Laney's First Haircut

 Many people take their babies to get their first haircut within the first year of life.  Even 18 months, 2 years... Delaney was 2 years, 9 months and 6 days when she had hers.  It takes so long for my kiddos to GET hair, that I'm not too excited to cut it off until absolutely necessary.  I wouldn't even say that Laney was in NEED of a haircut yet, but Bella needed one desperately, and Laney wanted to do what big sis was doing.  So... the first haircut came to be. 

 She started getting a little worried when the hairdresser put the smock on her, but once the scissors came out, the worry grew.  She never did cry, but I know she was concerned.

Even through the worry, she followed directions like a champ.  She put her head down, to the side - everything she was told to do.  Way to go, Laney! Looking great!

BIRTHDAY PICS!

They have been FOUND!  The computer gods are smiling down at me right now.  I'm crazy excited.  Here's some more pics of the decorations, and a few of my smiling 5-year-old! I didn't include any pics of the party-goers, because this is a public blog, and I don't want to show pics of babies who aren't mine.

 The food table was fun and festive.  I stole some of my ideas from other blogging mommies, and others I did all on my own.  Since you are reading this blog, I know you CAN read, so I'll let you read the food labels yourself.  :)

 I'm a crazy woman with my computer and my scrapbooking supplies.  I made these labels out of leftover baby shower thank you notes.  Not planning on using THOSE again!

The cupcakes rocked my world.  I ordered them from Suplise It's a Party!  The lady had never heard of The Fresh Beat Band before, but thanks to Google, she was able to create a yummy replica of Kiki's guitar!  I'd say it was "kickin'!"

 I bought colorful cups from Oriental Trading and decorated them with pics of the FBB and each child's name on the back.  We used them for our Groovy Smoothies, of course!

 Since this was a music themed party, I got out all of our instruments, and borrowed a few from Parents as Teachers - one of the perks of my job!  The kids played instruments along with our party soundtrack (see party favors from last blog post) as they came in.

 As each child entered, they received a VIP backstage pass to see the Fresh Beat Band.  Bella dressed as Kiki, Delaney was Marina, Luke was Shout, and Jerry was Twist.  I was Miss Piccolo - lucky me, she was off duty, so she was wearing regular clothes instead of the stuffy suits she wears on the show! We also played some games - "Loco Legs Sack Race" and "Musical Dots" (just like musical chairs, but with dots on the floor - once they were out, they went upstairs for their Groovy Smoothie.)  They also made a keychain/zipper pull craft that I picked up at Michaels.

My big girl is FIVE!  I can hardly believe it.  She'll be going to kindergarten in the fall, and that completely blows my mind!  I'm so proud of her.  As she went to bed that night, she thanked me for the "best party ever."  Now you see why I go to so much work.  She's totally worth it.

Bella's Fresh Beat Band Party

My first baby turned 5 in April.  I'm just now getting around to organizing pictures for the past few months.  I completely missed the 12 on the 12th for April and for May, but I'll try to do better for the rest of the year.  Instead, I'm going to post some pics of the party decor.  One of the reasons for my lack of posts has been the fact that my computer likes to turn itself off at random times.  Not so pleasant when you're in the middle of a long blog - WITH pictures. :(  Bummer.  Also, because of this problem with my POS 'puter, I LOST all the pics of the party itself.  Which means I can't scrapbook it, which breaks my heart. :(

Without further ado, here are some pics of Bella's party decorations:

 The shoes are the ones Bella wore.  She dressed as Kiki from the FBB.  She absolutely loves that show.  I made this centerpiece for the front hall table out of the centerpiece from Luke's monkey-themed party.  I just cut orange paper out to cover the monkey, and printed a pic of the group along with some words.  Voila - a FREE centerpiece! Yay!

 I always try to make the favor bags cute since I put them in the front hall.  That way, people are less likely to forget them on their way out.  I filled them with a mix CD of Bella's favorite songs, some jelly bracelets, tattoos, a blow up guitar, silly bands, and a guitar pick necklace.

I used the Nick Jr. website for a lot of printables, and backed them with colorful paper to make instant posters.  I bought music notes to line the front entryway with, and put some on our living room windows as well.  The colorful paper lanterns were one of my favorite decorations.  They achieve the look of balloons, but are classier and last a lot longer!  We'll be using those again very soon!

Now I'm off to see if I can salvage some 5th birthday pics off of this silly machine!

Toddler Terror

I was folding laundry upstairs, when I hear cries of fear from my girls in the kitchen.  "MOM!!!!" 
As I descend the stairs, I hear the reason for for my haste.  "Luke has knives - TWO of them!"

First of all, I'm wondering how in the world he got the knives - then I realized - the door to the dishwasher is open. OH NO!

I come around the corner, and see my daughters (aged 5 and almost 3) cowering in their kitchen chairs because their 16 month old brother is standing on the floor banging together 2 butter knives like drumsticks.  I really couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation.  My girls -terrified of a toddler.  Too funny.

*The butter knives are safely put away now.  No one need fear that my baby will spread anything on you anytime soon. :)

Luke's discoveries

Luke's smile lifts every one's spirits.  That's nothing new.



Picture of a photo taken by Lil Angels Photography



What is new are some of his new skills.  He has been concentrating on our speech for the last couple of months, and has learned to say a collection of words (in order of appearance): dada, cat, mama, cars, more, kiss, all done, what's that?, Bella, ice cream, Taka, hi, dog, donut.   He is also "talking" so much.  Deliberate speech that I'm sure he thinks means something to us. He can get very serious about it.  I can't get enough of that voice!

Another new skill he has learned - climbing!  He has been climbing stairs - and fast - for a couple of months now.  But now he's climbing anything else that he can.  He figured out how to get on the couch by climbing onto a little folding chair, onto the end table, and over to the couch.  He also climbed up onto my rocking chair in his room before bedtime.  He's not walking yet, but he is agile!

Along with all this growth come LOTS of sleep and an insatiable appetite.  This kid can EAT!  Although, you'd never know by the looks of him. 

His other new discovery?  He has found himself.  Yep.  Let's just say he has a new favorite bath toy.  In fact, he threw one of his other bath toys out of the tub tonight, so he could go back to amusing himself.  Pretty funny, and he thinks the word "penis" is hilarious.  Typical boy. 

So, it's been a busy couple of months since his birthday.  He's learning new things every day.  And although he has not figured out the walking thing, I think we are officially in the toddler phase.  Let the fun begin!

12 on the 12th - Better Late than Never!

I really must get over this procrastination thing!  :)  I got my pictures taken on the 12th, but then life continues to happen, and I don't always have the time to get my pics uploaded, chosen, and posted.  So here they are.  Enjoy!



8am - Breakfast time




9am - I taught my monthly Baby Sing and Sign class for PAT.




10am - Personal visit with a PAT family
in other words - PLAYTIME!




11am - Time to write up my report
and do the rest of my paper work.



12pm - Time to clean up the toys and the playroom



1pm - almost done with work - need
to make some phone calls first.




2pm - Girls spent the afternoon outside
playing.  What a beautiful day!




3pm - still playing.  Once Delaney puts her helmet on, she keeps it on the whole time she's outside, whether she's riding her bike or not!




4pm - Luke attempts to scoot on his zebra. 
Need a little bit longer legs - his
right one isn't quite touching. 




5pm - Luke takes a late nap. Shhh...




6pm - Bella and Delaney are exhausted from
playing all afternoon.  Time to veg out in front of a movie.




7pm - I'm out without kids or husband!  Here are Jeana and Josh (watching
the KU game) with their daughter, Harper, on the left, and Kim and
Andy's daughter, Lily.  Time to pick up the ladies for Girls' Night Out!




8pm - GNO! Tapas and Sangria (with one Mojito in there) at La Bodega.  We were lucky to get the private dining room.  What a treat!  Our waiter was the spitting image of Chris Kattan.  Crazy times!
Jeana, Liz, Stephanie, Cathy, and Kim

So, yet again, I cannot count to 12.  I posted an "unlucky" 13 pictures today.  We had too much fun at girls' night to not post that pic (Moms so rarely get in the pictures!), and I refused to start my weekend with a work picture.  Luke is much more pleasant.

The Weanor

"Weaning has never been easy for the weanor or the weenee, but it is necessary for the survival of both." - from Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World, by H. Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelson.

Yep, I'm the Weanor.

A few weeks ago, when Luke turned 13 months old, I decided to test the waters and see if Luke was ready to wean off the breast. (Sorry if that word makes some of you cringe, but that is what they are called, and what they are used for. Deal.) I had him down to one nursing session a day - our evening snuggle-nurse.  For those of you who have breastfed, you know what a huge bond that creates with your child.  And this was my LAST (at least that WE are planning - God may have something different in store for us.). 

Before I continue with that, let me take you back to when I weaned my daughters.  Bella was about 11 months old.  She was NOT a cuddler.  She was a mover and a shaker, and she just did not want to lay still and eat.  She liked sitting in my lap to read books, but laying her down was way too boring for her or something, so she weaned herself.  It was a complete non-issue.  I hardly got to enjoy our last nursing session, because I didn't know the last was the last! 

With Laney, things were a little bit different.  She was 9 months old.  I was pregnant.  I had read that some women nursed while pregnant, and I thought about giving that a go since there was still 3 months left until she would turn a year old.  Well, my doctor advised against it because my body needed the calcium for the baby I was creating.  Knowing how much I lack a calcium-rich diet, I figured I owed it to that new life to leave the calcium to the baby, since Laney could get calcium from other foods. By the time I made my decision to wean, she was 10 months old. So, that was the end.  I don't remember feeling much one way or the other about it, except that I was bummed to wean a bit early.  Luckily, she had no problem switching to cow's milk, and we were once again able to stay away from formula.

Fast forward to now.  My youngest - my BABY!  He's the oldest weanee of the bunch, since we are going through this process as he is 13 1/2 months old. That night a few weeks ago when I first tried to go without nursing him for our evening "meal", he was fairly content rocking with me while I sang to him, but then his little bitty hand stuck out, and signed "milk".  He was very sweet about it, but I thought, "Nope, Cathy.  Remain strong.  Stick to it."  Then, he did it again.  My heart melted.  He was very sweetly asking for milk.  How could I say no?  So, we continued.

He hasn't been so into the nursing sessions these past few days - just drinking a bit and then falling asleep.  So tonight we tried going without nursing again.  We rocked.  I sang.  We cuddled.  He looked at me with his adorable eyes.  He sucked on his paci.  He rubbed on Monkey, his lovey.  But - he did NOT sign milk.  He was okay with it.  He didn't even cry when I laid him down and said goodnight. 

What a big boy!  I'm so proud of him.  As much as I am happy to have my body back to being my own, I'm mourning that part of my life.  I loved nursing my babies.  And now it's over.  :(  For the past 5 years and 8 months (except for about 6 months between weaning Bella and conceiving Laney), I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding.  That's a huge thing to say goodbye to.  I guess it's time to move on.

On a positive side, I can have a glass of wine with dinner again and wear bras without trap doors!

Anyone want to attend my burning of the nursing bras party?  They've had a good run.