The Prophet | Tall Tara

February 14, 2012

Hanging Ten

Excuse me while I blow the dust off my blog.

This video is a *little* late but I’m totally blaming the move across town we just completed. And yes, I do feel like I can use that as an excuse for at least another week or two.

You’ll notice a majority of the pictures in this video are from Mexico. If you’re hating the winter like I am right now, then you’re in for a treat.

Also, for those who don’t like videos about adorable babies (WHA?), then just watch and try to find my two gifts to you: look for Eli’s popped collar (very prevalent fashion trend among the younger resort crowd it turns out) and the ass shots on the beach of the older Euro couple.

You’re welcome.

Perfect Ten from Tara Anderson Calihman on Vimeo.

{music credit: Snorkel, Leo Kottke}

And happy Ballantine’s day! My husband is buying us two live lobsters for dinner tonight…what are you doing?

January 15, 2012

31 Days of Adventure: Day 15 – Fun with Food

So I’m totally off track with the daily adventures.

(I know what you’re thinking…Tara, what a surprise! See also the non-daily series: #best09, #reverb10, and the 18 days of the 21-day salute. Ahem.)

Anyway, there was a recent adventure (day 9 maybe?) that involved food, either eating or cooking something new. Since this entire month has been an experiment in letting Eli feed himself, I thought I would share how our son is doing with self-feeding.

Big props for effort.

The tooth helps. He just misses his mouth. Often.

And in the week since this picture was taken, he has another tooth. You can see the tiny beginnings of it up above, if you squint hard. The addition of another tooth brought with it some fussiness but seems to be making Eli extra brave in his eating.

Here’s to trying new food, getting more of it in your mouth and making every meal an adventure!

(Yes, I’m using the Merry Christmas bib in January. I also still have some of my holiday decorations up. Whatever.)

December 30, 2011

Nine! Nine! Nine!

In the past month, Eli started pulling himself up on anything and everything within reach. Turns out standing and climbing are fun! He also got his first tooth, celebrated his first Christmas and discovered the awesomeness of storytime at the library. You might say it’s been an exciting month.

Although the month nine video features a majority of holiday pictures, I couldn’t bring myself to actually use a Christmas song as background music. I have, however, been obsessed with the soundtrack from the movie Drive (totally awesome, btw) and therefore, decided to use a song from that instead.

It is pretty amazing that he’s a real human being.

{music credit: A Real Hero (Feat. Electric Youth), College}

December 22, 2011

Superpowers

I’m pretty sure he’s killing the bad guys with cuteness.

I mean, right?

(Although Tyra would be proud of the pose…)

Thanks to Holly for the amazing onesie.

December 10, 2011

Taking your kid (and your camera) outdoors

“Keep it simple. Not just in your nature photography but also in your approach to hiking with a child. You don’t need a ton of equipment (for taking pictures or for the baby) and you should definitely leave it to the great outdoors to provide the awe. No need to overcomplicate anything. If you’re stressed out while hiking with your baby, you’re missing the point of the activity.”

It’s not always pretty but it can be done. More tips on how we’re doing it in my guest post on Megan’s blog, Made with True Love….

(Check out her awesome ideas for taking pictures & videos of your baby while there. She provides me with a lot of inspiration for making better videos!)

December 2, 2011

eight = great

Remember a time when you showed excitement with your whole body?

I’m grateful for the daily reminder.

music credit: Pumped Up Kicks, Foster The People

November 18, 2011

Why we’re not using a crib

Call me crazy.

Don’t worry, my mother already has. And my mother-in-law is too polite to say it to my face, but when she heard our plans, she probably thought it.

From the beginning, Adam and I never liked the idea of a crib. We called it a “baby prison”. There are stories of Adam crawling out of his crib, while I used to slam mine against the wall to get the attention of my parents. Yikes. Could you imagine what our offspring would do to a crib?

We discovered an alternative while reading a book about Montessori and early childhood development. Montessori believed that a baby should sleep on a small bed on the floor in a room that’s been made safe for him. This way, a child can foster his sense of exploration by having the ability to get out of bed and crawl around his room. He can also engage in solo play time, which is as important for baby as it is for Mom.

The floor bed was hard to find. We ended up doing some online research and ordered it through a company in Kentucky that makes Montessori-based furniture. It was a little smaller than we imagined it would be but I think it’s going to work for another few years.

Eli was in a Pack n Play in our bedroom for the first three months, so I guess you could say he’s already been in a crib. But when he was three months old, we transitioned him into his own bedroom on the floor bed. It took him a while to get used to it and to be honest, it was a crapshoot each time he woke up.

Would he be on the bed?

And if he wasn’t on the bed, exactly how far away would he be?

Maybe he’ll sorta kinda be on the bed…?

It’s been five months now and the experiment is still in progress. He’s definitely learned how to stay on the bed and 95% of the time, he’s on the bed in the morning, after 10+ hours of sleep. (I’m lucky, I know.)

Naps are a whole different ballgame and it’sbeen no holds barred now that he’s army crawling around. (Oh yeah, he’s army crawling. HOLY SHIT!) He’ll wake up from his nap and crawl over to the bookcase and start playing with the books, which I think is sort of awesome. He has his space, he can travel around it safely and play with whatever he wants. He’s not locked up in a crib, crying for us to let him out so that he can play. He’s not attempting to crawl out of a crib or falling while in the process.

I tell myself that we’re teaching him how to sleep. Which is something I didn’t expect to have to teach a baby. I thought they just knew how to sleep. But more importantly in my mind, we’re teaching him how to sleep ANYWHERE. Because you never know where you’re going to end up in life. The ability to curl up on the airport floor or a friend’s couch can be a lifesaving skill.

So that’s why we’re not using a crib.

Please call me crazy. It’s what I get for talking about parenting philosophies anyway.

We also have friends that call the floor bed a baby litter box. So you’re probably not going to offend me.

And also? Do you know how much sneaking around I had to do in order to take these pictures while he was napping?

(P.S. I found a few beautiful examples of other parents going the floor bed route.)

November 10, 2011

Scenes from a snowy walk

When there’s snow outside, get out & try to enjoy it.

First, we tried on his snowsuit. Inside.

He’s happy.

Then, we tried the snowsuit in the snow. Outside.

Not so happy.

But he did make a great first miniature snow angel.

It was time to venture out a little farther. Enter the Ergo.

We walked to the park near our house to check out the downed branches…

…cold water…

…and otherworldly terrain.

I’m pretty sure someone had a good time.

Bring it Old Man Winter. We’re ready.

November 7, 2011

Two things that scared me about being a parent last week

I know, I know…only two? Maybe it should be the two BIGGEST things that scared me about being a parent in the last week.

The first bit is from an article in the Atlantic, a few weeks old now, about the decline in the amount of children’s play time and how that has led to an increase in anxiety and depression.

“It is hard to find groups of children outdoors at all, and, if you do find them, they are likely to be wearing uniforms and following the directions of coaches while their parents dutifully watch and cheer.”

This one totally bummed me out. I’m not sure if it’s because I can remember playing Capture the Flag with the neighborhood kids when I was growing up or if it’s because I have a hard time remembering the last time I’ve played as an adult before my child was born.

With Eli, I’m definitely playing more than I used to and it’s most definitely unstructured and spontaneous. But before him, my playing involved semi-solitary activities like running or hiking or backpacking. My seasons on the Ultimate Frisbee team would be considered playing, but it’s playing that you had to pay for.

Even the picture that I posted above brings up a question about playing. The folks jumping are obviously having fun. However, this photo is part of a Jump Project that the photographer is taking part in around the world. So their childlike playing was scheduled and a small piece of a larger “project”. When do adults really get a chance to play? And if the adults aren’t playing, how do you convince kids it’s an important thing to do?

(I’m certain this is the most I’ve thought about playing in the last two decades. Which is frightening as well.)

Moving from playing to paying, the other thing that scared the bejeezus out of me this week was a documentary I saw titled Nursery University, about the fight to get kids into pre-school in Manhattan. Have you seen this shit?

Are you serious? I thought we had it bad in Boulder, but I realize now just how lucky we are. And why I’m not living in Manhattan.

I think my favorite part of the documentary is when the parents talked about how getting into the right pre-school means their child will get into the right college. Yes! That’s exactly right. What your child does at age three pretty much sets them up for life. Everyone knows that. In fact, I can’t wait for my kid to be working for your kid. All because of the $50,000 per year pre-school.

Also, am I the only one who believes that a true education doesn’t happen in the classroom? Pre-school or otherwise?

I’m sorry. Rant over.

What scared you about being a parent last week?

(You are welcome to use me as your answer.)