Winter Blues Turn Green When You Add Yellow Sunshine

You would think (well, I would think) that I'd read more in the winter, the time of year I bury myself in a blanket on the couch until I must go to work or we run out of food. In fact, I was watching the Muumi cartoons with my daughter, and I was very jealous that these whimsical talking hippos went to sleep for the winter when the wind got cold, and woke to a beautiful spring, every year. Sadly, hibernation is frowned upon in the human species, so I trudge on half-asleep through the winter. But when the weather gets warm, I really wake up, and I spend every possible minute soaking up the sun (with SPF 30) while walking, swimming, or laying by the pool thinking about swimming, and reading! A great hold-over, though is these warm (40 degrees Farenheit is warm in February) days to gently nudge you awake before spring actually comes. So we did this:


And I saw my first hint of spring:



You may be thinking, "Um, pine trees are green all year, Anna." But when you are walking toward them and you hear a Rice Krispies sound above your head, and then you realize that the pine cones are cracking open to drop seeds...because it's almost spring!...well, that's a good day.

But if you are one of those people who appreciate the seasons as they come, we can still agree that these are great winter reads:
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner, pictures by Mark Buehner
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers


What do you read in the winter time, so close to spring?

Won't you be mine?

I'm so glad that the radio ad guy does not consider my husband to be a "real man", because I do not want 6-foot roses delivered to me. Ever. I'll take the holiday sans sexism, please. 
Baby A & Co. wishes you a happy friend/valentine day:


The Super-Post of February

What is this? A post two days in a row?
Well, I'm just dying to get caught up after the crazy holiday rush of February. Stay with me on this doozie!

February is my 10th favorite month, so, not good. But it is not the worst.

1. MAY (the trees and flowers bloom in honor of my daughter's birthday, my birthday, and four siblings'/sib-in-laws' birthdays)
2. JUNE (summer!)
3. JULY (summer + fireworks)
4. AUGUST (I am finally warm in my bones)
5. APRIL (winter really is over)
6. MARCH (winter is really almost over + memories of flying kites)
7. SEPTEMBER (everything is still green and leafy but a few leaves begin to turn)
8. NOVEMBER (Thanksgiving + Christmas decorations go up)
9. DECEMBER (Christmas)
10. FEBRUARY (Groundhog Day + Leap Year)
11. OCTOBER (I get sad that there will be no more warm days until spring)
12. JANUARY (January holds no redeeming qualities, and the only holiday is the day I wish I hadn't stayed up so late the night before)

But back to February.
We have celebrated Groundhog Day...
Brownie the Groundhog: brownie, frosting, chocolate chips, almond, cashew halves, powdered sugar, green sprinkles

and the Super Bowl...
TOUCHDOWN!

Don't use frosting! Use whipped strawberry cream cheese and fold in some Cool Whip!

and we are gearing up for a holiday on which I have been massaged, bored, depressed, stood up (as in on a date--can you believe that!), sugar-highed, and romanced over the years: Valentine's Day

But in Finland, it is Friendship Day, and that is my favorite way to celebrate it. On Valentine's Day, I will show you friends the valentine my daughter made!

Quick! Make sure you have these pro-love books ready for Valentine's Day:

Best for 3 & up (but appeals to all audiences) :
I Love You More [click the title to learn more about Duksta & Keesler, aka "The Bald Chick and the Hippie"] (2009) written by Laura Duksta, illustrated by Karen Keesler
Read this sweet and poetic testament of love between mother and son, and then flip it upside-down and backward and read more! Flip story! Need I say more?


 Best for everyone:
Pooh Loves (2010) uses the classic Pooh illustrations (my favorite) to show what things Pooh loves. I'll bet you love those things, too.





Best for grown-ups who love cartoons and hugs (but appeals to all audiences):
Hug Time [click on the title and see the author reading it on YouTube] (2007) Patrick McDonnel, the well-known cartoonist of the Mutt series, tells how a kitten makes the world better with hugs, and how we can, too. Amazon recommends this for ages 4-8, but I say that children ages 2 & up will get the concept, and all ages will enjoy it.


Best board book for babies:
Peek-A-Love (2010) by Salina Yoon just came out in December and it is adorable! Bright, basic pictures with reveal what the bee, the butterfly, and other creatures love behind large flaps. Curious babies who grasp can move the flaps down with help. I recommend it for a speedy, cuddly read.

What are your picks for lovey-dovey reads?

A Book of Cloth

I have mentioned before that Baby A's favorite book is a soft book about a little monster finding her friend, with crunchy leaves under the sea, a bee hiding behind a flower...who wouldn't love this?

And the sweetest soft book I've ever seen is the one my mom made, featuring the cutest baby ever and her curious/confused expressions:


When I was a baby (I like to compare things to when I was a baby, especially when I watch a one-year-old I know independently view photos on a touch-screen phone)
I had a soft book, too:


Above is Baby A reading the now vintage book Hauva my mom saved just in case a grandchild would like to see a puppy's favorite activities in bright colors on soft cloth pages one Tuesday afternoon of the future.

I haven't found any soft books older than this, and the text on the back cover (below) makes me think they were a cool new trend of the 1980s that continues today. Maybe people were making their own before publishing companies caught on?




What soft books do you read?

You know what tomorrow is, don't you??

On both sides of Baby A's family, a tradition surrounding February 2nd emerged way back in the mid 1990s. 

Now, we carry on the traditions of the holiday that is only exploited by Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and by one movie that came out in 1993.






Yes, it is streaming on Netflix. And yes, there will be treats--probably cupcakes resembling groundhogs, but I can't make any promises and ruin this holiday with stressful pressure. 
And yes, we'll go on a quest for picture books about groundhogs/Groundhog Day, you know, because books are what this blog is about, (but mostly because groundhogs are cute).
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