How to trick your toddler

Natey at 7 weeks...

...3 months

...13 months

...20 months

...2 1/2 years

Does anyone notice a trend here?? Yep, the boy has had this green "bankalee" since he was born. I noticed he was becoming attached to it right around a year old. After I got over the hilarity that I, a blankie sucker in my childhood, had birthed a fellow blankie sucker, I realized what I had to do....run immediately to Target and buy more! I had one special blankie when I was growing up. My mom literally had to pry it out of my hands to wash the thing. When a kid sucks on a blanket, it doesn't end up with the freshest smell after 1 or 2 days. My blankie was in tatters by the time my mom finally made me throw it out. I knew if I could get a few of them, I could rotate them without issue. Then a problem arose.

I went to Target and they only had 2 left. One was exactly the same and the other looked the same but had a slightly different texture. I figured he wouldn't notice and bought them anyway. Yeah, he noticed. He completely turned his nose up at replacement bakalee number 3, but number 2 was happily added to the club. I figured we could get away with having 2. He could use one while I washed the other.

Fast forward to age 3 1/2 and we're at his cousin's house (whose mom bought him the first blankie) and she had tried the whole replacement blankie thing too, but her daughter didn't want anything to do with the newcomer. To my surprise it was exactly the same as the 2 blankets that he loves. I figured I could just bring it home and slip it into the rotation. No deal. We even tried to tell him that it was his bankalee that he had left at his cousins a while ago, but he was not having it. I washed it and tried to sneak it in. One sniff of the blanket and he started the protest. Apparently kids who suck on their blankets know their scent. Ewwww.

It was then that I hatched my master plan. I will assimilate this blankie into the rotation without him even realizing it. I started out by washing it several times with his other blankets just to get the other smell out. Then I took it a step further. I took one that was due to be washed and I rolled it up with the impostor blankie. I let it sit like that for a few hours. Then I washed them again. I did this a total of 4 different times. I'm nothing if not persistent. Then I washed all 3 of them together and gave him the new one. He took it like it was his own. Score one point for me!

I guess in a way a child is like a mother cat...you can trick it into loving an impostor if it has the right smell.

Arielle at 14 months

Didn't I just do a 13 month update about you baby girl?

 *sniff*

Well, you are 14 months old now and trucking right along...all except in the hair department. When are you going to get some real hair?? I can put the back into a ponytail, but then you'd look like Ben Franklin or something. Let's work on growing the top of your hair please. Thanks.

You have mastered the closed mouth smoochy kiss. The only problem now is you wanna make out...all.the.time. When you just wake up or I'm putting you to bed you want to practice your pucker by kissing me repeatedly. I crack up and try to offer my cheek for you to plant one (or 12) on but you grab my face and insist on smooching me on the lips. You also get irritated if I don't smooch back.

Your left bottom molar finally made it through. I'd check on the top but you are not all that cooperative with letting my finger or even a toothbrush in your mouth. I'm trying to brush your teeth a lot now but it is a slow going process.

New words this month are eye, eeeer (ear), bath, ba ba, nana (banana) and a few others.

You are into everything lately. I can't take my eyes off you for a minute. The desk in the breezeway is of particular interest to you. I can't baby proof the drawers and you will not stay out of them. You also emptied a box of tissues in 6 seconds flat. I now am locking the bathroom door lest I find you with your hands in the toilet. *shudder*

You can point to my eyes, ears, nose and mouth but will only point to your nose when I ask.

When you are tired and ready for a nap or bed, you will walk to the door of the family room, lay your head down on the step and tell us, "Ni Ni". I wonder if any other babies ask to go to bed.

You still take a bottle in the morning and right before bed. I am going to start the weaning process and try to get you to drink milk with your meals instead. I am not looking forward to this.

You are going to be pissed.

You totally know what phones are and how to use and "talk" on them. I love watching you carrying around our old phone (battery removed) and mommy's lunch box.

You love your brother something fierce! You want to be around him all of the time. I just have to make sure he doesn't "love" you too hard. His "hugs" aren't always the gentlest, but you are a tough cookie.

Your sparkly eyes and squishy faced smile melt me every day. Stay my sweet baby girl always!

Letters of Intent

Dear Tyson,


I was innocently watching a show with my uber-impressionable 3 year old the other night when the new commercial, advertising your chicken nuggets, came on. As I watched each child tell me what they didn't like to eat, I waited for the positive message that I was sure HAD to be coming at the end. You know something along the lines of how we should eat our veggies or try new things. That would have been a good message to send to the kids. Instead the "Ah-ha" moment of your nice little commercial was, since your child doesn't like real, nutritious food, you should just feed them Tyson frozen chicken nuggets instead. I understand that some children are picky eaters. That doesn't mean that parents should give up and feed their kids meals from the freezer every night. Children's palates should be cultivated, not catered to. How are they supposed to learn to appreciate good food if we stop offering it to them?

Now, I know you claim your nuggets are "all natural" and everything, but I seriously have issue with the fact that in 1 serving of your nuggets (6 nuggets) there are 21 grams of fat. That is 32% of the RDA of fat based on a 2,000 calorie diet!! Since my child is 3 and should consume roughly 1,200 calories a day that would be ~53% of his recommended daily intake of fat. Just in case you didn't know, that is actually MORE fat (4 more grams) than there is in a 6 piece Chicken McNuggets from McDonalds, and yours are baked!!!

I'm actually very happy that my son is a wonderful eater and doesn't especially like your frozen nuggets. We eat dinner as a family almost every night and he eats what we eat. He is not allowed to simply look at a food and say he doesn't like it. We live by the 2 bite rule. He has to eat two bites of something before he can decide he doesn't want to eat it. This doesn't mean he won't have to try it again! The next time I serve it, the same 2 bite rule applies. I can count the number of food items on one hand that he doesn't like. If I had just thrown in the towel and offered him nuggets the first time he didn't like something, he may have turned into a picky eater. I'm glad I didn't. You shouldn't tell parents that they should either.

Sincerely,

The mom who will not be buying ANY more Tyson nuggets

   
 
If you have something you want to get off that chest, head on over to Julie's and share it with the group. It's like therapy, only cheaper.

If you can't beat it...

Hi. You might remember me. I'm the owner of this sad blog. This poor neglected space that houses my thoughts and pictures. I could bore you with how busy I've been or the plague that recently ravaged my house, but who cares about my excuses. The important thing is I'm here now. Right? Ahem..I said right?? Ok then.

I'm a California girl. Granted I've lived in this God forsaken lovely state for 5 years now, but I will never be a New Englander. Why you ask? I hate snow. Ok, I don't completely hate it. I just hate driving in it, shoveling it, getting dressed in 800 layers just to go outside in it, getting my squirmy screaming 3yo dressed in 800 layers to play outside in it for 5 minutes, driving in it, the fact that it makes my nose, ears and any other extremity frozen while the rest of my body is sweating from the 800 layers of clothes that I have on, falling on my a$$ onto it, oh and did I mention driving in it?? Yeah, I really do hate it. We have been pummeled with 3 feet of snow since Christmas. I am perfectly content to stay inside in my jammies and watch it fall. I usually have no desire to go out into it intentionally. The inconvenient truth is, I have kids. These kids, being born and hopefully not raised, I can't live in this cold the rest of my life New Englanders are probably going to want to play in this cold white crap from time to time so I finally sucked it up and we took them sledding.

We went to our friend's house in South County. They have a small hill behind their house. It was a good start for this season.

Look at this poor ragamuffin child. I didn't even have the proper gear for her. Those boots belong to a 4 year old and had inserts. She could barely walk in them. She had cut off sweats on over her clothes. Luckily after a quick ride on the toboggan she rode in the baby sled they had and happily sat there the whole time.

 Nate seemed to like it. He is a very lazy sledder. He must get this trait from me. He would get to the bottom and want to be pulled back up to the top.

 He did, however, manage to stay out in the snow for 45 minutes. This is better than his previous 7 minute record. With the time and effort it takes to get this kid dressed I was pleased with the return on investment this time around.

 He rode this thing up and down about 3 times, pushed and pulled by me. I then realized it was defeating the purpose of the sledding. I wanted to go to wear HIM out not me, so I told him no one rides for free and he had to walk back up. He could have stayed like this all day. (Sorry for the random edit thrown it. I am playing with CS5!!)

 Does she ever stop smiling?? The answer, of course, is no. I love my chubby little punkin pie!

It was a nice day. Not too cold. Aaaand, I may even have had a little fun. I also may be stupid enough to try it again this weekend! God help me!

Arielle at 13 months

Welcome to your first monthly update now that you are one. I am still calling you a baby even though I have been corrected by several people who want to call you a toddler. It's not happening. You are my last baby and will be staying one as long as I deem necessary!! This might last until you have your own kids, just so you know. Let's see what you've been up to this month...it's been a lot!

Your talking has taken off and you are learning new words every day. Some of the newest ones are kitty,  "Whas dat?", "Nantan" (Nathan), book & "beeebee" (baby) and as you can see....Uh oh!.

You have also started learning animal noises. You can do kitty, elephant, lion and piggy. We will keep working on them because they are sooo cute!

You finally cut the right two molars all the way through but are still working on the left set. I notice that you chew mainly with the right side where you have your teeth.

On that note, you are a very good eater. You take small bites and chew things very well. You are doing really well with all table food now and I have put away the baby food making supplies!

You have mastered the step between the breezeway and the kitchen. I still have a gate up, but when I can watch you I leave it open and you sit and climb down. You freak me out sometimes as you run too close to the edge, but you haven't fallen...yet.

You can blow kisses and also give nice slobbery regular ones. Now we just have to work on you closing your mouth!

(not the awesomest picture of me but I had to get her blowing her kiss!)

You have been waking up again in the night. I don't know if this is due to your teeth or just the fact that you now realize that we are still there somewhere and will come if you scream. I let Nate cry a bit when he would wake, but you don't cry, you shriek. If I let you go you either wake Nate up or get so worked up that you won't go back to sleep. I pray this is a very short phase!

You are definitely a Mama's girl and are very very cuddly still. You are more than happy to come lay your head on me and snuggle for long periods of time. I love it....don't ever stop!

UPDATED to include pictures. Sorry that the quality stinks. Winter, inside, crappy lighting. I am sad....and need to figure out how to better use my camera!

Nathan at 3 1/2 years

Natey, you have hit the 3 1/2 year mark. I stopped doing the monthly updates, but think that a few times a year will be good to remind you when you're a moody teenager someday what this crazy kid was like when he was a toddler.

You're an angel one second with this sweet grin and single dimple, but can change to a stinker in a flash. I'm amazed at how much of myself I see in you. My poor mother. Argh!

You are insanely smart and can remember how to do things after you see them done them once. This also has a down side as you uses this power to do things like unlocking our Android phones, going to the marketplace and downloading games...which aren't always free. I've had to change my "secret code" twice and have to make sure you don't see me do it.

One of your favorite phrases right now is "Told ya!" You use it for everything. Someone needs to tell you that statement is used when someone challenges what you say. I have no doubt you have to pee when you say so buddy.

You are finally at the point where you can brush your teeth all by yourself. Mommy doesn't always have to take a turn. I tricked you though by telling you to roar like a silent lion. Before that you wouldn't open your mouth long enough to get the back teeth.

Your  hair is still curly, but is loosing the baby hair feel and is getting much thicker. We decided to keep it shorter until the summer when the humidity will help the curls. Also we hope by then you won't be so opposed to us wetting it to make the curl come out. I'm not holding out much hope for that though.

This year has been rough as you are exercising your independence yet still don't have the impulse control to know how to deal with things. You are getting better at not just throwing things and acting out aggressively but it is a slow going process.

You call Arielle "sisty". I think it is so cute. You are starting to love on her more than you push her down. Thanks for that. Keep up the good work. She looks at you like you hung the moon and I want you to be good friends are you get older.

You are still my champion eater. Last week we convinced you that beets would make you "pee red lasers" (your words not ours) so you gobbled up an entire helping. I can't really think of anything you have put your foot down about not eating. This is awesome and hopefully will help as your sister watches you. Well, we all have seen what she weighs so that should indicate what kind of eater she is already!

Speaking of weight, I measured and weighed you at Arielle's 1 year appointment and you were 41.5 inches tall and 41 pounds. You are still in the 90th percentiles for height and weight for your age. I have a feeling I birthed some tall kiddos! You are currently in a size 4T and are wearing size 10 shoes.

You are doing great with your letters. If I write them down you can copy almost all of them. I hope when you start pre-school in January that you use your sponge-like quality for learning and really take off.

You "wrote" (or shall I say dictated) your first letter to Santa this year. You were so cute and asked for "Criss cross, criss cross crash, the winner is the one who doesn't get smashed and violent kung zhu pets". Remind me not to let you watch any more commercials as they obviously are working like the advertisers want them to!

You crack me up when you come out of the blue with phrases like, "It's not SO bad".

You love rock and roll music and have been known to tell me to turn the radio "Upper"  so you can rock out.

You just learned a trick to put on your coat and will take the coat on and off to show us how awesome your "move" is.

You are still the least shy kid I have ever met. Even if you are in a completely new place with people you don't know, you will run in and act like you've known them forever.

You are 2 parts sweetness and 98 parts sass, but we love you anyway!

Running on Empty

Everyone knows what the little icon in this picture is, right? We are all familiar with the gas light. It comes on when you are running low on gas. Most car manufacturers know human nature and give you the courtesy of a few gallons left when you hit this point. So, I have a burning question. How is it possible, given the warning, to run out of gas? I am happy to say, I have never run out of gas. The closest I came was literally coasting into the gas station on fumes when I was lost and couldn't find a gas station AND I didn't even have a gas light in that car. My husband, however, has run out of gas SEVERAL times. His friends have also run out of gas. I can't recall any of my female friends telling me they have run out. They very well could have and were just too embarrassed to talk about it, but I don't know. I have this theory that the running out of gas gene resides on the Y chromosome and I'd like a little help in my "research". Take a second and answer my poll. Don't be embarrassed if you've done it, the poll is anonymous. I will only make fun of you in my head.

My "Elf on the Shelf" Karma

photo from here

Look at this guy. He's the Elf on the Shelf. He sits somewhere where he can see all of the goings on in your home. He watches your little ones and reports back to Santa if they have been bad or good. If they are bad the get no presents. What an ingenious idea, right?? What better way is there to get kids to behave than the threat of no presents? I bought into the hype, but it backfired on me. I realized this when the following statement was uttered from the lips of my 3yo.

 Mommy, if you let me play a game on your phone, the Elf on the Shelf will tell Santa to give you presents!

I'm sorry, what?? Apparently he thinks I am under the jurisdiction of this Elf! Moreover, he thinks that mommy being good is giving him what he wants, even though he knows he is banned from using my phone (a liiiittle incident with downloading) because he can't listen. Hmmmm. I wonder if I can slip an extra line into the story when we read it next...

A line that excludes mommy and daddy from the knowing stare of the little nymph!! I guess that's what I get for trying to bribe my kid to be good.

Arielle at 1 year

Some baby....

Is 1 year old!

...is starting to look less like a baby and more like a toddler every day.

...weighed in at a whopping 27 pounds 8 ounces and is 32 inches tall.

...will be switching from whole to 2% milk this week because of it!

...smiles non-stop and is such a delight to everyone.

...has moved from walking to running, although she looks like a drunken sailor while she does it.

...can sign the word "more" but will more often nod yes instead when you ask her.

...has the most ear piercing screech the world has ever heard.

...will do said screeching and then put her finger to her mouth and say "shhhh".

...probably thinks it is the game of screech and shush. Mommy does NOT like this game.

...has really started to protest when anyone takes something from her.

...is still putting everything in sight in her mouth.

...puts a toy in her mouth and walks around with it hanging out, like a puppy, until it's a slobbery mess.

...can point to her belly and your nose when asked where they are.

...points to items and says, "this" all of the time.

...will smack you in the face and when corrected will then pat you gently and say, "nysssssss" (nice).

...is eating almost all table food now.

...will hand something to you when asked.

...is still taking 2 naps and sleeping from 7pm to 7am every night.

...gives super slobbery, open mouth kisses.

...will always cuddle unless she is super tired.

...makes sure you know when that is by pushing away and leaning toward her crib.

...didn't have an official birthday party but was sung to by all 20 of us at Thanksgiving.

...looked so cute and had so much fun smashing her birthday cake!!!

Fantastic and fun photos taken by Danielle of Two Sisters Photography

Super cute headband by the amazing Bubbalou Bands

Fabulous cake made by my friend Ariana because some snotty bakery wouldn't make me one. So there snotty exclusive bakery!