Wordless Wednesday

M in action, learning to crawl.

And as she gets bigger..so do the flowers ; )

Kay's beeeautiful hair in the morning....

Starting Solids

This week we started Miss M on rice cereal! And let me tell you, she knew exactly what to do with that spoon! She loved it.

and here she is in her new high chair
(taken on my iphone)

Right now we are just doing 1 feeding a day at dinner time. She's eating a few tablespoons of rice cereal mixed with formula. I am trying to decide if I should switch to 2 feedings of rice a day, before adding in veggies (remember the butternut squash I made)? Or start doing rice in the morning, then veggies at night? Any of my mommy readers with solid eating babies, what did you do? What was your feeding schedule like at first?

Help Me Decide

Which watch to order! My birthday is coming up and I am dying to get a white hot watch ; )  

Option 1: Michael Kors White Oversized PU Chronograph Watch (no glitz)

Option 2: Michael Kors Glitz Midsize Ceramic Chronograph

Option 3: Michael Kors White Midsized Acrylic with Glitz

Option 4: Juicy Couture "Rich Girl"

They are all very similar, almost the same. I hesistat to do the one with the gold glitz because my wedding ring and most other jewlrey is white gold, but I love the look of it. So which one do you like best?

Our First Bump in The Road

From the start little M has always been a DREAM sleeper. She came home from the hospital sleeping 5-6 hours at night, for naps and bedtime all you had to do was put her in her crib (awake) give her her blankie, turn on her seahorse and she would drift off to sleep on her own without making a peep. We were so so so lucky in the sleep department. I figure it was gods way of cutting us a break, knowing what we went through to have her.

Fast forward to now. I am not sure where she took a left turn, if its the 6 month separation anxiety, or because she gave up the binkie, but starting about 2 weeks ago you would put her in her crib and she would just scream. So we started rocking her to sleep, then lying her in her crib. Bad bad bad idea. I know this is not a good habit to start AND it only gets harder to break as they get older, so I didn't want to go down that path again (I went through this with Kay). Then we went out of town, and that only made it worse. Trust me, it doesn't take a baby long to realize that hey if I scream a little, mommy will come get me and hey I acutally like being rocked better, so if I cry she'll do that too! They are smart little suckers!! You cant buckle, you cant give in, because if you pick them up, say after 15 minutes of crying, they know the next night all they have to do it cry for 16 minutes ands you'll give in...they are SMART!

So I knew what I had to do...and I wanted to nip in the butt quick before she got too accustomed to being rocked.

We started yesterday, for naps. Instead for rocking her and putting her down to asleep, I rocked her for a few minutes, put her down awake, and rubbed her back (while she screamed) until she fell asleep. I did the same thing last night, fed her, rocked her for a few minutes, then put her in her crib and rubbed her back for a few minutes, then left. She cried, and every 5-10 min. I would go back, rub her back (no talking, no eye contact) for a few minutes, then leave again, and she cried, talked to herself, rolled all around, but finally fell asleep about 30 minutes later.

So today, we are starting the same routine with naps again. This morning, she only cried for 25 minutes before soothing herself to sleep, that is the ultimate goal here, for her to self soothe and fall asleep on their own. My goal is to HELP her learn how to do this, not always do it FOR her. I go in every 5 minutes or so to let her know I'm here, to soothe her (without picking her up!) , to let her know she is safe and comfortable, then I leave. Like I said, I've been down this road before and I know what an evil monster it becomes!

It is hard hearing her cry, no mommy likes that. But I know this is what needs to be done, and I know in a matter of a few days this will all be over and she will be back to the dream sleeper I once had :)

Kids...

Do the craziest things....well my kid anyways....

We've had a long draining weekend here at the P residence. We watched Kay's cousin Friday night and Saturday, she's 4 and their personalities just completely clash. Every 3.5 minutes there is a break down of some sort. It is very exhausting to say the least. Then I've been battling this nasty cold that wont go away, and M has been getting up at 4:30 am the past 3 days, so yesterday afternoon after my cousin left I was so looking forward to just relaxing.

It was 6:30 pm, just after dinner when Kay walked out of her room with her swimsuit on. I told her that it was bath time, and asked her why she has her swimsuit on. She didn't say a word, and walked out of the kitchen. I told her to get ready for bath, that we were going to get to bed on time tonight because we've both had such a long day.

5 minutes later there was knock at my door....

Hmmmmm. I answer the door, and it was one of Kay's friends from school and her mom. WTF? Apparently Kay had invited her friend over to swim! AND get this....her mom is DEAF! She did this without asking or talking to me about it. She's 6 and setting up her own play dates!??! So instead of trying to explain what had happened to her mom (don't take your voice for granted!), I just wrote down on a piece of paper that we would drop her off at home at 7:30-8:00....so much for relaxing and quite time.

You bet we had a talk after she left. You cant invite your friends over unless I talk to their parents! Luckily they play really well and it wasn't that big of deal, but boy oh boy Kay is always surprising me. This one will keep me on my toes that's for sure!

Recent Purchases

Today we went to Babies R Us and walked out with the following items:

Chicco Polly Highchair in Luna (as pictured). This was the highchair I registered for. It has been the most popular high chair on the market since it came out, and for good reason! This thing is amazing! It folds SO compact, and is so easy to use. Completely user friendly. Plus it comes with 2 removable clear trays that are dishwasher safe. I chose this color because it matches the decor in my house, so it will blend right in : ) Best of all I used my 20% off coupon and got 30 dollars off!  

Playskool Busy Ball Popper in Pink. She is a little young for this right now, but I bought it because it was on sale for 18.00 at BabiesRus, then I used another 20% off coupon! This toy is really genius I tell you, because every baby (and even toddler!) I have ever known that has come into contact with this toy is totally mesmerized and entertained by it. It is worth every penny. If you have a baby, GET ONE!

Vtech Bright Lights Telephone. Kay had one of these and loved it, she played with it for ages. I wanted to get M a new toy that lit up, so this was perfect! Plus it has English and Spanish!

and I picked up some more spoons, take along bowls, and a few different sippy cups to try when she's ready! 

Rockin' Rollin' and Reverse Crawling

Look at what Miss M started doing while we were gone...and gawd please excuse my LOUD annoying voice, wtf?

She gets on all fours, rocks back and forth, then sort of pushes her self backwards! I am so so so excited that she looks like she is getting ready to crawl because Kay never crawled. Never. She hated being her stomach, therefore would always roll over, and therefore never learned to crawl.

Instead she butt scooted. In a sitting position she would left cheek, right cheek, left cheek, right cheek her way around. It was the funniest thing ever. We called her Booter Scooter. I know I have a video of it somewhere. Then she walked. Totally by passed crawling. So this time I WILL HAVE A CRAWLER!

Our Visit to PA

Home sweet home! We got back last night and we're simply exhausted from a long day of travel. We flew in and out of Pittsburgh, but the town we were visiting was 2 hours north. A 2 hour drive, a 4.5 hour plane ride, a shuttle bus ride, and 2 times zones later we finally got home around bed time last night. M woke up at 5:30 this morning though, which I was not thrilled about. We were there just long enough to adapt to the time change before coming back home. So I'm hoping after today our schedules will be back on mountain standard time : ) Here are the highlights from our trip:

First stop, my sisters house to visit her, her husband, and their 2 girls. One who is just 9 days older than little M! How cool huh? I put Miss M's  hair clip in her hair :) I told her that Auntie Lisa would mail her some because I buy mine at 2 different local stores.

The whole gang, in the crib, funny stuff.

Cousins. Morgan is 9 days older than my little M.

Then we headed 2 hours north of Pittsburgh to visit my husband's daughter and her family. Stop- did she just say her husbands daughter? Yes, you read that right and she is my age. Go ahead, judge me. She has 5 kids, including 2 sets of twins that are 2 years apart. 4 under 4 anyone? It's a little crazy to say the least.  

Kay and her oldest daughter who is 8. She and Kay get along so well, and she always stays with us at our hotel every time we come. They have loads of fun together.

The next day we packed up the zoo and headed to the zoo : )

Little M couldn't take her eye's off the animals...

especially this guy.

Kay at the Kangaroo Crossing

She even got to pet one!

M pie hangin with Daddy...

This rhino couldn't get enough of that mud!!

Kay and I

The next day Shelly and I headed drove to the Prime Outlets at Grove City, which is by far the biggest outlet mall I have ever been too! I scored some major deals, including size 26 Juicy Couture jeans for 34.00!! I'm not gonna lie, these don't fit me now, but they will. Oh yes. They will. 26 is my old jean size, so I had to snatch them up. I know, I know never buy a smaller size hoping you'll fit into them, but you bet I'm gonna hang those bithces on the wall until I can squeeze my big ass into them! They are that super soft cottony feeling jean. Ahhh my fav. AND they were the only size left, clearly a sign that I had to buy them. I got the girls a bunch of cloths, including matching dresses for our annual 4th of July party coming up! 

Flying With Little M and My Travel Tips

I am happy to report that traveling with Miss M went much better than I had anticipated! I packed up the diaper bag full of bottles, 8 oz. ready to feed formula to avoid mixing and dealing with water/powder, plenty of diapers, a few of my new favorite blankets (ummm how did I go the last 5 months without these?!), a few binkies (even though she doesn't use them anymore), Tylenol, gas drops, and some of her favorite toys and books. I also packed extra bibs, burp cloths, and a change of cloths (which I always keep in my diaper bag). That thing was bursting at the seems, but I wanted to make sure I had everything I could possibly need. I also dressed her in something comfortable and easy for quick diapers changes (a cute onsie and baby legs!).

Going through security took a LOT longer with an infant because you have to take them out of the car seat/stroller, fold it all up and put it on the x ray machine all while trying to manage your luggage and said older child. Thank god for the "family friendly" security line too; which I have taken advantage of for the last 6 years and will continue to do so for the next 6 ; )

I needed to bring her infant seat and stroller, so we ended up buying  these bags to protect them before our trip. Let me say I am so glad I did this! Those bags were inexpensive, universal, and worked great. These people don't give a shit about your belongings! We gate checked those and hopped on the plane. Its funny because as your walking onto the plane with a baby in your arms, people look at you like you are carrying a little terrorist. Terrified as you walk by...are they gonna sit here? Are they gonna sit here?..Please keep walking, please keep walking, I can just hear them chanting.

We got settled in and it worked out perfectly because it was time for little M to eat right at our take off time. I made her a bottle, covered her with the blankie while she sucked away as we took off, then slept for the whole first 1/2 of the flight! This was only half the battle because keeping Kay entertained for that long is quite the task too. I packed plenty of crayons, paper, worksheets, activity books, snacks, and her portable DVD player (which was a huge fail because I forgot to charge the battery, bad mommy!).

After M woke up, we kept her entertained with her toys and frequent trips to the bathroom for diaper changes and a few minutes to stretch out. I was really surprised how good she was! Come landing time, it was time to eat again, so once again we dodged a bullet. Meanwhile there was a baby a few rows back SCREAMING bloody murder. You could tell he/she was really having ear problems. Poor thing. Coming home was the same, she ate at take off, fell asleep, played for a little while, ate at landing. Sweet as pie!

So here's my travel advise/tips: 

-Get there EARLY, like the whole 2 hours early. Especially if this is your first time traveling with a baby!

-For formula feeding mommies, invest in the small ready to feed bottles. Trying to find room temperature water and dealing with powder is such a hassle! Breast feeding mommies, your set ;) Just be ready to feed at take off and landings, even if you can only get your baby to take a few sucks, it will help relieve the pressure in their ears. 

- Bring double of what you need. Diapers, wipes, and food. You never know if there is going to be a delay, or if your luggage is going to get lost, you never know and you don't want to wind up short handed.

-If you baby uses a binky, pack a few extras in case you lose them.

-Bring a blanket, its cold on the plane! See the link above for the perfect ones!!!

-Try and plan flights around nap times if you can, the more they sleep the easier it is on you.

-Bring Tylenol and gas drops, if they get extra fussy you will thank me.

-Pack your babies favorite toys that are practical for the plane. This was the biggest thing! She stayed busy once she was awake by playing with her toys.

-Take advantage of the family friendly security line and pre boarding at the gate. You will need the extra time.

-If you care about your stroller, invest in something to protect it or else don't say a word about how the airline trashed your stroller. I could tell, even with the bag on, that they just threw it around.

I'll be posting pics from our trip next :) and I have to say that little M was a lap child, we did not buy a ticket for her. I always carried Kay on as a lap child until she was 2- it did get more difficult as she got older, but it was always short (under 2 hours) trips so I didn't see the need it paying for a seat.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

Tomorrow we leave for our first summer vacation! We're going to Pennsylvania to visit family, including my 1/2 sister who had a baby girl 11 days before I had little M! I look forward to unplugging and spending time with the family.

Be back next week with a full report on how well a 4.5 hour plane ride went with a teething 5 month old and a 6 year old who has ants in her pants ; )

But before I go, I will leave you with some cuteness!

Off to pack...

What's in My Purse

One of my IF/blog friends Ashley posted this on her blog the other day and it totally inspired me to do the same. I don't know, I always find things like this interesting so I thought I would share!

Right now I am carrying an alligator embossed Coach Madison Carry All in a beautiful pale pink. I got it right after I had little M. It was sort of my push present, basically just another excuse to get a new bag : ) I used to change out my bag every month, now its more like every 2-4 months because it is not my primary bag these days (my diaper bag is!) But on any given day, this is whats in my purse...

A white leather Coach wallet that I've had for ages now, Guess sunglasses, my keys, misc. papers and business cards, my ear buds for hand free use or the gym, a mini compact, and a pen of course!

My phone, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, a mini bottle of perfume, Kleenex, my little travel note pad, and a hair tie. I also carry 2 tampons, because ya know I have been getting my period every 2 weeks!

And finally I did a complete overhaul of my lip glosses to cut down to only the ones I use all the time. I am really embarrassed to show you how many I used to carry. Around 4 times this much, we'll just leave it at that ; ) Here are my favs: MAC lip pencil in Whirl, some random lip gloss from Victoria's Secret, MAC Creme Sheen lip glass in Fashion Scoop (pale pink) and Boy Bait (more of a neutral), a Bath and Body Works lip gloss in Fruit Punch, and an Estee Lauder lip gloss.

There you have it! That's whats in my purse!

Stay tuned for What's in My Diaper Bag! 

Dancing Queen

This week was Kay dance recital week, which means it's been a very busy week around here. 1 tech rehearsal, 1 dress rehearsal, and then 2 performances! They have been preparing and practicing for months, so it was a very exiting way to cap off the dance year! Here are some pictures from last night. I am so mad too, because somehow I changed the settings on my camera, and now my pictures are looking like crap. I'm still trying to work it out...

Back stage before the show...

Her whole class

Performing on stage...

Shakin it...

Mommy and Miss M. It really was her bed time but she hung in there...

Kay and her trophy, waiting to watch the second half of the show (the ballet)...

Such a proud mommy! (this one was taken with my iphone)

Next year she will be taking 2 classes. She just loves to dance! Up until first grade all they can take are combo classes (ballet and tap combo), then after kindergarten they can chose which type of dance they want to branch off too. She chose jazz and ballet!