Catching Up

How this is the last week of summer is TOTALLY beyond me - but a tiny little part of me is ready for the fall and the routine that it brings.

These last few weeks, we've packed in A TON. I'm going to bounce around from good, bad, interesting, and boring, but when Leo starts back at school, I am really hoping to get into a more routine posting mode. I've said this at least 18 times in the last year, so who knows if it'll stick, but that's the goal.

To pick up from the last catch up sesh here:

::: We decided to scrap potty training for a bit. It was not progressing, I don't feel like Leo was emotionally ready, and I put way too much pressure on him to have it "mastered" before school, and that was just silly on my part. We will try and again when HE is ready. 

::: Speaking of back to school, last week the elementary schools in our neighborhood started back up. For the last 12 years, our neighborhood has hosted a driveway breakfast party for all of the kids in the hood. Tons of moms and kids showed up, had breakfast, took pictures, and then all took the bus together. It was nearly the cutest thing I've ever seen. 

 

::: We also celebrated Joel's 31st birthday! On the day of his actual birthday, we hit up the last beach concert of the season and had tons of snacks, cookie cakes, beer and just enjoyed the perfect evening. 

 

 

 

 

::: We leave for Steamboat tomorrow and I wanted some kind of sneaker-y shoe that I could wear with jeans. I found these Dr Scholls shoes at Tj.maxx and they were exactly what I was envisioning for about half the price. They're crazy comfortable and I think I will get a ton of use out of them this fall.

 ::: My good friend Sara came to CL for the day with her little baby Emma. She is on maternity leave for the next few months so we had a fun day just hanging together - we literally folded my laundry while working our way through a bottle of champagne ;) 

 

20 minutes after this picture was taken, Emma started to cry. Sara thought that she must have dropped her pacifier on the ground during our walk.....but no - sweet and silent Drew had ripped it from her hands and was happily sucking on it! It was too funny. 

 

:::  I inherited some of my Grandma's furniture - and this table is the most recent addition. The top needs to be refinished, and I need to find a bench for it - but I love having it at home with me now. 

 

 ::: We had a back-to-school BBQ at our friends house which was so much fun. All of our kids are the same age, and just watching them play together is beyond heartwarming. 

 

All of August, a few of us have been having happy hour play dates on Thursday which has been really, really fun for everyone. 

::: At least once a week, a group of friends and our kids have been walking around Crystal Lake. I think it's about 4 miles....so it takes us about 90 minutes to do it - but it has been SO fun. People think we're hilarious, literally beep and wave at us, but it's literally the only way us mom's get to talk because the kids are all strapped in! 

After a walk last week, we went to our friends mom's house and Leo got to catch his first ever fish!! 

 

and he was scared out of his mind when it came flapping out! hahaha

 

::: My mom helped to host a baby shower for a family friend over this past weekend - which kept me out of the house all day on Saturday. The shower was beautiful, the mom-to-be looked spectacular, and it was really relaxing to just sit with friends outside enjoying the day. 

 

 

Checking In

As I sit down to write this, I've got two protesting naps, so we'll see if I can get even more than a minute of thoughts down on paper.

Things have been good here, but I'm still getting used to the pace of two. Finding time to blog during the week almost feels laughable. I feel like I'm running from one place to the next, pretty much 24 hours a day, and when Joel walks in the door, I typically have a glass of wine and fight to keep my eyes open past 8pm.

Thankfully she has been giving us some nice stretches at night, so we are at least semi-functioning. 

We're hanging in there and even though the days are long, the weeks keep ticking by somehow! I'm eager for this weather to start getting above thirty degrees so we can at least get outside for a few walks. That's been the hardest thing this time around.....so many less walks. With Leo - in California - we walked three times a day. Any time he was fussy, we headed out, and it was sooooo good for both of us. With Drew being born in December in Chicago, we haven't had as many opportunities so I'm counting the hours here!

 

 

 

We've gotten creative with our indoor activities too - lots of arts and crafts, baking, water activities, baths.......and Leo's been watching a lot more TV too.

 

  

 

 

Leo has been missing his outside time and chances to burn some energy - but recently signed him up for a sports class that he has been loving. 

The class is actually for 3 year olds (and you can tell why around the 40 minute mark when Leo starts to fade), but he's having so much fun and it's been a great thing for the 3 of us to do. 

He also had a special treat last weekend to go to Disney on Ice with Coco and Papa. 

I wasn't sure how he would do, but they had prime seats on the ice and the show kept him entertained the entire time.  

In all of our home time - I've been chomping at the decorating bit a little. Adding some artwork to some bare walls, changing up our guest room bedding (having a very hard time!) - and possibly ours since my comforter just burned in the dryer (shit....), and making some upgrades to the basement. I'll hopefully share those before April! 

Keeping Toddlers Busy

I'm hoping that I can share a few things that have saved our lives - and hoping that you can provide a few that may have saved yours. I remember reading quite a few blogs about "busy boxes" for baby when baby #2 is nursing, and these items are our version. 

Leo is very used to getting out of the house, having daily activities, and at the very least getting to the gym or getting into the stroller. Also, not because I'm against it but we're not big TV watchers yet**. I don't like to have the TV on during the day, and Leo doesn't know much different, so we just don't do a lot of TV or iPad time. I know the day will come but since we don't use either currently, they aren't a big help to us.

When we had baby Drew, the temperatures dropped below any normal level so any even little outside time we thought we were going to bank on, was out the window We haven't left the house much, and when we have, Leo's grandparents have taken him to Barnes and Noble just to get out for a bit. 

We are all going stir crazy, and really, more than anything on this list, we have held it together with the enormous amount of help we have received (thank you grandparents!) but even an hour or two of a bored toddler can feel like 63 hours moving at a very slow pace, so we've built an arsenal of what's been helpful and whats filled our time, and I thought I'd share. 

 

almost all of these can be found on Amazon, but I've had luck at TJ.Maxx/Home Goods and Target too!

And I really think I'm going to buy stock in Melissa and Doug. 

Water Wow Books: These are amazing. I have a few everywhere. They're great for restaurants too because they're small and you only need a touch of water. I love them and so does Leo. 

Reuseable stickers: These have been a huge hit for us, and Leo will spend a ton of time playing with them. I store all of the stickers in a zip lock bag that he can open and close himself which helps keep stickers from ending up everywhere. 

Jumbo Coloring Books: For whatever reason, the big books seem to hold Leo's attention for a lot longer. We got this jumbo book above as a gift and he loves it, and just today I was at Target and bought another cheap Cars one for a rainy day. 

Jumbo crayons: On that note, the jumbo crayons are way better for us. They don't brake nearly as easy, so Leo can keep a tight grip on them without a million crayon pieces ending up on the floor. 

The Mini Melissa and Doug puzzles: Leo is a big fan of puzzles, loves the ones that make noise too, but we got this set of 4 mini puzzles for Christmas and it has quickly become his favorite. I think he likes the fact that they're are a lot of small pieces for him to manipulate - and I like the fact that the puzzles have a cute little home, so this one is one of the few toys that stay out in our living room.

Matching Games: Both sets of Grandma's gifted Leo these for Christmsa this year and they've been a huge hit. Leo is currently liking the Dinosaur matching game a little bit better than the shapes and colors, but both are well suited for a 2 year old and I just found a letters one at TJs that I grabbed for when he is a little older. 

Baby Stella: I would also suggest getting a stroller for Baby Stella as well, but Leo has really taken to Baby Stella. He likes to take her for walks, has fun with all of the accessories that magnet to her mouth, and if he is sort of nagging me while I'm nursing, I like to encourage him to find baby Stella and check her diaper, or what have you, so that he feels like he can take care of a baby at the same time I am. 

MagnaTiles: Leo is a touch young for these, but I thought I would include them on the list anyhow because they make for a great gift and it's something I know will help us in the months ahead. I actually cleared out a drawer in one of the side tables in our living room to house these guys, so it's been a fun activity to do at night when Joel comes home. They're pricey but they're indestructible.

Play-doh: We have used this for when I'm pumping and need Leo somewhat contained. I just plop him in his high chair and this can easily buy me 15 minutes. 

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I'd love to hear a few of your indoor lifesavers. My neighbor was telling me about indoor sand that her daughter got for Christmas that isn't messy and has been a really fun indoor activity, so I might look for that in the next coming weeks too.

We are getting tons of use of our unfinished basement right now as well. Leo is happy as a clam to chase his balls down there, ride his new Y-bike, play in his fire truck car, and just run around. 

I've sort of been playing with the idea of finding him a small trampoline, or an indoor slide that he can use down there too - so if you have favorite basement activities, send them my way too! 

Birthday Party Recap

I spent the entire day reminiscing about what I was doing exactly one year ago. 

At 6:40am, I told Joel, last year we had just loaded into the Uber en route to the hospital. At 6:49am, last year, our uber driver started to cry "You're bringing life into this world toady, and I'm so touched I get to be your driver". 

At 8:00am, I was in the bed in triage getting stabbed multiple times to try and get the silly IV in - inwardly freaking out as the couple next to us wheeled our of our little waiting room as a family of 2, and back in as a family of 3. 

At 10:20am, I was taken into the OR to get a spinal, and before I knew it Joel was in the room with me and the surgery had begun. At 10:51am my baby boy Leo John was born and my life was forever changed. 

And then, 10:51am 2016 hit, and my baby boy was officially ONE! 

 

checking into the hospital ::: leaving the hospital ::: celebrating 1 year 

The best, happiest, craziest, fastest, wildest, most joyful year of my life. 

And to celebrate all that means, we threw a big birthday party for our shining star.

We started the day with a few presents from us and his grandparents, and then went on to watch a VERY fun Vols.

 

The party was held a neighborhood pizza place, and they were so amazing to work with. My sister-in-law Corie and I got there about an hour early, set up a few fun decorations, and by 4:50pm, our guests started to file in.

The decorations that I brought (his darling bib, the "ONE" banner, and hit cute party hat)  were c/o of my favorite Etsy shop Dainty Couture.

I DIYed the "1" sign, and the chalkboard, and then found a few other cheapy decorations at Target and Marshall's.

We set up pitchers of beer and as much pizza as our guests could eat, and then basically let everyone hang and play. 

 

 

 Right before 7pm, we decided to sing Happy Birthday to Leo (who was clearly ready for bed!)

  

Leo loves cake.

A lot of the kids broke into Leo's toys which proved to be hilarious - and great entertainment. 

But by 7:30, everyone was ready for bed, so we loaded the car with tons of new toys and goodies for Leo, and cheersed to the best year of our lives.