Snow Fun

Seeing how Miss S is feeling a bit under the weather today, I thought I’d post about our time a few weekends ago when she was feeling GREAT about the weather and itching to get outside and use her beloved sled. Yup, our little WI gal not able to use the sled until JANUARY. Not that I’M complaining. I sure didn’t miss the shoveling and driving in sloppy, slippery messes. But I think the kids were missing the white stuff.

S and I headed to the park across the street and found a “bunny hill” for her trial run down the slopes in a sled. Part of my mommy brain wondered if she should be wearing a helmet. Aren’t kids wearing helmets for everything these days? Considering that there are no obstacles on this particular hill, I dismissed my over-protective thoughts and tried to psych S up for her first ride.

I think I was likely more scared than S was, so I took a deep breath and sent her on her way down the hill. She had fun! The hard part was climbing back up the hill. We got stuck on one part and S didn’t care for that too much. She did a few more runs and then decided it was time to hit up the park. Because snow-covered parks are so much fun.

Such a big girl on those swings! Check out that cool koala bear hat, a fun Christmas gift that she loves!

Since this snow wasn’t snowball or snowman worthy, she decided a snow angel was in order.

It was nice to spend an hour outside with my little peanut. I feel like I never get time to spend with her like I used to since Mr. M always needs my attention. I think I need to buy a bigger sled so we can cruise those hills together!

New ‘Do, Too

Not to be outdone by her younger sib, S decided she wanted in on the haircutting fun, too. Actually, it was more of mom and dad initiated. When we asked her if she wanted her hair trimmed she said no because she thought it would hurt. After a little explaination, she was game so I called and set up an appointment.

She had fun going to a salon. They put a booster on the regular chair and she got to wear a smock adorned with little monsters getting their coifs trimmed. We had coached her about sitting really still and she mentioned to Miss B about a hundred times that she was going to sit still. She had fun jabbering to Miss B about all kinds of things.

We didn’t do anything drastic, just trimmed the ends. I’m still contemplating getting a few inches cut off since her hair is really getting long. All in all, a good first hair cut experience!

A New Year

 

The start of a new year always feels so refreshing to me. It’s a time to let the past be the past and look forward to a new year full of possibilities. Saying good-bye to 2011 was not that hard for me. Yes, 2011 brought us our little man to delight us and that was truly wonderful. For that, I am thankful to 2011. I am not so thankful for the political nature of our state that took a toll on my family and friends and put the profession of educating our youth in such a bad light. So, for that, I say, adios 2011…here’s to changing things up in 2012 and giving us new reason to hope!

We rang in the new year in our traditional style. J cooked up yummy things in the kitchen (lobster ravioli, in fact) and we munched on appetizers wearing our NYE hats, much to S’s delight. She even got to stay up and enjoy the festivities this year, thanks to a late afternoon nap. S is all about “parties” right now, so she had fun staying up late with Daddy. Myles and I didn’t quite make it ’til midnight, but I did wake up a bit when I heard S and Daddy cheering “Happy New Year!” downstairs.

So, a new year. Got any resolutions? I think my word of the year is going to be “declutter”. I’m hoping this will apply to all areas of my life…my house, my body, finances, etc., etc.

Best wishes for a wonderfully happy and healthy 2012!

Christmassy Stuff

Note: this post was obviously written awhile back. I wanted to get it out while it was still 2011! Happy New Year everyone!

Getting ready for the holidays while working full time and raising a baby and a three year old is a little hectic. Ok, A LOT hectic. I really have to put my OCD, clean-freak tendencies aside as my house sits in a state of disaster. Weekends are a whirlwind of activities, laundry, grocery shopping, meal preparing, holiday decorating, card envelope licking (really, could they put a better tasting flavor on those?? ick!), nose wiping, diaper changing, cold coffee sipping, Christmas tree getting and decorating kinds of things. Whew. It’s exhausting.

Last weekend we had plans to get the tree on Saturday, but it rained all day. (Yup…rain….still no snow in these parts!) So after a morning of advent calendar opening and lounging around in our snowman jammies and santa hats….

we went to our town’s pancake breakfast instead. Still plenty of holiday festivities there. Even the man in red made an appearance. It was the kids first encounter with Santa. M was unfazed, but S wasn’t about to sit on his lap. She inched in for pic and that was as close as she got.

Sunday as the only day left to get the tree. The parking lot was a mud pit. People were slipping and sliding all over the place, but we managed to bundle everyone up and select “the” tree.

S thought it was pretty neat that the tree was on the roof of our car and had fun hanging up the ornaments this year. I think she asked “Is this fragile?” for every one.

We kind of “cheated” St. Nick’s visit this year and had him come on Saturday night so the kids could enjoy looking through their stocking on Sunday morning without having to rush off to school. Myles had fun eating his stocking (look at that pre-haircut mop!).

So, we are somehow managing to get ready for Christmas. I’m not sure how the last-minute gift shopping and present wrapping is going to happen, but we’ll figure out something. It’s a fun time of year and I plan to focus on that. S is enjoying the special things about Christmas even more this year.  And we are milking the “nice list” for all it’s worth.

Just a few of my favorite things this year are this ornament I made from a pinterest idea. It was rather difficult to get this result, but I’m glad I made the attempt.

The other thing I’m loving is our mantle with our family stockings. Now that our family is complete, I was so excited to purchase a set of stockings with all of our names on them. I also got a really good deal on them, buying them off-season, so that makes them even more special to me. I love looking at the kids’ stockings and smiling at their names side-by-side. We are so lucky to have Miss S and Mr. M in our lives!

Mylestones: 6 Months

I can’t believe that half a year ago we were headed to the hospital on a sunny summer morning to go meet our little man! Time sure does fly. It’s amazing how fast babies grow and learn new things. Myles is all about scooting around on the floor. I think the Christmas tree and glass tv stand are his favorite destinations when he’s on the floor, as I find myself pulling him away from those places most often. He loves playing with his baby toys and S helps him out with that, always making sure he has a huge pile of toys to pick from. His shrieks and squeals are some of my most favorite sounds ever. He’s still a two-teether, but I know others are on their way from the way he chews on anything he can get in his mouth.

His 6 month check up went great. He’s at 21 lbs, 13 oz (97%), 28 1/2 inches (97%), and his head is 44.6 cm (75%). Doc said he’s obviously more mobile now that his weight growth is slowing down a tad. I guess we still could carry him around in the infant carrier, but we decided to make the switch and Myles is now riding around in style in his convertable seat. He seems to like it, but it’s definitely more of a challenge to take him out and about and have to carry him instead of letting him sleep in his carrier.

He’s tried avocado, apricot, sweet potato, carrots and mango. He seems to enjoy the orange foods. I made my own sweet potatoes last night, so I hope to start feeding him some homemade stuff soon. We’d been using some container foods that our nice neighbors gave us when they discovered that their little one only enjoyed table foods. I also bought some organic brown rice that I need to put in my food processor to make some rice cereal for him. So much to do, so little time!

Myles is thisclose to crawling. I think he’s actually managed a few good crawls in there, but didn’t realize that he did. He had a great first Christmas and especially enjoyed the wrapping paper. I think next year I’ll just wrap up some tissue paper and the kids will be happy.

Happy Half-Year, Kiddo! Guess this mommy needs to get started on the 1st birthday plans! Pinterest, here I come…

Reindeer Games…Er, “Canes”

I remember making these candy cane reindeer when I was young, so I’m not sure where the original idea came from. The “reinbeer” picture on pinterest reminded me of these little guys and I knew S would have a blast making them. I finally got a chance to hit up Hobby Lobby and bought all the supplies. All you need are some candy canes, red pom poms for the noses, googly eyes, brown pipe cleaners, scissors and some glue (I just used regular ol’ Elmers).

There really aren’t specific instructions, just cut the pipe cleaners so they are long enough to twist around once for the main antler piece and then snip two smaller pieces to wrap around the tips for the full antler effect. Then glue on the googly eyes and pom pom nose. Let them dry and you’ll soon have more than eight tiny reindeer to help you celebrate the holidays.

We are planning to have S take these to school to give to her friends for a cute holiday treat!

New ‘Do

Myles was born with a ton of hair. I knew that when I had to snip carefully around his ears with the manicure scissors while he slept as a newborn that we’d probably have to visit a haircut place soon. I guess I just didn’t think it would be when he was only 5 1/2 months old! I’m new to this whole “give your baby a haircut” thing since S still hasn’t had to have her hair cut (although I’m thinking a few inches off would be good). I called my amazing stylist and asked if she cut baby’s hair (do they do that so young??). Of course! she said. I didn’t trust his first locks to be chopped by just anyone, so I took him in to see Miss B.

Myles enjoyed his first visit to the salon from the moment he walked in. All the pretty ladies checking him out and smiling at him. He grinned right back. Miss B covered me in a smock and M sat on my lap. Once she started (and had to move quickly with a squirmy baby!), we were covered in fuzzy brown baby hair. I couldn’t believe how much of a mop he had on his head! Once it was trimmed up, he looked so adorable and like such a little man. We saved his little locks in a tip envelope. I think he looks so cute!

Mylestones: 5 Months

He’s really on the move now! Mastered the rolling technique and now loves to roll and roll across the floor. He also loves to jump in his jumperoo and is really good at grasping his toys and reaching for them.

We tried some avocado this past week and Myles seemed a little distrubed that there were mushy things in his mouth (and gave us some crazy looks!), but he eventually smacked his lips together and ate the tiny spoonfuls of green mush. We are now moving on to bananas…fun times!

Two tiny teeth finally popped through his little gums over the weekend. He’d been working on them for so long, I’m glad they are finally in. I took him in to the doctor on Monday to have his diaper rash looked at since he’s had it for a long time. It wasn’t really bothering him, but was not going away despite trying different remedies, so it was time for a visit to the doc. We are now trying hydrocortizone cream to see if that clears it up. While we were there, Myles was weighed. He’s just under the limit for his infant seat (21 lbs, 1o oz), so I guess we’ll stick it out for a few more weeks and break our arms carrying him around in that thing.

Size 9 month clothes are getting a little snug, so I’ve washed all his 12 month stuff. I’m pretty sure he’s going to need a haircut soon, unless we want a baby with a mullet. I’ve been trimming around his ears, but I’m afraid to trim at the nape of his neck since I’m not that steady with the schears and it will be pretty obvi that mommy tried to give him a haircut.

Some of his favorite things continue to be his big sister and his jumperoo. He loves spinning around and checking out all the little animal friends on there. The sounds that come out of him make me laugh. He can be so loud sometimes and shriek like a pterodactyl. Other times he just sits there and blows raspberries. It’s also interesting the things that make him laugh. J has found his tickle spot a few times and he’ll just giggle away. Tonight we were all playing in our bed and we were taking the pillows and “smash”-ing them on S, just for fun. All of a sudden Myles started laughing. He thought it was hysterical, so we did some baby smashes just to keep him laughing.

So in love with our little blue-eyed guy. Thanks for making us smile, Mr. Myles!

 

Sophia Says

photo by Andrea Paradowski

So I just found these questions on pinterest and the idea is that you ask your child (starting at age 3) these same questions every year on their birthday. At some point you can compile them into a book or some other crafty way of sharing your little one’s responses over the years.

Since S already celebrated #3, I figured I’d better ask them now, just to have a record of her three year old thoughts. This is what she said:

 1. What is your favorite color? Purple

2. What is your favorite toy? yo-yo (she doesn’t even have a yo-yo)

3. What is your favorite fruit? mangoes

4. What is your favorite tv show? Dora The Explorer

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? carrots & breadsticks

6. What is your favorite outfit? Ariel (Little Mermaid) pjs

7. What is your favorite game?  Parcheesi

8. What is your favorite snack? fruit snacks

9. What is your favorite animal? elephant…no! giraffe

10. What is your favorite song? Dora The Explorer

11. What is your favorite book? On The Night You Were Born (a book that was just given to her that day)

12. Who is your best friend? Myles (awwww!)

13. What is your favorite cereal? Chocolate Cheerios

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? jump around with a jump rope at Christmas and slide around on my sled and go to the park in my snowsuit.

15. What is your favorite drink? juice & milk

16. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving & Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? stuffed animals (Moose & Mouse)

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? donuts…with frosting and sprinkles

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Hot dogs

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Cinderella

These questions were asked on November 17, 2011. S is 3 years and 5 months old.

Trick-Or-Treat

S was so excited about Halloween this year. She remembered how last year she waddled around the neighborhood in her fluffy chick costume and how neighbors ohhed and ahhhed at her and GAVE HER CANDY! What could be better than that?

I figured I’d keep with the theme we’ve got going this year and dress her up as Dora The Explorer for trick-or-treat. I actually put her costume together myself, which was pretty easy. White Keds, yellow ruffly socks (which I had to dye using Rit…felt so crafty), orange pants and pink sweatshirt. S already had the backpack and I found some blue bead bracelet party favors at Target. Only one thing was missing…Dora’s famous brown bob hair. A quick internet search and a Dora wig was on its way to my house. S made a pretty cute Dora, if I do say so myself. She was so excited to dress up. As soon as I got home from work she yelled “COSTUME!”

And Myles got to wear his monkey costume, which fit right in with the Dora theme…he was little Boots!

We were all ready to go at 5:00 for trick-or-treat. Well, everyone except Myles. He conked out just before Daddy and S were ready to go. Sleepy monkey!

He couldn’t even help me hand out candy. (which probably worked out for the best, since it’s a little hard to juggle a baby and a bowl of candy while passing it out to all the little ghosts and goblins). S and Daddy hit up a few more houses this year than last. When S was having trouble carrying her heavy bucket, it was time to go home.

We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get Dora singing her theme song… (sorry about the ’tilt your head to the side’ view)

While S had fun traveling around the ‘hood to collect her goodies, I think she may have had even more fun handing out candy to the kids when she got home. She would run to the door and say “Here you go” and “You get two” (for those she REALLY liked)…so cute!

After all that activity, we tried to eat dinner (in between all the candy checking and the knocks at the door). I made Yummy Mummy Pizzas and they were a hit!

Happy Halloween!