Kicking the Winter Blues in the Butt

You know when you get to a certain part of winter, and you're bored. And all you want to do is sleep. And eat. And veg around with a good book? Well, I've hit that. However, when a toddler gets to that point, it's quite the opposite. :) LBB's been a tad more stubborn than his normal stubborn self (which, coincidentally, seemed impossible to me.) He always wants to go outside. Go for walks. And just has a general level of crankiness and stubborness that is sometimes a little difficult to contend with.

So, I said to myself:

"Self, stop being a lazy Mommy. You may want to cuddle up on the couch and wait for these winter blues to go away, but you can't. Suck it up."

And you know, there is a lot of resources out there for fun activities to do with little tots during the winter blues. So, today we implemented a few of them. :)

For LBB's lunch, I decided I'd try to outmanuever that finicky eater and trick him into eating something that had a little more nutritional value than a fruit strip. And here's what I came up with:

Yes, those are cut up pieces of fruit strips in one of the cups. :) But...he did eat about 1/2 of his puppy sandwich, so I'm not going to complain too much. (The cheerios, on the other hand, turned into small bombs that he launched at the cat.)

Then it was onto playing with his sensory bin. This seriously couldn't be an easier to put together...a trip to the store for a dish pan. Throw in some rice, dried beans, and a little glitter if you want (I avoided the glitter...Dear Sweet Hubby gets home from his business trip today and I'm sure the last thing he wants to see is his son covered in glitter. HA!) I picked up a 6 pack of cheap plastic cups, and LBB was entertained for at least 15 minutes. (Hey, it may not sound like a long time, but for a boy who generally has an attention span of 2 minutes with his toys, it seemed like an eternity.)

Cat #2 was also pretty enthralled with the concept of an "indoor sandbox" (I'm hoping she doesn't mistake it for a litter box) and even after she left, LBB would kindly bring a few beans to her. He shares so well it amazes me. (And this is a toy that requires FULL supervision for a tot like LBB...he'll put anything in his mouth. The other day he found piece of carpet fiber and tried to eat it. Ew.)

I got LBB down for his nap and read THIS wonderful article about how when you are raising a spirited child (feisty, impulsive, strong-willed, etc etc etc. In other words, LBB. If you read the second paragraph, she is not only describing her daughter, but my little guy as well) you can try all the "suggested" ways to try to get that little one to conform...but God's plan is a little different than that. Obviously you need to figure out what discipline works, but you also need to realize that the generaly personality isn't going to change. (Does that make sense? I don't want you all to think I'm ok with letting my kid run rampant!)

So, as I listened to my LBB yell in his room because I was making him take a nap in his bed, I chuckled to myself while I read the article. I had decided that I was going to see if letting him cry it out would put a stop to the bedtime issues we've been having the past few nights. And then, quiet. :) Sweet, sweet quiet that is so much more meaningful when you have a rambunctious little one running around. I went to go check on him (he bumped his head bigtime earlier today and I wanted to make sure he was ok), and as I go to open the door, I realize...

There's something blocking the door.

Let me rephrase that: There's SOMEONE blocking the door. :)

In the midst of his tantrum, LBB fell asleep in front of his door. I was finally able to get the door open just enough to fit my hand in, moved his legs, open the door a bit more, and transferred him to his bed. He is now soundly sleeping...in his bed, as most people would like, covered up with his blankie and snuggling with his bear.

Ah. Spirited. I think that hits the nail on the head. :)

15 Months...

...WHAT?!?!?!

OK. So I don't know how that happened! But then again, I suppose I've said that a lot on here, so it's probably old news to all of you. :) However, it still knocks my socks off how quickly time flies by with a child. Sigh...stop growing LBB!

But truthfully, I wouldn't trade this stage for anything. Newborn LBB was fun. 6 month LBB was a blast. 9 month LBB was exciting. 12 month LBB was amazing. But toddler LBB...well, that's a whole different scenario. There's never a dull moment with him (as I said in my last post), and there is not a day that passes that he doesn't learn something new. Or does something hilarious.

And that's not to say there haven't been some...issues. :) I read a quote tonight that said "Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare." (Ed Asner.) Yeah, I'd say that sums it up pretty well.

Since I haven't done one of these in a while, here's an update of LBB at 15 months...I'd share his height, but I only have his weight due to a nice little ER visit on Friday night. LBB weighs 25.6, which means he didn't seem to gain a whole lot of weight, but, he also sprouted up a few inches in my opinion, so I think it all evens out. So here goes. At 15 months, LBB:

• can feed himself with a spoon. It's a tad messy, because, well, he tips the spoon upside EVERY time. Most of the time it's a gamble if it's going to make it in his mouth, or on his leg (which still makes it in his mouth...and he still uses the spoon. I really should start taking bets with Dear Sweet Hubby whether or not each spoonful will make it in. :) And he won't let us help him much anymore, either, so if we want him to eat anything...we have to let him do it himself. He's embracing this independence thing with arms wide open.
• And speaking of eating...he is the pickiest eater ever. I swear. (However, I'm sure my mom would disagree with this. LOL!) He only likes applesauce, mini-beef ravioli, corn, Gerber fruit snacks, and Chipotle. Yes, you read that last one right...bring him to Chipotle and he can put down a small quesadilla, a serving of pinto beans, a little rice, a whole container of chocolate milk, and some of their fresh salsa. Crazy kid (and he doesn't even flinch when he eats a bit of jalapeno, whereas I'm reaching for a drink as quick as possible!)
• Loves to dance. He's a big fan of music in general...he'll pretty much listen to anything and find a beat to dance to.
• Is running. And it scares the living daylights out of me.
• Can climb onto the couch. And bounce on it. And maniacally run across it despite all attempts by Mommy and Daddy to stop him. He's fallen off once, but it still hasn't fazed him.
• Is learning to say the word "Baby."
• Is doing great in his toddler bed, although we do have a few rough days here and there.
• Can help make bread. Sweeps the floor. Helps unload the dishwasher. And use his swiffer to "clean" after he's swept. He can also put things back where they belong, and sometimes we don't even need to ask him to.
• Loves going for walks.

Hmmm. I'm forgetting things. And I can't go look because his milestone calendar is hanging in his room, and he is finally asleep. :) So, I suppose it's off to work on his curtains for his new room! Have a great night!

Well, well, well...

It's been awhile again, hasn't it?

And LBB sure looks peaceful in that picture, doesn't he? It is quite opposite though during his awake hours, that is certain. :) During his awake time, he is pulling dvd's off the shelf, throwing books on the floor, chasing the kitties, climbing over the furniture, asking to go for walks around the apartment building, and avoiding his toys in general.

So, there's my excuse...I've been chasing a busy toddler around all day. :) A busy toddler, who, incidentally, is now a toddler who sleeps in a toddler bed! We made the decision a little over a week ago to switch him over...he'd been attempting to climb out of his crib, with no successes. So I decided we would do a trial run of his crib conversion, and he did amazing the first day and night. Then, for a few afternoon naps after that, we had some major struggles, so yesterday I pulled out his playyard and put him in there for afternoon nap. Guess who is sleeping soundly in his toddler bed right now for naptime? :) Yep...apparently he didn't have any desire to sleep in the playyard again, so he is snuggled up with his Bearemy and GiGi blanket.

I'm amazed at how well he did transitioning...and I'm even more amazed at how parenthood changes with something that is seemingly simple. Now, we can read his bedtime stories, with him in bed. We can say his prayers with him tucked in and comfy. And we can give him a little kiss when we check on him at night. It is quite the amazing feeling. :)

I have loads of other fun things to share with you, but I think I'm going to share those for a later post...I've got a little bit of free afternoon time that I haven't had in the past few days, so I am going to go do something fun. Or maybe constructive. I don't know...it's just nice to have a little quiet time. :)

The King of Clean

I have a new helper in my morning chores. :)

The other day while I was sweeping up the hallway, LBB went into the hall closet and pulled out the swiffer. And quickly went to work "cleaning." He swiffered his bedroom. Swiffered the hallway. Swiffered the kitchen. And even attempted to swiffer Cat 2. Granted, I don't put the swiffer pad on (can you imagine how many I'd go through?!?!?), but LBB is very excited to help clean up the house.

It's now a morning routine...I pull out the broom and hand LBB the swiffer. And Dear Sweet Hubby is off today, and seeing that the swiffer was very big for LBB, shortened it up for him. Now, LBB has a LBB-sized swiffer that he can use to his hearts content. He spent this morning helping around the house, and is keeping his swiffer in the hallway for easy accesibility. :) You never know when you might have a mess that needs swiffering.

Now...if I can only get a guarantee that he'll be like this when he is 15. Hmmmm.

Simplicity

We are ever so vigilantly working on achieving it. :)

And mostly, we are focusing on simplicity in LBB's room right now. We are redoing his room in a month or so, getting lots of awesome storage (see HERE and HERE), and making it very fun and playful.

BUT

In the meantime, aside from working on making the decor and textiles for his room, everyday we do a little "tackling" of his stuff. It was a hard decision, but we finally got to the point where we realized that LBB had way too many toys. I don't mind having most of them...but some of the toys got "purged". Our criteria:

• The toy needs to have a good amount of creative play that LBB is responsible for. So many toys have the bells and whistles, and all your little one needs to do is push a button. Cool? Yes. Play-inspiring? Not so much.
• LBB needs to have played with it at some point in time to even be considered for keeping. That seems pretty obvious, but among all the toys from gifts and such, there were some that just sat there...played with once when it came out of the package and left by the wayside. Of course, as soon as said toy is put in the box to go away, LBB decides to play with it. It's a catch-22. We've come to realize that he only plays with it because he saw it. Give it a week and it will be collecting dust again.
• It needs to be well made. That goes without saying, doesn't it? But there are some toys that just aren't as great of quality. We are slowly seeing an increase in the amount of wooden toys we've been getting and high quality plastic toys.
• It needs to fit his developmental stage. Right now LBB loves cars. Blocks. Trains. And animals. So we've got lots of those. And we definitely keep the ones that help him learn.

Now...we're not going all crazy and getting rid of everything. LBB has enough Little People to create an army. Enough Hot Wheels to create his own car dealership. And enough building blocks to build the next Taj Mahal. :) It is crazy, though, how many toys we have managed to take out of his room. A lot were toys he outgrew and we are going to save for when God blesses us with another little one (but we are definitely starting out with less toys with the next one. LBB got spoiled.) A lot of toys were ones that were just...well...duds.

So, we've come from having toys all over his room to actually being able to see the wall. It's a nice feeling, and everyday it seems a little more cleared up in there. I know as soon as we get the storage furniture for his room, we will be in 7th heaven organizationally wise!

A Woeful Tale of Fish :)

When you find out that you are going to have child, your world changes immediately, and in a very good way. You know that there isn't anything you wouldn't do for your child...

...and then you fast forward to a year and a half later, when your little one shows a keen interest in something. And what do you do? Why, you nurture that interest in every way, shape and form, of course.

LBB loves fish. I believe I've mentioned that before...but just in case I haven't, let me elaborate. It's not a passing fad. Not a ho-hum kind of love. He flat out adores fish. He loves watching them. Talking to them. Showing them to people. So, of course, as soon as we moved into our apartment, we got him a fish.

LBB's fish was named Allis. A cute little goldfish that was a wonderful first pet. :) She seemed slightly lonely (meaning, she was getting a tad...boring and lethargic), so we went and got her a friend. Days after getting her the friend, she took a trip to fishie heaven, and her friend, Shelby, continued about his merry way. Until he decided to take a trip to fishie heaven as well. Sigh.

So, along came Google. One of those big eyed goldfish (the actual name is Black Moor Goldfish, if I'm not mistaken) who looked extremely goofy but are always fun to watch. LBB loved Google. Even learned how to say his name...about a week before Google decided it was time for him to go to fishie heaven as well.

This was pretty recently, and LBB still likes to walk around the house says Goo-ga. We quickly went and got TWO new fish, convinced that the reason behind our fish issue was lack of companionship. Into our home we welcomed Thing 1 and Thing 2 (LBB's room is going to be Dr. Seuss themed...it fit.) They were such fun fish. Active. Playful. Very good friends. And LBB adored them. He was learning how to feed them and loved to show them to Daddy every day that he came home. Then Thing 1 got this funky red around his nose and a white cottony growth.

After a little research, I not only came away with what was wrong with Thing 1, but that our whole tank set-up was completely wrong. You know how you always see goldfish in a bowl? Well, here we were keeping them in a nice little 1.5 gallon tank with a heater, but no filter, and thinking it was ok. Yep. It's not.

Apparently, goldfish are known to be some of the most fickle fish to keep. Not to mention dirtiest. So, without going into the details...it turns out we were essentialy "killing" our poor little fish.

So, we went and got a bigger tank with the whole setup, took the advice of the pet store clerk, and put Thing 1 and Thing 2 in their new tank immediately.

The pet store clerk was wrong.

They seemed to love their new home. LBB spent the rest of the evening watching them swim around and explore their new digs. He didn't want to go to bed, but, I put him to sleep, we said goodnight to Thing 1 and Thing 2, and LBB fell asleep watching his fish swim around. Later I checked on LBB and the fish, and all seemed fine. And then when Dear Sweet Hubby got home, I went to go show him how happy the fish were...and they were both dead. :(

I cried all night. Who would've thought that two little fish could affect a grown woman so much? Well, when they're your little guy's fish that he adored, it doesn't come as a surprise. :)

Now...to get back to what I was saying at the very beginning, I could easily say "No more fish!" Drop the tank off at goodwill. Go about our merry way sans fish. But no. As a mommy you know that that won't do. :) You do whatever you can for your little ones. So once again, I spent the afternoon rinsing rocks, cleaning plants, washing decorations, and scrubbing the tank. After LBB wakes up, I'll be putting water in and treating it. Installing a new filter cartridge. All that fun fish tank stuff.

But this time, we're doing it RIGHT. We are waiting 3 to 4 days to let the tank cycle through. Bringing the water to the pet store to have it tested.

And NOT getting anymore goldfish!

Something different this time. LBB will love it...he's been pointing to the fish tank, so I know he is wanting his fish back. Soon enough, little man. Soon enough. :)

Well...

Happy January and almost February. ;)

Life has been an interesting mix of busy and slow. Complicated and simple. And thusly, no time has been made for this little blog o' mine.

So...

Pbtsssssssssssssss.

(That's the sound of me blowing the dust off my blog. I think that is how it would look if it was a word.)

And ironically, I haven't been doing much on facebook as well, beyond popping in to play those mind-numbingly addictive games...but everyone's got their vice, and I've decided that will be mine. :) Especially since I've kicked the Pepsi habit...going on 6 days! Woo Hoo! I know I've tried multiple times to get rid of that caffeine addiction, but I can proudly say I haven't gone this long without caffeine since I was pregnant with LBB!

LBB has been doing some crazy developing recently. He's now walking like an old pro, adding some running into the mix, and having a good old time chasing the cats around the house. Cat #1 and Cat #2 are not too thrilled with this latest development, that is certain, but Cat #2 does adore him more than anything, and even Cat #1 has been showing a bit more of her prissy self around the house and even has let him pet her on the belly, which is a tremendous stride for her. (If that isn't a run on sentence, I really don't know what is. HaHa.)

And we've now got two molars popping in on top and what feels to be an eye tooth that is beginning to bulge a bit. Poor little man has had to have a nice little coating of Orajel everynight just to help him sleep all the way through. We skipped giving it to him tonight to see if he will be able to make it through the night, but it is ready to go just in case. :)

I've decided that I could easily start a blog, post several times a day, and call said blog "Toddlers do the Darndest Things." In an instant, LBB has transformed from baby to spitfire. He's not "talking" per se, but has his own little way of speaking that everyone around him learned to pick up fast. And it's odd, because while he is only saying a few select words, sometimes he'll repeat a phrase at the right moment...it really is the strangest thing. Today he dropped a toy that he was playing with, and I swear (pinky swear, even) that my LBB said "I got it." as he picked it up. I'm not making that up. I promise. :)

Isn't that the strangest thing? He has done it before with other things. The other day he would not leave the cat's litter box alone (he feels it is his chore to try to clean it...Mommy feels differently), and I look back over at the litter box while doing dishes, and he is hugging the litter box. Literally hugging it. Ew. So, as any good Mommy would say, I told him to get away from the litter box. To which he responded "I AM!" No, little man. You are not. I know it's not my imagination that he is saying these phrases, because other sane adults have heard it as well :), so it amazes me that while he can't say many words, he is picking up phrases and when to use them correctly. Cutie-patootie.

And what else is new...hmmmmmmm. He's into anything and everything. Loves playing playdoh. Started a new session of storytime, which is his first session that he has been able to walk during. (Which, that opens up a whole new can of worms!) He made a new friend during storytime...but, as typical troublemaking toddler boys go, his new friend and him quickly went on a rampage and took over storytime. Oy.

And around home, we've been doing a whole lot of relaxing. And simplifying. And instilling a sense of order in the house. I will expand on that in an upcoming post. A whole post about home stuff and not so much about toddler stuff...would that be ok? The Mommy in me is screaming "NOOOOOOOOOO! Talk about your LBB!" while the Homemakere in me is arguing "It's ok to talk about other things!"

And now, you, my dear reader, are probably saying "Alrighty, then. She's arguing with herself now." :) Well, yeah...but who hasn't before. ;)

So, off I go to peruse etsy a bit before my hubby gets home. I always like to have a long list of vintage finds and crafty goodness to show him when he walks in the door. Hahahaha. (But, really, that is the case.)