Teaching Your Child to Cook

I spend allot of time in my kitchen.  Preparing, chopping, sauteing, broiling, pan searing, plating,  I love it all. I learned to cook at an early age,  mostly out of necessity. A single mother with two jobs and four children made for some hungry moments.  I believe the firs thing I cooked on my own was either a coffee cake with cinnamon walnut topping, or a fried bologna sandwich. Whichever came first I was extremely proud of my accomplishment.

I loved watching my mother cook.  She spent time showing me the basics, and let me help her prepare meals when ever I asked. My favorite experience was shopping with her at an outdoor market located downtown. An old world style open market with local vegetables piled high, fresh fish displayed in all their glory on beds of clean shaved ice, every cut of meat imaginable, including cured meats hanging high above for all to see. The sights, sounds and smells of the market were intoxicating to me, and created in me an appreciation for food and for cooking.

My Children hover around me in the kitchen while I cook and I love it. letting them get involved has opened their eyes to many different types of food, some of which I would not have even considered eating when I was a their age. I have found that my son and daughter's palate has  has grown since they started learning in the kitchen. If they help me wash the broccoli, put it in the steam basket, set the flame to it, and touch it with a bit of salt and butter, they take pride in the process and ownership of the meal they helped create. The best part is they eat it and enjoy it!  Fish, greens, whole grains and vegetables become and adventure and children become curious about how things taste when they help create it.

So many other benefits surround getting your children active in the kitchen. They learn self confidence, creativity, knowledge of where food comes from, time management, organization, and even basic science.   So take your child shopping, get them involved in the kitchen and teach them the joys of food!

Gender Reveal Parties are Blowing up!

 Boy or Girl?

Every where I look, be it a blog, facebook, magazines, or even television , I am seeing the popular new trend of gender reveal parties.  Heres how it works. At the couples 20 week ultrasound, the technician is asked to write down the gender of the baby, put it in an envelope and seal it.  The envelope is then given to a family member or baker who will make the cake and die the inside of the cake the corresponding color to reveal the sex of the baby. The couple cuts open the cake, and at last everyone gets to know the gender of the child.

At first, I rolled my eyes at this idea. Gathering people for this seemed odd.  But then, I thought back to when we found out the gender of our first child and how fun it would have been to share the experience with our friends and family.  It is a moment you remember forever,  so why not have a party to celebrate!   All the games and wives tails can be played out at this party, just like at a baby shower, but made more fun by finding out the answer as soon as the cake is cut into.  I say yes to gender reveal parties!  Now I just have to get invited to one! Would you have a gender reveal party?  Have you been to one? Let us hear about it...

The Bunky Bed!

Why didn't this bed exist when I was a kid? Sleepovers would have been so much more fun! Sorry to say that Real Baby can't gets it hands on this bed, but thought it was so cool, that we needed to share!


The Bunky bunk bed, conceived by designer Marc Newson for Magis, an Italian furniture company, uses just four different pieces that can be easily stacked one on top of each other. You could move this bunk bed around the room to keep your kid happy, especially if he or she is waiting for one of his or her best friends for a sleepover. The Bunky is a modular design that will also let you use each of the two available beds as single beds, and the four pieces part of the Bunky are all built from rotational-moulded polyethylene. The surface presents no sharp edges, it’s easy to clean and each bed comes with perforations under the mattress that let the air flow for good ventilation

The  Luxo collection from Bloom

Luxo sleep baby bed is a beautifully designed cot bed that allows your baby to sleep in style from newborn up to 5 years old 

luxo’s gently curved ends cocoon sleeping baby & have been intentionally designed to promote air flow – extremely important for baby’s safety 

equipped with fixed side rails, luxo has an adjustable mattress height for use in bassinet position & easy access to baby 

luxo boasts no-tools rapid assembly, & its patented design allows folding for storage when not in use (between babies) 

crafted in birch wood from sustainable sources & with stainless steel detailing luxo brings a little luxury to the nursery for your little one

I love JJ Cole products. They are thoughtful, well designed, practical and not to spendy. The nursing cover featured in this video is a perfect example .  Check out this nursery full of JJ cole.

Music benefits everyone, especially Children

• Growing Up, Growing Musically

  When I was very little I remember hearing rythm in music. I would see it as colors when I closed my eyes. I still do to this day. Music has always been a huge part of my life. I constructed drum kits out of kitchen utensils, pots and pans, and stacks of magazines all throughout my earliest years. It was fun and  empowering, and my mother encouraged it, even though the racket I was making must have been intolerable.  I encourage my children to listen, to sing, to dance, and to play music whenever and wherever they can.  Here is some information I found that  may encourage you to get your children moving to the beat of their own drum.
  Research shows that kids who are actively involved in music (who play it or sing it regularly):
  • do better in reading and math when they start school
  • are better able to focus and control their bodies
  • play better with others and have higher self-esteem
  
  
  You've probably noticed that your preschooler can keep a steady beat. You can help your child practice this skill by encouraging listening for beats — and determining if they're steady or not — in everyday objects. For example, point out the noise a kitchen clock makes and ask your child if it is a steady beat; then ask if a sound like a car horn or a dog barking has a steady beat. Practice clapping or tapping the beats to favorite songs and encourage your child to copy you.

  Let's Dance

  The simplest thing you can do is put on music and dance with your child. Vary the rhythms and tempo of your body with the music. Practice "copy dancing" where you invite your child to imitate your movements and then let him or her lead as you follow.
  You also can make the musical experience more visual through movement and a few props. Scarves can show ascending and descending pitches — raise the scarves up over your heads as you sing up the scale and then drop them down the floor as you go down. Or have your child walk on tiptoes when you listen to high, quiet music, and stomp his or her feet to louder, slower music.
  Combining music and movement helps preschoolers learn to control their bodies. They learn to move fast to fast music, and more slowly to slow tunes. They also can learn the hand movements and simple dance moves that go along with rhymes and songs. Learning physical control is an important developmental step and can help build concentration skills and self-control later on.

  Time for Instruments?

  Although some music-instruction programs are geared to preschoolers, most kids at this age will enjoy a more casual introduction to musical instruments. Provide a rhythm stick or a set of bells to hold in each hand and encourage your child to keep the beat while you listen to a song.
  Here are some ways to give kids opportunities to be musical:
  • Sing or listen to music in the car, while you're doing chores, and while your child is playing. Keep a basket of musical instruments where kids can get them. Consider buying a kid-friendly CD player your child can operate and keep in his or her room.
  • Make sure your child's preschool offers chances to sing and play simple instruments, to move to music, and to create music. Ask the teacher what songs they regularly sing so that you can sing them at home.
  • Enroll your child in a preschool music class. If you don't know where to begin, ask the music department at your local college for suggestions.
  • For a special treat, take your child to live musical performances, especially ones designed for preschoolers. Museums, libraries, and bookstores often host performances by children's-music artists. Outdoor concerts are also a good bet for preschoolers because they can dance and move around without disturbing anyone.
  And after you've seen a concert together, encourage your child to give a performance for your family at home. He or she can even cut out construction paper tickets and get dressed for the occasion. At showtime, take your seat and get ready for a great show!

Diaper Dude!

 We love this versitile bag!  The Eco-Friendly Messenger II from Diaper Dude is made of recycled PET material (plastic water bottles) rewoven into durable polyester and offers the same great features you find in all Diaper Dude bags-messenger style.

**25 plastic water bottles(16 oz size) are used to make the diaper dude eco bag!  Find it Here at Real Baby.

        

We’ve never seen a parent vibrate like a bouncy seat or swing like a swing. But we’ve seen thousands of parents scoop their little ones up in their arms and bounce and sway. And that’s what the mamaRoo does.  It moves like you do. Find it HERE at Real Baby

Five unique motions:

The mamaRoo bounces up and down and sways from side to side, just like parents do when comforting their babies.

• 

  Car Ride

  A figure eight on its side
• 

  KangaRoo

  Lots of up-and-down, less side-to-side
• 

  Tree Swing

  High on the sides, low in the middle
• 

  Rock-A-Bye

  Low on the sides, high in the middle
• 

  Ocean Wave

  Around in a big circle

Perhaps preschool should be about discovery and not learning?

I remember being tested for kindergarten. I really do. My mother brought me to a large brick building and left me alone in a room with a stranger.  I was told to perform certain tasks, such as, put the pegs in their corresponding holes, name some shapes and colors, draw inside the lines, etc.  I am happy to say I passed, and at a bit of a young age, was able to join the ranks at my local Kindergarten.  My learning experience at a young age was vastly different than that of my children.  Mine was very regimented. My old world Catholic schooling meant that I was taught and told, with very little room to explore.  The word rote comes to mind. I write this because I just found a fascinating article and study about the way we teach our children at a young age.  The research states that teaching children more and more, at ever younger ages, may just backfire.   Read the article HERE.

Six Carrying Positions: The Lillebaby! Great For Travel: Light weight and small enough to fit All-In-One-Carrier: With six carrying positions the líllébaby EveryWear offers all-in-one carrying from newborn to toddler and is truly the only carrier you'll ever need. Comfortable: Ergonomically designed - the EveryWear distributes weight on the hips making it comfortable for the wearer at each stage of the child's growth. Ergonomic: A patented, adjustable seat makes the EveryWear comfortable and ergonomically correct in each position as it grows with your child. True Hip Carry: With a convenient, removable strap the EveryWear is the only carrier on the market that converts to a "true" hip carrier.  in a diaper bag  Available in various colors and styles to suit any taste.

Great Baby Shower for a great cause! Tonight!

The Colorado Women's Bar association is throwing a Baby Shower this evening at the Corner Office at 1401 Curtis Street to benefit underprivileged women and children. The event runs from 6-8PM. Bring a baby shower gift to donate and enjoy complimentary food, happy hour priced drinks, complimentary self parking at The Curtis Hotel... and the company of friends and colleagues. All donations and proceeds will benefit Family Star, The Gathering Place, and WeeCycle. 
Real Baby is proud to support this event with donations that include:
Moby Wrap
Chicco KeyFit Infant Car Seat
Ergo Baby System – Carrier & Pouch
2 Jellycat Dolls
and a $25 Real Baby Gift Card
The recipients include: WeeCycle, Family Star, and the Gathering Place
Thanks to the CWBA for putting together such a great event for a great cause!

Not Just Yet!

Just when you thought it was safe to turn your one year old around in their car seat and face the brave new world for the first time, a new study drops and shatters your world!  New advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics based primarily on a 2007 University of Virginia study finding that children under the age of 2 are 75 percent less likely to suffer severe or fatal injuries in a crash if they are facing rear in their car seat.  Hold the phone! I was told the stead fast rule of one year or 20 lbs. was the magic formula for the safety of my child. The new study shows compelling evidence, and with the advent of larger car seats, with heavier weight limits, it seems that this is truly the way to go.   Some parents are taking the wait and see approach, and sticking with what their car seat manufacturer suggests, or are following the guidelines of their vehicle manual.  Either way, the best parent is a well informed parent. 

I hear the word milestones thrown around allot when people are talking about parenting.  It usually starts with a discussion about sleeping through the night, and moves through teeth, first word, crawling, walking, potty training, and on and on.  As my children have gotten older I have noticed that milestones turn into moments.  If you don't pay attention, the moment will rip past you before you have even opened your eyes. It's easier when there little.  They can't leave the house without you, actually they cant do anything without you. It is a captive singular audience.  You notice every gesture, every snot bubble, every new laugh and smile.  Today I would have a hard time telling you what my son wore to school. Hectic schedules of sports, after school programs, and plays are the norm now.  Last night I was paying attention and caught a glimpse of a moment. My son making us all laugh at dinner by delivering a punch line with perfect timing, delivery and sweetness.  He seemed proud of himself as we all repeated his gag line several times after, laughing harder each time.  He is finding his sense of humor and it is a beautiful thing.   I am writing this as a reminder to myself. Pay attention to the moments, because they are milestones.

Skip Hop Bowls And Plates Are At Real Baby!

Make mealtime ZOO time! Little ones will love having their very own plate, bowl and cup featuring their favorite ZOO character! Bright colors and whimsical faces make mealtime fun. 

Our ZOO TABLEWARE is durable melamine and dishwasher-safe. The collection is perfect for mixing and matching!

• Ideal for snacks, cereal and more
• Dimensions (inches): 5.5 wide x 5.5 high x 1.5 deep
• Ages: 6m+
• Signature Skip Hop ZOO characters
• Easy to Mix & Match
• Durable melamine BPA-free Phthalate-free
• Dishwasher-safe (top rack only)

We Love The Babycook!

Multi-Stage, Multi-Functional Cooking Options – Babycook steams, blends, reheats and defrosts all in one compact appliance. Makes an array of food from simple purees for baby's first meals up to steamed fish and rice the entire family can enjoy. The Babycook Book (sold separately) provides many options for quick, healthy meal preparation to introduce baby to a world of flavor.

Save Time – Spend more time with your family by conveniently and quickly preparing fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, legumes, and grains in under 15 minutes.

Save Money AND Be Healthy – Why spend excess money on processed baby food when baby can eat the same food as the rest of the family? Enjoy the satisfaction of providing your little ones nutritious, yet easily cooked, meals free of additives, fillers and preservatives.

Go Green – Improve your home's sustainability and be more environmentally friendly by eliminating the packaging of pre-processed baby foods.

Only the Best for Baby – The patented award winning Babycook is the original and longest standing product of its kind on the market. We use only the best materials to ensure that every meal is prepared perfectly and back our product with a one-year warranty.

Hoot!

A perfect match for any bookshelf! Our soft, weighted ZOO BOOKENDS are a sweet addition to any nursery or playroom décor! These adorable animals with friendly faces and textured details store your little one’s storybook in style!

• Soft faux leather (no animals have been harmed!)
• Weighted for sturdiness
• Sold as a set of two
• Makes the perfect gift!     

Black Market Breast Milk?

It's back in the news again. The buying and selling of breast milk has been a hot topic for years. Now with the ease of use of social networking sites and places like Craigslist, it has become much easier to find the precious commodity.  While the tradition of wet nurses dates back centuries, there's apparently been a four-fold increase in demand for human milk, fueled by adoptions and by the use of breast milk in the treatment protocols for certain infant diseases.  Milk banks charge $3/oz. for thoroughly tested, pasteurized breast milk, and usually require a prescription. For folks without the extra $2,400/month to spend on breast milk, pediatricians, nursing support groups, and lactation consultants sometimes act as go-betweens for parents and donors. Now you can buy on line on Craigslist locally or E Bay nationally or find a source through websites such as Only The Breast.  This of course may save you money, but at what cost.

The big risk, of course, is disease; many infections, including Staph and HIV, can be transmitted to a baby through breast milk.  Another risk is knowing the source of your breast milk, their diet and habits may put our child at risk.  The Debate will continue.

Hipster Dad!

Yes, you've seen him.  Carefully disheveled, i phone at the ready, laptop in messenger bag, pushing his baby in a Bugaboo.  His baby will be wearing a rock t shirt of one of his favorite bands from the eighties and wearing a sweet Goorin lid.  The Hipster Dad wants his baby to listen to the same music he does.  Hot Chip,  Phoenix, Broken Social Scene and, of course, Sonic Youth.   He never wears a suit and tie. Retro-inspired sneakers and vintage Levi’s are more his bag, and he doesn’t think he needs to change his lifestyle just because he has reproduced, and so his new baby becomes his best drinking buddy and live-show companion. The times and Dad's, they are a changing.

Start out your year with some hip new gear from Real Baby.  Shop online this month at Real Baby and enjoy free shipping on your order of $50 or more.  Enter coupon code: JANFREE at checkout.  Click Here to start shopping!  Happy New Year!

The Chicco Key Fit Thirty is at Real Baby

KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat, #1 Rated Infant Car Seat in America! 

Secures baby from 4 to 30 lbsEnergy-absorbing foam for improved side-impact protection

Removable newborn insert for smaller babies 

Thickly cushioned seat pad and five-point harness for maximum comfort

Spring-assisted level foot, bubble levels, and “Center-Pull” adjustment for easiest installation

The Mama Roo is at Real Baby!

Parents don't vibrate like bouncy seats or swing like swings. They bounce and sway, and that's what the mamaRoo does: it moves like you do. Our team used motion sensors to measure the movements of reals moms and dads as they soothed their babies, and replicated those motions in the mamaRoo. It's the only infant seat with five different motions, all modeled after the natural movements parents make to comfort their babies.

• Five unique motions based on real parental movements
• Built-in nature sounds and an MP3 hookup
• Three reversible toy balls patterned after classical artists
• Fabric is easy to remove and machine washable
• Seat reclines to any position
• Detects obstructions, won't run if recline is unlocked
• Suitable from birth to 25 pounds

Monte Design Grano Glider Recliner

Monte Design has trimmed all the bulk off the traditional recliner, yet kept all the comfort with this compact design...and made it glide too.

This grano glider recliner is so comfortable, you'll want to take all your naps in it. Enjoy the soothing glide, then recline and rest your feet on the pop-up foot stool. In the nursery or in the family room, you'll be so grateful for this clean-lined, sleek chair. Even the handle to pop up the foot rest is hidden between the seat and arm, allowing the profile to be uncluttered and simple.

Handmade in Canada.  Find it at Real Baby

Holiday Open House at Real Baby Denver!

• Friday, November 12th and Saturday, November 13th from 10:00 - 7:00 at the Denver location
• Complimentary Holiday gift wrap
• Free studio photo session from Bloom Portraits for all attendees
• Champagne and treats provided by Happy Cakes
• Present your receipt for a purchase of $100 or more from participating retailers to receive 15% off of your Real Baby purchase - strollers and special order items excluded. Inquire in-store for details.
• Enter to win is two VIP tickets to the Volunteers of America Holiday Fashion Show on December 4th - featuring winter fashions from Garbarini, Mariel and Lawrence Covell ($150) value.
• Get a start on your holiday shopping and help families in need. Real Baby will donate 10% of all event sales to Dolls for Daughters, an extraordinary organization providing new toys to girls and boys for the holidays. 
• Real Baby will also be accepting toy donations for Dolls for Daughters through December 1st. Toys must be new and in original packaging. If you're looking for the perfect donation we can help you find it here!

Bugaboo Celebrates One Year With Project (RED)

Bugaboo recently celebrated its one year anniversary of joining Project (RED), the big save-a-life-through-shopping program whereby companies create campaigns and products to raise money and awareness for the fight against HIV/AIDS and other global health crises.

Bugaboo is the first (RED) participant company to pledge a portion of its total revenues [1%] to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria.

So if you want to make sure your $10 goes to support health programs for women and children in a half dozen developing African nations then purchase your Bugaboo soon!

Find your Bugaboo At Real Baby click here


bugaboo celebrates 1-year anniversary of (RED) partnership from bugaboo on Vimeo.

Real Baby Featured on Denver Ala Mode!

Our Event tonight was fantastic!  Thank you for all of you who attended and made it such a special night.  We cant wait to see you all again soon!

 Traveling Baby event this Friday, October 1st from 4:00 - 7:00 at our Boulder store location! - The first 10 people through the door get a Phil & Ted's gift bag - Receive valuable travel tips from Children's Hospital - Free Safety Inspection of your child's car seat and information on proper installation from a certified car seat professional - Get everything you need from travel cribs to travel high chairs - Enter to win a one night get-a-way for your family and friends at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, an exclusive Timi & Leslie Charlie bag or a Sleep Sheep on the Go Mention this post to receive 10% off of your purchase (out of stock items, furniture and strollers excluded).

The Kemby Sidekick is at Real Baby!

Enhance family living! And see eye-to-eye while you’re out and about with baby. With all the organizational elements you expect in a well-made diaper bag – plus innovative features to simplify your outings – the Sidekick is a must-have for families on the go.

FEATURES:

• Separate compartment for diapers and wipes
• Changing pad
• Baby-friendly fabric that easily wipes clean
• Exclusive, custom-designed patterns
• Double side pockets, roomy enough for bottles or sippy cups
• Cell phone pocket
• Key clip
• Plenty of easily accessed pockets for your essentials
• Insulated bottle/snack pouch

Wear it three ways: over the shoulder, across the shoulder or

on the waist

Designed for use by babies with good head control, weighing

up to 35 pounds

Dimensions: 12" high x 15" wide x 4" deep

 New Booster Seat Law For Colorado

As of  August 1st 2010 Colorado law states that all Children  between the ages of four to eight must be in a booster seat while in your vehicle.  Why eight? Studies have shown that children do not properly fit into a back seat of a car until somewhere between eight and 12 years old. Colorado lawmakers chose the age of eight as a minimum.

The new Colorado Child Passenger Safety Law goes into effect on Sunday, August 1st. A police officer will be able to administer a ticket if he pulls over a car and notices a child not in the appropriate child safety seat. There is a one-year educational period and only warnings will be issued to those violating the booster seat part of the law.

Parents need to explain to children that it is a safety issue and that it is not a matter of how mature they are. It's all about the size of the child and how he or she fits into the seat belt in the back seat of a car. The lap portion of a seat belt is absolutely critical to restraining the children.

Vera Fullaway of Colorado Child Passenger Safety says "If a child is not tall enough, the lap portion of the belt will slip over the hips and go into the abdominal area. Booster seats raise them up to the level of the seat belt so that the seat belt will fit them appropriately and the abdominal area will be guarded."

Fullaway says there are way too many accidents in Colorado where that lap belt has not protected a child because the boy or girl is not adequately secured. "We see anything as simple as hernia from one end of the abdomen to the other.. to injuring all the organs in the abdomen.. to as severe as severing the spinal cord somewhere in the abdominal level."

"We don't want to have children spend a lot of time in the hospital for surgeries. We want them to walk away from the crash and Belt Positioning Boosters are such a simple fix," Fullaway explained.

Fullaway also says the shoulder portion of a seat belt needs to fit across the child's collar bone and chest," Fullaway adds. "It should not cross their neck or be underneath the arms or behind the back."

Real Baby is Proud to be Chosen Top Baby Store for the Second Year in a Row!

We are happy to report that the readers of 5280 Magazine have, for the second year in a row,  chosen Real Baby as the Best Baby store in Denver for 2010! We are very proud to be chosen and will continue on with our great service, knowledgeable staff , and unique and helpful products for 2011! Thank you Denver.

        We Love the Lillebeby EveryWear Carrier!

The original líllébaby™ EveryWear™, now called the Style, is a versatile child carrier, featuring multiple sitting positions and all-in-one carrying (outward facing/inward facing, hip or back) from newborn to toddler. The contoured seat offers ergonomic sitting positions and promotes healthy spine development.

Made from wind/water repellant microfiber, the EveryWear Style is lightweight and compact, easily fitting into a diaper bag. It also features pockets for keys, cell phone, and diapers for parents' convenience.

The líllébaby EveryWear - the carrier you can wear every way, everywhere!

• Age: Front Inward Facing Carrier (7 to 25 pounds) (must use the infant cradle and harness for babies 7 to 15 pounds - sold separately) Front Outward Facing Carrier (when child is able to support head (about 4 months) to 25 pounds) Hip Carrier (15 to 43 pounds) Back Carrier (when child is able to sit independently (about 5 to 6 months) to 43 pounds)
• 
  
  Colors: Black, Chocolate, Red and Latte
  
  
• Material: Exterior and fill - 100% polyester microfiber Lining and Hood - 100% cotton jersey