Karen's Baby Read online

  “Babies wear diapers,” I said. “They need to be taken care of.”

  “Emily still wears diapers most of the time,” Kristy pointed out. “You are welcome to change her stinky diapers whenever you want.”

  I giggled. “Okay, but it is not the same.”

  “I know,” Kristy replied. “Hey, how is your baby sale going?”

  “We still have most of the stuff.”

  “Too bad. Can I look at it again?”

  “Sure!” I said. “I only have my things, though. The bottle-warmers and the hats. And I tried to make two mobiles, but mine are not as good as Hannie’s or Nancy’s.”

  I spread the things on my bed.

  Kristy looked at them for a long time. At last she said, “You know, I could use some of these things when I baby-sit. I should bring them in the Kid-Kit I carry. They would come in handy.” Kristy bought two bottle-warmers, one hat, and one mobile. “My friends might want to buy some things, too,” she said. “They all take care of babies sometimes. You know, Karen, you should sell your things to people who either work with babies or have babies of their own.”

  Oh! What an idea! Of course. Hannie and Nancy and I had mostly been selling to the wrong people, but I would take care of that. It was time to go back into business with the right people.

  Danny

  Nancy’s brother had been home for one whole week. I had not held him yet, but Mrs. Dawes said I could soon. She did not let very many people hold him. She said she had to be careful of germs.

  When Daniel had been home for two weeks, Nancy said to me, “I do not think he looks as awfully tiny as he used to, do you?”

  I shook my head. No. But Daniel was still very little.

  “I have given him a few bottles,” said Nancy proudly. She was not afraid of her brother anymore. “I feel like he has always been here,” she added. “Daniel is part of the family. Guess what. He has a nickname now.”

  “He does?

  “Yes. We call him Danny.”

  “Danny,” I repeated. “That’s nice. I like that.”

  One day, when Danny had been home for quite a few weeks, Nancy called me on the phone. “Guess what, guess what, guess what!” she cried.

  “What? Tell me!”

  “Mommy said I can bring Danny to school for Show and Share!”

  “Really?” I could not believe it. Nancy would have the best Show and Share ever. Nobody had brought in a real, live baby before.

  Ms. Colman set up a special Show and Share, just for Danny. She asked Mrs. Dawes what would be a good time to bring the baby in. I guess she did not want to interrupt one of Danny’s naps.

  Mrs. Dawes brought Danny to school on a Friday morning. Before she arrived, Ms. Colman talked to our class. “Remember that Danny is very little,” she said.

  “Not as little as he used to be!” interrupted Nancy. Nancy was a teensy bit too excited about Show and Share.

  “But still small,” Ms. Colman went on. “So please keep your voices down. And stay in your seats. If you crowd around Danny you may frighten him. Don’t worry. You will all get a chance to see him.”

  When Mrs. Dawes knocked on the door to our room, we were very, very quiet. Nancy opened the door. She let her mother inside. “Welcome to school, Mommy,” she said. “Welcome to school, Danny. Thank you for coming. I hope your stay will be pleasant.” (Nancy had been rehearsing this speech.) “Please take a seat in our special visitor’s chair.”

  The special visitor’s chair was really just Ms. Colman’s chair. Nancy had moved it to the front of the room. Her own chair was next to it. She and her mother sat down, side by side. Mrs. Dawes held Danny.

  Danny looked quite handsome. Nancy had picked out his outfit that morning. She had chosen red overalls, a striped shirt, and white socks. (Danny usually does not wear shoes.)

  “This,” said Nancy, “is my mother.” (Mrs. Dawes smiled.) “And this is Danny, my new baby brother. Who has a question about Danny?”

  Natalie Springer raised her hand. “Do you get to hold him?” she asked.

  “Sure,” answered Nancy. “I hold him a lot.”

  I raised my hand. “I have held him four times,” I told the class.

  “What do you do when he cries?” asked Ricky Torres.

  “I have to find out what he wants,” said Nancy.

  “Like maybe he needs a fresh diaper,” I added.

  “I have a question for Nancy,” said Pamela. “Can Danny laugh yet?”

  “Yes. He laughs when you tickle him,” said Nancy. “And you know what? Karen can always make him laugh. Karen is like another sister for Danny.”

  I grinned. I liked that idea.

  Later, Mrs. Dawes walked around the room so everyone could look at Danny. When she stopped at my desk, I tickled Danny and made him laugh.

  The Dirty Diaper

  I twirled the mobile over Danny’s crib. “Look! Look at those shapes, Danny,” I said. “Watch them move.”

  Fuss, fuss, fuss. Danny did not smile. He crumpled up his face.

  “Is he crying again, Karen?” called Nancy.

  “He is about to. Hurry up with his clothes. Maybe he is cold.”

  Nancy and I were baby-sitting for Danny. We were in his bedroom. Mrs. Dawes was in the living room. She had just changed Danny. Now we were letting her take a break. We baby-sat for Danny like that as often as we could.

  Nancy ran to the crib. “Here is his sleeper,” she said.

  As soon as Nancy began to put the sleeper on her brother, he started to fuss again. I twirled the mobile some more. Then I said, “Here is a new song, Danny. I do not think you have heard it before.” I sang, “I’m a little teapot, short and stout. Here is my handle, here is my spout.”

  Danny kicked his legs. He frowned.

  “Don’t you like the song?” I asked.

  And Nancy said, “Hold still, Danny.”

  I wished Danny could sing along with me, but of course he could not. He could not even talk. Once, I thought I heard him say da-da, but it might have been a mistake. Mr. Dawes was nowhere nearby.

  “What is the matter with your brother today?” I asked.

  Nancy sighed. “I don’t know. He is fussy. Sometimes he just gets fussy.”

  “You know what?” I said. “We have not played Lovely Ladies in ages, Nancy. We have not played with our dolls, either.”

  “That is because we have a real baby,” Nancy replied.

  When Danny was finally ready, Nancy called, “Mommy! He’s dressed!”

  I sniffed the air. “Hey, Nancy,” I said. “I smell something.”

  “Yuck,” said Nancy. “Me, too.” We looked at each other. We made faces. “Dirty diaper!” we shrieked.

  “What?” said Mrs. Dawes.

  “Mommy, you just changed him and already he has a dirty diaper,” complained Nancy. “He is a mess.”

  He was even messier after Mrs. Dawes fed him later. She held him up to her shoulder, burped him, and —

  “Ew! Ew, gross!” I cried. “He spit up!”

  It was one of Danny’s disgusting days. He has them every now and then.

  Nancy and I changed his outfit again and he fussed some more.

  Boy. Andrew and Emily are much more fun than Danny, I thought. And they are not nearly as messy. Oh, well. I could look forward to when Danny was older. He would be neater and I could teach him songs. But that would not be for awhile. Not for months. Maybe even a couple of years.

  I decided I was glad Danny lived next door, and not in my house. Maybe I did not need a real baby of my own after all.

  “Nancy,” I said, “I think I am going to go home now.” I wanted to leave before Danny spit up again.

  Back at the little house, I went into my bedroom. I closed the door. I opened my desk drawer. Inside were my baby lists. I spread them out and looked at them. And then I threw them away, except for the lists of baby names. I liked those lists. But I knew I did not need the others.

  After that I decided it was ti
me for a new project. The Three Musketeers had not made any baby things in ages. Guess what. We had sold all the things we had made. Kristy’s friends had bought a lot of them. The rest were bought by people who actually had babies.

  Maybe I would go into the jewelry business. That would be a good new project.

  The Fairy Godsister

  One Saturday, I was in the rec room at the little house. I was busy making jewelry. I was stringing tiny beads onto elastic strings for s-t-r-e-t-c-h-y bracelets and necklaces. Andrew was coloring in a coloring book. He was not staying in the lines.

  When the phone rang, I yelled, “I’ll get it!”

  “Indoor voice, Karen,” Mommy reminded me.

  “Sorry,” I whispered. I picked up the phone. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Karen. It is me,” said Nancy. “Can you come over right away?”

  “Right away?” I repeated. “Is something wrong?”

  Nancy giggled. “Nope. Can you come over?” She sounded excited.

  “Sure. I will be — ”

  “Wear a dress,” Nancy interrupted me. “I cannot tell you why. Just wear one. And please hurry. ‘Bye!” She hung up.

  This was very mysterious.

  I ran upstairs to my room. I changed into my best party dress and my black clickety-clack Mary Jane shoes. I tied a ribbon in my hair. Then I told Mommy where I was going. I raced to Nancy’s house. I rang the doorbell.

  Nancy opened the door right away. She must have been waiting for me. “Hi!” she said. She was as dressed up as I was. And she was holding Danny, who was wearing his very best outfit.

  “What is going on?” I asked.

  “I have a surprise for you,” said Nancy. “Come on in.”

  Nancy led me into the living room. She pointed to an armchair. “You sit there,” she said. “That is the seat for the guest of honor.”

  I sat down. Nancy handed me Danny. She placed him in my arms.

  “Why are we all dressed up?” I asked.

  “You will find out.” Nancy ran out of the living room. When she came back she was carrying a crown. I could tell she had made it herself. She had cut it out of yellow paper. She had glued sparkles on each point. And she had written KAREN with a glitter pen.

  “It is not my birthday,” I said. “It is not a holiday.”

  “Yes, it is,” replied Nancy. “It is sort of a holiday. Oh, wait a second. I forgot my magic wand.” Nancy left the room again.

  I looked down at Danny. “What is your sister doing?” I asked him.

  Danny smiled and kicked his feet. Then he drooled on my arm.

  “Yuck,” I said as Nancy came back.

  Nancy stood in front of me. She set the crown on my head. Then she waved the magic wand around. (The wand was a stick with a star glued to one end.) “Karen,” said Nancy, and she sounded very solemn, “I know you wanted a baby brother or sister of your own. And I got one and you did not. You really have been like another big sister to Danny. You play with him, but you help with the yucky things, too.”

  “That is true,” I agreed. “Just now, he drooled on me.”

  Nancy nodded. (She handed me a Kleenex.) Then she said, “Karen, do you promise to love Danny like he is your very own baby brother?”

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “Do you promise to help me teach him to ride a bike?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you promise to help me protect him from bullies?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I now pronounce you Danny’s fairy godsister.”

  “His fairy godsister?” I repeated. “You mean like the fairy godmother in Cinderella?”

  “Yes,” replied Nancy, “except that you are real.”

  Ooh. This was so exciting. I was wearing a crown and holding a baby and one of my best friends had just made me a fairy godsister. I was so happy that I wanted to leap around and use my outdoor voice. Instead, I looked down at Danny’s face. Now I almost had a baby. And when I went back to the little house, I could play with my own little brother.

  “Thank you, Nancy,” I said.

  Oh Baby!

  Babies are a lot of work, but they are gigundo fun, too! If you like babies, you’ll love these fun facts, puzzles, and crafts all about babies. But don’t cry. These activities aren’t babyish. They’re just goo-goo-goo-good fun!

  Welcome to the Nursery!

  Creative crafts to make

  Baby nurseries are always filled with toys. Store-bought toys are fine, but nothing beats a handmade gift. You probably don’t want to make a bottle-warmer (Karen made enough of those for everyone!), but here are some fun baby toys you can make yourself.

  Big Blocks

  You can make pretty counting blocks for a baby.

  You will need:

  three cube-shaped cardboard boxes

  felt (many colors)

  scissors

  glue

  pencil

  Here’s what you do:

  Glue the lid of each box shut.

  Cut six squares of felt. Make sure each square is large enough to cover a side of the box.

  Glue the felt squares onto the box.

  Cut out a number “1” from a piece of felt that is a different color from the felt you used to cover the block.

  Glue the “1” to one side of the block.

  Draw an apple onto a red piece of felt. Cut out the apple and glue it to another side of the block.

  Repeat the steps above for the second block using the number “2” and two different shapes in place of the number “1” and the apple.

  Repeat again, this time using a number “3” and three shapes.

  Two by Two

  While you have your glue and felt handy, why not try making this Noah’s Ark picture? It’s just like the one on Daniel’s mezuzah.

  You will need:

  felt (many colors)

  posterboard

  scissors

  glue

  patterns (the ones in this book or ones you draw yourself)

  sparkles

  markers

  Here’s what you do:

  Cut the posterboard to the size you want your picture to be.

  Cover the posterboard with felt. This will be your background.

  Copy the pattern for the ark on to a different piece of felt. Cut out the ark.

  Glue your ark to the posterboard.

  Copy each animal pattern onto your felt. Be sure to trace each animal twice. Cut out all the animals.

  Glue the animals to your picture.

  Decorate your picture with sparkles, and markers.

  Learning Your ABC’s

  Babies love to look at pictures. And with this easy-to-make alphabet book, your favorite baby can learn her ABC’s, too!

  You will need:

  14 pieces of oaktag

  ribbon

  glue

  holepunch

  magazines

  scissors

  markers

  Here’s what you do:

  Have a grown-up punch a hole in the upper left hand corner of each sheet of oaktag.

  Tie the ribbon through the holes so that all the pages are fastened together.

  With your marker, write My First Book of ABC’s on the first page. This is the cover of your book. (You may want to write the baby’s name here, too.)

  On the next page, print a big letter A. Now look through magazines, cutting out pictures of “A” words. Cut out apples, airplanes, alligators, or anything else you can find. It helps to look for large-size pictures, since babies can’t focus well on small things.

  Glue the pictures to your “A” page.

  On the next page, write the letter “B” and cut out all sorts of pictures of things that begin with the letter “B”. Glue them to your “B” page.

  Keep going until you have completed a page for every letter of the alphabet.

  Make-Your-Own-Mobile

  Here’s how to make a black and white mobile. That’s the kind babies like best bec
ause in the beginning, black and white are the colors babies see best.

  (Remember, never hang anything in reach of a baby. Ask a grown-up to hang your mobile in a place where the baby can see it but not get to it. The mobiles that you buy in the store are specially made and tested so that they will be safe for a baby.)

  You will need:

  a metal hanger

  five lengths of black or white yarn

  a ball of black yarn

  black felt

  white felt

  glue

  scissors

  Here’s what you do:

  Wrap the yarn from the ball around and around the hanger until the entire hanger is covered with black yarn. Knot the yarn at the top when you are finished. Cut the yarn loose from the rest of the ball.

  Cut out five pairs of shapes from the felt. Try a black circle and a white circle, a black square and a white square, a black triangle and a white triangle, and any other shapes you can think of. Glue the identical shapes together. Make one design for each of the five lengths of yarn.

  Now glue each shape to a piece of cut yarn.

  Tie the loose end of each piece of yarn around the bottom of the hanger as shown.

  What a black and white delight!

  Meet the Family

  A friendly faces poster to make!

  Babies love to look at faces. And what better faces to show a baby than the faces of the people who love her the most! So gather up some of the best shots of baby’s mommy, daddy, sisters, brothers, and grandparents to make a very special poster you can hang in the baby’s room. (Don’t forget to ask permission to use the pictures before you get started.)

  To make this poster you will also need scissors, glue, and posterboard.

  Here’s all you do:

  Draw a large, simple shape on the poster board. A big star or a giant heart will work just fine.

  Now arrange the photos so that they fill in the space inside your star or heart. Don’t do any cutting or gluing until you’ve decided exactly where you want your pictures to go.