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Daily Life ExploreLongBeach

Date Night at the Long Beach Aquarium Member’s Prom!

Posted on May 4, 2018

We had an amazing childless night at the Long Beach Aquarium Member’s Prom last night. It was Roaring 20s themed and I could not have asked for a better night. We had so much fun drinking and dancing, and actually got to look at the animals without having to chase our kids. And to top if off, we Postmated happy meals and sundaes from Mcdonalds after we got home and ate them on the couch! It’s nice to have some time alone to remind us why we fell in love. I woke up today feeling so lucky to have someone as wonderful as Jason. (And perhaps a tad like I had one too many beers . But mostly lucky.)

Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific: http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/

 

Daily Life

IB is walking. Sort of.

Posted on April 26, 2018

Okay, I’m calling it. We have a walker. But I’m putting it in the baby book with an asterisk because this adorable little face is the face of a faker. It all started last week when she started taking a few steps here and there. We figured she was still learning and wasn’t ready.

Earlier this week we saw her walk from the coffee table to the door (about 5-6 steps) when she thought no one was looking.

Then earlier this week we saw her walk from the coffee table to the door (about 5-6 steps) when she thought no one was looking. Later the same day, she walked over to me when I put on the carrier because she wanted to be picked up. But if I set her down on her feet and try to get her to walk to me, she sits down and cries. This continued several times throughout the week; she was taking several steps when no one was looking.

Then last night I saw her walk around the coffee table to the couch (about 12 steps)

Jason and I joked that she was waking up and night and walking around the apartment under the cover of darkness. Then last night I saw her walk around the coffee table to the couch (about 12 steps) and when I came in the room and busted her, she sat down!

She also still pretends she can’t hold her fruit pouches 

She also still pretends she can’t hold her fruit pouches and makes us hold them for her, and even though she had been standing unassisted for MONTHS now, she still only does it on her terms. If she has a toy or a sandwich, she will stand for several minutes while she plays or eats. If I try to stand her up on her feet, it’s like her legs are jello! Does anyone else’s kid do this?

Is it possible we are creating this fake helpless damsel in distress? 

Katie is the complete opposite. When she learns a song, she wants to sing it to us again, and again… and again. She wants to show us how she can open her own string cheese and tell us how she went potty on the potty (I mean, still? You’ve been doing this for months now. Do we have to throw a party for every single poop for the rest of your life?) Part of me wonders if this is a second child thing with Isabelle. We are always saying “be careful with the baby” and “she’s too little for that.” Is it possible we are creating this fake helpless damsel in distress? Is your kid(s) more “look what I can do” or “I can’t do it”? And who was firstborn and who is the baby if you have multiples?

Daily Life

I’m back to work!

Posted on April 12, 2018

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!

Daily Life

My Baby Girl is 3!!

Posted on March 29, 2018

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.

Daily Life

Nature or Nuture?

Posted on March 28, 2018
Nature or nurture? What do you think makes your littles the wonderful people they are (and maybe sometimes the not-so-wonderful people. Come on, we were all thinking it!) If you’re anything like me, you want to think it’s nuture (environment) when it comes to the good things. Katie loves fitness because we model the importance of taking care of your body, Katie loves books because we read to her so much, Katie’s good at building things because we play lego with her all the time.
What do you think makes your littles the wonderful people they are?
And then the bad things we want to believe are all nature (or genetics.) Katie is naturally stubborn (not our fault), Katie has trouble listening (must be in her genes), Katie has a hard time sitting still (blame genetics! Especially your significant other’s genetics. “She didn’t get that from me!”) In reality, it’s probably a mix of both, and then there’s also free will.
“She didn’t get that from me!”
No matter how we raise Katie, or what traits she was “born with”, she is still her own person. Sure, we can guide her, especially while she’s so young. But we can’t force her to be a certain way. Jason and I joke about how awkward it is to say “thank you” when people compliment your kids. I mean, we do it because it’s what’s socially accepted and we don’t want to look like jerks, but it is kind of bizarre when you think about it. “What beautiful children you have!” Or “She is so smart!” And you’re like “Oh thanks… we made them ourselves!” 
We didn’t teach her to be pretty.
In all honesty, the only thing I really feel that we can take credit for is Katie’s good manners. We didn’t teach her to be pretty, we couldn’t force her to learn the alphabet before she was ready, and I know I am definitely not the reason she can do the monkey bars because I can’t even do them. But we sure as hell drilled please and thank you’s into her. And she has the best manners now. (Self high-five!) As for the rest, I guess we’ll never know what makes her the unique little lady that she is. One of life’s great mysteries.
Daily Life ExploreLongBeach

Warrior Dash 2018

Posted on March 25, 2018

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.

Daily Life

Through the eyes of a child

Posted on February 18, 2018

It’s so funny how spending time with a child changes the way you look at things. I probably passed these things a thousand times without looking through them when K was a baby. Now that she’s old enough, she wants to look through them every time we pass them. What’s funny is now I look through them too, even when she isn’t with me.

I feel like being around her makes me appreciate the beauty around me more. I look up at the clouds and the leaves in the trees (I feel like I never used to look up!), I squat down to get a better view of flowers and bugs, I even started appreciating all the different types of transportation more. Before kids I would have spent my drives being annoyed with traffic and never would have thought, “Wow, today I saw 2 tankers, a fire truck, and a garbage truck! How cool is that?!”

It’s no wonder toddlers and babies sleep so much, noticing everything is like sensory overload! When I listen to K point out not only objects but the colors and shapes that make up those objects and the letters or numbers on them, I can’t believe the details I overlook in every day life. Don’t get me wrong, of course there is a time and place and it only makes sense that us adults overlook those things. Can you imagine trying to navigate your way to a new destination while also noticing every color and shape and letter around you? It would be impossible! (And also probably why it takes toddlers so long to get from Point A to Point B .)

But, when it’s safe and you have the time, there is really nothing better than looking at things through a toddler’s eyes. It’s truly magical.

Daily Life

Paczki Day!

Posted on February 13, 2018

Happy Pączki Day! “What’s a pączki?” you may ask? You are not alone! I thought everyone ate them on Fat Tuesday until I moved to Southerm California and there is only one deli near us that carries them and it’s 25 miles each way. In Michigan where I grew up, every grocery store carries them for at least a week before Fat Tuesday!

Back to what it is: a pączki is sort of like a doughnut but bigger and more deliciousy-er. It’s a tradition on Fat Tuesday before the beginning of Lent. I found this amazing deli when I was pregnant with Katie (because you can’t be pregnant on Fat Tuesday and NOT have a pączki!) so I drove the 25 miles to get there, waited in line, got to the front, and found out they had sold out and everyone still in line had pre-ordered days in advance!

So naturally, I went home and sobbed. The ugly kind of sob, for like 2 hours. I was huge and hormonal and had my heart set on fried dough! I went to 2 different doughnut places and tried to fill the giant, fat, sad hole in my heart with regular doughnuts but it wasn’t the same. I was so bummed. (Who cries over food, right?). So now I have never made the mistake of not pre-ordering again and every year for Fat Tuesday we make the trek out and get some amazing pączkis. It makes me so happy that even though K didn’t get to have one in my tummy, she can enjoy them with me every year outside my tummy.

Daily Life

Isabelle is 9 months

Posted on February 8, 2018

Happy 9 months Little Lady!! I cannot believe there is so much chill and yet so much fire in your tiny little body! With Katie we knew what we were getting into… She has been a firecracker from day 1 and when she got colic at 5 weeks, we knew it was paving the way for a spirited toddler.

I swear being in that harness put a chip on her shoulder!

But Isabelle was more deceiving. She started sucking her thumb the day she was born and was such an easy newborn! She was so laid back about getting her pavlik harness put on, and then the day it came off (for the first time in 8 weeks), she surprised us by rolling over. And she hasn’t stopped moving since! Jason laughs when I say this, but I swear being in that harness put a chip on her shoulder!

Diaper changes are like wrestling an alligator

Every day since then, we see a little more fire in her – but only about certain things! It’s either one extreme or the other and there is no in between with her. She still loves sucking her thumb, if we put a blanket over her carseat at naptime she’ll fall asleep, she doesn’t get upset when K takes toys from her or is rough with her… but then diaper changes are like wrestling an alligator, she squawks and shout-babbles at you if you eat in front of her and don’t share (which is sad and hilarious), and she is so desperate to walk!

Before she was born, I remember people saying how siblings can be so different.

Some days are rough (teething has been brutal with her – much harder than it was with K – and she only has 3 teeth so far) but she is such a joy to spend time with and I love watching her grow and become her own person. It’s funny because before she was born, I remember people saying how siblings can be so different.

And it’s scary when you only have one because you love them so much and can’t imagine wanting your next child to be different! But while Isabelle is her own person, she also has a little bit of all of us in her (and actually a lot more Katie than I expected – but hopefully not more than I can handle. Send wine?) Anyways, happy 9 months Missy. I love who you are becoming

Daily Life

Summiting Mount Hollywood

Posted on January 31, 2018

The face you make when you just summited your first mountain! Well, “mountain” … Every country has a different definition of what is considered a mountain, but Mount Hollywood is 1625 feet, is called MOUNT Hollywood, and has a vertical gain of 560 feet from where we started, I’m saying we can call it a mountain! (The internet agrees and if it’s on the internet, it has to be true right?)

Either way, I’m so incredibly proud of this little lady today. The fact that you walk a slope the whole way up and then back down after you summit was both good and bad for us. Good because once you get to the top it’s all downhill after, and also because if K said she wanted to stop it would be easy to turn around and go back (as if this kid would ever ask to stop ?.) The bad is that the way up is tough. It’s not incredibly steep, but it’s a continuous slope so it’s relentless, and K has little legs. It also means you have to really watch your step going down.

The view is 100% worth it though. I tried to leave several times and K kept crying and saying “I want to stay here forever.” I can relate! There’s something so special about reaching a summit and hanging out up there, taking in the view and appreciating the hard work it took to get there. You see things from a vantage point most of the world will never see.

I don’t know that K quite understands all of that yet, but she sure enjoyed the hike today (even though she was slightly disappointed there was no waterfall – apparently we need to talk about gravity soon.) Overall it was an incredible hike! My only regret is it was 80 degrees today and I let the kids have all the water! #momlife amirite?