Quiet Golf

In Brandt's mind there are two versions of golf: mini golf and "quiet" golf.  Mini golf gets expensive if we were to go every time he asks, so we took the kids to the putting green at a local golf course.  Brandt is getting better, but this was Lillian's first time so most of my time was spent chasing her around making sure she didn't fall into the sand trap.

Monkey Business

Lillian is 23 months old.  All of a sudden (Monday-ish) she started climbing out of her crib in the middle of the night.  I decided to convert her crib to the toddler bed so she wouldn't fall as far when she climbed out.  Last night was the first night of "freedom" from her crib.  It didn't go well.

I was up every 1-1.5 hours with her.  I couldn't figure out if she discovered the freedom and wanted to roam, or if she just kept falling out of the little opening near the guard rail on her bed.  Or both.  I am exhausted.  Joe is exhausted.  Lillian is a royal cranky-pants today because she's exhausted.  The crib-to-bed conversion didn't go well.

She also started climbing up the play kitchen in her room and standing on it.  I swear this kid climbs more than B ever did at this age.

Happy Spring!

It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ...

I spent Sunday morning with two good friends of mine.  We got together for breakfast to celebrate my birthday ... we have a birthday breakfast tradition.  Cindy made wonderful french toast and served fruit, coffee & mimosas.  Very enjoyable birthday festivities, and I was so glad to spend time with Cindy & Gina.  Cindy works full time, and since I've started working part time, we hardly ever see each other. 

Cindy has a 4 year old daughter and was so kind to give me two bags full of 2T & 3T clothes to take home.  I sorted through everything and was excited to find adorable clothes & 2 pairs of cowboy boots (I love boots!).  But I also found this in the bag:

She loves it.

Knowing When to Say When

I still breastfeed my 15 month old baby, partly because she is comforted by it and partly because I know she is my last baby and I'm holding onto her baby-hood as long as possible.  She doesn't drink much cow's milk, maybe an ounce a day, so I know that she needs the breast milk to compensate.

But I'm also still getting up with her at least once, usually twice, each night.  And it's not like she's a new baby that needs to eat every few hours.  It's just her comfort, and a way for me to get her back to sleep within 10 minutes so I can go back to sleep.

At her 15 month check up she weighed 22lbs 8oz, which is 50th percentile for weight, so I know she's getting the nutrition and fat that she needs to grow.  But I also worry that she doesn't eat a lot of solid foods because she prefers to nurse.  Both of my kids don't eat a lot (or sleep well, for that matter) and I'm getting quite frustrated.  I want them to eat 3 meals & 2 snacks a day, but instead their eating patterns are scattered and they rarely eat at the table for more than 3 minutes.  I've gotten into the bad habit of letting them eat on the couch, or letting them carry their snacks around the house.

And B doesn't eat well at all.  His food intake consists of a predictable rotation of chicken nuggets, pasta, carrots & ranch, lettuce & ranch, apples, pears, bananas ... sometimes green beans (with ketchup).  I don't know if I need to enforce a "tough love" approach and just start making 1 meal for all of us to eat and then letting him go hungry if he chooses to not eat it.  Then maybe he will eventually give in and eat something new?

I have a lot of challenges right now with my children, mostly food & sleeping issues that I need to remedy.  If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate the advice!

Hi

I know.  It's been a while.  I have no excuses other than I was in a funk.  I wasn't feeling productive or good at much with my day-to-day life, so I didn't feel inspired to blog about anything.  Pretty much this is my summary: blah, blah, blah ... stuff happened.  Going forward I will try to be more active with posting.  I've been good at twitter because it's quick and easy and doesn't require a huge time commitment.  So read that if you want more details of the past two months.

Speaking of keeping up with blogging, how do others do it?  Specifically The Pioneer Woman, MckMama, The Spohrs are Multiplying ... because they have children and household responsibilities and other things to accomplish on a daily basis, yet they manage to be VERY active with blogging and tweeting.  I have absolutely no idea how they do it.  I also have no idea how their houses are not falling apart.

Anyway, here are a few quick pictures:

For more pictures, click here.

Proof

I posted earlier about Lillian walking a lot more.  Not that you doubted me, but here's a little video anyway.

Headcold Hell

I have been sick for over a week, which is why I haven't posted much.  My head & face have been throbbing everyday, and my throat has been sore all week.  This cold really took a toll, probably the longest I've been sick in a very long time ... if not, ever.  I'm finally on antibiotics (because I'm pretty sure it turned into a sinus infection) after going to urgent care twice, but the doctor only gave me the amoxicillin after I asked for it.  She seemed hesitant to prescribe it since I told her I was nursing.  Which is annoying because I already feel guilty about exposing Lillian to anti-depressants since she was a week old.

My parents were here most of last week so that helped a lot - I was able to rest while they took care of Lillian and Brandt.  They even took them both to the mall to play and have dinner.  That was the first time anyone has taken Lillian anywhere without me.  And it felt GOOD.  It's bittersweet, though, knowing that my baby won't be a baby for much longer ... but I'm also happy for the 'freedom'.  And speaking growing up, Lillian walks 90% of the time, now.  Two weeks ago she took her first few steps, and now she only crawls to find something that she can pull herself up on and then she takes off walking.  She's TOO LITTLE to walk!  But it's the cutest thing ever.

Brandt decided on his Halloween costume.  He wants to be a Super Reader from Super Why.  We found a really good deal on the costume at Kmart (where I NEVER shop, but I've now discovered how cheap some of their stuff is so I will be going back for Christmas toys) and I picked it up for him yesterday.  He doesn't want to take it off, but since it's a cheap costume I'm worried it will fall apart before Halloween.  So I told him he has to wait until Halloween to wear it.

 He's looking at his cape because he really wants to fly when he wears it - and when the wind blows the cape he gets really excited.

Now I'm off to catch up with everything that I didn't do last week while I was sick.  I hate falling behind.  And I feel like I need to disinfect the whole house.  Poor Lillian got sneezed on quite a few times when I was nursing her.  Oops.

First Steps

I can't believe she's already starting to take her first steps.

I'm a Planner

I just got a few birthday supplies for Lillian's first birthday.  Birthday Express had free shipping on $25 orders with the following code: bdxp25

This is the theme I chose for her birthday:

Lillian's First Eegee's

Watermelon flavor.  I think she likes it.

Like, Totally Awesome!

My little 80's girl, thanks to my friend Elizabeth and the adorable outfit she gave Lillian.

Do Over

I had previously posted about decorating Lillian's room.  I loved the wall decals that my mom got so I went online and searched for more styles by the same company. Of course I found one I liked better so I showed m mom and we both agreed that Lillian needed it in her room, too. And since the wall decals are removable & re-positionable, I could just put the original tree on a different wall and the new tree on the wall by her crib.  The only downside is the new tree is a little shorter so I had to position it off the floor about 18 inches.  I plan to get a little toy box or other storage unit to put there so you won't see the blank spot under the tree.  But here it is, the finished project:

This is where I moved the original tree. Please disregard the mess, I had to take a quick picture to satisfy my mother because she was eager to see the room.

Local Celebrities

Not really, but Brandt & Lillian were in a commercial for a local baby store.  Here's the link:

A2Z Babies & Beyond

Brandt is pushing the shopping cart (in his swim suit, because I didn't think he'd be in the commercial), and Lillian is in the group shot at the end sitting on the floor on the left.

Cheap & Easy

I finally got around to decorating Lillian's room ... now that she's 8.5 months old.  When I was pregnant we got as far as painting the walls and putting up curtains and a cornice.  I just never decided how I wanted to decorate, and since newborns don't really care what their room looks like, I wasn't in a hurry.

My mom, however, was in a hurry.  And it's been bugging the crap out of her that Lillian's walls were "bare."  So she took matters into her own hands and bought some decorations, which with my mom can be hit or miss since our tastes are usually quite different.  She's more pink & lace & dolls, and I'm ... not.  Much to her disappointment.  But I do have to say that her decoration for Lillian's room was perfect.  And super easy.

The peel & stick wall decals were so easy and they almost match her bedding set, which is Lovebird by Bananafish.  And something else WONDERFUL about the decals: THEY'RE MADE IN THE USA!  Not in China, like almost everything else.  Here's what the tree looks like finished in Lillian's room.

Issuing a Retraction

Apparently Lillian reads my blog because for lunch today she ate half a container of yogurt with some apple/blueberry mixed in.  And she was going after it like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Although I think there are far greater things than sliced bread.  Like indoor plumbing.  Or the Internet.  Or preschool.

At least we're making positive strides toward eating more food. 

She's already rebelling against what I say.

Eating Disorder

Lillian was 8 months old on June 19th and she still refuses to eat "solids."  I've tried purees, yogurt, pieces of banana for her to gnaw on ... she really has a hard time eating anything other than boob.  It's kind of funny to watch; she gags and makes all kinds of horrible faces whenever I try to feed her.  But it's mostly frustrating.  And I've gotten some conflicting advice (which is nothing new when it comes to childcare).  The pediatrician said that if she's still refusing solids by her 9 month check up then she will have to see an occupational therapist.  But other moms have told me that breast milk (or formula) should still be the primary source of nutrition the first year and that other food is only for practice, and that I shouldn't worry about it yet.  But it's hard to not worry, since I know most babies are eating food by now, and I know Brandt was a rockstar eater by this age.  But at least I can rest assured that Lillian is not lacking in any way.  My breast milk seems to be sustaining her just fine, considering she is quite a chunky monkey.

Piggies

For more pictures, go here.

I've Got Skills

Very basic sewing skills, but I'm trying to get better.  I made some BabyLegs for Lillian out of $2 Target knee socks and they turned out alright.  Not spectacular, but I'm sure I'll get better if I keep practicing.  And I'm going to take a Sewing Basics class at Joann Fabrics in a few weeks so hopefully that will help.  I have my grandmother's olllllllllld sewing machine and I've already managed to screw it up - I have to learn out to re-thread the bobbin through the bottom.  It's fun, though, because I have flashbacks of helping my grandmother sew, and I remember her showing me basic sewing concepts.  I remember threading the needles for her because she had a hard time seeing the eye of the needle.  Of course last night I had a hard time seeing the eye of the needle.

Here's a few pictures of my BabyLegs.  I used the basic tutorial on Little Birdie Secrets.

Sorry for the funny face she's making, the flash makes her squint.

All In The Family

My dad worked for the Budweiser distributor in Phoenix for 30+ years, so my first Halloween costume in 1980 was a Budweiser jumpsuit.  I was the Bud Baby.  Lillian will not be able to wear the costume this Halloween because she will be too big for it, so I decided to take her picture wearing it today.

1980

2010

Sadly, we're missing the white onesie with the Budweiser & Michelob patch on front.