This is my “excited to be back to work” face! Now that Isabelle is getting older and (slightly) less demanding, I decided it was time! I feel like when I’m working, even part-time, I’m my best self. Something about having deadlines actually helps me be more productive. I think maybe knowing I have less time makes me less likely to procrastinate? Not to mention my boss is pretty awesome and nothing beats working from home! Feeling like a #girlboss today!
My baby girl is 3! It seems like forever ago, and yet only yesterday, that we brought you home from the hospital. And we were TERRIFIED. What do we do with this tiny human?! We worried about everything! (Or I did, rather.) Is she getting enough milk? She’s been sleeping for too long, is she breathing? Is her poop supposed to look like this? (I can’t even count the amount of photos of baby poop I looked at…)
What do we do with this tiny human?!
I remember the colic days, and the guilt I had because I didn’t know how to help you. And then between 3 and 4 months the colic got better, and you started to develop more of a personality. Between 6 and 7 months you got your first 2 teeth, learned to crawl, sit up, and pull to stand all within a few weeks. And you let us know that your brain was BUSY! Those were rough nights for sleep!
You got your first 2 teeth, learned to crawl, sit up, and pull to stand all within a few weeks.
Your development sped up after that. Feeding yourself, walking, and then saying a few words like Mama, Dada, and Up. (And waffle shortly after that. Waffles are important, I get it.) By 18 months you were hiking short hikes with me and climbing out of your crib with ease (and we started to realize you were going to be a strong willed child!) I still remember the first time you said “I love you”, and I watch the video of it sometimes and smile!
By 18 months you were hiking short hikes with me and climbing out of your crib with ease
Right after you turned 2, Isabelle was born. It was a big adjustment for everybody. We still have trouble sharing attention sometimes, but you are the most amazing big sister to her. I love watching you two play together and seeing how much you love each other. Also around 2, you language exploded! You went from short phases to full thoughts and sentences almost overnight! One day you were saying “Boo please!” for Blue’s Clues, and the next it was “I want to watch Trolls. Not Christmas Trolls, I want to watch regular Trolls.”
You went from short phases to full thoughts and sentences almost overnight!
I can’t believe the amazing young lady you are turning into right before my eyes. I’m going to end here, because I am rambling and it’s getting hard to see through my tears, but I love you more than anything Katie Kay. You are so strong and powerful and I know you’re going to do great things. Never let that light inside you stop shining.
What do you think makes your littles the wonderful people they are?
“She didn’t get that from me!”
We didn’t teach her to be pretty.
Dual caption: You know he loves you when…. / ….this is life with kids. We had such a blast today doing the Warrior Dash together! I loved the fact that we did it as a couple and it was such a fun bonding experience for the two of us! Crawling through the mud together was a first! I like that this event was good for all skills levels. It was enough of a challenge for me, as someone who works out a lot, but was still achievable for Jason, who works out occasionally.
We climbed walls, we army crawled under barbed wire, and we waded through mud pits. It was a great course for a group, for families, or even solo. And then we finished and did a smooch for the camera and got photobombed by Katie, which is pretty much our lives! I almost cropped her out, but you know what? This is us! Even when you do things without your kids, the kids are with you. You can’t escape them! We had such a great time and they even had a kid’s obstacle course! We will definitely be returning next year!!
Use my promo WDPARENTDAZE for $5 off registration in 2018. Here is the link to their site.
“Mommy, tickle me! No, not my tummy, tickle my back. Tickle faster! Now tickle sloooow.” *Toddler giggles ensue*. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Do you ever notice how toddlers seem to get everything they want? I mean, assuming it’s safe, reasonable, and not too costly?
Do you ever notice how toddlers seem to get everything they want?
Now what about this scenario: “Hey, girlfriend, I’m going out with my friends. Is that cool?” “Sure, boyfriend. I don’t care. Do whatever you want.” *Angry seething ensues*. Has anyone also been there?
The second scenario was teenage me. I expected my then-boyfriend to be a mind-reader and got mad when I didn’t get what I wanted. This led to a very confused boyfriend. “You said it was okay?” (No, I wasn’t a complete psycho and this wasn’t something that happened ALL the time, but it definitely happened occasionally. I was young, don’t judge me.)
“Mom, stop singing.”
The first scenario is where I strive to be. Perhaps a little less demanding… But if you look at toddlers, you always know what they want. Because they ALWAYS tell you. “Mom, stop singing.” “I don’t want to take a bath.” “Sharing makes me sad.”
Saying what you want isn’t always easy. Especially at first. It makes me feel needy to utter phrases like “I need attention” or “I’m having a hard time today.” And no one likes to feel needy. But what’s worse than worrying about how you potentially look to others is never getting what you want because you don’t speak up.
It makes me feel needy to utter phrases like “I need attention.”
There is definitely a downside to this. Sometimes you put yourself out there, but the answer is no. Just like we have to tell our kids no. Sometimes you may be in the middle of a meltdown, call your significant other at work and tell them you desperately need them (ahem, K’s colic days… dark times…), and they have a meeting or can’t talk for some other reason. But even if that happens some of the time, is it better to never ask? And shoulder every burden alone?
Sometimes you put yourself out there, but the answer is no.
I’m not perfect and I still have not mastered this 100%. But being upfront as often as possible, especially with people I care about, is where I strive to be. It’s how you get the love you deserve, it’s how you get raises, and people respect a straight-shooter.
Demanding women are “bitchy” and demanding men are “go-getters.”
It’s especially hard for women to master this because we are expected to be pleasant and agreeable. (I know these old-timey views are changing but they still absolutely affect gender-roles today.). Demanding women are “bitchy” and demanding men are “go-getters.” But shouldn’t we all strive to be go-getters? How else are we supposed to get what we want if we don’t go get it?
We used to laugh at families who run together!
After we got back home, Katie was suspiciously good…
I rarely get alone time with K.
Would she be this good all the time if we were always alone?
No one gets my 100% anymore (including me)
For some reason I felt like we needed way more stuff being a ferry-ride away from home instead of a car ride
Everyone was staring at me and I totally wanted to cry.
Of course now I’m telling myself it wasn’t as bad as I thought.
❤.
Wearing shades to hide the fact that I totally have tears in my eyes. Did you notice it’s just me and Isabelle? We drove all the way out to the LA Harbor today to see the Dutch Tallship Stad Amsterdam. Katie was already causing trouble on the way there, shouting in the car and kicking Jason’s seat while he was driving. We got out of the car and went and got in line to board the ship and she was being SO bad.
Katie was already causing trouble on the way there, shouting in the car and kicking Jason’s seat while he was driving.
Jason tried putting her on his shoulders, we tried to get her excited about the ship (because she couldn’t stop talking about it on the way there!), and we kept telling her if she didn’t behave she wasn’t allowed to go on. She kept insisting that she was going to behave, but her actions weren’t changing. She was screaming and thrashing around on the ground, asking for one thing after another like milk and chicken nuggets and to watch tv.
We kept telling her if she didn’t behave she wasn’t allowed to go on.
We didn’t have any of those things, and I don’t think she wanted them either, it was just a power struggle to see what she could get. We probably warned her 20 times that she couldn’t go on if she didn’t behave and when we got to the front of the line, she was still thrashing and screaming on the ground. We had no choice but to tell her she was out of chances.
We had no choice but to tell her she was out of chances.
Deep down I thought maybe Jason would take her to the car to calm down and bring her back so I boarded with Isabelle and looked around and waited. I texted Jason to see what was going on and he said they weren’t coming back (usually I’m the mean one and he’s the softie so I was surprised!) I felt bad. I mean REALLY bad. I knew it had to be done because she can’t act like that, but it still hurt my heart to take something from her she really wanted.
I felt bad. I mean REALLY bad.
She cried the whole way home, and I was a little teary-eyed myself. It’s hard to uphold consequences – especially when you drive all the way to get somewhere and have to go right home. I think I need to buckle up if this is going to be life with a threenager. Please send positive vibes – no, send beer.
Okay guys, today was a rough one for us! We visited this interpretive center for the first time and there’s a really cute museum inside. They have a BINGO game for kids and have crayons you can borrow to play it. So K and I played and she was having kind of a rough time but she’s almost 3 so it was nothing out of the ordinary. Then we had to return the crayon because it wasn’t ours and K LOST IT. I mean like nothing I have ever seen before, and that’s saying a lot.
We have seen the thrashing on the ground crying tantrums, we’ve seen hitting and kicking, we’ve seen running away and refusing to come when called…
We have seen the thrashing on the ground crying tantrums, we’ve seen hitting and kicking, we’ve seen running away and refusing to come when called… This was a whole new level. I wanted to check her for broken bones or a flesh eating bacteria because in my head, there was no way any child should be acting like this unless they are dying. She would walk 5 feet, throw herself on the ground screaming at the top of her lungs like she was being murdered, thrash around, stand up walk 5 more feet, rinse and repeat.
I wanted to check her for broken bones or a flesh eating bacteria because in my head, there was no way any child should be acting like this unless they are dying.
I was trying to get her outside because we were inside an effing museum, the quietest place ever, and everyone was looking at us… I tried all my patient mom tricks to calm her down – I explained that we have to share the crayons, I tried to take a deep breath together, I offered to go to the bathroom to help her splash water on her face, I was desperate and nothing was working. And also had Isabelle in the carrier so carrying K while she was fighting with all her might wasn’t really practical.
I tried all my patient mom tricks to calm her down
So K cried/thrashed/flopped around on the ground every few feet the whole way to the car and I was almost fuming at this point, but was really trying to keep it together. Because no one wins if we are both screaming on the ground, though I was tempted. I told her we could either go home and no tv the rest of the day, or we could eat lunch outside the center and calm down, and after she could go in and apologize for her behavior. She chose the latter so we went and did lunch.
I told her she could go in and apologize for her behavior.
When it came time for the apology, K confidently walked inside, walked up to the staff at the desk, and then closed her eyes and turned her head! For what felt like an eternity but was probably 5-10 seconds. She eventually said sorry and the staff member told her she accepted her apology and we went back outside. I don’t know if her behavior was because she was tired (Isabelle screamed most of the night) or if I’m just desperately grasping at straws because I honestly can’t believe how bad this behavior was and I want to think there was a damn good reason so I can tell myself it won’t happen again.
If this is how 3 is going to be, it’s going to be a long year! Really hoping it was just an off day!