Dancing Allergy Baby

Allergies. Boo. Cass is allergic to, or intolerant of, dairy and soy. Lately it seems like the teensiest bit of either sends him in an eczema attack. I believe the most recent culprit to be some crackers with darn soy lechitin (I am a bad mom and forgot to read the label; I then threw the packaging away before I could double-check. Double bad Mama. Lesson learned!)

See those red cheeks? Poor little eczema baby.

In other news, I've been busy researching pre-schools. Yep, pre-school. I think it's probably time for another edition of "Holy crap I can't believe my baby is big enough to almost go to school!" in which I say that sentence over and over again in my head while frantically googling cooperative preschools in Arlington, see the words "wait list" over and over again, and begin to sweat. Then, Cameron comes into the room to gently remind me that Cass is only one, he's got a late birthday, and we really do have plenty of time to figure it all out. Lather, rinse, repeat.

But seriously, I think I've calmed a bit on this issue. Truth be told, with Cass's birthday being in December, he will be closer to 3 than 2 before he can start most pre-schools, and by then we'll be on plenty of wait lists. lol. Wait lists for pre-school - let's add that to the list of "things I'd never dreamed of before becoming a parent".

In the meantime, I've started some reading and research on various education methods. Don't get me wrong - I strongly believe in the public school system. I am a product of the public school system and it served me very well. We're extremely fortunate to live in a part of our country that has outstanding public schools, with lots of options. But, I also recognize that all children are different. We each learn in different ways, and I'm not convinced that public education alone is sufficiently diverse to meet the needs of all children. So, while I know I have one really great option, I want to know what my other choices are.

I've always been interested in the Montessori method. I've been doing some investigation into Montessori at home, which is a philosophy that integrates Montessori learning methods with home organization. I get the impression that it's geared towards parents who have a strong interest in the methodology, but lack the funds to send their kids to a Montessori school (depending on where you live, they can be rather pricy). So, this week I created a cabinet in the kitchen just for Cass - he's really into digging around in the cabinets, but some of them are dangerous and off-limits, so he gets frustrated when he can't get into them. I thought that if he had a dedicated place with his own pots, pans, measuring cups and toys, he would feel like he had his own place in the kitchen; I think it will help him have some independence and ownership in a space that's mostly for adults. It's on his level and isn't locked, so can get in there anytime he wants to dig around and play.

Last but not least, the promised video. A few weeks ago, Cass started dancing. He dances to all kinds of things, from Dad's rock n'roll to Mama's folksy stuff to his Baby Einstein music videos. Here he is, dancing to the latter: