Ages + Stages

By: Nathan Boonstra, MD, pediatrician at Blank Children’s Hospital I'm excited to share a new community resource from Blank Children's Hospital. Introducing PedsGeekMD. When you are passionate about keeping children healthy, there’s a lot to geek out about. We are learning...

I am so ready for summer. Warm weather, bike rides, popsicles, and swimming pools. With all the fun activities of summer, we also see an increase in the occurrence of unintentional injuries. Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of...

I never knew how to answer the standard question asked of children. What do you want to be when you grow up? I had four dreams – to be a wife, a mom, a teacher, and a writer. And...

Sometimes shoes are just fun. On little baby feet, they are really fun, and when in moccasin form... well, they are just down right adorable. When I found out about Freshly Picked and saw their shoes, I knew we just...

One of my favorite things as a mom has been documenting my daughter's life. Not only in words on my blog, but in photos, too. I love sharing my photos on Instagram. I've been surprised by how much I enjoy...

Today's highlight is sponsored by Farfalla Music Studio - offering piano, voice and early childhood music classes in the Des Moines metro area.  About Farfalla Music Studio Farfalla Music Studio was founded by soprano Mariana Pino after living and teaching in the...

Alternate Title: The Scariest Day of My Life My oldest has always been extremely independent and very outgoing. From an early age she has wanted to do things her own way. I love this characteristic in her. She is not...

Baseball season has begun. Along with the peanuts and Cracker Jacks come endless days and nights at the ballpark and an aching crimp in my back. The bleachers at the fields are either getting harder or I’m getting older,...

I first heard the phase "redshirting your kindergartner" a few years ago while I was watching an episode of 60 Minutes. The story went into great detail on why parents did or did not choose to send their five-year-olds to...

I used to think I didn't want twins - especially not twin girls. I didn't have any reason to believe I would have twins. I wasn't even one to give a lot of thought to my future family. But...