Zoo Trip

For Marissa's birthday on Thursday we went to the zoo.  We had so much fun!  She knew what the animals were this year and loved exploring.  I want every year to be special for her birthday. 

She was a little uncertain of being so close to the giraffes.

But she did let one eat some food from her hand.

A nice man was kind enough to take a picture for us.

Our new family picture  

My first time seeing giraffes!

Their eyes are so expressive.

Dylan enjoyed the zoo, too.  He rode around on Daddy and snoozed!

Danny has never worn either of the kids.  I was so surprised when he said he would wear Dylan for a bit.  How cute is this guy, seriously!?

 Do you see the baby on her belly?

The animals were so interactive.  When you came to their exhibit it was almost like they were performing for you.  You definitely don't get that at the National Zoo!

This guy decided to pee through the fence. O_o

BIG Kitty!

Sissa is TWO!

Happy 2nd Birthday to the sweetest little girl I know!  Marissa, you have forever changed our lives and we can't imagine life without you. 

What you're up to these days:

• You are daytime potty trained and you only wear a diaper at bedtime.
• You can pretty much count to 15 and can point out 1-10.
• You know most of your colors: green, blue, pink, purple, white, black, yellow, red and orange.
• You know most of your shapes: heart, star, circle, square, triangle, etc.
• You know most of your body parts: hair, forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, brain, neck, head, fingers, hands, elbow, wrist, back, butt, knees, toes, feet, belly button, ears, teeth and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.
• You love, love, love your Teddy.  You like to suck your thumb and smell Teddy while flicking his ear.  It's the cutest thing!
• You love being outside, your favorite outdoor activities are swimming in the pool, playing ball, blowing bubbles and sidewalk chalk.
• Speaking of the pool, you are a born water baby!  You love being in the bathtub and splashing around.
• You help mommy put away your toys and empty the dish washer.  You love throwing the clean utensils in the drawer.
• Daddy taught you how to open and close doors...and now you're a little OCD about all of the bedroom and bathroom doors being shut.
• When you really want my attention you call me "Mom!"  Where did you learn that?!
• Daddy wanted to you to call him "daddy" but it comes out more like "Diy-diy" 
• You adore your baby brother but you are learning how to share.  Sometimes you get upset when he plays with your toys.
• On the flip side, you like playing with his baby toys, like his swing and his bouncer.  You even put his pacifier in sometimes and chew on his teething rings, crazy girl!  You also like to gobble up his puffs!
• Your favorite foods: Sausage, spicy anything, guacamole with tortilla chips, steak, grapes, watermelon, bananas. cheerios, peaches, apples, peas, sweet potatoes, grilled cheese, PB&J, ham, cheese, applesauce, yogurt and pasta.
• Hit or miss foods: Green beans, cake and ice cream, quesadillas, shrimp, and broccoli.
• You love playing with your kitchen, play dough, our tablets and your picnic baskets.

The past two years have gone by so fast.  You have taught us patience, love and the true meaning of happiness.  You've melted your Daddy's heart and made me the proudest mommy ever.  I can't wait to see the little girl you will grow into and the woman you one day will be.  We have high hopes for you.  In the meantime, I am going to soak up your innocence and childhood.  These days go by too fast!

We love you, Sissa!

Mommy & Daddy

Kitchen Renovation - Complete!

Most evenings when I'm cooking dinner, I scoot Dylan's high chair into the kitchen while I prepare dinner.  He has his "witching hour" in the evenings and he usually wants to be held or worn.  As a compromise, he will usually sit quietly in his high chair if I feed him puffs while I work.  Well, one day I scooted him across the dining room and kitchen threshold and the chair leg caught one of our craptastic sticky tiles that came with our house.  The tile ripped and I told Danny that it was time to finally get new kitchen floors!  He agreed and threw in kitchen counter tops as an extra bonus.  My cookin' must be pretty good to have earned such a treat. ;) 

Here's the beginning of construction.  We had 3 floors to tear up.  The sticky tiles, linoleum and a wood board that the linoleum was adhered to.  In addition to the 3 floors we had about 1,000 one inch long staples to pull up.  It was a lot of work!  We also installed all new floor trim and door trim.

Laying ceramic tiles:

Grouting, a very dirty job

All of our hard work - complete

My red counter tops.  Before we even bought the house I said they would have to be the first thing to go...3.5 years later we are finally replacing them.  I have to admit, they kind of grew on me.

No counterops: 

Yay!!!  New counter tops are in!

New sink:

Excuse the party decorations, here's the pass thru going from the living room to the kitchen:

All of our hard work paid off!  I'm very happy with the end result.

Usborne Books & More

I have recently taken on a new business adventure with Usborne Books & More (UBAM)!  I am now an independent consultant for UBAM and I am excited to kick start this new adventure.  So, you are probably thinking to yourself, what is UBAM?  Well, they sell high quality children's books from babies to teens and everything in between.  What better gift is there to give to a child than reading?  It is so important to read to your children, not only is listening a learned skill but reading opens so many windows to learning and exploring your imagination.

I will be having an open house within the next few weeks to get things rolling and I hope to have some home or e-shows very soon.  Check out my website  and let me know if you would be interested in a home show, e-show or becoming a consultant!  There are no monthly quotas to meet and as a consultant you receive 25% off the retail prices.  That alone is worth it (and I will definitely utilize the discount for myself even if my little business adventure proves to be too much with my already busy schedule).  Books make great gifts for birthdays, holidays and baby showers.  The wide selection of books that UBAM offers will ensure that you find just the right book!

I can't wait to expand Dylan and Marissa's library.

Take the time to read to your children, build memories and explore the world of imagination together!




"Usborne Publishing Ltd. has no connection with these pages and does not sponsor or support their content."

DaDa: 2, MaMa: 0

It's official, Dylan's first word at 7 months and a few days, was DaDa!  Little stinker!  I was really hoping he would say MaMa first, since Marissa said DaDa first.  No such luck...but that's okay, he is still a Momma's boy!





DaDa - 2
MaMa - 0

Guess we'll have to have one more so I can get another chance. ;) 

Spreading the Fluff Love

Head on over to Sincerely Liz to get another perspective on Cloth Diapering.  Liz and I have had many chats about cloth diapering and I like to think that I maybe had a tiny piece in her choosing to cloth diaper her beautiful little girl. :)  It makes me so happy to see that others are sharing their fluff knowledge. 

Worldwide Breastfeeding Week

Did you know that it's Worldwide Breastfeeding Week?  Well, it is!

In honor of WBW, I wanted to share some information as to why BFing is so important to me:

• Promotes Mother-Baby Bonding
• The best food you can give your baby, it's what nature intended
• Some research indicates that Formula Feeding can cause obesity in adulthood and a higher risk of allergies than BF babies
• Helps protect children from asthma, SIDS and Diabetes
• It's free (for the most part)
• Important antibodies are passed from mother to baby
• Breastmilk is a complex food and changes with the needs of your baby, which formula manufacturer's have yet to master

While BFing is not for everyone, I am glad that I have chosen this route for my children.  We have had ups and downs along the way, but there are so many resources to help you have a successful BFing relationship.  One of my favorite resources is Kellymom.com. 

From clogged ducts, to bleeding nipples, to bad latch, to supply issues and reflux, I feel like we've gone through every hoop.  Dylan had a terrible latch in the hospital and I was so sore before we even got home.  We were able to have his frenulum clipped before leaving the hospital which helped a ton!  To prevent further confusion, we did not introduce a bottle until 3 weeks old.  We continued to work on his latch until it was perfected.  Danny was such a big help and encouraged me to not give up (he knows how much I loathe pumping, so we knew that we didn't want to exclusively pump and bottle feed). 

Something that I didn't experience a lot of with Marissa was spitting up.  Dylan, however, is a different story.  He is what Kelly Mom refers to as a "Happy Spitter."  At first I was a bit concerned with the amount he was spitting up.  After talking with the pediatrician, we decided that it was completely normal for him to spit up some.  Actually, all babies have some form of reflux due to the immaturity of their esophagus.  Since he was not spitting up entire feedings and was gaining weight well, we decided to label him as a "Happy Spitter."

From Kelly Mom: If your baby is a ‘Happy Spitter’ –gaining weight well, spitting up without discomfort and content most of the time — spitting up is a laundry & social problem rather than a medical issue.

Knowing this information put me at ease, and although Dylan is almost 8 months old, he still spits up.  We're hoping he will outgrow it completely by 12 months! :)  It certainly doesn't look like he misses any meals, though.

Anyway, I'm rambling...check out Kellymom.com for all your BFing questions!  One day I may share pictures of my last nursing session with Marissa. :)  It is very special to have those memories, but I'm not sure I am ready to share them yet. 

Happy Worldwide Breastfeeding Week!