I'm looking for some recommendations for (children's mainly) Christmas CD's. I have a handful of my own 'adult' favorites (Handel's Messiah and anything seasonal that NPR plays being at the top of the list, followed by some Brickman and Mannheim Steamroller) that I rarely get to listen to as it is, but I'd like to find a few more CD's for the kids. We currently own John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together, which I have positively adored since I was a young, young child listening to it on a cassette tape, or maybe even a record! There's something about John Denver...I get all misty and reminiscent every time I hear his voice. His music is so soothing and meaningful. Maybe I'm weird. Any other John Denver fans out there? We also have VeggieTales 25 Favorite Christmas Songs, and I really like it as well. Lots of traditional (and some not-so-traditional) carols with a fun "Veggie" spin on them. But that's all we have. Lame, I know. The kids really do enjoy both of them a lot, but I just think it would be nice to broaden our musical horizons a bit, so I'm opening the floor for recommendations. Please share your favorite children's Christmas CD's in the comments section below!!
Gemma was making some music in the kitchen while I was cooking the other day, and Kolbe wanted to join in too. It was so cute to see him trying to imitate her.
I decided I needed to do a Gemma post, just to update on some of the things she's been up to. I will number them, because it helps my brain feel more organized that way. And heaven knows it's all about me. (haha, joking, for anyone who may be new around here and not used to me ;-D)1. Playtime. She is getting really into independent play, and can keep herself entertained with minimal help from me all morning sometimes. Sometimes not (and that's fine too, we enjoy playing and reading together). But some days she just does great and that makes for good productive mornings for both of us. Her favorite thing is playing with her brown bear, bunny and baby. They do three things: eat, take naps and take baths. Time and time again. She uses a mixture of her things and my/Kolbe's things and it is just so cute to watch her little imagination at work. "Baby" seems to be at about the same developmental level as Kolbe currently. Funny. Here are some pictures of what she does. I just think it's so cute.
2. Drawing. She doesn't draw much, but once in awhile with either her magnadoodle or markers... or my pen. (which is apparently a super-cool thing to do. Now you know.) But she always draws the same thing. A bunch of circles with little dots in them. Every time. I am sure there is some deep psychological reason for why she does this, but I just think it's cute.
3. Eating. So she's never been terribly good at this, but that's nothing new. Some days are better than others. We roll with it. She seems to be maintaining/gaining weight and following a growth curve, and what she does eat is reasonably healthy so it works. Now that Koble is using the highchair she has decided that she likes to use it again sometimes too. As long as he doesn't need it at the time that's fine with me. I think she looks like a giant in it. And yes, for the record, she is dipping her quesadilla in ketchup. And the bib? All her request. Silly girl!
4. Beads. She built a "cage" for her fish. She loves these beads (they were mine as a child) and always uses them to build cages for things. Besides baby, et al, they are the other toy that typically comes out every day. I have taken a pretty minimalistic approach when it comes to toys, and I really like it that way (and the kids don't seem to mind either). It works.
5. Prayer time. She is very diligent about this and will even remind me when it's time for prayers, or just announce that it's prayer time and start getting our things out. I like that it is becoming habit. We finally got Kolbe his own Rosary (um, chew-toy) so he would quit trying to grab ours. She's done pretty well at letting him have it too, which kind of surprised me.
6. Helper. She continues to be a great help to me. I asked her to get diapers out of the dryer the other day and then kind of forgot about it. I stumbled over the laundry basket a few hours later to find that she had stacked them up in a neat little pile, all even and tidy. No idea where she gets it.
7. Singing/Music. No pics. Sorry! And no video either. I know, I know... Still in love with her Nursery Rhymes, but she has started doing this funny thing where instead of the regular words she will randomly substitute Kolbe's name. It is odd. But cute. We have split her music CD's into playtime and sleepytime music. "This Old Man" or "Mulberry Bush" screeching over and over on loop all night was just getting to be too much (for me, and I'm guessing for her too although she'd never admit it). She's doing fine with it though. Our favorite nighttime CD's are Sleep Sound in Jesus and Twila Paris' Lullabies. If you're looking for more good sleepy-time music, A Child's Gift of Lullabies and Jim Brickman's Hope have been other favorites at our house.8. Little Bear. We have several of these books from when I was a child, and have checked out several more from the library. She really likes these books and stories a lot. The other night DH and I were searching for something on the DVR and saw "Little Bear" so we curiously checked it out (it was part of the free OnDemand that we apparently get) and it was indeed little bear. THE Little Bear. There were a handful of 25 minute episodes of Little Bear, each containing four short stories (just as the books do). We really don't do any regular TV with Gemma (besides her and her daddy watching random clips of "funnies" (America's Funniest Home Videos) together for 5-10 minutes some evenings). We've showed her a few of the Little Bear episodes though, and she definitely thought they were pretty neat (as in, they held her attention and she talked about them later). They are well done in my opinion, and I don't mind letting her watch them occasionally. It's nice to know that they are available on the DVR.
9. Library. We have been making weekly trips to the library for awhile now. The girl loves her some books and we have found the library to just be such a treasure. I love being able to search their catalog online and request specific books (for instance, we have lots of Autumn/pumpkin/apple themed books coming up soon). And she enjoys the diversity. Currently in our baskets/on our end-tables are anything Seuss, various Nursery Rhyme books and this sweet legend by Tomie dePaola. I recently requested a new book from Sophia entitled The Temperament God Gave You and I am really looking forward to it. It discusses the four personality types from a Catholic standpoint. My husband and I talk often about personalities. I think that if more people had a better understanding of their own and others' personalities, we'd all get along better. But I digress. And this is getting super long. Thanks for hanging with us! Now you are current on all things GEMMA!
