Take a Trip to the Rainforest

Fisher-Price Rainforest Melodies & Lights Deluxe Gym

I had a request recently to review this playmat, so I decided I better get on it.  For those who want the quick of it, it's awesome, go buy it!  For those who want the details before making a decision, well here goes...

As many of you know, there are literally hundreds of playmats out there to choose from.  Deciding on one can take a bit of time, and damn it if they all don't look like fun!  I went through pages of mats before deciding on this one, and it was really the theme that drew me in.  I love the jungle theme, as I spent a couple of years as an undergrad working with the great apes at our local zoo.  The fact that this sucker had a monkey on it...sold!

I love primates!!!

You can't really tell from the above pic, but the monkey has a curly tail that you can wrap around the bars of the playmat.  I have him sitting on top of the mat for the pic.  Isn't he the happiest monkey ever?  Piper also likes to play with this monkey while in her swing or high chair, so it's a very nice removable/portable toy.

Besides the monkey addiction I have, I'm an animal lover at heart.  The rainforest theme has many different animals to enjoy and the colors are bright and vibrant.  It's a very happy mat, as they all should be, and the variety of things to look at and engage with should keep any little explorer busy discovering new things with each developmental stage.  Here is a close-up look at the various items and other features that make this mat so enjoyable.

Giraffe and Elephant

I'll note here that the giraffe is part of one of the playmat's arch supports and is also where the battery pack is hidden.  By the way, this mat takes 2 C batteries, not included.  The elephant has a little ball-filled rotating noise-making spinning thing that Piper is very enamored with right now.  It also has shiny purple silk ears to engage the little one in textile exploration.  Piper's exploration of these is yet to develop, as she is just now beginning to get some control over her arms, but I'm sure she will love to yum on these.  Yum is a term we use in this household of rubbing one's fingertips along a item in a self-soothing manner.  Just a little tidbit in case I use the term again.  The elephant, as you can probably tell from the pic, is not dedicated to the giraffe.  It hangs on a carabiner type plastic hook which can be adjusted to at least 7 hanging and 3 floor positions.

Notice purple fabric hook at bottom of pic

When I say the elephant can be adjusted to 10 different locations, I mean via fabric hooks.  There are seven of these along the supporting arches; two on each arch quarter except the giraffe one, which only has the one shown in the elephant pic.  There are also three alongside the floor edges.  These are very handy in that you can mix up the locations of toys for variety to keep your little one intrigued.  You can also add additional toys if you like.  The product warning states to only use the toys that come with the mat, but I've already added some others that Piper enjoys.  The warning I'm sure is strictly to cover Fisher-Price's ass if by chance something goes awry with an added toy not sold with the mat...understandable but totally ignorable!

Parrot numero uno

Parrot, numero dos

There are two different parrot toys that come with this mat.  Technically one is a parrot and one is a Toucan, but let's not split hairs here.  The first one, numero uno, has a fun little spinning thing at it's base.  Piper has a fun time catching this one with her toes.  The second is a fabric parrot (Toucan).  I have temporarily moved this one and hooked it to the tray on her swing.  It's a good one to yum on, and it was just the right size to sit where she could reach it on her swing tray.  You just have to love toys that can be used in multiple play areas.  She really likes the nose of the Toucan as it is colorful and silky.  

Nothing is complete without a mirror!

All babies are totally vain, so of course a mirror is an absolute necessity for any playmat!  This one has a frog up top and is once again adjustable to various play stations.  Remember my obsession with primates?  Notice my camera case reflected in the mirror has a monkey on it!  It also has a dangly banana not visible in the pic.  I should mention that this mirror is very clear and there is no distortion or warping going on.  So many "toy" mirrors on baby items are more like fun-house mirrors because they are so warped.  I don't want Piper growing up thinking her head is all misshapen, so I was very pleased with the quality of this particular mirror.  I've caught her checking herself out quite a few times even though she is not quite to that self recognition stage yet.

The view from below!

This pic is of the butterflies that are on a twirly plastic thing in the middle of the mat arches at their crossing point.  Right above them is the light show box which has four colored lights, much like the old Simon game.  Although these butterflies are hanging on an arched plastic thing that can spin in a circle, it is not motorized.  This mat would be that much better if they did spin on their own, but alas nothing is perfect!  The light box above them blinks in various patterns to keep the variety interesting.  Piper seems to like staring directly up at all that is going on, so obviously someone did a good job on this design concept.  You may have also noticed the four leaves in this pic, they are strictly aesthetic to give that rainforest look, but they don't do anything.  I guess they could block out overhead light to make the light show that much more vibrant, so there's that.

The textile sun is cool...oxymoron?

Here is a pic of a piece of the floor mat.  The whole mat is very colorful with lots of interesting things to look at, but some objects also have a textile function.  The sun here has floating ribbons for rays, once again giving your little one something to manipulate with their hands.

Hello zebra and hidden bug under your crinkly leaf!

The pic above is another portion of the mat located in the corner opposite the giraffe.  The textile objects here include the tail of the zebra and the leaf.  The leaf, I'm raising it in the pic, is crinkly to the touch adding a bit of noise to the textile experience, and underneath is a hidden bug...brilliant!  I cannot wait until Piper discovers that bug, I imagine the surprised grin will be one for the ages!

Well, that about covers all the major aspects of this playmat.  Piper is discovering new things on it every play session, but right now her favorite thing is the elephant.  Here is a video of her contemplating it's existence.

She just loves that damn elephant!

That video reminded me that I need to talk about the awesome music this playmat plays!  For those of you can't see the video, sorry iPhone and iPad users, the music is done calypso style, which just plain rocks!  Giving the music an island flare not only fits with the rainforest theme, it also makes it enjoyable to listen to as an adult.  There is nothing worse than a child's toy playing repetitive music that sounds like crap and makes you want to jab ice picks into your ears.  This mat's music is not like that.  I actually find myself dancing around and singing to it, so there you go.  I'm not sure what all tunes are on it, but there are four different songs.  Frere a Jacques and Skip to My Lou are two of them, I'm not sure of the other two.  There is also a jungle night-sounds setting which is very soothing.  You can set the mat to play either the music or the night sounds, but the night sounds come on every other song for a few seconds on the music setting.  There are two different music settings, too.  One is continuous play which can last up to 20 minutes.  The other is intermittent which stops every few seconds and requires movement to reactivate.  There are also two different volume levels, which is a very nice bonus.

For those of you unable to see the video, here are a couple of pics of Piper enjoying that elephant.  If you cannot watch my videos via the blog due to your operating system, please feel free to jump over to my Youtube page and watch them there.

She really likes talking to it!

And it makes her smile!

Well, that about covers everything regarding this playmat.  I really do like it a lot and so does Piper.  It's a bit on the pricey side at $70 at Babies-R-Us, but it's totally worth it.  I actually received two of these at my baby shower, so I took one to the office for her to enjoy there.  I guess I could have exchanged one for something else, but I'm glad I didn't.  This way she'll have a little piece of home away from home, and she might not have liked another one as much, who knows!

I hope this review was helpful.  If you have any specific questions please comment below and I'll be glad to answer them.  In the meantime, please drop me a vote at Top Baby Blogs by clicking the button below.  Also feel free to join me on my other social media pages, which are linkable on the homepage under the Join Me tab or by clicking on the buttons below.  Hope you all have had a wonderful Memorial Day!

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I Feel Like Super Mom!

Today I deserve this badge!

I'm going to make this a real quick entry, because really all it's about is personal praise.  I figure that as I make my way down the road of motherhood, I should appreciate and take note of those days when everything seems to go right.  Today was one of those days.

Yesterday was a bit trying.  Piper didn't seem to feel all that well, was a bit fussy and contemplative all day, and the rash she has on her face (I believe it is a combo of eczema inherited from mom and heat rash) was quite bothersome to both her and myself.  Her schedule I have been trying to set got all out of whack beginning first thing in the morning, and we never quite were able to get into our rhythm.  Last night was particularly bad as I had to let her cry herself out at bedtime.  It was the first time I really stuck to my guns on the matter, but then again it was the only time I really was challenged to do so.  He temperament is such a bragging point, but last night she was just plain exhausted and nothing was going to soothe her but herself.  In the end, everything worked out and she calmed down and drifted off to sleep.

Piper with my nieces Larkin and Haven

 Lucky for me, this morning she woke up with a great big grin on her face, as she typically does.  I could tell this grin was special, however.  The day started with a smile and from that moment on everything was smooth sailing.  She played, smiled,, practiced her coos, ate well, and didn't fuss when going down for her afternoon and early evening naps.  Her perfect behavior allowed me to accomplish more tasks than expected.  I was able to organize several of the kitchen cabinets, which sounds easier than it was since it had been probably a few years since they had been organized to that extent.  She even sat happily in her high chair and let me finish the task after waking from her afternoon nap.  I didn't even have to feed her first!  I was also able to do the dishes, help my mom out with some of her accounts payable stuff from work she'd brought home to do.  If you remember, she is laid up in bed with a broken leg, so working from home is quite the overwhelming task right now.  Plus she had accidentally dumped all her paperwork out of all the folders yesterday just trying to shuffle everything around while in bed.  Reorganizing that alone was a bitch and a half.  Besides all that, I also kept her fed and her wounds dressed as I have done every day since she came home from the hospital.

Love them cheeks!!!

As you can hopefully tell, I had a full day in which everything and more that I set out to do got done.  There were no roadblocks, time management issues, half-completed tasks at the end of the day, and nothing but smiles and lovies from Piper.  It was just a damn good day that made me feel like I could accomplish anything.  The kind of day where the universe lets you feel like you are doing everything right and making everyone happy.  Those don't happen all the time, so I've learned to recognize them when they do.  And after a trying day like yesterday, it was a much needed change of pace.

Right now I am sitting in bed with Piper drifting off to sleep next to me in her co-sleeper.  The windows are open as the weather is perfect for just such a thing outside, my kitty is lying at my feet, and all is right with the world.  Who knows what tomorrow may bring, but right now I couldn't ask for anything more.

Can't get enough of her USMC camo with the pink tutu!

So that's it.  I didn't have much to say, but thought I'd share my happiness with you all.  Next time I'm having a really hard day, I can at least pull up this post and remember that between the hectic moments in life, here and there are moments of pure bliss where all stars are aligned and everything falls into place as it should, if even just for a little while.

Alright, I'm done being Hallmark card cheesy!  Hope everyone else gets to have a perfect day for themselves sometime soon.  If and when you do, make sure you recognize it before it's gone for it may be awhile before it happens again.

That grin says it all!

Please come join me across all my social media sites.  Just simply click on the icons at the top right of the page under the headline "Join Me."  I added these buttons yesterday to make linking up to my other sites much simpler than before.  Also, as always, please drop me a vote on Top Baby Blogs by clicking the button below.  You can vote once every 24 hours, so keep feel free to vote daily or whenever you come by to visit!

Snot-tastic! Another Product Review.

BrowFrida is the totally wrong Frida!
(You'll get it later)

We all know from experience how down right annoying a stuffy nose is no matter the cause of the excess mucus buildup.  I've always been personally amazed at the amount of snot the human body can actually produce.  When I have a cold it doesn't seem possible that so much slime can constantly be coming out my nose.  I mean, where the hell is it coming from?  Where is it all stored?  Regardless of the answer to all those high-falutin scientific questions right there, the point is having a nose clogged full of boogers just sucks!  Am I right, or am I right?

If the inability to breathe due to excessive schnozzle slime irritates the living shit out of me, one who is perfectly capable of taking mass quantities of medications or at least blowing the little boogs out, then how does the same scenario affect Piper? I would presume she would feel just as annoyed as myself but with one major difference...she has absolutely zero ability to do anything about it!  I would literally go insane if I was in her onesie when it comes to the whole stuffy nose bit.

Taking into account how miserable she must feel in her incapability of helping herself rid her nostrils of excessive snot, I have been scouring the land for the perfect nasal aspirator for her.  For those of you unfamiliar with nasal aspirators, they are useful little tools used to suction boogs out of the nasal passages.  They come in various shapes and sizes, but their end goal is the same...nice, clean sinuses free from all debilitating congestion.  They are an absolute must-have when you have children who are still too young to grasp the concept and/or lack the ability to blow their own noses.  And although nasal aspirators are necessary and have the same end goal, I discovered as a new mom that they are definitely NOT created equal.

One of the many items I received from the lovely staff at the hospital where I gave birth was an aspirator.  Below you will find a picture of said aspirator.

Bulky and plain at best!

I imagine most hospitals give away a similar style aspirator if not the exact same one, so many of you mothers I'm sure are more than familiar with this model.  For a freebie, it's actually a pretty decent one.  I found it to be a bit large on the nozzle end as Piper has tiny nostrils, but for the most part it sort of worked, I guess.  Actually, I found it difficult to tell if it was working due to the fact is wasn't see-through nor did it have a removable cap or bottom so that I could properly examine any possible internal contents...which, by the way, makes it also very difficult to clean.  Needless to say, this particular aspirator was a good starter model, but I knew I could find better.

The second aspirator I adopted into my baby-aid repertoire came with my baby first-aid kit.  Now you think that an American Red Cross first-aid kit would carry a top-of-the-line aspirator.  As you can see from the picture here, it looks like it should work pretty well.

Not as good as it looks!

It's from a reputable source, it's good looking for what it is, and it has a removable bottom for easy cleaning (that grey part at the bottom).  Well that's all good, but that removable bottom was actually it's Achilles heel.  The concept may have been easy to clean, but the result of the design created a major flaw in that every time I went to squeeze the bulb, the back popped off.  Well that's just friggin' genius!  I hope someone got reprimanded for their lack of foresight or shoddy real-world testing of the mechanism, but I doubt it since it's still being sold.  But hey, maybe I was just using it wrong.  I'm not sure how that is possible since all it requires is a squeeze and release action to operate, but I could just be a lousy aspirator operator.  Regardless, this model sucked, well actually that is exactly what it didn't do, and I was immediately in the market for another candidate after just a few tries with this one.

My next aspirator came in a boxed set with saline nasal drops by Little Remedies.  I absolutely love their gripe water and gas drops, so I just knew they would make a good product.  I so wish I could report that their aspirator was top notch, but alas it also had some design flaws, at least from my perspective.  Before I point out the flaws, let me first compliment it's overall design elements.

Not bad but still lacking!

I loved the clear nozzle on this model as it allows one to see the fruits of ones suctioning labors.  Also, the nozzle snaps off for easy cleaning.  It is also a very stylish aspirator, if one could call such an object stylish, especially when compared to the hospital issued one.  Those aspects were nice, but now on to the flaws.  In all actuality there were only two major flaws that I focused on.  Firstly, the nozzle was just too damn skinny, just the opposite of the hospital model.  The clear tip was nice, but it was so narrow that it couldn't actually cover Piper's nostrils, which is pretty necessary to create that suctioning force, and her nostrils are small!  That issue led to the second problem, the suction was way too weak to do any good whatsoever.  What good is a snot sucker that won't suck snot?  Those two fatal flaws made this aspirator not so usable.  So once again, after trying this aspirator out, I was back to square one on my great aspirator hunt.

Before I move on, I need to interject here regarding the Little Remedies nasal spray shown in the above pic. While I have been very pleased with their other medicinal products, this one was not so hot.  It's not the contents of the container that bugged me, but the container itself.  The spray bottle leaked when not sitting upright, leaking most of the contents into my diaper bag just a short time after purchase.  And yes that is with the lid firmly screwed on!  I absolutely hate wasting money so that really irritated me.  Also, it is recommended that with newborns you "drop" a few of the saline drops into the nostrils rather than "squirt" them.  This required me to turn the bottle at a downward angle.  This downward position caused the contents to leak without any pressure whatsoever to the bottle.  In other words, the crap would just start dripping all over poor Piper's face.  She is wiggly like all babies, so it took a few tries to get the nozzle into a nostril.  Since the contents just free-flowed out of the nozzle, she ended up with saline solution all over her little face...not cool!  This free-flowing problem was most likely the culprit of the leak when the lid was on, too.  I hope these issues were due to a defective bottle instead of poor design, but I am unwilling to spend the money to find out for certain.  Let's just say you've been warned!  Feel free to leave a comment at the end of this article if I am right or wrong about the one I purchased being defective.  Okay, back to the aspirators!

I ran across my new, and most likely final, nasal aspirator whilst browsing for necessities on diapers.com.  Since I needed to order a certain dollar amount to get free two-day shipping, I decided to take a gander at their available aspirators to fill that need on my last purchase.  Of all the various models, the NoseFrida stood out as odd, yet conceptually quite brilliant.  I had heard someone mention the NoseFrida before, but had no idea they were referring to a nasal aspirator.  They had given it much praise, so after putting two-and-two together, I figured I just had to try it for myself.  Before I go any further, I would like for you to study the picture below, absorb it all in, and then continue on with the discussion.

Pretty cool looking, eh?

As you might have deduced from the pic, this aspirator takes a very personal approach to decongesting the sinuses.  With this aspirator, the operator puts the blue rocket shaped tip over the nostril opening and gently sucks the snot out via the red mouthpiece, hence the products tag line "the snotsucker". Sounds totally gross doesn't it?  It may seem disgusting to some, but it is completely sanitary.  If you look closely at where the blue tip meets the suction tube, there is a spongy blue filter which prevents boogs and/or germs from entering the suction tube.  I will admit that at first I was wary of purchasing such an odd device.  However, the more I stared at it, the smarter the concept seemed (gotta love those Swedes!).  I am so glad I overcame the initial "ewww" factor and bought the damned thing, because it works like a charm!  Here is a video of it in action, yay!

Mmmmm!  Yummy!!!      

The key to this handy device is to rotate it slightly as you suck.  For some reason that creates a better suction and therefore more sticky rewards for your efforts.  I was amazed by the amount of snot I collected on my first try, especially when compared to how very little to almost no snot I collected using the other aspirators.  And it wasn't because Piper had less boogers in her nose than the other times, it was that the aspirators just didn't work as well.  Check out the gross pics below to see what I mean!

NoseFrida, collection side 1!

NoseFrida, collection side 2! 
(tube rotated half turn from side 1)

I know the pics are icky, but I felt it necessary to post them in order to demonstrate the NoseFrida's collection ability.  All those boogs are from the same suction session.  Pretty impressive, right?  And Piper doesn't even have a cold, just a bit of congestion due to normal everyday baby life.  God only knows how much snot I'll retrieve the first time she gets a genuine stuffy nose, blech!

In the end, the NoseFrida kicked aspirator ass.  I 100% recommend it to all parents or guardians of young-uns out there.  I'm a picky gal (no pun intended), and this product absolutely delivers on all it's promises.  After using it, I no longer feel the need to continue on my search for the perfect aspirator, because the NoseFrida is it.  Now it may be a bit inconvenient to use on the go, but I really don't care.  Can you imagine me breastfeeding and sucking snot with this in public?  Hahahahahaha!  That may be something worth filming down the road!  I am so just kidding!

Before I wrap things up here, I would like to give props to Little Remedies for coming up with a secondary saline nasal spray design.  This one works oh so much better for my needs and solves all the previous sprays issues.  After discovering the NoseFrida, I also discovered this:

Same great product,
 much better delivery device!

The saline mister made by Little Remedies is kick-ass.  Now I can simply place the tip in Piper's nose, give a squeeze, and a fine mist is pumped into her nasal passages.  It doesn't drip, it can be held at any angle, and it moistens her mucus so that I can suction it right out.  This combined with the NoseFrida is all I need to get her breathing properly again...and believe me when I say she is also thrilled with my discoveries.  We are both much happier now that we have sufficiently solved the booger problems in our life.

Well that about wraps up my nasal aspirator review session.  I should probably mention that the NoseFrida does cost a little more than other aspirators.  I paid $15.99 at Diapers.com for it, but it was totally worth it.  Also, you can purchase replacement filters for just $3.49, although a few come with the aspirator itself.  Since you can clean the boog tube by simply popping it off the suction tube and rinsing it out, I imagine each filter lasts a pretty reasonable amount of time.

I hope you all have found this product review helpful and enlightening.  I do not do these for companies, just for myself and for my readers.  In other words, I am not being paid to be biased, so feel safe to believe I believe in what I'm saying.  Now that I am beginning to use all these new baby products, I will continue to make product reviews a regular thing on my blog.  I enjoy passing along my experience with products and promise to always be 100% truthful.

If you like my style, and who could not, please please vote for my on Top Baby Blogs by simply clicking on the little owl below.  I've made it into the top 50 blogs and would love to keep moving up in rank.  If you have voted for me before, you can still vote.  Everyone is allowed one vote every 24 hours, so feel free to come back and vote daily!  

Also, come join us on Facebook where you can get daily updates on Piper's expanding brain and glowing beauty! You can also follow us on Twitter @SingleModernMom, on Pinterest, and on Youtube.

Thanks once again for visiting.  I would love for you to keep coming back when you can.  And if there is a topic you want me to cover, please feel free to comment below or email me at ashley@singlemodernmom.com.  Toodles!

Oh, and here are a couple of silly Piper videos for you to enjoy!

 

I just love silly videos!

Up Cripple Creek

This past Friday my mom decided to hurl herself down the garage stairs resulting in a compound fracture to ius both her left tibia and fibula.  To those out there not as steeped in bones as I am, those are your two lower leg bones.  Anyway, it was quite a horror to see my mom lying on the garage floor with her leg at a very awkward angle, and blood slightly oozing from the small puncture wound where one of those bones was trying to burst through the skin on the front of her leg.  Yeah, it was totally gruesome!  Thank god the bone hadn't come any further through the skin or I might have lost it.  I'm pretty good at dealing with such matters, as I've had traumatic injuries myself, but there is something about large bones through skin that kind of makes my stomach do flips...and not in a good way.  Anyway, it was all excitement around here with the emergency responders, ambulance, my dad and I doing our best to keep mom under control during the whole ordeal.  Luckily Piper slept through most of the commotion, cause she's a angel!

My broken yet beautiful mom!

Yesterday my mom got to come home from the hospital, yay!  For those of you who may not know, once I decided to have a child on my own I moved back in with my parents.  The decision to do so was based on a mutual want and need between the three of us, with compromises made on all sides.  We all gave up some of our space and privacy, but we all gained a little bundle of joy in return.  My parents get to spend their golden years spoiling their last grandchild, and I get the financial stability of not having to pay rent, which saves me a ton of money that goes directly into raising Piper.  I also have the emotional support of being around my two best friends (yes my parents and I are that close) all the time.  We are a very lucky clan in that we get along so well.  It really is a win-win situation for all of us.

Part of living together is helping one another out in times of need.  Friday was definitely one of those days where we all relied heavily on each other.  My dad sat in the garage with mom, holding her leg until the ambulance arrived, I ran around calling 911 and packing my mom's hospital bags, and Piper the little angel helped us all by snoozing away so we could focus on getting my mom taken care of.  My mom was terribly worried about missing any Piper moments while in the hospital.  She was rambling crazy things like "how will she remember me?" and "I'm going to miss all her smiling and cooing."  Obviously the pain of the broken leg was getting to my mom as she was only going to the hospital for a few days and not to prison on murder charges!  Me being the awesome daughter that I am, however, took heed of her distraught words.

Once my mom was out of surgery and into a room, I began sending her pics and videos of Piper.  I couldn't take Piper to visit her, because hospitals are just not safe for the frail immune systems of babies, so the least I could do was use modern technology and keep her in the loop as to Piper's progression as a baby genius.  And now I'm to the point of writing this blog entry, to share with all of you the videos I made for my mom while she was incarcerated in the sick house.  I know, that was a really long winded way of going about showing you all some videos, but surely you have all discovered by now how sidetracked and long-winded I can be at times, so I'll shut-up now...enjoy!

This first video is of Piper enjoying her mobile.  She absolutely loves the dang thing and just gives the biggest grins (and some coos once in awhile) while watching it spin in circles.  This is the best of the videos I made of her mobile time.  Yes, I am going to refrain from showing you all the videos I made.  You can thank me later for that one.  By the way, she was about to have her diaper changed, so please excuse the not so great ending...oops!

She loves the mobile!

This next video is Piper playing on her play mat.  This is the first time she acknowledges the elephant toy.  She's a deep thinker, so it's her contemplation of the elephant that really grabs me in this video.  I wonder what exactly goes through a month-old baby's mind.

Elephants are wise, so I approve of this friendship!

The next two videos are both of Piper playing with her bunny rattle.  This bunny rattle has been hanging out in the corner of her crib from day one.  I know, no toys are supposed to be in the crib! Yeah, whatever!  Anyway, as I was about to change her diaper yesterday she, for the first time ever, zoned in on her bunny rattle and initiated play.  What is so surprising in these videos is not only the amount of concentration she puts into her play, but the simple fact she can manipulate the rattle the way she does.  I know I call her a genius, but I cannot help it when she does something that is so advanced for a one-month-old.  Typically, babies do not start actually manipulating rattles or other such toys till around 3 months of age.  For her to be doing this at one month is just flat out remarkable.  Her focus, determination, grip, everything you are about to witness is way advanced.  I took a pile of child development courses as part of my Psychology minor, one of which was Development in Infancy, so I'm not just pulling this knowledge out of my butt.  I do have textbooks that speak to these milestones and about when they should occur.  So far she has exceeded all milestones.  Yep, I'm one of those moms other people hate...a damn baby braggart!  I apologize now for my ridiculous overjoy regarding my child, it will probably only get worse.  Anyway, here are the videos!

She shouldn't be able to grab it like that yet!

She's very aware that she is in control here!

I could continue on posting videos, but these four were my favorites and I don't want to go overboard.  Plus,  it would be better for me to not post all my videos at once so as to avoid the whole been-there-seen-that mentality that might follow.  Your welcome!

I guess I should also tell everyone how my first Mother's Day went.  I missed having my mom around, but Piper and I spent the day together just doing what we do.  It was nothing too special, but I couldn't imagine anything better.  Having my long awaited daughter in my arms was enough specialness for me.  My dad also picked me some flowers and gave me a card, because he is the greatest dad ever, but nothing can top quality time with Piper.

Now for picture time!  Here are a few of my favorite shots from the past few days.

Fresh from her bath

Her mobile makes her happy!

Go mobile!

Oooohhh, elephant!

Deep thinking

Conversing with a pachyderm 

Who could resist that smile?

Cuddle bug!

The Thinker

Boobies!

Showing off her muscles!

I love all these pics, especially the smiley ones.  Piper's smile just lights up her entire body and completely melts my heart, especially when it is directed at me.  I guess I'll ahead and wrap things up for now.  Until next time, here is the ole shebang...

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