Random Web Links

I've come across a couple good articles/blog posts lately that I've enjoyed or found helpful, so I thought I'd pass them along.


Why Johnny Can't Name His Colors
I love this article because the first sentence under the title starts with - "No, the kid's probably not color blind."  When we started working on colors with Alex, Michael immediately thought he might be color blind because it didn't click right away.  I laughed at him & didn't worry about it.  I don't know about all the developmental stages of kids & how quickly they learn their colors, but it just didn't bother me.  I just figured it was kind of confusing for a kid.  He's just learning what objects are.  Now he has to understand a descriptive word about them?  In addition to big, small, etc?  Wouldn't a kid think "Wait, you said this was a truck.  Now you're saying it's blue?"  Anyway, this article talked about trying a different approach.  Instead of saying "This is a blue truck", you say "This truck is blue."  You put the color after the noun instead of before.  I shared this article with Michael, so we could try it out (and so I could convince him that Alex is NOT color blind).  I have to say, Alex has gotten noticeably better with colors!  He occasionally gets it wrong but he gets it right more often than not.  Very interesting!  On a side note, I love how he says yellow.  Yey-yo.  So cute.


A Candid List of Things to Do in the Last Weeks of Pregnancy
Obviously this list caught my eye since I'm coming up on those last weeks of pregnancy.  Some of the things are TMI for those who haven't been pregnant or probably for all men, but the tips are helpful if you're getting ready to have a baby.  You need to know these things. 


Five Unexpected Ways to Help a New Mom
Another good article considering my current state.  I really like all these ideas & hope to remember them the next time a friend has a baby.  Like she says, everyone is different but I like the idea of offering more specific help to a new mom.  If someone asks me what they can do to help, I typically automatically respond with - oh, nothing, I'm fine.  It's like it comes out of my mouth before I even think about it.  I don't want to get bossy & tell someone to do a load of laundry for me when they were just being polite.  I'd probably be more likely to accept help if someone said - I'm at the store, do you need anything?  And I like the idea of bringing snacks to someone.  In case anyone is taking notes, I pretty much like all the snack foods she listed in her article.  Ha!  Also, I enjoy visitors - mainly just their company.  It made me feel more normal to sit & visit with a friend/family member.  The nights were always lonely with no one to talk to.  So, if anyone feels like keeping me company at 3 am, just let me know!   J


We have a big weekend of Christmas parties & our little guy's SECOND birthday party.  But hopefully I'll get some more posts up in the near future.  It's time for an Alex update - can't believe A) my baby is about to be two & B) I'm about to have another baby!  It's also a little surreal to think this will probably be my last pregnancy.  We're leaving the option open in case we decide we want three, but we're content with the idea of two for now.  To be honest, I really can't come up with much I'll miss about pregnancy.  I'm not one of those women who loves being pregnant.  I don't have bad pregnancies.  It's just not my favorite.  Totally worth the result, of course, but I'm not sad to know this might be the last time.  I think I'll be more emotional knowing this might be my last journey with a baby.  I love watching Alex grow but I'm looking forward to snuggling a teeny baby again.  Hopefully I can remind myself of this when I'm exhausted in the middle of the night & would give anything to sleep eight straight hours - ha.