Some of my favorite things…right now
Day to day with a baby makes me appreciate the small things that are out there to make our lives easier and happier. Let me just send out a thanks to those little things:
the sound giraffe: This was a gift from one of my mom’s friends at my her “grandmother baby shower” (still in awe that those types of cute showers exist). Anyways, back to the giraffe. Let’s call him Grammy. Grammy makes noises that range from African drums, ocean sounds, evening crickets, and Zoë’s all time favorite, the shooshing noise. Each night as her eyes get heavy and she finishes her 9:00pm feeding, little Grammy gets to work. Shooosh…. Shooosh….. Shooosh. Shooshing our baby to sleep, and what a great job she does!
the plastic rings: I’m sure there is a formal name for them, but not important here. These rings are the best things for Zoë to grab, bite, and bat her hands at. She loves the colors, the way they clink together, their small size for her tiny fingers, and how they dangle from her playmat or carseat. She can stare and she can grab, and they by far are her favorite things right now!
the Tiddliwinks blanket: Sweet name, but an even sweeter blanket! In fact, Marshall and I have nicknamed it “the magic blanket”. This blanket was a gift from my friends Kristy and Lesley. I had no idea that such a warm and plush blanket would become our favorite item in the heart of an Atlanta summer. It’s something about the softness that whisks Zoë away and comforts her in the worst of times. As her head lays against it and we hold her tight, it’s like she transports to her own little cloud of heaven.
the WubbaNub: If you’ve been reading this blog for any day, you have probably noticed a sweet stuffed animal attached to Zoë’s bink. I know there are lots of parental opinions when it comes to pacifiers, but let’s just say this little family is a fan of them at this point in Zoë’s life. We’ll have to take it away eventually, but for now it provides Zoë with a little friend as she soothes herself when she fights sleep, when we’re trying to wrestle a diaper onto her squiggly body, or when she’s trying to make Cady jealous that she has cuter toys. A dog, a sheep, and a frog (which seems to have been lost) are always welcome around here.
the trusty ipod: With playlists that include Fun. for our morning playtime, or Ben Harper as she is getting sleepy, or Blake Shelton when we want to connect to our Southern roots, or Rock-A-Baby tunes when we are feeling especially childlike, the ipod is a great accompaniment to our days in the nursery. Zoë loves to listen to music and even dance. She was especially fond of Rusted Root’s “Send Me On My Way”. It brings back memories of dancing in Juanna, Erin, and Julie’s apartment back in Athens during our college days.
the Aden and Anais sleepsack: It’s light enough for summer, roomy enough for her growing body, and warm enough for her bedtime. When I go to get Zoë out of her crib each morning, it’s so cute to find her smiling back at me and kicking her legs around like a super hero that wants to bust open the sleepsack zipper. She’s still working on her super hero powers:)
the ceiling fan: Probably the least likely to appear on a list of favorite baby items, but our ceiling fan definitely is a front-runner for us. Zoë’s long stares of complete happiness and utter fascination are all attributed to the greatness that is the nursery ceiling fan!
the oball: A gift from Sara and Ryan, and a toy that they said was one of Harrison’s favorites. It’s quickly becoming one of Zoë’s favorites too. She loves to put her death grip on the ball and lift it up to her face and try her best to fit it in her mouth. I don’t want to be the one to break it to her that the oball will probably never fit fully in her mouth like her fist. It’s good for her to set high goals though!