Highlights Hello...A Magazine For Babies!

Do you remember reading Highlights magazine as a kid? I do! (In fact, I think my mom might still have some of our Highlights lying around her house.) I loved the magazine, and Dan and I have talked before about how we can't wait until our children are old enough to read it.

When I went to BlogHer12 last month, I was invited to a Highlights breakfast launch for their BRAND NEW magazine, Highlights Hello. I was ecstatic, and couldn't wait to find out more about their newest addition. And what I found out is fantastic!

Highlights Hello is a magazine for babies ages 0-2, and they generously gifted me with an advance copy, which I couldn't wait to bring home to share with Joseph!

As you can see, he absolutely loved it.

MOM! I get my very own magazine??

Hmmmm, lets see what this thing is all about

Ooooh, I love it so much that I must chew it!

Highlights Hello was a huge hit for both Joseph and I. He loves cuddling with me as I read him the age appropriate poem and story. On the Find It page, I point out and name the objects that we see. The colors are vibrant and cheerful, and Joseph loves to bat the pages with his hands.

One of the things I love best about Highlights Hello is that it's printed with non-toxic ink containing soy and/or vegetable oils, on durable, washable paper with rounded corners. Seriously, Joseph has chewed this thing like crazy and it hasn't disintegrated and he has never bit a piece off. Even board books can't claim this!

Most of you know how much I love books and reading, and how important I think it is to start a love of literacy very young. Highlights Hello provides an opportunity for age-appropriate reading, and I love their mission for this new magazine, which is to:

         *Strengthen the parent/child bond by encouraging parents to talk, laugh, play, sing and read with their babies and toddlers
         *Encourage parents to observe & build upon their babies' inherent abilities
         *Support babies' language development
         *Inspire the discovery & rediscovery of the joy of loving and caring for their babies

Want to Purchase Highlights Hello?
The first issue will be the January 2013 issue, which will ship in December. Pre-ordering is available on their website, http://www.highlights.com/highlights-hello-magazine-for-kids. (You can rest assured that your magazine will arrive clean, because Highlights ships it in an envelope!)

You can subscribe to Highlights Hello for 1, 2, or 3 years. (There is a discount if you choose the 2 or 3 year options. A 1 year subscription costs $34.44.) Also, (and I think this is a fantastic option!) you can change your order at any time to Highlights High Five (for ages 2-6) if your child outgrows Highlights Hello before your subscription ends! I love that!

WIN A Subscription!
Highlights is generously offering one lucky A Baby Makes Four reader the chance to win a 1 year subscription. And while Highlights Hello is the perfect choice for us because Joseph is still little, some of you might have older children who would benefit from one of the other fabulous Highlights magazines. (Highlights High Five for ages 2-6 or Highlights for ages 6-12.)

I've decided to make entering this giveaway as SIMPLE as possible. That means that the only thing you have to do is leave me a blog comment below. Let me know which magazine you'd like to win, and who you would like to win it for. The giveaway runs through September 16th, and I will randomly choose a winner the morning of the 17th. (Which happens to be my birthday, so consider this my birthday gift...to you!) I will announce the winner on the A Baby Makes Four facebook page and on Twitter.

I'll leave you with this final picture of me, spending quality time with my precious little ones, reading Highlights Hello. :) Good luck to everyone, I can't wait to see who the lucky winner will be!

*Highlights provided me with an advance copy of Highlights Hello for review purposes. All opinions are my own. Giveaway open to US residents only. When the winner is announced, he/she will have 48 hours to contact me back. If I haven't heard from the winner by that point, I will choose someone else. 

*If you've enjoyed reading this blog post, I'd love for you to consider following my blog on Facebook, subscribing by email and/or following via GFC! Thank you, and I appreciate all of your support. :) 

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Sibling Love

*I'm linking up over at Two in Diapers today! Come on over and check out all the stories of Motherhood in this week's edition of the Mommy-Brain Mixer! 

My eyes didn't want to open but I forced them to. I could see the early morning light shining behind the closed blinds. The fan was whirring, and the white noise from the kids' room was coming through the monitor. I didn't hear crying though. What woke me up?

Then I heard it again. A soft whisper, barely audible through the baby monitor. 

"Joseph! Wake up Joseph!"

Then again, a little louder this time. Next was rustling, and a quiet baby squeal. Then bouncing crib springs, and full on baby giggles followed by toddler squeals.

I laid in bed and just listened to them. They laughed and jumped and chatted. Nobody cried, nobody called out for me. They entertained each other. 

As I stretched out and woke up gradually, I found myself smiling from ear to ear. The love that the two of them have for each other is sweet, simple and beautiful. She is his hero, he is her baby. They share an unbreakable bond, and as Joseph grows it gets stronger and stronger. 

I see it throughout the day too, in the little moments. The times she cheers for him as he takes steps. The hugs and kisses she bestows on him for no reason. The way he follows her around, crawling as fast as he can to try and catch up. The way his face lights up and he grins ear-to-ear when she enters the room. 

They are my babies, but they have a relationship separate from me. This relationship will grow and alter as the years go on. They might not always worship each other the way they do now, but for as long as it lasts, I will relish it.

Some people told me I didn't know what I was getting into by having the two of them so close together. They warned me about the challeneges two under two and two in diapers would bring. But nobody mentioned the amazing and positive aspects of having them so close. The fact that they'll never know a life without each other in it. They will grow up together, protecting each other and always having someone to play with and argue with.

I get to watch them as their relationship changes and grows, and that warms my heart and makes me feel like the luckiest mommy in the world. Are they close in age? Yes. Are the day-to-day aspects of that a challenge? Often, yes. Would I change their age difference if I could? Not in a million years! 

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Successful Grocery Shopping With A Toddler And Baby

A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked how I manage two little ones in the grocery store. After I talked her ear off for awhile, I realized this was something worth blogging about. Because taking two kids (especially a toddler and a baby) to the store is not easy!

When Joseph was a newborn, I never took both kids with me when I needed to shop. Dan was home for 6 weeks, so I either went by myself, sent him, or just took Stephanie. Even when he went back to work, it was another few weeks before I ventured out with both little ones. (One of us would grocery shop at night or we would all go together on the weekends.)

Once I decided it was time to bite the bullet and take them both out by myself, I found the Ergo Carrier to be a lifesaver. I plopped Joseph in that thing, put Stephanie in the front of the cart, and was able to shop no problem.

If Joseph was sleeping, I kept him in his car-seat and put it in the back of the cart, with Stephanie up front. (This method doesn't leave a lot of room for groceries, but I can't bring myself to put the car-seat up front. It just doesn't seem safe, and our Combi Car-seat doesn't have the right ridges to fit correctly up there anyway.) On trips where I did this, I would shop several times a week and only buy a few things at a time. I was able to squeeze some things next to the car-seat in back, and put others up front with Stephanie.

Now that Joseph is older, he sits up front and Stephanie sits in the back. (Dan lectured me for this, saying the carts say right on them "Do not let children ride in the back." But you know what? It's the easiest way to shop, and she is super well behaved back there. It works for us for now!) This allows me to do a big shopping at one time, which is so nice because I don't have to run to the store 3 or 4 times a week.

I'm lucky that my kids are both typically well behaved in the store. Some of the things I do to stave off tantrums include:

-Timing it right. I go in the morning when everyone is rested from the night and has a belly-full of breakfast. (Joseph typically snoozes on the way, so he's extra rested when we get there. That's the one benefit of living at least 15 minutes from the nearest grocery store.) If we don't make it there in the morning, we go after naps. The same rested principle applies.

-Snacks. When Stephanie was younger, she always had a snack-trap during grocery trips. Now, she enjoys getting a piece of cheese and/or turkey at the deli. I don't typically bring a snack from home in for her anymore, since she doesn't really need it. But I plan to bring one for Joseph as he gets older and isn't quite as amazed by the lights and people as he is now. (I firmly believe that Stephanie is well-behaved because I exposed her to stores when she was little. She's always been in that environment, and has learned how to behave while I shop. I'm hoping the same principle will apply to Joseph as he gets older.)

-As I mentioned above, Joseph has so many things to look at that he doesn't get bored. I also chat with him as I shop, which keeps him entertained.

-Stephanie loves to be my helper. I hand her items and she stacks them, groups them together, and sorts them. She also helps me put things on the conveyor belt when we're finished. She always chats with the cashiers and baggers, and often charms them so much that they give her a sticker.

-Once in awhile we use the big cars for Stephanie at the store. (The "beep-beep" cars as she calls them.) She does great staying in them, but they are SO difficult to maneuver! I'm always glad when there isn't one available for our use.

-On the occasions that Stephanie (or Joseph) does get cranky, I use distraction as a technique. I hand Joseph something from my purse to hold, or use his pacifier as a last resort. With Stephanie, I can typically just talk her out of it, by reminding her that if she has a tantrum she doesn't get to help me load the groceries onto the belt. She loves doing this job, so that reminder is usually enough to curb the crankies.

-Lastly, I make sure to praise both kids for a job well done. On the way home we talk about what a nice pleasant trip it was because everybody was happy and nobody had a tantrum. I know Joseph doesn't understand what I'm saying yet, but it's never to early to talk things through with them!

If you take two or more kids grocery shopping with you, feel free to share some tips and tricks that you find useful!

This picture is from Joseph's first time in the front of the shopping cart. I thought this double seater cart at BJs was a great option, until Joseph pulled Stephanie's hair, grabbed her hand and just generally annoyed her the entire time. We haven't repeated this option since ;) 

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Saturday's Top 5 Laughs

Linking up with Melissa of The Mommyhood Chronicles again today! Enjoy my top five laughs from the past week. :)

1. Stephanie is a pro at going potty, she's been trained for over 3 months now and has never had a problem. She doesn't even use her potty seat topper anymore, preferring to go on the big toilet. However, the other day after she went, I started to flush while she was still sitting. She jumped up with a panicked shriek and exclaimed "NO Mommy! Don't flush me!" I tried not to laugh, since she was so distraught, but I found it highly amusing. I kept it together though, and assured her that she is way to big to go down the toilet, but that if it makes her feel better I won't flush until she's safely standing on the floor. (Better yet, I make her flush most of the time now.)

2. One morning a few days ago, Stephanie was up way too early for me so I told her it wasn't time to be up, and she needed to go back to bed. She looked up at with wide eyes and said "But Mommy, I awake now!" So I gave her pile of books and told her to read quietly in bed, which she did. The next morning she knocked on the bedroom door at a much more reasonable time, so when I opened it I greeted her with a big smile and an offering of milk. She looked at me for a minute and said "No Mom. It's too early. I going to read." She grabbed herself some books, hopped back in bed, and proceeded to stay there for another half an hour.

3. Joseph is officially on the move now, but he doesn't crawl on all fours, preferring to scoot on his belly. It's so funny to watch him pull himself forward, using only his arm muscles.

4. A few times lately my order at Dunkin hasn't been right, so I've gotten in the habit of checking it before we pull out of the parking lot. The other day I paid, pulled forward, and stopped to check. Stephanie asked what I was doing and I said "I'm making sure they put caramel swirl in my coffee." She paused for a moment, and then said in a shocked voice "Oh mommy...you eating caramel squirrels???" I practically spit my coffee all over the car as I broke out laughing, and assured my daughter that I was most certainly NOT eating squirrels.

5. I adore everything about Joseph's stage of infancy right now. He makes me laugh all day long, just by doing the simple baby things he does. Examples:
 1. Eating any paper he can get his hands on (I call him my little goat, because he sits there chomping away contentedly whenever he happens to find a piece.)
2. Playing with wires. He will crawl (scoot?) all over our apartment just to try and find a computer or cell phone charger wire that someone has forgotten to put away. He then sits up proudly and shakes the wire with a big grin on his face.
3. Emptying the toy baskets. He particularly enjoys doing this right after I've cleaned everything up.
4. Grabbing my legs when I walk by him. He will lunge at me, and wrap my legs in his arms, giggling as he hugs me.
5. Eating. He LOVES chunks of real people food and will giggle hysterically while eating it because he's so thrilled.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe, and fun-filled weekend! xoxo

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