After six months of hearing Baby A beg for a jumperoo, "All the cool kids have them Mom," I finally caved in and bought her one. I swear Cassidy the dog taught her how to work the puppy dog face on us, 'cause it does the trick every time. But it was worth it to see her face light up with joy as she played with all of the gadgets and naturally, jumped around.I'll fess up to the whole bit of it--I bought an exersaucer too. I'm not big on having lots of toys around the house. We have blocks, books, Baby Einstein DVDs, and teethers, but other than that we haven't gone nuts in the toy department in an effort to keep it real with her. We're blessed we even have a child, and we want to teach her the value of "things".
So my rationale in splurging on two of these things that the books say really aren't necessary is that she needs to be upright more. And that's not MHO, that's her actions. If that kid could stand up and walk on her own already, she'd be out that door. Of course I want her to crawl, and we're working on that. But that girl wants to move, and how can I stand in her way? I'm just a sucker for this kid. All that shopping I did formyself back in the day is now all for her. Who cares though? If I want my Baby Girl to have a fanfrackingtastic onesie, by golly she's gonna get it (and then who's gonna stop the Grandmas and Aunties from doing the same--certainly not me).
OK, so I got a little freaked that I could be spoiling my child. I know, what a ridiculous concept for a 6-month-old. It just scares me how kids today expect all the gagdgets and stuff that we had to earn growing up. Oh hell, let's face it, most of that stuff didn't even exist back then. But she was so happy, and hopefully I'm not imprinting her brain to think that mommy = cash register and/or gift machine (when, come to think of, I think that's how I looked at my mom as a kid, but I didn't know any better).
Anyhoo, I guess what I need to do at this point is simply enjoy the moments we share together, toys or no toys. That's the cool things about kids. I can stand around and do the funky chicken in front of Baby A and she just laughs and laughs. No bells or whistles, just me being my dorky self. Who is madly in love with this child and will do anything for a laugh, and I rarely need props (most dorks don't).
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So, here we are out at Mom and Dad Jamesons and guess what they had waiting for Miss Syd in the living room?! That's right, a JUMPEROO!
And, a video monitor (good grief!) so that we could watch her nap (rather creepy!) while here at their house.
I hear you on the spoiling thing ... It's tough, isn't it? Growing up in a "church worker" household, money did not exactly grow on trees! And my favorite memories were of creating something fabulous out of something ordinary (my Barbies - for example - had such cool digs, who needed the dream house!) And I want to make sure that Syd has the challenge of using her mind and creativity in those ways - in a world gone mad, mad, mad with "materials" ... How do we do this!
Take good care! Love the photos.
Believe me, Jumperoos and Excersaucers aren't going to ruin your sweet girl! In a matter of months, she will be more interested in the boxes they came in!
Do you participate in Parents as Teachers? They have tons of ideas to make your own toys...
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