Saturday, March 31, 2012

Easter Bunny

I think the Easter Bunny is really creepy. Luckily, Landon doesn't share that opinion. Isn't the Easter Bunny supposed to be white though?

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Baby Products 6-9 Months

I wanted to share some more products that we are absolutely loving right now! It's mostly toys, but toys are very important at this age :) All of the pictures are from Amazon and I've linked you to each product. As always, I do not get paid to tell you about this stuff, I just like to share what works for us with other moms.

1. Playtex Straw Sippy Cups.
















Everything I've read says to try to get your babies to use straw sippy cups instead of spout ones because it's better for their speech development. We did give Landon a spout sippy cup with handles to start with (before I read the stuff on straw sippys), but we switched to these pretty quickly and he was able to use them well within a week. I think we started him on these with water at 5 months. He loves these and so do we! They're easy to clean, they don't leak, and the straw has held up well with Landon biting it with his 4 teeth. He drinks several ounces of breastmilk way faster out of one of these, so we've done away with bottles. I offer him one of these with water several times a day and he typically drinks at least a little bit out. I always bring one with us full of water when we're out as well.

2. Munchkin Bath Ball.
















This is such a simple concept, but it's so awesome. The bottom has holes so when you fill it with water, it comes out the bottom and looks kind of like a shower. There's a smaller ball inside full of sea creatures. Landon adores this thing! He likes to toss it, chew it, shake it, and fill it with water and watch it all come out. It comes in 2 color choices, the one above and 1 in pink and purple. Amazon doesn't give you a color choice, you get whatever they send and of course Landon got the pink and purple one. I don't really care and he loves it, so whatever.

3. Playskool Explore and Grow Busy Ball Popper.

















Jeff bought this for Landon and I'm not sure who loves it more haha! It's exactly what it sounds like: a ball popper and it plays some fun (but kind of loud and obnoxious) music. Landon has a blast trying to catch the balls as they pop up. Sometimes they shoot out fast and I've spent more time than I care to admit chasing balls around my house, but it's worth it.

4. Step 2 Push Around Buggy.

















My friend's son turned 1 last week, and she had this at her house. I put Landon it while I ate some pizza and he LOVED it, so now we have one on the way to our house. I love that he gets strapped into this and I can put him in it for walks outside or in the house. Such a fun toy!

5. Playskool Busy Gears. 
















Another toy that keeps Landon entertained for awhile. It plays fun music, lights up, and the gears spin when you press the button. Landon likes to chew on the gears too of course lol.

6. Kidoozie Drum.
















This is probably Landon's favorite toy of all. When you hit the drum it lights up, and depending on which button you press on the side it either makes drum noises, silly sounds, or it plays music. When you roll it on its side it plays a tune as well.

7. Earth's Best Food Pouches.
















These are awesome and Landon loves them. We use a lot of Earth's Best foods, but Landon is moving on to more finger foods now. These are fabulous for when we're out which happens fairly often and Plum Organics makes spoons that screw on the top on the pouch. All you have to do is squeeze and spoon feed your baby! We've tried just squeezing the food into Landon's mouth, but it made a big mess, so the spoons are fabulous for us right now.

8. Munchkin Soft Tipped Infant Spoons.
















I like these because they're easy for me to hold, they hold a lot of food and are deep enough that you don't spill food everywhere when you go from jar to your baby's mouth. Landon bites these all the time and they're holding up great.

9. Happy Baby Yogurt Melts.
















These are one of Landon's favorite snacks, and I think they're pretty tasty too lol. I love that they're organic, and I like that they're relatively flat. I've given Landon the Gerber ones too, which are much thicker and he always gags on them and scares the crap out of me. We will be sticking with these.

10. Baby Einstein Animal Discovery Cards.
















I love these so much! They have great pictures of all sorts of animals and bugs, and there's facts on the back to read to your baby while you show them the pictures. I read a few of these each day to Landon after he eats breakfast. We also have the numbers and shapes cards as well.

Our favorite books right now are Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? Panda Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See? and basically anything else by Eric Carle. We are also loving Dr. Seuss, and touch & feel books.  Landon will take books, hold them correctly, and look through them on his own. I love that he's enjoying books already.

A friend of mine showed me what she did with color coded bins for her son's toys to help him learn. I plan on doing something similar, so stay tuned for that post as well as my thoughts on the ball pit we got for Landon.

In case you missed them, here are my other baby gear posts.

0-4 Months

4-6 Months

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Brain Dump

This morning I put Landon in his pack n play so I could shower. Jeff was still in bed half awake. He's getting over a cold so I wanted him to sleep more, hence putting L in the pNp. I got out of the shower and both of my boys were passed out lol. Happy Sunday to me!

I am doing everything I can to get this house ready to sell. I have a good 10 bags of clothes and shoes to donate later this week. Most of it is my stuff and I have so much because a lot of things don't fit right anymore. I am 10 lbs thinner than I was pre-pregnancy, but a lot of my shirts are way too short now because my girls grew from breastfeeding. I already have a long torso, so if something shrinks or I gain a little weight, forget it. The big stuff like cleaning out the basement, and hiring painters and floor people needs to be done by Jeff. I don't know good prices and all the crap in the basement is his. I don't know what to keep or toss, and I tend to want to toss everything. Jeff is more of a hoarder like his mother.

I'm 1/4 Irish and I couldn't care less about St. Patrick's Day. I dressed L up because I do for every holiday and we all wore green, but that's the extent of my celebration of that holiday. We're typically on vacation during it and I've been in both Disney and Vegas for St. Patty's Day, but we never get crazy.

I'm starting to hate putting L in onesies as his "shirt". I prefer him in t-shirts (with a onesie underneath for some warmth) and pants. He looks like such a little boy instead of a baby that way and even though it makes me sad that he's growing up so fast, I don't like dressing him like a little baby anymore because he's not.

We had to lower Landon's crib mattress today. He can pull himself up to stand, and since he's tall it's now a safety issue.

I just ordered the invitations for Landon's 1st birthday party. OMG! I basically know exactly what I want to buy, but I need to wait for RSVPs so I know exactly how much stuff to get.

It's gorgeous outside! I loved this mild winter we had and now we're having warm spring temperatures. It's been wonderful to go for walks (we're going for one later) and taking Landon to the park and getting some fresh air.

I really miss being pregnant, feeling my baby move inside of me, and having a cute belly. I do not want another child for a few more years though and nothing will change my mind on that.

Jeff wants me to get a minivan. As practical as it would be, I just can't do it. I want a Sequoia or Acadia. I don't care that they're worse on gas mileage, they're badass and I wouldn't be embarrassed to drive them. No offense to anyone who drive a minivan, they're just not for me.

Smart Ones rigatoni in vodka sauce and Lean Cuisine 5 cheese rigatoni are absolutely delicious. I feel like I'm being "bad" by eating them. I need help with portion control, so these are great for me.

I love that we can basically give Landon any food that we're eating (with a few exceptions like nuts, chocolate, honey, etc.) He loves feeding himself and I have to buy less baby food. He is such a good eater.

I feel much more organized when I menu plan for the week, but I rarely do it. Makes a lot of sense, right?

I need to take Landon to go visit where I used to work. Former students that are still there and my old co-workers are asking, so I need to make it happen after their spring break.

I'm starting to like running and look forward to my workouts. Thanks Couch To 5K and having a treadmill in my house! I feel so much better both physically and emotionally. I love how my clothes fit too :)

I am dying to see The Hunger Games movie. Jeff has no desire to go. Thank goodness a lot of my friends want to go so I have people to see it with.

I am so sick of the Kardashians, but I still watch Khloe and Lamar.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Friday, March 16, 2012

A Day In The Life

I've been meaning to do one of these posts forever, and now that Landon and I have a nice routine each day, I thought I'd share what a typical day (aside from Monday because we have music class at 3:00, so things get a bit thrown off) looks like for us.

8:30am- Wake up. This time varies by 15 minutes either way usually. I change Landon's diaper, he nurses, then we go downstairs for me to eat breakfast and then we play. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is on in the background at 9:00.

10:00am- Landon gets his first meal of solids. It's usually some kind of fruit mixed with oatmeal or yogurt. We're also trying out things like frozen waffles and cut up fruit. After he eats, I offer him water and we do some of his flashcards. Right now I just show him the pictures and read him the information on the back of the card. He likes looking at them and the more he hears me talk, the better. After, I turn on Seasme Street for background noise. Landon looks at the TV here and there, but he doesn't stare at it the entire time.

10:30/10:45- Somewhere within this timeframe I nurse Landon if he wants it, change his diaper if needed, and then he puts himself to sleep for a nap. I've tried to have him stay up longer, but he's a disaster if he doesn't go down about 2-2.5 hours after waking up. I go workout, shower, and get ready for the day during this time, which lasts anywhere from 1-1.5 hours.

12:15-  Landon is up. He gets a diaper change if he didn't get one before his nap and he gets real clothes on instead of his PJ's. Normally he gets his lunch solids (unless he doesn't nurse before his nap, then he nurses first) which include some kind of meat and vegetable mixture, fruit if he wants it, and puffs. I've also been giving him cheese, pasta, etc. He also usually has some water from a sippy cup. I also eat during this time because he's in his high chair and contained so I can eat in peace haha!

1:00- We usually go run errands around this time if we have any. We grocery shop on Tuesdays, go to the mall or Target if we need to on Wednesdays, and have play dates on Thursdays sometimes. If it's a nice day we take a walk or go to the park if we have nothing to do.

2:30- We're usually home by this time. Landon nurses and then we play, read books, etc. I don't keep the TV on at all during the day (aside from the morning) unless he's napping, so I play a lot of music for some background noise. We have a wide range, anything from his Kindermusik CD's, Veggie Tales, or Raffi to Queen, Elton John, or The Beatles, etc. Depends on my mood that day. Landon loves dancing to music, it's so cute!

3:30- Diaper change and nap #2. This nap usually lasts from 40-60 minutes.

4:40- Landon is up and we play, read books, etc.

5:00/5:30- Landon nurses and then goes back to playing.

6:00- Landon goes in his high chair which I move into the kitchen so I can start making dinner and he can watch.

6:30/6:45- Jeff gets home, we have dinner while Landon hangs out in his high chair. We offer him finger foods or baby Mum Mums while we eat.

6:45- Last meal of solids. This one is fed to him by Jeff and it's almost always fruit. Then Jeff and Landon get to play together while I get a little break!

7:30- Bath time. Jeff is in charge of this, but I like to watch Landon play in the tub. Jeff and I get him all dried off and dressed in his PJ's.

7:50- Landon nurses again.

8:00- Bedtime! Lately Landon has only been getting up once a night, sometimes twice. He usually wakes up again around 11:00 or 12:00 for one last feed,  and then he's down for the night. Sometimes he  goes to sleep and doesn't get up again until around 6:45am for a feed, then he sleeps a couple more hours. It really all depends, but I am loving this sleep schedule he's on.

Obviously this isn't set in stone or anything. Sometimes Jeff comes home late and I have to feed Landon his last meal and/or give him his bath, or we're out somewhere and the bedtime routine starts later then usual. Sometimes due to being sick or teething Landon wakes up a lot more. I should also add that during some of Landon's playtime throughout the day I let him be and watch him play on his own. He needs to explore and have some time without me talking to him or playing with him. This is just a general idea of what a day is like for us. It took awhile to settle into a nice routine like this and I'm happy we finally did! Of course, this is going to change once I wean Landon when he turns 1 and as he grows up, but I like to let things like this just kind of naturally happen. Trying to put Landon on a set schedule when he was younger was a huge failure and I thought I was such a bad mom at the beginning because I couldn't get him to adhere to any sort of schedule. He was eating every 1-2 hours and fighting naps. It wasn't easy, but it all worked itself out.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Landon Is 9 Months Old!

Dear Landon,

You are already 9 months old! I cannot believe in 3 short months you will be 1 and no longer my baby, but a toddler! It's all going by way too fast for me and I wish I could slow time down just a little bit.

This has been a huge month for you! For starters, you got your 2 front teeth on top and I am pretty sure more teeth are on the way with how you've been acting lately. You're really not a terrible teether for the most part. You can definitely be a bit fussier and your sleep suffers, but overall you're still pretty happy during the day.

You had your first Valentine's Day! Mommy and Daddy got you a few toys and you got us some delicious donuts!


You also had your first trip to the aquarium! You really enjoyed seeing all of the different animals and colorful fish. We will definitely be taking you there a lot as you grow up. We're looking forward to taking you to the zoo this summer.


You are into EVERYTHING and love to make huge messes! If I try to clean up before you're ready, you just take everything back out again! You also love when I build towers out of blocks for you so you can knock them down. You're also "kicking" your toy soccer ball back to me when I roll it to you. You get so excited and proud of yourself when I cheer for you. It's the cutest!


I wish I had a picture of it, but you are waving now! You wave to Mommy, Daddy, Peanut, and random strangers. You don't really understand that it means "hi" or "bye" but it's adorable and we're having fun watching you do it. You are also babbling a ton and making lots of letter sounds. I swear you say "mama" when you're upset!

You are still loving your Kindermusik classes and you are bouncing to the music now and are much more interactive with the toys and instruments. Your teacher said you have a good sense of rhythm and she thinks you will be a good athlete someday because of that. Your Daddy and uncles are very happy to hear that!

You're doing great with solids. You eat mainly stage 3 foods, and we are starting to give you more finger foods to feed yourself. You'd rather feed yourself puffs, but you're starting to explore other foods and are more willing to touch them and feed yourself now. You still don't like green beans, and you're not a huge fan of spinach. You will eat everything else though. You get 3 solid meals a day and we give you some puffs during one or 2 of those meals as well.

The biggest thing you've learned this month is army crawling! You're still having a bit of trouble getting your belly off the floor, but you are booking around army-style just fine and I know it's only a matter of time before you crawl with your belly off the floor. I think it's going to be soon! You are also trying to pull yourself up when you're sitting in your crib or you try to pull up using Mommy. You're such a big boy that I knew you'd take awhile with these milestones, but you're doing such a great job!

You still love your bath and we've put you on the "big kid" side of the Eurobath so you can sit up in the tub instead of laying down. You love playing with your toys and chasing them around the tub! You also try to stand up in the tub which is a little scary for Mommy and Daddy!

You love going out to run errands or to dinner. As long as we pack plenty of food and puffs for you while we're at a restaurant, you do great! When we run errands, you sit in the cart and talk and yell to everyone! I always get compliments on how beautiful, happy, and cute you are.

Stats:
Weight: 26 lbs (98th percentile)
Height: 30 1/4 inches (95th percentile)
You are in size 4 diapers
You are in size 12-18 month clothes
You are eating every 4 hours during the day
You are sleeping about 12 hours at night and getting up 2 times per night unless you're sick or teething.

This has been such an amazing and fun month with you! It's been so exciting to watch you hit some big milestones and explore your surroundings. We can't wait to see what this next month will bring!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

(It's getting harder and harder to get decent shots each month)

Friday, March 2, 2012

A Little Exercise Update

I've been doing pretty well with exercising! I decided not to do 30 Day Shred though. The more I thought about it, what has always worked best for me is running on the treadmill. As much as I don't like it sometimes, my body responds best to that. I've been doing the Couch to 5K program and just finished week 2. According to the program, you only have to run 3 times each week, but I've been doing 5 just because I can. Once I put Landon down for his morning nap, I hop on the treadmill, do my 30 minute workout, shower, and get ready for the day. By the time I'm done with all of that, Landon is up and we go do whatever we need to do. I've lost 4lbs so far, I feel so much better, and I can already tell a difference in my stomach, butt, and the way my pants fit. I've always lost weight fast, so this isn't really a shock, but I love it. I'm getting to a point where I look forward to my workout each day and I think this is a much better use of Landon's naptime instead of sitting on my butt and surfing the web like I used to. I'm not planning on signing up for any 5K races, it's really not my thing, but I think the short distance running is going to be really good for me.

I've also been really good about not snacking all night, and I think that has made a huge difference. I'm not using My Fitness Pal to count my calories like I planned to because I personally think it's not letting me eat enough. I'm hypoglycemic and breastfeeding, so my blood sugar drops way more than it used to due to the breastfeeding and I need to eat several times throughout the day to keep it up so I don't shake and feel like crap. I always wind up going over my calories and feeling guilty, so I just don't keep track. I've been doing fine, so I think it's better this way for me.

I'll post another update in a few weeks!