Great New Alphabet Book

Calvin enjoys letters quite a bit. He's always asking us to "make a W" with our hands, or "make a U" with the noodles at the swimming pool. A corner of his room is decorated with big purple V's and F's. So when I saw the book Alphabeasties and Other Amazing Types, by Sharon Werner, I had to get it for him. Each page has animals made up of hundreds of letters (like a huge giraffe that folds out and is made of little G's), letters in the shape of different things. There are letters in many different fonts, so kids can start to recognize different fonts.

It's a fun book that will give us plenty of ways to talk about the different letters.

Wanna dance?

We got an American Idol Dance Mat for a Christmas host gift, and everyone took turns trying to become an idol. But every time anyone got on it, Calvin would run up and start dancing like a nut. It was hilarious. We still have it out in the living room.

Tell me how you unwind and win a Baby Dino!

Hey guys! I haven't written in this blog in awhile. The holidays are coming up and I've been getting my house ready for out of town guests guests and trying to plan out fun activities that everyone will enjoy. But I think it's important, during this time when Im otherwise whipping myself up into a Christmas frenzy, to relax as much as possible.

And so I'm wondering how you guys are taking time out to unwind as the year comes to an end. Leave a comment (or an email at email@mandymarksteiner.com if the comment feature isn't working for you) telling me how you're taking time for yourself and I will pick out a winner, who will get this free Baby Dino! (I'll mail it to you!)

The prize is sponsored by CSN Stores, a website that sells nursery furniture.