Sleepy Dust is Back

When buying baby carriers, mamas often talk about sleepy dust.  Sleepy Dust is that magical quality of the baby carrier which makes your baby so comfortable they lull to sleep.  Early on, Little Miss often fell asleep in any of her carriers, while hiking, talking at the coffee shop or any other activity.  It was great- I could carry on with my life while she napped.  This week I wore Little Miss for a hike and while I was walking I thought about past naps she took on my back and came to the conclusion that they were probably over.  (I think her upcoming 2nd birthday is making me all sappy and nostalgic.) 

This morning Little Miss and I decided to have a dance party.  Most normal dance parties involve music playing while both mama and child dance together.  Our dance parties involve music playing while Little Miss is held and I dance.  She really likes being up in the ring sling for dance parties and that makes it much easier on me.  She wasn't up for too long when she started getting droopy and laying her head on me.  It was a little weird because it was before lunch, but I just went with it and swayed slowly while the sleepy dust kicked in and she drifted off to sleep.  I was able to capture a few selfies of my beautiful sleeping beauty.

Look at how those beautiful cheeks just go on for days.  Not only did she peacefully slumber for a while up in the ring sling, I was able to undo the fabric and transfer her to the bed so she could take a long nap without me having to hold her.  A morning of remembering what it's like to have my baby back? Priceless.  

Dining Out: Then and Now

Last night we went out to dinner at Jason's Deli.  As we were driving there hubs commented that it was the first place we ever took Little Miss out for dinner.  We thought it'd be fun to commemorate the night with some photos to look at how things have changed.

THEN: (May 2013)

We sat at a booth in the back corner and had to take turns holding her and eating with one hand while the other person got to eat.

NOW: (April 2015)

We still sat at a booth in the back corner, but hubs and I both got to use both hands to eat.  Instead of gazing at each other lovingly, Little Miss and I took turns giving each other the stink eye.

And, instead of a nice milk dinner in days past, we gave Little Miss her first ice cream cone.

She liked it.  Here's hoping to many more successful meals out.

Puddle Stomping on a Whole New Level

This week we were lucky enough to connect with some out of town friends just passing through.  They had some time before heading back home, so we decided to meet a local nature park to let the kids run off some steam.  This park is fun because there's no traditional playground, just a natural playscape.  There were lots of large tree branches, a sand pit, a little hiking trail and some other fun things.  I was busy catching up with my friend, so I didn't take many pictures.  

At one point, we started walking down the small hiking trail for the kiddos when we spotted an abandoned 'ambulance' off in the distance, in a large pool of mud.  The little friend wanted to get to that thing so badly, but his dad wouldn't' let him, citing the 4 hour drive home in wet clothes as reason to stay away (rightfully so).  Luckily, Little Miss was already filthy, so we sent her to get the truck.  She dutifully got it, although had to stop several times to examine all the mud slipping between her toes.  Here she is after triumphantly grabbing the truck for her friend.

Obviously, it was covered in mud and we walked back to the main area where there was a water pump we could use to rinse it off.  When she handed it to her friend, he exclaimed, "No! Dirty!" and wouldn't touch it.  Good thing she was a mess anyway because retrieving the truck wound up being a wasted endeavor.  

After several encounters with difficult stains so early in the season, I finally acknowledged I needed to add stain removal to my skill set.  Thank goodness for the inter webs.  A few ingredients, a soak in the sink and the clothes were clean as a whistle after washing.  We had a blast at the park and I'm hoping for many more muddy days in the future.  

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Hubs and I celebrated 3 wonderful married years together this week.  Here we are on our wedding day:

And here we are three years later:

What a treat it is to get to be by this man's side as we grow our little family.

Peanut, Peanut Butter....

We had a really lovely week weather-wise.  The temperatures have been pretty moderate and we've been outside quite a bit.  Since hubs fished out our old patio set for the balcony, we've gotten to enjoy several meals out there.  In fact, when it's time to eat, Little Miss often says, "Si!" and runs to the door and points outside to indicate her preference for dining al fresco.  

One day we had lunch outside and Little Miss requested more peanut butter on her toast.  I was about to get it and do it for her, when she picked up the knife sitting on the table, dipped it into the jar, got an appropriate amount out and put it on her toast.  She's capable of so much more than I give her credit for.  

 To prove it wasn't a fluke, she did it several more times and even performed her latest skill on video. Here she is licking the knife, just like Mama.

We recently went to a parenting course at a Montessori school and the teacher mentioned in passing that a 3.5 year old should be able to make their own scrambled eggs.  I thought she was crazy, but witnessing this and seeing how eager Little Miss is when helping me in the kitchen lets me know that I need to step up my game.

Lawn Girl

This week we were at Home Depot and Little Miss Explorer was busy checking everything out.  The riding mowers were very alluring and she simply had to test them out.  Her Grandpa would be happy to know that she went for the Deere first.

I mean, the steering wheel was fun and all, but this other one had all the cool levers on the side:

It really was tough to decide which one she preferred, but after talking it over, we decided that she should probably defer her decision until her feet can hit the pedals.

Miss Sassafrass

One thing I really love about Little Miss is that she has a sassy side.  She knows what she wants and she does what she can to make things happen for herself.  She is a daddy's girl 100% The other morning hubs was leaving for the day and waited at the door to give Little Miss a kiss goodbye.  As he squatted down to reach her, she turned as they were hugging, kicked up both her legs, and shot me this look.

Although Daddy did still have to leave, the strategy delayed him for a few minutes.  Gotta give points to the girl for creativity!

Like Daddy, Like Daughter #452

Both are sugar addicts, to the core.

That's her licking the maple syrup lid she retrieved from the fridge by herself.  Lord help me.

Toilet Time (Kind of)

Lately Little Miss has become preoccupied with her diaper.  She loves taking it off and streaking through the apartment, she loves putting it on her stuffed friends, and she loves demanding a change as soon as it's wet or soiled.  I begrudgingly acknowledge that potty training might not be too far off.  Since Little Miss often grabs her diaper and gives an uncomfortable look signaling it's time for a change, we've started asking if she wants to sit on the potty- we even bought a seat that has a smaller seat attached that can go down for her.  It didn't take us long to grow tired of taking off her pants and diaper only to have her refuse sitting on the toilet.  One evening we tried having her sit on the toilet without taking off her pants.  She thought that was a grand game and even flashed one of her rare camera smiles.

She had fun for an evening, but she's only hit and miss about sitting on the toilet these days, even though she insists on constant diaper changes.  Hopefully the more she sits on the toilet, the less intimidating it'll be to her and it will make eventual potty training that much easier.

My Sick Snuggle Bug

Last week, Little Miss woke up as normal, but went out to the couch with Daddy and cuddled back to sleep for quite a while.  We were all happy for the extra sleep, but when she woke up and it was time for Daddy to get ready to start his day, he mentioned that she felt warm.  Sure enough, she had a fever.  She refused breakfast in favor of laying on the couch.  

This was her first illness as a toddler and as I thought about how to approach the day, I decided to break our no-tv policy.  We spent the day cuddled on the couch watching tv.  She passed on Winnie the Pooh after a while.  There was no interest in Daniel Tiger or Ella the Elephant.  However, Caillou was the bomb-diggity.  We watched that the entire day.  She dozed off and on throughout the day and would tolerate me getting up to go to the bathroom, but too much longer than that and she began calling for me.  I was so sorry that she wasn't feeling well, but I adored a day just cuddling my baby girl.  Luckily, the fever broke in the afternoon and she hasn't asked for tv since.  

While I don't want her to be sick again anytime soon, I am looking forward to lots of cuddles again someday.

Taking Care of Baby

Little Miss is developing a bit of a baby obsession.  I can't believe I don't have pictures of this, because she's been working at it for a while now, but Little Miss can properly diaper her dolls.  She practices so often that I had to ask for some Size 1 diapers from a friend so she would have something in a more appropriate size and I could protect her diaper stash.  

When we go out to play, she finds whatever babies may be there.

She's pretty obsessed with the double stroller and putting babies into it whenever we go to this place.  

Now, some of the mamas in our group have started having their second babies and Little Miss is in heaven.  She gets excited, points and exclaims when babies arrive to play dates, watches the babies and even gives them gentle touches.  She was over the moon when one of my kind mama friends allowed her to feed the baby for reals.

I wonder how long it'll be before she offers her diapering services.  I'm so glad my friends indulge her interest so that she can get it out of her system before we return home. 

Self-Guided Hikes

Little Miss and I still do worn hikes about once a week.  It's a great way for me to get in some exercise and Little Miss provides lots of resistance training on the hills.  Lately, we've also started incorporating some toddler-led hikes.  On this hike, she decided to stop on the road on the way to the trail and check out the stream.  I hope she always takes the time to observe and explore.

Here she is at the end of another recent hike checking out the bench at the trailhead.

Fun Times at School

I usually don't hear much about what happens at Mother's Day Out.  It's one of my least favorite things about the program.  However, lately there have been several theme days and the teacher has shared some pictures.  

Pajama Day: This was the easiest one for me.  Little Miss loved heading out in her pjs and looks like she had fun doing puzzles and ball pits with the kids.

Western Day: Personally, I hate putting costumes together and buying stuff you'll only wear for a couple of hours and never wear again.  I just find it a waste of time, energy and resources.  Luckily, when Western Day was announced I realized that I had some overalls on hand.  The teacher provided the hat and horse :)

Easter Egg Hunt:  I'm not sure why they chose to do this at school when there were tons around town for weeks, but I just shut my mouth and went with it.  Because we have such a small apartment, I wasn't able to buy a big basket, but Little Miss liked her bag just as much.

The name of the game is her having fun.  Now that she enjoys going into the classroom, as long as she's happy, I'm happy.

Sunday Morning Geek Out

I get Sunday mornings to myself.  Usually, I sleep in, go for a run, or just play on the computer.  However, something's been irking me for a while now that I decided couldn't wait another day to get fixed.  Butterbean's art cabinet devolved into a complete mess.  She has lots of art materials and sensory stuff, but I wasn't wanting to ever do it because it was such a mess.  Stuff was stacked on top of more stuff, and it was a huge jumbled mess.

In all his cleaning, hubs unearthed a bunch of plastic shoeboxes and I knew what had to be done.  With Little Miss safely out of the way, I was able to pull everything out, organize it, and even use my handy-dandy label maker to get it properly labeled.  Now when I open the cabinet, this is what I'm greeted by:

I can't tell you what a difference it's made for me.  I'm so much happier to get out art materials and do new projects with her.  Putting things away is also simple.  

As a side benefit, it's also made it easier for other people to use.  Mamaw came to visit and she could easily access activities for Little Miss.  I'll be looking forward to carrying this over to our next space as well. Oh, and don't worry, I still got to sleep in.

Dragon Park

We have a park in town with a huge mosaic dragon complete for climbing on.  It's a really fun park.  Not only does it have a normal playground area, but you can (as I said) climb the dragon:

Go through tunnels:

Climb pretty high to really see the dragon:

and get cuddles from friends:

This park is the best.

My Spring Beauty

My how I wish this camera took better pictures/I was a better photographer.

Swinging Solo

It's no secret that Little Miss loves swinging at the park.  It's taken her a few months of practice, but she's finally figured out how to swing on the 'big swings' by herself.  

From my vantage point, this was my view for the better part of 15 minutes.

I'm loving watching her develop her independence.

Spring! 2015

When we came back south from our spring break, Spring had officially stepped into full swing.  The grass was suddenly green and the weather was more like what we're used to.  The day after we got back we were able to enjoy this walk and check out the parking deck nearby.

We even got to wear shorts!  Happy days are here again.

The 'Changing Table'

When we're at home, we have a special cushion for diaper changes which makes our life much easier.  When we go to Grandma's house, we use the dryer.  We're going to have to put on our thinking hats to find a new space, because it's not going to work too much longer!

THEN: (June 2013, 6 weeks)

NOW: (Mar 2015, 22 mos)

Spring Break 2015!

It's been quite a few years since I've thought about Spring Break.  I mean, there were some pretty epic ones in college (also some pretty tame), and there were those during my teaching years, but I just never really thought about how it'd impact my life anymore.  Little Miss' school follows the local school district's schedule and I found myself wondering what to do with our Spring Break.
Since our week of garage organization got sabotaged by an ice storm, hubs and I decided that it would be a good idea for me to take Little Miss up north to visit Grandma and he could tackle the garage by himself.
Little Miss and I made our first solo trip North in November and it went really well.  We stopped in Indy on the way and broke up the trip.  This was the first time that I was attempting to do the whole thing solo.  Little Miss was a superstar.  Like last time, we left at nap time.  After she woke up, I handed back a large snack and made sure she had lots of activities within reach.  This time we stopped at an outlet mall to stretch our legs.  She loved running up and down the hallways and sitting on all the fun moving toys.  A few hours later we made a stop for dinner at Cracker Barrel.  I love that for toddlers because there are lots of great options she'll actually eat, and they have a lot to keep her busy while we wait.  This time, Little Miss grabbed two stuffed toys and didn't let them go until our name was called.

As we left dinner it was getting dark and it wasn't too long before Little Miss went to sleep in the back and I could finish the drive.
Being back at the farm was fun.  We went splashing in puddles and Little Miss tracked these adorable, tiny footprints on the driveway.

We went to the filthiest playground ever (seriously, check out her bum) where Little Miss discovered a bar she could hang from.  That was really fun.

We went to story time at the local library.  It had a fun firetruck to climb on:

Puzzles you could put together:

And, of course, stories.  However, the real hit was a large stuffed seal.  We left story time repeatedly to spend time on the seal.

The weather up there was pretty nice- upper 50's and sunny. We had a nice walk on a local greenway one afternoon with Grandma.

Much of the snow that was there when we arrived melted away, but there was enough to explore.  Honestly, this is how I like to do snow- play with it in little amounts when you're not dressed up in tons of layers.
We had a lot of fun up north, but our week was up and it was time to head back down.  To break up the trip, we stayed with my high school best friend's mom.  Little Miss was a bit apprehensive in the new place, and Ma offered a teddy bear for comfort.  Little Miss was instantly smitten and was given the bear as a farewell gift.  We stopped at a mall where we could stretch our legs.  Little Miss tried on this hat at one store and wouldn't take it off.  She looked like a cute kiddie model.  Naturally, I had to buy it for her.

We then went outside to do some test driving.

After all this fun, we were able to make it home in pretty good time.  We're ready for our next adventure!