Happy anniversary to the love my life! We were married 4 years ago today, but we've been together for the last 7 - wow! I'm so very blessed to share my life with you... I can't imagine being anywhere else but by your side. You're my best friend and I love you with all my heart. Looking forward to many, many, many more years together. I love you!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
My Baby This Week: 15 Weeks
Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Toddler This Week: 15 Months, Week 4
It may be embarrassing when your toddler throws a full-blown screaming fit in the middle of the produce section, but rest assured that other parents feel your pain. The most useful response is to take your child out of the store (even if it means leaving a cart full of food behind) and sit with him in the car or on a bench until he finishes crying. When the storm is over, your child will feel close to you and happy again. And you can take some comfort in knowing that eventually your child will outgrow this behavior.
First the bad news: Your toddler's temper is easily aroused. Now the good: His displays of anger or frustration are generally short-lived. Of course it may seem like your child picks the absolute worst times to throw fits — in the middle of the grocery store, at the airport in front of your mother-in-law — and it's up to you to experiment with ways to handle the flare-ups. One reason that children seem to fall apart in public is simply that they're overstimulated: Unfamiliar people, bright lights, and loud noises all at one time can be too much for your child to handle. When you're out and about trying to run errands, your toddler knows he doesn't have your full attention, which is what he wants more than anything else — and will do just about anything to get.
You can often head off meltdowns during errands by staying emotionally connected to your child as best you can, despite all you have to do — which will make errands more fun for both of you. Making up a game like "I see corn flakes, I see ... you!" and then giving him a big nuzzle as you put the box in the shopping cart will head off his frantic feeling that you're putting your attention everywhere but on him. But tantrums are inevitable — every child has to blow off steam sometime. And children struggling through the peaks and valleys of physical and emotional development may need to blow it off every day.
You may have to try several tactics until you find a way of dealing with tantrums that works for you. Try picking up your child and holding him quietly until he settles down — don't yell at him or try to pin his arms down, which will only make him more frustrated. Pick him up and move him to a spot where he can safely have his fit on the ground or in the car, while you sit warmly by, reassuring him that you love him. If you're at home and it's too hard for you to stay and listen to him cry, simply leave the room.
If your toddler's fit attracts attention from other adults in the vicinity, you're likely to be embarrassed, but your child will pick up on that, too and he may increase the intensity of his tantrum. Your best bet in a public setting is to grit your teeth and smile while you take your child away from the scene.
One of your most important jobs as a parent is setting limits for your child. At times you may feel like a broken record, but the next time you see your toddler starting to do something you've asked him not to, watch the process. For instance, he'll start to climb onto the dishwasher, which you've asked him not to do several times, but will keep an eye on you the whole time. While you may think he's simply being defiant, he's actually testing you, and waiting for you to step in and say, "Stop, that's far enough."
Try to remember that many of your 15-month-old's seemingly defiant and destructive behaviors are related to his overall development. When he uses a crayon to scribble on the coffee table, he doesn't know that he's ruining a piece of furniture, he's just enjoying his budding fine-motor skills. And when he refuses to go to bed, he's simply aware that being with you is so exciting that he doesn't want to sleep in case he misses something. Establishing routines, like a bath and book before bed, and giving him ample opportunities to test out skills like "drawing," will help make this period less frustrating for you.
-BabyCenter.com
First the bad news: Your toddler's temper is easily aroused. Now the good: His displays of anger or frustration are generally short-lived. Of course it may seem like your child picks the absolute worst times to throw fits — in the middle of the grocery store, at the airport in front of your mother-in-law — and it's up to you to experiment with ways to handle the flare-ups. One reason that children seem to fall apart in public is simply that they're overstimulated: Unfamiliar people, bright lights, and loud noises all at one time can be too much for your child to handle. When you're out and about trying to run errands, your toddler knows he doesn't have your full attention, which is what he wants more than anything else — and will do just about anything to get.
You can often head off meltdowns during errands by staying emotionally connected to your child as best you can, despite all you have to do — which will make errands more fun for both of you. Making up a game like "I see corn flakes, I see ... you!" and then giving him a big nuzzle as you put the box in the shopping cart will head off his frantic feeling that you're putting your attention everywhere but on him. But tantrums are inevitable — every child has to blow off steam sometime. And children struggling through the peaks and valleys of physical and emotional development may need to blow it off every day.
You may have to try several tactics until you find a way of dealing with tantrums that works for you. Try picking up your child and holding him quietly until he settles down — don't yell at him or try to pin his arms down, which will only make him more frustrated. Pick him up and move him to a spot where he can safely have his fit on the ground or in the car, while you sit warmly by, reassuring him that you love him. If you're at home and it's too hard for you to stay and listen to him cry, simply leave the room.
If your toddler's fit attracts attention from other adults in the vicinity, you're likely to be embarrassed, but your child will pick up on that, too and he may increase the intensity of his tantrum. Your best bet in a public setting is to grit your teeth and smile while you take your child away from the scene.
One of your most important jobs as a parent is setting limits for your child. At times you may feel like a broken record, but the next time you see your toddler starting to do something you've asked him not to, watch the process. For instance, he'll start to climb onto the dishwasher, which you've asked him not to do several times, but will keep an eye on you the whole time. While you may think he's simply being defiant, he's actually testing you, and waiting for you to step in and say, "Stop, that's far enough."
Try to remember that many of your 15-month-old's seemingly defiant and destructive behaviors are related to his overall development. When he uses a crayon to scribble on the coffee table, he doesn't know that he's ruining a piece of furniture, he's just enjoying his budding fine-motor skills. And when he refuses to go to bed, he's simply aware that being with you is so exciting that he doesn't want to sleep in case he misses something. Establishing routines, like a bath and book before bed, and giving him ample opportunities to test out skills like "drawing," will help make this period less frustrating for you.
-BabyCenter.com
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter Bunny Visits
Mila didn't have a good night last night and today she woke up with a fever again. We gave her some ibprofin and she seems better. I think it might be teething. We'll see how she is over the weekend, but for now, we're just going to stay home and take it easy. The Easter Bunny made sure to visit to cheer Mila up!
Woo-hoo! It's Easter!!
Eggs had chocolate (for mommy!) and some stickers for Mila!
Found another one!
She gets angry when she can't open the egg!
Cool toy in her easter basket! It even lights up!
Playing with the filling in her basket.
Easter Bunny came and left mommy a basket too!
Mmmmmm! Chocolate!!!
Starting to feel sick again... my poor baby!
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter from Mila! I took these a few weeks ago and I designed these adorable little cards to go with them. Love how they turned out! :)
(If you click on them, you can see them bigger.)
Saturday, April 23, 2011
More Wicked Fun!
I had such a great time with Spencer seeing "Wicked," that I thought it would be a great idea if my sister Cathy and I took my mom to see it for Mother's Day. However, tonight was closing night and Mother's Day is still two weeks away! So we decided to give her her gift early and got the tickets. Cathy nor my mom had seen it. I was so excited! They loved the show and it was so nice to spend some time with them! :)
Reinacting the Playbill... heehee!
Spring Festival
We went to the park with Aunt Blanca today. There was a great Spring Festival going on and there was even a petting zoo! Mila saw chickens and lambs for the first time, then we went to the playground and she went on the swings and down a slide. (Notice how Dolly never leaves her side!)
There was lots to see and do, and she didn't seem to protest, but didn't really seem to be having a ton of fun either. Later on it turned out she had a fever! She has a molar coming out, we think it may be that. :(
There was lots to see and do, and she didn't seem to protest, but didn't really seem to be having a ton of fun either. Later on it turned out she had a fever! She has a molar coming out, we think it may be that. :(
Baby G2 Belly Picture: 14 Weeks
Finally got around to getting another belly picture. Ugh! I feel so bad that I'm not more on top of this this time around. With Mila I was meticulous about getting a picture every week. But now I'm either busy, I forget, I'm taking care of Mila or I'm nauseous. So G2, forgive me for not documenting my pregnancy as well as your sisters! Just know we think of you all the time and we are so looking forward to meeting you!
Like I mentioned, I've been feeling nauseous more frequently and I've been starting to throw up more… not good. I'm at the end of my first trimester, so I'm hoping it doesn't last much longer. :(
I can't believe how quickly my belly seems to have popped. Last time around, I was this far along when I told my job I was pregnant and no one had a clue. I can't imagine being able to hide it now!
Like I mentioned, I've been feeling nauseous more frequently and I've been starting to throw up more… not good. I'm at the end of my first trimester, so I'm hoping it doesn't last much longer. :(
I can't believe how quickly my belly seems to have popped. Last time around, I was this far along when I told my job I was pregnant and no one had a clue. I can't imagine being able to hide it now!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
My Baby This Week: 14 Weeks (Second Trimester!)
Welcome to the second trimester! This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Toddler This Week: 15 Months, Week 3
Being little is tough, especially when someone bigger than you dictates what you'll wear, and when you'll take a bath, go to bed, and eat meals. One of the only ways your 15-month-old has to assert herself is to say "no" or refuse to cooperate. To cut down on the number of no's you hear, try to limit your own use of the word — toddlers are great mimics, after all. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
By 15 months, the majority (about 75 percent) of children have a vocabulary that consists of "Mama" and "Dada" plus at least three other words, usually nouns, such as "cookie," "ball," and "dog." "More," and of course the all-time toddler favorite, "No!" are also common early words. A typical 15-month-old can also follow simple commands, such as "Bring me your shoes," or "Put the book down." She also understands the meanings of phrases such as "No," "Come here," "Show me," and "Look."
One of the best ways you can encourage your chatterbox to keep on talking is to listen. Even if you don't understand all of what she's saying or asking, make eye contact when she's trying to communicate with you, and acknowledge or respond to her comments and questions whenever possible, which will motivate her to keep on trying.
If your child is taking her time learning to talk, spend a lot of time together reading. Even looking at picture books and pointing out familiar objects will help her store the information for future use. Try to avoid using baby talk, since it can be confusing. If your little one says "goggy" rather than doggy, simply say, "Yes, that's a doggy," rather than repeating her version of the word.
Up until now your child may have had difficulty sitting still to look at books, unless it was just before bedtime. But starting at about 15 months, children become interested in looking at picture books, either with Mom or Dad or alone. You may see your toddler pat the pictures in books, and books with different textures, like the classic Pat the Bunny, are often favorites at this age. And your toddler doesn't have to be sitting in your lap to enjoy a story; you can read to her while she's playing on the floor, too.
A 12- or 13-month-old will finger and then chew on a spoon or use it to bang on the floor or a pan. But a 15-month-old understands that a spoon is for stirring or eating and will try to use it for its intended purpose, stirring her oatmeal at mealtime. Rather than just drag a broom behind her, she'll try to sweep the floor with it. And when you hand your toddler a hairbrush, she'll attempt to brush her own hair, or a doll's or stuffed animal's. Understanding how objects are used correlates with a child's ability to both use words and express ideas. She is starting to be able to think ahead about how things work, and what the result of her actions will be.
By playing out a familiar scenario, such as mealtime, you will encourage your toddler to use her imagination. Let your child be the chef, and give her a plastic mixing bowl, a manual eggbeater, spoon, and strainer. When she's finished "cooking" something yummy for you, have her help you set a pretend table so you can enjoy a pretend meal together.
As soon as children begin to use language — that is, they both understand words and start to use them — they also have the ability to pretend. Most of your 15-month-old's imaginative play will revolve around her own behaviors. She'll pick up a spoon and pretend to eat from it. Or she'll put her head on your lap and feign sleep. She's using symbols to express her ideas, but at this stage, "pretending" closely mirrors real behavior. In the coming months and years you'll notice your child making leaps in her ability to think outside reality. She'll pick up a stick and wave it before you, saying it's an airplane flying in the clouds, or pretend to be something that she isn't, such as a firefighter.
While it may not be until after her second birthday that your child can actually pretend to be someone else, you can still experiment with role-play. For instance, you pretend to be a dog and suggest that your toddler is a cat. You bark, she meows, and you both have a great laugh. For even more fun, she pretends to be a big dog and you pretend to be a little kitten. Children derive a lot of satisfaction and confidence from this sort of role-reversal, where they get to be the big strong one for a change and an adult plays small and helpless.
-BabyCenter.com
By 15 months, the majority (about 75 percent) of children have a vocabulary that consists of "Mama" and "Dada" plus at least three other words, usually nouns, such as "cookie," "ball," and "dog." "More," and of course the all-time toddler favorite, "No!" are also common early words. A typical 15-month-old can also follow simple commands, such as "Bring me your shoes," or "Put the book down." She also understands the meanings of phrases such as "No," "Come here," "Show me," and "Look."
One of the best ways you can encourage your chatterbox to keep on talking is to listen. Even if you don't understand all of what she's saying or asking, make eye contact when she's trying to communicate with you, and acknowledge or respond to her comments and questions whenever possible, which will motivate her to keep on trying.
If your child is taking her time learning to talk, spend a lot of time together reading. Even looking at picture books and pointing out familiar objects will help her store the information for future use. Try to avoid using baby talk, since it can be confusing. If your little one says "goggy" rather than doggy, simply say, "Yes, that's a doggy," rather than repeating her version of the word.
Up until now your child may have had difficulty sitting still to look at books, unless it was just before bedtime. But starting at about 15 months, children become interested in looking at picture books, either with Mom or Dad or alone. You may see your toddler pat the pictures in books, and books with different textures, like the classic Pat the Bunny, are often favorites at this age. And your toddler doesn't have to be sitting in your lap to enjoy a story; you can read to her while she's playing on the floor, too.
A 12- or 13-month-old will finger and then chew on a spoon or use it to bang on the floor or a pan. But a 15-month-old understands that a spoon is for stirring or eating and will try to use it for its intended purpose, stirring her oatmeal at mealtime. Rather than just drag a broom behind her, she'll try to sweep the floor with it. And when you hand your toddler a hairbrush, she'll attempt to brush her own hair, or a doll's or stuffed animal's. Understanding how objects are used correlates with a child's ability to both use words and express ideas. She is starting to be able to think ahead about how things work, and what the result of her actions will be.
By playing out a familiar scenario, such as mealtime, you will encourage your toddler to use her imagination. Let your child be the chef, and give her a plastic mixing bowl, a manual eggbeater, spoon, and strainer. When she's finished "cooking" something yummy for you, have her help you set a pretend table so you can enjoy a pretend meal together.
As soon as children begin to use language — that is, they both understand words and start to use them — they also have the ability to pretend. Most of your 15-month-old's imaginative play will revolve around her own behaviors. She'll pick up a spoon and pretend to eat from it. Or she'll put her head on your lap and feign sleep. She's using symbols to express her ideas, but at this stage, "pretending" closely mirrors real behavior. In the coming months and years you'll notice your child making leaps in her ability to think outside reality. She'll pick up a stick and wave it before you, saying it's an airplane flying in the clouds, or pretend to be something that she isn't, such as a firefighter.
While it may not be until after her second birthday that your child can actually pretend to be someone else, you can still experiment with role-play. For instance, you pretend to be a dog and suggest that your toddler is a cat. You bark, she meows, and you both have a great laugh. For even more fun, she pretends to be a big dog and you pretend to be a little kitten. Children derive a lot of satisfaction and confidence from this sort of role-reversal, where they get to be the big strong one for a change and an adult plays small and helpless.
-BabyCenter.com
Friday, April 15, 2011
Easter/Spring Photoshoot
I can't tell you how much I've fallen in love with my camera. I loooove taking pictures, especially of the kids. So I offered to do an Easter/Spring photo shoot with the kids and Heather so kindly let us shoot at her house. I was hoping to do some shots outside, but it POURED! Fortunately, Heather's house is gorgeous and it wasn't hard to find a gorgeous wall that has some beautiful moulding and I used that as my background. I wish more natural light was coming in, but it was so dark because of the rain. That's when good ol' Photoshop came in handy. I'm still pretty new to learning my camera, so I'm not familiar with all the settings, but Photoshop and I are best friends. So I figure what I can't do with the camera - for now - I can make up for in Photoshop. At least until I learn more.
Here are some shots of the kids. I'm so happy with how they turned out! :)
Here are some shots of the kids. I'm so happy with how they turned out! :)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
My Baby This Week: 13 Weeks
Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed and your odds of miscarriage drop considerably.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Easter Playdate
Our mommy friend Virginia invited us over for an Easter playdate! She planned a wonderful afternoon with lunch, easter crafts, egg dying and an easter egg hunt! It was so much fun for the kids and the mommies. What a great time!
Benjamin
Mila
B
Porter
Audrey
Jayden
Liam
Virginia and Benjamin
Spencer and B
Heike and Audrey
Lily and Porter
Claudia and Liam
Virginia and Benjamin
Mila and Mommy!
Mila and Mommy!
Benjamin found an egg!
Spencer and B
Eggs!
Can you guess who's little hand that is stealing one of the eggs?? Miss Mila of course! LOL!
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