I did use Baby Signs and my little daughter loved it!  Not only did she love it, but as I learned more and signed with her more, as well as her dad, we were able to communicate with her in ways that wouldn't have been possible without it.  She was able to tell us all kinds of things from lights she saw and her desire to read a book to wanting more of what she was eating or that she was all done her meal.  It was great!  I believe that giving her the ability to communicate with us before she could talk was one of the best things we could have done for her.  It was amazing to my husband and me how much a little person thinks about before they can speak their thoughts!  Whatever program you choose, have fun with it and you will not regret it.  My daughter is now a few months over 2 and talks a mile a minute mostly in complete sentences.  Although I love the new things she says, I cherish those moments of early communication!

Very inspiring!  I, too, would like to know where you got the blank board books from.  I love how you made it interactive!

I just had that question last night when I bought mine, and they do give you a product license key for up to 2 computers.  I downloaded it on both my desktop, where most of my pictures are saved, and my laptop, so that I can move around with my computer.  The only problem is that what I save on the one computer doesn't show up on the other, of course.   So my personalized lists are only on one computer.  Anyone know a way around this?

I just bought my LR last night!  I'm so excited!    Now I am able to see the downloads.  What a library we have available!  I now actually think I'm going to teach her words by category, like in LR.  This actually makes sense to me, because, as my daughter recalls the meaning of words, she can associate them with a category of things in her mind.  Now, when I teach her "gorilla"  she'll associate it with "animals"  instead of a random grouping of words.  I love it!  Thanks for giving the links nteoyp!

Wow!  Purplefungi, you are an absolute inspiration.  You seem to really have a handle on this. I hope to one day have it all worked out like that and still keep joyous about it all!

I spent some time looking into Montessori philosophy for my little girl.  I think I might check out the website.  Thanks for the tip!

I remember when I was pregnant, someone told me about putting a black and white display over my baby's crib for stimulation.  I hadn't heard about that before, so I didn't do it.  Now I wonder what the difference could have been if I had.  Like
ZaJa,  I definitely think I will with my next one, too.

Hello!  I suppose I should have started here, but I got so excited about joining brillkids that I just jumped right in!  I consider it a pleasure to be in conversation with parents from around the world who are interested in bettering their children's lives from the start through a love of learning.  I'm actualy a 5th grade teacher, so love of learning is what I do for all kids I come in contact with!  It's really interesting to me to be on the side of the parent now, not just the teacher.  I love being a mommy and I look forward to the journey my husband, my litle girl and I are embarking!

Dear mother of faith,
It's hard when you have to explain to little one about moving.  You were right to say once is enough!  That was good of you to trust your mommy instincts! If you have time to have him get used to his toddler bed before you move, that might help with the transition.  Then he'd already be used to the bed before he had a new room.  Then there would be something familiar in a new place.  But if you don't have time, remember that babies are still quite resiliant.  He'll be just fine.  Especially with a mommy so attentive that she thought of putting a camera in his room to see if he was sleeping.  (I would have thought the same thing.)  Happy moving!

I remember reading in Doman's book on teaching reading that once a week or so you can play a game where you hold up two cards and ask your child show you which one is the one you are looking for.  For example, hold up the "gorilla" card and a "bubble" card and ask "which one is the gorilla?"  Rather than repeatedly saying "What does that say?"  If she makes a mistake and points to the wrong one, don't say no, just say " you meant THIS one, right? The gorilla!"  Then lots of hugs and kisses.  I think he calls it make choices.  Stay joyous and good luck!

I don't plan on telling many people either.  I am really glad to have found this site, too!  I haven't met anyone else in person who is doing this, and when I tell people that Bri is already reading, they look at em like I'm a crazy mom. Then they change the subject.  So, I don't plan on bringing it up.  It's kind of sad, though, because it should be something that is common place, not abnormal.  If only more people knew about the possiblities when they start to help develop an early love of reading, math, etc.!

I had to laugh when I saw this, because I just went through this with my daughter on Sunday!      I had the same questions.  When I asked my pediatrician, she said that it's advised to move them into a toddler bed at 18 months, or when your child starts to show signs that he/she can climb out of the crib. She also said that the reason you want to move them when they can climb out of the crib is because if they try to get out when they are sleepy, they can hurt themselves.  If they can actually get out completely, your time is up no matter how old they are.  By the way, my daughter is 24 months, but I didn't ask this question until her 2 year appointment because she just started climbing out of the crib. We didn't know we had passed the recommended time table! Our time was up so we had to move fast!

As for moving around and not sleeping, when I searched the web for what other mothers had experienced, some said that their child moved around in the dark a lot on the first night, then less and less as the room became less of a "wonderland".  One mother left a nightlight on so her child wouldn't hurt himself while exploring. 

Here's what I did:
First I did an extra thorough check for child safety, like tethering dressers to the wall and such, sliding outlet covers, etc.  (they sell great outlet covers at onestepahead.com)  Then I had my daughter help with the transition.  Since I have a convertible crib, she helped with changing the bed from a crib to a "big girl bed".  She helped loosen the screws and remove the front rail, etc.  Then she did jump on it a bit because she was so excited.  But then, when it's been time for bed, I read to my daughter, and sing to her in the dark, our normal bedtime routine, until she gets REALLY sleepy before I would put her down.  On the first night, by the time I put her in the bed, she was so tired, she didn't feel like exploring I suppose! It's only been a week, but so far she's only gotten out of her bed once to get a book!  Otherwise, she's stayed there!  I also chose not to use our nightlight, because she doesn't normally use one, and I didn't want her to suddenly become aware of all the things she can see in her room at night.   I hope some of that helped! Good luck! 

Thanks for the replies!  I haven't puchased Little Reader yet.  I think I would need that to see the uploads.  It really looks like a great program, and it would be nice to have something I could personalize.     

I was in the midst of personalizing my daughter's new words to use when I realized that since I'm using YBCR as well, I didn't want to overlap words she has seen or will soon see.  Has anyone already listed the words covered in this program so that I can make sure I don't repeat them?

Can't wait to try them!