaper changes more AND sleep better when they go down in the crib. We also placed a round mirror over the changing table to open up the room and provide a fun activity space as we read that babies love mirrors beginning as young as two months of age.

nursery changing table

Instead of buying bedding and accessories that tied into the theme, we chose pastel prints and a few stuffed animals and books while letting the rest of the nursery have a pastel tone. My friend Amy gave us this beautiful framed print which fits perfectly over the glider.

Once we found furniture and items we thought we liked, we added them to our registry and then, for the items we bought on our own, waited for sales. Luckily, we were able to get most of the larger Pottery Barn items 40% off during a sale!  After spending two different evenings looking at furniture in their Upper West Side store and taking countless measurements, we settled on the Kendall Dresser & Topper set and the Kendall Low Profile Convertible crib. We liked that once you remove the topper from the dresser it can easily be a dresser in a child’s room and the Kendall crib was more compact than many other styles while still being a convertible crib. We decided to use a gray Keekaroo Peanut on top of the changing table instead of a cushioned, covered diaper pad after having multiple friends recommend this. We have LOVED the Peanut and have even given it as a gift to a friend!  Since the room does not have any windows we wanted to use lots of white and color to lighten the space and ensure it didn’t feel like a cave. However, since the French doors do let in quite a bit of light, especially during the morning hours, we chose to invest in black out roman shades which block the light while also adding a pop of color. The found the fabric for the shades, Zoey’s Garden Fabric by Tanya Whelan Pink Green and White Faux Plaid, on Etsy. We then worked with SewLovelyByKelly to bring our vision to life!

pink and white nursery

The most difficult item to find was a glider that fit the dimensions of our room, was comfortable and could hopefully be used in a living room or family room in the future. There were so many lovely gliders that were WAY too large for our space as the corner dimensions were quite tight. A few of the smaller “NYC size” gliders we tried out in show rooms were either uncomfortable or way too narrow. In fact I remember basically getting stuck in one glider which is crazy since, before giving birth, I had average hips! We were thankful that a few of our friends and family gave us money for our baby shower which we put towards buying the Monte Designs Como Glider. When my mom sat down in the glider for the first time she said “Oh my gosh this is the most comfortable chair ever!”

We wanted a bright, soft rug that would bring color into the space while also being a comfortable place for us to play with Katie. As soon as we saw the Haper Rug we knew that this was perfect for the nursery and love the vibrant pink color. Another way we incorporated color into the room, while also saving some money, was to buy a poof in a light, mint green instead of ordering the ottoman that matches our glider. We found a poof on Etsy which was only $50!

Last but not least, the sheets for the crib are a fun pink and white bunny print which weave together the Peter Rabbit and pink theme.

If you have any question about our nursery, feel free to let me know!

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Not Our Average Weekend

Good morning! Similar to many of you, Bo and I have today off in honor of Martin Luther King Day. Unfortunately, this weekend continues to be one that is very different than what we envisioned.

Friday, Bo spent the day working from home as he was overcoming a 24-hour virus he caught Wednesday night. The virus included stomach pains, body aches, low fever and malaise. By Friday evening he was going stir crazy, so we enjoyed a date night.

Our evening started at the new Park Slope Orangetheory Fitness to celebrate their grand opening. My good friend, Heather, is the studio manager and has spent countless hours over the past few months getting the studio ready for business.

heather park slope orangetheory fitness park slope orangetheory fitness

After hanging out with Heather, her husband Scott and the Orangetheory team we headed to dinner at a new Fort Green restaurant, Lady’s. I discovered the new restaurant when searching for reservations on OpenTable and was delighted to give the Italian restaurant a try, especially since the initial reviews have been very strong. While the service was spotty, at best, the atmosphere was chic and inviting and the space was packed on Friday night. We started our dinner by sharing two appetizers, meatballs and beet salad, both of which were delicious. We continued the evening by trying their honey pizza, which was written up and celebrated in multiple reviews. Unfortunately, it was far too sweet for our taste, especially mid-dinner. We continued the night by sharing a pasta, as all their pasta is made fresh in-house. The chestnut campanelle, which was rich, creamy and flavorful, was the star of the meal.  We would definitely go back, though I think I’ll give them a month or so to improve their service as it took us 2.5 hours to enjoy dinner since the pasta course was served almost an hour after the previous course.

Ladys chestnut campanelle

Image courtesy of Grubstreet review.

Even though I thoroughly disinfected our home and slept in our spare bedroom, on Wednesday and Thursday night, by the end of our meal, I started to feel ill. I looked at Bo and asked if headache and sore throat were part of the virus. Unfortunately, he nodded, knowingly, and said that we should head home immediately.

I was in bed from 9:30 Friday night until 1pm Sunday. Over those 30 hours I experienced everything from low fever, headache, severe body aches, vomiting, and constant nausea. Moments like this make me so thankful for my mom and friends who are nurses as I was texting and calling them to ensure I was doing the right thing for myself and Baby Girl Diamond during the virus. I only took 2 doses of Tylenol during the time but made sure to force plenty of fluids and some basic foods, following the BRAT diet, down to give her sustenance.

brat diet

The time in bed provided me with time to catch up on my favorite television shows, watch a movie (Bridget Jones Baby), start a new series (Catastrophe) and make it halfway through the book, Present Over Perfect.

Giggle shopping

Yesterday afternoon, after holding down food and feeling much better, Bo and I headed out to do some nursery shopping at a few different baby stores including the new BuyBuyBaby at LibertyView in Brooklyn, Sprout, Giggles and finally Pottery Barn Kids. It was great to touch, feel and see some of the items we’d added to our online registry as well as finally make a decision on a few of our larger pieces, including stroller and crib.

Unfortunately, this morning, we woke up to find that half our building is without power which means that basically every other room has power. We do not have heat and we can’t use much of our kitchen. While we are lucky to have running water and internet, it still puts a burden on our final day of the three day weekend.  At this point, I’m just laughing off the long weekend and planning to spend the rest of today relaxing, reading and trying to enjoy as much of the day as possible.

How was your weekend? 

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