Happy Monkey-ween!

Our little monkey's first Halloween. He's unhappy because he can't eat the Snickers or Butterfingers.

And October Makes 8 (Months)

The handsome feller with his mouth full of cereal puffs hit the 8-month mark today. Lookin' good, Little Guy! We've got plenty of time to work on those table manners. Enjoy messy eating while it's still socially acceptable for you!

High Aspirations

Every mountain-climber has to start somewhere. It won't be long before GrandBoy's scaling tall bookshelves and jumping off.

Ah, the adventures of toddler-hood!

I love the look of "Uh-oh! Busted!" in the top picture.

Then he turns on the old smiley-charm in the second one.

Yes, it won't take him long to figure out how to climb to the top of anything with a suitable hand-hold/foot-hold.

My advice? Make the house as safe as possible. Anchor everything to the wall. Train the dogs to provide cushion when Liam falls. Stock up on band-aids.

Then do what my mother did: say a little prayer and just don't watch.

Congratulations and best of luck in all of your new mobility ventures, Liam buddy!

Look At My Two New Teeth, Everybody!

Trading Pictures for Words

An article in the New York Times today reported that based on sales figures and research, picture books are no longer a staple for children. (Clarificaton of my original post.) I find that incredibly sad if it's true. Seems parents are pushing their young children to put down the colorful, imaginative picture books and move on to reading chapter books. Not that chapter books aren't imaginative - they are, if the reader is old enough to understand the concepts and situations.

But, oh, what those children are missing by not being allowed to wallow in divine illustrations and limited text! All the different types of illustration genres, all the opportunity to breathe life into pictures on a page through imagination, all the beyond-words experiences - missed, to push a child ever onward as quickly as possible. It makes me want to weep. Who are these parents?

Yes, Goodnight, Moon and Dr. Seuss still sell well, but fewer and fewer new offerings are flying off the shelves.

I suggest building up your young child's picture book library. Don't know where to start? Go to the local book store and spend time looking at picture books. My bet is that you'll get stuck there and never want to come out. But if you need more ideas, the New York Public Library has a list of 100 essential picture books here. What memories that list brought back! Strega Nona, Make Way for Ducklings, Corduroy, Miss Nelson is Missing . . . and so many more.

Children's picture books are one of the most creative mediums on the face of the earth. What rich experiences are missed if those picture books are tossed aside for chapter books too soon! Picture books encourage conversation and figuring things out and "this is what I see." Who wants to miss those conversations with your children and grandchildren?

Not me.

Pulled This Way and That

I am an absentee GrandMary. Well, "absentee" is not the right word; I am a long-distance GrandMary. That's not so unusual. Many grandparents and grandchildren live in different places, separated by miles and mountains and rivers, skyscrapers and strip malls. It's a hard thing.  Even with phone calls, digital pictures coming through email, and Skype, I'm not there to lend another pair of hands, arms, and eyes when needed, or to take advantage of opportunities to attend fall festivals, church events, or a restaurant meal with the family.

I have a job I love in New York City - 850 miles from Atlanta and GrandBoy. Jobs of any kind are hard to come by in this economy, especially for someone my age. Just quitting and heading home is not a viable option. Pulling up stakes and heading home would involve all sorts of chaos in all sorts of ways. But I have to weigh that reality with the tug on my heartstrings.

Because I'm so far away, I'm missing family time that I can't get back. Well, boo-hoo. That's true for most people. For whatever reasons, folks who love each other live apart. Fact of life. And face it. Even if I moved back to Atlanta, I'm not sure how that would work, day in, day out, anyway.

Comes with the territory, I reckon. Things are they way they are. Period. I love my job. I love New York. I love Kate and Greg and Liam. I love Atlanta. I suspect it's going to get harder as time goes by, and sooner of later I will want to figure out a way to get back home. But for now I'll have to make do with Skype and email and LGA/ATL plane trips. Ah, me.