Stop Growing...

Stop Growing already…..would ya?

I remember my Mom saying this to me at some point,

I thought she had totally lost it.

These days I am beginning to think she wasn’t all that crazy!

Maybe it’s that The Boss will be two in about 6 weeks,

Or maybe it’s because I've been visiting lots of babies,

Maybe it’s just something in the water?

The Boss has grown from a Baby to a full person overnight.

Mr. D and I stare at each other in shock at the things coming out of her mouth.

Full on sentences,

Preferences,

And just general conclusions of the events around her.

When I was on maternity leave with her, she was my little buddy.

Her cheery, loving personality made me smile everyday.

I would chatter to her and she would grin back.

It was like being out with my Bestie.

I told my Hubby that she didn't have a choice,

She had to my best friend from now on.

Now when I go out with her, it’s her doing all the talking,

And me grinning in amazement of what a beautiful little girl she’s become.

I love everything about this little girl.

I love…

• That she brings me a coffee from her kitchen every morning while I straighten my hair.
• When she sings along to the ABC’s and claps, stomps, and shouts hurray because she is “Happy and She Knows It”.
• How she yelled “zucchini” with excitement when the Japenes chef started chopping it on the grill at Benihana.
• That she asks “Okay Mommy?” if she hears a loud noise or if I drop something.
• When she yells “Bye” to each of her friends by name and waves to each of them when leaving daycare.
• That it’s a reunion of kindered spirits every morning when I go to get her up.
• When she grabs my face gently to give me a kiss and then hugs me, completely unprompted.
• That she is potty trained and is teaching every baby, stuffed animal and toy she owns to go potty.
• Whenever she sees a Starbucks cup, no matter where we are she says "Mommy's coffee".
• How much she loved Sea World...while other kids were bored and looking around she was yelling "Go...JUMP!" to the whales.  The people around us were killing themselves laughing.
• Her enthusiasm for everything we do!

Baby Girl if you are reading this, and I fear too quickly you will be, can you PLEASE stop growing?  It’s happening way too fast….Mommy’s not ready yet! 

Spring Cleaning plus Toddler Proofing

You know those days that are just jam packed?  Those are the days when The Girl decides to show me how much she has grown.  Don't get me wrong...I love spring cleaning, there is something about tidying and purging that makes me feel accomplished.  However,  day after we get home from Florida is not the day I feel prepared for this type of project unless it's for her safety...and this time it was.

Enter messy linen/medicine closet.

 Not only did I not know she was strong/smart enough to open the closet, I did not know she was tall enough to get the Baby Advil out and bring it to me saying "I need medicine."  Yup, The Girl knows a good thing when she finds it.  Baby Advil is like liquid gold in cherry flavoured form.  That stuff works within seconds of entering her mouth and apparently, she likes it.  After I got over the shock I knew that very minute was when I would clear my schedule and ensure my child was not high on "medicine" without parental consent and supervision.

A little revamp and we were ready to go.  Unfortunately for her, the "medicine is was too high to reach so she will have to settle for a snuggle in the clean towels for her fun.

 

Potty Training 101

I hate changing diapers.
It's not the day to day diapers that bother me,
but those in public that make me the most crazy.
You're out visiting friends when you smell a walk by stink bomb.
Everyone in the room looks at you,
as if you were the one who filled your pants.

You grab your Lil' muffin and excuse yourself to a private place.
It's not that I don't love the alone time with my girl,
but seriously.....
she always picked the most interesting part of the conversation to do her business.
No one likes the smelly kid.

I decided when The Boss turned one that I would start toilet training.
We would put her on the potty periodically and see how it went.
Some days we would sit forever.
We would wait and wait.
We sang songs, and read books.
When she went we would celebrate with praise and a treat  
(crackers...she called them cookies and we didn't correct her).

She made progress, but we were travelling a lot,
and she had two ear infections so we didn't push her.
Then in October (she was 17 months) I we got serious.
I set December 25 as our goal.
Every night after dinner she went straight to the potty.
At first we sat for a long time,
but eventually she was asking to go as soon as we finished eating.
Once she caught on I added after lunch the days I was home.
I bought a travel seat and put her on no matter where we were.
Consistency is key!

When I felt confident in our progress I got our daycare involved.
They would put her on after lunch to get started,
and more often she got comfortable and would go for them.

At the beginning of December we hit a road block.
She would go when put on the potty,
but wouldn't tell us when she needed to go.
Those easy-ups are just to comfy,
so we moved to underwear.
She needed to feel uncomfortable, and that she did.
The first accident was one of the last.
I remember clearly the look on her face,
and the way she waddled over to me.
Eventually, with permission from our daycare provider,
we sent her to daycare in underwear.

We visited Florida over Christmas and I worried she would have accidents.
but she was a champ.
Even though she wore underwear at home I had her in easy ups.
An accident is much worse than a walk by stink bomb when visiting friends.
I was worried that with all the excitement and change she might forget.
Not the case at all.
This Girl was on it.
Asking constantly for the potty and telling anyone who would listen that she had gone.

I knew we were fully trained on the plane ride home,
I had her in an easy-ups again just in case!
She insisted on the plane she needed the "potty".
I started with "No, I think your okay."
Again she tried "Potty Mommy, Potty."
I said "Just go in your easy up".
I know, terrible parenting...have you seen an air plane bathroom?
She started crying and said "No, potty, potty."
She won, and we went to the potty.
Success!
Even in the smallest,
grossest bathroom,
amongst turbulence,
The Girl went!

Now she goes anywhere no matter what,
and yes I take pictures of her doing so.
Do you blame me?
How hilarious is she on the potty wearing her faux fur?

So 2012 will be diaper free for our family!
I'm so proud of the girl!

Scarlet....what?

The Boss has Scarlet Fever....
That's Right,
She went back in time to 1850 and caught Scarlet Fever.

It's actually a lot more common than you'd think.
It's a strain of strep throat.
So, since The Girl showed no symptoms,
and didn't even whine,
it turned into Scarlet Fever.

We had a bunch of plans this weekend that my Hubby ended up attending alone.
Plans changed!
Instead of dinner parties and shopping,
I battled fevers between 102 and 103.8,
watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,
and cuddled a steaming hot baby.
We also took a trip to the clinic for antibiotics.
We're back on amoxicillin!

Luckily we have new Christmas jams,
new toys,
and colouring books to keep us busy.
I have to give The Girl credit,
She really is a good little patient.

Feel better soon Baby!

Sick again....

The Girl is sick as a dog!

What is with random fevers that spike?

At least Christmas is over right?

Luckily I have the day off, so we will spend the day cuddling and getting the girl well.

Is it bad that a small part of me enjoys cuddling with my sick baby?

It's the only time she is willing to cuddle.

Happy Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Baby Tights

The weather is turning cool hear and so las weekend I had to dash out to the store to buy The Boss tights to wear to church.  Last year I posted about Baby Tights here, but it's that time of year again and I think this is hugely important for Mama's of Baby Girls to pick the right pair! There is nothing more annoying than saggy tights...think about it, when your tights sag you feel like you have filled your pants, so uncomfortable.  Now, think about if you are wearing a diaper and likely have filled your pants...ugh terrible.  No wonder babies in tights are crabby.  I think there's no reason girls can't look fabulous and be comfortable while doing it.

So incase you missed my first post on this or don't feel like clicking here, these are my tips!

The key to great tights is not the store you purchase them from it's what the tights are made of.  I have purchased two very different pairs of tights from the same store and love one and hate the other. Here is what I've learned.   The tights that fit the best are mainly cotton (70%), with spandex (25%) and a small amount of nylon (5%).  The tights I hate have lots of nylon and lycra.  My favourites also have the shape of feet cut out this helps them to cling to the Boss' legs and fit comfortably.  The mainly lycra ones bag on the top of her feet instead of clinging making them baggy all over.  When you find a pair your thinking about buying flip them over and read through the materials.


Here are little girl tights I am LOVING this season!

The Gap has really done a great job with their tights.  I love the colour of these dark violet tights, and these cute striped ones.  I also love the ruffles on the bum.  The Boss had a pair of these last year, they were awesome.

 

I am also loving the pink thin stripes, and multi-striped tights from Old Navy.  How cute are the hearts on the bums?

.

I also LOVE these from Target.  They only go up to 12 M but if The Boss was younger I would for sure be picking these up.

What Baby tights are you loving?

Linking up Here:

Fall Cleaning??? Landed me a Toy Chest

I have heard of spring cleaning...who hasn't?  But Fall cleaning?  Maybe it's because the weather around here is even nicer than spring that is getting people in the mood to clean and de-clutter.  I however am in fall mode which mean collecting and settling in for the winter.  Hahah I sound like a squirrel.    Either way I am gaining huge from the purging others are doing.

My parents are re-doing their kitchen which for some reason means they are purging and cleaning out their basement?  I don't ask questions, I just benefit from their free-sale in their garage.  This weekend The Hubby went over to help move some of their unwanted furniture into their garage.  The Boss and I joined them for breakfast and then I headed to the garage to collect my goods.  One of the things they were getting rid of was this white wicker toy box that was in my younger sisters room about 16 years ago.

One of my pet peeves, and I am sure I have said this a thousand times, is a house that resembles a Toys R Us.  Don't get me wrong, we buy The Boss pretty much everything she wants but I see no need in letting it clutter our home.  I also don't child proof my home (ie. move breakable things out of reach...I just tell her no) but that is a discussion for a different day.  Back to the toy box, I wasn't really loving the white wicker but every good DIYer knows that a good piece is just a spray can away from being a great piece.  I decided to take a risk and spray the toy box a bright colour.  It is for a child after all.  I grabbed a can of Krylon Ivy Leaf, took advantage of the gorgeous weather this weekend, and sprayed my little heart out.

I was a little worried about the colour.  The can looks more olivey thank yellow however after one coat it looked really yellowy which I was not going for, the second and third coat helped a little.

Here is the finished toy chest.  I think the colour is a total fail.  I wanted it to be a pop of colour but this is a little extreme.

  I am going to try to add throw pillows ect. but in the mean time I am brainstorming other colours...suggestions?  I am considering doing it a metallic, perhaps bronze or maybe even gold.  I will add pictures of it in the room once I work with it a little.  Stay tuned!

 

Blankie

Meet Blankie...

This is The Boss' prize possession.  What started as a beautiful, clean, pink blanket is now a grubby, hamster smelling, security item.  I literally have to peel it out of the hands of her and plan my laundry loads to ensure it is washed, dried and back in her crib before she even notices it's gone.

While I should be happy she has an attachment item, especially because we travel so much, this blanket stresses me out.  Since the timing of washing it is tricky when I work I always feel self conscious sending her to my Mom's or my Mother-in-laws with it at it's hamstery worst.

I didn't want to replace it, maybe just throw in a sub.   I made the same flannel/minkie blanket for her that I made for my best friends baby here.  I thought if I could sub it in maybe, just maybe I could wash Blankie during nap time.  In an effort to get her to fall in love with it I let her play with the material and Blankie at the same time.

  I was trying to go with the get a puppy to like their crate by feeding them in it idea...you know...if she plays with it with something she loves, maybe by default she will also love it?  No such luck. Oh well!

She's Here..

A week ago today my best friend had her baby girl!  I could not have been more thrilled and excited for her.  I was at the cottage and my cell wasn't working so my Hubby was sending me updates on my Dad's phone.  My Besty was a champ, her water broke at 6 am and she delivered at 12:58 pm.  I am so proud of her!  I was able to talk with her later that day as I drove home from the cottage.  On Sunday we had the chance to bring them dinner and meet their sweet girl!  The Boss was very unsure how she felt about the new Baby.  What a difference 15 months can make.

We avoided this for 14 months...

AMOXICILLIN!

Oh Goodness, just when you think you have this parenting thing figured out...

Baby comes home with a rash.

You might remember from my previous post that The Girl spent the weekend with my parents.  I mentioned she had a fever but that she was probably just teething...

do I blame all fevers on teething?  See this post.

When the girl started acting strange I blamed it on a thousand different things.
She's teething, she just had shots, she's teething, maybe she's just becoming a brat.  

Yes, I did actually say that.  When the girl turned her head and refused food, I thought she was showing me attitude.  

(In fairness to me, she said "NO!" in her squeaky I'm the Queen of the world voice 

and threw her head to the side) 

She even started to throw her head back and scream for no reason at all....

it looked a lot like a temper-tantrum to me, 

but not to to the medical profession.

A few of her symptoms did worry me but she wasn't screaming (thank-goodness) so it didn't seem like sickness.  

Her fever came and went, 

her appetite came and went, 

she slept one night through the night and then not the next, 

she even stumbled and tripped over her own feet, but again she does this on occasion...she's one!

While throwing one of these "temper-tantrums" I was referring to earlier,  I noticed her stomach was covered in a rash.  I flipped her over and sure enough her back was covered too.  

Oh no!

I did what ever good mother does and called my own mom, and then my sister (also a Mom). 

My Mom lives right around the corner so I threw the Girl into the car to get a "professional" opinion.  

We decided that I would take her to the clinic and get it checked.  All I could think of was what if I don't get this checked and it gets worse, then I will have a screaming one year old and a decision to wait it out or brave emerg...ugh!  Mr. D. works right beside a clinic so we told him where we were and he met us there when he was done. 

The doctor at the clinic asked lots of questions then checked The Girl out. 

It turns out she has an ear infection of some sort.  

When you say it out loud it all makes sense...

fever, loss of appetite, loss of balance, grabbing her cheek/ear...yup!  

How did I miss this? 

Sorry Baby Girl...next time you just might need to scream.  

Your brave, easy going temperament leaves clear symptoms unnoticed.

So, until seven o'clock last night we lost our amoxicillin virginity.  

It was a good run Girl!  

I gave her her meds and put her in the tub...there were clearly no hard feelings.  She splashed away and then cuddled with Mommy before going to bed like an angel.
Luckily, I have today off to nurse my Baby back to health. 

A Special Baby Girl {Part 2}

The other day I mentioned that my best friend was having a baby and I posted about one of my gifts for her here.  Along with the blanket I also made her some baby girl headbands.  That's right...don't invite me to a shower for a baby girl and think I am going to show up without a headband.  Don't worry baby...Auntie Chelsey has you covered!

Anyway, my best friend is working on her baby girl's nursery (I'll get her to guest post when she's finished) but right now she is struggling with the final touches.  She has a beautiful chandelier that I am envious of.  It is gorgeous glam for her baby girls room. The walls are light, the furniture is dark and the chandelier adds some glam.  She invited me and our other Besty over to help with a curtain crisis, once we worked out the drapes we were trying to figure out how to bring the room together.   It was decided that we needed some glass elements to add the girlie glam.  While I was at my local thrift store I noticed these GORGEOUS mason jars.  So I wrapped them up and gave them to my girl at her baby shower with the blanket.  I know, totally random!  Here's my thought...I put the baby girl bands on these and thought she could display them on a shelf.  The glass would pick up the crystals on the chandelier and be functional in holding baby girl bands.  I told her to give it a try on her shelf and see how it looked.  I am secretly hoping she returns them to me...look how nice they look on my dresser.

*Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of the jars with the headbands on them (Ugh I know)...but they were the perfect size to display them, they were pretty cute!

A Special Baby Girl {Part 1}

My Besty is having a baby and I could not be more excited for her.  I told her that I think I am more excited for her than I was for my own.  Probably because her pregnancy means cuddles, shopping and baby talk without all the morning sickness.    To top it off she is also having a girl!  What could be more fun...bestiest with baby girl besties! I cannot wait to meet her little angle!  So while we wait for her we are going to celebrate the life out of this little lady!  She is having two showers which means two opportunities to spoil this girlie to bits!!!!

Here is one of the two projects I did for the first shower.

I found this adorable flannel and decided to do a blanket with flannel on one side and minky on the other side.  *Note* Minky is super hard to cut and rather tricky to sew as well.  It will make you want to throw your sewing machine out the window.  I read on another blog that the more pins you put in and the slower you sew the easier it is, and that was true.  It was still tough.  Prego women, don't try this...get a friend to do it for you! :)

Here's what I did.  I cut the flannel and the minky into a 30" by 30" square.  I sewed around the edges of the blanket with the front sides facing in.  I left an opening about 8" wide to flip the project inside out when I was finished sewing.  I sewed a 1/4" seem and cut off any of the access.  Once I was done I turned it all inside out and ironed the seams flat.  Then I folded the edges of the opening in and ironed them down.   

It's so far from perfect but I kinda love it.  It looks pretty good in the picture doesn't it?  Haha we will call that trick photography, which makes me wonder...maybe other blogger's DIYs don't always turn out as perfect as they look.  I think the key to DIY is that its done with love.  If I make enough of these, and I think I will, I will get better at it.

Here I am with the Mommy to be...look at that cute bump!