Baby, Oh Baby Super Giveaway!

I do not have a baby anymore.  And that is OK, I am not one of those let me have a baby all the time people.  But I seem to always have babies at my home.  Currently my great niece at 2.5 months old is here.  Accompanied by her 2 year old sister and 8 year old sister.  Add in her mom and dad (my niece and her husband), our own family of 4 adults from ages 23 to 77, it is a pretty full house.  Oh let's not forget the currently 6 dogs and 5 cats too.  Busting at the seams is more like it.  But we all manage to do and it is actually pretty quiet her a lot of the time.  It is during those times that I have a few magic tricks that I can pull out of my hat.
The easy one is to put in a classic movie.  I say classic because it is in these movies that really seem to captivate a child while still entertaining an adult.  To this day I can put in one of these shows and it will bring College Girl on the run to see it too.  She loves singing along especially.  Princess Emma is the dancer instead.  One of these is the great classic of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  And it is going to be that much easier soon.  I can depart from my old cranky VHS copy because it is was released again on November  2 (yes this week) on Blu-Ray and DVD twin set.  Another coming out soon is Santa Paws.  On the 23rd of November we can start making it a family favorite too.  Not hard to do as Princess Emma loves the doggies all so much. And it includes a free plush puppy too! I know what will make it to the Princess stocking.  

Another of my favorites is for our littlest guest.  Trying to keep a 3 month old entertained is not always the easiest thing to do.  Especially if your trying to get the finger paints into action for the 2 and 4 year old while making sure the 8 year old is doing her homework. We have a bouncer for her that vibrates.  It is soothing but she loves to play with her Pretty In Pink Chime Along Friend.  It attaches to the lil loops above her head.  And sings to her so sweetly with its lil chime.  Quite a good deal at only $3.99.  And a portion of each sale goes to support breast cancer awareness too!  A double good deal now.    I love that at times like this I can put the lil babe in her bouncer and put on a really amazing DVD just for her.  Baby Kiss & Coo has DVD's that show silhouettes of different items (like pets or fish) while playing soft classical music.  The black shapes across the screen catches the attention of our lil babe very quickly.  And the music (think Schumann, Mozart and Bach) is so comforting.  This leaves me the time to focus on the older children and know that the lil babe is not being totally ignored.  I can see her and she is learning even at this young age.
I do not know if you have lil bitty ones but this is something I wish I had when CG was an infant.  So much so that we are giving away 3 sets of 2 to our readers here.  Just leave me a comment on how your lil bitty one amazes you.  Do they know how to smile yet (no it is not GAS) or have they started flipping over?  What do they see in their world that has helped you see this one so much better?  Make sure you have a email listed so we can contact the 3 (yes 3) winners.  

Now we are not forgetting the older ones.  Nope I want to tell you how I am getting the 2 year old to slow down.  That is by reading time.  You know I am a book lover.  Well we are reading our Potty and Tubby books.  These bright bold cardboard books really do help her focus on time to potty and bath time.  And that is areas we have to focus on right now.   Our other favorite is Miles to Go.  This 2 year old is always on the road to somewhere.  Her life has been from place to place already.  So she enjoys the role playing that she is in charge of the trips instead of her folks.  But we are not forgetting the 8 year old at all.  She has her own favorites too.  Being the big sister here she knows what all it takes to keep an eye on her siblings.  And she realizes it is easier when she can get her lil sis involved in play with her.  Well the same goes for Bink & Gollie.  These two lil ladies share adventures that may start in their backyard but takes them all over the place.  (I love how one's imagination can do just that.)  I am not going to tell you the story but let me suffice to say that it is one that has our 8 year old great niece curled up and reading several times a week.  We even have her a watch with Bink & Gollie on it.  She is learning how to tell time (yes, the old fashion way) with it.
We are also offering a giveaway of the Bink & Gollie book for one of your older kiddos.  That makes an extra nice surprise.  Tell me how they help their siblings or other kids in their lives.  What do they find helps them give that extra hand out to a younger child.  Make sure I have a email in your comment too.
Let me know if you wish to win the Baby Kiss & Coo DVDs or the Bink & Gollie book or both?  I will give extra entries to my GFC followers too.  Just tell me your here.  See this is a super baby giveaway.   
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copies of these books, DVDs and toys to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided.

Baby Talk

My niece and nephew recently moved back to our lil country town.  They are working on setting up house here again.  And this time it is a lil more hectic.  You see they have a new baby girl.  We are all so happy for them but see that with 3 girls now, life is getting more hectic.  There are a few more variables too.
Their newest lil lady is having some medical issues.  She is small by nature but does not seem to be putting on that "baby" weight you see so often.  We have been talking about what to feed her.  Of course right now it is all straight natural breast milk.  The best stuff!

But I know that she will be looking into the Best Food for Your Baby & Toddler.  This is a great guide to helping see what foods your children need and will love.  With three girls from infant to school age, taste can become quite finicky.  That can become a big issue with meal times.  I love all the tips, nutritional information and recipes that are stuffed into this volume.  My first cook book for my daughter was Feed Me I'm Yours.  And it was a big help.  Well here we have gone several steps further and learn what is important for different developmental stages.  There are topics on organic foods, preventing childhood obesity and eating routines.  This honestly can help my niece as an all in one guide for all three of her girls.

Now with three children you want to give them all the best possible.  I have always felt that knowledge is power.  So teaching your child gives them a head start on life.  And those first three years can be ever so important.  Superbaby is a book that helps you with tools, tips and techniques to help your child with their potential.  I love that it gives you ways to reduce resistance and avoid tantrums.  This will really help my niece and nephew with their middle daughter.  She is already quite a handful.  But there are more tools on sleep habits, language development, social, emotional and intellectual skills.  I bet that my niece will be happy to lear a lil more to make life easier for her and give a head start for her girls. 

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copies of these books to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided.

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Stay With Me Socks Winners

I do have two pair of Stay With Me Socks for Newborns to give away. And I did a drawing for the boys pair and one for the girls pair. Our lucky winners are:

mom2boys said... 1

I would love to get a pink pair for my daughter. I like them because they look like they will stay on even the smallest baby and that good when they are newborns. Thanks

hottmomma_03(at)yahoo(dot)com

Kristin said... 5

thanks for letting me know about this contest. I have been out of the loop since this baby has been born. I would love to win the blue ones for my new little guy. What a great idea. I am always loosing socks when out and in the wash.

Congrats to both of y'all. I will be sending out emails to you so we can get your prizes in the mail soon!

Toting the Tot

I have a very close friend that had her first child at the age of 40. Yes 40! And then my ex-hubby paired up with a lovely lady and they had a baby when he (the ex not the baby) was 50. OMG!

Well looking at raising a child from in your 20's to looking at it from "middle" age is quite a major difference. But I found one item that works to the benefit from any age. You see I like to give gifts that will really help the parents. And you see diaper bags, all kinds of ways to keep your dear one cleaned up and always seems to be nail clippers. I want to help bring baby closer to mom and dad. And I feel this is the best way ever. Literally!

Baby Slings
are one of the best ways to keep your darling right next to you. They feel so cuddled and safe. And as you can see men can look just as "sexy" wearing one also. (well at least this man did!)

When my CG was a wee one I used a ergo baby carrier. I loved that I could use this and take the pressure off of my lower back when I was holding her. And that I could do the majority of my chores with her too. Also as she grew I was able to change the carrier around and put her on my back. CG did a lot of "mall" walking when she was little for my exercise program.

What is your favorite baby gift? How did you carry your darling around the most. Would you not prefer one of these to the heavy and bulky car seat carriers around now?