Pumpkin Patch and Birthdays!

Taelyn  is 17 months now and I can hardly believe it. She loves to talk and express her emotions in so many ways. Her new word is shirt. I'll give you one guess as to what it sounds like? I know she is saying "shirt" though because it's always when she sees a shirt. We were in target the other day and as I was picking up a shirt for me to try on she kept repeating it... "shirt..shirt..shit...shit..shit!! " I looked around and of course there had to be two other moms standing right next to me giving me the eye. Yep, Mother of the year award right here folks! lol. She's is pushing the boundaries and testing my patients,all part of being the mother of a toddler. However, she is sweet and mellow for the most part. I just always try and avert the inevitable melt down by making sure she is fed and rested. She LOVES books!! I always have books stashed in my diaper bag and the car because she will read anywhere. If I have to get some shopping done I bring a few books and can usually finish before shes done looking at all of them. If you are sitting on the couch she will go over to her toy area and bring you a book and climb onto your lap and wait for you to start reading to her . I guess I should be stoked she loves such a quiet activity :).

She also loves to dance and listen to music.I put music on when I'm cooking and most of the time I find her spinning around in circles and stomping her feet, the cutest thing ever.That's what shes up to these days. We have had a very busy month. My birthday, Taelyn's bff Gwen's 1st birthday and lots of other fall activities. We took her to the pumpkin patch and she was able to really enjoy it this year, such a fun age shes at. She rode the pony, went to petting zoo, picked out a pumpkin and had a blast. We went twice. Once with her group of Tae's baby friends and once with the family, my sister-in-law and nephew. Alexander is 5 months older then Taelyn and they are supper cute together. I love that she has a cousin close in age she can grow up with. Here are some of the pictures from this month.

Fall 2010

Fall 2011

Daddy and Tae 2010

Daddy and Tae 2011

My Little Pumpkin.

Gwen's 1st Birthday!

All Tae's Friends. (Tae is in the lamb costume)

Helping Mama with her Birthday cake that Daddy made!

The family dinner.
The next day all my ladies and I went and got mani/pedis and had an amazing lunch.

Happy 29th Birthday to Mommy!

I find myself rocking Taelyn to sleep a lot more now, I stopped rocking her to sleep when I stopped bf and I guess I just started to miss our intimate cuddle time at night before bed. She is so precious and growing so fast. It's funny that as a mom you try so hard to do everything just right. So much info out there that says what to do and what not to. I sometimes listen but lately I've found this "gut instinct" every other mom has told me about and I tend to stick with whatever it tells me. Right now it's telling me the moments spent in the dark rocking my daughter to sleep are moments I will never get back and I should soak up every last one!

The Joys of Motherhood!

I'm really trying to keep up with the blog and every time I think about sitting down to write a post something needs to be done and I put it off. Taelyn is currently talking to herself in her crib and this usually last for about 20 min or so until she falls asleep (because of recent events I'm trying to minimize how long she is in there unattended for, but I'll get to that later). This is kinda new..before I would be able to just turn on her music, lay her down and in 5 minutes not a peep. Which leads me to believe she is starting to phase out 2 naps a day to just one. Selfishly I don't want to give up the morning nap yet because it's when I get to enjoy a cup of coffee, a shower or watch the news etc. Its my favorite time of day to myself. Oh well.
  So, about a week ago I laid Tae down for her morning nap and decided to take a shower. I could hear her babbling to herself on the monitor. I took a quick shower and when I got out she was still awake. I got dressed and started to get ready for the day, about 20 mins had gone by and she was still talking to herself. I decided to go in and see if I could rock her or soothe her to sleep. I was not prepared for what I saw and smelt when I opened her door. (Disclaimer: This is absolutely disgusting and I'm semi embarrassed to even be sharing this story but kids will be kids and now its kinda funny) She had taken off her pj shorts and her cloth diaper and thrown them on the floor and pooped in her crib and was playing with it!!!! Now I have heard other moms tell me this happened to them but I never imagined it would to me. It just never crossed my mind. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...I could do nothing else but cry.
  For those of you who know me well, I can be a tad bit dramatic at times but this called for tears!! I SWEAR! I had no idea where to start or how to even begin to clean her or the mess. It was everywhere....IN her ears, socks, hands, hair on the wall behind her crib, in the sheets on the blankets on the crib.....I wanted to shut the door and pray it away. It took me almost 2 hours to clean it all up and I felt like I could still smell it on me and her and everywhere, although I'm sure that wasn't the case. So, if I learned anything from this experience it is to buy a video monitor, don't put them to sleep with out a onesie or something they wont be able to take off themselves and should this happen to you take em out back and hose them off. I put her in the shower cause I didn't need my neighbors calling CPS on me for hosing off my poopy daughter in the backyard but then I spent the next hour bleaching my bathroom and my shower. UGH!!!!
  I called my husband to tell him what happened and as he was laughing hysterically all he said was "Did you take a picture?" Is he serious??? OMG! hahaha I guess it's kinda funny. I didn't take a picture and am glad I didn't. That's not a moment I want to relive. The wine drinking started early that day. The Joys of Motherhood!

Summer Days with my California Baby!

Summer is coming to an end and I'm kinda excited for fall and winter. I love the cool weather and warm clothes after a summer full over 110 degree heat. This summer was so fun though. Compared to last summer when Taelyn was a newborn and we spent much of our time cooped up inside, this summer she was able to enjoy the beach, the swimming pools, the park and so much more! She is defiantly a water baby. I was apprehensive about the beach but she absolutely loves it and isn't scared of the waves at all...it can be a little scary for mama at times when she bolts running towards them! I love watching her play in the water and her face really does light up. Weather its the bath, beach, pool or dad spraying her with the hose she loves it all!

Tubby Time.

Paying in her pool in the backyard.

                                              

She was the flower girl.

After Josh and Julies wedding (trash the dress photo session)

Beach Baby

We were also able to make lots of new friends this summer and meet so many other new moms. I have a great support group of mommy friends here and feel so blessed to have them. We all need support as moms on those tough days and I couldn't do it without them. We try and get together at least once a week . We have Winey moms play dates where we go to different wineries in the area that are baby friendly and enjoy a nice glass of wine and conversation while the babies play with each other ( I love these days). We do moms nights out and play dates at the park or other friends houses. It is so great to see Taelyn interacting with other babies her age and she gains so much from it. We recently went to Orange County to see one of my friends from High Schools little girl and she is just too cute! We have known each other since 7th grade and it was so cool to see our daughters together. It was a full circle moment.

Play date at Taelyn's Boyfriend Sawyers house (hes the blonde boy inside the house with her) ha.

Winey Moms Playdate

Gwen, Taelyn and Little Ella at the Beach!

It was a great summer and I cant wait for the holidays to start. Now if I could only figure out what to make little Miss for Halloween, hmmmmmm...

Temper Tantrums...Oh boy!

!&*$ !!!!!!!!!!!! That's my four letter word for what I think about these sudden outbursts of crying,screaming,kicking and arching of the back that have just recently become some of Taelyn's many ways of expressing her dislike about...well...just about anything! I knew this phase was coming and I'm using the word phase because I can only hope this is just a "phase" other moms warned me, I had seen it first hand being a nanny and working with children. I guess I always thought it would be something short lived and I could do all the disciplinary techniques I have heard work and be consistent. That all is great and I still am planing on doing all those things but I had also heard this
"phase" that some call the "terrible two's " starts when they are TWO!!!!! So what gives?? I try my best to be patient and walk away and ignore the behavior. Its hard and it wears on you after awhile, especially after a long day when you are trying to get dinner in the oven. Don't get me wrong I would do just about anything to avoid the melt down but it seems they come on at any time without any warning....
She has such a sweet disposition and I should never complain, I have had a really happy, easy baby and am so grateful for that. I just wonder is this a normal behavior and why did it come so early? I was hoping to enjoy one more year before the time outs and discipline started full force. Lets face it you can't really discipline a one year old any how...she has no concept of right and wrong for the most part,so its constant re-direction. Some days I feel like maybe I just want one child. I cant possibly imagine doing this all over again, then I look at her little face and that all goes right out the window and I immediately jump from having NO more to having 10 more! Don't judge but the only solution I have found that works for me is just a little vino to top off the long day :) Just wanted to vent a little and feel free to give any advice on what you may have done...I'm all ears!

ps No pictures on this post, however it would be pretty hysterical to post a video of her next melt down...or maybe not...haha!

We are off to see Grandma...

Its been awhile since my last post. We have been so busy this summer we just got back from Indiana visiting my parents. We took Taelyn a bunch of places while we were there. My parents only live about half an hour outside Chicago so when we are in town we are usually in the city at least 2 or 3 times while we are there. I love Chicago! Its probably my favorite city out off all the ones I've been to so far. Its so clean and there is so much culture and who could complain about the shopping! We couldn't have asked for better weather this day, its wasn't too humid as Chicago often is and it was just perfect!

Sears Tower behind us...(well Willis Tower now)

 It was just us girls on this trip (me, Mom/Nana and Miss. Tae) The boys were on a 10 day fishing trip in Canada. We took Taelyn to the Shedd Aquarium downtown and she liked it but it wasn't as exciting for her as say; Sea World. It was more informational than anything. She did enjoy the giant fish tanks and the penguin exhibit and spending time with her grandma of course. At the penguin exhibit they have a little mock penguin island type thing with a slide and penguin outfits for the kids to try on. I think that was her favorite part of the day, go figure.

Miss. Tae the Penguin

After the aquarium we went to The American Girl Doll store. I had these when I was growing up and had become a little obsessed with getting Taelyn one. Especially since they had just launched a red haired itty bitty baby!!!! YAY! You would not believe how hard it is to find red haired dolls :( Turns out they had just gotten a shipment in that day after being sold out for a while! This is such a cool place to go for little girls! Its 3 sorties of dolls and clothes and everything you could think of for your doll! I cant wait to take her back when she is older. I wish I would have thought to get my camera out and take pictures of her holding the doll inside the store...Mommy was a little more excited than she was I think. Maybe someone should have taken a picture of me holding the doll.

We also drove to Galena a small town about 3 hours outside of Chicago to see one of my Best Friends daughters baptism. The service was so pretty and I was so glad we got to be there. We had great Italian food after and spent time with our very dear friends. This is one of my Best Friends Melissa and her daughter Annalyse at the luncheon after the service.

All in all it was a great trip and It's so hard to leave. Every time I leave I think...Maybe we should move closer to my parents I just love having them there for Taelyn and me too. Maybe some day we will all live in the same zip code again.

Swim Lessons!

We stared Taelyn in swim lessons. She LOVES her bath time and always has. So why wouldn't she love swimming! I think its because I started making that a part of her nightly routine so early on. Now she almost needs a bath every night before bed to relax and calm her. Which is totally fine with me because that's my favorite time of day when she is all clean and smelling good and we read stories or cuddle.
 I love to swim also and love the water and want her to be as comfortable around it as possible. The Babies Splash swim program at the school we go to teaches life saving skills at this age. How to float, be underwater and hold onto the edge of the pool.  She has done very well so far and last week was her 1st time going under the water!! It was a little nerve wrecking for me but she did great and came up smiling! Here are just a few pictures I had someone take for me.

Blowing Bubbles...we are still working on that!

                                                    Look at the those chubby legs!!

                                             Coming up from going under! YAY Tae!!

                                          Crab walking along the side...she holds on tight

                                                        This is her favortie!!!

I hope we can keep going to swim for awhile so at least she has the basics down for next summer and we dont have to start all over again. The nice thing about the swim school is its all indoors so you can come year round! It also nice for us white girls too (Tae and I). Nick and I had so hope she would have his skin but oh well! SPF 50 it is!

Cloth Mama...

So, since I started cloth diapering I have had so many friends and family ask me what its all about? Why on earth would I do it ? Do you use safety pins? Do you have a diaper service? Doesn't it smell, get everywhere, and all around just suck? finally my favorite question.... WHERE DOES THE POOP GO?

I thought I would break in down for everyone in this weeks blog. First off I haven't always cloth diapered. In fact I'm I guess what you called a new be. I started when Taelyn was about 9 1//2 months old, some of my cd'ing (cloth diapering) mama friends might say I took the easier route. Having not done it with a newborn...because as I'm sure most of you know, newborns poop on the hour every hour. In any case it had never even crossed my mind to cloth diaper when I was pregnant. I know my mom did it with me and that was the thing to do back then but I never thought to myself "oh, yes sign me up for that!"
It all started when one of my moms group friends was explaining the whole process to another one of moms group friends. She started by showing her all the diapers, how to clean them etc. I asked her why she used cloth and she began to tell me just some of the reasons and that I should really look into and research it for myself. I was really stunned to find out what I did. It was enough for me to want to make a change. Not to mention the financial aspect, Nick and I are always trying to save a buck and since I'm a stay at home mom and would like to keep it that way for as long as we can manage it was nice to know the money we would be saving.
It was a daunting task at first and I felt very overwhelmed with all the different products and brands of diapers and how to clean them properly. It would seem pretty elementary but it can be confusing at first. So, far I am very happy with my choice and I feel it works for us for right now. I would urge anyone who is interested to read up on it and see if its something that might fit into their life style. Cause I'm in no way here to preach about cd'ing or try and convert you moms out there! Just wanted to clear up a few questions. So......
1st question: I think I explained the why part and here are some links to some websites I found helpful when thinking of making the switch.
 http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/diapers.htm
http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php
www.livestrong.org

2nd question: Cloth diapers have come such a long long long way from the days of prefolds, safety pins and plastic diaper covers, all of which are still around but not necessary. There are adorable prints and best of all the diapers I buy are one size fits all with adjustable snaps. So that means no buying diapers for the next kid either, assuming this one is out of diapers when the next one comes along. Which is also an added bonus, research shows that cloth diapered babies potty train way faster too.

3rd question:I wash all the diapers myself its as easy as throwing in a load of regular laundry and hanging them out to dry. You do have to buy special detergent and wash them in a hot cycle but its not bad at all. I store the diapers in a diaper pail lined with a anti bacterial liner outside in my garage and wash the diapers every other day.

4th question: I don't hardly notice a smell and too me it not any worse than having a diaper pail in her room and having to smell that. If it did smell at least its outside and not in my daughters room. It doesn't get anywhere I have had less blow outs  and leaks since she has been in cloth. If you wash the cloth the right way and find the right size and fit of diaper for your little one its prefect!

5th question: WHERE DOES THE POOP GO??? Well where else would it go??? down the toilet....duh!  I have a diaper sprayer also which hooks up the the back of your toilet tank and you simply hold the diaper over the toilet and spray off and remains throw it in the pail outside and your golden!

 Hope I have satisfied your quest for knowledge about my experiences as a cloth mama! I really do like it and think its worked out to be a lot better for Tae and for our wallets. :)