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!