Allen Plays Ball

Allen Babbles

Baby Prayers

Interesting discussion today~

Is rote prayer something we should teach our children? You know the traditional "Now I lay me down to sleep" or even the Lord's Prayer.

This came about as I folded Allen's little arms and whispered for him "Now I fold my hands and say Thank you God for my lunch today." My companion is convinced that Matthew 6 forbids rote prayer. Yet it is in Matthew 6 that we are given the traditional Lord's Prayer.

The difference of interpretation over what Jesus was saying is rather interesting.

Although my heart believes that we have been called to pray through the spirit, I also believe that in the very young in age or Christian walk, the rote prayer has a place.

I may be wrong and may have to answer for it at some point~ however for now I will continue to teach my little guy rote prayers. Confident that my little guy is learning at this very young age how to communicate with God.

I equate the rote prayers I am teaching my son with his learning to talk. When I talk to him, there are words that I repeat over and over and over to him. For instance, we see a

dog. I tell him "Look Allen, it is a dog. Allen, do you see the dog?" Usually at this point he is squealing or babbling. So I reinforce his early use of language and say "Yes, it is a dog." He and I may continue a conversation about the dog, talking about the dogs ears or nose or if it is big or small. In every sentence that I use with him talking about the dog, I make sure I say dog.

His little mind is making the neurological connections for the visual with spoken word. Soon he will be saying dog and know what a dog is.

In this same way, saying an easy rote prayer at meal time like "Now I fold my hands and say, Thank You God for my lunch today."

Allen is learning to say a blessing before he eats each meal. We are also using that particular prayer because it tells him to be reverent, by folding his hands. In time, Allen will learn to ask

his own unique blessing on his meals. Be it a simple "Thank You" or if he goes into a longer prayer to thank the hands that grew it, the hands that prepared it into a meal, bless it to our bodies and so on.

It all starts with the humble beginnings of the rote prayer.

He is growing up too fast...

There he is~ sitting up on his own and playing with his new toy. He is totally facinated by the toy. What is especially cool about it is that as soon as he gets the urge to start pulling himself up to walk~ this toy will help him get around. GO ALLEN!!!!!

Baby Games

Yesterday Allen's developmental teacher was here~ once again he is developing at just a little above average! YAY!

As we discussed where he is at, what he is doing, starting to do and isn't doing yet she had some ideas for games to play~

Peek-a-boo with a twist

Blanket

Toys Baby Likes

Might introduce household items such as a bowl, spoon, cup, etc.

The game starts of with traditional peek-a-boo using a blanket between baby and peek-a-boo partner. By now this is a familiar game for baby. Then the twist...

take one of baby's favorite toys or introduce new items to baby. Hide the item under the blanket. Ask Baby where the item is~ if it is a new item keep saying the word for the item. For example if you are introducing the sippy cup~ show baby the sippy, tell baby what it is, then put the sippy down and cover it with the blanket. Ask baby where the sippy is. Then peek-a-boo there is the sippy as you pull off the blanket. You want to repeat the word of the time several times during the game.

This does dual learning~ baby is learning things don't just disappear and begins to reason where things go when out of sight AND because you are repeating the word of the object over and over there is language development and word to object recognition beginning. This is a fun game for baby.

Then balancing games to help baby sit better (Allen is sitting but is still very top heavy and loses his balance easily)

One was to sit baby on your knee, grasp both hands and then gently and slowly bounce and move your leg around so baby is having to work at balancing a bit. As baby gets a little better at this, start releasing one hand at a time so that baby is able to use one arm to balance along with the grasp on your hand. Singing little songs to baby while he is playing the balancing game and moving your leg to the rhythm can also help him learn a bit about rhythm and predictability.

There was also the suggestion of sitting baby up on the floor, sit in front of him with a book. Read the book while he is sitting but also being ready to catch him if he tips over. The book may hekp keep his attention and not have him so courious about everything else he can see and losing balance to examine whatever it is that has caught his attention.

Of course continuing to praise and make much ado about everything is key.

Allen is an amazing little guy and I am so blessed to be his Mommy!

Your 7-month-old's development

Recognition skills

Your baby now actively engages in hiding games. Place one of his favorite toys on the floor and cover it with a napkin. Pull the napkin off and say, "There it is!" Cover it again and repeat.

For more fun, hide an object under something and wait for him to discover it. It's one of the easiest ways to keep your baby occupied!

Your baby can remember that the jack-in-the-box pops up at the end of the song — yet he'll still laugh every time. He's also able to recognize different tones and inflections and may burst into tears if you speak harshly.

Stimulating toys and games

Because he likes predictability, your baby enjoys playing the same game or reading the same book over and over. In addition to patty-cake, try adding classics such as "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "This Little Piggy" to your repertoire.

Sippy time

Your baby may have already started feeding himself finger foods, although this can begin as late as 10 months. Once he reaches this stage, you can introduce a sippy cup.

Try giving him a cup with a spout and two handles. If your baby's getting frustrated that he can't get more liquid out of the sippy cup, remove the valve in the top of the cup. If your baby's having trouble figuring out how to suck through the spout, take the lid off the sippy cup and let him first drink straight from the cup (show him how to tip it back so the drink flows into his mouth).

Switching your baby to a cup sooner rather than later might make it easier for him to give up the bottle. If you're breastfeeding, you can even bypass the bottle altogether and go straight to a cup.

Remember, your baby is an individual

All babies are unique and meet milestones at their own pace. Developmental guidelines simply show what your baby has the potential to accomplish — if not right now, then soon. If your baby was premature, keep in mind that kids born early usually need a bit more time to meet their milestones. If you have any questions at all about your baby's development, ask your healthcare provider.

Allen Update

Allen is moving around now, he has been crawling and in the last few days has really started to move with more determination. So I spent the last 2 days getting the house ready for a small mobile child.

It was FUNNY~ I had done all this child proofing. Moved furniture so that the little guy had more space to boogie around the room. Crawled around on my hands and knees so that I could see anything that might be dangerous for him. Tied up wires so he couldn't pull down any electronics, covered outlets so he couldn't get hurt that way, put up the baby gate so he can't get in the kitchen, put away chemicals in cupboards he can't open, bought a toilet latch...

Here I sat thinking what a good job I had done baby proofing the house but still keeping it looking good

I was sitting at the computer~ Allen had been playing down by where the sofa's are in this picture. I was peeking over my shoulder watching him work hard at getting closer to me. He was scooting along headed towards me. He finally reached me~

He was laying here next to me on the floor playing like in this picture

(see him on the floor between the tv and desk)

when all of a sudden my computer started acting funny. I look down at the tower, I have it under the desk... Allen has his little hands on it~ he had shut off my computer! Too funny...

So I either have to move the tower up on the desk or figure out a way to protect the power switch from exploring hands :)

He really is a funny little guy and growing up so very fast!