Baby Book of the Week: Newbery Edition

Yesterday's post was getting a bit too long for my tastes, so I decided to bring the reading fun to you over two days. Today I'll talk about the Newbery Medal winner and honorees. Note that these books are for older readers (the books below range from ages 8 and up), so use your own judgement when reading to your little ones!

"The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." [Source]


The 2013 award went to The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, about a gorilla named Ivan who befriends a baby elephant named Ruby. Newbery Medal Committee Chair Steven Engelfried says this about the book: “Katherine Applegate gives readers a unique and unforgettable gorilla’s-eye-view of the world that challenges the way we look at animals and at ourselves.”

Three other children's books were awarded a Newbery Honor, as well - Splendors and Gloom, Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, and Three Times Lucky.

Missed yesterday's post? Click here to read about the Caldecott winners.

Books Mentioned Above 

Title: The One and Only Ivan
Author and Illustrator: Katherine Applegate and Patricia Castelao
Pages: 300
Format: Hardcover

Title: Splendors and Glooms
Author: Laura Amy Schlitz
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover

Title: Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
Author: Steve Sheinkin
Pages: 272
Format: Hardcover

Title: Three Times Lucky
Author: Sheila Turnage
Pages: 312
Format: Hardcover

Baby Book of the Week: Caldecott Edition

This week Norah and I are reading classic Dr. Seuss: Yertle the Turtle. Like most Dr. Seuss books, this story has a lesson - even the little people wayyyyy at the bottom of the pile have rights. It's a great thing to learn, and one I'm sure we're explain using this story when she begins to understand a little better. Right now, it's just fun to read the rhymes!

In other book news, the Caldecott and Newbery Awards came out.



The Caldecott Medal "was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." [Source]



This year, the award went to This is Not my Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen. Caldecott Chair Sandra Imdieke had this to say about it: “With minute changes in eyes and the slightest displacement of seagrass, Klassen’s masterful illustrations tell the story the narrator doesn’t know.”

Caldecott Honors also went to Creepy Carrots, Extra Yarn, Green, One Cool Friend and Sleep Like a Tiger.


Even though work is crazy right now, I still managed to get in some reading of my own. I finished a book called Unravel Me about a 17 year old girl with the power to kill people with just her touch. . It is a sequel and it ended on a cliffhanger that has me frothing at the mouth for the next book in the series.

After that, I started Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I am only about 6% in, but so far it has me guessing. It is written in first person and switches between the current story narrated by Nick (the husband) and the past - also written in first person, but told through the diary entries of Amy (the wife).  This style makes me want to keep reading to find out what, if anything, Nick is hiding about the disappearance of his wife.

Please stay tuned for tomorrow's post where I'll talk about the other big winners this week: The Newbery!

Books Mentioned in This Post

Title: Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
Author: Dr. Seuss
Format: Hardcover

Title: This Is Not My Hat
Author and Illustrator: Jon Klassen
Pages: 40
Format: Hardcover

Title: Creepy Carrots!
Author and Illustrator: Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown
Pages: 40
Format: Hardcover

Title: Extra Yarn
Author and Illustrator: Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Pages: 40
Format: Hardcover

Title: Green
Author and Illustrator:Laura Vaccaro Seger
Pages: 36
Format: Hardcover

Title: One Cool Friend
Author and Illustrator: Toni Buzzeo and David Small
Pages: 32
Format: Hardcover

Title: Sleep Like a Tiger
Author and Illustrator: Mary Logue and Pamela Zagarenski
Pages: 40
Format: Hardcover

Title: Unravel Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Pages: 461
Format: Hardcover

Title: Gone Girl: A Novel
Author: Gillian Flynn
Pages: 419
Format: Hardcover

Weekend Recap - 2.25.13

Another week has passed us by, but we had lots of excitement here.

First up, on Saturday Norah and I went to a wedding shower for my husband's cousin. There were plenty of people there to give her kisses and waves (her new favorite thing), but I think she found the whole thing just a bit overwhelming. Four hours in a high chair is just not something she's into. Now that she's learning to walk, she wants to practice all the time. The car ride home took about forty minutes and she slept right through it!










On Sunday we celebrated Poppy's birthday by going out to breakfast and then having cake (yes, we're bad, we had cake for lunch). Norah must be going through a super growth spurt because she ate the following before noon:

• 1 container of yoToddler yogurt
• Half an orange
• Half a pancake
• A handful (mine, not hers) of Cheerios
• A few bites of my ham and egg omelette
• A quarter of a piece of toast
• About 10 blueberry puffs
• 12 oz of formula

Phew! This little bugger is going to eat us out of house and home if we're not careful!

Sunday afternoon meant working from home for me, so Norah and Dad went to the supermarket. From what he tells me, she made lots of friends while she was there.

Have a great week, everyone!

Milestone Alert: Eleven Months

Man oh man is time flying by! Norah is 11 months old today!


Now that we're fast approaching the one year mark, we're integrating more food and less formula into Norah's diet. This past weekend she drank all her four ounce bottles out of a sippy cup, too! That was huge since she she's been struggling with the straw. Now we just have to get bigger ones so she can drink more than four ounces at a time!

This is her basic routine right now:

Wake up at 6:30 am

Breakfast at 7:30 am
4 ounces formula
1 package of Gerber Graduates Breakfast Buddies - Apple Cinnamon Cereal

Nap for about a half hour around 9:30 am

6 ounces formula when she wakes up

Lunch at 12:30 pm
4 ounces formula
1/2 package of Gerber Graduates toddler food (Example: Gerber Graduates, Mac & Cheese with Chicken & Vegetables )
handful of puffs or Yogurt Melts

Nap around 2 pm

6 ounces formula when she wakes up

Dinner at 6 pm
4 ounces formula
Whatever we are eating for dinner cut up into small pieces (Example: Last night we had tortellini and meatballs so I just cut them up and let her eat while we ate)
Fruit Yogurt melts

Sleep at 7:30 pm

We can't wait to see what the next month has in store for us!

Weekend Recap - 2.18.13

So, what did everyone do this weekend? Here in NJ it was back to a very cold 28 degrees. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time outside!

On Saturday we ventured out to a children's museum right around the corner from our house called The Garden State Discovery Museum. Norah had fun, but most of the exhibits were geared towards older kids. I think we'll hold off on heading back to this place until the summer, on a day where it's not overrun with birthday parties.

Sunday morning means grocery shopping. We've gotten into the routine of heading to the store as soon as Norah eats breakfast. This turns a usually stressful afternoon trip into a good experience. The only other people in the store at this early hour are other parents. It makes it a lot easier if Norah starts freaking out. At least these other people understand. This week it's Norah, next week it might be their child!

On Sunday afternoon I tried to do some artwork with Norah. It didn't turn out so well. She really hates the feel of paint on her hands.



I know this is a three day weekend for most, but it's back to work for me today. Norah will have a daddy-daughter day since daycare is closed for training. She's going to hang out with her friend Colleen. And when I say hang out, I mean they'll just play with toys in the same room and barely acknowledge each others existence (except when one picks up a toy the other one wants.)

Hope everyone has a nice week!

Baby Book of the Week: Story Time for Lamb

I think this book might contain the cutest illustrations I've ever seen. It's about a lamb that is getting ready to go to bed, but before he does, the mother lamb reads him a story. The colors in the book are very vibrant and when Norah gets to an age where she can sit in our laps and read along, I think she'll appreciate this. 

Overall, it's a great short read to get in before bed. I hate putting her down without a story and this is perfect for those nights when she's getting grumpy or it's past bedtime.

Title: Story Time for Lamb
Author: Michael Dahl
Illustrator: Oriol Vidal
Pages: 20
Format: Board Book
Check out the whole Hello Genius series here.

The Liebster Award

Happy weekend, everyone. Today is a special bonus post, since I don't normally post on the weekend.

Rachael over at The Revolution of Stay at Home Mom found my blog and gave me an award. For those of you who aren't immersed in the blogging world like I am, from time to time, other bloggers give these out so you can find links to blogs of like-minded people. It's also a nice way to tell someone you like their blog!

So now that this award has passed on to me, I must pass it on to others.

The Rules 

• Share 11 facts about myself 
• Answer 11 questions from the blogger that nominated you 
• Nominate 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers for the award 
• Create 11 questions for nominees to answer Link back to the person who nominated you

11 Facts About Me

• I work full time as a tax accountant.
• Even though it sucks to clean your car off, I love the snow.
• I don't like swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. It is cold and murky and I have a constant fear of getting bitten by a jelly fish.
• My favorite part of travelling is packing. I like to challenge myself to fit everything in the smallest bag possible. Last year we went to Hawaii for almost two weeks and my bag was so small that if I my husband wasn't already checking his bag, I would have just did carry on.
• If I had unlimited money, I think I'd retire on the Big Island of Hawaii. 
• I don't know how to drive a manual transmission.
• Cooking is one of my favorite ways to relieve stress.
• Though I love cooking, I cannot make a pancake to save my life. They always come out flat and spongy tasting. Even if I use the exact same ingredients that my husband does.
• I love entertaining and DIY party crafts.
• I really can't believe that Norah will be one next month. It blows my mind how fast this last year went.
• This summer we're going on a beach vacation with friends. I'm excited to see how Norah reacts to the ocean. Hopefully she does not share my fear of swimming in it!

11 Answers
When's the last time you laughed until your cheeks hurt? 
Not sure if my cheeks hurt, but last Saturday when we were playing Taboo. The clues were very "interesting".

What's the best advice you've ever received? 
When it comes to raising your child, you will always know best. Listen to what others have to say to gain perspective, but in the end, it is your decision to make and no one else's.

Which activities make you lose track of time? 
Cooking and browsing the internet.

When's the last time you tried something new? 
Just this week I set up my new sewing machine. Haven't started any projects yet, but I stitched some fabric together to practice a straight line.

If money wasn't a factor what would you be doing right now?
Travelling.

What's your favorite song of all time? 
All time? Wow, that's a hard one. I can't really pick so I'll give you my favorite song right now: Radioactive by Imagine Dragons.

What's something that you wish you could do more of? 
I'd like to cook more and spend more time with Norah. Also, sleep. Sleep would be great.

What's the last book you read? 
Currently 75% through the last released book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, Dance with Dragons.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? 
I always wanted to be a lawyer. Ended up being the next closest thing, accountant.

What do you believe in, without question.
Hard work always yields results.

What is something that most people would be surprised to learn about you?
Two years ago I started writing a book, but never finished editing it.

11 Bloggers
Hot Buttered
The Mommy Games
Stop, Drop and Blog
My Semi True Story
Mommy Call
Martha Wills
Still a Dancing Queen
Writing Pad Dad
Ittybits & Pieces - she already got a Liebster last week, but I like her blog, so I'm nominating her again. Check out her answers here.
Wages Wonderful Wacky World
OhBoyMom

11 questions

1. What is your favorite holiday?
2. Who is your favorite celebrity?
3. What is playing on your radio/ipod/iphone/other audio player of choice right this moment?
4. What's your favorite part of blogging?
5. What do you do for a living?
6. What is your favorite place to vacation?
7. What's your favorite food?
8. What food can't you stand?
9. If you had to live somewhere other than where you live right now for the rest of your life, where would it be?
10. What are the last three books you've read?
11. Where is your favorite place to shop?

I already linked her at the top, but please make sure you visit Racheal's blog, The Revolution of Stay at Home Mom. She has lots of great things to say!

Flashback Friday: 2.1.13

Can you believe it's February already? I sure can't! This is the last month we'll be able to say to Norah, "Wow, you've never been alive in this month before!"

In March she'll turn one, and I'm sure I'll have many exciting posts about what I'm planning for her birthday, so stay tuned.

Today we'll flash back all the way to last February. This is what Norah looked like then.

Happy Friday, everyone!