I’m recently become very interested in early montessori education. Since then, I’ve started to explore the idea of a play kitchen. I just love this one. It is small, stylish, perfect AND was originally a nightstand.

We’ve got a busy weekend planned! There’s a baby Halloween gathering planned, then an adult parade (we probably will watch out the window) & trick or treating! I just love the costumes. Here’s a baby dinosaur flanked by a pumpkin, monkey and lion.

Living with a small child in a one bedroom apartment is a challenge. I love that it is forcing us to minimize. I’m on the lookout for other pretty but affordable storage. Checkout this beautiful basement from Armelle. I can easily see it working in our house.

I was told before Baby was born that our trip to the Galapagos (while 5 months pregnant) would have to be my last for a while. I’m not sure I believed them but the idea was pretty upsetting. It never occurred to me that babies and kids couldn’t travel. Since then I’ve watched friends travel with their kids around the world and am inspired by sites like Little Nomads. We CAN do this – I know we can. Dreaming starts now.

I just adore this room from an old Cookie magazine article. I think the baby’s room might need to morph into this as she gets older.

What a difference it makes! M’s changed from being a small delicate creature to an alert loving little person. I can finally say it is getting easier. If we could only sleep more than 3 hours in a row – it would be perfect. In the past month, she’s had her first plane trip, first road trip, first antique show and first art show.

Warning Potty Talk below…

I love EC (Elimination Communication) in concept. I love the idea of using less diapers, never having her get used to sitting in waste, and not having to battle with a 3+ year old over toilet training. I did wonder how women who have their babies tied to their backs w/out diapers never end up all wet! I’ve found it is very normal in many parts of the world.

That said, we are in the back of the class when it comes to EC. It could be that I’m just not in tune or it could be that she’s very subtle. It could be that due to a whole bunch of other issues I spend ALOT of time pumping. But when I hold her over the toilet and signal, she just squirms and looks at me funny. The highlight of the morning we went diaper free was a lap of baby poop. (Aside, breastfed baby poop isn’t as gross as adult or animal poop.)

I have met A LOT of interesting folks on the EC path. It seems that EC is very common in Russia or at least a bunch of the women I have met are first generation Russian. There are several first generation Guatemalans. A large section of the folks in the uptown EC group are the attachment parenting, home birthing, cloth diapers set. I find it interesting that both mothers and fathers attend the groups and are extremely participatory. I’ve attended mostly out of curiosity.

Overall I’m amazed that it works! I cheer on anyone trying!! But, Baby and I are really a little more along the Montessori Toilet learning lines. I am very careful to keep her dry except overnight. As we use gdiapers, I’ve started exploring part-time cloth to keep her from getting used to being comfortable wet. I plan to start offering her the toilet once she’s able to sit. I’m happy to explore one more way of communicating.