My Baby is a Toddler

So I've been evading an obvious truth for quite some time now... my baby isn't really a baby anymore. I mean, of course she'll always be my baby but the truth is, she's been a toddler for quite some time now. Supporting evidence for this statement:

Exhibit A: Has developed a love for goldfish, applesauce, string cheese, etc... classic toddler numnums.
Exhibit B: Throws tantrums over tragedies such as: not wanting to put clothing on before leaving the house, me setting her down so I can go do some miscellaneous chore, being told to stop and/or being forcibly removed from the destruction or pain she is causing to some thing or someone, being put into her stroller at the mall/zoo/any public place where she is running around like a crazy lady... usually putting herself into imminent danger. This list goes on and on, but you get the point. 
Exhibit C: Demonstrating a curiosity in and subsequent need to play with literally EVERY THING that crosses her tiny path - animals, knives, grass, garbage, other children's possessions, my ears, pieces of food she found on the floor, paper, flour, etc.

And if all this still isn't enough to convince you, may I present to you...
Exhibit D:

Yep. Red Marker. Allll over the wall.

Little punk could NOT be happier with herself!

 Now it's time to go see just how "washable" crayola washable markers truly are! :)

Upcoming Events

Deeeeeear Lovely Readers,

There are some seriously exciting things happening over the next few weeks here on ye olde bloggy blog.

I just wanted to give everyone a sneak peek at the upcoming schedule:

Saturdday 1/21: My first ever book review! I'll reveal the book at that time :)

Thursday 2/2: I will be posting the LOOONG awaited recipe for my world-famous enchiladas! Prepare your mouth for copious amounts of watering.

Friday 2/3: Look out for an exciting announcement about this here mommy blog o'mine!

Monday 2/6: I'll be launching my campaign to reach 150 followers!

Date TBA: Whenever I reach that number is when I do my first ever giveaway!! (And it's gonna be awesome!)

Hope you all are ready for the upcoming amaaaazingness!! :)

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a pic or two of Gemma doing her new favorite thing: playing with flour. Rocky has started calling her "my little flour girl" :) So adorbs!

Thoroughly diggin it ;)

Big Sister Training :)

This week I started my new job - nannying my next door neighbor's baby during the day since she had to go back to work. It's only a few days in, so we're still adjusting but all I can say is praise God this is literally the world's easiest baby!! She sleeps a bunch, eats like a champ, chills out wherever I put her, and smiles every single time I come over to her. So stinkin cute.

Gemma is working on the transition as well, as you can imagine. She's slowly learning that this is a real, live person, not another baby doll! She's also working on her boundaries... as you can see sometimes a tangible boundary is necessary, especially when Baby M is sleeping!!

Baby M asleep, being protected by the gate from curious little hands!

It's so cute though to watch Gemma be so fascinated by this new little person. And I have to say, it's like the ideal training for her if/when we add another sibling to our family (which, of course, we're always hopeful and open to!). She gets to gradually acclimate to having someone else vying for Mommy's attention, and also learn little ways to be Mommy's helper. She is SO gonna me my right-hand woman, there is no doubt about that! :)


For those of you who have been through this (adding a new baby - whether sibling or charge - to your house), any tips? Specifically on how to teach GENTLE touching?!

Fear Mongering

As a parent (together with my husband), it is my responsibility - tremendous and terrifying responsibility- to make decisions for and on behalf of my child. What she will wear, eat, drink. What type of education we will give her. Then there's the more controversial topics like extended breastfeeding and co-sleeping.

We begin this process of making decisions for our child often before we even realize it's for the child. For example, choosing which prenatal vitamins to take during pregnancy, which prenatal care practitioner we choose, where we decide to give birth. While those decisions may seem about us, the parents, they are simultaneously affecting the child as well. And from the very beginning, with those early choices, and continuing on through the journey of parenthood, we are bombarded with information and opinions from friends, family, medical staff, parenting forums, strangers in the grocery store - about how to care for our children.

Like I said, the responsibility is tremendous, and at times, terrifying. We all want what's best for our children. We want them to have better lives than we did. And we don't want to make any mistakes. So when it comes time to make a tough choice about a particular issue, what do we do? Research. We want to be making a well-informed choice. So we study both sides of the issue. We ask friends and family what they've done. We pray about it and ask the Spirit to lead our choices. And unfortunately, very often in our journey to make a choice about this thing or that, we run into fear mongering. Whether or not some of the things that are presented to us in a fear-inducing way are true, it's the delivery of such information that is so wrong. I mean, c'mon people. We all know that there are pros and cons to every side of every decision. There are facts and there are opinions. Do we really need to subject ourselves to fear and hysteria? I don't think so. To me, the facts matter most. The opinions of those who want what is best for me and my child affect me too. But the fear-mongering - I try my best to just tune it out. But regardless, you can't escape it.

Examples:

Homebirth. "Your child will DIE if something goes wrong and you're not in the hospital! Are you really willing to put the life of your child at risk??" Or. "You WILL have a c-section if you deliver in a hospital."

Circumcision. Though I don't have a son, I've seen the fear mongering on both sides of this issue. "Your son will DIE of penile cancer if you don't circumcise him! All the other boys will ridicule him! He'll get infections!" Or: "Your son will DIE of blood loss if you circumcise him! He will be robbed of his dignity and sense of self! He will associate violence with sexuality!"

Vaccinations. "Your child will DIE of disease XYZ if you don't vaccinate her against it!" Or: "Your child will suffer brain injuries or terrible autoimmune issues if you give her all those shots!"

Co-sleeping. "You'll roll over your child and suffocate him if you sleep near him! You will never get her out of your bed - she'll be in high school still sleeping with you!" Or. "You will alienate your child and teach her to distrust you unless you co-sleep! He will die of SIDS if you're not close enough to him!"

I could go on and on. And if you're like me, you've seen all these arguments and more on so many different issues. Here's the problem with all this fear mongering. It can damage our ability to make the right choice. It makes us emotional about topics to the point where we'll make a knee-jerk decision just to ease the tension in our hearts. What we should be doing is looking at the facts. No matter the topic: take the emotional fear-mongering skewed opinions out of it, and place the facts in front of you. Study the facts. Pray for guidance. Make your choice, and be at peace about it.

I know it's easier said than done, because let's face it: these are our children we're talking about! We can't be objective when it comes to our child; inevitably there will be an emotional element that can't be severed while we make decisions on his or her behalf. But we can still protect ourselves from excessive fear-mongering, and I truly believe it is absolutely vital to do so.

What do you all think? Have you encountered this? How do you deal with all the fear that is thrown at you as a parent?