Yeah, we are a bit "addicted" to dairy products in this house. My dad's side of the family is from Wisconsin, which is considered to be the cheese state, !  *sigh*  I don't know if cutting out dairy entirely would be an option for us. 

I don't know that I could do the cry it out method either.  I don't think I have it in me and it just doesn't feel right.  Plus, I'm betting that my little girl would make herself sick from crying so hard.  I'll have to see if I can find another way or at least a way I can handle this. 

That's great to know - thanks for sharing!   I might have to get the videos now, since I've been thinking about it for awhile now. 

Sounds like an interesting idea.  I think I would like it more if they were available for purchase in a nice hardcover printed form with stiff pages.  I hate to use my printer for everything. 

Once upon a time, Santa Clause wandered into my garden and dropped his cookies on blue carpet that my sacks of beads fell onto. I picked pickled parsnips from Papa's popular place, then

This is SO cool!  You all have such great ideas!  Thanks!

Wow!  What a helpful reply DomanMom!  Thank you very much... it really clears things up for me and makes a lot of sense.  I wish I had learned all this before I had my daughter so I could have done more.  I certainly have tried to give her lots of opportunities to learn and such and we really do spend a good deal of "quality time" together.  Still, I would have liked to start some things sooner.  Ah well.  I bet I would say that no matter what, !  And I still have a lot of possibility open to us... so there's no more time to lose!  I'm so excited!   

Once upon a time, Santa Clause wandered into my garden and dropped his cookies on blue carpet that my sacks of beads fell onto. I picked pickled parsnips from

What is everyone's recommendation for flashcards? 

Did you make your own, print them, or buy them?

If you made them, how do you do it, what materials do you use, and do you have pictures on them?

If you print them, did you get them from this site or somewhere else? 

If you buy them, where did you buy them from?  Any specific recommendations? 

Thank you!

There was a man called Fred
'Rise and Shine' said he, and got off the bed.

Fred never complains, he is always happy
He smiled and would make his hands clap, clap, clappy

He lives all alone and yet,
There isn't a person he hasn't met!

Every morning, he goes to town,
Where he performs in the circus as a Dare-Devil clown

He can juggle 25 balls
with only one hand while making phone calls

Fred's best at trapeze, where he flies in the air
As his wife Frieda uses her toes to catch him by his hair

Why Frieda and Fred live apart, no one knows
But the truth is fred’s  wife is the best in the women rows

Fred's favourite pastime is to fish by the lake
He'd hook herrings, halibuts, hoki and hake!

Fred likes eating bun , he enjoys the fun
And when he's done, he'll head into the forest for a run

The only thing he won't tell you,

linzy, you're schedule may not be as unique as you think.    

We also aren't far off from that.  K, my daughter, goes to bed anywhere between 9-10pm and used to sleep until 8 or 9am... with one or two times of waking in the middle of the night or early morning.  Lately, ever since the DST change, she wakes around 7-8am, often 7:30am.  Only thing is- you are super lucky to have him take a 3 hour nap!  My dd doesn't even come close to that!

winth, may I ask what you did to "sleep train" him? 

^ My zodiac sign is Scorpio... I suppose that some of it does reflect my personality, but there are a lot of things that don't match up.  I *think* my Chinese sign is the rooster and while I don't know much about Chinese signs, from what I have read, it didn't seem very accurate for me.  Maybe I don't know enough about the signs though.

> It's nearly 3am and I'm still awake.  Ugh.

v What do you do to pamper yourself? 

^  I think I dislike cleaning the bathroom tub the most, with doing the dishes a close second.  The two I don't mind as much are vacuuming and laundry. 

>  I supposed to be studying for a biology final I have on Monday... but I'm on the forums instead.  Eek!

v  What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? 

I think the seeds were planted by two things.  One is that I want the best for my child.  Two is that I've read that you can do a lot to teach your child from very early on.  I didn't know that so much was possible!

What really got me interested in early learning was my daughter!  She amazes me daily with her intelligence and ability, even if it's the smallest thing.  It's normal and natural, but wow is it exciting to see her develop.  I see how she watches me and mimics what I'm doing.  I've witnessed her learn from the world around her.  So why not provide her more opportunities and feed the hunger to learn that she has?  I remember helping her to learn to grasp a colorful ring toy when she was a couple of months old- it was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced in terms of learning!  To see it click for her- to see her understand... wow. 

And now... now I am motivated by the abundance of possibility that exists for her.  By the many tools and fun things we can do together.  She seems to enjoy discovery so much that it is a joy for me to be with her on her journey of learning!