AAA on Progressive Pioneer!

We recently had the opportunity of meeting Amy of Progressive Pioneer, her husband Clayton, and their wonderful baby Sam. ProgressivePioneer.com is a great blog that Amy updates daily with her creative sewing, cooking, gardening and other approaches to sustainable living. She also addresses parenting--everything from natural birthing to cloth diapering. Suffice it to say, her lifestyle is what we're seeking. They are such genuine, unassuming people with a lot of talent (beyond Amy's talent, which can be seen on the blog, see Clayton's illustration website. He's also a carpenter). We're really grateful to know them. We learned so much in that one evening.

Amy saw our co-sleeping post, and asked if she could post it on her blog! Even if you've already read the post, check it out on Progressive Pioneer; it looks better there :).

Music for Kids

We did have a lot of fun music growing up, but I think that the music in the "Children" genre has greatly improved since then.

I thought I'd post some of our favorite CDs we got for Abe, with some fun youtube music videos!

Our first artist is Elizabeth Mitchell. She's really great. The following two videos are from Catch the Moon (this one's with Lisa Loeb). We also have You Are My Little Bird, which is a cool CD because she performs with her husband and daughter.

Catch the Moon is a great two-in-one deal because the CD comes in a cute little board book!

Next plug is for any Putumayo Kids CD. We have Animal Playground. Putumayo has CDs from all over the world, and it's all very tasteful and very well selected. Animal Playground is "A multilingual collection of animal-themed songs from around the world." It's really cool. Abe's favorite song in the world is on this CD. We have literally listened to it twenty times in the last two days (which is why it really pays off to have kids songs and CDs that mom and dad like too!!).

Here This is the music video for Abe's favorite, "No More Monkeys."

We just checked out the Curious George Soundtrack from the library, and Abe and I both really like it. It's Jack Johnson, some of his more original stuff I think. Here's the "Upside Down" music video.

As far as lullabies go, one CD we like pretty well is "To My Child," a Beverly Mahood CD.

Other than that, our quiet-time music comes from our classical collection, as well as the music from the Children's Songbook. Here you can download for free all the songs from the Children's Songbook (as well as all the hymns, the scripture soundtracks (oh, didn't you know each book of scripture has it's own soundtrack?), young women's camp and other songs, and basically everything the Church has ever put out). We downloaded all the primary songs and put them on CDs. And what could be better than all the primary songs? It has also been nice for me to learn (or re-learn) all the primary songs for when I feel my internal lullaby-store is running low by the time I finally sing Abe to sleep. You can also download all the songs in Spanish, Portuguese, and French.

So, what other kids music have you found that you like?

10 Reasons to Co-Sleep

As wonderful as co-sleeping was for us, we of course acknowledge that it depends on the baby, the mother and the father. We liked it because it provided the way to a happy, well-slept family!

1. More physical contact--As far as I'm concerned, the more I get to touch my baby the better. I'm sure there are tons of studies that would prove that it makes him smarter and keeps him from getting too fat and stuff like that, but I just miss him when he's not close. -Ariel

2. Keep close tabs on temperature, etc--When you have a new baby, it's nice to be close enough to monitor him all the time. On more than one occasion, I woke up just because I noticed Abe had a fever, and was able to make adjustments to cool him down before he even woke up. Likewise, I could put on an extra blanket if he was too cold. I have heard that when you control for alcohol and drug abuse, co-sleeping reduces the risk of SIDS. Makes sense to me. -Ariel

3. Positive association with sleep and night time--In my opinion, learning to sleep well is a life-skill. Many children are afraid of the dark, and scream and cry when it's time to go to bed. I want to teach Abe that nighttime is not scary or sad, but rather is a time to be comfortable and rest. -Ariel

4. Teach not to cry--Being there for Abraham, in the same bed, has kept him from crying. He knows he can ask for things, with a "please" and he can usually have them. Co-sleeping has given him the opportunity to communicate his needs through hand signs, attempts at words, and even facial expressions before he ever makes it to crying. -Andrew

5. Stay asleep to feed--Self explanatory. It was a beautiful day when I learned to nurse lying down. -Ariel

6. Build trust-- Co-sleeping shows Abe that our hands are stretched out still (2 Ne. 15:25). Throughout his life we will always be there for him, and his infant stage is no exception. He can depend on us. Babies are going through so much so quickly--physically, emotionally, and mentally--having two people they can count on all of the time, 24 hours a day, can only help in the transition to mortality. When the Savior saw the Nephite people's eyes well up in tears, He had compassion, so much so that he put off other important duties and stayed with them to heal, comfort, teach and perform miracles among them. They simply asked through their faces if "He would tarry a little longer with them." I think a clear parallel can be drawn to parenting. -Andrew

7. Both of you sleep better-- This was especially the case for the first year of Abe's life. He would breathe more easily, and sleep lots longer when he was in our bed. And if baby's sleeping well, mom can too! -Ariel

8. That's what I would prefer if I were a baby-- Babies are people. Not only that, but they are the most important kind of person. If the Golden Rule applies anywhere, it applies to those who cannot help themselves. -Andrew

9. Keep Dad involved in the parenting-- I have been able to carry Abe and sing him to sleep, change midnight dipes, and take him out of the bedroom first thing in the morning so his Mommy can get more rest. In other words, I am involved in his life in ways and at times that I probably would not be if Ariel were always the one to go in and feed and take care of him at night, or if we left him to fight it out on his own. I'm so glad to be a part of it. -Andrew

10. Family beds are fun!--I loved waking up and seeing Abe sleeping sweetly. I loved even more Abe waking me up with a pat on the face and a big grin. Going to sleep is also a fun time to wind down as a family, laughing and playing a little. It's fun. -Andrew

Update: Abe just turned 16 months old, and no longer sleeps in our bed. We made the transition when we came back to Provo in September. We felt some anxiety over the transition, but Abe handled it perfectly well which showed us that he was ready for the transition. We have a night time routine of bathing, massaging, reading, and singing. He falls asleep peacefully without a cry typically within 5 to 10 minutes of our songs. He wakes up happy the next morning and simply calls out to us "Mama" or "Gag" (which is his latest and by far most successful attempt at "Dad"), or once he got out of bed in his adjoining room and came and knocked on our bedroom door.

Sometimes we miss having him in our bed (and he still joins us when he's sick or we're on vacation), but this is the best option for us now. He just got too wiggly to stay in our bed!

Bun-Bun and Being Scott

Before we do anything else, we want to introduce you to the latest addition of our family! Meet Bun-Bun. Ariel worked hard to bring her into the family, and I really appreciate her sacrifice. But seriously, I love Ariel's creativity. I find something new to love about Ariel every day--Bun-bun was this day's. Life is exciting with Ariel. And she got "Most Original Pumpkin" at the ward party.

Abe loves Bun-Bun.
Now, Halloween costumes: We were out of ideas when I remembered that my cousin Katie, who is in the MPA program with me, has access to authentic mountain man attire from her her dad, my Uncle Scott. Uncle Scott is one of the toughest men on earth and the toughest man I know. He kayaks over waterfalls, eats bear hearts for breakfast, and can outrun, out-hunt, out-fish, and probably out-live anyone around. People pay him to talk about how tough he is. Yep, he's that tough. Anyway, I was thrilled when Katie said Ariel and I could use some of his mountain man and woman duds for our Halloween costumes, authentic buckskin pants, vest, and dress. The MPA party had a "Fear Factor" challenge, to see who could eat the most cow heart and pickled pig feet. I wasn't sure if I would even compete, let alone win. But then I remembered that I was wearing Uncle Scott's buckskin. I knew then that I had to compete and I had to win. And I did. I even gave Abe a bite of the cow heart in true Scott-fashion. Thanks for the costume and inspiration, Uncle Scott. I may not look as tough as you, but I felt your strength through that elk skin.

Here we are: Jim Bridger, Sacajawea, and Ping. Jim ran into Jawea-Cakes (as he calls her) on the trail. They were soon wed, and adopted little Ping, who had already suffered greatly as a railroad worker in California. Now they're a happy family. Look at beautiful Jawea-Cakes.

But just in case any of you did think for a moment that I am tough, watch the below video. It shows how unmanly I am along with some of Abe's tricks.