Li' Bird Reviews

Bebe Bird: Li' Bird
Age: 2.5 years
Book: "Little Blue Truck" by Alice Schertle illustrated by Jill McElmurry

Bebe Birds (BB):   Hi Li'Bird!  Can you tell us the name of your favorite book? 

Li' Bird (LB):  "Little Blue Truck" by Alice Schertle and illustrated by Jill McElmurry

BB: What do you like best about "Little Blue Truck" compared to other books you've read?

LB: The pig, the goat, the chicken, the big green toad, the goat and the little blue truck.  And it rhymes and I like to make the animal sounds too.  

BB: What's your favorite part in the "Little Blue Truck"?  

LB: When the dump truck gets stuck in the mud and all the animals and Little Blue Truck push him out.

BB: Li' Bird, if you were to ever write a book what would you write about?

LB:  Dinosaurs, because I love them!

BB: Do you recommend the book "Little Blue Truck" to other kids? 

LB: Yes, and the other truck book "Little Blue Truck Leads the Way" 

Thank you so much Li' Bird! We love the book "Little Blue Truck" too.  To get your own copy of "Little Blue Truck" visit them here and add some fun new books to your bedtime stories.  

*If you have a lil Bird interested in reviewing their favorite book email us at hi@bebebirds.com

Doing Lunch

The Itzy Ritzy Bento Lunch Box is how we are doing lunch these days.  And the box has now become one of our favorite things.

Here's how it all went down: We have been on the hunt for a good lunch box for ages now (like a 12 months kind of a hunt).  I would look online occasionally or check the local shops in Park Slope but, I kept coming up empty handed.  My friend and her husband are both chefs.  When their daughter would take out her lunch it would be a single container filled with a beautiful array of color from orange carrots, golden chicken nuggets, red strawberries & green kale chips.  It was a rainbow of health all packed into one box that offered various sections for different foods.  I needed to have it-or something just like it.  So, I began to look... and I looked... and I looked.  Then voila!  It happened.  It was a sunny Sunday afternoon in September after spending the day in the West Village with my cousin.  I popped into a lively children's shop Doodle Doo and came across the Itzy Ritzy lunch box.  The lunch box came in a variety of styles from the happy pink owl, rock star guitar lover or a playful monkey.  It is small enough for Bebe Bird to carry or fits comfortably in my diaper bag.  Most importantly the Itzy Ritzy Bento lunch box is incredibly functional.  It is designed with a top and bottom level (brilliant!). The top level can fit an entree such as a sandwich (or nuggets like we have done & pbj crackers).

The bottom level has three compartments each providing large enough portions for snackie type items like chips, veggies, fruit or hummus & the like.

Bebe Bird enjoying lunch with his cousins and Itzy Ritzy Bento Lunch Box

The Itzy Ritzy monkey lunch box has also been a hit amongst Bebe Birds playmates. So much so, they have invested in one for themselves.  If you are like me and spent over a years time hunting for the that unique lunch box that not only looks cool but is also practical then stop whatcha' doin' & look no further.  Itzy Ritzy's eco-friendly lunch box comes in a variety of styles for $9.99 and available at itzyritzystore.com.  Bon appetit!

Dear Old Golden Rule Days

So excited for his first day of nursery school

Today marked Bebe Birds second first day of school...ever. (Here is the story of his first).  As summer gently departed making room for the  autumn breezes and falling leaves it took with it the carefree days I've become so accustomed to and thoroughly enjoyed.

Enrolling Bebe Bird for 3 half day nursery school classes wasn't my first choice.  "He's only 2.5 years old" I told myself.  "Ill never get this time back"  I reminded myself. All I want to do is soak in all the moments before grammar, middle & high school take over.  I felt the same way last year when he began his one day a week  2 hours a day nursery school. It was a gradual separation class that seemed to be as much for the parents as it was for the children.  By the end of the school year he was going 2 days and never looked back when we dropped him off.  All summer long he would ask for his teacher or "Escuela" (it's a spanish immersion nursery school).  He would sign all the songs he learned from class and in the mornings we often found ourselves sitting in a circle (he, me and the cat) belting out "Buenos Dias".  But the apprehension of the 3 days a week still lingered in the background.

Wearing his new Adidas sneaks while riding to school

When we awoke this morning the mention of going to escuela made him squeal with excitement and he hurried on his scooter  to make it to school on time.  He ran into the classroom when the doors opened to welcome the students.  Seeing his teacher, the same teacher from last year, brought such joy to his beautiful face.  I felt joy.  He was happy to be there. He wanted to be there.  I began feeling a little better.  Then a close friend, who is also a family therapist, introduced me to a brand new concept that she will be focusing on when her son begins his first days of preschool. It's her "Self Care Year".  This idea was brand new me.  A Self Care Year, she explained, is a time to focus on "you",  like starting (and finishing) a book, going to therapy sessions, yoga classes, work outs, writing etc. It's time to nourish your being and by doing so you will bring nourishment to those around you.  I could do that! So, today as I waved adios to my enthusiastic nursery schooler I greeted my Self Care time with equal enthusiasm and curiosity.  Allowing me to blow kisses to those carefree summer days and welcome a brand new season.

Bebe Bird and Z on their first day of school

Crossing Bridges

Growing up in Brooklyn can have its perks.  From parks with carousels, kids at the playgrounds & drum circles readily available & within in walking distance.  We often find life in the borough with a two year old an adventurous blessing. 

Such as our Saturday when some day's go a little something like this: 

Our day began in D.U.M.B.O (Down Under the Manhattan, Brooklyn Overpass) 

Starting our morning crossing the Brooklyn Bridge with Bebe Birds Mini Micro Scooter in tow.  Bebe Bird ecstatic. Papa and I excited. The views of Manhattan and Brooklyn breathtaking.  Some fine street art decorating the city.

And He's Off

Papa Bird showing Bebe Bird Manhattan and Brooklyn.  

From Brooklyn into Manhattan we head over to the Southstreet Seaport and discover new playgrounds.  

Where we slid down curly sides.  And...

splashed in the water features wearing nothing but a full wet diaper and lots of smiles.

Afterward, Bebe Bird napped. And I don't have proof (a la photographs) but Papa and I got to eat (and finish) a lovely brunch followed by a cocktail...(yes!) No interceptions of tiny hands reaching for full glasses of water or declarations of "I all done!" before the food has even arrived! There was no running back and forth on the restaurants seats or giving the servers the stink eye for not providing another chocolate croissant.  It was just me and papa two cocktails and one sleeping peacefully toddler.  And my friends, it was glorious!   

Then there was the Imagination Playground next to the Seaport.   

It looks a little something like this (above).  There was a tunnel slide that Bebe Bird zoomed down! And when you climbed the ramp to get to the top of the slide you had this amazing view of the large ships docked in the Hudson.  I had another one of my "this is your city!" moments and felt so happy for Bebe Bird because this IS his city.  These are HIS playgrounds.  HIS  childhood memories!  I fell back in love with NYC all over again.

  

Happiest little New Yorker

Earlier in the summer I felt the love affair between us (NYC & Me) getting a little stale.  I was craving time in the country and a yard where I could sit on the porch while Bebe Bird played.  Similar to this getaway.  I wanted the balance of both worlds to enter into my orbit.  A country house and our apartment in Brooklyn.  But, every time I cross the bridge into Manhattan the spark of the city reignites the love I have always had for it.  I'm excited again and the possibilities seem endless.

And as we made our way back to Brooklyn on the Ferry I couldn't help but feel the great joy for the life we are trying to lead in the hectic world of parenting.