Pretty Little Liar....Pants on Fire

People told me that when Reese started talking, she'd really start talking. All too fast she has learned to use her new words to her advantage.

Last week, getting ready for her naps went something like this.  

Me: Reese, it's time for nap. Are you tired?

Reese: Nooo. Play!

Me: Okay, a few more minutes.

A few min later...

Me: Okay, Reese time for a nap.

Reese: Nooo. Play, play!

Me: No Reese. It's time for a nap, let's go.

I had to carry her into her room, change her diaper and put her in her sleep sack (against her will). As I am changing her...

Reese: Poop!!

Me: You have to go poop?

Reese: Yea, poop!

Me: Okay, I'll put you down.

But instead of going poop she ran off and grabbed her little Elmo doll and started to play.

Me: Reese, do you have to go poop?

Reese: No, play.

Me: No, it's not time to play, it's time for a nap.

Reese: Books, two books!

[OMG! Are you kidding? Haha! Too funny. What a sly little thing. Playing tricks on Mommy already!... She knew that if she said she had to poop, I would put her down. But how could she? Anyway, you get the point. After all this I finally got her into her crib and her naps last week were hit or miss.]

After some much needed support from fellow MommyBeta Nathalee, I realized I needed to be firm. I need to tell her it's time for a nap and not ask he if she's tired. If it were up to her, she'd play all day but Mommy knows best. Man, they learn young. What's your kid saying these days that catches you by surprise? 

Freaky Friday with Your Toddler

What if you could experience one of your days through the eyes of a toddler? Get overly excited about anything and everything, take afternoon naps and give time outs to your colleagues need it? If I had a Freaky Friday, and switched bodies with my toddler I’d imagine it would go a little something like this:

Waking up: AHHH! I HAVEN’T FELT THIS GOOD SINCE WAKING UP YESTERDAY MORNING! I’M SO EXCITED TO BE ALIVE! I’M STARVING!

My morning coffee: OH MY GOSH CAFFEINE! THIS DAY CAN’T GET ANY BETTER! YUM! DARK ROASTED COFFEE WITH CREAM AND SUGAR! I’M HUNGRY AGAIN…OR HUNGRY…I’M NOT SURE.

Email to friend on PMS: Dear grumpy pants, you need a time out. When you’re ready to have some fun, let me know. 

Lunch invite: “DECLINE!” Sorry, I’m not available between 1-3pm because it’s my nap time!

Afternoon snack – cookies: WHOO HOO! THESE COOKING ARE SOO GOOD! AND THIS WHOLE MILK IS EVEN BETTER! I THINK I’LL EAT THREE!

House chores: [TANTRUM] Mwahh!!! [Kicking, screaming on the floor]

Doesn’t this sound kind of fun? 

When Baby Turns Toddler

So much has changed in the last 14 months. The transition from baby to toddler is huge! (Side note: When exactly does your baby turn into a toddler? Is it as soon as they turn one? Is it when they start walking?). I remember like it was yesterday when Reese first learned how to roll over, sit up by herself, eat her first solids, crawl, eat finger foods, wave bye-bye, say her first words, get her first teeth and stand. 

Just a few weeks ago Reese took her first real steps and now she is walking. My baby girl is walking and I am a very proud Mamma. She is into EVERYTHING! Cupboards, laundry baskets, closets, my suit case, make-up – anything she can get her hands on. She helps me with the laundry, meaning she takes clothes out of the laundry basket and then puts them back in.

Boy is she sassy! Lately she throws her food off of her high chair tray when she is done eating and then giggles. Umm really Reese? And our visits to the park typically end in tears because she’s never ready to leave, but she’s getting better.

Although sassy, she is so sweet and sensitive. It melts my heart when she crawls or walks toward me with her hands up. She loves giving kisses, cuddling and she is really great at sharing (we had to work on this for a while).

Reese has fully transitioned to one nap so there’s a lot more time for activities. – music class, swim class, play dates, and field trips in-and-around the city. I liked the baby stage but I’m loving the toddler stage.

Here is a video that I took of Reese today walking. Eeeks!! Natali - I'm embarassed to post because my camera is turned the wrong way!! 

What’s your toddler up to these days? 

It Can't Get Any Worse, Right?

That is exactly what I said to Josh after our flight from SF to LA was delayed an hour Friday morning. It wouldn’t have been so bad but we were sitting in the plane for an hour, which can be like torture for a 10-month-old baby who wants to crawl around. All in all, Tazzy was amazing!! She was awesome on the flght there and back. Anway, a delayed flight is how our trip started and here is how the rest went.

• Our baggage was lost. Seriously! How could a 53 min flight from SFO to LAX result in lost luggage? Easy, when we landed our bag was on it’s way to Houston.
• Instead of an “infant” car seat, the car rental folks gave us a toddler car seat so we had to deal with that.
• Tazzy didn’t sleep all day because she won’t nap in arms and she won’t nap in the stroller, however she WILL nap in the Ergo, which is my recent favorite purchase (more deets on that later) BUT unfortunately that was in our luggage. Still, she was a rock star for not taking any naps!
• We arrived into LA around 9:30am and we didn’t get our luggage until 8pm.

Just when we thought we were home free…

• The car service that was supposed to pick us up with our car seat (which we had left with them on Friday morning when they dropped us off) forgot the car seat so we had no ride home.
• It was 7:30pm and Tazzy was tired and hungry. We all just wanted to get home. Luckily we found a car service that had a car with a car seat just 20 min away so they came to get us.

Now we were home free! WRONG.

• Because Nicki Minaj (some hot rapper) was performing in SF, there was traffic getting into the city and the street to our house was closed so it took an extra 30 min to get home.

Finally we made it home. Lessons learned?

• Come on, for less than two days you do not need to check luggage. Take a smaller bag so you can carry it on. I’m not an efficient packer so I’ll have to work on this
• Don’t fly United. I always seem to have issues when I fly United and I knew this when booking my flight.
• If you make your own baby food, make sure to bring enough for at least a day with you. I actually packed all of mine but I did bring with me Peter Rabbit Organics, the first packacked food that Tazzy has eaten and really likes! It’s 100% organic - no added sugar, no added salt and nothing artificial.
• If you rent a car tripple check that they have the car seat most appropriate for your child.
• I will always bring my Ergo with me and not check it with my luggage so at least I know Tazzy can take a nap if needed.

Now, this is not to say we didn't have an absolutely AMAZING time visiting with family. There is no where else we would have rather been. :)

What has been your worst traveling experience?

9 Month Baby Schedule

During the first few months of having Taz I so wished for an instruction guide. I had no idea what I was doing and wondered why she cried so much. Was she hungry, pooped, tired or just crying to cry? And, I was missing all of the structure of my pre-baby life. At 9 months, I can now write my own instruction guide for Tazzy based on a schedule that works really well for both of us. Operative words here being “both of us.” I really enjoy having structure because it helps me somewhat plan my days…although we all know that there is no real planning with a baby.

I’ve found a great balance between eating, naps, play dates, “me” time and other activities. Most of my days are planned around Tazzy’s naps. This is important to me first because Tazzy is a much happier child when rested and 2) I can count on this time to work or take care of anything that I need to around the house. A couple times a week we have what I call “exception” days where we’re out and about during a nap (which she rarely takes if we’re out) to do something fun. And I’m pretty firm about her bed time too.

I was always so curious to learn about what worked for other babies/mommies and realize that schedules very so much depending on the baby and parents. So now I am sharing Tazzy’s daily schedule for anyone interested.

I found Nathalee’s sample menu for Nic that includes schedule and food examples super helpful and also Natali’s owner’s manual for Mo.

SCHEDULE FOR TAZZY

6:30 – 7 a.m. Wake up; bottle feeding #1

8 a.m. Solid feeding #1 breakfast (rice cereal with fruit or just plain fruit)

9 a.m. Nap #1

*Tazzy will nap anywhere from 45 min to 2 hours.

10:30 a.m. Bottle feeding #2

[10:30 – 12:30 Play date, park or other activity]

12:30 Solid feeding #2 lunch (yogurt with fruit, butternut squash with sage or some other veggie or fruit); Bottle feeding #3

1pm/1:30pm Nap #2

*Tazzy will sleep anywhere from 1-2.5 hours.

3:30pm Bottle feeding #4

[3:30pm – 6:15pm Play date or other activity]

5pm Solid feeding #3 dinner (turkey or beef with veggies). If we are out and about I pack her dinner, bib and spoon in a baggie to take with us.

6:45/7pm Bottle feeding #5; Bed time

Once Tazzy is in bed, I finish making dinner and Josh and I can relax. I’ll be honest, it’s usually on the couch with a bottle of wine, catching up on the day and watching our favorite shows but it’s great! And more often than not, count on a full night of uninterrupted sleep.

One thing to note is that the above is the schedule we try to follow but sometimes it just doesn't work out adn we try not to stress.