Mommy FTW

I have a new found love for the library now that I have kids.  We go all the time to pick up books I’ve requested (see my post on putting books on hold) as well as to browse the shelves for something new and excited.  So I was happy to hear about the Check it In Fine Forgiveness Campaign that the DC Public Libraries have in effect.  Here are the details:

Don't worry, the library still loves you. Bring it back!

The “Check It In” campaign is an effort to encourage DC Public Library cardholders who haven’t used the library in a while because of overdue, lost or damaged books or other library materials to return to the library.  The DC Public Library will forgive all fines and fees on any overdue, lost and damaged item.

The DC Public Library wants to get back as many overdue books as possible to benefit more District residents. The Library wants to also ensure we have your most up-to-date information so this is an opportunity for you to update your customer record with your new email address, phone number or mailing address.

How long is the campaign?
The 60-day campaign will run from Monday, Dec. 5, 2011 – Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012.

How does it work?
No matter how long you’ve had the book. No matter the condition of the CD. You can return them to any DC Public Library. No questions asked. And best of all NO FINES OR FEES charged. You lost it? No problem. Stop by your local library and we’ll forgive that too.  When returning your book, you must see a library staff person in order to clear your record of fines and fees.

What are you waiting for? Check it in and discover the joy of using your library again.

I remember as a child I lost a book and was so scared of paying the fines (my allowance was non-existent) that I never went to the library again.  It wasn’t until I came back to DC as and adult (with a new last name from my marriage – ha!) that I started using the library again.  Don’t let this happen to you!  The DC Public Libraries want to give you a clean slate.  Start your love affair with the library again!

For more information on where to find your local DC Public Library branch, check out their website.  Also be sure to read my post on placing books on hold (my favorite way to get the most out of the library) and check out what Cameron is reading if you need some inspiration!

Those of you who read Mommy For The Win regularly know that Cameron loves to read, and I try to encourage this by always getting him new books.  I’ve become a huge fan of the D.C. Public Library because really, who has the money to buy all these books!

When I first started going to the Library I would aimlessly search the shelves and pull out what seemed like it would interest Cameron.  Occasionally I would find something good, but it was hard to really get in there to look for specific things while wrangling a toddler and a newborn.  So, with the encouragement of the DCPL on twitter (@dcpl) I checked out the D.C. Public Library website, and learned how to place books on hold for pick up at whatever library I wanted.  It’s really easy – Here’s a step by step guide:

1)Figure out what book you want to check out – this can be the hardest part.  If you are short on inspiration, use Amazon.com to help you.  Today I started by typing in “Truck Book” to the search box.  One of the suggestions that came up was “Little Blue Truck” by Alice Schertle.  The reviews seemed good, so I thought I’d see if the Library had it.  (Honestly, I would say 8 out of 10 times they do have the book I am looking for!)  FYI, another great resource is the “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” suggestions box.  It’s full of other great ideas for similar books.  If your toddler has a favorite book, search for it and see what Amazon suggests in this area.  It’s really helpful!

Use this suggestions box to come up with ideas

2)Go to the D.C. Public Library website and search their online catalog.  The website is catalog.dclibrary.org – just type the title of the book (or if you have an author you like, you can try that as well) to find your book.

Search the online catalog

3)Place the book on hold.  Click on the book – when looking at the book information page you will see there is an option to “Place Hold” – this means that they will fetch the book for you (from any DC Library branch) and bring it to whichever Library branch you ask.  Yes.  THEY DELIVER IT!! If the book is checked out, they will get it for you once it is returned.  Usually it takes a few days if the book is not checked out.  They will email you when the book has arrived at your requested library.

Place your book on Hold - you can choose your pick up branch

4)Pick up your book.  Once you get your email, go and pick up your book – it will be there waiting for you under your name.  It’s so easy.  You will never aimlessly browse the Library again!

You can manage your holds and see what the status is as well.  If you decide you don’t want a book after all, you can cancel the hold.

Manage your Holds using the "My Requested Holds" button

Of course to do all this you need a library account.  If you don’t have one of those, sign up.  It’s quick, easy, and FREE!

Not in D.C.?  Don’t worry – I know other Libraries have a similar system.  Stop in to your local branch and ask them how to place a hold for a book and if they have an online catalog.  You will be so happy you did!

It seems like every time we get new books from the Library Cameron learns new words and his vocabulary grows.  Pretty cool!  And now to make finding the books I want super easy I just request them online at the DC Library website and get an email when they are ready to pick up.  If I’m short on inspiration of what to look for in the online catalog I just browse Amazon and see what other books people buy when I look up Cameron’s favorites.  Anyways, these are his current favorites – soon to be returned for something new!

Alphabeep!  Cameron learned so many words from this book, which highlights a transportation related word for each letter of the alphabet.  Now everywhere we drive he points out stop signs, yield signs, red lights, firetrucks, cement mixers… the list goes on!  It’s perfect for any vehicle obsessed toddler.

Cameron has loved many Byron Barton books, and Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs is no exception.  A lot of the dinosaur names are pretty hard for him, but he did learn “T Rex” and also now seems to understand what “scary” and “scared” means.

In the book My Big Rig a young boy drives cross country in his truck via his imagination.  Since Cameron likes anything to do with trucks, this one is a no brainer!

Cameron seems to love every Spot book that we bring home.  In Spot Goes to the Park, Spot and his friends play ball and swing at the park.  These are things that Cameron and I do a lot together, so reading this book is a fun way for me to ask him questions about what we did at the park too.  Of course, this book has all the lift-the-flap fun that Spot books are known for.

Be sure to check for these books at your local Library – and DC friends, try out the online library catalog.  It’s a really convenient way to get all the books you want.  If you’re not in DC, check to see if your library system has a similar feature.  I know the one in Brooklyn did as well!

A few weeks ago I posted a link on the Mommy FTW Facebook fan page about how to prepare your toddler for a new sibling, and I reached out to the fans for any additional advice because I am not exactly an expert on this topic.  I got some great ideas from both the article and my fellow moms that I wanted to share with the rest of the Mommy FTW readers.

I started off by requesting some books from the library about newborns and older siblings.  I know at both the the DC and Brooklyn libraries you can search the online catalogs and request that books be placed on hold for you.  You get an email when the books are at your local branch to pick up.  It’s really easy!  The books I got were:

Baby on the Way by Martha Sears

I’m a Big Brother (or, I’m a Big Sister) by Joanna Cole

Brand-New baby Blues by Kathi Appeit

I also ordered a baby doll from Amazon.  I got the Melissa and Doug baby Jenna – it had great reviews, and the price was very affordable.  Cameron loved the doll from the second it came out of the box.  We put diapers on it and get it dressed.  He gives it hugs and kisses and tucks it in under his blanket.  He even puts the baby in his Sister’s crib and says “shh quiet” because she is sleeping.

Cameron's little sister, taken Jan 2011

I talk to Cameron a lot about the baby, and he likes to give my tummy hugs and kisses.  I’m not sure he really understands what’s going on in mommy because one time he pointed to my husband’s stomach and said “baby.”  Oh well!  It can’t hurt!

Lately I try and get Cameron to help me as much as possible with small tasks around the house.  I think this makes him feel useful, and hopefully will make him feel good about himself and involved when the baby comes.

Other bits of advice I got from some of the fans was to spend as much one on one time with Cameron when the baby comes (especially in those early days when the baby is sleeping a lot).

Also, just as sometimes Cameron will have to wait when I am doing something with the baby, it is good to ask the baby to wait a minute while I do things with Cameron (use your best judgment, of course!)  That way he won’t always feel like he is second.

Another fan suggested a Sibling Preparation class at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis.  I didn’t check this out myself but it sounds like a great idea.  You can find out more about this class and the 2011 schedule via this link.  Sibley Hospital (where I’m to deliver) has a “Sibling Tour” with activities for young kids as well.  Find out more at the bottom of this page.  If you aren’t in the DC area, check with your local hospital to see if they offer any classes.  I didn’t even know classes like these existed!

If anyone has any other advice, please share it with me.  I have to admit I feel nervous about such a big change in our family, but I am sure Cameron will handle it like a champ – and that brother and sister will become the best of friends over the years!

As I said in my last post, Cameron and I have been spending a lot of evenings at the Tenley Friendship Library where we wait for his Dad to come home from work.  This seems to have really sparked a new love of books in Cameron, which makes me really happy.  Below are four of the books we recently checked out that Cameron has really been enjoying.  Look for them at your library, or find them on Amazon.com (or at your local bookseller).

My Truck is Stuck by Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk – This book is BY FAR Cameron’s favorite of the library books.  It is very repetitive, and has lots of rhyming, which he likes.  Also, a lot of the words in the book Cameron knows.  Stuck, Truck, Beep, Help, Bus, Car, the list goes on – so it’s perfect for him.  He recites the words along with me as a I turn the pages.  (Cameron is getting put to bed now by his dad as I type this and I can hear him yelling “Truck! Stuck! Help! BEEP BEEP!”)  We might have to renew this one for extra time…..

I Love Trains by Philemon Sturges – At home Cameron has the book I Love Trucks by the same author, but recently he has really been into trains so this book is a hot item.  The illustrations in this book are particularly interesting to him – there’s lots of animals (cows, sheep, rabbits, ducks, dogs) which he likes to point out, as well as trucks, and cars on the train.  The grand finale of the book is that Dad comes home on the train, so it’s perfect for our library visits.

Spot Goes to the Farm by Eric Hill – At home Cameron has Where’s Spot (which I prefer) but Cameron really likes Spot Goes to the Farm because of all the animals in it.  Of course he also loves the lift-the-flap aspect of all the Spot books.  You can’t really go wrong with any of them!

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper – Do you remember this classic book?  I sure do.  When Cameron pulled it off the shelf (due to the train pictures, of course) I had my doubts that he would like it.  It has a lot more words than all the other books he likes, so I figured he would loose interest part way through.  This wasn’t the case – which taught me not to underestimate his attention span (especially when trains are involved!)  Sometimes the oldies are still goodies.

As we get more books out, I’ll keep posting.  A lot of local libraries have online catalogs so you can search for these books before you go if you are interested in them.  You can even place a hold on them so when they come back to the library they will keep them at the front desk for you!

If you’re looking for a few good books to pick up for Christmas, here’s some of Cameron’s current favorites that we read before nap time and bed time every day.

Mega Trucks is just what you might think – a picture book full of huge trucks!  I think this is Cameron’s current favorite.  It’s full of truck vocabulary, and he loves the big pictures.  This is more of a “big kid book” in that the pages aren’t board book pages.  We’ve had to repair a few with tape – but with all the love this book is getting, I don’t mind the wear and tear.

Cameron has had One Yellow Lion since birth, and he has always loved it.  Lately he has been more excited about it because he loves lifting the flap and seeing the hidden animals.  It’s a really simple book (and a nice introduction to counting) – andt he seems to really enjoy it.

Cameron loves dogs – so Where’s Spot is a real treat for him.  He gets to lift the flaps and look around for Spot who is hiding.  Usually there is a lot of giggling involved.  There’s lots of different animals which you can teach your little one the names of.

The Going to Bed Book is usually the last one we read before it’s time for the crib.  I like the cute rhymes, and Cameron loves to point out the boat, moon, teeth (they brush them.)  I think it’s a nice way to close out the excitement of book reading.

Also, be sure to check my older post “Cameron’s Favorite Books” for more ideas.  He still loves these old favorites, particularly Trucks Roll and My Car which are still in very heavy rotation at nap time and bed time.

Cameron and I have been looking for fun things to do since we’re in DC – and Library story time seemed like a great (free!) idea since he enjoyed it so much at the Clinton Hill Library in Brooklyn.  I checked on the DC public library website to see what kinds of things were going on.  It turns out, there are lots of options, and their website makes it really easy to see what is going on each day of the week at each location.  This is awfully handy when you wake up and it’s pouring rain and you wonder what in the world you are going to do with your busy toddler (like yesterday!)

I live near the Chevy Chase library (5625 Connecticut Ave. N.W DC), and they have two kids of story times there.  There’s a “lap time” for kids up to 24 months, and a “toddler time” for ages 2 and up.  I have checked out both since Cameron is right on the dividing age line.  Both of them were really fun for him – the lap time is more low key with some singing, less moving around, and is a little shorter (30 minutes).  The toddler time had more music (most played from a boom box and you sing along), moving around to the music, more reading of longer books, and lasted longer (45 minutes).  After each session we went to the children’s section to look for books and hang out with the other kids.

Check out the Story time Calender on the DC public Library website to find out what activities are going on at the library near you.

Also I wanted to note that on nice days, it’s fun to check out the small playground behind the library.  It’s made especially for kids age 2-5 which was perfect for us.  Cam had a ball.  It’s a great way to spend a few hours.

Cameron’s favorite books are always changing as he grows – but I wanted to let you all in on his current favorites (FYI – he is 20 months old).

Cameron is obsessed with Cars (which for some reason he calls “choo choo”) and Trucks (“tuck”)  He also loves Cats (“tat”) since we have two of them.  So, his favorite books revolve around these items:

My Car – Byron Barton – This is a book about a man named Sam who loves his car and drives a bus.  There are lots of pictures of all kids of vehicles.  Sam also wears a hat and shoes which Cameron likes to point out and say on every page.  It is required that this book is read at least once before bed time.  This book has thick pages, but is a step below a board book in terms of durability.

Find the Kitten – Find it Board Books – Each page of this book has a picture of a kitten and Cameron loves to point it out on every page.  There’s also other things to point out to help build vocabulary.  As you might have guessed, this book is a board book.

Trucks Roll! – Richard Jackson Books – I’ve been reading this book to Cameron since he was born, but he loves it more and more every day.  It’s got so many pictures of semi trucks in it, Cameron is in heaven.  He always pulls it off the shelf for me to read every morning.  This book is more of a “big kid book” as the pages are not cardboard or thick.

Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown – If you didn’t get at least one copy of this book as a gift, I would be shocked!  Did you ever notice how many kittens are pictured in it?  Well Cameron did, and he points them out on every page.  A classic goodnight story.  We have the large “Lap Edition” and a smaller travel size both of which are board books.

Toes, Ears, Nose – Karen Katz – This is one of many “Lift the Flap Books” by Karen Katz, all of which Cameron enjoys (we find them at Clinton Hill Library) but I really like this one because it helps Cameron learn his body parts.  Unfortunately, some of the flaps have been removed due to all the tough love that Cameron has shown this book.

Also, check out my post about Bath Books Cameron Loves – I wrote in in September 2009 (almost a year ago!) but Cameron still loves all these books, and they are still a big part of bath time.

Posted from New York, New York, United States.

This week I’m heading back to DC with Cameron (for more pool time at the Wilson Aquatic Center!) so I decided to do a little research on the local Library (the Chevy Chase branch located at 5625 Connecticut Avenue) to see what sorts of baby friendly reading programs they have in case we’ve got some spare time.  Here’s what I found listed on the Friends of the Chevy Chase Library web site.  Looks like they’ve got some good offerings!

Chevy Chase Library (via flickr)

Baby Time!
Thursdays at 9:30 am
Books, Lullabies, and Bonding
A program intended for babies and their caregivers

Story Time!
Thursdays at 10 am
Stories, Songs, and So Much More
A program intended for children ages 2-5 and their caregivers

Family Time!
Wednesdays at 7 pm
Stories, Arts & Crafts, and FUN
A program intended for children and their family members

I don’t think we will make Baby Time on this visit, but we will try to in the future!  I think this just goes to show that you should check with your local library to see what kinds of things they have to offer you and your little one.

On Tuesday Cameron and I headed out to Clinton Hill Library (380 Washington Ave) for Reading with Babies, and a break from the rain. When I got to the library I saw a sign posted that there wouldn’t be any story time until March 2nd, and that they were showing a Sesame Street movie instead. I was a little disappointed, but I wanted to check out the Children’s section of the library anyways because I had heard it was a nice place for kids to play – story time, or no. Indeed, I was not let down.

Cameron plays with the bead maze

There was plenty of space for Cameron to roam around, and a few other babies there. So many books were at his level, and I didn’t feel bad about him taking them off the shelves himself and taking a peek at them (I just followed him around and put them back). There were also a few toys for the kids.

So many books to choose from

Overall, it was a nice place to take Cameron when the weather is bad, so we will certainly be back!