Puppy Party Inspiration

Baby D will soon be TODDLER D, which means his first birthday is just around the corner. I decided a long time ago that the theme would be a puppy party. It took awhile to convince my husband to go with it, but after a few weeks of seeing baby D’s face light up and hearing his little baby laugh every time a furry face showed up on the TV or at the park, he was sold.

The first and hardest thing to decide on were the invitations. I thought that with such a generic theme, there would be TONS of invitations with puppies on them to choose from.

Um, not the case.

After searching through the usual suspects – Shutterfly, Tiny Prints, etc. – I finally turned to Etsy. A couple of emails, a couple of days and only $10 later, I had my design:

Then I decided baby D needed a personalized birthday onesie. So back to Etsy I went and found this:

So what if they’re slightly different dogs?

The first weekend in May, I went to Party City to stock up on supplies – plates, cups, utensils and decor. My plan was to do a blue/green/orange color scheme but I couldn’t find much in orange so it quickly turned into a blue/green theme instead. My mom also pitched in and found a cute puppy pinata. So it’s coming together but I’ve still got to decide on the menu and make his birthday banner. I’ve been diligent about taking both weekly and monthly photos to show his growth progression so I’ve got something in mind for displaying this at the party but just need to find the time and energy to do it.

I still haven’t really let myself dwell on the fact that he’s no longer an infant and it’s crazy how much our lives have changed in this last year – both good and bad. But man do I love being this little boy’s momma. So I’ll just focus on that instead.

My REAL First Mother’s Day

Is it just me or is Mother’s Day even better than birthdays? I’d much rather have a day dedicated to all I do to take care of my family versus just a day to celebrate the day I was expelled from my mother’s nether regions.

Since my little man is not quite a year old yet, it was once again up to my husband to make sure I was properly celebrated. He already let me in on my main gift the day before – professional house cleaning – since he wanted to let me choose the date. D’s birthday party is in 2 weeks, so I requested that they come next week. I’ve only ever had someone clean my house one time, and that was just a few months ago. I’d love to be able to afford a regular cleaning service, but that’s just not in the cards at the moment. But I’ll definitely jump at the chance to have it as my Mother’s Day gift!!

On Sunday morning, the three of us snuggled in bed for a bit. (My favorite part of the day!) Then the hubs gave me my presents – a new robe and a new set of pajamas! Not to mention a cute card with a sweet message about how I’m an even better mom than he expected. (Awwww.)  For breakfast it was pancakes and coffee, a little daydreaming while watching House Hunters International, and then we headed to the zoo, along with everyone else in the St. Louis area. Since it was right around nap time, baby D watched the sea lion show and then conked out in his stroller for pretty much the rest of the afternoon. Well, technically he woke up at the gift shop, just long enough to grab hold of a cute stuffed sea lion, which meant we HAD to buy it.

For dinner, we had St. Louis style pizza (Imo’s). My husband hates it but because it was my day, it was my choice. We also splurged on mini blizzards from Dairy Queen and I called it an early night, curled up in bed with the iPad and some blog reading. Pretty much a perfect day.

I didn’t take many photos, but we managed to capture this gem from the morning, sporting my new robe.

 

My Mother’s Day Wishlist

This year marks my very first REAL Mother’s Day. Last year, my hubs took pity on me and surprised me with presents and a fabulous day, but I didn’t really feel like I had deserved it yet.

This year? I earned my Hallmark card, dammit. Particularly these last few weeks when we’ve been fighting terrible sleep issues.

But instead of the typical flowers, jewelry, and a day of no cooking, I have a few different things on my wishlist.

1. A mama’s boy of a son who is not such a mama’s boy at bedtime. (I think our current sleep issues are stemming from separation anxiety. I love the cuddles and the desire to be held but I need my sleep!)

2. A clean and de-cluttered house, that magically got that way through no elbow grease of my own.

3. A full body massage, facial, mani/pedi, and personal stylist to pick out my clothes, do my makeup, and fix my hair.

4. A coffee mug of endless lattes and a champagne glass of endless mimosas.

5. An amazing brunch somewhere without the need for reservations or an hour wait or the need to take eleventy million things with us to keep the baby entertained.

6. A steak dinner and a night at the movie theater, indulging in a giant Icee and a big bag of Reese’s Pieces. And maybe staring at Ryan Reynolds for a couple of hours.

7. Gorgeous family photos in which I look 20lbs skinnier.

8. Birthday cake. Even though it’s not my birthday (yet) and no calories in that cake, please.

9. Someone to go through and edit, organize, backup and print all of my photos from the last year (or the last 7 years).

10. A body like Sophia Vergara.

What’s on your Mother’s Day wishlist?

What Makes a “Good” Parent?

My mom and I were talking about a couple of extended family members the other day.

“He’s a good dad, but he never really disciplined those girls the right way.”

“I can’t believe she would do that. I mean, she’s a good mom, but she posts some really stupid stuff on Facebook.”

“He’s a good dad, except for the fact that he’s been unemployed for years with no desire to get a job.”

So I started thinking about what it means to be a good parent. More specifically, what it means to ME. (Because we all know it’s different for everyone.)

For my entire life, I’ve believed that to be considered a good parent, one must only love their child/children. But is that enough? I’m starting to think that no, actually, it isn’t.

I look around at the young adults I know in my life and for most of them, I wonder, “What went wrong?” Their parents all love them very much. They would never intentionally harm them or set them up for failure. And yet, they still seem to struggle with life. (I guess we all do, to a certain extent. So I’ll clarify with an example in a minute.)

I have a cousin in her early 20s. She’s the youngest of three. Her father is about the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, but he has a troubled past, health issues, and battles depression. Because of these things, he’s on disability and although he works, I wouldn’t call it a career. He gets by and makes sure his girls have always had the essentials in life.

“He’s still a good dad,” I would say, defending him despite the criticism.

My cousin, his daughter, had a baby a few months after me. She’s a high school dropout, unemployed with a live-in boyfriend (who’s 19 and does odd jobs for work), and really just wanted nothing more than to be a mom. She loves her son, but apparently not enough to stop smoking while she was pregnant (said she “cut back”) and now her poor baby has asthma. She also makes all the other “bad parenting” mistakes doctors warns us against – propping bottles in the crib, giving bottles full of juice instead of formula (starting around 4 mos old), putting blankets and bumpers in his crib before he could even roll over. She never cared to read a single book on caring for a baby and she uses a clinic for healthcare (not by choice, of course, but due to lack of health insurance). And lest you think I’m just being a snotty, judgmental sanctimommy, if anyone tries to offer advice or correct her, then you need to “stop reading her Facebook” and the name calling comes shortly after. She does not want help, unless it’s in the form of dollar bills.

Last month, she needed about $3,000 worth of dental care and doesn’t have dental insurance so her older sister paid for it, even though she doesn’t make much money being the manager of a shoe store. That same week as her dental work – the dental work she couldn’t afford – she went out and got the words “bulletproof” tatooed on her neck. Her FB posts are less about her kid and more about how “hot” of a mom she is.

Despite all of these things that make me want to smack her, I know she loves her son. But I just can’t bring myself to call her a “good mom” anymore.

And that’s when I realized that my definition of what makes a good parent had evolved from just merely loving your child to “loving your child enough that you change yourself to be the best possible role model for them.” That’s the new standard for me. And because of this, I know I’ll need to make some changes for myself. I’ve definitely got a lot of work to do.

 

11 Months

Weight/Length: Oh gosh. Maybe 24 lbs? No clue on length and we won’t have an “official” measurement until his first year appointment in June.

Sleep: Is sleep regression typical around 10 or 11 months? My usual champ of a sleeper has been fighting his naps and his nighttime sleep. ESPECIALLY his nighttime sleep. Maybe it’s because we’re not on a super strict schedule? I have no idea, but we’ll do a feeding, bath, and read bedtime stories and just as I get about 2 pages from the end, he’ll start whining and sit up to play. Then it’s a good hour or so before he finally conks out. Even if he was practically falling over in the bathtub. Doesn’t matter. As for how he does once he actually does fall asleep? It’s a crap shoot. Some nights he’ll STTN and never make a peep. Others, he’ll wake up 2-3 times and ends up in our bed beween 4 and 6am.

Feeding: Not much new here. We’re still doing purees and oatmeal, with about 4 bottles a day, and practicing real-food eating with Mum-Mums and puffs. We’ve started introducing bites of things here and there (like warm cinnamon sugar donuts in Philly), but I’m so terrified of choking that we haven’t pushed it. We also haven’t been practicing with a sippy cup but plan to do that more this month.

Developments: So many new things this month! His crawling has evolved to more of a sit-and-crawl movement. He’ll only get on his belly if he gets tangled up in his own arms and legs. But the biggest change is that he’s now pulling up on EVERYTHING! And this last week, he’s started cruising a little. He’s still got his sea legs and falls down quite a bit, but he’s getting more adventurous and it’s so exciting to see his little chubby legs supporting his tiny body. I die from the cuteness. The pediatrician said it would take about 3 months to start walking from the time he started pulling up, so that means he’ll be walking shortly after his first birthday.

What most of my photos look like. I call him “the blur.”

As for vocabulary, it’s a tie between “dada” and “dog.” Technically, dada was first, but he’d say it all the time without context. Just babbling. But the word dog we can get him to say on command when pointing to a dog. It sounds more like “gog” but it’s clearly dog. And just two days before his 11 month birthday, he started saying mama. He wouldn’t even babble mama for the longest time so this is exciting stuff. And he’s even saying it in context here and there. I just love hearing his little voice “talking” to us.

And earlier this month, he started making baskets with his basketball. In just one random night, he watched me put the ball in the basket and immediately wanted to try it. We cheered him on and he was instantly hooked. It was the first thing he wanted to do the next morning when he got up and for a few days after. It’s still one of his favorite activities but he’s not quite as obsessed with it as he was when it was a new trick.

Firsts This Month: First Easter, first time pulling up and standing on his own, first Cardinals game (and first home run with a Cardinals win), first airplane ride, first trip to Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), first taste of a donut, first Phillies game (and Cardinals away game), first time in the luxury suites, first time he freaked out in an elevator, first time really saying mama and knowing what he meant.

Likes: Same as usual. Still in love with dogs. Still loves watching Baby Einstein. And this month he turned into a total mama’s boy!! Clearly, I am giddy over this development, much to my husband’s chagrin. I noticed it one morning after bringing him into our room, handing him over to the hubs in our bed, and then walking out of the room to use the bathroom. He started whining/crying for a minute. And later that day when I got home from work, his little face just lit up more than usual and started doing his little happy babbling for the next hour or two. After that, if the hubs was holding him and I was nearby, he’d reach his arms out for me. He also gives me about 10 times the number of kisses and hugs as he does daddy. (And if we’re being honest here, daddy is super jealous, so he’s started being a bit more snuggly with him. It’s adorable.) So all my fears about daddy being the favorite since he’s with him about 99% of the time? Not true!!

Favorite Songs: New favorites: Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid, Rubber Ducky, Somewhere Over the Rainbowand I’m on top of the World by Imagine Dragons.

Favorite Toys: A family member gave D a Melissa and Doug wood shapes puzzle for Christmas, which I finally pulled out from the closet this month. He loves banging the animal shapes together or on the puzzle board. And ever since he discovered how to put balls in baskets, he loves to show off that trick from time to time. He’s especially fond of the orange basketballs. He definitely didn’t fall far from his daddy’s tree there. He still plays with his blocks and stacker rings but more than anything, I would have to say that books are still his absolute favorite. He has a few baby-appropriate books that I let him play with because they’re virtually indestructible and I find him flipping the pages all the time. It’s usually with one hand clumsily trying to insert a finger between the pages while it’s upside down, but it’s so cool to see him enjoy something so basic as a book, when he’s surrounded by phones and iPads and laptops and TVs. There’s just something magical about a book I guess.

Dislikes:  Not much new here but now that he’s pulling up and standing, he gets frustrated when he’s tired and can’t get a good grip on the couch to pull himself up. He also doesn’t like going to bed on time anymore and will scream bloody murder to let us know. After one particularly long night where we battled bedtime, I now just let him stay up an hour or two past his bedtime, even after his bath and jammies are on, and he’ll contently play on the floor until he starts rubbing his eyes and I put him to bed. I ALWAYS try to put him to bed at his usual bedtime, but this only works about 1 out of every 3 nights. Usually, he’ll lay quietly while I read him his bedtime stories and as soon as I turn to the second to last page of Goodnight Moon, he starts whining and sits up because he knows it’s almost over and lights out. Smart little booger.

He also dislikes it when bathtime is over and will scurry to the other end of the tub to escape me when I ask him if he’s ready to get out.

And lately, diaper changes are starting to become an issue. He doesn’t cry or whine, but he constantly tries to roll over or kicks his legs or grabs his you-know-what and I need about 5 hands just to hold him still while I put a clean diaper on him. Number twos are a two person job. Not sure how my husband handles this during the day. I’d guess there are several wet wipe baths.

What I’m Thankful For: We seemed to escape a lot of the spring sinus infections and colds that were going around so I’m very thankful for our health, particularly mine!

What I’m Looking Forward To:  His first birthday parties! I’m sure I’ll have an emotional moment when I make the realization that my BABY is turning ONE. But until then, it’s fun, fun, FUN as I buy puppy-related decorations and go hog-wild on a birthday party for someone who will never remember it.

How Mommy’s Doing: Well, my weight-loss has stalled thanks to my inability to stop eating carbs, but we just purchased a jogging stroller last week and I’ve been trying to make small improvements here and there. It’s nothing that will have me “bikini ready” by Memorial Day, but at least it’s something. I also need wardrobe help, and my house is a disaster STILL. The house issue needs to be fixed before the birthday party, and it will, but it’s going to take a lot of work.

I had one REALLY awesome day about a week ago where I won tix to my company’s suite, got my new dishwasher installed, realized my son was a total momma’s boy, the weather was perfect and I had some good things happening at work. The very next day? Sucked. Nothing really bad, per se, but I was on a high of highs and the next day the temps dropped about 25 degrees and started raining, I didn’t love my new dishwasher (I had it on the wrong setting, so I like it again now), and the baby decided he loves me SO much that he insists on co-sleeping, which we do not enjoy. So nothing terrible, but it’s just funny how one day is super awesome awesomeness and the next is just meh. Still, I can’t complain. Life is pretty good around here. Not perfect. (NEVER perfect) But pretty darn good.

Traveling with a Baby – How It’s Different

Longtime readers and folks that know us know that we love to travel. In the almost 9 years that we’ve been together, we’ve been to Mexico twice, Hawaii three times, California twice, NYC and Florida a few times, a Mediterranean cruise, and a whole slew of other places in between. We absolutely LOVE to travel.

Our last trip before baby was a work trip for me in Ft. Lauderdale that we turned into a mini-babymoon. Since baby D entered our lives, we’ve been to visit my husband’s family nearly 9 hours away a few times, spent a couple of nights in Chicago for a work trip for me, and most recently, took our first flight and half work/half vacation trip to Philadelphia. We’re by no means “experts”, but I think it’s safe to say we’ve done our fair share of overnights in other places and have now even took to the skies with a wee one so I’d like to share a few of my observations along the way.

Obviously, traveling with a baby is WAY different than a quick weekend jaunt to a swanky hotel and fancy dinners with your sweetheart. But that doesn’t mean it has to be bad or unenjoyable.

1. You will sacrifice style. Now I am by no means a snob when it comes to restaurants or accommodations.  I’m perfectly happy staying in a Hampton Inn and eating a sub sandwich for dinner. But dining out on the town is more of a task because certain restaurants aren’t stroller accessible, or even if a place is baby friendly and spacious, it just seems more upscale and you don’t want to kill the mood with your talkative baby. Sometimes I just don’t give a damn and will go there anyway simply because I want to eat there, but most of the time I try to be considerate of others and would rather avoid getting glared at by people wondering why on earth I just brought a baby to a bar.

2. One drink minimum. Speaking of bars, those carefree nights when you would stumble back to your hotel room a little bit tipsy are no more. Not only is it not safe, but chances are you’re so doggone tired after the first drink, a second one would have you crashing face first on the table.

3. Leave the nightlife behind. As if one and two didn’t drive this point home already, your nightlife on vacation is virtually nonexistent. Babies go to bed early. So unless you want to have an over-tired, screaming baby on your hands, you’ll be back in your hotel room and in your pajamas by 7:30pm, watching crappy TV or paying an ungodly amount of money for a movie that came out on DVD a year ago.

Rockin’ Friday night in the hotel room. Little jailbird.

4. Mornings can be enjoyed (i.e. Brunch is a new favorite). Babies go to bed early but they also wake up early. So while all the rest of the world is still sleeping, you’re up and ready for the day and able to get a head start on the day’s activities. Since it still takes us awhile to get ready and get going, we’ve discovered the best way to enjoy our morning is to find a good breakfast or brunch place.

5. You have no choice but to s-l-o-w down. Sometimes when we go on a trip, we try to cram in too much activity so we rarely take time to just sit and enjoy our surroundings, like our over-priced hotel room. With a baby, sometimes you have no choice but to sit around and wait for the next baby-related activity because your entire schedule revolves around them – feeding times, nap times, pooping schedule, bath and bedtime routines, etc.

Funny faces.

6. Sleep will most likely suck. Chalk it up to different surroundings but it should be expected that even if your baby is a rock star sleeper, there will be at least one night of very rough sleep. So don’t expect to be well-rested. And if you’re traveling in a different time zone, expect your schedule to be completely out of whack for at least half a day.

But despite ALL of these things, traveling with a baby still beats sitting around your house  surrounded by mounds of unfolded laundry, a stack of dirty dishes, and crappy TV. Because it’s moments like taking your child on his first carriage ride, or giving him a taste of his first donut at a MLB stadium that will stay with you forever. And just like anything else when it comes to a baby – it’s a lot of work, but it’s so very worth it.

I’m totally worth it.

Philadelphia

Liberty Bell

It’s been 13 years since my first and only trip to Philadelphia. I had just graduated high school and my patents took me on a road trip to the East Coast for what would likely be our last family vacation. (Not that we took many of these. Our only other vacation was to the Smokey Mountains and Dollywood. My parents. World travelers they are not.)

We only spent a night in Philly and all I remember is seeing the Liberty Bell and we have zero pics to prove it so this trip was basically my first time exploring the city of brotherly love.

First up on the “must-do” list was eat a real Philly cheesesteak sandwich. We walked a couple of blocks to Old City and found a no-frills place called Sonny’s. The weather was gorgeous so we grabbed a table outside and watched as people walked up and down the street and into the bar next door. After dinner, we walked down to a soda/ice cream parlor called The Franklin Fountain. You know it must be good when there’s a half hour wait and a line out the door. Just as I was ordering our chocolate shake (for him) and The Stock Market Crunch (for me), we caught a glimpse of lightening so we took our order to go and high-tailed it back to our hotel before the storms rolled in.

 

Independence Hall

The Franklin Fountain

Inside the Franklin Fountain

Ben Franklin’s grave

First Carriage Ride

 

Saturday morning I had to be up at the crack of dawn, and considering the time change, let’s just say it was WAY too early to be up on a Saturday for me. But, this was my first speaking engagement and I was co-presenting with the global brand manager of my favorite chocolate company, so I wanted to make sure I brought my A game. Surprisingly, I wasn’t the least bit nervous of getting up and talking to a group of about 60 women. In fact, I rather enjoyed it and only wish we would’ve had a bit more time to get to all of the questions. Afterward, I hung around for a couple of more sessions and chatted with my panel partner, talking shop. I walked away feeling completely inspired by the conversations and even though I was there to GIVE knowledge, I think I came away gaining a lot more.

Saturday evening, after a quick meal at City Tavern where the decor and wait staff are all dressed in period clothing, it was game time. As luck would have it, our beloved Cardinals were in town playing the Phillies, so we bought the cheapest tix we could find and headed down to the new Citizen’s Bank Park. Now, I’m a HUGE Cardinals fan and would never say a bad thing about Busch Stadium. BUT. The Phillies stadium? It is spectacular. Mostly because of the variety of food and drink you can get there. Usually, I only require some non-stale tortilla chips and warm nacho cheese with a few jalapenos to watch a ballgame, but this place had just about anything you could want. My favorite treat had to be the warm, cinnamon and sugar donuts from Federal Donuts. Baby D loved them too. In fact, we loved them so much, we made sure to make a pitstop there before we left for the airport on Monday.

Anyway, back to the game. The night before, the Cardinals had lost so we were thrilled when the Cards won 5-0 and all of those runs were scored while we were at the stadium. The temps had dropped considerably from Friday so we weren’t able to last until the 7th inning stretch like we’d hoped, but it was still a great time and I’m glad we can cross another stadium off our list.

Sunday was still pretty chilly but we were determined to make the best of the crappy weather. We put our names in for brunch at a place called Farmicia, located in Old City. While we waited, we went on a hunt for coffee and found a quaint little place on a side street called Old City Coffee. (I highly recommend the almond flavored latte.) By the time we got back to the restaurant, our table was ready. Hubs had the breakfast quesadilla and I had the jumbo lump crab omelet, while baby D slept. (Thank goodness.)

 

Let’s go Cards!

Cardinals Win!

Family portrait from our seats

 

We spent the rest of the day walking off our brunch. Between trips back to the hotel to feed/change the baby, we explored the city on foot. We took a (free) tour of Independence Hall, checked out the Liberty Bell visitor center, walked around Washington Square, ate cheesesteaks at Pat’s (we drove), took a carriage ride near Independence Hall, walked down South Street and over to Penn’s Landing. Eventually we made our way back to Old City again and had dinner/drinks at Pizzicato. (Calamari, Quattro Formaggi pizza and beers.) We spent the rest of the night watching the news about the Boston bomber capturing, along with the rest of the country.

Monday it was back to Old City Coffee for our caffeine fix, mailed some post cards from the very first US post office where Benjamin Franklin was head postmaster, took a short drive to Federal Donuts for those delicious warm, cinnamon sugar donuts, a quick stop at Target for some extra formula, and then a trip to IKEA because I simply can’t resist stopping anytime I see that big blue and yellow sign. Finally, the time came to return home.

So that was our trip to Philly. And though I wish the weather would’ve been a tad bit warmer, it was still a pretty incredible trip in a beautiful city with a ton of American history. And best of all, we saw everything we wanted to see while pushing around a baby stroller and a very active and verbal 10 month old.

 

Brunch

Gettin’ a history lesson at Independence Hall

Ben Franklin pooped here

Delicious coffee and a snoozing baby. Perfection.

First USPS           

2nd trip to IKEA