“My, what big hands you have.  The better to wave at you with!”

This is an adorable family friend of Christina Cipoletti (Nursery & Care marketing team) discovering her shadow and lifelong partner for the very first time.

Every Wednesday we’ll be sharing a photo showing off a little bit of wonder in the lives of our extended Graco family of customers, employees and friends.

This past Monday, some of my fellow bloggers, Kim and Kristin, and I were discussing discipline. We joke that Kim and I are completely opposite when it comes to discipline. I am very, very lax and Kim is structured & planned (she has a discipline meter…). I have to admit, that I was inspired by her. That night, PP, once again, would not sit down to dinner without a fight.  Once she did sit down she said, “NO” as soon as I placed a plate of food in front of her. I told her that she needs to eat dinner or NO TV that night (that was the first time that I ever said that). She didn’t eat anything & I warned her again. PP then proceeded to throw the dish of food onto the floor (this is a normal occurrence) and said to me, “No.”

So, I unhooked her from her seat and told her that she cannot watch TV since she didn’t eat her dinner. PP whined at first then went right to her toys & started to play. Then we played house in her Rose Petal cottage and had a tea party. PP wanted to read some books, so we read about three Curious George books and played with her flash cards (which have really helped her learn new words). Before we knew it, it was bathy bath time. If we hadn’t instilled NO TV night, then we would have missed out on some quiet family time.

We actually survived a night without TV! Who knew we could pull it off and actually enjoy it! My husband was the one struggling that night - he tried to negotiate watching a hockey game since PP wasn’t allowed to watch her shows (I didn’t give in–no TV means no TV for everyone!).

This happened again last night. I stood strong & said “no TV” again.

My parents were watching my daughter today & she ate some of her lunch & my dad said to her, “Do you want to watch TV?” Her reply was, “Can I?”

Maybe I can discipline her….

OK.  So I had a really strange conversation this past week.  At 35 weeks pregnant, I finally broke down and decided to have a c-section for the birth of my little Hercules.   

“Broke down?” you ask.  Well, I didn’t have a c-section for Boog but let’s just say that he was “too big” for me.  Ahh yes.  We’ll leave it at that since co-workers are reading this too :-)   Despite this, I never considered having a c-section until I started to learn some of the risks I could face if Hercules is also “too big”.  

Even armed with this information, it was still a tough decision since it made me feel like I was not up for the challenge (yes. I have a bit of a competitive streak).  Finally, after talking to every person I know who’s had a c-section, I accepted the fact that my long term health is a bit more important than feeling like I was “wussing out” (aka “being stupid”). 

So. . . this led to me scheduling my baby.  Yes.  Very strange.  I got a call from my doctor’s office asking if I was free at noon on the 26^th.  My automatic response was to pull up my calendar.  Fortunately, I only had a 9:00 meeting so I said “Sure.  I think I can do that.” Whoa!  Double take!  What?  Did I really just schedule my baby in Outlook?  The answer is “yes” – although I only blocked off an hour so hopefully it doesn’t take too long! 

I’ll keep you all posted on the progress – my personal hope is that I can reschedule the birth (I’ve made sure to leave my calendar open just in case) since I’d really like to go later.  Yes.  Maybe I’m insane, but I still feel great and I still have a lot to get done before she comes.  Oh.  And did I mention that I’m still under the illusion that Hercules will simply fit into my schedule or that I’m in for a rude awakening?

Winter’s just about gone.  You can practically smell the warming sunny springtime around the corner.  Spring Training has started, and dads all over the country are sizing up their team’s chances for the 2008 season.  Some dads are hardcore fans like Red Sox Dad and some are more casual observers, but regardless of their fervor for the game, millions of their kids will soon be grabbing a bat and glove and hitting the field. 

Some dads are getting phone calls: “Wanna coach T-Ball?”    It might be advisable to screen your phone calls for a while if you’re not the coaching type.  Take a fun lesson from Coach Damon.  Answer the phone, and you could find yourself coaching a t-ball team, which more often resembles an attempt to herd cats than a recognizable game of baseball.  But it’s all good.  Hopefully, if you can’t teach them the finer points of laying down a bunt or hitting the cut off man, you can still infuse them with the spirit of teamwork, good sportsmanship, and fun, plus possibly foster a love for America’s favorite past time. 

Gus was always interested in baseball.  But at 5 years old, it’s hard to hold a kid’s attention (especially during a long game of t-ball).  He usually played in the outfield – there’s less chance that a ball will be hit that far in the air, so he couldn’t get hurt or make a lot of errors.  Besides, the flowers and weeds were more plentiful out there.  He led the league in acres picked.  He once ran in at the end of the inning and presented my wife with a beautiful dandelion, “Here Mom!”  In fact, he picked so many flowers and pulled out so many weeds and grass patches from the outfield that one coach said to me after a game, “Looks like you have a budding horticulturist in the family.”  It’s a pastural game, what can I say?

One game is seared in my memory, though.  Gus was up to bat.  He had whiffed twice and had two strikes on him (how you whiff when the ball is sitting motionless on a tee is a wonderment in and of itself). His third swing was a thing of beauty.  He made contact and the ball shot through the third base side of the infield.  Yes I said THROUGH the infield, meaning it went into the outfield.  “WOO-HOO!” we cheered.  As the other team swarmed after the ball (nearly every opposing player on the field ran after that thing-I told you it was like herding cats).  Gus turned toward first base (with a lot of encouragement from the coach, “Go, go, go…. go to first, go to first!”) and SKIPPED all the way to first base.  No rush I guess, after all, first base was one of the few things on the field that wasn’t moving.  I couldn’t help myself.  I automatically jumped up and shouted “THERE’S NO SKIPPING IN BASEBALL!”  Very Tom Hanks-like. I got carried away.  Like skipping to first base at age 5 was going to hurt his chances of playing for the Phillies someday – yeah, right!  Oh, in case you’re wondering, Gus skipped merrily (and safely) into first base.  He may not grow up to sign a multi-million dollar contract to play professional baseball, but hopefully he learned a thing or two about the game, teamwork and sportsmanship during his little league experience. 

Who knows, he may grow up to be a Master Gardener, or a….please tell me there’s no practical career path for skipping aficionados. We parents would probably do well to relax a little, sit back and just try to enjoy their moment in the sun, I think.  It’s more fun that way.  Play Ball!

Graco CarGo Safety Notice

Having a corporate blog has allowed us (Graco) to talk with all of you in the vibrant parenting online community. Most of the time you will find us talking about our experiences as parents and occasionally we’ll throw in a post or two about the behind-the-scenes work we do here at Graco. We like to keep the blog lighthearted whenever we can. However, when we have an issue or a recall, we will use the blog to get out important information because we know this is being read by a very engaged community of people & parents who will help us spread the word.

Today, Graco is announcing a SAFETY NOTICE for the CarGo Booster car seats regarding a labeling non-compliance issue for a limited number of its CarGo™ Booster Car Seats manufactured from January 9, 2007 through March 3, 2008.

The labeling non-compliance issue is the result of an incorrect vehicle safety hotline number that appears on models of the following CarGo Booster Car Seats: 8487BELI, 8487SMP, 8487WBR, 8686ROS, 8689FAR, 8D01ZPH, 8D02SYC, 8D03WIK, 8D04SDN, 8D05NWY, 8D10CCE.

The correct number for NHTSA (which is correctly printed in your car seat’s instruction manual), is 1-888-327-4236 and NHTSA can be accessed online at their website as well.

For more information, go to the Graco CarGo Safety Notice page.

If you have questions about this safety notice, we ask that you direct them to our consumer service department. They can be reached here via e-mail or by phone at 1-800-345-4109.

Thank you.

Two smiles that could melt your heart…

I was waiting for the Wednesday when I could share a picture of my beautiful, identical twin nieces “Dukes” and “Share Bear”.  These two cuties are the happiest little girls which makes my sister-in-law one happy mom.  (of course, their big sis and daddy are proud too!)

Every Wednesday we’ll be sharing a photo showing off a little bit of wonder in the lives of our extended Graco family of customers, employees and friends.

Coming off what was an amazing first pregnancy and delivery (well, at least in my mind it was) with a baby that slept well right off the bat, barely cried and gave us plenty of happy smiles and coos, I felt incredibly lucky that Punkin’ Bear decided to take it easy on her dear old parents.  But now that I’m expecting my second little one, deep down I must admit that it in some way it leaves me wondering “Did I have anything to do with Punkin’ Bear’s happy disposition and easy-going nature?” Okay, let me rephrase.  I’d like to believe that I had something to do with her happy disposition and easy-going nature. And thus, out of that have been born some admittedly silly superstitions for my second pregnancy. 

 Well, maybe they’re not exactly superstitions, they’re more like idiosyncrasies. Regardless of what you call them, my rational mind tells me that they had little to do with my little girl being such a happy, loveable and smart child. Yet I still find myself inexplicably eating almonds every day because deep down I suspect that the fatty omegas fed into her mental development. Are they reason she can count to 10 in Spanish and read and she’s not even three (did I read that somewhere)? Or, if you step into my car, you’ll only hear “easy listening” music, which is not my first preference, but my intuition tells me that exposing my tummy to slow paced, soft music is the reason she was such a calm infant.  And do I really believe that making sure I watch at least one TV show a week that makes me laugh hysterically is the reason that Punkin’ Bear laughs and laughs at the silliest things? Rationally, no. But deep down, yes.

 I know that we’re going to feel like the luckiest people in the world no matter what BrotherSister’s disposition is or how well she does or doesn’t sleep for us during her first months, but as most parents you do everything you can to make sure that the odds are stacked in her favor. If it means being a little silly or superstitious then that’s what I’ll do. After all, do baseball players really believe that wearing the same pair of socks without washing them all season helps their game? Rationally, probably not. But deep down, yes.

I know I’m not the only one! I’d love to hear what your superstitions and crazy idiosynchracies  are. (so maybe I don’t feel so silly)

No. That is not Childhood Calling. Quite the opposite really. That is the sound of old age slowly creeping up on you. Creeping because it s-l-o-w-l-y rears it’s ugly head as you age alongside your children, but not creeping like in a quiet kinda way. That snap, crackle, pop of every joint in your body can be very, very loud- at all the wrong times.

You’ve been there – the cavernous, quiet of your baby’s room- a sleeping little angel in your arms while you glide away their tears and captivating stares. The lullabies are played out, the humidifier drones into the background and it’s transition time. The ultimate challenge is before you - can you do it? Can you lay that little angel down in their crib without them knowing you’re headed for a little TV time? You brace yourself. Get ready to get off that glider. And POP- there goes your hip and then SNAP- it’s your knee coming in for the one-two punch and then CRACKLE- the sound of your ankle wakes the little angel and you’re down for the count. Transition failure.

Thanks “ride-the-mommy-pony” game, thanks college sports, thanks thirties. You’ve woken up my child and now I’m missing Grey’s…

(The Snap, Crackle and Pop characters are registered trademarks of the Kellogg® Rice Krispies® brand cereal.)

When is a job not considered “work”? When you love what you do. When you wake up in the morning not thinking about everything you have to get done in a day but wondering what new things you’ll discover that day. We work to make our lives more productive and to find personal satisfaction in what we contribute to the world.

For the engineers at Graco, they find that every day. For them, it’s about dreaming big, trying new things, and finding solutions to problems that parents encounter daily. It’s all about finding a way to make the best technology, better. Really, it’s about helping each new parent feel confident in protecting their child so they can relax, take a deep breath and enjoy the world around them.

The tireless work that goes into the development of a new product can be attributed to entire teams of engineers that bring a wide array of expertise to a project. Graco strives to create well rounded teams that offer different perspectives and skill sets (just like what real families are often like!). And as we often try to better understand the needs of new parents, it’s nice to have engineers who understand where Moms and Dads are coming from. It’s not often that these engineers get the recognition they deserve either. Whether its traveling to Europe for crash testing international products or flying to Asia to assist with production, these engineers often leave their families and lives behind (sometimes for weeks) to make the best possible product. That’s not even mentioning the years of development (blood, sweat, and tears) that go into getting some products to market. We joke that these products are our “babies” since we put just about as much love into them as we do our own children. In the end, we never lose sight of wanting to make the lives of parents easier in some way, and we’ll do what it takes to accomplish that mission.

Recently, Rachel Fine, a car seat engineer for Graco, was  highlighted for her work as a mechanical engineer. As a woman in engineering she brings unique perspective and insight to her job, especially in designing products many women use. This bio is a great sneak peek into who she is, how she became interested in engineering and why she loves being a part of the Graco team. No, we didn’t pay her; she just really loves what she does! Who can blame her? Babies…traveling…being creative…sounds like a pretty sweet gig. She might even be changing the world, one car seat at a time.

I hate the titles that are given to an all-important role in our world…nannies, caregivers, au pairs, baby sitters. Frankly, if you look at what a “nanny” does – it would be more inspiring and respectful to reference her by her daily activities; she is a Story-Teller, a boo-boo kisser, a cuddler, a climber, a dancer, a puppeteer and most importantly a dreamer & believer. (which I will explain later)

Every working mother knows that angst and daunting feeling; what will I do for childcare? We begin assessing, rationalizing, making lists, talking to other working moms and questioning everything. Every child is special – and ours is no different, we want them to be treated that way.

When I returned to work, I was looking for non-traditional child care. I wanted something small & quaint with personalized attention. In-home child care was the way for our family. So the search began…wow, how overwhelming and intimidating. At the time I wouldn’t have put it past myself to begin practicing the non-respectable “nanny poaching”.

I had visions of the Mary Poppins — and with incredible faith that everything happens the way it’s suppose too…into our lives walked Ali. (I call her our answered prayer, guardian angel and so much more)

Ali has been a part of our family for 2 years and she is soooo much more than a “nanny”, a “caregiver”, a “babysitter”. Frankly these titles disgust me…because they take the personal love & attentiveness she gives Bear away. Inside our home Ali is the little sister I never had, our Mary Poppins and most importantly our little girl’s DREAMER & BELIEVER.

What do I mean by “Dreamer & Believer”??? We all know that every child has no inhibition when it comes to daydreaming. But I soon realized that a child will begin believing in themselves and their dreams AFTER they see others believing in THEM. No daydream is too big for Ali to encourage and dream along with our little Bear. That’s why we call her our Dreamer & Believer.

Ali lives the awe-inspiring quote from Rose Kennedy; “One hundred years from now the world may be different because of the role I played in the life of a child.” This is not a job for Ali, it’s a passion.

I think about the Nanny Diaries – my husband and I are not the absent parents, rather Ali has endured her fair share of overly-structured parenting. We welcomed her with a 32 page binder, monthly goal sheets, family meetings, discipline scale and a daily feedback form. And to think Ali can smile respectfully, pick-up our little girl (kiss her on the cheek) and say; “come-on Bear let’s go to the basement and make a fort”. We love her with all of our heart.

The lesson for me is to never casually reference someone as a “nanny” – rather recognize the gift they are giving a child by “dreaming & believing” with them.

Children are our future and the “dreamers & believers” are significant enablers.