Baby Bear goes to school

Mondays are a Lola Bear day. Lola Bear just started bringing Baby Bear to a Mommy and Me class for 1 year olds. We call it school, so Baby Bear goes to school once a week. Last week was the first week and I walked with them to the class so that Lola Bear knew where to go and to make sure she was registered correctly. I had intended to stay through the entire class and walk home with them, but Lola Bear (aka my mommy) told me they were fine and I could leave to go to work. I was sad as I walked home by myself. Baby Bear was in a Mommy and Me class and I am the Mommy!! I know she is in good hands with my own mom and enjoying herself. I just wish I was enjoying the class with her.

The nice thing that consoled me was coming home to see Baby Bear's first school art work proudly displayed on our refrigerator. It is so cute and I am so proud.

Her first piece of art work from her first class last week. She colored an apple:



Baby Bear is very talented with such great lines. This week's project, she painted a yellow bus:



My baby girl is growing up, sigh. Can't wait to see what she brings home next Monday.

15 months

A little late with this post. It has been sitting in drafts because I have been so busy and wanted to put up a picture. I will have to share a picture later...

I can't believe that Baby Bear is already 15 months old. It is crazy how time has flown and how she has grown in just the last 3 months. She had her 15 month appointment and she is still a small little thing at 19 lbs, 1 oz and 28 inches tall. She is in the 4th percentile for weight and height. But she is still on the growth curve and growing so there is no reason to worry. She is just little.

She is definitely meeting all her milestones and developing language very well. She has quite a few words and signs. She understands when we ask questions or makes requests. I love that she gives Papa Bear and I kisses when we ask. She know where head, tummy, nose, ears, mouth, and belly button is. She will wiggle her toes if you ask. She is just so smart.

She also has her mischievous side. She has learned to crawl onto the couch and she doesn't sit nicely on the couch. To our dismay, she runs on the couch. She tries to balance on her little push car and balls. She stand on her little chair. She is a crazy girl!

Mmmm, Spaghetti

We went to Vince's Spaghetti for dinner tonight. We were ready for spaghetti dinner with Baby Bear in a white shirt.

Here she is before the spaghetti, patiently waiting (yeah right. No kid patiently waits for anything. This photo is quite deceiving, LOL):



Baby Bear had her own plate of spaghetti, here she is diving in (without a bib, gasp!):





She did manage to get spaghetti into her tummy as well as all over herself.



As you can see she really loves spaghetti.



Here is a little video.



Once we got home, she immediately had a bath.

Still rear-facing

Baby Bear is still rear-facing in her car seat. Yes, she is one but she is not quite 22 pounds. Plus, I see no rush to move her forward facing especially since it is so much safer for her to be rear-facing in the car. She doesn't seem to have a problem with it. So I will keep her that way as long as possible. Doesn't she look happy!



The American Academy of Pediatrics have revised their recommendations and state that toddlers should stay rear-facing until the age of 2. The research really suggests that it is safer to keep your toddler rear-facing. Plus, there many videos out there that convince me that this is definitely sound advise to follow (check out YouTube).



From car-safety.org:

• Rear-facing is safest for both adults and children, but especially for babies, who would face a greater risk of spinal cord injury in a front-facing carseat during a frontal crash.

• Rear-facing car seats spread frontal crash forces over the whole area of a child's back, head and neck; they also prevent the head from snapping relative to the body in a frontal crash.

• Rear-facing carseats may not be quite as effective in a rear end crash, but severe frontal and frontal offset crashes are far more frequent and far more severe than severe rear end crashes.

• Rear-facing carseats are NOT a safety risk just because a child's legs are bent at the knees or because they can touch/kick the vehicle seat.

• Rear-facing as long as possible is the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatricians, and can reduce injuries and deaths. Motor Vehicle Crashes are the #1 overall cause of death for children 14 and under.

We have the Britax Boulevard convertible car seat and we just got the Britax Roundabout for Grandma Bear's car. With both seats we can keep Baby Bear rear-facing until she reaches 35 pounds. At Baby Bear's rate of growth, she will be rear-facing for a while. I see no hurry to turn her around especially since she seems to be fine and content. Her legs are getting longer, but she is fine with her legs bent and touching the back of the seat. Toddlers are so flexible so it really isn't a big deal. She is comfortable and I have often seen her playing with her feet back there anyways. She has a long life ahead of her to be forward facing in the car, so if this will keep her safe why not!

A day at the Museum

Baby Bear's best friend in daycare is the babysitter's granddaughter. She loves her and pretty much everyone in our babysitter's family. We are lucky to have such a wonderful daycare that treats us like family.

We went to the babysitter's granddaughter's birthday party today. It was at the Chino Youth Museum. What a great place! Baby Bear had a blast with all her daycare friends. It was more like a a playground with different types of rooms. Everything is kid friendly and kid sized. Baby Bear enjoyed exploring each room.

The News Room





The Science Room



She loved the kid sized doors. She doesn't quite know how to turn the door knobs though.



The Farm Room



The House



The Water Room



There aren't many pictures with the other kids posted since I generally don't like to post other people's children on the web unless I know the parents are okay with it.

A day at the Aquarium

We went to the Aquarium the other day. Baby Bear really enjoyed it.