Our Family Adventures

We're moving!

2011-09-03T20:19:00.000-04:00

While I wish this meant I was moving out of my home and into my beautiful dream home, I just mean that we're moving blogs. In an attempt to make this a little more personal, family-wise, I'm moving domains. You're more than welcome to follow me at this new url, but I won't be moving my followers or transferring this domain over. This blog grew into something that I didn't really know what to do with and then I stopped blogging. I'd like to continue blogging, but I'll be moving to WordPress, continuing to talk about Hailey, our life, etc. I'm pretending that I will have the time to do this.
I don't have intentions on doing giveaways or any compensated posts at this time. The point is to get back to the basics and focus on the reason I started this blog: to keep family and friends abreast of our life.

It's going to take a day or so to propegate and I'll be taking the next little while to design it (a perk of doing what I do, I guess) and I will transfer posts over so everything can be in one place so bear with me for a short while.

The new url will be:
http://www.mrsmommyandmrdaddy.com

Come on by to continue reading about our goings-on and learn why the new domain is called what it is.

Thanks for reading these last few years! I promise lots of fun adventures to come.

Oh, hey...

2011-05-30T22:13:00.000-04:00

I know, I know...
But let's just pretend that it hasn't been for.ever since I last posted. Things have been just going around here. As usual, we've been traveling...going to classes and play dates galore. Hailey is my mini teenager these days. She says "no!" and runs away when she doesn't want to do something (luckily, I'm faster than she is...I always win). Sometimes she even pretends she's sleeping so she doesn't have to do something. But then she's helpful. She wants to put her dishes in the sink, throw trash away and put the rocks on the correct side of the driveway (I'm fairly certain she has my OCD).

She's talkative, as usual, which is overrated. Her vocab is in the hundreds. She can identify any common animal, what sound it makes, people's names (including her own: first, middle and last), every day objects, etc. She's even saying some 3 and 4 word sentences (the longer the sentence, the more likely she repeated it, though... something like "Hay-ee bwush your teef?") One of the mom's in her music class even asked if I did some sort of program with her to get her to talk. LOL...I just had this image of me sitting on the floor with her like massaging her jaw and then showing her flash cards, drawing out vowel sounds. In all honestly, I don't do anything special. She watches tv (albeit all really good shows for her), and I talk to her, but she's been verbal since before a year. She could say the alphabet in its entirety at 14 months, count to 10 by 15 months, and count to 20 by 16 months. Believe me, there are no secrets...that's not me...that's allllll Hailey.
But it can definitely be overrated. Seriously. At a wedding this past weekend, I made the decision to sit in the "quiet room" at the church so Hailey didn't ad-lib any part of the ceremony. Good thing, because the whole time she was saying "Hi, e'rybody!", asking for her daddy, who was the Best Man, commenting when people stood up and sat down, wanting to see the princess (bride), etc. I had my very own broadcaster as we watched from afar. About ready to pull my hair out by the tenth time the guests stood up ("e'rybody stand up??"), when the flower girl appeared in the "quiet room" not-so-quiet, I realized I didn't have it that bad, even if I only saw the vows from behind the glass. In fact, when the flower girl came in crying, Hailey looked at me and says, "Crying? Share book? Happy?" It was one of those Oh you're really not so bad after all realizations.

She does have her overly cute moments, too...the moments that overshadow the "NO!"s... Like when she says, "Bwess you mommy/daddy" when we sneeze, or sharing with that girl, saying "I yuv you", taking her toy dog, purse, and shoes and asking to go out...to name a few. Yeah, she's not so bad.

I am in slight denial that we are closer to the 2 year mark than we are the 1 year mark. I am excited, but it seems a little strange. I am ready, challenges and all, because with every challenge, there is a reward. Remember when I posted that she wasn't a good sharer? And then did you just read that she wanted to give the crying flower girl a book to make her feel better. Yeah, there are rewards with the challenges.

Conversations and a playroom wrap up (finally!)

2011-04-09T22:51:00.000-04:00

I realized that I should write a post on here when I was about to make a Facebook status seemingly every hour today regarding (what I thought were) funny things Hailey said or did. In an effort to not "be one of those people" (you know the ones. The hourly posters or those who post things that really are really only funny to them), I decided to keep my nerdiness to my blog, where people choose to care about things that may or may not be funny.

So this morning, I was bringing Hailey a plate to the table and in true Sid the Science Kid style, she says, "Breaakkkfffassssstt ttiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!!!!" and runs to the table, except was thwarted by the corner of the couch which brought her to the ground. For the first time, I actually busted out laughing *at* her. She stands up and looks at me. Trying to keep the straightest face that I could, she puts her hand on her head and says very matter-of-factly "head". HA! Yes, Hailey, you hit your head. I guess I prefer that over crying.

Not too long after that, I started singing to her. Common toddler songs. Nursery rhymes. Apparently I wasn't good enough. "NEXT!" she said, repeatedly. Then something I couldn't understand. Turns out, it was "button". Sometimes deciphering what she means is simply a matter of understanding past events. Yesterday in the car, she asked for the "next" song in the car and when I didn't do it she started screaming at me. So in an effort to stop her, I told her to tell me to press the button please. Zing. 1 for Hailey. Oh, and definitely 0 for mama since it's clear that my vocal cords are not up to par, as judged by the most honest of them all: an 18 month old.

My response to all of this was, "You know, Hailey, I'm not a CD". She looked at me a bit confused, and replied, "EFGH!"

Hailey 2, Mama 0 (she should get another point because it actually took ME a second to figure out why she said that).

While putting her to bed, she gave me a hug and a kiss, as she does each night. Tonight, she hugged me a little longer, sort of unusual, but I embraced the moment, and she said to me "eyes?" So I said, "Uh yes, we have eyes." "Ears?" she asked. "Yep, we have ears too." "Mouth?" ... you get the point. I needed to reassure her, apparently, that all of our features were existent and in tact. Elementary, but it was what she needed. I walked out of the room and heard her say "night night". I just smiled, shook my head and shut the door.

Talking to Hailey is rather hilarious. I enjoy our semi-conversations immensely and mostly because it either has to do with the two of us yelling back and forth (her demanding food at all hours of the day and not liking the word NO) or her misunderstanding me and pulling a card from "...the things kids say". Oh, or, her trying to now say sentences. As one or two word strings, I usually know what she is saying. But otherwise? I sometimes swear she is speaking another language.

Here is a "for this blog only" video, in which you'll see the looks I get first hand and the endless deciphering I go through.

Oh, and in a follow up to the playroom attempt, my first and only bad seller experience from Etsy came through...4 months later (I ordered this in December and it finally came like last week). I present to you Hailey's new book nook.

Each shelf is embroidered with a different word reading "My Reading Corner". She can't reach the top one (which is good for me because I know that at least one of them can remain in tact!). I asked this Etsy seller to create this but if you're at all craftier than me (read: own a sewing machine), you can probably do this too! Here is the tutorial that I sent to the Etsian and despite the ridiculous turn around time, she did a nice job. I purchased and sent her the fabric from fabric.com. I could definitely do this again in the future (you know, for my future house that I keep searching for and won't move into for another couple years)... The good news is, except for little hands that bring toys around the house during the day, I no longer have a living room full of toy storage! Mission: accomplished!

Mama: 1, Hailey 2 (damn, that didn't work out how I intended...). I guess she's always gonna win, huh?

18 month photo session

2011-03-28T15:41:00.000-04:00

Well, almost 18 months. I only have a sneak peek, but these are fun! Her hair is a MESS and in a couple she's mid-chew with goldfish, but that is so *her*. I told the photographer I didn't even care if she was stuffing her face, because really, that's Hailey.

So, without further ado...

#s 2 and 3 are by far my favorites and I'm hoping she has a bunch more that I will love.

That all said, when she wakes up from her nap I am going to try and find a stretch of cherry blossoms since we are in prime c.b. peek time and snap some shots with my cam! YEAH for a pretend spring (it is not really spring weather lol).

Today Hailey held her own...

2011-03-24T22:52:00.000-04:00

We attended an open play at Hailey's gym today. I am sort of split with this time because on one hand it gives us a chance to get out of the house and give her something to do. On the other hand, it allows mixed age groups to be in the same room and that can be dangerous.

I always let Hailey do her thing, whatever that may be. She ran straight for a ball this afternoon. Whatever. I see this cute little blonde girl (3) talking to her. Hailey actually looked like she was responding (I could see her head moving back and forth). She's kind of smitten with older kids so I kind of laughed, but I quickly stopped when cute little blonde girl took my girl's ball from her hands. Still, whatever. Hailey didn't seemed phased by this and went on her way.

Maybe 10 minutes later, I was a little closer to the girls and this time blondy holds her hand up. Not really sure where she was going with this, I stepped closer. Hailey said to her, "Nice! Niiiice!"
Wow, so many things to say about that. Maybe she was just mimicking me. But, no, it was more than that. She knew what she was doing. She was telling the other girl to be nice to her in the only way she could. Blondy didn't listen though and legitimately pushed her down. Hailey fell to the floor, stood up, and yelled at her "No, no NO! Nice!" Obviously I stepped in at that point and told the other girl that Hailey was little and she needs to be careful (where was her mother?!) and this woman...sitting right in front of me... says "Oh, what happened?" Yep, there was her mother. Not watching her kid push mine down. Then she proceeded to yell at her daughter. Whatever. Her mother, sitting right there, was just as much of a problem in my mind.

But more than anything else, I'm proud of my girl. Not just talking to talk. But talking with a purpose. Standing up for herself. Being independent and strong. And entirely appropriate. I'm going to ignore the fact that she had a major attitude all the while and focus on the fact that I'm raising a strong girl who is not afraid to handle her own business. YA! Momma win!

I have a blog?

2011-03-20T14:39:00.000-04:00

Quite honestly, I've spent so much time designing other people's blogs, I often forget that I have one myself. I am determined to keep this going, even if it means only posting every now and again!

Hailey is always an adventure, always has been and always will be. People call her independent, precocious, drama queen, trouble for my future, etc. The girl knows what she wants (except when she tells me very specifically what she wants and then decides that she no longer wants it, or better yet, I did not do it the way she intended me to. That's not so fun.) and she knows when she wants it to happen. People give into it. Her teachers. Relatives. Her daddy. Even I give into her. But I try to hold my ground, giving her options or at least limitations so that she is does not completely overpower me.

She's a tough one. Smart. And that makes it tough. She needs to be challenged. She's not into these cartoons that have no lesson or purpose. Gym class doesn't really do it for her. The days she is the easiest are the days we have music class. She's *good* at it. She sings all of the songs, dances all of the dances, and gets praised all the while.

She doesn't enjoy being in a stroller. Never has, really. She wants to walk and explore herself. She will hold my hand but there are moments where she will stop, eye something, and make a run for it.
She doesn't like being in a high chair in restaurants. She'd much rather be in a chair, so we've succumbed to a booster seat, which she seems to do better with. I am fearful that bibs are becoming a thing of the past, as well (but I'm not giving up on them when it comes to things like feeding herself yogurt or apple sauce).

There are days where all she wants is bread. Days where all she wants is pasta. Days for fruit. Days for vegetables. Days for everything. And days for nothing. Days where she just wants to feed herself. And days where she wants to be hand fed. It can be exhausting simply trying to figure out what kind of day it is, so I can cater to it.

I do cater to it. I cater everything to her. I am sure that she knows this. Oh, Hailey...

But despite her exhaustiveness, she's amazing. She stays by me at the play ground (for now, anyway). She'll sit with me for a snack. She is intrigued by older kids and they try to hold her hand and play with her, too. She surprises herself when she says a new word. And then will continue saying it until it sounds just right to her.

Last night we were at my hub's aunt's surprise birthday party. H knows "happy" (actually she can spell it thanks to a song she knows ;) but she's never said birthday. We did not really discuss it at any point. But after everyone sang happy birthday, H started yelling "BIRFDAY! BIRFDAY!". And that went on for the rest of the night.

If she seems someone with glasses, she wants to point out everyone who has glasses. Same with eyes, tongues, etc. She will go around a table and point to people, asking them to show her their features. She gets a kick out of it. I guess that despite her complexities, she really is simple deep down. Just yearning to learn.

She's back to saying seven. I don't know why it was bothering me so much that she would skip it when counting, but it did. Not in the sense that I thought she was never going to say it again, but more like an OCD bother. Like I'd shiver when she skipped it. But seven is back in our lives. And we've added 11-20, but she does get tripped up a bit. It's complicated, I know.

The best is listening to her say and spell her name. When she was an infant, I created this lame song that has a screwed up tune to "I've Been Working on the Railroad". Anyway, it spelled her first name out and then I'd sing her first and middle name. Well now she knows that song and it's really nothing short of adorable to listen to her sing it.

So the point is, we're busy, but we're doing really well. I might complain here or there, but it's likely a complaint that things are straying from perfect. We have pictures being taken later this week and I am over the top excited because the photographer is ah-maz-ing. I'm just hoping Hailey doesn't do her silliness when you tell her to smile, she just gives you this cheesiness mouth-full-o'-teeth grin. I'll post pics when they're up.

17 months - Whine and cheese?

2011-03-07T11:27:00.000-05:00

While I would gladly take wine and cheese, my daughter has only been providing me with whine lately. Why?? She doesn't get instant gratification. It's the only reasonable explanation I can come up with. Communication isn't the issue. Yesterday she said, "eat" [whine] "please" [whine]. So I said fine, let's look at what we have. She pushes me out of the way to see what we have in the fridge. "Apples" (aka pineapples). I told her no (because she's on the BRAT diet due to some nasty reactions to antibiotics). So she said, "pastas". I go to heat up a small bowl of leftover pasta and she tantrums on the floor (aka throws herself on the ground and says "DOWN" … in case I didn't already know she was down there). 20 seconds later…literally, because that is all I heated up the pasta for…she's happy again. When she's finished, whiiinnnnneeeeeeee "more" whiinneeeee. It's enough to pull your hair out. I'm thrilled she has the words to express what she wants, but then why does the whining continue?

It comes and goes, the whining. Like today? She's been great. Very little complaining. Maybe she's bored. On the days we have stuff to do, she seems to be okay. On weekends or days that she doesn't have an activity, she is probably a bit whinier. I haven't really paid attention to correlations. I do know that it doesn't all just make sense, even if I were to pay attention to correlations. We could offer her a vegetable in her high chair and it's like we are asking her to eat fire. "Noooooooooooooooooooo. nonononono." But if we go to the couch in the living room to have a snack, even if the snack is broccoli and cheese… "More? Please! More! Please!" So now it matters where she sits? UGH. I just hope she puts this newfound communicative skill on hold while we go on vacation tomorrow.

I guess it's actually good she can speak well, because I think we'd be in trouble. If she whines as much as she does and can communicate, I don't even want to think what it would be like if she couldn't communicate verbally.
It does helps her redeem herself. How? When she does speak, it's amazingly cute. I know I'm biased, but how many kids under 2 will ask for something and say please, thank you and "welcome". Welcome is new. She doesn't totally understand it, but it's funny. She says "bless you" when you sneeze. And she told another little person to be "niiiiice" when they went to go touch her in a class the other day. Her precocious attitude is a very redeeming quality, but yet another reason she needs to be in school next year, at least part time.

I'm not kidding when I say that it's always an adventure…The thing is, while I complain, I do know that she's not really that bad (you should know that my version of whining is any pitch that rises about normal speaking voices) and at the end of the day, her whining will just lead to my wining, and that's not a bad thing!

On Sid the Science Kid

2011-03-01T20:09:00.000-05:00

Sid the Science Kid is not just a show on PBS (or the only show we're allowed to watch... and when I saw allowed, these are rules imposed by my precocious 16 month old. Only that's not true. She likes Wheel of Fortune, too. I suppose that's a genes thing [her daddy's kind of a former champ. Sh! Don't tell!]), Sid is an obsession. I'm pretty sure Hailey thinks he's a real kid. When she eats, we tell her Sid likes to eat his vegetables and there may or may not have been times when we told her that Sid was going to bed and she needed to, too. Her response was "okay", when nothing else worked previously.

So in an effort to be a good momma, I Googled Sid the Science Kid to see if there was such thing as a live show (I know I'd pull my hair out but I also know Hailey would be in Heaven if she ever saw something like that, so I was willing to sacrifice a few strands [I need a hair cut anyway]).

Well, my hair will remain because I wasn't successful. Instead, I found a small blog with a hilarious post:

Why Sid The Science Isn't So Innocent
I love the idea behind Sid the Science Kid. I love how they do realistic little experiments, and write down their observations and I even love it how Sid sings that little song about how his mom is cool.
But do you wanna know what I don't like? I don't like how May (or is it Meg??) sounds like she is as high as a kite. Has she been doing a little too much work in the chemistry lab or something?

And Gerald sounds like he's been right in there with her. He also seems like he just might snap at any moment and throw someone into a bunsen Burner or turn his frog dissecting scalpel on his friends all while laughing that maniacal laugh.

And what the frick is up with the kids calling their teacher Miss Suzie???? I doubt that's her last name. And why in the heck does she dance around like a stripper when she moves across the classroom? Is it just me or do you smell a little Mary Kay Letourneau???

Despite it's good intentions, Sid the Science Kid may just replace Caillou at the top of my "Most Annoying Kid Thing EVER" list.
--

I can't tell you how much I agree with this. All of it. I just told the hubs maybe two days ago how much May bothers me. I don't know why PBS makes such strange characters. She's supposed to be artsy? I guess? It's weird. It's kind of like why my sister, mom and I don't understand why Baby Bear on Sesame Street has a speech impediment or why Teletubbies are so creepy or why Yo Gabba Gabba is so friggin' psychedelic.

Have you ever seen the SNL skit of the Dora the Explorer spin-off? Hilarious. Why? It's TRUE! They stare at the screen silent. I get it. They're waiting for a response from the kids. That doesn't take away from the creepiness of it. BLINK, Dora.

And at the end of the day, these are Hailey's favorite shows. I am not a tv-hater. Hailey's beyond beyond when it comes to vocabulary and intellect and we are outside of the house enough with classes and play dates that I'm not worried about her tv consumption. But my Lord, these shows are ridiculous. And I'm in for years to come... Awesome...

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-23T13:24:00.000-05:00

Daddy's girl in daddy's shoes!

For the locals...

2011-02-21T21:45:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are local, the Macy's at the Pentagon City Mall will be hosting a fashion show featuring career clothing for spring. They will have appointment experts as well as co-host Sarah Zlotnick (Style & Shopping Editor of Washingtonian.com) for free wardrobe advice.

The event (with refreshments and a business card holder with any $75 purchase [subject to availability]) will take place on Saturday, February 26 at 2pm (events subject to cancellation).

Have fun, guys!!!

*This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for for writing about this event.

It is love, after all!

2011-02-10T13:10:00.000-05:00

I know what you're thinking. Three posts in a week? What is this, 2010? I'm just as shocked as you.

I did not want to take Hailey outside given that she is sick and it is freezing out, but then I remembered that the dog had a vet appointment this morning and we are at-risk of being fined by the city if I don't get his rabies shots and records renewed (so I suppose slightly important???) so we bundled up and went to the appointment.

You may remember this post where I talked about the relationship (or lack there of) between Oscar and Hailey. Around 10 months, when she was pulling up on furniture, their relationship was at its worst, and I truly did contemplate shipping him off somewhere. My loving husband explained to me that he was part of the family and "you do not give up on family". Softy.
Either way, it did get better, and now that she does not pull up on the couch and get in his face (most of the time), he is okay with her.

So we went into the vet's office and Oscar was about to get his vaccinations when he yelped. And yelped. The sound was a little disheartening for me, but apparently it got to my girl and she started to cry. Not the "I'm just being a whiny toddler", but more of a "What on Earth are you doing to MY dog?" cry. She was so so so worried about him and our conversation quickly went from calming Oscar down to giving him treats and telling Hailey that he was happy now and he's not hurt.

Best friends *still* may not be an accurate description, given their rocky relationship but we're getting closer to love-hate (rather than just hate).

Baby's first cold

2011-02-09T21:53:00.000-05:00

We made it exactly 16 months, but Hailey has contracted the common cold. This has been one of the most pathetic times yet. Forgive me if I act as though we have the plague. It's just that we have been spoiled with her health, and for that I am truly thankful. I caved and gave her a partial dose of cold medicine and that has actually helped, but it doesn't last too long. Her nose? Running like a faucet. And her voice? Sounds like she's a recovering smoker.

I am pretty certain she got it from the preschool where we do weekly play dates since one of the little boys was coughing up a lung last week. No amount of hand sanitation could keep these stupid germs away based on how miserable she sounds. She woke up early this morning, though I won't tell you what our definition of early is, since I am sure to lose readers based on that mere fact.
I am getting a preview into next winter, I think, since she'll be spending more time there next year. Is this what daycare is like? Yuck!

I am crossing my fingers that I do not get sick because I will be out of commission since I have not had a cold in almost 3 years. Although I think that is my reward for dealing with an entire 3rd trimester of congestion. Literally could not breathe out of my nose for 3 months.

So I will be spending the next few days pumping the humidifier in the baby's room (Yes, I will likely be that mom who refers to her first born as her baby until they are ~~married~~ 18) and wait this out. Wish us luck!

16 months

2011-02-07T21:07:00.000-05:00

16 months does not feel much different than 15 months. We deal with different things on a different scale. For example, everything involves communication. She understands direction and partial explanation.
On the other hand, we need to watch what we say, because she repeats everything. She wanted my drink, called it water, I told her it was coke and she was then asking for coke. In so many ways that is not good.

Expectations have changed as well. My expectations are simply that she perform to the best of her ability. Since I know she has the ability, I do expect that she act and behave under certain standards. Call me strict (though I'm not at all, really), but it is not unreasonable as far as I am concerned. If I knew she had something developmentally that was setting her back, my expectations would simply be set at a different level. But the standard would be the same: do the best that she can personally handle.

She knows more, all done, milk and please in baby sign language. While she consistently does this, I also have her say the word. Because. she. can. It's that simple.

At 16 months, her vocabulary consists of (defined as words she knows, not simply words she can repeat as well as what I can remember):
-Mama
-Dada
-More
-Please (Peas)
-Up
-Down
-Milk
-Baby
-Night night (Ni ni)
-Oscar (Ossar)
-This/That
-Hailey (Hay-hee)
-Yogurt (Yoga)
-Turkey
-Broccoli (Broc-ee)
-Giraffe (Raff)
-Turtle
-Duck
-Elmo
-Chair
-Sit
-Ride (Ri)
-Home
-No (no no no no no no no no no)
-Yes / yeah
-Okay
-Stairs (Say-ers)
-Door (Do)
-Outside (Ow-si)
-Bath (Baff)
-Breakfast (Brefa) / Lunch (Luns) / Dinner (Din)
-Eat
-Head
-Nose
-Eyes
-Ears (E's)
-Toes
-Knee
-Teeth (Tees)
-Elbow
-Mouth (Mawf)
-Socks
-Shoe
-Shirt
-Pants
-Hi
-Bye
-Achoo
-And subsequently, Bless you
-Book
-Read (Ree)
-Necklace (Ne-las)
-Hug (Hu)
-Muah
-Popcorn (I have no idea why or how she knows that one)
-Help (I love this one)
-Hop (Haw)
-Jump (Ju)
-Show
-Uh oh
-Phone(Phoe)
-She can say most colors but doesn't necessarily know what they are
-Most animal sounds
-Alphabet a-z
-Numbers 1-20 (with help on the second 10)

Don't judge. Some of these are really awkward, I know ;)

The only problem with someone so vocal is that she doesn't understand, as I said in my last post, why not. She thinks if she demands, it should happen. Much like her momma! The only difference is, while I choose to ignore logical reasoning and do what I want, I understand it. Daughter dear, on the other hand, does not understand reasoning. She feels that if she is saying "up", "milk", "please", or even "no", that that demand should be met. I am looking forward to the day I see the lights go off, and she understands consequences. When does that happen? Like 3? 30? Ever...? We're all still learning and it's always an adventure!

Adventures in the west

2011-02-01T11:11:00.002-05:00

Having a toddler is hard and it's hard in an entirely different way than having an infant is hard. Even if your child is an angel most of the time, which, by some grace of God, Hailey is, every child has their moments. Hailey's "moment" happened on our return flight from Arizona last weekend.

We accompanied the hubs on a work trip, which can have its challenges as it is, seeing as though there are dinners to attend, time changes to accustom to, and hours of single parenthood.

For being only two hours behind, Hailey actually did pretty well. I would say that honestly 90% of the time, she was an angel. She slept well (we may or may not have put her crib in the bathroom), she was quiet and extremely well-behaved at 7 out of 8 meals (and she wasn't bad at the one meal… if you count playing hide in go seek at a Ritz Carlton restaurant in bare feet good…...).

She had a ton of fun at the resort, though, taking full advantage of the pool area and splash pad (which is what they termed the fountains for kids to run around in). She did not enjoy the surprise of the fountain, though ;) (see photographic evidence below) I'm fairly certain she was the only child there so she kind of ran the place. Most of the staff knew her name by the end. Is that a good thing or a bad thing…???? Probably a little of both, huh?

She counted every stair. Every time. There are exactly 14 stairs from the lounge area to the walkway. Just so you know. Hailey would want you to know.

She really did do pretty well, overall, though. Why is it that all you can remember are the trials? And… is it more stressful that your child is screaming on an airplane (that honestly maybe only 4 or 5 people could actually hear, because if you've ever heard Hailey scream, it's more like a dying cat… she's not a loud kid) or that you're worrying about what others are thinking and that you are disrupting their first-class 3.5 hour experience? I'm going with option b, at least in our case. The hardest part about it, is she has no reasoning skills. So she does not understand why, if she says yes or please, she doesn't get something, or if she says no, why it can't just not happen (ie walking around the airplane during landing). Or, better yet, if she says help, why we can't just open the water bottle and let her have at it.
Reasoning skills are next on our list… maybe...

Always an adventure...

On raising a diva

2011-01-25T10:16:00.000-05:00

You might remember when I was interested in your take on using the word "no". The truth is, I still do not differ from my opinion. I do only say "no" when Hailey is about to do or get into something that is dangerous, hot, or, let's be honest: when I have redirected in 6,500 other ways and she is still not changing her course of action.
Perhaps it's because when I do say "no", I say it sternly, but Hailey's newest and greatest word is "no".

It's not just "no", but it's "no" with the head shake back and forth, or it's "nonononononono" as she pushes you away. Sometimes it's appropriate, like when I ask her if she wants more of something. If she does not want it, "no" is an appropriate response in my opinion. Of course I'm reinforcing the more polite "no, thank you", but my expectation is not for her to say that. In fact, she can say, "yes", "yeah", and "okay", so having the negative form of those in her vocabulary is fine with me.

Want to know what's not fine with me?
Me: Let's put a coat on, Hailey.
H: Nonononononono (while running away)

Me: ::picking up Hailey to walk across a parking lot::
H: no (shakes head) no (shakes head) no (shakes head)

Really, kid, not that whining from frustration was much better, but this "no" thing, although barely two weeks old, is getting old real fast.

Overall, however, there's less crying in this house. I wrote down her vocabulary in her baby book a couple of nights ago and, not including animal sounds and only focusing on things she says out of identification (ie not just words she repeats when we ask her to say them), got to around 45 words. My new favorites are "read" and "help". Oh, and "elbow", but just because I think it's a funny word for her to say. And as of last night, we realized she knows what m-i-l-k spells. The hubs and I are now testing our ESP skills with sentences that do not complete themselves and expressions that often include wide eyes or head nods. We've come a long way since college… ;)

I'm taking this new "no" thing in strides, because I have to remind myself that she is really healthy and thriving, and that saying "no" to me is no different to her than telling me she does want something. In fact, that probably is the same to her. She is telling me what she wants is not to do something, right?
Who told my daughter she could be an independent thinker? I.mean.really…

My little overachiever

2011-01-18T21:58:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry. If you find me to be bragging, you'd be right. What else would a proud mother do? Hailey will just walk around the house singing her abc's and counting. It's not as if she can read and she's not counting 1 to 1, so I recognize that she's not the only toddler in the world who can do this. But I find it really awesome.

So I present to you, my (slightly unfocused and crazy haired) daughter.

Whatever it takes...

2011-01-10T12:07:00.000-05:00

I don't really care how it's done. As long as it gets done.

Playroom {Part 3} not the end

2011-01-05T19:58:00.000-05:00

I realized that in order for me to reclaim my living room entirely, I will need to teach Hailey to not neccessarily bring her toys in the living room from the playroom. In other words, I'm never going to entirely reclaim my living room. Le sigh…

I've moved most of her larger toys in the playroom and I'm waiting on one more thing to be delivered, so there will be a part 4. I received, the other day, the most exciting part of the room. Only exciting because it's something I so would've wanted in my playroom (if I had one. I did not) as a little girl.

The most darling vinyl house, white picket fence (which is practically invisible in this picture) and butterflies (which I have used to cover the holes from our degrees when it was serving as an office).

I love vinyl because even though it is sadly not reusable, it comes off without needing to repaint (read: selling house down the line).

The artwork on the left was all digitally created by me. Although you can read, one of the pieces matches the pattern of the foam tiles we put down here. The middle piece is a chevron print with her name (which will come into play later) and a little birdie. The last piece which is hidden in this picture is just a flower.

You can give me as much credit as you'd like for the placement of the frames, but really I dropped the level behind the futon and thus decided to make it look like unevenness was supposed to happen. We'll also pretend the house is level. Whatever.

Part 4, the final installment (probably), will come in a couple of weeks. Maybe I'll even show you a transformation of a semi-reclaimed living room between now and then :) Pillow covers to match the new rug… baby steps, baby steps.

PS Hailey is practically 15 months old. Craziness.

Playroom Progress {Part 2}

2010-12-30T10:34:00.001-05:00

You probably thought I wasn't going to follow through on the playroom (either in posting a follow-up or in general), but my desire to reclaim my living room is too great. A new rug to replace the BC rug (aka Before Child aka off-white in color) and my new media center is a good start. The overnight part of the playroom has been cleaning and organizing.

This is the "before" video if you're interested. I made it for my sister last week (she's really the organizing queen and needs before and after pictures of things). And truth be told, this is not really even "before". This is before anything playroom related made it into the office, but after the futon was moved around and her jumperoo and boxes from toys were broken down and cleaned out of the space.

We have these Expedit shelves and desk from Ikea in our office. Except this picture isn't my office. This is just an example of what it could look like. It definitely inspires me, though. Baby steps...

Our shelves are set up just like this though. We also have a futon to the left of these shelves.

Neither of those items can leave said office turned playroom. The simply will have no other home, otherwise.

So I am working around them. ::ROAR!!!:: ok I'm back… ::breathe..::

I have ordered some things that require this playroom to be "in progress" for a few more weeks. So far we have a space for toys and that is huge progress.

You can really see how narrow our space is here. Hailey is learning not to pull up these floor tiles. She saw me put them together and that was clearly a mistake because now she knows they can come apart. She's getting it…maybe..
And for a cute little touch:

It is slow progress. We are not painting or doing any construction on this room, so it's really not going to be any major makeover. Part 3 coming soon...

Getting back in order: Playroom Part 1

2010-12-26T20:52:00.001-05:00

It's no secret that I want to move. As desperate as I am, however, the reality is that I'm here for the foreseeable future and I refuse to not make my house a home just because someday I might move. I have to remember that this is the home that Hailey will make her early memories in. So as our home becomes more and more infested with toys, my open concept of a house has become less desirable. No garage. No basement. Storage is an issue. The bigger issue is that I am not looking to store items; I am simply looking to put them in one space so that when people enter our home, they do not think that our first floor is a playroom.

So at some point while watching Alice in Wonderland on Christmas Eve (new-not old. and terrible, by the way), I started to Google playrooms and Etsy and I became best friends. I am officially turning the office into a playroom. The room, as it is, is small. We are also not removing any furniture in there, so do not expect any masterpiece of a space.

Moreover (<-- I just said "moreover"), I already have two large items (read: princess vanity from the last post and kitchen) that would likely go against our only bare wall in there (more space issues) and because it is technically a bedroom, that means it has a closet, so we lack what would otherwise be a wall. What's that you say? Just take off the doors and use the extra square footage? Well that closet has already been spoken for by folding chairs, a dvd rack, bags (and bags and bags and bags), wrapping paper boxes, a picnic basket (that we've never used, but it is adorable, an engagement present and I have these visions of Hailey and I going on a picnic when she's 3 and we're both wearing sundresses and straw hats. I don't really know why) and my old work stuff, should I ever feel the urge to return (shockingly, I haven't felt that urge. Nope. Still not there.).

The last problem is that we are not very handy people. If something breaks, we buy a new one. If something won't work, we call someone to fix it. It's not a disposable income thing (because wouldn't THAT be nice…) as much as it is a lack of being handy issue. I'd love to build wooden cornices around my windows, crown molding on my ceilings, and a bead board bookcase for the wall, but those things just aren't happening. So I'm hoping etsy will save me and be the creative force I am looking for in the room.

So sooner than later, there shall be a part 2, where you will see photographic evidence of this urge and so-called progress that I intend to make!

In the meantime, if you have any amazing space saver, cute, creative sites or items, send them my way! Hailey will thank you for it! And so will my reclaimed living room.

Edit to add: Etsy should probably be placed on a parental control on my computer. At least the checkout section! Oy!

On spoiling your first born….

2010-12-21T10:34:00.001-05:00

"Put your princess wand back in your vanity, Hailey."

There's a sentence I didn't know I'm be saying to my 14 month old. How to raise a modest little girl? Not give her everything she never knew she wanted. Fail.

We've been looking at preschools lately for next year and at first, I questioned myself. A barely 2 year old go to school? Surely I was being pressured by the parents of Real Housewives of DC Little Gym. But I took at look at my daughter, who, for the second time in a week, pushed away another little person when she wanted to use something they were. Now, I know that toddlers, especially those without siblings are just going to do this and I know it's not inappropriate, but it is a good teaching opportunity. And after I did visit one of those 2 year old classes and saw the kids all sitting in their little people chairs and eating their lunches together…nicely…I second guessed my second guessing.

We went home over the weekend where I second guessed my second guess (in other words, I was back to square one where I wondered if this was what we should be doing next year). On one hand, I'd do a transition class with her where I am in the classroom and she only goes once a week for a couple of hours and then any time after her second birthday she would enter the 2's classroom where she'd be 3 days a week for 3 hours a day. It's not like I'm talking this outrageous 5 day a week program with extended care before and after school…while I stay home. Yes, I am being sensible about this. But on the other hand, she's 14 months and I'm thinking about SCHOOL!

So Monday we went back to the preschool for a free play date where they let you use an empty classroom and whomever wants to comes and plays. And I met my future friend. I know she will be my friend because I read people and she and I clicked. Needless to say, new friend's son is 10 days younger than Hailey and will be doing the transition class and entering the 2's class in January (of 2012). She has a daughter who was in the 2's class last year and absolutely loved it. And I realized that while talking to this woman for an hour straight, that Hailey was having the time of her life in that classroom.

And I sent the hubs a text saying "Nevermind. This is it."

Because I just got a good feeling about it. The whole thing. And Hailey needs to learn to share. She might be a princess with a wand and a princess vanity* (that I was never allowed to have as a kid because it was too expensive, mind you), but she also knows how to count to 10 (I wish I were kidding. Thank you Sesame Street) and knows most of her abc's… and so school is going to be the best thing for her…when she's ready… and we'll play that by ear.

But forgive me if I cry myself a river the first day drop her off and drive home in the car without her.

*Um, for the record, we did not buy that for her. It was brought home by my hubs last night and a coworker gave it to him as a hand-me-down. Some hand-me-down, right?!

Oh, hi there.

2010-12-12T12:19:00.002-05:00

And so resumes the ever so redundant "it's been a while" post.

Yesterday we had three birthday parties for one year olds. Yep, three. And Hailey and I went to all three of them. It was majorly exhausting. The first birthday party was in a community center room 2 minutes from my house. Uber convenient. Want to know what wasn't so convenient? The paper cut outs that were approximately 2 feet from the floor hanging on the walls of the community center room's hallway. Did you know that it's developmentally appropriate for a 14 month old to want to tear up paper? Yeahhhh….. A duck shaped balloon can only distract and re-distract a toddler for so long. Sorry kiddos. I tried to keep some intact.

Birthday party #2 was at another community center. Somehow we managed to slip in a 2 hour nap before this one. So spirits? They were pretty good. Not good? The door that was kept open the.whole.time. Normally this would be okay. Until Hailey discovered it. And it was over. She wanted to leave out that party! Opening presents was good, though. I enjoy friends who are okay with my child helping hers open gifts. She tore apart that tissue paper like she was being paid to do so. I'm also pretty sure she swiped away the birthday girl's hand from one of the birthday girl's new toys. I convinced myself the only time she's really bad is when she should be sharing a toy. She's not into the whole idea of 2 or more people using the same item. We're working on that. I guess.

And birthday party #3 was at the gym where Hailey goes. Perfect, I thought. First of all, I felt as though I was doing something very wrong being there on a weekend evening. Second of all, her classes are filled with kids her own age. This party, as is appropriate, had kids of alllll ages. Fine. Except kids of all ages don't really play well together. Older kids are swinging on things. Babies are crawling on the floor. Someone inevitably gets toppled over. Something else strange? Hailey is officially freaked out by parachutes. I know, weird! She's never really enjoyed them. She can't stand being under one and really isn't even a fan of being on top of one. I think it's because she "loses" me, but no other kid seems to mind. She even hates the ones made out of scarf material that she can see through. It's just really strange.
Also funny? Seeing her sit in a chair. You know those little chairs they have in preschools? Those. So funny! She's DEFINITELY going to be that kid whose teacher is all, "Hailey, sit on your bottom please. Hailey, get off your knees please. Hailey, you need to SIT in your CHAIR." Oy.

So our day did come to an end and I'm not sure who fell asleep first. Hailey had a day of birthday parties and I had a day of chase the toddler.
--

In other, "my kid really did that" news…

This age is really hilarious. 14 months. I was certain I would hate this year because it's the year of little communication and therefore lots of frustration and therefore toddler meltdowns. And the truth is that I love this age more than the infant stages. The meltdowns are rare and the communication is much more than I anticipated. Her vocabulary is huge.
The funniest thing, though, is that because I got her to change saying "Yeah" to "Yes", she has now generalized and added 's' to other words that she previously mastered, such as "up"…or "ups" as it is now. If you ask her to say up, she will, so that's good. But the hubs? He thinks it's just cute…which it is…. but the educator in me corrects it. The daddy in him encourages it. When she is up, and wants to get down, sometimes she'll say up. So I say "down". Hubs says "You are ups. Do you want to get downs?" Then I sit there correcting BOTH of them. "Don't do that to her…" "Down, not up. Up, not ups". Ughhhh. Well, it's good for a laugh anyway.
And speaking of laughs, that's the newest. She fake laughs when she hears other people laughing. And since laughing is one of those things that are contagious, like yawns (did you just yawn???) when she does that we just laugh harder…and she laughs harder… and it's just a pathetic circle of laughing. And if you've ever heard my husband laugh… it's like this jolly santa laugh that resonates the whole room. So you can imagine it's pretty contagious.

And when I say she was bit,

2010-12-03T20:43:00.000-05:00

I don't mean by Oscar, though I wouldn't question it if that happened (I mean, I'd feel badly, but the girl mounts the dog when he's eating. I wouldn't blame him, really). But I digress from my post title.

Hailey was bit today. By another baby. Well, he's 14 months. They were in gym class and the little boy grabbed Hailey from behind and started to hug her. Cute, right? Then he kind of pulled her to the ground. His mom and I were both watching. It seemed innocent. Until Hailey screamed. No blood, thank god. But within seconds she had a bruise in the shape of a baby-sized mouth on her poor little cheek.

I've known this little boy and his mom for months now. Not only that, I'm trying to become friendlier with her. I know this isn't the first time he's bit. In fact, it's not the first time he's attempted to bite Hailey. But this time he really got her. And Hailey was crying on and off for the next 30 minutes.

His mom was apologizing profusely. I laughed it off. Yes, I laughed. But I laughed because I didn't know what else to do! What do you say? It's ok? No, well, it's not really ok that your son just bruised my baby girl. But I know it's not her fault. And he's 14 months. It's not as though his actions were deliberate and intentionally hurtful. Right? I laughed because I didn't know what to do. And because my other thoughts were entirely too inappropriate for gym class. What would you have done? What do you do in this situation?

We joked that maybe she should bite him back. I've seriously heard of that. But for, like, 3 year olds. Not for a kid who just turned 1 a couple of months ago. That'd probably be more like child abuse, huh?

So what would you do? What should she do? We're both kind of baffled. Did I mention my baby was bit today? :'(

I have excuses, I swear, I do

2010-12-01T23:12:00.000-05:00

Maybe you don't want to hear them, but I have excuses. The list is long. I've not abandoned my blog. Where to start? How about post-Hawaii?

We headed up north for Thanksgiving (and by "up north", I mean above the Mason Dixon line). Hailey's slept in my old room in a pack n play countless times. But for some reason -- could have been the fact that I wasn't there with her for a week, or that she is almost 14 months old and that much more aware, or that she took a 2 hour nap from 6-8pm in the car ride up and then had no interest in bedtime -- she wouldn't go to sleep our first night up. I literally re-trained her to fall asleep without aid. We're back. We're good. But momma was tired for a few days there. Ignore that I even said that because she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night and she still napped. I'm just spoiled with her sleeping habits that I complain about the stupid things.

That's a pretty poor excuse for lack of posts, however. So how about the new lens I got for my camera? By the way? It's awesome!
Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

Pretty cute model, right??

Well then I returned my lens. Why? Because I scored the same one for $80 less on Amazon the next day! That was kind of worth it.

So that was a reason for not blogging.

Then of course Thanksgiving.

Love her shirt, right? Ahhhh! I love that little face!

So if that isn't enough for a lack of blogging, how about my NEW NIECE?! My love, Zoe, was born while we were in Hawaii!

Check out the cuteness!

I know she looks happy here, but Hailey was pretty jealous of me holding Zoe. But once we distracted her, she was fine. I just finished Zoe's baby announcement. I'd post it here but I'm pretty sure my sister would kill me, so I'll just take the credit and move on.

If that isn't enough for excuses, I came into contact with some nasty bug that put me (and subsequently my hubs and both parents!) out of commission for a day or two. UGH! Miserable, being sick.

Well, we're finally back and healthy. So I should have posted yesterday, right? Wrong! I've been learning the ropes of Wordpress! I'm hoping to be able to offer designs over there in the near future. It's costly, though, because it's time consuming and very different than Blogger.

Oh, and my last excuse? My poor car was broken into last night. In.my.driveway. Talk about disconcerting. I'm now shaking in my boots locking all doors and putting on all alarms. I feel violated. Angry. Sad. Hailey's Sid the Science Kid DVD was stolen :( Ok, along with the DVD player. But give my kid back her Sid DVD, ok?? That's just not cool.

So hopefully you've forgiven me. I've decided not to go to L.A. next week as planned so I can breathe for a minute. And maybe blog :)

Back, but not for long

2010-11-22T21:48:00.000-05:00

I can't seem to stay in one place, can I?! You may just have to relive my past week or so in photographs. We went to Kauai and Oahu. If you have any questions about places to stay or things to do in either of those places, shoot me an email because boy do we do it right.
Also? I love my hub's job. Yes he worked while we were there. Actually, I'm fairly certain that we ate longer than he worked. I'm probably very accurate with that statement. Seriously. Steakhouses, buffets. So good, but :::shudder::: That said? I probably gained 8 lbs. I'm pretty sure that I was supposed to do that this week, not last. Ugh. Anyone know a good way to lose 16 lbs? Shoot me an email about that, too, while you're at it!

Well, even though you're here mostly for my beautiful beh beh (whom I'll get to…), this is my blog, so I will be selfish and post pics of our vaca.

Oh, so my beh beh? She's awesome these days. I missed her so much! But she cried when she saw me on Skype so I didn't get to see her for more than a few seconds :(

Her list of "words" include: Row (as in "Row your boat"), tickle, up, bye, hi, moo, baah, shoes (shzz), roar, bzzz, all done, ee ee aah aah (like a monkey. not a word? whatever.), ashes, down (ok I should explain "ashes". As in "ring around the rosie". I didn't actually teach her to say ashes. That'd be weird.), mama, dada (not that she actually refers to us as these, but she can say them), book, and ball. She might have others I can't think of. Okay, I realize that a good chunk of those are animal sounds, but that's still pretty good, right? She signs please. I don't sign anything else to her because she just verbalizes it. She started getting confused when I signed to her. She would say something verbally and mean it, but sign it and not mean it.

We leave for a long drive tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday and I'm hoping that she does ok. She's a little off schedule so I'm hoping this won't drive (ha ha ha) her over the edge. Wish us luck!!

My house was turned upside down

2010-11-10T23:58:00.000-05:00

I've referred to my house as a tornado (and not the eye of the storm), a bomb that just went off, and a whole slew of other phrases, all circling the time that Hailey has entered the living room. Our living room is her play room until the market bounces back and we move. So…our living room will remain her playroom. Cause we not movin'. Not yet. Anywho..

Hailey has a knack for getting around child proofing, which is why I really don't have much of it in my house. She can open the gate (and not just kind of. She can do it). She took the plastic off of the front of the media protectors. She takes the DVD cases out of their home. The only thing she can't figure out (thank the lord) is the door knob fasteners. So even though I am definitely going to have to get a fastener for these bad boys, check out what ~~my husbs spent an hour putting together for me after being away for 48 hours while I sat on the couch watching him~~ Crate and Barrel delivered to me!

(That big ol' white thing. Not our awesome ~~fake~~ real fireplace. And not the tv. That would've been a sweet freebie, though).

Don't talk to me about the mismatching wood choices. I purposely chose white to brighten up our room because everything else is cherry in here. There's probably a cherry under a couch somewhere. That's how cherry it is.

Hailey loves it so much, she was doing somersaults!

PS Like how the dog is all, what the….?

Ok that's a lie. I took this picture last week and she was sleeping when it was put together. She doesn't even know anything has changed.

But I love it! And my new oven! I promise not to burn any holes in it like I did with the microwave… Oh, but that's another story for another day!

Post it note Tuesday

2010-11-09T11:13:00.000-05:00

Until next time…

I know you think that I'm hiding...

2010-11-08T19:39:00.000-05:00

But I promise I'm not! I've been a busy bee with Deluxe Designs. I'm taking a course at the end of the month and will be able to design and install on Wordpress, which I am beyond excited about. That will open DD to a whole new world! I've been working on anything from blog designs to wedding websites to business card designs…Etsy shop banners to logos for the back of a boat! Okay, so it's just a 15" wooden boat… but it's a boat.

Here is a quick glance at some of my latest designs:

Hailey (who turned 13 months today… ugh) and I have been busy doing somersaults, ~~taking shoes out of~~ putting shoes in the dog's food bin, ~~cleaning up~~ feeding with utensils and ~~tearing apart~~ reading books (and more books and more books). OH and cooking in my pretty new oven! All very important things, you know.

So we'll be back soon with more substantial posts… hopefully ;)

Post-it Note Tuesday

2010-11-02T16:41:00.000-04:00

I found the perfect meme to participate in: Post-it Note Tuesday. Basically, much of what I want to say on this blog is made up of random thoughts anyway, so it fits me well.

So here we go!

So that's it. And by the way… the new blog? Cute, right? Just nod...

Collections

2010-11-01T21:10:00.000-04:00

Prior to having a baby, I would have considered myself clean-ish and organized-ish. Now? I have organized clutter. It's a never-ending battle. My laundry basket is always throwing up clothes, I have a never-ending rotation of clothes going from baby to laundry to Target bins to grandma's car to my T-1 month niece, and a tornado of books and toys forms daily through my living room (and interestingly enough only occurs when Hailey is awake… very suspect).

A nice trip to Crateandbarrel.com has hopefully solved the last issue (which is tbd). The rest? Will be solved when she's moved out. In 18 years. And even then? Younger siblings. Ahhh! See? Never-end.ing.

But anywho… since my dear one has begun to walk, I've noticed things missing. As many toddlers do when they first learn to walk, she carries things around with her when she walks. Cute? Yes, until she puts them in corners and under things and in the unknown spot that I really wish I knew (where is that cream?!?!)… Every toddler has got to have their "thing". My friend's daughter likes to walk around carrying a little purse on her arm. Hailey? Ohhhh, Hailey…

…likes to put ~~her toys~~ everything in the dog's food bin. Shoes, puzzle pieces, magnets, you name it...

…and then? She gets mad about it (see unflattering photo above, for which she will hate me years down the road should she ever know I posted it). I take out the items. And repeat.

Sometimes I ignore it and yes she does too. Nevertheless, this is a daily occurrence. Hopefully this doesn't last 18 years… What's your child's "thing"???

We frolicked through the mountainsides

2010-10-31T20:11:00.000-04:00

Ok, no we didn't do that. We didn't even leave the house. Trick or treating at this age would just lead to a post in a week or so complaining about the magical 10 pound weight gain from eating the candy that Hailey did not.
We I did dress her up as a ladybug, though, and that was uber cute (see ~~realistic~~ photo above).
We hung out with her friend, Grace who was, of course, Bam Bam, and went to a Halloween fest nearby.

And for the first time, I really felt like a "mom" in this town. This town, I refer to as the tri-state area I live in. In conversation, Grace's mom and I realized that we knew the same people through different ways and my mommy friends became full circle. I realized that even though this is a really big place, it's really a small world.

So for this Halloween, I will just hand out candy at my front door, and my little one will fall asleep before the last of the trick-or-treaters get their sweets. And if I've learned nothing else, it is to begin creating a trick-or-treating bag for next year…for ME…because that's what the parents do around here…and well, I've got to fit in, don't I?! :)

What were your little ones for Halloween? Feel free to link up your Halloween post in the comments!

You're just going to have to use your imagination

2010-10-27T15:39:00.000-04:00

I neglected to take pictures, so you're going to have to use your imagination for this one.

Last June and July, we went on a vacation - a babymoon, if you will - to Australia. Yes, I know, quite the "babymoon". We have always wanted to go there and could not realistically conceive how we would get there in the next 15 years after we had children. Forget about the actual flying, it is not an inexpensive flight! Also? Food, since tips are not expected, is more expensive overall at restaurants. I'm sure that I don't need to convince you why this was a better decision.

Needless to say, since this was potentially (I mean, hopefully not, but you never know…) a once in a lifetime trip, we made sure to do a little shopping. And what else does a 6 month pregnant woman need to buy in Australia? Baby Uggs of course. Oh and an adorable koala jumpsuit.

Fast forward approximately a year and a half and I am reminiscing about my trip to Australia and have a 12.5 month old. A 12.5 month old whose jumpsuit is more like capris(not so bad) and whose foot was shoved into baby Uggs yesterday (okay that's kind of bad). Last winter, you see, despite me buying a baby "S" (which is not a size, as far as I'm concerned), Hailey's little foot was far too small for those boots. So this winter, convinced that I would have baby feet in those baby Uggs, and slightly disappointed that her feet were a little snug in them, I did what any fashionista mom would do. I told her beauty is pain.

::Crickets::

She didn't quite buy that line. So I just wanted to see how she could walk in them. She couldn't. She would walk two or three steps and then fall.

I couldn't decide whether to keep them on her or take them off (like a good mother would). So, I kept them on. Yep. That's right.

Good thing we were going to music class where I typically take her shoes off of her so she can move around move freely. And that's when I did it.

I discovered and removed the tissue paper from her boots. And they now fit her just fine.

My blog is about to be renamed: ~~Not~~ Mother of the Year.

"So let me get this straight…",

2010-10-25T20:39:00.001-04:00

my husband said to me as we walked to get my car at the airport. See he took another flight home (for business purposes. I promise he wasn't actively trying to avoid traveling with a one year old. But…convenient…wasn't it?!) "You pushed our daughter out of her stroller and then THREW away her jacket?"

"YES HONEY, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I SAID."

"Oh good. Mother of the year".

This is the kind of stuff that happens when you go on four flights in 2 weeks ALONE with a 1 year old.

What kind of stuff, you ask?

Putting your license in your jean's pocket, having it subsequently fall out and somehow bounce underneath the pack n play causing you to believe that you've LOST said license and have your dog/house sitter find your secret hiding place, mail your passport overnight, FIND YOUR LICENSE and passport is still on its way.

Singing, reading, hushing, and bouncing an un-napped child for 2 hours straight on an airplane.

Yes, that kind of stuff.

So forgive me if after going through the security line, and mid-way through putting Hailey back in her stroller, I was asked to open her milk so it could be tested. Aaaand, yes, my daughter proceeds to fall out of her stroller. Aaaanndd yes, hits her head on the floor. Milk man then apologizes profusely for pushing me. Was it his fault? Yes and no. Was it my fault. Probably. But I made him feel as though it was his, barely accepting his apology, because really, I was trying to make sure my daughter did not have a concussion (PS not even close). And this is what my husband referred to as pushing my daughter from her stroller.

And forgive me if after 2 house of singing, reading, hushing and bouncing, I forgot her teeny tiny stuffed-under-the-seat-in-front-of-me jacket on the airplane. It was 73 degrees when we got off the plane. That really wasn't at the forefront of my mind. And this is what was referred to as throwing her jacket away.

So no, I didn't quite win Mother of the Year after this weekend's events. And yes, your child can be perfect (edit to add: while flying!) and you can still have mishaps. Because doing it alone is hard. Really hard. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

And so I don't neglect those of you who follow this blog because you're truly following my little miss H, here is last week. I.Have.A.Walker! She's vastly improved since last week. She can now stand up by herself. That's progress, right? She's honestly practically running at times now. I'm scuuurred for next month of she's making that much progress in a week.

Alive and well

2010-10-18T22:20:00.001-04:00

I promise. We are here. Boston, Chicago, Hawaii, Los Angeles… those are the places we will be visiting between now and early December. Beyond cringing that Hailey and I just traveled together (and yet alone) and we leave again at the end of the week, I have no idea how we're going to fair on a cross country trip in a couple of months. Hailey tried to feed the man next to us on the plane today a rice cake (he had his eyes shut at the time, thankfully) and then played "tickle tickle" (her newest thing, though she says "tic-kle tic-kle") with him. I pretended that he was amused by this. Because none of us had any other choice. So yes, I believe he found her amusing.
Until I have more than 4 minutes to sit down at the computer, I will leave you with these photos from her little shoot the other day! Okay the other dayS. The first day…over-the-top adorable sweater dress day…she was in the most serious non-smiley mood. She wasn't crying. She just wasn't in the mood to smile (I have a feeling because I wasn't the one behind the camera). So we had a second session. A much more smiley session, if you will. I can't wait until her hair isn't… weird baby hair. Anyway, off to see how full my DVR is...

hub's favorite

my favorite

Just wondering

2010-10-13T11:40:00.000-04:00

I'm wondering when I signed on the dotted line that my child would get a tooth whenever I travel with her.
And why they are coming in one.at.a.time.
We've been busy bees traveling (a-gain), so Hailey apologizes for my lack of being a good momger (mommy blogger. I made it up. Just now). We'll be back soon. With pics. Promise. And with another tooth. Grr.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T10:03:00.001-04:00

this probably constitutes a good 'wordless wednesday'

The back room

2010-10-05T10:48:00.002-04:00

The back room. Have you been there? It's the area of the store that has a big ol' sign saying "12 months and up". In other words: No babies allowed.

Last year I thought I had it golden. I had found the perfect baby sock. The ones that stay on and are thick (yes! they exist!). They're from Children's Place. I realized yesterday, however, that they only come in 0-6 and 6-12 months. So if you had a child, who is, say in 12+ months, you get the toddler socks. The kind that fall off and aren't thick. I refused. I bought more 6-12. She has small feet anyway, so we'll go with that excuse.

The back room. A literal and metaphorical analogy to describe that my baby is no longer a baby.

Because babies can't point to their nose. But my child can.

Because babies can't cover their eyes when their mama says "peekaboo". And my child can.

Because babies don't stop crying just because their mama asks, "do you want some milk?" or "do you want a nap?" And my child does.

Because babies can't say "all done", "balloon", "ball", "yeah", "bye", "hi", "gate", "window", "dog" and more… And my child [kind of] does (albeit missing sounds).

Because babies don't point to the light when you ask where it is. And Hailey can.

Because babies don't have their hair in pig and pony tails. And my Hailey can.

Because babies don't make diamonds out of 4 fingers when singing "twinkle, twinkle". And my child does.

Because babies don't do the motions to songs like "itsy bitsy spider". And my little girl can.

Because babies don't hold their momma's hand when walking somewhere. And mine…she does.

Because babies don't get to be in classes where they learn to do somersaults. And Hailey? She's in one.

Because babies don't put their toys away. And my girl does.

This isn't about what Hailey can do better than your kid. Or better than another kid. Because it's not better at all. And she's not perfect. It's about Hailey not being a baby. Because she's not. And it's about me beginning to accept that reality. Because I'm getting there…just not yet. I have 2 more days to work on it….

What does your little one do that makes you realize that you need to move to the back room (the big kid room)?

You're Invited...

2010-10-04T11:40:00.001-04:00

to relive the birthday party of the year (or so we can believe).

You've seen the invitation. I've been in party mode for months. I've spent hours cutting tissue paper, fluffing pom-poms, blowing up balloons, cutting out card stock, researching and baking…you name it, I did it for this party.

So I present to you, Hailey's 1st Birthday Party!
[click to enlarge photos]

For those who attended and asked or those who are just interested, here are the recipes for some of the baked goods. And they were GOOD (especially the ice cream cookies)! Mine didn't look as good as the pros, but they definitely tasted just as yummo.

Ice Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had some other things on the B list menu, but although you might think you can't have too many sweets on one table, I assure you, you can. But everything was very well received. If I get enough interest, I'll also post the tutorial for the tissue pom-poms and tissue letter on the door. I made everything. I bought the materials (at no inexpensive cost), but could not justify the extra money when I knew I could make it all myself and customize it to the way I knew I'd want it. Well, not the dress. That was an Etsy purchase and she did an awesome job! She took a Neiman dress and a Janie and Jack dress… combined them… took my requests…and made it!

I am so excited for her actual birthday on Thursday but happy that everything has finally come to fruition and despite all of the questions, ups and downs, we've made it. Maybe I didn't get mother of the year, but I've been a mother for a year and that deserves some recognition!

I'm it.

2010-09-30T15:25:00.000-04:00

I've been tagged by Cole. My challenge is to answer the following questions (and remain somewhat interesting). I suppose no 1 word answers, huh? I guess this is one way to take advantage of hour 2 of nap..

-If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

In order to ensure that I was fed daily and sheltered, I'd have to be a house pet. So that narrows it down to.. a dog? Or a cat? Both have advantages and disadvantages, right? But I think dogs get to play more than cats. And they still sleep all day like cats. At least mine does… Cats are sometimes left at home during weekend trips but dogs? They get to come with you because they require walking. Or at least someone has to visit a dog multiple times a day, whereas cats are pretty self-sufficient and may only need one visit a day (if that). So my answer? A dog. How predictable..

-What is one goal you’d like to accomplish during your lifetime?

Beyond what I've already accomplished? I just want an overall successful and happy family. Successful and happy husband... Successful and happy children. I want my children to have the resources to do whatever they choose. Oh, and I want to travel the world. What? Too greedy? Nah.

-Who is your hero?

Yo Mama. And then I lose a follower.

I have no true hero. I guess I just do not believe that one person is perfect. I look up to family members by keeping family tradition. But hero? Superman.

-If you could live any place in the world, where would you choose to go and why?

Well, are we talking year-round? Or can I just have a home there? I think I'll stay put for now. But retirement? How about Hawaii? I could do that.

-What is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Ever? Is it bad if I don't know the answer to this? I've received some really nice gifts in my time. I am grateful for those who threw me bridal and baby showers. My hubs is pretty kind to me.

Perhaps it was that woman who wrote the CEO of Legal Sea Foods (when I worked there about 10 years ago) to let him know that I was solely responsible for the best dining experience of her life. I had no idea this woman would do that and she was then solely responsible for some really embarrassing recognition and a small appreciated raise in pay. Sometimes it's kindness like that that will stick in your mind forever. It's like one of those pay it forward things at the McDonalds drive through. Except I've never experienced that. The pay it forward drive through… the McDonalds part, I have, admittedly, experienced.

So I won't tag anyone but if YOU want to answer these questions, leave a comment with your blog so I can go and see!

Oh and side note? T - one week until Hailey turns ONE.

One dose of CUTE coming up!

2010-09-27T14:34:00.000-04:00

This is the week. The one ~~I've~~ we've all been waiting for. That's right. Hailey's birthday party is Sunday. Hailey celebrated by taking a solid 5 steps at gym class. I need to get her started and then she does the rest on her own. Still a certified crawler, though. But anywho, because this will likely be a slow post week, what with visitors, baking, decorating (yes, I understand that most people do not consider that the definition of "busy", but I assure you it's, at a minimum, time consuming), I thought I'd leave you with a small dose of cuteness to start off your week!

Sidenote: the coat and boots are both 12-18 months and are totally huge on her. But totally cute on her. And I couldn't pass up an ~~kidorable~~ adorable shot of her!

Training my child at a young age

2010-09-23T23:32:00.000-04:00

I have joked in the past to friends that when we travel, I think Hailey should pull her own suitcase. Or push her own stroller. Or do her own dishes. Clearly sarcasm gets the best of me at times, but in all seriousness, there's no age that is too young to teach her to clean up her toys. I'm not saying she'll always be this disciplined, but I can hope. Right? Don't answer that.

I am a fan of the clean up song. You know the one. Clean up. Clean up. Everybody. Everywhere…

Well, Hailey's gym class does a different version. A version I really don't like, but it sticks in my head, and I have taken that and made my own version. I certainly am not posting this to exhibit the song (and my talent, obvi). I am seriously just impressed with my girl that she actually does this (because Lord knows, I didn't do this until I was 10. [And even that is a lie)].

Now ya'll don't feel the need to contact record producers… focus on the beh beh.

Baby Steps

2010-09-21T23:06:00.000-04:00

I don't yet consider Hailey a walker. She is not. She *did* take a step the other day, but she is not "walking". It's hilarious watching someone learn to walk. When learning to do something, and in order to get it right, inevitably there will be missteps (literally and figuratively) and mistakes that will be learned from.

I don't laugh in my daughter's face ~~regularly~~ so allow me to let it all out in this post.

1. She's decided that our dachshund's doggy stairs are also for her. And who am I to stop her? It totally makes sense. We have oversized couches and she can't get up without help, so why not climb the stairs? Until she gets to stair 3 of 3, falls sideways and somehow, in the 12" drop, manages a 360 tumble to the ground, and then looks at me while maintaining her snow angel stance as though to say, how DARE you let me do that?

2. In an effort to minimize crying, my hubs claps for her and says "YAY!" when she does those little tumbles. So now, when she does fall or is upset, she claps. Claps. While crying. We've totally screwed her up. Awesome.

3. And in her gym class, she's graduated to Birds. She was a "Little Bug" and now she is a "Bird". I do love this class, in part because it's good for her socially (since clearly we suck at that. Refer to #3 for our attempt at social-emotional development) and in part for the hilarity of watching her try to emulate the other children. Most of the kids in the class are 17 months. I don't know why…but note that is 6 solid months older than she. She is not aware of this fact, however, and well, monkey see - monkey do. So the other day, she was across from a 17 mo old who decided to climb over the low bars, and there is my child, in full dog-pee-on-hydrant-mode, ready to climb over that bar. I witnessed my child learning. For good or for bad.

4. We're staying in Birds for now. I really don't know what this means for her. Bugs was all "let's sit in a circle and raise up our arms". Birds? Back-handsprings or something? Who knows…

5. So as I said, Hailey is not truly walking just yet. But she's close. She wants to do it. But she's seriously a really good crawler. She has races with the dog, let's just put it that way. And yes, they are one-sided, but who cares? Watching her try to walk is like watching a 3 year old do a cartwheel in tap shoes. Uncoordinated. Messy. And she falls. My favorite is holding on to only one hand. I feel like I have to wear a shirt that says, "I promise it's just milk in that cup".

6. Speaking of… this is the last few weeks of bottle-dom. It honestly took her over 10 months to consistently hold her bottle on her own. And now that she can… *POOF*… that shiz is so going in the trash (or to her unborn cousin WHO is set to make her appearance so soon!!!). It also took Hailey 5 months to learn to use a sippy cup. I'm not kidding. I introduced that at 6 months. She still chews on a straw like it's beef jerky or something, but baby steps, right??

7. Finally, we've a first birthday looming. Am I allowed to count throwing her a birthday party as her gift? She won't have a clue, right? Honestly, this girl gets clothes or a toy or SOMETHING (food? That counts as a luxury, no?) daily. I'll figure something out. Maybe I'll get her a purse. And just protect it for her until she's old enough and responsible enough to use it. Makes sense to me…

When all you need in life is carbs and water

2010-09-19T21:35:00.000-04:00

We took a little road trip this weekend to visit my hub's family. Hailey did oookkkaaayyy in the car. She really was fine. "Fine", if you consider the number of mini bagels and rice cakes I kept throwing in back of my head rest crossing my fingers it would make it into her lap. "Fine" if you consider that it only took us 10 minutes to realize that she wanted to cuddle with a stuffed animal so she could nap. "Fine" if you consider that we forgot her doggy.

Doggy.
Definition
[noun]
1. Lovey
as in: Hailey goes to sleep every night and takes every nap with her doggy

Whoops. Oh well. We tricked her into thinking one of those tag mini blankets was her doggy, because in the dark, who really can tell the difference? Luckily, not her.

She got to hang out with her cousin, so that was nice. He's 3 and totally in that Oh my god, I haven't seen that toy for 2 years but it's MINE and you can't have it. So we had to have some little conversations about sharing and borrowing, but it was all good. Hailey really could have cared less, and to be honest, she held her own and actually pushed him back. I'm going to have to watch out for my little bully.

This is the best photo I got of them together.

My child has been obsessed with drinking water lately. It's good that one can, in theory, live on water, bagels, rice cakes and cheese, because that is her diet as of late. You can nominate me for mother of the year later. I still maintain at least it's not a diet consisting of oreos and dr pepper. I plan on giving her DIET dr pepper, thankyouverymuch.

In other weird habits? Biting my toes.

The problem is that she has no idea why it is okay to bite a toy but not my toe. And really, you try reasoning with someone who's barely one. When I tell her that's not okay and that it hurts mommy, she does stop. And then moves on to other body parts. Like my knee. I suppose I signed up for this.

But what you've (clearly) been waiting for with bated breath…the winner of the Franklin Goose gift card giveaway is #18: Katie! Congratulations! I hope you find something GREAT!

Blogmania Ergo WINNER announcement

2010-09-17T20:32:00.001-04:00

Whew! I was amazed at the traffic that came in from Blogmania 2010! I know I complained about it, but I suppose it was worth it because now I have all of you wonderful new followers (hai).

The winner of the ERGOBaby Carrier has been contacted & out of over 500 entries, #404 was the lucky winner!!! Congratulations Jessica!

I do want to give a special shout out to some of you who took me literally and sang me a song.

Let's review, shall we?

-Do wa ditty ditty dum ditty do! Ha ha! (wink)
-I wish I was an oscar meyer weiner because then everyone would loooove me!
-...and then a hero comes along with the strength to carry on
-♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫Blogmania is the place to be...fabulous prizes and gifts to see, Come along and join the crew, Blogmania will be fun for you♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫
-if i were a pretty little bird, pretty little bird, pretty little bird, if i were a pretty little bird i'd sing you a pretty little tune...
-"What would you do-oooh-ooo for an Ergo Carrier (Klondike Bar)"
-and my favorite, from Hailey's would-be BFF, Cole: E-I-E-I-O!

And there were many more... however I do appreciate those of you who admitted you could not sing and decided to spare me. Because to be honest, if you can't even carry a tune over the internet, you're probably prrrriiiitttyy bad. So thanks.

Anywhoodles, the Franklin Goose (now 3 entries now) giveaway ends tonight! I'm off on another adventure this weekend and will be back soon!

BLOGMANIA!!!

2010-09-15T00:00:00.003-04:00

You may have been wondering what the button on my sidebar has been about. If you're a visitor from Blogmania, WELCOME! They say I'm a "mommy blogger". If you are a "blog regular" and have no idea what I am talking about, Blogmania is an event with 175 other blogs. It is essentially one big blog hop with thousands and thousands of dollars worth of giveaways. Each blog has a giveaway minimum of $100. There are mommy blogs, cooking blogs, family blogs, and a bunch more, so it's worth taking a look.

Blogmania was one of the MOST confusing events I've ever been a part of and truth be told, I lost interest half way through. BUT I committed myself to participating, so here we are! I made it to the event.

How does it work? ERGOBaby is my amazing sponsor and is giving a carrier to one reader. The absolute best thing about this carrier is that you can use it with children up to 40lbs and it is, well, ergonomic, meaning it won't hurt your back.

So all you have to do is ENTER TO WIN ONE!

You can choose to visit the blogs listed below to enter some of those giveaways, or you can just hang out with the cool kids over here.

To enter and to make this simple, just comment here! Tell me you love me, sing me a song, I don't care. Just make a comment. That's my mandatory comment: just to do so.

As an extra comment, if you REALLY want to get on my good side, you will become a blog follower (see my header where it says "Blogger") and comment that you became a follower. And if you are already a cool kid and are a follower, you can just say so (but I'll know. I have powers like that…). You will have until 12am on the 17th to enter. Have fun!

Oh and PS I have another awesome giveaway 2 posts below for Franklin Goose so you should enter that, too!

1.	A Design Diva with Interior Motives (US/CAN)	2.	A Dash of Nutmeg (US)
3.	A Few of My Favorite Things (US/CAN)	4.	A Gluten Free Journey (US)
5.	a {mod cot} life (US)	6.	A Mom After God's Own Heart (US) (US/CAN)
7.	A Mom's Take (INT)	8.	A Writer's Mind (INT)
9.	Adelle Laudan - Author (US/CAN) (INT)	10.	Alexia's Books and Such (US)
11.	Alice Audrey, Author (US) (INT)	12.	Amundsen House of Chaos (US)
13.	And Then There Were 4 (US/CAN)	14.	Andy Mathis (INT)
15.	Aubut Family (US/CAN)	16.	Being Tazim (INT)
17.	Believing is Seeing (US/CAN)	18.	Between The Lines (US) (INT)
19.	Between The Pages (US/CAN)	20.	Bitten by Books (where amazon will ship)
21.	Book Obsessed (US)	22.	Book Sake (US)
23.	Book Whore (US)	24.	Books and Things (US)
25.	Books R Us (US/CAN) - possible (INT) ?	26.	Bookworming in the 21st Century (US)
27.	Bree Bee's Thinking Outside of the Box (US) (INT)	28.	Bright Morning Star (INT)
29.	Broken Teepee (INT)	30.	Busy Moms Tips (US)
31.	Busy-at-Home (US)	32.	CalleLillyCafe (INT)
33.	Cheeky Reads (US/CAN)	34.	Children Teaching Mama (US/CAN)
35.	Chronicles From The Crib (US/CAN)	36.	Chubby Cheeks Thinks (US)
37.	Colorcrazed (INT)	38.	Coupons Are Great (US)
39.	Crazy Cat Lady's Library (US)	40.	Crazy House (US)
41.	Curling Up By The Fire (INT)	42.	Dark Faerie Tales (INT)
43.	dBeauty Junkie (INT)	44.	Deanna's Tidbits (INT)
45.	Debbie Sews Retro (INT)	46.	DebsHere (US)
47.	DemonLover's Book Review (US/CAN)	48.	Designs By Dawn Marie (INT)
49.	DK'S Book Reviews (US/CAN)	50.	Dolly Outfitters (US)
51.	Earl's Daughter (US)	52.	Ellz Readz (INT)
53.	Enjoy Life, Enjoy Now (US)	54.	eTreasures Publishing (US/CAN) (INT)
55.	Evoluchun's Misc (US)	56.	Extreme Personal Measures (US)
57.	Fab Find Foodie (US)	58.	Family and Life in Las Vegas (US) (US/CAN)
59.	Fang-tastic Books (US)	60.	Farber Family Adventures (US/CAN)
61.	Florida Frugal Family (US)	62.	Forever and After (US/CAN)
63.	Freebie Spot (US)	64.	Happy Birthday Author (US/CAN)
65.	Health, Beauty, Children and Family (US)	66.	Home Grown Families (INT)
67.	Hookless Shower Curtains (US)	68.	Hope. Dreams. Life…Love
69.	I'm a Lazy Mom (US/CAN)	70.	Inspired by Fiction (US/CAN)
71.	Jeannie Ruesch's Happy Endings (US/CAN)	72.	Jennifer's Musings (US/CAN)
73.	Just My Blog (US)	74.	LB and J (US)
75.	Leksi Designs…This Handmade Life (US/CAN)	76.	Let's Just Give It Away (US)
77.	Life with 5 monkies (US)	78.	Lipstick and Luxury (US/CAN)
79.	Literaturely Speaking (US/CAN)	80.	Little Yayas (US) (US/CAN)
81.	Live Love Laugh with Leslie (US)	82.	Love With A touch of Magic (US)
83.	Lovin' & Livin' Life Reviews (US)	84.	Lovin' Life on Less (US)
85.	Loving My Life (US)	86.	Kelly's Lucky You (US/CAN)
87.	Luxury Reading (US)	88.	Making Time For Mommy (US)
89.	Mama B (US/CAN)	90.	Marvelous Mommy (US/CAN)
91.	MI Savings (US/CAN)	92.	MelissaStuff (US)
93.	Mia Ma Miah's Diaries (US/CAN)	94.	Midwestern Gone Idahoan (US)
95.	j is for joseph.com (US)	96.	Emmy's Boos and Rawrs (US)
97.	Mom to Bed by 8 (US/CAN)	98.	Momma Maven in the Making (US)
99.	Momma Told Me (US/CAN)	100.	Mommy Has to Work (US)
101.	Mommy's Free Time (US/CAN)	102.	Mommy's Minute (US/CAN)
103.	Mother of Pearl It Is (US/CAN)	104.	my favorite PINK (US)
105.	My Life As Grandma (INT)	106.	My Life with Rats and More (INT)
107.	My Silly Monkeys (US/CAN)	108.	Night Owl Crafting (US)
109.	Nine More Months	110.	Nomie Eco Ware (INT)
111.	Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick	112.	Of Ink and Quille (US/CAN)
113.	Paranormal Bites (US/CAN)	114.	Past The Print (INT)
115.	Proud Book Nerd (INT)	116.	Que's Ramblings (US)
117.	Reading At The Beach (US)	118.	Reading Teen (INT)
119.	Reading, Writing and Waiting (US)	120.	Reflections with Coffee (US)
121.	Review Retreat (INT)	122.	Reviews and Giveaways by The Chickenista
123.	Rex Robot Reviews (US/CAN)	124.	Rockin' Deals (US)
125.	Sandra K. Marshall	126.	Sarah's Blog of Fun (INT)
127.	Save the Date for Cupcakes (INT)	128.	Saving Obsession (US)
129.	See It! Love It! Win It! (US)	130.	Seize the Book (US)
131.	Shelley's Swag (US)	132.	SidewaysGravity (INT)
133.	Simply Living on a Budget (US)	134.	Simply Stacie (INT)
135.	Skhye's Ramblings (US)	136.	Stanwood PlaySchool (US/CAN)
137.	Still Blonde after all these YEARS (US)	138.	Stretching the One Income Dollar (US/CAN)
139.	Studio Chic Design (INT)	140.	Survey Junkie (US)
141.	Sweet Mint Studios (US/CAN)	142.	Sweethearts (US)
143.	Tammy's Book Parlor (US/CAN)	144.	Texas Monkey (US/CAN)
145.	The Clever Mommy Chronicles (US/CAN)	146.	The Coupon Goddess (US)
147.	The Freebie Junkie (US/CAN)	148.	The Girl is A Mom (US/CAN)
149.	The Missionary Mama (US/CAN)	150.	The Mommy Diaries (US/CAN)
151.	The Organizing Genie (US)	152.	The Susquehanna Writers (US/CAN)
153.	The Sweetest Romance Authors (US/CAN)	154.	The Thrifty Things (US)
155.	The Two Savvy Sisters (US)	156.	The Very Best Housewife (US/CAN)
157.	This Mama Loves Her Bargains (US)	158.	Toddler Awesome (INT)
159.	Trees Will Bend (US/CAN)	160.	Tribute Books Reviews & Giveaways (US)
161.	Truth Be Told (US) (INT)	162.	Upstate Ramblings (US) (INT)
163.	Village of Moms (US)	164.	Women's Life Link (INT)
165.	WordVessel (US)	166.	Writing is a Blessing
167.	Yellow Tennesse (US)	168.	Tim and Angi's Family Blog (US/CAN) (US)
169.	Today's Adventure (US/CAN)

Fall days

2010-09-13T09:02:00.002-04:00

So it's kind of Fall here. It's September. School is in session. And if that all defines autumn (and as someone who grew up in the Northeast, it does), then the seasons are a'changing.

We decided to screw the 70 degree weather and visit a local farm to go apple picking.

and my favorite…

So with our bucket of apples, some chocolate covered sunflower seeds, and hay in our hair, we left for home. And had the air conditioning on high the whole time. I suppose that is just what our fall is here. Oh well.

I attempted the Smitten Kitten's apple tart. I followed the directions to a tee, and yet somehow my tart did not come out looking quite as appetizing as SK's. Honestly, the fact that I have only made one thing so far is pretty good. Last year I made an apple tart, apple torte, apple schmapple, you get the picture (and I will give you something if you find me a recipe for an apple schmapple). If you have a good recipe for apples, please comment! The other day I made a caramelized onion and apple pastry appetizer, so don't put anything past me as far as what you think I may like!

Oh, and what's better than the beginning of fall than a fall giveaway?! Did you enter to win a $25 gift certificate from Franklin Goose here?

And while I promise not to completely overload you with giveaways (I do. I pinky swear), I have a giveaway for another ERGOBABY carrier coming later this week! So enter to win something and enjoy your fall days while I go bake something that has more calories per serving than my total weekly recommended allowance.

Franklin Goose review & giveaway

2010-09-10T23:38:00.000-04:00

A while back, I was contacted by Franklin Goose to review a product on their site. If you have never heard of Franklin Goose, it is worth checking out. All items - from food to clothing - are either all natural, organic, or made of recycled materials. Franklin Goose has a flat rate of $5 for shipping and you can't beat that!

I chose to review an adorable dress for Hailey. At the time, I wasn't sure what size to order (6 month or 12 month) since that's a fairly big gap, so I ordered 6 months. In my neck of the woods, summer comes early and leaves late, so I never got an opportunity to put the dress on her.

The last few days, however, have been beautiful here… mid- 60s in the morning and warming up in the afternoon. So I gave the dress a shot. I have to say, we pulled it off with flying colors. I threw on a pair of shorts underneath (we're modest around here, what can I say?), but honestly, although I pulled up her sleeves, they were plenty long enough. The neck is elastic, so it worked out perfectly. She could have easily worn this at 6 months as a dress and can probably wear this for a few more months as a shirt.

This dress was handmade, and as such, the shipping was a little delayed. The communication from Franklin Goose, however, was tremendous. They gave me the option to choose something else that would ship sooner, but being that I was in no rush, I opted to just wait for the dress. Despite being handmade, this does not give the appearance of a "diy" project. There are no pulls, buttons down the back are fully in tact, and each and every detail is finished. The dress is made of organic materials, as I said, and while I was worried that the elastic neckline would be itchy for her, that was not an issue at all.

Hailey got many compliments on this special number! Franklin Goose has just about anything you could want for your child: diapers, furniture, clothes, toys, books, and more. I'm tempted to make a purchase. I'm a sucker for preppy pink and think that Hailey would look adorable in this little number!

Franklin Goose is going to give a $25 gift certificate to one lucky winner!

There are 2 ways to win! Be sure to include an email address so I can contact you. I will close entries on Friday, Sept 17.

1) Visit Franklin Goose and let us know something you'd consider getting with your $25! (You won't be held to this if you win).

2) Comment here with who you would use this g/c for (Hey, it's a good way for me to get to know my demographics)!

T - 1 month

2010-09-09T11:47:00.001-04:00

I should probably preface this by saying that (I wrote this last night and I wrote:) I am currently under the influence of prescribed medications that make me loopy and fatigued. I hurt my back last week after carrying a 20lb child, baby gate, and groceries. Now I'm having muscle spasms. What a good time to write a post, I say!

My guess is that if I'm not funny now, I may just be s.o.l.

But anyway, you guys… Hailey? 11 months old. I know. Crazy talk. But it's true. You know how everyone says, "OMG ____ is growing up too fast!" Well, erm...I have to say, it feels like it's been a year.

Dude, Hailey was a tough behbeh. Ok that's a lie, but I can pretend, right? She wasn't tough, but she wasn't exactly easy either. I had to work to make things right. I consciously stayed calm during her bouts of crying. I have never raised my voice at her. I have tried to maintain a sense of calm and all the meanwhile, this girl has had her moments of driving me bananas (b.a.n.a.n.a.s. Like the song. Do I have it in your head now? Ok, good. Mission accomplished).

About two weeks ago, I came to the conclusion that I simply had a high-need and high-energy baby. Well, that latter is true. But the former? Oh, right….teething. Call me stupid (and then kindly leave my blog), but I really wasn't sure whether it was just her temperament or if she was teething, so I hesitated giving her any meds. As soon as tooth #2 cut, her attitude was like night and day. I no longer believe I birthed a monster.

In other news? We heart the babysitter still. She's heavenly. 15 minutes early, consistently. Has grown to love the dog. Takes Hailey on walks. Reads and sings to her. Oh yeah. Hailey doesn't cry for her. Like at all. Kind of important, right? We'll keep her. Sidenote: She's finishing her PhD in 2014. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use her up until the end. I'll bribe her. I don't care.

Ok, 11 mo. so stats:

Appetite:

3 bottles/day = approx 15-18 oz. (we dropped her second bottle, so she takes one when she gets up in the morning, followed by breakfast, then lunch is after morning nap, bottle before afternoon nap, and finally dinner and an evening bottle before bed.). My goal is to get these to coincide with mealtimes which should be an easy transition because I will transition when we do whole milk next month.

Solids: We tried rice cakes and some other suggestions from the post from a few days ago. She loves rice cakes (whole) and it's seriously like an edible pacifier! She's starting to give up puffs and blueberries (former favorites), but she's taken an affinity towards turkey deli meat. I'm not sure why, but she could eat an entire package. That and cheese.

Motor skizzizllz

Waves, claps, signs "all done" (although, what's weird is she has changed the way she signs. I think it's because I've stopped signing to her. She continues though. Strange bird, as I call her. I'm sure she'll learn to love that nickname.), crawls like a pro.

Speaking of… while she stands all of the time, I'm pretty sure we're going to have a 12 or 13 month walker here. I just don't think she's in a rush. She crawls proficiently and she's tall so can reach just about anything? Why walk?

Sleep

2 Naps. Pretty sure she's gearing up for 1 long one. Basically 11:00-12:00 and then 3:00-4:30. These will probably merge in the next couple of months.

7:30p-7:30a. Teething only seemed to impact waking hours. She did not wake up in the middle of the night *thank the lord*.

ps rich woman from pretty play ground said that her daughter (11 mo.) still wakes in the middle of the night. Dude. Barring any medical concerns, I'm so having my second kid cry it out. Big proponent here.

Vocab

Says "hi" very clearly (and will wave while saying it), "bye" (and will wave), and "all done" (even though it sounds like "uh duh". Those are our "for sure" words. She has other words and phrases that I wrote about on her 10 mo post, but it's hard to tell if she's just babbling. She understands just about everything, though. That's certain.

So that's the dillio. I'm about to pass out over here (I swear…from the heating pad…yeah…that's it….), so goodnight. And good luck.

(And goodnight I meant. I fell asleep at about 8:30 last night and didn't wake until 7:30 this morning. Who says drugs are bad??)

Things

2010-09-06T20:57:00.001-04:00

There's really no good title for this post because it's unlikely that it will flow in any coherent way.
So, I've been told by a number of (real.life. friends. I have 'em.) people that I make it look kind of easy on this blog. I really don't mean to. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've bitched about not knowing what to do more than once on here.
But anywho, if you're looking for some good birth control, and don't think you are finding it here, go to a zoo. As recent FONZ members (aka Friends of the National Zoo. aka I'm officially a DMV mom), we get free parking at the zoo, so on this labor day, we took full advantage, and decided to negotiate the thousands of families. You'd think we would have known better. You'd think.

Second on my list of nonsense: playgrounds.
I'm sure I am going to lose followers if I continue to discuss playgrounds on here, but I'm a stay-at-home mom so this is just what you get.
We decided to visit pretty playground with gigundo swings the other day. On the upside, Hailey actually fit! Kind of. I mean we could see her head, so that has to count for something.

On the downside, we met a couple with a daughter who was 6 days older than Hailey. Why downside? To start, they were second-time parents (I should note that I have plenty of these and I love you all). I'm ~~about to make a huge generalization here~~ noticing that first-time parents are a little more likely to want to make other parent friends. So as I stereotype these second-timers even more, despite my Hubs having a good deal in common with said second-time dad, second-time mom had a propensity to mention that they were "just a little older". Yeah? And? Well the third time she said it, I just ignored her. I had to end our pseudo play date and while we walked away, Hubs wanted to know how I go about getting other parents' numbers. Like, it's not as though there's any liquid confidence around… how do you get mommy dates? I had to break it to him, that despite his crush on second-time dad, second-time mom was not into us. Was it the 4 carats on her left hand? Or the diamond encrusted rolex (and here's where I assure you this post is not an exaggeration) around her right? The age difference that quite obviously bothered her? Or the fact that they fit my second-time parent stereotype oh-so-well? We were just clearly not up to their standards and I was okay with that.

I'm really not sure about pretty playground. Why do I feel we'll be back there? Oy….

So how do you approach getting mommy numbers? Do you wait for them? Do you approach? I usually wait to be approached, but if the person's right, you just know ;)

Today is 9 02 10

2010-09-02T12:19:00.001-04:00

And besides that being a fabulous tv show, it also is our anniversary. By the way, David got married on yesterday's syndicated show. Coincidence? I.Think.Not. I would just like to point out for a moment that I wrote "our". I often get corrected that it's "our" anniversary. Like it's "our" wedding, "our" house, "our" money (though I like to stand by the phrase: What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine).

Anywhooo, wishing my wonderful husband a happy happy happy (it's our third, so happy squared) anniversary!

And on an unrelated note: I'm really hoping dogs can have blueberries because we have officially entered the throwing-food-on-the-floor stage. She doesn't even think it's funny. She just likes to watch where it goes. Dude, our floor is not a black hole. Though, I am thankful for our breathing vacuum, even if I threaten to build a dog house out back for him to spend his days...

Turning to you

2010-08-30T21:37:00.000-04:00

So far, I have turned to a combination of mother's intuition, Wholesome Baby Food and my pediatrician for ideas on what to feed Hailey. But I seem to be at a standstill, though, as far as when to transition to bigger, more kid-like (and less baby-like) foods. For instance, I think she's ready for a cracker… no? No. I have no idea. Basically everything that I give her is broken up into small finger foods. She's great about using the pincer grip and feeding herself. She loves bread and loves cheese and loves turkey, but obviously I'm not going to give her a turkey and cheese sandwich, or do I? Ok, so I really don't think I do… but I'm at a bit of a loss here. This, my friends, is why I loathe the pediatrician appointments having so much time between one another now that she's getting older. I so heart my pedi office.

So what "little kid" foods do you think Hailey is ready for? She's 10 1/2 months, has 1.5 teeth, and has had little reaction to no reaction to foods thus far. But I need your help! What else should I be giving and at what point do I transition into larger pieces of food?

Oh. And PS I don't buy baby food. I give her "real" food. So keep that in mind when giving me advice (which I'm really hoping you will!).

And PPS. Bristol Palin is going to be on DWTS. And Carol Brady. OhMaiWHAT?

What have I been up to?

2010-08-28T22:53:00.000-04:00

~~I know what you've been thinking.~~ Here's what you should be thinking: she's kind of been slacking off on postings. And while you'd be wrong, because I still try to post weekly, I haven't posted as frequently as I once was.

But I have been busy! I custom made layouts for a 20 page photo book that encompasses months 8-10 (yes, I am a slac-kah) and in an effort to try some DIY projects for Hailey's birthday, some of the things I have done have come out far better than I could have hoped. My Etsy shop has been filling up! You have an Etsy shop?? Oh stop. I do have an Etsy shop. You can find me here.

Here are some things I've been making:

Monkey stickers for closet dividers (for my soon-to-be neice!)

I've been making Hailey's cupcake toppers:

I've made some digital files for other cupcake toppers (that could also be used as gift tags, stickers, or anything else that you can imagine!):

And to get in the spirit...

I have to say I am quite pleased with what I've done so far. My sister and Hailey have been my guinea pigs (thanks, lady) so I am excited to see what other things will enter the shop! She has me making her labels for clothes bins next… yikes!

So what do you think? Head on over to my Etsy shop if you are interested in a custom job. I've already gotten a number of requests, so hurry, hurry! :)

The perfect morning.

2010-08-24T10:55:00.001-04:00

I have had the park discussion with ya'll before. In short, the big fancy park we can drive to has swings that are far too big for my nugget.

Granted, she was only about 5 months when this picture was taken, so we may have slightly better luck now (after all, she's now twice the age she was there!).

We also have a park about a 5 minute walk from the house. Convenient? Yes. Modern? For a neighborhood park, sure. Baby swings? YES. Clean? Usually. Population? Sucky.

I really wanted to break up with my neighborhood park. I would say it's not you, it's me. But it's you. The neighborhood park is also where the teenagers often go after school. The conversations are tasteless, the words are not for my daughter's ears (and probably not mine), and before you think that I am just old and grouchy, let's just say that (a. I'm not and b.) I have heard things there that are not blog-appropriate, never mind kid appropriate.

But today was a beautiful day. 70s, overcast but the sun was peeking out, and Hailey decided that waking at 7am was preferable, so we took a walk.

I taught Hailey about leaves (big and small), cars, trucks, ambulances, and mulch. Sometimes a walk is just what you need to have a nice change of pace.

And it hit me.

Today is the second day of school. School! That means that the playground will be empty!

And with the exception of an unleashed dog (grrr…), to which Hailey said "ffff" (her version of woof), the park was empty. And the baby swing … the appropriately sized swing, not the big yellow swing that would be more fit for a 2 year old… was free and just waiting for my girl.

So happy, she was. "Ffff"ing at the dog, singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and just swinging in the breeze. A perfect morning with a perfect little girl.

Sometimes when life gets in the way, a walk to the park is just what you need to bring you back.

Ch ch ch changes

2010-08-23T11:47:00.002-04:00

You may or may not have noticed (depending on if you see me in RSS, Google Reader, email, or come to me website directly), that there are some slight changes. I kind of get bored of the same blog design in the same way that I get bored with my hair. Every few months there is a change, whether it be slight or blunt. For the time being, same URL. But we are now "Our Family Adventures". You can compliment me later about the creativity of this title. Tis what it tis. My Twitter is now @OurFamilyAdv however if you already follow me, you won't need to change a thing. It's baby steps in the direction of slightly more privacy for my family.

So now that the kids are back in school (or getting ready), site traffic (here and elsewhere around the webs) will begin to grow, so I am now taking questions for a Q&A to come in the near future. Ask anything. I just reserve the right not to answer a question if I do not want to… simple as that :)
I'm not going to do a video blog because, well, a) Hailey will no longer sit in my lap for long periods of time and b) some of you told me that you could not watch at work after the last one.

So ask away. And feel free to email the new blog email: OurFamilyAdvBlog@gmail.com if you prefer to ask there!

And GO.

It's no "pepper shaker"

2010-08-19T10:37:00.000-04:00

It was a couple of months back that I had lunch with a friend and her daughter who is a month or two younger than Hailey. We were discussing our children and getting to know one another (we met in a music class) and she asked something to the extent of has Hailey said anything yet? Such a difficult question to answer. Yes? No? Sort of?

Hailey has been fairly inconsistent in speaking but she has certainly said words that have meaning (like "ball" while holding a ball). And then there are the words that I am certain she has just heard and then repeated the sounds that I said, but she has no idea what they mean (like "alligator").

So back to the question at hand, I told her that I probably will not admit that she has verbal language until she says something like… and I looked around and dryly suggested… 'pepper shaker'.

I don't know why I said that, but it was the first thing that came to mind that made sense. I truly did not know if I would consider her first word with meaning anything that she could just as easily babble (come on, 'ball' could be ba… 'duck' could be da). But 'pepper shaker'? You really have to know what that means.

So maybe I'm kidding (or am I?) and maybe it's no 'pepper shaker', as my friend reminded me as I posted this video on my Facebook page, but I suppose I will count it.

Yep, that one's mine…

2010-08-17T14:23:00.003-04:00

Hailey's birthday is October 7th. The cut off date for starting school is September 1 where we live (this recently changed from October 1). Except there is a caveat {isn't there always a caveat?}. IF a child is born between September 1 and October 15th, parents may choose to test the child to see if they are ready to enter kindergarten early. What constitutes "ready"? Children will need to demonstrate above average performance and development in academic skills as well as social/emotional and physical development.

Obviously, at this point, it would not even be fair to decide whether we are going to have her tested. I am certainly not going to hold her back if she is "ready" and if she is not ready, in even one area (most likely socially), I am not going to push the issue.

As it stands, she'll enter kindergarten without being tested. I feel I have to assume that for now. Being in infant classes, however, the kids are not yet grouped by grade, but by age. There is no cut off date until there is schooling involved. So when we entered her gym class, she was 8 months old and crawling. The class was meant for 4-10 month olds and Hailey was in the upper echelon with only a couple of other kids.

I always felt that she was not really in the right place during that class, but the next class up was really for "almost walkers" or walkers, so we weren't fit to be there either. Now that the session is coming to a close, most of the kids in her class who were barely sitting up at the start of class are beginning to be mobile and show personalities. Finally, with only 1 week to go, I felt as though we were in the right setting for Hailey.

At the beginning of class, the kids did arm stretches (yes, I am aware that it is ridic to ask a bunch of infants to do arm stretches. But I went with it and since you're reading this, so will you). On this particular day, Hailey did her own arm stretches. While the moms and nannies all held their children's arms above their head, my child put her own arms up and down. Everyone laughed as Miss Independence, herself, showed off her moves.

Then the instructor put out play tunnels for the kids to crawl through. Hailey has never seen one of these in her life.

ps i so don't know this kid in the pic

Oh but guess who crawled right up when all of the other kids and parents watched the instructor set up. My kid. Crawled through, as though to say, "here. just watch me do it. I'll show you". And again, the parents and nannies laughed and then looked to me for my reaction, which was a hand-on-head, "I didn't bring her" reaction.

So I probably don't need to tell you who sat smack in the middle of the parachute or was the only kid doing the motions to "itsy bitsy spider". You won't be surprised when she started to clap along to the good-bye song. And again, I got the parent stares and questions When did she start to… When did she learn that… Oh, look at her.

And then I had this flash-forward experience right there in the class. All of the sudden we are entering kindergarten. She doesn't enter early. She's right where she should be and she's ahead of the kid who was born in August, 10 months after her. She's showing the other kids how to stack blocks (or whatever kids in kindergarten do. Clearly I'm not a K teacher) or write the letter "H".

And it hit me hard.

I SO have that eye-roll kid.

We are back, I have a 10 month old,

2010-08-15T17:39:00.001-04:00

and I still haven't figured out why we just don't live at the beach. We stayed here

which has views of the bay and from the top balcony, the ocean, which is a mere city block away. We have been staying here with friends for the past 6 years and I must tell you, it's delightful. There is nothing better than a group of friends who will step in to watch the baby when I leave the room without me having to ask or will go pick up the baby when she has wandered down the beach. I made very sure I took advantage of being on vacation. Staying at home with Hailey, my job doesn't end, even when we go away, so if I can take advantage for a little while, I most definitely will.

It was hot, but Hailey stayed cool.

Luckily, there were not as many rocks and shells as on Cape Cod last week, so she found entertainment in her pail and fish.

Took off on her own whenever she could...

and got herself a little sandy.

She took full advantage of open space at the house...

and relaxed whenever she could.

Girl woke early every day but slept for hours during nap (glorious nap times). Momma and Da-da may also have taken advantage of said nap times.

And when we returned, I realized that I had a 10 month old (and missed out on our monthly photo shoot, so a week late...)!

Ms. Chica is growing before my eyes! So before I get back into regular posts, here are your monthly stats for the books.

Appetite

4 bottles/day (taking less in each bottle…somewhere between 15-20 oz/day)
3 full meals with the same favorites (fruits, puffs, and tofu are sure winners)

Motor Skills

Stands, crawls and cruises along furniture
Has stood alone a couple of times, but definitely prefers to hold on to something.
Claps, waves (princess wave only. Screw the open-close hand movements. Only the real deal here), rolls the ball back to you, and signs "all done". She also will do "itsy bitsy spider" hand motions and will do the movements she learned at her gym class for "twinkle twinkle".

Sleep

Sleeps, on average, 7pm-7am and 2 naps (which are getting longer again, thank God).
Great sleeper, overall.
We've completely overused and gone through 2 CD players, so we may be done with her lullabies, however, she still uses her sound machine which has proven GREAT for transitions during our vacations.

Vocabulary

aha! New category! I'm not sure how to say this, except there are words that she has spoken. She is not consistent when speaking, but there are words that have clear meaning and she has said.

Ball, Book, Duck, Dog, Hi, Dada, Mama, Yup, Yay, Yes (possibly others, but I'm not sure if it's more a coincidence of phonemes and babbling or if she really did say something)
The good thing is that she appears to understand a lot of what we say and she enjoys reading, so I am sure that her vocabulary is going to just boom in the next 3-6 months.
She loves songs and will do whatever she can to communicate when they're being sung (either hand movements, dancing or trying to babble along).

No more vacations for us anytime soon, so ~~Hailey and~~ I will work on returning to our regular routine (you know, of play dates and blueberry eating).

The day that should have been

2010-08-06T23:01:00.001-04:00

I'm procrastinating. That might have been the understatement of the year. Here's what my day was generally supposed to look like:

9:00am Gym class with Hailey

10:00-12:00pm Home for nap

12:30pm Bank to drop of documents

1:00-3:00pm Play date

3:30pm Mall to pick up bridal shower gift

4:30pm Whole Foods to get food for trip

5:30pm Dinner (both)

6:30pm H Bath

7:00pm H Bed

7:30pm Pack for trip

8:30pm Shower

9:45pm Hubs comes home from trip. He packs. We go to bed

Oh, and here's what my day actually looked like:

9:00am - Gym class with Hailey

9:45am - Starbucks

10:00am - Jewelry Store

10:30am-12:30pm - Hailey nap

12:30-1:15pm - Lunch

2:00-4:15pm - Play date

5:00pm - Bank to drop off docs

5:30pm - Grocery store (closest in proximity. Not WFs)

5:55pm - Clean for appraiser.

6:00pm - Appraiser appointment. Last minute.

6:30pm - Dinner

7:00pm - H Bed

Find out Hubs may not be coming home tonight because of storms.

7:15pm - Watch Real Housewives of DC on DVR. Yes I did.

8:00-now - Procrastinate. Facebook. Farmville (OH yeah. You're lucky I didn't say Bejeweled). Blog designing.

Ok, Hubs is coming home, but not until the wee hours.

Here's what I learned…

1. I need to schedule lunch. Der.

2. I know nothing about the price of gold.

3. Starbucks owns me.

4. I have too much fun on play dates to leave. Karma will get me in about 4 years when Hailey does not want to leave and we have to. I know this because I did it to my mother…on several occasions.

5. My GPS puts me on the highway when I don't want to go that way and on back roads when I do.

6. I am an organic food snob and got really disappointed when the selection was poor.

7. I have more than 5 minutes worth of cleaning to do.

8. My dog is really really annoying with strangers.

9. I like to pretend that people can here me talk if I ignore my dog's barking (really sorry, Mr. Appraiser).

10. My daughter went to bed tonight donning an avocado "moisturizing mask". <-- yet another reason I really deserve mother of the YEAR.

11. The Real Housewives of DC are not the typical DC housewife. I'm sorry. Just. Just no.

12. I am writing on this blog to further procrastinate.

Things I have yet to do:

-Get bridal shower gift. So I'm going tomorrow morning. The shower is tomorrow afternoon. ~~I suck.~~

-Pack. We leave after the bridal shower. ~~Still suck.~~

-Hailey's laundry. From last week's trip. ~~Sucky mother of the year.~~

-Shower. And that's not not fair to anyone. ~~Sucky suck.~~

Why why why do I do this?

A sneak-peek into the planning

2010-08-03T20:35:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, Hailey will be 10 months old, which simply means that she will turn ONE year very soon. I have not purchased anything yet (that does not mean, however, that my bookmark list is not reaching capacity and I may or may not have a folders [decor, etc.] within a folder [1st birthday]).

I decided to test my creative side and make her invitation myself. Yes, I am that silly. Our guest list is huge. I'm seriously up to 80. I had no intention of having the party be so big. And yes, a handful (or hopefully 2 or 3 handfuls) of people inevitably will not be able to attend, but we have a large group of friends and then there's family. Oh, family. I'm definitely going to be mirroring June Cleaver (and hopefully a bit of Martha Stewart) in my kitchen during the days leading to her party.

Anyway, I wanted to make something a bit fancier than 12 per package fill-in-the-blank invites but do not want to spend the money to have someone make them {I'm Jewish and cheap. Yes, it's true}. Of course, I have to find a way to print them. So...want to see? You do, don't you?!

[click to enlarge invitation]

LOVE! Right? Okay, well I do. And Shutterfly is totally going to save the day. Of course they had their own set of birthday invitations to choose from, but I am loving the option to print your own digital card. Cards even come with a correctly sized envelope (because raise your hand if you picture me in the aisles of Target trying to find a blank envelope only to return 2 hours later because that one didn't fit the invites ::raises hand::).

I am a little obsessed with Shutterfly, having used it for a long time and if you're a dedicated (and careful) reader, you know I make Hailey monthly photo books. The books? SWOON. The idea to make these books monthly during her first year? Ummm. Not so smart. Luckily, I've been able to get about half of the books for free through different codes over the course of the past 10 or so months because Shutterfly is just that good. I have to say that the quality of photo books, photo cards, and photographs are wonderful. I have never once had a complaint about a print. Using Shutterfly is very simple and seriously, you can't beat the prices. I do wish their photo card selection had an option to print on card stock, but alas, I will print it as a photo card.

So what do you think? Love the invite or not so much??

Disclaimer: Shutterfly is providing me with photo invitation cards in exchange for this review. The opinions stated are my own.

Baby's first beach trip

2010-08-02T16:24:00.000-04:00

And so begins the few weeks I've been looking forward to for months: our back-to-back (for all intents and purposes) beach trips!
We've practiced for this trip by taking swimming lessons since Hailey was 6 months old. She is officially a pool-lover. But the chill of the Atlantic Ocean is not quite the same as the heated man-made chlorine-filled pools. And since Hailey has a tendency to put ~~foreign~~ objects in her mouth, we decided to give her a beach tutorial and F.A.Q.

However she disregarded her parents

~~We paid the E.M.T.'s a hefty chunk of change to keep us off of the news.~~

There were some very photographable daddy's little girl moments.

And Hailey practiced waving at every one and every thing. Because, why not?

But back in her momma's arms...

we realized that the good ol' Atlantic would make her sleepy given that the sound resembles almost exactly the ocean button on her sound machine. Go figure. Complete duh moment.

We enjoyed our wide-eyed strolls along the waterfront.

And went to dinner all clad in seersucker because when in Rome…

Somehow baby girl slept amazingly, if not better, while we were away. I am trying to recreate our steps but I think the true story is we simply wore her out each and every day.

I say 'somehow' because maybe I neglected to mention that she cut her first tooth! We had a couple of days worth of picky eating and an afternoon worth of "ok, Hailey. That's enough", but once I saw the tooth that cut, I quickly realized what all of the fuss (literally) was about. Only my child will cut one.tooth.at.a.time. (to put the both of us through agony, but of course).

As we slept at my sister and brother-in-law's last night (in my soon-to-be neice's room! Woot woot!) before heading to the airport this morning, I (the anti-co-sleeping parent, mind you <--- personal choice. No judging here.) deliriously picked my baby up from her Pack 'n Play and happily slept with her in my arms for about an hour, before I fully woke up and realized what I had done. I have yet to figure out if I was dreaming or why I felt the need to pick her up, or if I heard her rustling (since I have not slept in the same room with her in months) but needless to say, I placed her back in and she slept until morning.

And here we are. Counting the days [5] until we return to a different beach and celebrate someone turning 10 months old!

--
PS You may (or may not-a more likely scenario) have noticed that this post and sentences within it began with many conjunctions. But I don't care :)

A short blogging hiatus

2010-07-27T16:23:00.000-04:00

While my poor husband and dog are trying to survive without electricity for the entire week due to severe storms this past weekend (and ironically, not even due to the earthquake we had) and a tree that fell onto our driveway (and thankfully not on either of our cars), the baby and I are "up north" visiting with family and friends. We will resume writing in the blogosphere soon! ;)

When being a mom means trusting your instincts

2010-07-23T11:27:00.000-04:00

Getting rid of a babysitter is hard because you've built this relationship with someone. I did have that relationship with Hailey's sitter. We had a trust. I trusted her to keep my baby safe and happy. Last week, though, I did not feel that my baby was safe nor happy and I made a decision.

I began to think of our relationship as a rubber band. Each week that she told me Hailey was crying or they "had a hard day" stretched my rubber band a little bit more and the phrases "threw up on herself" and "cried for 2 hours" made that rubber band stretch and when we closed the door that rubber band simply snapped.

So yesterday, we had a new babysitter over.

In retrospect, I don't know that I ever saw the old babysitter hold Hailey. Is that weird? {yes, I know it is}

You have to understand. Hearing those phrases practically made me throw up. And every time I think about it, my stomach turns. I know this woman is not a terrible person and if there were anything to forgive, I do. But at the end of the day, my instincts were telling me that I could find a better fit.

New babysitter came in and held Hailey. She smiled at her. She listened to my instructions and advice for distraction techniques. And although she cried {Hailey, not the babysitter. Because that would have been awkward} the babysitter said, "it's ok". Old babysitter used to say, "oh, you're ok." Comfort versus a stoic attitude.

I stuck around for about a half hour before I left.

I got a text message that said,

Cried for about a half an hour but we are good now.

I didn't get the message immediately, so when I did get it, I responded Still going well there?

And in reply, Things are great!

The difference with this girl is that she had to repair my broken elastic. And for now, we have it tied. I can handle 30 minutes of crying, because in the end, what calmed the baby was the new sitter and not the bottle which she passed out on last week. As a mom, you have just got to trust your own instincts sometimes.

Let's just hope that she let's grandma and grandpa hold her next week when we visit them :x

Heterochromia

2010-07-21T08:33:00.000-04:00

Before you get concerned, despite the post title sounding a little medically concerning, there is nothing wrong with Hailey.

Unless you're just getting out from living in a hole {and in that case…welcome!}, you know that Hailey has 2 different colored eyes.

It wasn't until my friend from Alice in the Kitchen sent me an article about heterochromia that I even knew there was a name for this so-called condition. I suppose I never really thought about it for more than what it was. For more than what I saw. She just has two different colored eyes…

In photographs, because of the flash, the eye color is much more prominent than when you see her in person. Often times, people don't notice the color unless it's pointed out to them. And in some photographs, you can't tell at all. It all depends on the light.

Here's what we know:

in theory, it's genetic; although we don't know who in our families has it
articles online are calling it a defect. I prefer to think of it as a unique quality
approximately 1 in 10,000 people have heterochromia
since it is inherited (as opposed to an injury causing it), it is not dangerous nor does it mean anything is wrong with her eye sight.
the biggest problem she's going to have is when she plays those games in school when the gym teacher says: go to the far LEFT corner if you have BLUE eyes! {yes I think about such things. no child of mine will be the last picked in dodgeball}
there are a number of famous people with heterochromia, including kate bosworth

Personally, I think it's beautiful. I know she's going to have moments {because she's a girl} where she wants to be like everyone else. But I really want her to embrace this it and love it for the unique quality that it is.

Developing at their own Rate

2010-07-19T09:40:00.001-04:00

First off, I apologize for any missing letters from this post. I chopped my finger off yesterday (ok that's a slight exaggeration) and have a big honkin' bandage on my pointer finger, making typing, well…a little difficult. And wouldn't you know that in a very backwards way, it would have never happened if it weren't for the old baysitter?

Aaannnyyywaaayyy.

If you're a mom (or a parent, for tht matter), and the majority of you reading this are, you know that no matter what people tell you about not comparing your child to others, it's very difficult not to. I mean, if you have a 10 month old crawler and you see another 10 month old walking, how can you not think something, even if you very well know that a 10 month old walking is early. Not saying that happened, just my example.

So before each well-appointment, my ped's office sends along a survey to fill out online so they can have a heads-up if something is off as far as development mentally and socially and even if something is different in home-life. Needless to say, I always fill these surveys out about two weeks before appointments and I always get discouraged (no, she's not rolling at 4 months…no, she's not standing at 9 months…etc) and usually 2-3 days after I fill it out, Hailey does whatever I jut expressed concern in her not doing.

(picture just because :)

At this rate, I just know that it is what it is. In general, I know that she's right on target, if not advanced in many areas. But then, I just read in my What to Expect in the First Year book not to be surprised if really good crawlers are late walkers because they are so good at getting around, they don't feel the need to push themselves into walking. Well that's me! I mean…her. So I fully expect my marathon crawler to be walking by, errr, 2.

But anyway, when the ped asked us at Hailey's 9 month appointment whether she was waving, and our answer was no, but she gives high fives! I see the pedi's face give us this empathetic smile as though to say that's not really what I asked, but thanks for the info. I knew that developmentally, she was "ready" because she was starting to sign "all done" (at which, now she is a genius) and she was giving us high-fives. But then I see the little girl in Hailey's gym class who was born 1 week after Hailey wave and wave and wave at anyone and anything. And although I knew that Hailey crawled a good 3 weeks before she did, I still couldn't heplp but feel that twinge.

Sometime last week, though, she just decided that she was ready to wave. Late? I have no idea. What I'm learning, though, albeit slowly, is to not freak too much when she doesn't do something in time for the survey. Because the survey does not dictate my child's development (repeat that last sentence over and over and over)! And my baby is pretty darn cute waving at the people on television, so take that!

A getaway in my own home?

2010-07-16T10:38:00.000-04:00

This week has been a little rocky, what with the babysitter fiasco and then a small earthquake this morning. Yes, I did say earthquake! And yes, I am on the east coast. But I'd be lying if even though I'm only mere miles from the epicenter, I said I felt it, because I definitely slept right through it.

Needless to say, I feel a bit better today because a package arrived on my doorstep that is sure to make life a little less stressful: The Spa Getaway gift basket from ProFlowers.

Retailing for $49.99, this gift basket comes with

2 Pillar Candles
12 oz Green Tea Scented Shower Gel
8 oz Green Tea Scented Bubble Bath
8 oz Green Tea Scented Bath Salts
20 Count Box of Tazo Assorted Tea Bags
Green Bath Mitt

My Hubs, particularly, is loving the Tazo tea bags. And me? I think that a nice bath is in order!

Doesn't that sound lovely?

But to the nitty gritty, this spa basket is gorgeous. I can definitely reuse the basket, the green tea aromas are heavenly and I'm already dreaming that bath.

ProFlowers has a ton to choose from, the quality is wonderful (this coming from a very picky lady) and their delivery is f-a-s-t. So if you're wondering what to get someone on their special day, consider trying a gift basket! You never know what kind of week they may have had… Happy Friday, friends!

Disclaimer: I was provided with this gift basket from ProFlowers for the purpose of completing this review. I was not compensated in any other way. The statements within this post are my own opinion (unless stated otherwise).

Sitter: FIRED.

2010-07-14T22:37:00.000-04:00

I made the decision not to discuss my babysitter dilemmas on this blog in the small chance that she reads this blog. I am now at the point, however, that I don't think I care if she reads it (and being that I've never discussed this blog with her, I'm fairly certain she does not…though I suppose I could be wrong).

Let me start with this. I like my babysitter. As a person. I hired her in April to watch Hailey once a week for a few hours. She's competent. She's consistent (albeit consistently late). She's nice (I think). Listen, she fit the bill. She was available, spoke my language (hey, it's hard to find in such a transient city), and seemed like she could do the simple task of keeping my daughter safe and happy for a few hours while I was gone.

Now that I look back, I sort of see this all unraveling.

First of all, she's supposed to come at 11:30. I know that at lunch time, my town gets very busy with people going on lunch breaks. But it's July and she started in April. Don't you think by now she should know that and leave even earlier so as to get here on time? Maybe I was just a little too lax by always telling her it was ok. Because it was and it is. But consistently late (as in never timely. I'm talking minimum 15 min.)? Kind of uncool.

Second of all, she never got in Hailey's face excited to see her when she arrived. I attributed it to personality and that she would warm up over time. Wrong.

Third of all, a few weeks ago (this is about to get TMI. Kind of.) I bought a huge container of blueberries (it was a Wednesday when I bought them). The sitter came on Thursday on this particular week. I told her if all else fails, she can have blueberries because she will eat a ton. Again, is this my fault? I assumed there was some common sense here. Friday morning, I go to get the blueberries and notice that there are no more than 10 berries left. I ask the Hubster if he had any blueberries. Let's rewind. I'm telling you, I got a HUGE container two days before. He said no and then started laughing. Oh my god. I forgot to tell you, he said, her poop was legitimately BLUE this morning. Like BLUE. Ok, so we put 2 and 2 together rather quickly. The sitter actually came over that night again because we were going out and we both considered asking her about it but decided against it. What would we even do if she said she gave her the entire container? What was done was done.

Fifth of all, for the past 3 weeks, every time I came home, the sitter said she had a rough day or today was not good. So for the first couple of times, we talked about what happened, what it could have been, and what she could do instead. I hated that she was upset but I gave both of them the benefit of the doubt. I Facebooked (is that even a verb?) my friends about separation anxiety. Except here's the kicker…Hailey was fine after I left. She would be fine for about 10 minutes or so. Besides that, as long as it isn't past 7:00 (bedtime), Hailey will willingly go to just about anyone especially if I'm not around. Is she a Mama's girl? Absolutely. But is she a crying so hard I'm going to throw up girl (more on that soon)? Not ever ever ever. This isn't stranger anxiety. The girl has been coming for over 3 months.

Forth of all, during our interview, we discussed the terms that she should call me. Of course if she has any questions, call. Beyond that, please call me if she is injured, sick or crying inconsolably. Maybe I should have added crying to the point she throws up.

Lastly and the straw the broke the camel's back, today I came home (and I didn't stay out nearly as long as I usually do, as I had a bad feeling…let's call it mother's intuition) and heard Hailey on the monitor. I said oops did I wake her coming in? Nope. She's been up. She was crying for over 2 hours. She threw herself (my 9 month old daughter, remember. This is not a 3 year old) … threw herself … on the kitchen floor and slammed her arms into the floor. Crying. Coughing. To the point that she threw up on herself. Not spit up. Threw up.
What were her trouble shooting steps? No phone call. Fail. Offer her food in the high chair which she (shocking) didn't accept, put her on the floor to play which wasn't successful apparently, and give her a bottle. I'm not sure of timelines, but then she gave Hailey a bottle and Hailey fell asleep on it.

Please note… PLEASE note … that Hailey *never* falls asleep on a bottle. Not even as a newborn. I don't know why or anything but she never has, and so to hear that she did makes me realize just how hard she must have been crying. It makes me sick to think about it. So the sitter held her downstairs for 5 minutes asleep and decided to move her to her crib. I can't be mad at the sitter for this, but I personally would not have done that. In my mind, if the poor child has been crying her eyes out and making herself sick for the past 2 hours, wouldn't you just leave her be? Oh my poor sweet child. Maybe that's just me. I'm not mad about that. I'm sad about that.

So, long story short in the end, I'm not having her return. Granted, we are going to the beach this summer for a few different weeks, and granted, she is looking to a full-time job at this moment and would not be able to remain our sitter much longer anyway, but after today's episode - and I have to call it an episode - as a mother, I just cannot bring this woman back into my home as a caregiver. I'm more than happy to have her over for dinner. She's that kind of person. She really is a good person. But I'm a mom. This is my first-born child. And I simply cannot leave my child with someone who she clearly is more than uncomfortable with and is now on my shitlist.

So I've hired someone new. Next week she begins. She is the oldest of 3 children, has a younger sister with Austism, is getting her Master's in clinical psychology, and was legitimately excited to see Hailey. A little hesitant around the dog which I am praying is the biggest issue we have, but otherwise, we are moving on.

Just another thing for the memory books (or not)… tell me I'm not the only one??

Embrace it...You Never Know What Could Happen!

2010-07-13T10:48:00.004-04:00

The Internet, that is. I embraced the Internet at an early age and by about 12, I was featured in Dance Magazine for running my own web-based newsletter with teenagers around the country. I used Prodigy, America Online, you name it. Heck, I even had an Apple. The old Mac computer. I definitely played Pac Man and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
I have blogged for years (not just on this blog…imagine that!). In January, I took the plunge and joined Twitter. Over time, I connected with hundreds of other people, primarily Mom Bloggers, and one day I said it. I just did. I realized one of my "Tweeps", who does professional photography, was local and told @KatherineKlegin that she should take pictures of my Hailey.

(Photos When You Click "Read More")

After some back and forth and discussion of bartering services, Katherine and I came up with a plan, she came up to my home, and took photos of my family. She took a ton but here are some of my favorites.

Ultimately, I know that putting people's family "out there" is not for everyone. For me, though, through reviews and now professional photographs, I have gained much more than I could have ever hoped for. I embraced it and now I have captured frozen memories and made friendships. Katherine was beyond sweet and easy to work with. Thank you SO much Katherine.
I can't help but to think, what's next?

9 Months (and 2 days) Old

2010-07-09T12:13:00.007-04:00

I'm not going to play the "can you believe it?" game [but seriously, can you believe it?!?!?!]. Hailey turned n-i-n-e months old on Wednesday.

I told myself I wouldn't start to think about planning her birthday until she was at least 9 months. All I'm going to say is that I'm pretty psyched about the prospective theme and ideas and can't wait to see how it all comes together. Although, I will say Hubs has already turned me down for some of the "more ridiculous" things I want to do. You crafties would enjoy it but I suppose we'll just have to wait and see how much I can get away with ::waves:: Hi, babe :)
Anywho, we missed the 9 months on Wednesday because I wanted to wait to schedule her appointment with the pediatrician who had her baby around the same time I had Hailey, because that ped looks at things from both a medical and personal prospective.
So what's up for the month?

Growth and development

19 lbs 8 oz (50-75%)
30" long! (OFF the charts!!)
Wears 6-9 month, 9 month, and 6-12 month clothes
Wears 0-6 shoes (so sad my small footed child)
Toothless
Wears 2-3 or size 3 diapers

Appetite

4 bottles of organic milk-based formula (on average 23 oz/day)
3 meals of solids/day
Favorite foods: blueberries, tofu, puffs, yogurt melts and most fruits

Motor skills

Pulls to a stand *on her own*. Gets annoyed if I do it for her. The girl knows what she wants.
"Cruised" last night for the first time on the couch
Professional crawler. She'd definitely place in a contest for good form and speed.
Can sign "all done" and "milk". Beginning to do "all done" more consistently, but *I* need to be more consistent with milk (and others) in order to expect her to sign those. In other words, I'm not too surprised at her progress. (See video!)
Has waved and clapped but she's chosen to observe those skills rather than perform. This doesn't bother me. Not at all. Nah. ……
High-fives! Is this a milestone?! Oh well… And yes, I know fist bumps are next, but one thing at a time, people.

Sleep

Sleeps 12-13 hours at night from 7pm-7:30/8am
Takes one or two naps/day. Usually 2 naps for 1.5-2 hours each.

Other

Very interested in books now!
Babbles a lot and is very vocal
Still repeating phonemes and people are constantly asking, "did she just say _____?" Well, I don't know. I refuse to believe it and will probably not document a first word until she says four word sentences.
Now crawls to my feet and wants to be picked up. I enjoy that but I know there will soon come a time where I will not :P
Loves to be with other babies and kids, even if she just pokes their faces and sits on them… Someday she'll learn about personal space. We're clearly not there yet.
Enjoys being upside down. Just sayin'…
Happier than ever before!

So here are two short videos for your viewing pleasure to start off your weekend with a smile.

High-fives! Sure it's not this freaking adorable clip, but it's my child, so there are some adorable qualities to it.

Signing "All done"

Sidenote: this is the baby sign language version of "all done". This is what she is doing:

Pulkies

2010-07-06T14:56:00.001-04:00

I know that the vast majority of you are reading the subject line and thinking, "huh?"
Pulkies. An "affectionate" Yiddish term for drumsticks. Or thighs. As in baby thighs. My child is of average weight (and we'll find out specifically at her appointment on Friday). She was born 7lbs 10oz. She enjoys eating. A lot. But what does she eat a lot of? Rice crackers, rice puffs milk, broccoli, blueberries, and tofu. Those are her favorites. She's not eating ice cream and Oreos here.

And my daughter's "pulkies" aren't huge.

They're cute.
These are huge pulkies:

And those certainly don't belong to my daughter.

As a mom, I am the voice of my child. So for everyone who continuously is saying, "ohhh, look at those pulkies", high-pitched voice and smiles or not, you're pinching my child's thighs, and to you I say "SHVAYG", which is my affectionate way of telling you to Shut Up.