Halloween Eve

Halloween 2015

Happy Halloween Eve from my BOO-eautiful bones!

Stella Loves to Sing

Well it's Friday and this week honestly flew by. I really don't know why, we didn't do too much...a few errands here and there, walks on the towpath, played outside. It was a pretty chill week and because of that I don't really have much to say about this week.

But I do have a short toddler tale to share...

When I put Stella in her bed for her nap she usually hangs by her gate for some time yelling "Mommy...where are yooooou?" I watch the monitor and wait for her to get sleepy and fall asleep. As I usually do, I put a sleepy diaper on her and put her in her bed, came downstairs, turned on the monitor, checked on her and began to straighten up; the playroom mostly. I got most of the playroom cleaned and still heard her yelling for me. I checked e monitor and had to do a double take....my girl was bare ass with diaper in hand!! I went upstairs, trying to hold back my laughter and asked her why she took off her diaper. I look at the diaper and she had peed in it. She then looked at the diaper and said "Holy Moly, I peepee in diaper Mommy!"

On another note....
Stella is a singing machine these days...she sings in the bath/shower, on the towpath during our walks, in her room during nap time, to her 'guys'...pretty much everywhere! Here is a little 'Mary Had a Little Lamb"...

I can't even explain how excited I am for Stella to go trick or treating tomorrow and wear her costume!! I am happy and super impressed that she hasn't spilled the beans. She is already walking around the house with her pumpkin saying "trick or treat". Dare I say it? Rick and I have already been talking about how much fun this Christmas is going to be with Stella!! This is really a kick ass age. 

Happy Friday!

Potty Training Boot Camp

Okay people...potty training a toddler is no joke! Holy crap is it exhausting; or maybe it was just hard because I have an infant eating every 2.5 hours. I never thought I would nurse a baby in a bathroom as much as I did last week. I documented like crazy, kept logs, wrote down thoughts, and drank lots of strong coffee beer! Haha! Joking. I stuck to the coffee- okay in the a.m. When 5:00 rolled around the brewskies came out! So here is my take on how I potty trained Stella...

List of things I used:

LOTS of undies! Make them fun ones!

Cleaning supplies

a potty

a treat jar- we used M&M's

lots of liquids!!

this potty on the go

**patients!

***Strong Coffee

****Nice Cold Pumpkin Ale

Weeks before, I had read a crazy amount of articles about potty training. I kind took bits and pieces of them all and used what I thought would work the best with Stella. The weekend came and I didn't even think about potty training that Monday- wasn't sure if I was ready...

Day 1

Monday morning rolled around and I woke up and just decided "Here we go-Stella was just enrolled in Mommy's Potty Training Boot Camp 101" (both kids had a bit of a cold so it was a good week to be held captive in the house) Before she even woke up I put beach towels down in the living room, just to have a little bit of a buffer and picked up the playroom rug. When she came downstairs I had her undies out and ready to go. We took off her diaper and threw it in the garbage together! We said goodbye to the diaper and hello to big girl undies! I told her she was a big girl now and we are not going to wear diapers anymore; you can say I made a huge deal about it!! I showed my potty training spirit! She was excited about her undies- they were Minnie! I told her over and over that we don't want to get Minnie dirty and we need to keep her dry! She also thought that the beach towels that were laid down in the living room were the coolest things ever! it doesn't take much to excite a toddler I guess. So I decided to begin the timer at every 15 minutes. Every time the timer went off I made a huge deal and yelled out "Potty Time!!" and did a funny dance to the bathroom! She followed and sat on the potty for 5 minutes. I pushed the liquids and offered her anything she wanted- milk, water, grape juice or orange juice. We had 3 accidents by 10:30. I began to question myself if she was really ready. We had our first coincidental pee on the potty at 11:30. I jumped up for joy and sang a little potty song! She was rewarded with 1 M&M. During nap time we took off the undies and she wore a "sleepy diaper". (same for night time) When she woke up from her nap, we immediately took off her diaper, she used the potty and we put on her girl undies. All day long I reminded her that she was a  big girl, and she doesn't wear diapers anymore and big girls go pee pee on the potty! We had three more Peepee's on the potty that day. I was amazed because by the evening she was telling us she had to use the potty. Sometimes she would go, sometimes she wouldn't.

Let me just paint this picture for you from this day:

Stella said she had to go potty as I was nursing Ricky. Put Stella on the potty as I am still nursing. Ricky shats while nursing. Goes up his back, through his clothes, through my clothes. Quickly grab the changing mat, and clean things for Ricky. As Stella is still on the potty, I clean Ricky and put him in a dry diaper and clean clothes. Stella says she doesn't have to go so while I am still covered in baby crap, I wipe her anyway and get her dressed. Stella leaves the bathroom, I pick up the clean babe, still covered in shit and I hear Stella yell "Oh no, Peepee on the floor!" Yep- she had an accident in the foyer. DEEP BREATHE. Clean the floor, change my clothes. Reset the timer!

Day 2

When she woke up in the morning I put her right on the potty, gave her all the 'what big girls do' reminders, and put her undies on. I continued to push the liquids and bumped the timer to 25 minutes. I would hear her yell "Oh No Peepee on the Potty!" And I would whisk her to the bathroom. We had many false alarms that day. I think it was all stemming from the M&Ms. The times that we did have Peepee on the potty, I noticed she would just begin to go in her undies and she would stop herself and want to go to the potty. I was seeing lots of good signs! I kept telling myself- we are almost there and this shit is tiring! I remember telling Rick that I wondered if there was anyone out there that I could pay to come potty train this toddler. :) I still continued to use the sleepy diapers during nap and night time- which we will for awhile. I was feeling good about this. I rathered a million false alarms and a few successes in between than accidents.

Day 3

I continued what I have been doing the first two days. However, I started stretching the timer a little bit at a time. 30 minutes...40 minutes. We had two accidents this day and she told me right after each time that she had one. I noticed if she was doing something extra fun- like running outside in the grass for example, she would not stop to go potty. I guess I had to keep things boring. I would constantly ask her if she had to go- if she did she'd answer yes and she would go on the potty. 

As I was rewarding her after one of her peepee's on the potty I placed 1 m&m in her hand- it was a blue one- the color she always requested. She looked it over and spotted a chip in the candy coating. She told me it was broke, threw it in the trash and asked for a new one. Damn straight this girl wasn't going to be jipped out of any bit of that 1 m&m. :)

Day 4

I remember texting Rick that morning telling him that I was feeling discouraged because we had a major setback this morning. We had gone through more undies this morning than any other morning. I kept rewarding her when she'd go and make a huge deal about being so proud of her Peepee on the potty! As much as I read that this was totally normal, I still felt that we were doing too good for this to happen. But we kept at it...the timer, constant reminders, the rewards. Not to mention, I was beginning to get cabin fever! So we decided to have a picnic way out in the yard on a blanket. She thought it was the best thing ever! Nice change of scenery. She began asking to give Ellie a bone instead of an m&m as a reward. I was totally on board with this idea! So we changed the reward and the rest of the day began to turn around. That night we had our first POOP on the potty! And that was the first time Stella ever really saw what it looked like....a perplexed look is an understatement. At the end of the day (days 1,2,and 3 as well) I remember looking around at the house, having no energy to clean it up- what a disaster it was. As well as myself- I looked like a hot mess. this too shall pass.

Day 5

I needed to get out of the house before someone  I went batshit crazy. 5 days in the house in a row is too much for me. In the beginning of the week I purchased a potty on the go to keep in the truck. I showed Stella it before putting it in the truck and acted all excited about it! I also showed her the pull-ups which we call truck undies. I chose to take them for a walk on the towpath so we could stay close to the truck in case she had to go. We put the pull ups over her undies so if she had an accident the pull up would catch the pee but she would still have that being wet sensation from the undies. It was a successful outing! She didn't have to pee while we were out and went straight to the potty when we got home! 

Stella ready to go with her potty to go in hand...

As of right now...

She continues to tell us when she has to go. She is doing a great job and has had very few accidents. We still continue to use pull ups over her undies during our trips out and we have had plenty so far- shopping which went great; she told me she had to go and held it until we were done checking out and went on the truck potty. We also visited a pumpkin patch and festival in which she told us when she had to go and used the truck potty. She is not a fan/very unsure of public restrooms and has yet to use one- good thing for the potty on the go. We still use sleepy diapers at nighttime. She gets excited to take it off in the morning and put on her undies. If she is already in her diaper for the night and has to go pee, she still tells us and uses her potty! We still remind her to keep Minnie clean and not get her dirty! And if she asks for an M&M, I praise her and quickly change the subject. 

Any advice: 

Stick with it- even when it seems so much easier just to slap a diaper on them and be done with it.

You need to be 100% ready and have your head in the game!

Your toddler needs to be ready- showing physical and behavior signs!

I can't even begin to explain how proud of Stella I am. Funny, but when she goes potty- she sometimes looks right at me and says "Mommy proud of me". Talk about a proud mommy moment. 

Checking off the Fall Bucket List

Last week was a crazy week due to potty training boot camp! (more to come on that this week) Therefore, blogging just wasn't going to happen. I cannot believe that October is almost over already; and Halloween is next weekend! I am so excited for Stella's Halloween costume this year because Rick and her are dressing up together. I can honestly say that I didn't put as much effort into her costume this year as I did last. Who the hell has time to cut 100's of feathers for an owl cape?! Apparently I did last year. Ha! No mo'!

We have definitely been making the most of this season and checking off things from our Fall bucket list! We have visited more than one pumpkin patch and enjoyed the festivities at the farm. From Stella taking her first hayride, to picking the perfect pumpkin to enjoying the good ol' food trucks. Damn skippy I indulged in a funnel cake...really...who can walk by a funnel cake food truck with that sweet deep fried dough smell and not get one? Poor Ricky went home covered in powered sugar since I was wearing him in the wrap- doesn't take much to get things stuck in the doo ;) love his hair so freakin much! 

Let's see we have also gone apple picking, made apple pie, and carved our sorry looking jack-o'lantern. Stella loved digging the goop and seeds out of the pumpkin. She mostly enjoyed taking a hand full, squeezing it between her fingers and letting it drip down her. Not to mention she also enjoyed taking the permanent marker that we gave her to draw the face on the pumpkin and gave herself a little lipstick makeover! At first I wasn't sure if the mess was going to be worth the end result....but it definitely was! Rick put her right into the tub! a messy kitchen is a happy kitchen.  We still have yet to light that sucker!

Also love this season for the football Sundays spent on the couch and the colors on the trees...good color practice with Stella in the truck. 

The Fall shenanigans is not over and just 5 more days until the Halloween costume reveal! :)

Stella at 25 Months

It's been a busy week...of wiping and sucking snot from two tiny noses. 25 months is only a few days away for my little lady and I thought I would try and put a list together of things that she can do at this age. I know for sure that I am going to leave things out but figured I would give it a good try...I do work with her everyday and love for her to learn something new each day but some of the things that she says I really have no clue where she learned it....even though I would love to take the credit ;)

So here we go... at 25 months Stella:

-knows her first and last name

-can tell you what town she lives in

-can count 1-20

-can count 'backwards' 10-1

-can verbally spell Stella, Mom and Dad

-can sing the following songs: twinkle twinkle, mary had a little lamb, rain rain go away, ABC's, the itsy bitsy spider, happy birthday, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, family fingers and wheels on the bus.

-knows her shapes: square, circle. diamond, star, heart, rectangle, and a rainbow

-can draw circles, lines and dots

-can name her colors

-can name all her fruits and veggies(even garlic and edamame!)

-can name all the characters in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Winnie the Pooh

-Can name the following parts of the body: face, head, hair, mouth, nose, cheeks, chin, ears, knee, hands, fingers, piggies(toes), nails, teeth, eyes, eyelashes, belly, boobies, butt.

- Calls the following people by name: Mommy, Daddy, Ricky, Gammy, Pop, Nana, Poppop, Uncle Wade, Uncle Wyatt

-Calls the following animals by name: Ellie, Gigi, Sydney, Sookie, Chaps and Elvis, Red Red and MoMo

-Says "excuse me" when she either burps, toots, or if someone is in her way.

-Says "bless you" when someone sneezes.

-can name the following animals: dog, kitty cat, horse, pig, goat, sheep, fish, monkey, bear, moose, deer, bunny, frog, chicken, duck, cow, bird, butterfly, lion, and donkey. She also knows most of the sounds that they make. 

-can identify a fork, spoon and knife.

-says please and thank you

-can work the ipad probably better than Rick and I ;)

-if we are driving and she sees a 'big truck" out her window she yells "BIG TRUCK" and names the color of it!

-If we are on the towpath she she sees a bike coming, she yells "Mommy, Bike- get to side!" and she runs to the side to let the bike pass! She then tells me that if  she doesn't get to the side, it will squish her like a pancake!

-When she sees Rick or I starting the wood stove- she goes right for the paper and starts crushing it up and knows to put that in first, then the kindling(wood as she calls it). After that's done she knows it's time for the torch and backs up and says "Hot! Get burned."

-When she sees that we are pulling into Target, she knows that there is a Starbucks in it and asks for a cake pop! not kidding this girl remembers everything!

Like I said before, as soon as I publish this I know there are going to be things that I wish I had remembered! I knew I was bound to leave out some! However, this is a pretty damn good list ;)

Rick and I tell Stella ALL the time how smart she is and how proud we are of her. 

Stella, Ricky and I Are...

making// everything on the grill! Grilled veggies are our jam lately! We make the mostly green beans, squash, zucchini, mushrooms, sweet peppers and grilled cauliflower is a-maz-balls! Stella and I have also been eating alot of chips and salsa and green peppers with hummus which Stella calls 'nummus'. 

drinking// water, lactation tea, Stella is enjoying the Stonyfield Organic Strawberry smoothies lately and she has been on an orange juice kick. And I think we all know what Ricky has been drinking...
reading// Ha! Nothing that doesn't come from Stella's bookshelf. Lots of Halloween books.
watching// a few netflix movies- my way of watching a movie: hitting pause a thousand times to tend to a kiddie, or I break it into parts and watch it during nap time sometimes. Good thing it picks up from where I left off each time I go to watch it. About Alex, Listen to your Heart, and Short Term 12 are the three most recent watches. 
eating// lots of boobie juice cookies.
smelling// Right now?! My candle burning in the kitchen- Caramel Pumpkin Swirl
enjoying// these baby snuggles.

loving// this video clip and these smiles...not to mention the crazy hair and chubby cheeks! and his baby blues.. <3

hoping//  to squeeze in as many walks with hot spiced apple cider and cookie dates as we can before it get too cold. 

needing// to get Ricky some 3-6 months jammies!
wearing// cozy sweaters, sweatshirts...everything Fallish!
bookmarking// a few new soup recipes...I am definitely going to give this white bean chili a try as well as this pork chili verde. Soup and homemade bread- total comfort food right there!

and looking forward to//  apple picking tomorrow! 

You Know You're a Mom...

 You know you're a mom when you get excited that you can jam out in the car instead of singing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for the millionth time, and both littles stay asleep for the entire ride.

You know you're a mom...

When the cooing conversation you just had with your newborn is probably the best conversation you will have all day.

When you find yourself peeling the skin off of grapes and calling them surprise eggs.

When you let your kid play in a bag of grass seed so they can occupy themselves for 10 minutes.

totally wasn't joking. 

When the bottom of your feet have tiny scabs on them from stepping on thousands of toys.

When you are nursing a hungry baby and trying to eat your hot dinner at the same time.

When your phone has over 1,000 pictures of your kid on it.

When at the end of the day you realize that you didn't get a chance to shower that day.

When you find yourself running like mad and checking off all you can during nap time. Quick batch of cupcakes-check. Dinner vegetables chopped and prepped-check. Coffee made and timer set for next morning- check. Fold laundry and put away- check. Water the mums- check.

When you find yourself crying over spilled breastmilk.

When kitchen dance parties is all the exercise that you can fit in for the day. my treadmill has more dust on it then ever before.

When you just don't have those extra 5 minutes in the shower to shave the legs.

When you love oh so much when both kiddies nap at the same time...but there is something so special when one of the two is up and we spend that quality time together just 'us two'. 

When you decide to stock up on DAWN soap for all of the breast milk poop blowouts. Best stain remover out there!

When you find yourself sleeping better because of baby's womb soundtrack and you begin putting it on for yourself.

When both kids are sleeping for the night, the house is quiet, and you find yourself just laying in bed in a dark quiet room and loving it. And then the baby wakes up hungry....

Monday is Like a Fresh Start After a Rough Week

You're never quite 'ready'. You never know for sure what to expect. You'd think that you would know for #2...wrong! New baby, new challenges. 

Until you realize what you have.

You realize this is not something that you want to screw up.

It's not a question of choice. 

Parenthood for sure has it's raw moments. 

But parenthood humbles us and refines us. 

It redeems us.

When we chose to raise these littles, it is 'the real deal' that we signed up for. 

These littles are the most precious and purposeful deal that Rick and I have ever signed up for. 

They define us. The complete us. They love us. 

I couldn't of dreamt you both more perfect. 

Ricky's 2 Month Update

Dear Ricky,

I am enjoying all of your yummy baby goodness. Waking up to your sweet face each morning is the best thing in the world. Watching you so closely and hearing your sweet breathe while you sleep are two of my most favorite things. I wish I could freeze time and keep you little enough to stuff in my wrap, always. Your smiles are a killer and I would like to order infinity more each day. I love you little man. 

All my Love.

Momma

Weight: 13 lbs 12 ounces. 69th percentile! The doctors couldn't believe he is a breast fed baby!

Height: 23 inches long. 29th percentile.

Head Circumference: 43 cm. 97th percentile. 

Appetite: You are still eating like a machine. During the days, your hunger sets in about every 2 hours unless you are sleeping you sometimes go 3 hours. At each feeding you are eating about 4-6 ounces of breast milk. On a typical night, you wake to eat twice, sometimes once if Momma is lucky. I am still steering clear of dairy. We are still dealing with a bit of acid relux so we keep you upright for a while after you eat and you sleep on an incline. I am sometimes unsure how belches and farts can come out of a little body like yours! You one gassy little boy...which is the culprit for many of your tears. 

Clothing Size: You are currently wearing 0-3 month and 3 month clothing. We made the change to size 1 diapers. 

Milestones: You have some strong neck muscles and are doing a great job holding your head up. Most times you are not a huge fan of tummy time but you tolerate it. When I talk to you (or really anyone) you are able to focus and follow them. When I talk to you, oh those smiles are to die for! I am seeing more and more of them each day. 

Thoughts: Time goes just as fast, if not faster the second time around. I am doing my very best to cherish everything and live in the each and every moment with you. 

Our routine:  I am beginning to see a daily pattern of sleep times and feeding time even though I'd say that we don't really have a set routine just yet. You wake around 7 and eat right away. We make our way out to the living room so you can play on your play mat or get mauled by your sister. You play until about 8 and then take your first nap in your swing while Mommy plays with Stella. You seem to have no problem sleeping through Stella's loud mouth! :) You eat around 9:30 and if it is bath day you take your morning bath after this feeding and then play on your mat for a bit until you get sleepy. You then nap in your swing to wake up to eat around 12:00ish. With play and sleep inbetween your feedings are around 3:00ish, 5:30, and 8:00. Usually that is your last feeding for the night unless I feel you were extra hungry that day and could use more, I wake you around 10:30 to feed you once more and you go right back to sleep. You then wake to eat twice at night around 1:00 a.m and 4:00 a.m. A few days ago I went back to Stella's infant updates to see what our night routine looked like with her and wanted to follow the same or close to the same. After your 8:00 feeding we cozy you up in your bed and watch you drift off to sleep. Lately I have been putting on womb/white noise sound to help soothe you. 

Any big changes: Mornings and evenings were/and sometimes still are cranky times for you. lots of crying. I am noticing less and less crankiness during the daytime with more smiles- that's a big change!  However, evenings still seem to be fussy times for you, the colic will pass. Mommy will be sure to tell you when you get older how much of a crier you were. My sollybaby wrap is a saving grace for all of your fussy moments!  I am still soaking up and cherishing every moment these days because I know how fast time goes. if you're content and cozy in the wrap and it' the only place where you don't cry then in the wrap you will go-close to Mommy's heart. 

Your favorites: Some of your favorites at the moments are:
1. eating
2. you love being carried in my the sollybaby wrap. 
3. sleeping 

4. Your play kick mat! Your arms and legs go a mile a minute. 

5. Watching the fan go round and round

6. When Stella talks to you, you light up and smile the biggest smiles! Definitely an over the moon happy moment for a Mommy.

Cheers to the Weekend!

To start this weather is a favorite for sure. We have been outside each day soaking it up before it is gone. hoping for a mild winter. Fresh air for us all has been a good dose of medicine. It has been a rough week and I am super happy that it is Friday and we have Rick home for he next to days. This week all started with that damn car seat which was a major pain in my ass and gave me a good run in my laundry dept skills. After countless washes with baby dreft, purex, baking soda, white vinegar and dawn oh yea and my toothbrush I am pretty sure it's as good as new. Note to Self: when Ricky is ready for a convertible car seat, get one that the cover easily zips on and off with fairly easy washing instructions. We have had babies mainly the older one that do not want to go to sleep and are throwing our night time routine through a ringer this too shall pass, i'm hoping , and 5 a.m wakings from both littles.  A certain set of sticky fingers decided to open up a large collection of Ricky's dirty diapers to see what kind of surprises were in each! gross! Cranky babies, one cries they both cry kind of moments, listening skills tried, baby needs fed as toddler cries for Mommy yo play in the playroom that very moment, patience limits reached...

but the smiles, Mommy I give you a kiss, Love you Mommy, I did it all by myself moments makes these crappy ones oh so foggy. or maybe it was that extra glass of wine. kidding!

But really weeks like this just make the good times that much sweeter. We definitely had some good times this week, fall inspired of course.


It was time to spice up our towpath walks with a little Fall scavenger hunt! I explained it to her before we left and showed her the bag. As soon as she got out of the stroller to walk, she asked for her bag! Stella loved it and was so excited to put things into her bag! We both had a blast looking for the things listed! Definitely a do it again!

We headed to the farm to pick out a little pumpkin to paint. It was so damn cute to watch Stella try to pick up each pumpkin. When she would get to the bigger ones she would say "oh no Mommy, too heavy!"

and we couldn't leave without seeing the what we used to call piggies! They got so big!

these smiles...a total favorite. 

Octoberfest...another total favorite. :)

we did a little pumpkin painting...

my gosh do I love these two...Being a Mommy definitely has it's hard moments but these two make my heart melt over and over. 

the Halloween stuff that the kids can wear make this month so much fun! Halloween jammies, shirts, and headbands/hair clips for the win!

Even though it's been really nice outside, it is still October and that calls for Soup! I totally made two different large pots of soup this week! Kicked off the season with good ol' chicken noodle and chunky vegetable. I love being able to make it early in the day and having dinner done since that seems to be a chaotic time around here! 

oh man that face! Ricky: just smile and take the damn picture already so we can be done!

Here's to the freakin' weekend- I'll drink to that!