PBS Kids in the Park

A couple of weeks ago, we packed up the girls and headed downtown to take a stroll down

We stopped to bounce a bit

And go down the slide...

Met up with a good friend to see Arthur

and stopped to give Clifford the Big Red Dog a hi-five!

Of course no party is complete without a bounce house...

...and Staci even managed to get on her feet once or twice!



Staci-isms Part III

'I self'--I want to do it myself

'Tyno'--tylenol.  You are finally getting some more teeth and have asked for 'tyno' the last 3 nights in a row at bedtime.  Once your daddy and I realized you weren't just asking for it because it tastes like candy, I gave you some.

Monkah--Monster. Today, you turned around and saw your shadow and exclaimed, "Monkah!!"  you ran over to me and said, "Scarey!"  :( so I guess you're afraid of  your shadow but it is really cute!

Knowing your colors--We have a book that's all about colors, and at the end of the book there's a page with multiple swatches of different colors for you to identify.  You will point at the swatches of color and exclaim, "Green, Blue, Purple, Green!! haHA!"(you clap for yourself) None of them are correct. 

Today, we counted Olivia's fingers and toes together, and when your daddy came home I asked you how many toes Olivia had.  Apparently, she only has two. (in fact, you answered, "Two, two, two," while pretending to count your own toes).

Your favorite thing to watch on TV is Avatar.  This is you pretending to water-bend. I <3 you.

You also have some serious moves.  This is you dancing:



I love this age.  You are so stinkin' cute!

Sisters

Staci and Olivia--
  I hope you know how special it is that you have each other.  I hope you become good friends as you grow.  I know there will be times, many times, where you won't get along.  But please, keep in mind that you share an amazing bond, one that no one can ever take away from you.  This is just the beginning:

I love how it appears Olivia is almost as big as Staci here...

Happy 3 months Olivia!

Dear Olivia,
  You will be 3 months old tomorrow!  It is simply amazing how fast you are growing.  You've been in 3-6 and 6mo clothing for 3 weeks now, and you are even in 6-9mo sleepers in a couple of brands.  You've grown out of the 'newborn' size diapers I made (my pattern had 'tiny newborn' and 'newborn' sizes) and are officially into the 'smalls'.  At your two month appointment, you were 13lbs5.5oz and 24.5 inches long. If you keep up with your 97th percentile heighth, you may end up nearly 6 feet tall. 
--you are cooing and smiling at us non-stop. 
--I got a giggle out of you for the first time last week, all because I 'booped' your nose. so cute!
--you still love to be carried in the moby wrap or ring sling and fall asleep almost instantly
--you still wake to nurse a few times during the night most nights
--In order to fall asleep, you need to be walked around or nursed and rocked simultaneously. 
--Your sister can always make you smile
--You are not a fan of your carseat.  Car trips, even short ones, are excruciating for all of us.
--You love your playmat! It's so much fun to watch you bat toys around and kick the sides of the arc and get the music and lights display going. 
--If I hold you up in front of me and talk to you, you immediately start talking back to me.  It's almost as if you're saying, "I've been waiting ALL DAY for you to ask me about this, Mommy!" Bestill my heart.
--You are still sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's room, and will be for quite some time I have a feeling.  Mommy loves having you so close.

This is what your cooing is like right now:



I love you so much, Olivia.  I can't wait to see your little personality emerge!

The baby gear you need (you just don't know it yet) part II

Since I last wrote about baby carriers, I thought the next area of focus for baby necessities should be where you can put the baby down. I am a huge fan of babywearing, but you do have to put the baby down eventually, so you can, ya know, pee. or shower. or have some time where no one is touching you.  'No Touch Time' is something I was not familiar with before becoming a Stay-At-Home-Mom--but it is something I crave regularly.

For newborns:

Some kind of playmat, preferably one with motion activated music and lights display.  There are a zillion different ones, choose one you like.  (or better yet, find one on Craig's list for cheap--or borrow from a friend for free!) If the actual mat has colorful and interesting pictures that is also a great place to do tummy time.  

A portable swing or bouncy seat.  Most people I know had/have both a swing and a bouncy, but I don't think you need both to start with.  Find one you can easily transport around the house.  When you have a newborn, it's great to bring a swing or bouncy into the bathroom with you so you can take a shower.  If you get one of the expensive (and BIG) swings with all the bells and whistles, you can't take it with you.  Most babies prefer either a swing or bouncy, so start with one and if your baby doesn't like it, try the other.

Infant:

A doorway jumper--significantly cheaper than a jumparoo, takes up less space, and you can move it around the house to wherever you are.  I can't wait to get this out for Olivia!  She'll be ready for it in about another month.

An exersaucer-like activity center.  This is another one of those things where there are a million to choose from, but they are all basically the same.  It's great for working on reaching for toys and grasping.  It's also a great place to put your newly mobile baby if you need to leave the room for a minute, so you're sure they don't end up slurping drano while you put the laundry in the dryer. (First time moms probably think I'm kidding.  I'm so not.)

As baby grows, more and more baby things accumulate in your house until you have totally lost your 'cool' status and your living room floor looks like a Babies'R'Us showroom.  These are the few things I did find absolutely essential for the newborn and infant stages.  What did you find useful? What did I miss?

The baby gear you need (you just don't know it yet)

I recently found out quite a few of my friends are expecting--and it got me thinking--What baby gear items have I found truly essential to survival, and which ones could I live without?  I orignally began this post thinking it would be a relatively short list of the things I've loved and used the most, but instead it's become a post about babywearing.  So, instead, I'm going to do a series of shorter posts each with their own theme.  Today's theme is babywearing, something I've discussed before.  My babywearing essentials:

1) A Moby Wrap.  By far the most universal, cost effective, and comfortable baby carrier on the market.  You can use this carrier from birth on up to 35 lbs, which means I could still carry Staci in it if I wanted to (ahem, if she'd let me).  A wrap style carrier like the Moby, Sleepy, or Maya wrap is the best type of carrier for a newborn--HANDS DOWN.  Put a fussy, tired baby in a moby wrap, walk them around for a few minutes and VOILA!!  Happy, sleeping baby on your chest. You can use one of the straps to anchor their head to you and it becomes completely hands free.  *con*--it is hot and takes *forever* to put on.  OK, only about 30-45 seconds, but when you have a screaming baby, 30-45 seconds is a REALLY long time!

photo credit: www.wallababy.com

2) A *well made* ring sling, like a wallababy ring sling.  Nowhere near as hot as the moby!! I recently used a ring sling that, in my opinion, was NOT made well. Carrying a 14 pound newborn in it was nothing short of excruciating.  When buying baby carriers, as with so many other things, *you get what you pay for*. A baby carrier is NOT the place to skimp or cut corners, peeps.  Why do you need a ring sling AND a Moby wrap you ask?  The answer is simple--they each have their place.  The Moby wrap is GREAT for long carries, but it does have some cons.  I love the ring sling b/c I can throw it in the diaper bag, toss it over my shoulder and have the baby in it in about 3.2 seconds.  It's great for walking in and out of the gym with, b/c carrying an infant seat and keeping a toddler from running into the street is next to impossible.  Also, I'm not messing with a 6-foot-long piece of fabric.  If I had to choose between a moby and a ring sling, I'd choose the moby, but honestly, YOU. NEED. BOTH. Other than quick trips and that it folds up small enough for the diaper bag, a ring sling is awesome for a hip carry--and especially the safety carry.  I used to use it while cooking dinner with Staci on (well, behind really) my hip and it is fabulous for that!! ring sling cons--They have a pretty steep learning curve.  You need to give it 10-15 good tries before you are really comfortable with it, but allow yourself to be a beginner and just keep adjusting it until you find what's comfortable.  Trust yourself, and your baby.  Another con is that they are not as comfortable as a moby wrap or soft structured carrier.  A ring sling only goes over one shoulder, so the weight is not as evenly distributed as it is with other carriers.  This gets me thinking--a ring sling tutorial (and perhaps my first Vlog) is coming to explain more about this!

3) An Ergo baby carrier. One of my favorite things about this carrier is the learning curve--there is practically no learning curve at all.  You just can't get it wrong with this thing, and it's SO comfortable.  In this picture, Staci is about 4 months old, and you can see she is JUST big enough to not need the infant insert.  This carrier can be used as a front carrier, back carrier, or side/hip carrier. Honestly, I hate the side/hip carry on the Ergo.  It is useless because one of your arms is left behind the baby and virtually unusable, and the straps dig into the muscles on the side of your neck/shoulder.  it isn't comfortable AT ALL. Want a hip carry? Use your ring sling! However, the front and back carries are awesome.  Why do you need this carrier as well? You can't use a Moby Wrap for back carries (well, you CAN, but IMO you just shouldn't)  and a ring sling doesn't lend itself to back carries, either. There are a few other soft structured carriers similar to the Ergo that also get great reviews, but I haven't tried them. Check out the babywearer for more info, reviews, and other baby carrier craziness.

**a note on babywearing--there are rules for baby-wearing safety.  Make sure you know them**

I'm sure if I had more baby carriers, I'd have reasons for why I like those specific carriers for different tasks.  These are the 3 I have, and I use them all almost daily. I know it sounds extreme, but now that I have two babies, carrying one hands free is a necessity. I'd never get a single thing done without my baby carriers!

Staci-isms, take 2

Dear Anastasia,
  Because I see this blog as a sort of digi-scrapbook for me to keep all the things I want to remember so I can tell you about them when you're older, here are a few funny things you are doing and saying right now.

You now sit still long enough for me to paint your toenails. You actually held out your foot for me to do these.  You didn't sit still long enough for it to dry, but I had to document the occasion none-the-less.

Fwiggy-- I don't know why you call a big hug a fwiggy, perhaps it's how you say squeeze. But Fwiggy is the damned cutest name for a hug ever thought up by a toddler

We-we-a--Olivia--and I crack up every time because it sounds like you're calling your little sister a wee-wee

Ham-- Green Eggs and Ham.  you often will call books by their last name in the title-- 'who' (horten hears a) 'needs' (what baby), etc.

I see you--you will hide behind something and say, "I see you!" and then pop out the other side and say, "see me!". so. cute.

Dad-eye--what you call Daddy. 

Mommy--I have finally gone from Mama to Mommy. and I love it.

Job-ah--you frequently add an extra syllable to the end of a word. If we praise you and say, "Good Job!" you clap and say, "Job-ah!"

Ninah--What you call Shania

You have also started potty learning--and I have to say you are doing much better than I expected, much earlier than I expected. I'm so proud of you!!