6.12.11

Book Pledge Day 38: Things I Like

Okay, so the biggest thing that bugs me about this book is that one of the things the character likes is watching TV. Now, there's no way the little one is gonna be watching TV anytime soon so to cast the idiot box in a favourable light totally irks me.

Otherwise, the book has some good illustrations of what Baby NinJa likes too!

N.B. We will be taking a short break as Baby NinJa and I will be going back to visit my dad, who's had a heart attack. And no, we're not gonna be carting the bag of library books with us there. See you in a bit!


5.12.11

Book Pledge Day 37: My Very First Book of Numbers

So Eric Carle has a numbers book! Who knew? A bit advanced for the wee one but it certainly was a page turner, having to match pictures to numbers! Cute but maybe more for finger exercises than reading ;P


4.12.11

Book Pledge Day 36: Colours

<p>A simple book introducing colours but what I don't get is why on earth did the authors decide to introduce indigo? And I don't believe black or white is a colour...


3.12.11

Book Pledge Day 35: Ivy Loves to Give

Pre-post shoutout goes to izchan - Hello panda liker! ;)

So, down to business. Lovely little book about sharing and giving. I especially loved the illustrations while Baby NinJa loved the animals in the story. A sweet, little feel good book for the young and young at heart - heck, I think even the old might have a little chuckle!


2.12.11

Book Pledge Day 34: Noodle Loves the Beach

Firstly, who on earth would name a panda Noodle? Bad enough that you're trying to teach your kid about the right animal names, this is just going to cause confusion. So it's cute...but does it work? I think not.

Secondly, what is a panda doing at the beach? Adding even more confusion to the mix! Bad mommy, poor book choice.

I picked the book because it had short phrases and touchy-feely bits for Baby NinJa. And sure enough, she loved the bright shiny red bucket and the sandpaper sandcastles. Not so much the sticky peach but still pretty much a page turner (literally!).


1.12.11

Book Pledge Day 33: Just Like Grandpa

Baby NinJa wasn't very interested in this book. Sure the reflective bits caught her attention...and the bicycles too but the only thing she got out of it was mimicking the Pa bit in Grandpa. Cute it was!


30.11.11

Book Pledge Day 32: Tiger

Cute cute CUTE little board book with a kitten pretending to be a tiger. Love the illustrations and what the little kitty does that is so tiger-like but Baby NinJa got distracted by yesterday's book and was playing with Incy Wincy instead. So, lesson learnt - don't have 2 books out at once, even though one is somewhere else in the room where Baby NinJa can see it!


29.11.11

Book Pledge Day 31: Incy Wincy Spider

One of our favourite nursery rhymes in a touch and feel board book! How could we not love it? Baby NinJa.especially loved touching the fluffy white clouds and furry black spider. Love it!


28.11.11

Book Pledge Day 30: Ten Frogs

I got excited when I saw this book at the library. This was the illustrator for Roald Dahl's books. There was the same feel in this book and Baby NinJa loved the sounds of the animals but seemed more interested in turning pages than looking at them!


27.11.11

Book Pledge Day 29: Little Critter Numbers

Counting, wheee! This book used zoo animals to help the little ones learn counting and Baby NinJa enjoyed the animal noises I was making more than the actual counting that was going on. Oh well, I'll take that giggle any day!


26.11.11

Book Pledge Day 28: Wheel Trouble

I tried reading this book to Baby NinJa but she wasn't interested. Hubby tried as well and she wasn't interested...oh well. You win some, you lose some.


25.11.11

Book Pledge Day 27: Crazy Caterpillars

A sparkle book!!! Oh, how that drew Baby NinJa's attention straight away! Baby NinJa loved touching the sparkly bits and tried to use her finger to try and gauge them out! So cute!


24.11.11

Book Pledge Day 26: Teeth Are Not For Biting

But guess what ended up getting bitten anyway? Baby NinJa decided that the book was more yummy than interesting so when I went to get a phone call, Baby NinJa proceeded to take a chunk out of the spine.
Ironic?


23.11.11

Book Pledge Day 25: Crocodiles!

Today, we read a little educational board book! The first in our reading time together so something different for once. But Baby NinJa was more interested in turning the pages. Oh well...


22.11.11

Book Pledge Day 24: Each Peach Pear Plum

Cute little book with familiar characters from nursery rhymes and fairy tales. Baby NinJa found the illustrations to be quite absorbing and pointed to a few things. Definitely a winner, I think!


21.11.11

Book Pledge Day 23: How Big Is A Pig?

A cute little book of opposites using farm animals cut out from what looks like felt and photographed. I loike! :) Baby NinJa? Not so much.


20.11.11

Book Pledge Day 22: The Snowman

Seeing as Christmas isn't very far away, we decided to pick up a book that has some relation to the holiday. This full picture book is innocent and simple, full of magic and fun. Making up the story as you go is interesting but a bit too long for Baby NinJa's short attention span. Still a beautiful read to share with the little one.


19.11.11

Book Pledge Day 21: Who Sank The Boat?

This Pamela Allen book is supposed to be a classic but Baby NinJa wasn't really interested. Too many words perhaps? *shrug* Cute though! And who uses fat as butter anymore?!?!


18.11.11

Book Pledge Day 20: Fix-It Duck

Hilarious! This book from the Duck in a Truck series has humour beyond the years of a baby but resonates with households where hubby tries to fix something, only to make it worse! Must must remember to look up Jez Alborough.


Book Pledge Day 19: Happy Baby ABC

Oops! I was so tired yesterday thay I forgot to post on what we read! And for the first time, it's one of the books that Baby NinJa actually spent time with, turning the pages by herself!

Admittedly, we got stuck on a couple of letters the first time round (Q for Queen and G for Giraffe) but I was pleased that for the first time, leaving the book on the playmat resulted in Baby NinJa exploring the pages by herself.

Hurray little one!


16.11.11

Book Pledge Day 18: Little Fur Family

This book looked so promising with the little furry bear on the front. But the rhyming's a bit off and there are no other furry bits for Baby NinJa to touch so she lost interest pretty quick! Shame...this book has so much potential!


15.11.11

Book Pledge Day 17: In-o-sour, Out-o-sour

An opposites book with dinosaurs - how ingenious! Baby NinJa and I LOVED the very very cute dinosaurs and all their antics! What a clever way to teach opposites!


14.11.11

Book Pledge Day 16: My First 1 2 3

Baby NinJa got a change today with Daddy reading her her daily book. Another book by Pamela Allen, much better going this time with numbers but still a wavering of attention towards the end.


13.11.11

Book Pledge Day 15: A Gardener's Alphabet

It's amazing how there are 26 things in the garden that make up the alphabet. I was amazed; Baby NinJa not so. But she did like the illustrations!


12.11.11

Book Pledge Day 14: The Way I Love You

I loved this book! And Baby NinJa was so taken by the drawings of the little girl and her dog. You'd usually expect a little boy with his dog so it was a beautiful, unexpected change to see what happens between a little girl and her best friend.


11.11.11

Book Pledge Day 13: Feeling Fine

Great way to introduce kids to feelings but perhaps not quite yet for Baby NinJa...who I hope will stay in the Happy category for as long as possible...


10.11.11

Book Pledge Day 12: My First ABC

ABC with Pamela Allen involves alphabets with pictures from her books so some of the examples used are uncommon. We only got to L for Lion before Baby NinJa got distracted so I ended up just reading the rest out loud.
p/s - Guess who's wee little fingers are trying to get the book?


9.11.11

Book Pledge Day 11: One is a Drummer

It's not often that you get a rhyming numbers book that reflects the Chinese culture. This one has dragon boats, dim sum, mahjong and bamboo! The bright and colourful illustrations caught Baby NinJa's attention straight from the start! Or maybe it was her fascination with drums...


8.11.11

Book Pledge Day 10: Duck to the Rescue

Such a simple but wonderful book! I never knew there was a 'Duck in a Truck' series and Baby NinJa loved pointing at Duck's truck and Sheep's Jeep! We're gonna hafta find more of Jez Alborough's work methinks!


7.11.11

Book Pledge Day 9: Fifteen Animals

Sandra Boynton is a favourite read of Baby NinJa and I. Her silly rhymes put a smile on our face! But I must admit, I was a wee bit disappointed with this one...it wasn't as funny as the rest. Oh well...


6.11.11

Book Pledge Day 8: Count

Did we unintentionally end up picking books about counting and numbers? This book counts to 5 with a little blue bird. The birds and the trees would make beautiful wall decals while teaching numbers to little ones. Simple, repetitive and pretty


5.11.11

Book Pledge Day 7: One, Two, Skip a Few

Rhymes rhymes everywhere!
But no idea how to count! ;)

But still, Baby NinJa and I enjoyed the more familiar rhymes like '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, once I caught a fish alive' and 'there were 10 in a bed'. A repeat borrow in the future for sure!


Book Pledge Day 6: 1 2 3

Ahhh...a busy day of playing with Alexis enjoying the company of her little friends so this post is a wee bit late.

But we still did our book pledge with the Cuddlepot & Snugglebum series. This time it was numbers with May
Gibbs' Gumnut Babies. A very sweet numbers book, perfect for little girls with pink flowers and flutterbys. Too bad Baby NinJa isn't into pastels!


2.11.11

Book Pledge Day 5: Up In The Tree

Oh, what a delightful book. Margaret Atwood has done a brilliant job with this book. Maybe a tad too long for Baby NinJa but a delightful read nonetheless. Two thumbs up!


Book Pledge Day 4: To the Island!

After yesterday's high, Baby NinJa was not interested at all in today's book. Perhaps there was too much blue...


1.11.11

Book Pledge Day 3: Bertie and The Bear

Score! We have a winner. Baby NinJa loved this book and all the sounds the characters made...it made her giggle :)


31.10.11

Book Pledge Day 2: What The Sky Knows

Absolutely gorgeous book. I love the pictures in this book! But perhaps a wee bit too arty farty for Baby NinJa.


30.10.11

Book Pledge Day 1: Carrots or Peas?

Cute idea...but the faces were too distracting! Baby NinJa just wanted to play with the faces!


28.10.11

Will this work?

If this works, I think we will do our Book Pledge here!

24.1.11

The Hardest Thing...

Ahhh...it's been awhile since I've been blogging. Perhaps it's time to
change from the Weekender Moo to the Once In A Blue Moon (if you're
lucky) Moo. But regularly blogging is not the hardest thing.

I'm sure there's going to be other things that come later that are
hard but this seems insurmountable at the moment. I never thought that
this would be as hard as it is...but it is.

I can't seem to bring myself to leave the house with baby.

When you put that in type, geez, it sounds like I have a condition or
some phobia. I never thought that I'd be one of these people who's
life would stop once baby came.

But it has. Well, for the time being anyway.

Doing anything ordinary seems hard. Anything ordinary is
extraordinary. Having a shower, cooking a meal, sleep...oh how I miss
sleep. Like they say, you don't realise how much you miss something
till it's gone.

But still, that isn't as hard as leaving the house.

I've gone out with mom + baby and hubby + baby but not just me + baby.
I don't know what it is...maybe it's the fear of not being able to
handle her...or of breastfeeding in a strange place...I don't know.

But I must do it. Mom will be going home soon...so I have a deadline...

Can I do it?

2.1.11

Baby's First New Year

Ahhh...already, she's been with us for 12 days...and already our worlds have been turned upside down, inside out, round and round. Its been more amazing, frustrating, tiring, rewarding, crazy, unbelievable, stressful (you name it, we've probably gone through it) all rolled up in these 12 days than anything that we've possibly been through in any 12-day period.

And like true new parents, we welcomed the New Year by being asleep. Hubby and I went to bed at the same time (early!) since it had been an exhausting day of cleaning up after baby (she threw up twice! Once over her Nanna and the other time all over her cot) and had the momentous occasion of having her umbilical cord come off.

But what I found amazing given how tired we had both been is how we shared a moment in the middle of the night. For some reason, I had awakened and hubby had awakened at the same time and we just turned in bed and looked at each other...it was like something had made us both get up at the same time and made us look at each other. Something passed between us, I don't know what it was - it was fleeting, unspoken and beautiful...and before I knew it, we've both leaned into each other to share a New Year's kiss. And then we both went back to sleep...so unexpected, so simple yet so meaningful. I think so anyway...

So I hope you've managed to spend this New Years' with your loved ones, be it awake or asleep, in bed or out and about somewhere out there. Make some memories to cherish with each other and have a year ahead that sticks in your mind as a special one (or resolve to make it a special one).

Happy 2011!