GR82BAMOM: Juno Baby

Did I ever mention before how much we love Juno Baby at our house?

I came across Juno Baby when Liam was almost a year old when I was researching baby videos. Now, I know about the FDA's recommendation of no TV for babies under two years old, but Liam was exposed to a baby video while visiting a friend and he seemed captivated by it, so I began my research. I came across the less promoted Juno Baby produced by a very small company in California. Its co-founder and composer is Emmy-award winning Belinda Takahashi, Ph.D who creates all the music and is performed by live orchestral musicians. I bought their original video, Juno's Wonderful Day (the only one that was being sold at the time since the others were still in production) and loved it immediately. Some aspects of the video are similar to its large competitor, but we fell in love with the beautiful theme song. Still, to this day, we often catch ourselves humming it throughout the day. The Juno Baby characters are: Juno (girl), Murphy - the smart, colorful worm (boy), Indie - a white, fat kitty (boy?), and Bunny - a pink rabbit (girl). The latest addition is a baby (boy) named Rai Rai, Juno's baby brother whom I am sure will appear in future DVDs. Liam's favorite character is, of course, Murphy.

Yesterday, we had the rare opportunity to meet Juno Baby in person at the Brooklyn Children's Museum. We met and danced with Juno, listened to the songs, got a free t-shirt, entered a raffle for a basket filled with Juno Baby products (but didn't win), and entered Liam into the Rising Stars Search for a chance to be selected to appear in one of their future DVDs. All he had to do was sing one of their songs, dance, or play (or rather pretend to play) a musical instrument. We just thought, if he actually does something on cue, cool, of not, that's okay too. We just wanted him to see the Juno world in person and this was the rare opportunity to do so.

Liam was a bit intimidated by the loud microphone, so he opted for the piano keyboard (sorry, no pic). So much fun, though! We doubt Liam will be chosen. It is hard to put a three-year old on the spotlight like that and just expect him to perform when told to do so. It was Liam's very first time, too, and he was unprepared, meaning I didn't any spend time coaching him on the songs like the other parents did, even though he knows the videos and the songs by heart. Boy, you should have seen this one little Asian girl singing! No doubt she will be selected. It was a fun experience, nonetheless, and I was happy that we went to show our support of this small company and thank them for putting out such nice DVDs.

Liam couldn't stop talking about it on the car ride home and ran inside the house to tell daddy who later had to get the clearer version from me. Here are a few pics of our experience: