Thankfulness 2013: Day Twenty

All kids have it, mine just excel at driving me nuts with it.  Regardless, I am thankful for their curiosity and determination.  If they hold on to that natural instinct to understand things and figure them out down to the bare nuts and bolts, it can take a child so very far in life.  It is a combination that is crucial in any aspect of their lives and any path they choose to follow.  I hope that I do not stifle it even when I get irritated and end up at the end of my rope with the endless questions and messes.  From a toddler who opened the ziplock snack bags around the early side of 1 year old, to a 10 month old who topples garbage cans and climbs into cubbies much too small, this will always be a blessing in a very convincing disguise.

Thankfulness 2013: Day Eighteen

Honestly, I hate feeding kids.  It is entertaining for maybe a week worth of meals when they are learning to eat solids.  After that it is a messy and oftentimes inconveniently timed event.  Please don't think that I don't appreciate the ease of baby food and it is a fun kind of frustration usually.  Still, I am so much more excited by the finger food stage!  You're probably familiar with it.  That stage between baby food mess and their own spoons...

Mr. Wyatt isn't impressed with cheerios though.  No idea what he would've eaten before all these 'choke proof' foods out there, especially because he is really good at choking on them still.  Regardless, the better he is getting at these finger foods, the more thankful I am for these flavorful options of finger foods for babies.

Mr. Wyatt's favorite are those crunchies types.

Thankfulness 2013: Day Thirteen and Fourteen

Alyssa is getting pretty sneaky.  She can make two phone calls without my phone being unlocked.  She has learned to navigate to the ICE list on the emergency dialer in the lock screen. So while I contemplate how to teach her to utilize things like that in an emergency for real, I am thankful that we have the technology we do.  Beyond the complications that it can create for child proofing and safety, it is such an amazing set of resources.  We can look up thousands of questions that our toddlers demand answers to.  We can have endless entertainment options available at our fingertips.  The most amazing thing to me though is along with the transfer of knowledge, we can transfer virtual lives.  Our family and friends who may otherwise not get more than the Christmas card in a year, can keep up with our family including photos, daily rants, chats, and whatever else they may want to know depending on the tech form used.  Phones provide a few ways to talk to people quickly.  The Internet allows for video calls or photo swapping, and of course blogs share our stories easily.  Such a wonderful tool!

Related to tech in the general sense, my e-reader!  I absolutely LOVE my e-reader!  I am so thankful for e-readers (physical and app forms)!  Reading relaxes me and gives me a mental break from daily stresses like trying to leave the house with a toddler and an an infant.  I would be so much closer to full blown crazy if it weren't for my e-readers.

Thankfulness 2013: Day Eleven and Twelve

Though the military irritates me more often than it doesn't, I am still very thankful for the opportunities and family it has provided us.  The military background helped my husband find his great civilian job.  I don't love the way it is run but I absolutely love the men and women in service.

On those days where the incessant whining, cries, demands, and questions all pile upon my near-to-bleeding ears, I remember my great appreciation for today's luxuries.  I won't lie, I am very thankful for 24/7 kid television programming!!  Disney Junior, Sprout, The Hub, etc.  There isn't a minute that I can't find something appropriate for my toddler to gain five minutes of distraction if needed.  Pair that with DVD's, educational tablet apps, crayons, chalk, books, toys, puzzles, and food, one would think that this would all add up to a full and busy day without draining a parent.  It is never the case, but it certainly maintains parental sanity until bedtime...most nights anyways!

Honestly, any distraction of little to no risk to the health of my kids is appreciated.  I'm always looking for suggestions too!  *hint hint*

Thankfulness 2013: Day Four

I am so incredibly excited to have a 'waterbaby' now.  Mr. Wyatt loves his baths and playing with water!  His sister (soon to be a four year old) still cries getting her hair washed and won't actually go into the water at a lake.  She is so confident that it surprises me when she shows her fear of water getting anywhere close to her head.

Happy clean baby!

I can't wait to see where her confidence takes her, but I'm thrilled and thankful for the different personalities in my kids.  Wyatt will be my pool and lake buddy, while Alyssa is my little movie goer and game playing partner right now.  I am looking forward to seeing what other talents and interests our kids develop and we can share with them.

Thankfulness 2013: Day One

This is a year full of firsts in our house because we moved in less than two weeks into this year.  So for the day after Halloween:

I'm so thankful for the family-friendly neighborhoods we live in the center of!

We went from a college neighborhood (two blocks from the university and surrounded by apartments), that partied all year long and didn't participate in holidays in a way that the children could participate, to our new suburb filled with families of all ages who celebrate holidays with lights, decorations, and trick-or-treating even.  We were able to walk rather than drive last night to enjoy the holiday that is so fun for kids who want to show off their costumes and of course get treats.

It is just such a nice change to have such a calm area!

Proof of Teeth!

I finally got a picture where he was willing to smile even with the phone or camera in front of his face.  Usually he just goes blank face or wide mouth but not smiling when he sees technology within grabbing (and chewing) distance!

Adorable, right?

...and then there were three.

It's that time of year again for this guard family.  Annual Training!  I am going two and a half weeks with a teething baby and a toddler milking the last half of age three for all it is worth in tantrums and stubbornness!  No backup.  My "battle buddy" is off keeping his skills honed for any future deployments.  So....

Day One:  Last coin lost at 5pm. I "ruined her birthday!" I was pretty sure I had a few months to plan that event but apparently I simply forgot what day of the year she was born AND forgot to plan a party.  Crap.  I look forward to the teen years when the storming to the room is accompanied by at least a half hour of sulking.  For now I get a 2 minute shouting from the door and then returning to sulking in my presence paired with the random fit over the same thing.

Baby Battles!

August 14th--  Happily nom-ing away on toys, he switches ever so subtly to Momma's finger, which produces a small shriek of pain from the victim.  Such a noise is vastly amusing and requires a couple gurgles of glee before attempting a repeat performance!  Momma bravely allows a finger into his mouth again in a discovery attempt.  The boy has a sharp object poking from the center of some swollen gums.  FINALLY!  The wave of relief rolling off of Momma was immediate.  We had confirmed our hopeful explanation of the near constant IBS (Irritable Baby Syndrome) and the few really nasty butts in the past couple days.

We had been treating him to numerous cold chewies and some well placed fever meds here and there previously but hadn't felt the tooth before that.  Sadly, the battle was not over.

Wyatt, already not to be outdone by a sister who has a full set of teeth to tauntingly utilize at every meal, decided to go for a twofer with his 'toofers'.  He has two sharp little front (bottom) teeth partially revealed.  The little tyrant gums won't let them go easily though.  They are still a frequent cause of turmoil for the little man who chews on EVERYTHING.  He is also convinced that after all this work, he is ready for any and every type of food that we consume.  I'd be willing to expand his menu....if he didn't still choke on the Gerber puffs.  Silly boy.

I still can't get a picture that displays any of the white lines that are eventually going to be two cute little daggers...er, teeth.  Mr. Wyatt believes that if no item is going to make its way into his mouth, then his tongue needs to act as bait for any other moment of his waking hours.

Six Months Ago

At this time back in January I had just turned 26 and had my first major surgery.  Honestly, being scared of the idea of surgery and the prospect of having it on my birthday was unnerving but my little guy was willing to go along with the plan and wait until the day after.  So today, because Wyatt is laid back and ready to go with the flow, he is 6 months old rather than 6 months and a day.

Weekend zoo fun.

He sits pretty well if he isn't tired.  He holds his own bottle when he doesn't want to be lazy (which if given the option he'll happily hand over the job).  He loves to eat his foods but gets impatient with the process still.  He doesn't mind baths or swimming overall unlike his sister.  Other than being late for a bottle, he is very calm and happy.  He keeps us on schedule even when we don't want to be...but rarely lets us use the car to knock him out long enough to get home.

He is a sweet baby boy who snuggles and wants nothing more than to hold my hair and marvel at the textures of everything he can grab.  If it can get in his mouth it seems even more magical!  He can scoot along but hasn't figured out the crawling pattern enough to get really cruising.  Toy pick-up is more crucial now because of that scoot being faster than you remember.  Playpens are NOT as fun as chasing down his sister's toys that are always just within scoot distance and the "frogger" is only acceptable for short bursts of time until he realizes that his sister is free to leave the room at a moment's notice.

Mister Wyatt has been nothing if not a relaxed baby.  He sleeps, eats, and well, yeah.  Just like every other baby out there except that he babbles rather than cries.  Smiles are abundant.  Snuggles are always welcome.  Giggles are contagious.  Chewing is mandatory.  And playing with his feet is one of his greatest joys.

There is nothing more satisfying than watching my two babies growing up together.  Seeing Alyssa get excited when he scoots across a blanket or babbles 'mama' (which is not a word yet even if the toddler is certain of it).

I'm having so much fun seeing him grow and learn!  I can hardly wait to see how far he goes over just the next six months.  I love my babies!

Vacation!

Never again.  Okay, maybe in a couple years.

We spent a whole week away from home.  With a toddler--who doesn't nap.  Yup.  Insane might be a little strong of a word but I'd think psychologically draining would be a minimum to aptly describe a vacation with two very young children.  Specifically a vacation that isn't touristy.

Water is so much fun if I'm dressed!

We went to my family's lake cabin.  Alyssa doesn't like to swim...or wade...or do anything with the water except sit on the dock and splash her feet.  Distraction and tiring activity #1...gone.  Oh sure, the rare moment of running through the waves splashing on the sand were there (I was given photographic evidence as I was not the one capable of getting her near water).  Too bad they were few and far between.

Sand playtime was a huge hit but unfortunately that is not nearly as energy spending as swimming.

Learning to Sit!

Wyatt decided to throw up between every.single.meal.  Not sick, not to the point where we were running to the doctor because he was under-nourished or getting dehydrated (no where close to this level thankfully).  Just a constant need for burp cloths to handle puddles of spit-up every half hour or so.  Laundromat--yay!

Walk of Flags 2013

The two vacation portions that were undiminished:  #1- Chris and I got the chance to go into town and see his veteran's flag finally.  They are put up by volunteers throughout the summer (daytime only) and the town is lined with over 1800 flags each time.  Each one represents a veteran and the sight of the town lined in these flags is gorgeous.  I grew up passing them and never thought I'd see one that personally means something to my family.

#2- We (adults) were able to watch the fireworks on the Fourth shooting over the lake.  Behind the treelines there are two more lakes.  I'm sure you can see in your mind a fraction of how amazing our show is every year.  My kids sleep like rocks.  Perfect! The only thing that would be better is if they could (HAPPILY) stay up to watch in awe and excitement the same show that I grew up watching.

Those kid's poles catch all the best fish!

From now on, our lake trips will be half weeks (four days or less).  I think our grasps on sanity and the toddler-ness adjustments will be preserved much better for this timeline.  Touristy vacations would be easier because there are places to go and distract them with....wear them out until naptime is back in the game!  (Dream on, Momma...)

Storytelling-- Toddler Style

Momma laughs.
Alyssa- "What is it?"
Momma- "The couch is eating Wyatt's legs."
Alyssa laughs- "Where Baby Wyatt's legs?"
Momma explains that he backed up under the couch and it just looks like the couch is eating him. - "Go tell Papa that the couch is eating Baby Wyatt."

Alyssa runs to back door and yells- "PAPA, IT A 'MERGENCY!"


My daughter is so smart.  If the couch was really eating us, she would know exactly what the situation should be labeled as....

Raising a Reader

Anyone know the secret?  People keep telling me that readers make readers.  If you read to your kid x minutes a day, they will love to read later on in life still...

Well, I call BS!  I am thrilled that my daughter seemingly loves books right now.  I have no idea if it will stick though.  I am a reader, but my parents certainly are NOT.  I don't know if I saw any books in our house besides the children's book collection that was available to me while growing up.  My mom has started to enjoy reading some books now that her kids are 16-26 years old.  It pains me to see how slowly she gets through a novel.  I used to rip through novels in what would be more accurate to count by hours rather than days.  I miss that.

Right now, I am lucky to finish one of my romance novels (300-400 pages) in a week!  If you're an addicted reader, you can feel the pain that accompanies the adjustment of pre-kids 2 days tops to a WEEK OR MORE for one book.

So, as a reader, I sincerely hope the amount of children's books that I am consuming in place of my novels will benefit my kids into a long and happy relationship with books in general life.  If not....well, I guess I'll be happy enough if they just realize the importance of proper English spelling and grammar. (Yes, I am 26 and already harping on that note.  I hate the texting language that I see being used in school papers or worse--job applications!!)

And just to show you a partial reason why I'll say I am a reader...here is part of my collection of books (most of which were collected prior to having children for my own personal enjoyment of a good fairytale):

Sadly, this really isn't all my books.  My collection ranges from (tons of) children's books and collection tomes, to a lot of romance novels, to informative Religious texts and commentary on said topic.  A bunch of interesting history books and a handful of old collector (looking) books found in thrift or antique stores make their way into my collection also.  Somewhere in the pile of unsorted totes are a few full of even more books.

Alyssa has her own shelves in her room.  Wyatt's collection has just started.

What it comes down to, is that I hope my kids will love books as much as I do.  If not, I hope they find a hobby that they LOVE.

First Foods! (Pictures and Video)

TaDa! Mmmm?

Waiting for the first bite...

The first food...I love it!  It is always fun to see how they react to new experiences and as expected, the impatience to be fed wins out for the very first bowl.  When he masters the whole gumming part we will up the consistency and pick out the first fun food!  YAY!  (Wow the doctor recommendations sure have changed in only 3 years...go ahead and talk to your pediatrician if you're close to this stage because we apparently could have skipped rice altogether now!)  Anyways...a small glimpse at meal time around here now:

I know....he was pretty boring in the video but c'mon, that rice stuff has NO flavor.  We can't expect anything exciting when he doesn't get to eat something exciting!

Loving the spoon thing

Four Months

My dear little Mister,

You are beginning to laugh.  You beg for your sister's attention whenever you can see her (or hear her).  You smile and flirt like it's your job and wow are you good at it.  You have everyone wrapped around your finger simply using the charm that is inherent to you.

Keep that happiness that causes you to smile nearly every waking moment.  It will bless your life more than anything else can.

You have been playing with your toes for a couple weeks.  Don't think this isn't a big detail.  You're learning!  You're discovering that you are so much more than you realize even if it is just that you have toes.  Soon you'll learn that you can roll over past your side.  You'll learn that your smile can make others happy rather than just get you attention.  You'll discover talents big and small.  You'll amaze yourself with some things and amaze your Momma with everything.

You babble, you grin, you roll to your side.  You chew on toys, you stare at EVERYTHING.  You want to know what each thing is and what it does--then you want to nom on it.  You may not be coordinated enough to do many things, but your mind is working it out and soon you'll accomplish exactly what you wish to do.

You are my baby.  You're a great sleeper, a good eater, and a snuggler.  You make our family happy.

You tire my arms (I guessed 23lbs when you were just shy of 17lbs--c'mon, Momma's been carting you around for four months now!) but I love to hug you too much to put you down.

Your timing is impeccable because you always know just when to be hungry (right as I start cooking for your sister or eat something myself), but you're so eager to grab your own bottle right now that I am clinging to your feedings because soon you won't want me to hold you or need me to help you with those bottles.

You are a thumb-sucker.  Try as I might (and I am STUBBORNLY TRYING), you prefer your thumb to a nuk.  My stance is still that I will be able to take a nuk away much more legally and painlessly than a thumb.  I'll get you to nom on your pacifier somehow....

You're growing and I love and regret it.  I get to watch you learn and discover and enjoy life.  I also get to watch you leave stages behind where I wish to prolong them just a bit more.

I have dreams for you.  They change daily.  I want for you to follow YOUR dreams though.  I want you to discover YOUR talents and passions.  I want you to find YOUR happiness.  I'll always have dreams for your sister and you but I'll always desire your happiness first.

So grow up as you will, Wyatt.  Be happy.  Indulge in life as a child.  Keep charming those you meet.  Keep flirting.  Keep on learning, never stop.

Your Momma will always be rooting for you.

Happy Mother's Day

Wyatt wanted to give me a present today.

This was the face doing baby laughs/talking at me as I cleaned up the side of my jeans in the Best Buy bathroom today.  The lovable brat decided burping wasn't as productive as spit-up.

Such a freaking cute boy regardless, he had me laughing most of the clean up process.

To all you Moms, Happy Mother's Day.
To all you trying to become Moms, I am thinking of you today.
To all of you missing your Mom, I am wishing you happy memories today.
To all you women, you shape others' lives and we love you.
Happy Mother's Day!

Wyatt--3 Months

Wyatt is growing like a weed.  Roughly 18lbs and grinning like any kid who gets away with stealing a cookie whenever his sister deigns to 'play' with him.  He is 3 months old today and is thriving.  We love how chatty he gets when he is awake.

Seriously, this Mister is just too sweet and I love that this time my baby snuggles me.  (Alyssa lifted her head and never put it back down on me...sigh...)  So I'm going to go snuggle my quickly growing baby boy while he still will!  Happy 3 months, little man!

Fingers...they do tricks.

As you can see, we have hit a new milestone.  He is now grabbing and manipulating items that are given to him!  He is almost 3 months now so it was only a matter of time but I was thrilled to catch it on camera.  BTW--have you seen these stuffed animals?  They are "Breathables" that I spotted at Target.  I thought it looked strange with that meshy fabric (almsot looks like those sports shorts/jersey material) so I picked one up and read about it.  Then I tested it.  You can BREATHE through the fabric as easily as, well, breathing.  It is easier by far than breathing through a painters/dust mask and those give you a little room still.  It is meant to be safe for infants to play with ("crib safe").  They keep disappearing through clearances so have your eyes open and check them out...pretty neat things I thought.

In other finger related news....in an attempt at keeping this Nuk-less girl from destroying her fingers by chewing them off, we coated them in vinegar.  (I thought this might be a little more child-safe than the bleach that my mother tried with me and my nail chewing habit.)

Hands drying.

First taste...

This was the initial reaction.

In case you're wondering, it didn't work one iota.  In under a half hour she was sucking on her fingers again.  I don't know if it wore off--I wasn't about to try them to find out--or if she just thought they tasted like pickles.  In retrospect, as pickles are a favorite food group (did you know that cheese and pickles are part of the food group called Indispensable?), it probably was doomed to fail.  My husband thinks hot sauce is next on the list to try...Do you have any other suggestions that won't fry her tastebuds?

Taggies!! Product Review

So with the 6 month clothes came something that I snatched up when I was out shopping just before Wyatt came along.  Notice anything very different about these jammies?

How about now?

Yup, those are some little silky tags sewn right to the jammie fronts.  You know, all those toys and lovies that have that silky texture that fascinates many babies in the world...they added it to the sleepers now!  No more worries about a lovie in the crib.  No more worries that they can't find their lovie in the middle of the night at slightly older ages either.  Well, okay, they will still probably cry out in the night for their favorite lovie toy if it goes into hiding.  For Wyatt's age though, you can't get much better than having this safe alternative in bed with him to soothe himself.

Awesome job, Taggies!  Thanks for bringing the toys safely to bedtime.

One of Those Moments...

We love to snuggle them.  We love their tiny noises, fingers, toes, lips, nose.  We love the big smiles on the small faces.  We love the tiny clothes...well, until we have to launder them.  Our babies are our tiny obsessions.

We adore our little men and ladies...and then the day comes.  That day sneaks up on all of us eventually.  That day hit me smack in the face two days ago.  My little man....my TWO MONTH little man....he just upgraded to the 6 month clothing.  Seriously!  Just break my Momma heart.  I was so excited to put him in the onesie that I had, but about 3 minutes of playtime on the diaper changer after getting dressed and I was not so thrilled by the idea anymore.  I realized that my big headed baby had just hit a new milestone and had no clue how exciting and saddening it makes his Momma.

Isn't he cute though??  I'm totally loving the onesie.  As a Disney freak, I couldn't pass this one up in the Disney Movie Rewards site.  Their rewards aren't always the same so this may or may not be there when you go looking for it (because I know everyone will want one!).  So enjoy the cuteness while I go snuggle my little, but always growing, "MisterMister".