Tyler

I never did a Father's Day Post, because I was waiting on this article about Tyler and his dad to be published so that I could include it as a part of the post.

I thought this article, published in the Texas State Troopers Association monthly newsletter, would sum up what Tyler is all about and where he learned how to be the man he is today!

We are so proud of you Tyler! Anslee and I just may be the 2 luckiest girls in the whole world because we have you!

Scroll down to page 11 after clicking this link to view the article!

Tyler and the DPS

What I have been reading!

Most of you know that ever since I got pregnant with Anslee, I have buried myself in books, blogs, and internet articles that offer child rearing advice. (We all know that I need every bit of expert opinion or thought on anything that has to do with parenting!) So, I thought it was only appropriate that I blog about the great reads that I have found!

I am always reading...(Or always referencing)



I am preparing now, and reading:


Another one always good for referecning is:


In more recent news, it looks like I will be needing to RE-Read the following:


and...



Clearly its a good thing we saved a ton of money on the following:



And I just HAD to buy Anslee this new shirt....


Because this little blessing will be joining us as the newest Moses in January!

2 word phrases!

Anslee has started putting words together this past month! Its a little step closer to more clear communication with her, so that makes me this mama so excited :) I remember thinking that when kiddos started putting words together they were officially big kids!

She says:

Thank you - and so clearly too! this is my favorite phrase to hear come out of her mouth!

All Done - She will sign and say this one at the same time. We can communicate!

Oh No - This has almost replaced "uh oh".

I know - Not sure if she knows what this means, but she says it after we do.



I have also started counting to 3 when I want her to come to me. My friend Cindy does this and her little one cooperates, so I thought I would try. We are doing pretty good! By 2, she starts walking toward me!

I have also started requiring "please" or at least the sign for please before giving her what she wants. I would say she certainly understands and does it without thinking, but other times it can be what causes a fit. A work in progress is what we will always be anyway...

I have also realized just HOW MUCH she understands, even if she can't verbalize that she does. She knows what "stay in here", "do not touch", "bring me your shoes", "lets go", and "come on" mean and will follow the instruction pretty consistently. s

Now that I know she understands more, I can expect that she is able to follow directions and therefore a whole new world of fun can be had :)

She wears pig tails and ponytails now. She is a big girl.

Its a Give Away!

I know all you mommies are like me and go crazy over baby boutique style clothes for your little one. No other type of clothing catches the eye like these types of fufu fun outfits on that already precious baby of yours!

Well the the BabyWiseMom is doing a giving away again from This precious online boutique.

I want to win that $30.00 gift card so I can add some more adorable clothes to Anslee's closet! Who wouldn't?

Plus, I just think everyone should check out this site :) Its just to cute to not spend some time browsing on!

Just Going With What Works!

Wow! We have been busy chasing a toddler all over the place these days!

11-13 months was rough time for Anslee. Not her parents favorite stage in the least! Molars, turning 2 naps into 1, and learning to walk really took our sweet girl for a crazy ride.

The 1 year molars had their way and broke through her tender gums, we finally are getting one good (and long) nap everyday after lunch, and walking is easy breezy now, (dang those developmental leaps!)

Anslee started Wee Kids a couple of months ago and we love it. She is doing great there and has amazing teachers and friends.







We were surprised to have to run out and buy this particular item! That's right! Tyler noticed Anslee saying "tee tee" while grabbing at her diaper, so hr thought well why not sit her on the pot. Sure enough, my sweet girl made her first tinkle in the big potty! Later that day, she did one more time and then she has 2 more times since then (so 4 times in 2 days). At not quite 15 months, we realize that she is still very young and really may not be fully ready for potty training. We decided that we would go off of her ques for now, and not stop her if she keeps up the interest, but will not stress or become frustrated if this is not the real deal. We will encourage the interest she is showing now without any pressure for more. We are so proud of her!

We held off for a long time with putting Anslee in a front facing carseat, but now that she is 22 lbs, and just tried it once in her grandparents car and LOVED it, we thought we could go ahead and make the switch. We still have not purchased one, but my parents are graciously letting s borrow theirs until we get ours. We decided on the Britax Kathryn style one. It is safe and will last another 3 years. That to me, is worth the $$$ it will cost us.

The spoon. Oh how I hate the idea of giving Ansleee a spoon. Oh how wonderful it will be when she can feed herself. Well, we are going to make this "must happen sometime" experience come on slowly and in the least messy way I can help (I know...there is no getting around it). She has successfully made about 2 spoonfuls into her mouth, but that is really all for now. I give her a spoon with an empty bowl every now and again, and she clearly knows what it is for, but her coordination has not caught up with her understanding. That's ok. I am in no hurry, and I am making that my universal philosophy for her from now on. It is all happening so fast.

She has so many words, and I feel like she adds another one by the day. She says: hi, bye, no,yeah, mama, daddy, bath, night night, kitty, cracker, shoe, turtle, baby, outside, play, light, uh oh, no, bow, Ninny, teeth, eyes, nose, meow, hey, whoa, slide,and says (and recognizes) "A" and "B".

She points to her eyes, ears, knees, belly, toes, and nose when asked too also! We can't believe was 14 month olds are capable of understanding! They are all like little sponges and can really do much more than I ever would have imagined! It's so fun to watch!

Funny story. Tyler and I have been taught a few of the baby sign language signs for more, please, drink, and all done. We have been slackers, and never used them with Anslee though. Well one night over dinner Anslee starts saying "moe moe" (her word for drink or food that sounds like more but just not quite)and she clearly starts SIGNING "more" we were amazed and were just sure we just had the smartest kid out there. Ha! Come to find out at wee kids they use basic signs with the kiddos. She had just simply caught on, she did not have the gift of knowing sign without ever being taught. None the less it was still a fun new thing for us to see her do!

Clealry it's been a full couple of weeks for us! We could not love life more right now!

What I would have done then

If I would have known what I know now.

I am far from expert. In fact, I still feel like a blank slate most days, but one thing I have learned in my experience of being mommy is to pay close attention to what did and did not work for our situation.

I have tried hard to do that. So here is my list of what I would have done/thought/tried then if I could do it all over again WITH ANSLEE. I emphasize her because each baby is different and she is the only baby I have patented to date.

1. Tried to nurse a little longer. I say this #1 with extreme caution. I say it because no one can argue that breastfeeding is the most nutrionally sound way to feed. However, I wish now that I would have known that if nursing becomes such a struggle that you don't enjoy parenting and if it is not facilitating the mother/baby bond the way it should IT IS OK. I say this with no guilt at all for having chosen to bottlefeed. It was clearly best for the happiness of our entire household, therefore the decision was made with good intention, and it was one of the better mothering choices I made. What I have learned since my nursing experience is that if you can try to stick with it through 12 weeks, you usually can go 12 months without skipping a beat. I would have maybe tried to find a way of coping through the hard times to get me through the first 3 months.

2. I would have implemented the feed/wake/sleep routine at 3-4 weeks rather than 6 weeks. I just didn't know about the babywise philosophy until then. There is a link to the babywise mom blog on the side of this blog. I wish I had known about that blog before birth!

3. I would have waited until closer to 6 months to introduce solid food. This has opened my eyes to something that is creeping up on me now...potty training. I will not push this until I am confident she is ready, and that I am ready. This is the same philosohy I wish I would have had for solid food.

3. I wish I would have found a mothers day out program for Anslee around 6 months rather than 13. Since I am at home with her, she did not get to be around others and reap all the benefits of being with children similar in age as early as I would have liked for her.

4. Oh how I wish I would have had newborn photos taken of her. I will never ever have them now.

5. Have Tyler home for more than a week. This is not reality for most, and it was not for us at the time we had Anslee. Next time around, it will be, and I am already thankful and excited about that.

6. I would have bought more size 2 and 3 diapers than newborns and 1's. I had tons of newborn and 1 diapers left over after she grew out of them. She has been in size 3 diapers since 5 or 6 months old and, well, we never have any of those left over.

7. Instead of buying baby all or dredt detergent in the beginning, to only wash Anslee's clothes in, I would have bought just a free and clear blend. Anslee's sensitive skin did great with HER clothes being washed in them, but her face still was irritated from being held up against our clothes that were just washed in regular detergent.

These are just a few. I know there are probably many more that I have already put back in the back of my mind. I am glad I will have documentation of all this as a reference for future use.

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Sometimes being a Mommy is just funny!

I love how Anslee can always keep me laughing. I find myself in a better mood becuase of her often. Ahhh what a blessing! Here are a few pictures I was able to snap while laughing behind the camera (ok iPhone camera, really)


I turned around and saw that she clearly could not pick one to play with, so the only thing thar made sense was to join them all.



She got a little tired one day while playing with one of her favorite toys. You can't really see it, but she has the ladybug's antnae in her mouth.



Here she is with BFF Sadie, under the entry hall table. It was funny enough to get a picture but I had to quickly shoo them out from under there!



This her immediate reaction to her green minky dot blanket. Blanket=insert thumb in mouth.




My sassy girl. I know that in coming years cute and funny will be the last words that come to my mind when I see that smirk. For now, I will enjoy it! While I can, right?!



Need there be commentary on this one?! I don't think so. Her dad mentioned that the dress may be a tad short.

I don't have pictures to illustrate the next couple of funny things, but none the less, I laughed and still do when I think about....

1. How she calls milk "mo".
2. How she used to "woof" at any type of animal she saw. Now, she only "woofs" at dogs, goats, sea lions, and deer. When she sees the tiger or the bunny rabbit or cat she says, "kitty".
3. How every letter in the alphabet is "A" or "B".

Life with her continues to be more and more fun. She walks and talks and smiles all day long. We have not loved all the stages we have been through so far but we have loved watching her grow from helpless newborn to happy infant to healthy toddler.

We are so blessed!

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