First trip to the zoo!

The weather this weekend has been absolutely gorgeous!  We took full advantage of it and went to the local zoo yesterday afternoon.  It was perfect - not too hot, late enough for most of the crowds to have already gone home, and we scored a sweet parking spot up close!  This mama was happy.  :)

G has really taken an interest in animals and I knew our window of opportunity to enjoy the zoo before it gets miserably hot was closing quickly.  I think the next time we venture out there again will probably be in the fall.  Most of the bigger animals were hiding and couldn't be seen at all, but it was still worth it to watch G take it all in and experience the zoo for the first time.

The "petting" zoo area was a big hit!  He didn't quite understand how to feed them at first, and when I asked him if he wanted to try, he quickly put the animal food in his mouth!  Haha!  After the animals slobbered on his hands, he would then put the slobbered hand in his mouth... totally grossed me out, but I guess there are worse germs, right?

This baby deer was soooo sweet! 

Checking out the snaggletoothed llama.

I am admittedly not a huge fan of zoos - I hate to see the animals caged... it makes me so sad.  The only thing that comforts me is that ours is a non-profit rescue zoo.  

I think he needs a pet goat!

All in all, a perfect little Saturday!

Product of the Week: Step2 Water Table

I'm linking up with Aly and Tiffanie again for POTW (Product of the Week)!

G loves him some water.  Like serious love.  He loves baths, showers, baths in the sink, the splash pad, swimming pool... you get the idea.  So I knew that this year I had to get him a water table to help give us something to do once during these 100º summer days that will soon be here.

Since it is already in the 80's, I thought, "Why wait?"  Especially when I saw it at Wal-Mart for $29.97!  Cheaper than Amazon, which doesn't happen too often, my friends!

I really really wanted to get the Little Tikes pirate ship water table because of its cuteness factor, but too many negative reviews steered me away and it was much pricier than the simple, yet highly touted Step2 table.

And as any good mama would (should) tell you, always go with what the other mamas like.  This bad boy took me less than five minutes to assemble, and I hate assembling things.  G loves it.  Like serious love.  So, of course, I do too!  Sometimes cute doesn't always pay off -- one thing that I've learned first hand being a mom.

A back view of G's big head, in all of its glory.  :)

Side note: The boats that come with the table are worthless, but we have plenty of stacking cups that G uses to keep him entertained.

**I am not, in any way, being endorsed or reimbursed for promoting this item.  Any opinion I post is strictly my own doing because I love to share fabulous products with other mamas!

Tuesday Tidbits

I took G to a different pediatric opthamologist today and she recommended nasolacrimal intubation.  Basically, that means that silicone tubes will be surgically inserted into each tear duct to allow the passage to open.  The procedure itself is only thirty minutes long and he will keep the tubes in for two months before having them removed.

Naso-what-o?  The silicone tube will go down the nasolacrimal duct.

His surgery is scheduled for early June, and I am looking forward to putting this all behind us and not having to wipe his eye all day long.  Mostly, I want him to have goop free eyes for his own sake.  It doesn't even phase him anymore when he wakes up with one completely crusted shut.  My poor little cyclops.

We had the stager come back over today and she spent four hours staging our house to get it ready to be listed!  Most of what she used belongs to us, so it was pretty cool to see how she moved things around and gave our house a different look.  After de-cluttering and having this done, our house looks really good.  She has an impressive track record with homes that she has staged selling fast, so we are keeping our fingers crossed!

The market is hot right now - most of the homes that I have bookmarked are already pending, so we are also keeping our fingers crossed that the timing works out and we find something that we like in the same time frame that we sell.  I do not want to have to move twice or have to impose on my parents again if we were to be in limbo.

Now comes the fun part of living in a staged home and having a toddler.  Is it possible???  Stay tuned to find out!

All I know is that he is capable of getting into things as soon as I turn my back on him...

Caught red handed!  He pulled these from a shelf in the pantry and helped himself to a snack... little stinker!

Nineteen Months!

Oh.my.goodness!  I figured it was time to do G's nineteen month post since he is actually just turned twenty months.  Hold the phone - when did my main little squeeze turn into a full-on toddler?!?

It seems impossible that in a few short months I'll actually be saying that I have a two year old ... gasp!  On one hand, I can't believe it ... on the other, let the party planning begin!  Hehe.

This past month has been an exciting whirlwind of new words and fascinations.  The top phrases that I hear the most often from him are:

1. "No!"  He says this one so sweetly in his little voice and usually shakes his head too.  Sometimes he really purses his lips, which makes both R and me crack up.  I'll admit that I will ask him things just to hear him say this, but I know one of these days I'll be wishing that he didn't know this word.  I'm glad it's still cute now.
2. "Wow!"  or "Whoa!"
3. "Uh oh!"

Although he can say "no" clear as day,  he is not saying "yes."  Instead, he does this body bob thing to indicate "yes" to us.  He is still mostly jibber jabber all day long - I am so curious what he is saying to us because he has a lot to talk about!

He is still a good sleeper, but admittedly, we have been getting bad about bringing him in bed with us if he cries out in the middle of the night.  We always regret it in the morning after a night of sleep with G ping ponging his way between the two of us ... especially now that we've staged our house to sell it and stored our king sized bed.  Once you become used to sleeping in a big bed, a queen feels so tiny with all three of us!  I know, first world problems.  If you don't get his big head being catapulted towards you, his big feet are on the other end kicking you.  I usually turn my back on him and hope for the best - ha!

When he does wake up next to you in bed, though, it's hard not to love it.  He sits up and smiles really big and throws his arms around me with the best hugs.  I love my sweet little boy's tender heart.

Just so that I remember these things, he usually sleeps from 7:30-7:30 and his naps vary from one to three hours.  One day this past week he napped for five (!!!) hours.  R started to worry about him, but I think he must be going through a growth spurt.  

Still a great eater although he's not big on drinking milk, so I make sure he eats a yogurt every morning for breakfast and we drink smoothies frequently.  He loves going to the grocery store with me and spinning the wheel at the end for a little sticker.  I think I may be cultivating a gambling habit, but whatever works, right?  ;)

Our grocery store chain gives out "buddy bucks" to the kids at check out and they get to use these at this machine.  You put in your buddy buck and spin the wheel to see how many points you get.  You're supposed to put your sticker with the point number in a little booklet and accumulate them for store branded prizes, but we just like spinning the wheel for the fun of it.  He can care about points when he is older.  :)

His favorite foods include: cheese pizza, salmon sticks, grilled chicken, pb&j sandwiches (we make ours with almond butter), watermelon, waffles, pancakes, fruit squeezes, yogurt, corn, steamed carrots, and avocado.  Of course he also has a sweet tooth for things like cookies and ice cream but rarely gets those.  :)

He loves picking out his snack from the pantry now and has started demanding to pick them out himself or he will refuse whatever we select.  Joy.  

Checking out what's in the fridge.

He is getting better and better at using a spoon and fork even though some days I'm wondering how he manages to get more on himself or the tray than in his mouth.

Typical breakfast sighting.  He has started dipping his waffles into his yogurt cup.

It is hard to keep a bib on him these days, as he usually yanks them off midway through the meal... even the kind that go over his head without a snap!  I'm thinking of resorting to what they do at school and getting some shirts from Goodwill that are a couple of sizes too big for him to wear at mealtimes.  

This boy does not miss anything and will always come running to see what you are doing.  So, this means that you cannot eat something without him wanting to check it out and usually (99.9% of the time) demand a bite, even if he has just eaten his own meal.  This mama is just glad that he goes after dada's food at dinnertime and leaves me in peace for once.  :)

His current obsessions are: mama's jewelry drawer (loves trying on all of my bracelets and my rings), batteries (he saw dada change out the batteries of one of his toys), playing in water of any kind with his cups, and going outside and collecting rocks.  He still loves reading, puzzles, and playing play doh or cars.

We haven't nixed the paci quite yet but have plans to do so before he turns two... that gives me a few more months.  :)  

This past month we had to do the dreaded nebulizer treatments and he had his first blisters on his fingers.  We went out to eat with some friends and he touched an outside light that was really hot.  The next morning his little fingers had blisters on them.  

He is usually sweet and happy most of the time, but watch out for those toddler tantrums!  He knows how to turn them on and off like that!

Dear Sweet Lovey,

You are turning into such the little ham these days!  You love to laugh and to make us laugh.  I especially love the way you throw your arms around someone and really give a good hug.  Some days I want to fast forward through your tantrums or dirty diapers, etc., but mostly I wish time could stand still just for a few more minutes so I could treasure these little moments a little longer.  You are my greatest joy and I love you to the moon and back.

Love,

Mama

Weekend Recap

Happy Easter, friends!  We had a very busy but fun-filled weekend.  G and I both had Friday off from school and work respectively, so it was more like a three day weekend for us (technically four day since I had yesterday off too - woohoo!).

We made the most of it and met one of my besties for lunch at a popular local restaurant.  I wondered if it was going to be crowded being Good Friday and all, and sure 'nuff, we had to park and walk a good five minutes.  It was a nice excuse to get some exercise (not just from the walking but from carrying my 26 pound little dude) and well worth it to meet up with a good friend.

In fact, she was the first lunch date G and I had after he was born.  Now that my work schedule is much more flexible, we try and meet for lunch once or twice a month to catch up on life.  It beats texting and FBing any day.

No, G was not nursing in the picture on the left!!!  ;)

What can I say? -- He's always had a thing for hot blondes!  I've known sweet H since middle school even though we weren't friends (or enemies) until college, crazy enough.  She is down to earth, isn't a girly girl like me, and has a big heart.  I love her so and am grateful she is patient and understanding with all of my mom texts like, "He's still sleeping... can we meet an hour later than we had planned?"  I can't wait until they start their own family and we can turn our lunch dates into play dates!

After lunch, G and I hit up the grocery store where he likes to "drive" the race car shopping cart and point at every free sample station and demand some food.  He got many admiring looks and compliments on his ridiculously adorable hat.

Now all he needs are his golf clubs!

Yes, he is wearing the same thing from the pictures in my last post because these were from the same day.  I put him in hats often because I myself love hats and also because I think babies and little kids look cute in them.

We also ventured out to get hair cuts -- for G and for dada.  G is still not a big fan but was amazed that dada also got his done.

R took one for the team and held the squirmy, crying toddler.

Mama's job was to try and pacify him with youtube videos of Flo Rida songs... after the mandatory crying pics, of course!

Saturday we started our first gym class at a new facility.  He is still in gymnastics (check out his forward roll skills down below - ha!), but we dropped G*ymboree and decided to try out another place.  I have nothing negative to say about G*ymboree at all.  G still likes going there, but after one year, mama was ready for a change.

Yay - gymnastics class is finally paying off!  Haha

He sat in his new teacher's lap immediately and loved every minute of it!  I like that it's early enough on a Saturday morning not to interfere with his nap time and it allows R to come with us.

Then we went to a good friend's one year birthday party (sorry, no pics were taken - fail!), came home, worked on the house for a bit and called it a day.

Life is hard!

Yesterday the Easter bunny came and left G two new books.  One of them he bought last year on sale after Easter - that smart little bunny!  ;)  I didn't do Easter bunny pics this year (or last year) and didn't do an Easter basket full of goodies.  I know there will be plenty of that in the years to come, as well as dyeing eggs, etc.  But for now, those things can wait and I am just fine with that.

G's Easter loot with his beloved sheepie peeking out... he's obviously not new!

He did have three different egg hunts in the span of this past week, and since then, he has enjoyed playing "egg hunt" at home.  I put a few little crackers or cookies in an egg, and "hide" it while he is fast on my heels.  Then he holds up his hands like he doesn't know where the egg is and snatches it from its "hiding" spot three seconds later to devour the goods inside.  Fun times!

We had a really nice Easter lunch (pot luck style) with my family.  I so love getting all the cousins together - can't wait until more are added to the bunch!

It's hard to get a good one of all 4 of them -- G wasn't helping any either :).

Sweet boys!

I hope your weekend was as good as ours and got to spend it with those you love.

Driving Miss Daisy

G has taken a keen interest in "driving" my car whenever we are out and about.  Depending on if we are in a hurry, I will either let him "drive" for a few minutes before we leave for our destination or after we are done and are headed back home.

He loves to fiddle with the air conditioner, radio, and windshield wipers and always grabs my chapstick that I keep in the middle console and asks to have some on.  Whenever I ask if he is ready to get in his seat, he will always look at me, shake his head, and say very clearly, "No."  Then I will tell him, "Okay, one more minute!," and he will hold up one finger like I do and mimic me in his baby talk.  Funny boy!  He is always good about going back in his seat and doesn't throw a tantrum if I give him that extra minute.  :)

Lately it's given me a chance to cool down the car before I have to put him in his black padded car seat (90º temps in April?!?).  It's comfortable but it gets h.o.t in the Texas sun!  I've started researching different car seat covers, but most reviewers say that a towel or blanket works just as well and is much easier.

Now if we could only make him a true designated driver... ;)

Product of the Week: iPlay swim diaper

With swimming season just around the corner and splash pad season in full blast, I realized that G had outgrown his reusable swim diapers and hastily ordered two more.

Why reusable swim diapers?  They actually work at keeping pee and poop out of the water and all you have to do is throw them in the washer and line dry before you use them again.  Easy on the wallet and easy on the environment, if you ask me!  While we didn't cloth diaper, I'm all for doing my part, however small, at keeping extra diapers out of our landfills.

For G's swim lessons, he had to wear two of these bad boys!  My first thought was, "How the heck is he going to wear two of these?!?"  There are many brands to choose from, but our swim school highly recommended the iPlay brand and I now know why!

They are as slimming as diapers can be and their swim trunks and swim suits actually have a swim diaper built in.  So we would put a basic swim diaper on G first and then pull the board shorts on top of that.  Very easy, especially with the side snaps on the diapers.

They come in different prints and styles, or if you really want to buy that cute suit from Target or Baby GAP, just get the plain white swim diaper to wear underneath.  We go that route as well when we are swimming other places besides swim school, and the one diaper is just as good!

You can find these at many different websites and shopping outlets.  For the actual iPlay website, go here.

**I am not, in any way, being endorsed or reimbursed for promoting this item.  Any opinion I post is strictly my own doing because I love to share fabulous products with other mamas!