Ninth annual Community Baby Shower provides night out for moms, dads
SEVERAL SIGNS THAT there is at least one baby around – a baby’s car seat with fun toys attached, a baby bag – and a sketch of the baby himself by Maryann Harder.
There was plenty of baby love to go around at the ninth-annual Mountain Lake Community Baby Shower, held Monday evening, April 13, in the Mountain Lake Public School cafeteria. The Baby shower is for expectant parents – and/or parents of children ages 0-24 months.
Informational booths from local, county and state agencies ringed the cafeteria providing insights into their services for young children, a dental display, neck massages, baby and toddler exercises, fruit pizza snacks by the Dietary Department of the Good Samaritan Society of Mountain Lake, along with cheese, crackers and different prizes from which to choose.
Tracy Gunderman was be the keynote speaker, sharing on the “Circles of Security,” a relationship-based intervention designed to change child’s behavior through changes in parents’ behavior.
The event is sponsored by the Early Childhood Initiative (ECI), with funding for Shower presents from the Mountain Lake Foundation and MOFAS (Minnesota Organization On Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) – with other presenting agencies providing additional prizes.
MARYANN HARDER QUICKLY draws in the facial features of this baby boy, providing a sketch of their child to the parents attending the Community Baby Shower.
AND HERE IS the flesh-and-blood baby boy from the sketch – almost one-year-old Cooper James, son of Matt and Nicole James.
WITH A HUGE GRIN, Aubrey Broberg is the perfect subject for a sketch by Maryann Harder – especially safely seated in the lap of her mom, Alyssa Cowell.
EAGERLY SHOWING DISCOVERY Preschool teacher Laurie Bartsch, left, all that she has in her personal hygiene bag – a comb, bar of soap, toothbrush and toothpaste – is Aliyah Mullen, daughter of Jon and Ashley Mullen.
JAMIE WARWICK, RIGHT, pregnant – with her fourth son, she says – listens as Amy Schlager of the University of Minnesota Extension, left, shares some key ideas and tips about stopping the rise of diabetes among young children.
THE BEST THING for children to drink is not pop or Kool-Aid or a sports drink or a juice drink – but good ol’ water. Schlager added some lemon slices to her water pitcher to give the liquid some added zing – without having added a lot of sugar.
THE FRIENDS OF the Mountain Lake Public Library provide this binder – being held by Librarian Carol Lehman – to help parents keep track of books read to their children. The idea is to promote having “read” 1,000 books before the first day of kindergarten.
ONE OF THOSE making available important info for new parents at her informational booth, right, greets Mark and Jill Pankratz – and their son, Jacob.
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A SPONSOR FOR the annual Community Shower is MOFAS (Minnesota Organization On Fetal Alcohol Syndrome). At their booth, they provided “onesies” and lip balm, both imprinted with the MOFAS logo. Representing MOFAS was Sabrina Trickel, center, who spent time visiting with Brittany Siebert and her children, Norah, left and Evan, in Brittany’s arms at right.
PAT BALOUN OF Cottonwood-Jackson Early Intervention and Help Me Grow handed out baby food jars wrapped in a bib and accented with a baby spoon – as well as helpful literature and information.
BAILEY FREITAG, HOLDING daughter Pyper in her arms, visits the Cottonwood-Jackson Early Intervention and Help Me Grow informational booth.
RENICK MOREY, LEFT, keeps his eyes trained on the fruit pizza being dished onto the plate by his dad, Joey Morey. The fruit pizza, along with meat, cheese and cracker trays, was courtesy of the Dietary Department of Good Samaritan Society of Mountain Lake.
MEANWHILE . . . AS HER two “boys” are dining on the snack, Sarah Morey, left, slips away for a well-deserved – and oh so good! -massage by massage therapist Jada Stahl, right.
LINDYN ANDERSON FINDS the colby-jack cheese snack irresistible. Lindyn is the daughter of Matt and Emily Anderson. A lot of sharing was done between “new” and “pro” parents at the Community Baby Shower. One of the most important things parents do is deciding on the name for their child. According to Emily Anderson, daughter Lindyn’s name combines “the best of both worlds” – part of the names of her grandmothers – Linda and Sharyn.
TRACY GUNDERMAN, RIGHT, along with Jan, left, were the keynote speakers at the parents’ forum. The pair shared about “Circles of Security,” a relationship-based intervention designed to change child’s behavior through changes in parents’ behavior.
A CHOICE OF “Shower” presents was afforded the parents attending the Community Baby Shower, courtesy of funding by the Mountain Lake Foundation and MOFAS. Selections were either a baby/toddler step-up stool, towel/wash cloth, book and sand pail with shovel, or . . .
. . . A CHILD-SIZED plastic Adirondack chair, towel/wash cloth, book and sand pail with shovel.
