Your 4-month-old's development

Feeding less frequently As your baby reaches four months, his stomach has grown bigger so he doesn't need to feed so often -- just four or five times a day. But he'll still gain weight -- his need to feed just tapers off as he gets older, becoming more like that of older children and adults. Now his attention will start to gravitate toward other people and things during mealtimes, and though it's exciting to see him aware of and responsive to new things, feedings can get difficult. If your baby is easily distracted, try feeding him somewhere quiet for a while. A new talent for rolling over When placed on his stomach, your baby will lift his head and shoulders high, using his arms for support. This mini push-up helps him strengthen his muscles and get a better view of what's going on. He may even amaze you (and himself!) by rolling over from his back to his front, or vice versa. You can encourage this through play: wiggle a toy next to the side he customarily rolls to in case he's interested enough to try again. Applaud his efforts and smile; he may need your reassurance since new actions can be frightening. Time for solid foods? For the first four to six months of life your baby gets all the nutrients he needs from breast milk or formula milk. Still, parents are often eager to start their babies on solid foods. Talk to your doctor before trying yours on solids. You can begin feeding your baby some solids (meaning mushy foods such as pureed baby food or baby cereal) now that his digestive tract is more developed and his tongue-thrust reflex is starting to fade, but many doctors encourage parents to wait until their baby is six months old. Not rushing onto solids can cut down on allergic reactions and ensures that breast milk and formula won't get crowded out of your baby's diet. Reaching out and mouthing objects Your baby is now able to reach out and grab an object, even though he often misses his mark on the first try. Once he wraps his hands around something, he'll study it for a moment and then try to put it in his mouth. You may also notice a lot more dribbling now. Some babies can start teething as early as four months, but the first tooth usually doesn't surface until five to six months. Encourage your baby to explore and play with a variety of objects. For instance, a clean cloth diaper will occupy your baby for a few minutes. Watch him suck on it, hold it, and discover what happens when he scrunches it up. Give him a light rattle and watch him delight in the sound it makes when he shakes it. An activity centre or cradle gym is a good choice for this stage, as your baby begins to discover the cause and effect of moving a lever and hearing a bell ring, for instance. Able to play alone now By now, your baby can play with his hands and feet for a few minutes at a time. A miracle! Suddenly you realize it's strangely quiet in the bedroom so you look in, only to discover that your baby, who so far has needed your attention for most of every waking moment, is amusing himself. Now maybe you can start reading the paper again. Beginning to understand the role of language Researchers believe that by four months your baby understands all the basic sounds that make up his native language. Between four and six months, he develops the ability to make some vocal sounds, such as "ma-ma" or "da-da." He doesn't yet connect that sound with a parent, though. By now, he's also able to participate in back-and-forth imitation games -- you say "boo," and he'll try to say it back. You can promote your child's sense of communication through imitating his faces and sounds -- "mirroring" him. Because you react when he makes noises and tries to say something, your baby learns the importance of language and starts to understand cause and effect. He'll begin to realize that what he says makes a difference. Appreciation for a full range of colours Babies see colour from birth, but they have difficulty distinguishing similar tones such as red and orange. As a result they often prefer black and white or high-contrast colours. Between your baby's second and fourth months, colour differences become clearer, and your baby starts to distinguish similar shades. Your baby will probably begin to show a preference for bright primary colours now. Some great eye-catchers include primary-coloured mobiles (hung out of his reach), bright posters, and visually striking board books. Getting more selective about people By four months, your baby may respond to your presence, your voice, and even your facial expressions by kicking and waving his arms. About now, your child, who to this point probably bestowed smiles on everyone he met, is beginning to be choosy about the company he keeps. In large groups or with unfamiliar people he may need time to get comfortable. Allow for transition time with strangers or when leaving your baby with a babysitter. You may also notice that when he's safely in your arms he's interested in interacting with other people -- especially noisy, boisterous older children. Is my baby developing normally? Remember, each baby is unique and meets social milestones at his own pace. These are simply guidelines to what your baby has the potential to accomplish -- if not right now, then shortly. And if your baby was born prematurely, you'll probably find that he'll need time before he can do the same things as other children his age. Don't worry. Most doctors assess a premature child's development from the time he should have been born and evaluate his skills accordingly. If you have any questions at all about your baby's development, check with your doctor.

 

Automoblox is a beautifully designed and sophisticated line of wooden vehicles designed by Patrick Calello. Elegant styling, beautiful materials and fine detailing have all combined for one impressive package — educational for kids and fun for anyone.

 What impresses kids about these elegant wooden cars is how fast they go! While a single vehicle is fun on its own, multiples add more than the opportunity to race – kids can mix and match parts to design their own unique cars. 

Interchangeable parts from other Automoblox vehicles can be mixed-and-matched, so the real action begins when components from two or more vehicles are combined in imaginative new ways.

Automoblox products have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Road & Track and many other publications. The designs have also been recognized with top awards from Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Parent’s Choice Foundation and others. 

To learn more, please visit: http://www.automobloxstore.com 

The S9 is the perfect family car. Equipped with large twelve spoke rims, bright blue low-profile tyres and a large sweeping roofline, it exudes coolness. With four passenger seating and a body extension block used to lengthen the wheelbase, it not only gives a comfortable ride, but a very versatile addition the Automoblox line-up. Dramatic headlights and taillights add distinction and will enhance any car your child might create. 

Wheels & Tyres:

Stylish realistic wheels enhance customisation. Colourful and aggressive  tyre designs are unique to each vehicle and are interchangeable .

Body Blocks & Connectors:

Each wooden body block is constructed from German beech wood. The distinctive components allow you to build custom cars. Connectors allow body parts to be switched and snapped together.

17 Digit VIN Number: 

Like real cars, a Sequential Vehicle Identification Number identifies the year and model of your car.

Specifications:

Size 19.4cm x 11.4cm x 7.36cm.

Construction:

Vehicle Body: Solid beech wood with lacquer finish.
Roof: Injection molded translucent polycarbonate polymer.
Wheels: Injection molded polycarbonate polymer with silver painted finish.
Tyres: Injection molded TPR rubber.
Figures: Injection molded ABS polymer.
Connectors: Injection molded ABS polymer.

Age Group.

3 +. The super cool people that ride inside each Automoblox car that create the form board inside the passenger compartment present a choking hazard because of their compact size. Consideration was given to omitting the people so Automoblox would be 'safe' for children of all ages. The makers however concluded that the value the people added far out weighed any risks. That is the primary reason why Automoblox is age graded fro children 3 years of age and up.

 

Hello there!

 

After reading and watching all that I could on the following up of the US economy down fall and its Presidential election, indeed Americans have come a long way. Not that I have graduated from university in the US that I side them. Americans, just like any other nation, have their pride and history; ups and downs, good and bad. Many would have said that Americans are loud, rude and most of all, arrogrant. I cannot deny that some are that way, but hey, it is not a country of a few good men, it is a country with a huge population. California itself has a population bigger than all of Canada's. Anyways, I just want to add that I will always pray for this nation that has given and taken so much from the world. May the newly elected President bring the glory back to where it belongs.

 

United States of America National Anthem: Star Spangled Banner
Listen to the National Anthem

Oh, say can you see,
By the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there.
O, say, does that
Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?

God bless the USA! USA will survive and it shouldn't fall. The newly elected President's acceptance speech will give you hope for this country again.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled -- Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics -- you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to -- it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington -- it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you -- we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek -- it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers -- in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House -- a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn -- I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world -- our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down -- we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security -- we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright --tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America -- that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing -- Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time -- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth -- that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

 Barack Obama's acceptance speech on November 5, 2008 in Chicago, IL.

History in the making: It's U.S. President Barack Obama
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama was swept to the White House on Tuesday by enraptured Americans who embraced his message of hope and turned their backs on centuries of racial division by electing their first black president.

Lee-Anne Goodman, THE CANADIAN PRESS

 

     

The Illinois senator, born to a white mother and an African father 47 years ago, was elected in a momentous day that many black Americans believed they would never see. It came some 232 years after the country was founded on the ideal that all men were created equal.
News of his win prompted jubilant celebrations across the United States, as millions of weeping and exhilarated Americans took to the streets. It seemed less an election and more a coronation of a man who inspired Americans from every walk of life with his consistent message of hope and pledge to end the divisive politics of President George W. Bush.

"What we are witnessing in America is a non-violent revolution," Congressman John Lewis, an iconic figure of the civil rights movement, said Tuesday night as the results came in.

"It is a revolution of values. It is a revolution of ideas."

In Obama's hometown of Chicago, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in a city park to celebrate their native son's entry into the history books on an unseasonably warm night. Thousands of cheering people also assembled in New York's Times Square in a scene more reminiscent of New Year's Eve than election night. It's considered a watershed moment in American history.

The U.S. economy is in a shambles. America's prestige abroad has been battered. Victory in two wars in far-flung Iraq and Afghanistan remains elusive. Obama's popularity among voters reflected the fervent desire of millions of Americans to chart a new course for a country that many believe has lost its way in the past eight years.

But it wasn't just Obama who promised change. McCain, a moderate Republican distrusted by his party's social conservatives, won the nomination on the pledge of a new direction for America.

The Vietnam war hero represented a repudiation of those very socially conservative ideals that had been the bedrock of his party for decades. He effectively ran his campaign against the Republicans. Nonetheless, polls had suggested for weeks that Obama was about to become the first African-American to be elected president.

Election day was the culmination of almost two years of politicking by McCain and Obama, who both fought tough battles during the primary season to win their respective party's nominations. Their showdown against one another was bare-knuckled, but the economic crisis benefited Obama, who dealt with it with assured calm, compared to McCain's erratic responses to the financial meltdown.

He continued to climb in the polls throughout the campaign. Some suggest the widespread acceptance of him as a viable presidential candidate represents the passing of a torch to a new generation, one that's racially diverse, accepting of minorities, socially progressive and weary of old-style politics.

Obama was adored by major blocs of voters, including young Americans between the ages of 18 and 30 who favoured him almost 3-1 over McCain, and African-Americans, millions of whom registered to vote for the first time in order to cast their ballots for him. Women and Hispanic voters also flocked to him. At a Washington, D.C., subway station on Tuesday, one black man stood in tears on the platform as he spoke of how he'd voted earlier that day.

"I never thought I'd see this day," Sam Richardson, 65, said as he wiped tears from his face. "I just would never have believed it could happen in my lifetime."

McCain, a moderate Republican distrusted by his party's social conservatives, won the party's nomination on the promise of a new direction for the United States. The Vietnam war hero represented a repudiation of those very socially conservative ideals that had been the bedrock of his party for decades. He effectively ran his campaign against the Republicans. Nonetheless, polls had suggested for weeks that Obama was poised to become the first African-American to be elected president.

Election day was the culmination of almost two years of politicking by McCain and Obama, who both fought tough battles during the primary season to win their respective party's nominations. Their showdown against one another was bare-knuckled, but the economic crisis benefited Obama, who dealt with it with assured calm, compared to McCain's erratic responses to the financial meltdown.

McCain also faced relentless criticism for his choice of the much-maligned Sarah Palin as his running mate. After causing a brief bump in the polls for the Arizona senator soon after he chose her, the self-styled hockey mom and social conservative was a consistent drag on the Republican ticket.

Many Americans, including lifelong and prominent Republicans, said they could not vote for McCain because of Palin and would cast their ballots for Obama instead. Palin was emotional during McCain's concession speech, her eyes welling with tears on occasion.

"My presence on this stage is pretty unlikely," Barack Obama began.

"I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story ... and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible."

It was the speech that launched him. Obama was an Illinois assembly member seeking his first term in the U.S. Senate, given a shot at the national stage when John Kerry asked him to deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

He had those in the crowd on their feet, cheering wildly, even as many of them - even as many of us - wondered: Who is this guy?

A "skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too," he told us then.

He talked about hope and brighter days and standing at a crossroads in our nation's history - themes that would become the bedrock of his own unprecedented run for the White House. And he touched on the many chapters of his life, as familiar to us now as his rallying cry for change.

There was the black father, also named Barack, who grew up herding goats in Kenya. He travelled on scholarship to attend the University of Hawaii and there, in a Russian language class, met 18-year-old Stanley Ann Dunham, the white daughter of Kansas-bred parents, christened after the father who worked on oil rigs and farms and served in the Second World War.

Barack ("blessed" in Arabic) was born on Aug. 4, 1961. But his parents' marriage didn't last, and his father would be absent for all but a month of the boy's life. His mother, a free-spirited anthropologist passionate about helping women, raised him. Of her, Obama once wrote: "What is best in me I owe to her."

We would learn of the international upbringing, four years spent living in Indonesia after his mother remarried and brought her son to a Third World country, at once exotic and enlightening. Young Barack had a pet monkey, but he also saw poverty and disease, and his eyes were opened to a new world view.

That world view didn't ease Obama's own struggle with his biracial identity. He was among the few black students at his Honolulu high school, where he was known as "Barry" and met with others for a weekly "ethnic corner" discussion. He lived then with his maternal grandparents, including Madelyn Dunham, the grandmother he called "Toot."

In a remarkable dissertation on race earlier this year, a speech intended to rebuke Rev. Jeremiah Wright's remarks regarding the racial divide, Obama referred to his "white grandmother" as the woman who helped raise him, sacrificed for him and loved him, but who once confessed her fear of black men who passed her on the street and "who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."

Dunham died Sunday at age 86. His father died in a car crash in 1982, his mother of ovarian cancer in 1995. His half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, lives in Honolulu and teaches history.

The compelling life story that helped propel Obama from community organizer to celebrity politician emerged initially in 1990, after he was elected the first black president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. He was 28, a second-year student with a political science degree from Columbia University who had spent several years working the streets of Chicago mobilizing South Side residents to fight for themselves after steal mill closings left them struggling.

His election made headlines, even landing him his first book deal and, in a 1990 interview with The Associated Press, he professed a desire to stay "engaged in what I think are the core issues of the society." He mentioned poverty and race, saying, "I really hope to be part of a transformation of this country."

After Harvard, Obama rejected high-powered job offers, joining a small civil rights firm back in Chicago. He ran a voter registration drive and lectured on constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.

He also married Michelle Robinson, a fellow Harvard Law School grad who served as his adviser during a summer internship at a Chicago law firm. The couple have two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.

The jump into politics came in 1996, when Obama won an Illinois Senate seat representing Hyde Park, the South Side neighbourhood that encompasses the prestigious university as well as pockets of deep inner-city poverty.

Obama helped change laws governing the death penalty, ethics and racial profiling, and he won tax credits for the working poor. But he failed in his campaign for universal health care. He failed, too, in a 2000 bid for a U.S. House seat.

Then came 2004 and the opportunity to run for U.S. Senate - and to introduce himself to his fellow Americans.

He won the election, becoming only the third black U.S. senator since Reconstruction. But it was "The Speech" that made him a rock star. Talk of a presidential run began even before his first day in Washington. At first, he demurred.

But on a blustery February day last year, Obama returned to Illinois to the steps of the Old Capitol to announce his candidacy for presidency.

These past 21 months, he has drawn colossal crowds, spurring comparisons to the Kennedys (both John and Bobby). He took on race. He overcame rumours about whether he was a Muslim when, in fact, he is a Christian, as well as accusations of consorting with a 1960s antiwar radical.

He toppled the anointed Democratic front-runner, a historic candidate in her own right whose political acclaim and eight years spent as first lady weren't enough to win her party's nomination. He deflected repeated condemnation of his lack of experience.

And he crossed party lines, earning the backing of former Republican governors and senators and retired general Colin Powell, President George W. Bush's first secretary of state who, echoing the young Obama of Harvard days, called the Democrat a "transformational figure" who displays "a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems."

"I think that he has a definitive way of doing business," Powell concluded, "that would serve us well."

"Yes, we can!" all those legions of supporters chanted throughout the campaign.

And somehow, he did.

On Jan. 20, 47-year-old Barack Obama will take to another stage, the west front of the U.S. Capitol, to recite the oath of the country's highest office.

The rock star will be known the world over as Mr. President.

And the skinny kid will take his place in history, proving that unlikely as it may have all been - it was, indeed, possible.

 

 

 

These herbs are also great in place of onions without the pungent taste or aroma. Either chopped or snipped, their bright color and delicate shape can elevate any dish. Even a bowl of plain ol' mashed potatoes will be instantly transformed!

Recipes:
Steamed Salmon with Ginger and Chives
Mixed Green Salad with Chive Dressing
Sweet Potato Salad