Wordless Wednesday

Happy Heart

It's been almost a year and a half since I became a stay at home mom.  We've had to sacrifice a few things for us to be able to afford living on one income.  In my opinion, it has all been worth it.  Today for example, was one of those days.  My daughter has been sick since Saturday.  Nothing serious, just a little cold while we're all getting used to the colder weather.  If you have toddlers than you know what I'm going through here.  She started feeling better today and to keep her mind off the coughing and a runny nose I tossed her up in the air, ran around with her on my back, tickled her, helped her do flips while giving her the raspberry on her tummy and watched her LAUGH!  How awesome is that?  If I had to work outside the home who's to say that I would have the freedom to kiss her boo boos or do something like this when she's sick?  I gotta tell you after seeing how miserable she's been for the pass few days it made my heart happy to see her laugh and dance this morning.

Meal Time Success

Okay, I'm been MIA from my blog. I hope it isn't a case of outta site outta mind with those of you and are following me. I have an excuse though, really. My family has been living out of our suitcases for the past month while we were taking a road trip to our new home. It was a long road trip with stops at both of our families.

But that's besides the point. I'm back and I had the best mommy moment that I want to share with you. My 2 year old is a picky eater. I know, NOT big news since most are picky eaters. Today for lunch I made chicken adobo, which is slow cooked chicken drummetts with soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and pepper. The chicken is cooked until it falls off the bone. I mixed her dish is a little bit of rice and from the moment I put it in front of her she got down to business. She ATE and I mean really ate without any pleading, negotiating, yelling or anything on my part. By the time I sat down with my own bowl she was more than 1/2 way done with hers. How awesome is that! It gets EVEN better. After some milk to top it off she went down for her nap in less then 5 minutes.

Hello I'm doing the happy dance over here! What's better than seeing your child love your cooking. Do you have a great mommy moment you'd like to share?

Saying Goodbye

It's done!  Everything in our home for the past three years has been packed away in boxes and they're ready for the movers on Monday.  We've been planning this move for almost a year.  It hasn't been smooth or easy or fun, instead this time has been one of the most stressful things I've had to go through in awhile.  With the other moves it was only the two of us.  I didn't have to think of pediatricians, playgroups, day cares, preschools, jobs with reasonable driving distances or any of the other millions things our family needs.

Standing all by herself - June 10, 2010

I feel relived that moving day is finally here but I'm also sad.  This was the first house we've bought together.  The first house we experienced the joy of learning that we were going to be parents.  The first house we brought our child home to.  The first and only house our child knows as her home.  I have fond memories of designing and decorating the baby's room, of waking up one morning to see her stand up in her crib for the first time, learning how to take her first steps, and then running down the hallway.  I will always miss this house and the memories we made with here as a family.

That being said, I'm excited to start our next chapter.  I expect some bumps while we're still settling in and finding new friends.  But I have high hopes that we'll love it there and make this a permanent move.

Izzy's Bday - Part 2

I finally have a moment to finish blogging about Izzy's bday.  The party was themed after her favorite character, Dora a Explorer.  We had Dora plates, napkins, table covers, a wall sized poster, party favors, and Dora episodes playing in the background.  I am sure this won't be our only character themed party in the future but it was cute having one for the first time.  One of Izzy's godparents, Cindy does professional baking on the side and she's made some amazing cakes and cupcakes.  I was so happy that she agreed to make some for Izzy's birthday and I couldn't wait to see what she came up with.  They turned out great!  So many of my family members asked where we got the cupcakes from.  She had the characters Dora, the backpack and the map on chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.

As the guests started arriving initially she was a little shy but started warming up to all the kids there.  Her cousins Nate, Andrew and Abby showed up as well as her buddies Piper and Keeley.   I just love how Piper runs up and kisses Izzy every time she sees her.  Piper was even giving Maddie lots of hugs too!  She also made some new friends, Maddie, Miles and Jayden.  I wasn't able to take as many pictures as I would have liked but I'm happy that Izzy had so much fun.  Every time I looked over she was smiling and laughing with the other kids or sharing special moments with her grandma.

It was funny watching her eat her birthday cupcake.  I hardly give her sweets like this at home and after the first bite she was shoveling cupcake into her mouth with both hands.  She had crumbs all over her face and dress but she was a happy camper that's for sure!  When it came time for the gifts it took her a little bit to get over being the center of attention for 25+ people but she soon figured out all the bright packages where for her.  My funny little girl wanted to try on every outfit and would hold out her arms for each dress.

All in all I think the party was a success!  Thank you to all our friends and family for sharing our special day with us.  Happy second birthday to my little girl!

Sharing Precious Moments

Copyright National Geographic

One of my treasured memories growing up, was when I watched National Geographic with my dad. I remember sitting with him as a little girl watching programs about lions, sharks and well, the world. I believe those precious moments impacted the very core of my personality. They taught me to respect the wild and developed my ability to empathize with animals, nature and other people.

I loved all kinds of nature programming even though they didn't offer silly songs or dancing cartoon characters. Actually, in most nature shows the speaker's voice is more on the boring side. Picture the teacher's voice in Ferris Buller's Day Off.

Copyright National Geographic

Why bring this up? This memory is so dear to me that I decided to share that experience with Izzy. I chose kid friendly programs and I was able to turn it into a vocabulary lesson. I pointed out animals like birds, elephants, lions, and pigs during the show. I was then able to tie in words she hears at home like "Do you see the pig sleeping?" Afterwards instead of reading the story in her books, I pointed to drawn versions of the animals on the show. These days, she would rather point out to objects to name than listen to the whole story.

My hope is that she learns to love and respect nature and all the creatures in it like I did. Did you share something with your child that your mom or dad shared with you growing up?