these are a few of my favorite things

No raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but here are a few of Caroline's latest 'favorite things':

bubble wrap

Think I could make her a helmet out of bubble wrap?
Fun + safety = two birds, one stone!

This was an idea I got off a parenting/educational website. She loves the squeaky feel of the plastic and the bumpy texture of the bubble wrap. Yesterday I showed her how the bubbles can be popped...that was a big hit in her book!

http://youtu.be/4WatzvRn-8Q


plastic bag

No need to recycle our bags anymore...voila, instant toy!

Continuing her interest in items that are not supposed to be toys, she loooves plastic bags. It's terribly unfortunate that all the bags are stamped with CAUTION! KEEP BAG AWAY FROM BABIES AND CHILDREN! because that is exactly what she wants to play with. The smooth feel of the plastic and the crinkly noise make it a magnet to her little hands. Not to worry, last time I checked neither Bill nor I had any inkling to leave the baby unattended for a few hours with a plastic bag thus risking imminent death of suffocation.

sitting up

Look ma, no helmet! Sitting up without protective headgear!

Now that all her crunches have paid off and her little tummy is a powerful muscle, she wants to sit up all.the.time. In her bouncer. In her crib. In the bathtub. On the changing pad. It is a constant struggle to keep her horizontal for the entire 60 seconds it takes to change a diaper or an outfit. But when she's not sitting straight up, she prefers to strike a sideways lounging pose. 

Why hello there....

dogs

Caroline: "You're my best friend Winnie!"
Winnie: "The feeling is not mutual."

Preferably ours, but any dog or dog-themed item will do. One of her favorite books is 'Doggies', a counting book that includes 10 different dogs and their different barks. She loves it when Winnie barks. She grins at him and talks to him and tries to reach for him....and he just gives her the cold shoulder.


fishies

She still loves her tropical aquarium on tv. I let her watch it once a day and she is just as enthralled as the first time she saw it. We are in BIG TROUBLE if we have any problems with our DVR and the fishy show gets erased.

bath time

I'm almost ready to go to the big-girl tub! No more
baby tub for me soon!

Always a beloved pastime, she eagerly anticipates bath time. I sing the same little bath song to her every time she's about to get a bath, so she knows what it means now. When I put her on the floor and start undressing her and sing the song she gets quite excited. And the excitement continues in the tub. I can't wait till we have a house with a yard one day so I can put her in a little kiddie pool. She would think she's died and gone to heaven.


Although she's pretty easy-going for the most part, she has a few definite dislikes as well. Including:

turkey baby food

http://youtu.be/Fnwp2bKIUOQ

No explanation needed, and I can't say I blame her. I gave it a whiff and almost gagged myself. I think I've smelled more pleasant odors emanating from my garbage disposal.

bedtime

trying to escape the instrument of torture

It's been hit-or-miss lately in getting her to go to sleep. Some nights, she dozes off when we're bouncing/rocking, and she doesn't wake up when I put her in the crib. Some nights, she does. And then the crying ensues. Some nights she screams bloody murder when Bill tries to put her down. Sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes she goes to bed fine, but then wakes up an hour later and the crying cycle begins then.We just can't figure out what the deciding factor is. What I DO know is that Bill was having zero success putting her to bed until I suggested that he wear one of my tshirts, thinking maybe we could trick her into thinking it was me. He stuffed himself into one of my old Phi Mu shirts, made a few wisecracks about going to grub/Bogie's/a keg party, and then attempted to put her to bed. Worked like a charm! Out like a light in less than 5 minutes! Looks like the ole sorority girl might still have a few tricks up her sleeve after all...