My girlfriend Maura recently gave my son Leo a music CD from Putumayo Kids, called World Playgound and it's so wonderful, I had to write about it. Maura described it to me as "music that you and your kids like, with beats and sounds that are great for kids to listen to" and she was spot on. Putumayo Kids' mission is to "introduce children to other cultures through music from around the world" and they have a selection of CDs featuring multilingual liner notes. The music is fun, energetic, enchanting, and most importantly, Leo loves it. Everytime we play it, Leo immediately starts dancing (even if he's in his car seat, he'll start a little sitting shimmy!). In addition to World Playground, the company also has CDs such as Brazilian Playground, Reggae Playground, and African Playground. The complete catelog can be found and ordered here.

At least one percent of the CD sales benefit non-profit groups that support children, families, schools and other charities.

We discovered Leo had dairy sensitivity when I tried to feed him yogurt. Not only did he make a face like it was the worst thing he had ever tasted, he also started breaking out in hives around his mouth and on his chin: the clear sign of a food sensitivity or food allergy. We immediately stopped feeding him any dairy products. Luckily, it's not anaphylactic, and he should grow out of it. However, it makes for a daunting task as a parent to come up with new foods for a picky toddler, when most kid-friendly foods have dairy as a main ingredient (mac-n-cheese, pizza, ice cream! etc).

(***Please note that I am NOT a doctor and all foods given to your allergic child should be cleared by your pediatrician***)

Here a list of things that we like to feed Leo, for snacks, meals, or a mix of both:

• fresh fruits: bananas, pears, peaches, plums, blueberries, strawberries, etc
• fruit cups: the kinds that are in light syrup or water
• black beans
• avocado
• soy cheese
• soy yogurt
• chicken nuggets (I like the kind in the natural food section... all white meat and wheat breading. A little more expensive but I serve less nuggies with more veggie and fruit sides)
• turkey sausage or meatballs
• sliced deli meat and soy cheese in wheat tortilla roll-ups
• grilled cheese (made with soy cheese)
• ritz crackers with jam (we taught Leo how to 'dip' and he loves it!)
• cereal bars or soft granola bars
• broth based soups (ministrone, chicken and rice, chicken veggie, etc)
• cooked veggies (peas, broccoli, carrots, edamame beans, etc)
• sweet potato, microwaved, skinned and cut into cubes OR sweet potato fries (basically cut into stripes, dipped in oil and baked in the oven)
• cheerios or any wholesome cereal
• toast with jam (I use Olivio instead of real butter)
• soynut and jelly sandwiches (Leo's absolute favorite)

To increase the calcium lost by not having a dairy intake, try to buy:

• calcium fortified cereal
• calcium fortified orange juice
• calcium fortified soy milk

Important fact: There are dairy / food allergies, and food sensitivities. Leo is in the sensitivity category, so he can have things that come in contact with dairy, and still be okay. PLEASE always consult your doctor about what your child can and cannot have. This is only a list of ideas if you child is cleared for most items due to a dairy sensitivity.

Here are some websites/articles with great info:

http://www.faiusa.org/

http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/

http://www.foodallergy.org/allergens/index.html

http://www.allergykids.com/

http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/food_allergies.html

http://www.cookiemag.com/brain/kidhealth/2009/02/allergies

Good luck, and please comment / email if you have any other info.

If you have any doubt that there are toddlers who like black beans, check out this video:

Earth Day is April 22nd! It's hard to believe, but Earth Day will be celebrating it's 40th Anniversary next year in 2010. I'm in the Boston area, close to Walden Pond, which is considered the birthplace of the conservation movement. It's such a cool place to go swimming, hiking, and explore the mostly undeveloped woods totaling 2680 acres, called "Walden Woods." In honor of Earth day, our favorite Hello Little One design this month is the Merry Maple Boy Birth Announcement. Bamboo branches cradle your baby's photo and text, and bold color choices make for a modern and hip look. I can't wait to install bamboo flooring in my house. It's enviromentally friendly and I love the look.

Follow me on Twitter where I'll be tweeting about stationery and trends, random mom tidbits and various design finds.

Okay, so that's going a bit far, but it sure is a catchy title for the new book by best-selling authors Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile. This is sort of a follow-up to their first book, I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids. The two ladies wondered if marital bliss could ever co-exist with the trials and tribulations of motherhood and so they set out and interviewed hundreds of mothers to find out. I'd Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper examines the challenges of modern parenthood for married couples today and it extends a loving hand so that mothers can step out of the madness make the most of what they have and learn to love their marriages as much as they love their husbands and kids.

Today the authors were featured on Oprah with real mothers recanting not-so-perfect mom stories that were hilarious, very real, and conjured up big sighs of relief that I'm not the only one who has done or thought that. My favorite story was the woman who was driving in her car and both of her kids fell asleep at the same time. A rare occurance, she didn't want to wake them at any cost. When nature called, she simply reached in the diaper bag and used one of her child's pampers to make sure she could keep driving in peace!

A new feature on this blog will be the "Hello Little One Favorite Design of the Month." With our stationery inventory being updated on a monthly basis, we at Hello Little One want to share with you our favs, whether they be the new and fresh designs, or the tried and true best-sellers. For March, the birth month of Spring, our favorite pick is the Cherry Blossom Girl Baby Announcement Design. This design reminds us that the warm weather is just around the corner (especially if you're in a four-season area like us!)  The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC starts on March 28th and runs until April 12th. The festival annually commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, honoring the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrating the continued close relationship between our two cultures. Happy Spring everyone!

For Leo's first birthday, friends of ours got him the Cloud b Twilight Turtle Constellation Night Light and we love it. Through the turtle's shell, stars are projected onto the ceiling and walls in three different color choices: green, blue and amber. The light shuts off after 45 minutes. If Leo is a bit fussy before bed, we'll turn the turtle on and he'll just stare up at the stars and drift off to sleep. When he gets older, we'll help him identify the eight major constellations using the star guide that was included with the turtle. Right now he really loves to press the buttons to change the colors of the lights. The photos below are of his room, with the three different color settings. Pretty cool, don't you think?

As some of you know, I have a one year old son named Leo. I also have a full time job of running this business and a house to run. For a while, I was taking care of Leo on my own and running the biz, until it got just too hectic and I needed some serious help. I wavered between a nanny and daycare for a long time. I interviewed a few nannies, and researched a few daycares. In the end we choose daycare, or 'school' as we and the center call it. We had many personal reasons for choosing school over a nanny, and I believe that each family is different and requires different needs. We are so happy with our choice and Leo just loves being at school! We enrolled him in Next Generation, a center that was started by a grandmother who could not find a suitable daycare for her grandson. If any of you are in the Greater Boston area, I would recommend Next Generation Children's Centers as a place to check out. The staff is loving, the facility is clean and the teachers stay true to the center's philosophy: "To offer young children a familiar and engaging place to grow and develop. Through developmentally appropriate curriculum and specially designed classrooms, we instill in your child a love of learning. Children are exposed to literacy, science and math through our learn by doing approach to curricula. These learning opportunities become seamless in your child’s day of fun."

I was just on Tiny Print's Tiny Talk, and read about a new baby naming site that I just checked out and love: whatalovelyname.com It's so cool! You pick your category of names by Tradition (American, Welsh, etc) or Disposition (curious, wise, athletic, etc) or even Celebrity Babies (Musician, Hollywood) and other worlds (Star Trek, Narnia). The site is really well-done navigation wise, and super pretty as well. Once you pick a name, you can customize a logo by choosing the background, color and typeface. Then you can order personalized merchandise with the logo you just created! I think it's a really cool site worth checking out. Enjoy!