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Taylor Newman
Sunday, August 28, 2011 - 11:52
Have Your Kids Ever Gone Through a Super Clingy Phase?
by Taylor Newman
The Parenting Post
We landed back in Texas yesterday, after narrowly escaping Hurricane Irene amidst hundreds of cancelled flights and a rapidly emptying airport in Baltimore, where we transferred planes. Phew. There are no signs of stormage here—just hotter than hell, and I’d expect nothing less of this fine Southern climate— and it feels really great to be home. We had a good time in New Hampshire, for sure; the lake was breathtakingly beautiful, the house was just the right amount of rustic, and my parents went all out on the hospitality front. Kaspar had a blast, too, but… he wanted to do that from up on my hip, pretty much without exception (lest he go all howler monkey on us… Zero-to-sixty style).Read Full Post
Saturday, August 20, 2011 - 01:00
How Much Time Do Your Kids Spend With Their Grandparents?
by Taylor Newman
The Parenting Post
We’ve been in New Hampshire since Wednesday, staying at my parents’ house—the house I grew up in. It’s been a fun time so far: my mom and I went shopping in downtown Concord (highlights include a fantastic local bookstore, an extensive and happening health food co-op, and copious cute boutiques), my brother and his wife drove up from Boston for dinner, and yesterday my parents hosted about twenty family friends—many of whom were at our wedding, and several of whom brought little kids of their own-- for a Meet-the-Kaspar cocktail hour. Kaspar, equipped with new toys (y’all did NOT need to bring gifts! Thank you!), cool air and ample space to run, is in heaven. And my parents… wow. They’re having a rockin’ good time. Aaron and I are enjoying the opportunity to put our feet up a bit as my mom and dad get their grandparent kicks. And this afternoon will mark our departure for Squam Lake (of On Golden Pond fame), where we’ll stay in a waterfront house for a week… Also with my parents.Read Full Post
Monday, August 15, 2011 - 00:15
My Top Five Tips For Loving the Last Days of Summer
by Taylor Newman
The Parenting Post
Texas' marathon of 100+ degree days has rolled right on into August (when will it rain? WHEN?), but the end of this endless summer, my friends, is in sight. We’re heading off for a 10-day New England lakeside vacation later this week, and when we get back—whether the weather’s cooled or not—we’ll start a new season, riding in on the winds of change: We’re moving into a new house this fall, Kaspar will be starting a part-time Montessori program nearby, and my work/life/massage-school schedules are slated to rev up like whoa (Aaron’s also got a full plate this coming season). All of these changes are good changes, but... well, now that they’re just around the corner, I feel myself appreciating the summer a bit more, in all of its slow and sweaty glory. I’ve been shading, hydrating and entertaining a toddler all through this long season, so I’m hereby designating myself a summertime expert, and sharing—here and now—my top five tips for savoring summer’s sweetness to the last drop. Ready? Go!Read Full Post
Sunday, July 31, 2011 - 11:51
Has Having Kids Been Good or Bad for Your Relationship?
by Taylor Newman
The Parenting Post
Some of you have been reading this blog since my pregnancy (and for those of you haven’t, feel free to internet-stalk your way back into the archives), and I hope you’ll agree that I was a pretty grounded, happy pregnant girl. I did my nesting and my prenatal yoga and my chasing down of midnight cravings (followed by 1 a.m. Google searches like: "How much Tom Yum Soup is it safe to ingest in a 24-hour period while pregnant?"). I was psyched that we were rolling full steam ahead into family-style living, having become pregnant halfway through our engagement and then married at three months knocked up, but I did suffer one choice freak-out moment after watching part of the film Marley and Me. Remember that? Remember how having kids turned cute-couple Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston into sleep-deprived, fragmented, escape-seeking crazy people? Remember how Aaron and I had to stop watching their dramatized train wreck of a marriage, and how uncomfortable we felt after seeing that? How I couldn’t help but wonder, Will this baby wreak havoc on our marriage, too?

The short answer from that freakout’s future (aka the present) is: no. We celebrate our two-year wedding anniversary on Monday (and actually have been celebrating since last Friday night), and we are both happy, satisfied and whole. Bringing a baby into our mix has cemented our relationship, has strengthened and deepened our bond in indescribable ways, and made us appreciate aspects of each other that we couldn’t have known about before (e.g. Aaron can rock a spot-on Elmo impression while changing a diaper with one hand. Who knew?). And we LOVE our little guy so. We love parenting together. It’s super fun, and an amazing experience to share. As I’ve hinted not-so-subtly at in recent months, I’m pretty sure we’re eventually gonna grow this family some more.  

Now for the not-so-short answer...

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Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 00:11
Being Who We Are
by Taylor Newman
The Parenting Post
Kaspar became fascinated with his belly button a couple of months ago. He was aware of his own body long before that, of course-- he'd discovered his toes, for instance, at about the time all infants do-- but his belly button was a whole different game. He wanted to show it to everyone. And then he'd go looking for theirs. This passing fixation seemed to signal his increased sense of himself in relationship to the world around him-- both in terms of his connectedness, and his individuality. I've noticed this sense continue to develop, too, in the weeks since.

Most recently, Kaspar's perked up any time he hears us say the word "Me" in conversation-- and, hey, this happens a lot. He'll slap his hand to his chest and say "ME!" as a loud proclamation if selfhood. He definitely understands everything else we're saying, in general, but this whole concept of "me" and "you" is just rocking his world. He really gets it. I'm bracing myself, suspecting that what's next is "Mine" (oh boy), but I'm also embracing this-- embracing his discovery and assertion of himself as his very own person-- in every positive, encouraging, rah-rah-unique-Kaspar way I can. 

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Sunday, July 17, 2011 - 00:53
How Do You Talk to Your Kids About Stranger Danger?
by Taylor Newman
The Parenting Post
Like all of you, I’m sure, I was shaken to the core by this past week’s news of eight-year-old Leiby Kletzky’s murder, in Brooklyn. Any random violent incident shakes people up, but this one seemed to shake parents most profoundly, and for good reason. All of us face the (daunting) challenge of slowly letting our kids develop their independence, venturing—step by step—into the world without our constant supervision. We have to help them do this, to heed their respective calls for hands to hold and for walking alone. Obviously, we have to do this responsibly (we are the adults in the equation, after all), but if we don’t do it—if we opt for the proverbial plastic bubble—we do our children a serious disservice, and eventually deliver them into the world as utterly unprepared adults. The news of Leiby’s kidnapping and murder was so shocking, so terrifying, because his mom handled her son’s requests to walk home from summer camp alone responsibly; they paced the route together. They agreed that she’d meet him half-way. Even so, he never made it. Where do we go from here?Read Full Post
Sunday, July 10, 2011 - 11:25
How Does Your Family Beat the Heat?
by Taylor Newman
The Parenting Post
People keep asking us, “How’re y’all liking this heat?” It’s part friendly challenge—can the Brooklyn transplants hack the Texas summer?— and part stamp of approval: we, like everyone else around here, are surviving a record-breaking run of 100-plus degree days (which I think makes our little family officially Texan). To tell the truth, though, I didn’t really realize, until these questions started, that there was anything unusual going on. I’d heard so much about the heat before getting down here that I just assumed this was what everyone was talking about. Apparently, however, scorchers like these don’t usually start their reign until August. We moved right into the thick of it last year, and, after a lifetime of Northeastern winters, thought the infamous August ‘weather’ was a piece of cake—nothing a little A/C couldn’t fix. Now that we’re in it again, though, and now that the it’s been going strong since June, we— including, most significantly, our very busy toddler—are starting to experience a touch of cabin fever. Yep, cabin fever in July.Read Full Post
Saturday, July 2, 2011 - 00:20
So Maybe I Could Handle Two (And Maybe I Want To?)
by Taylor Newman
The Parenting Post

We had two little boys running around in our house today. I picked up Kaspar’s best buddy at 4:50 this morning; his new little sister was well on her way to being born, and, well, his adults needed some backup. Shortly after arriving back at our place, he fell asleep while having a bottle in my lap, and I put him in our bed. Aaron was in Kaspar’s bed— one of us pretty much always is by that time—and I’d had coffee, so was up, but I enjoyed the quiet mom-only time with my pile of unread magazines, occasionally peeking into the bedroom full of sleeping boys. I felt a warm, fuzzy, full-house kind of feeling, but reminded myself that, soon enough, all of these boys would wake up, and those warm fuzzies might disperse just as quickly as they came.

But, when the boys woke up (well past 8!), they were completely psyched to see each other. Kaspar brought one book after another to his friend, climbed on to the bed, said “Hi-hi-hi-hi-hi.” They ate breakfast sitting across from each other, quietly staring and chewing (cute and weird at the same time), and then settled onto the floor, still in their pajamas, with blocks, which they shared, without adult facilitation. More warm fuzzies. (Hmmmm). Read more, and enter a special holiday weekend giveaway, after the jump!

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Saturday, June 25, 2011 - 23:53
How Do Your Toddlers Get Their Arts-and-Crafts Kicks?
by Taylor Newman
The Parenting Post
Kaspar has been fascinated with Aaron’s paintings since he first hit that staring-wide-eyed-at-patterns stage in infancy. Now, well over a year later, he points at different shapes and images in the paintings, and tells us all about them. Whatever he’s saying, he’s sure that he means it—I guess I’ll get the deets whenever his unique Germanic baby babble develops into intelligible English sentences. In the meantime, we nod enthusiastically and ask him to tell us more....

... I’ve brought both crayons and sidewalk chalk home for Kaspar to get his artsy side on with. He’s found them pretty interesting (our bathroom wall tells the story of Kaspar and the Purple Crayon). And, considering his newfound affinity for smearing his dinner all over the dining table-- and channeling his inner Jackson Pollock via the splatter-spoon technique—I’m thinking finger paints will be our next big hit. I still draw in the same style that I did when I was four (read: no skills in that department), but I love projects of all kids, crafts, and color. I’m glad Kaspar seems to be at the point where arts-related activities can hold his attention for, you know, ten minutes at a time; I’m wondering if you all have any good ideas for projects or mediums that best suit the toddler set?

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Saturday, June 18, 2011 - 02:50
Big Announcement! I Just Gave Birth To A…
by Taylor Newman
The Parenting Post
BLOG! Isn’t that awesome? Oh, wait, did you think I had another baby? I would definitely have filled you in on the nine months leading up to that… and it’s going to be at least another year or two before we add another commitment of that caliber to our little Newman nest. In the meantime, I’m plenty busy raising up Mr. Kaspar Q. (who we all know and love), not to mention working, writing, cooking, and creating all manner of mama misadventure under the hot Texan sun. And since I’ve been blogging here on Parenting.com since the beginning of my pregnancy, I thought I’d try my hand at my own little blogalicious enterprise, just in case y’all can’t get enough of this good Taylor stuff by way of the once weekly dose.Read Full Post

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