3 years old

Look at that handsome face. I just want to squeeze it all day long. Here's some things I want to remember about Kyle at 3 years, 3 months old:

• You talk NON-STOP. Words that end in "T" you pronounce with a "K" so you say "giank" for "giant," "righk" for "right," "presenk" for "present," etc. And some words that start with "S" you use "G" like "Gop!" for "Stop!" Words that start with "L" are "Y" like "Yoyo" for cousin "Lolo."
• You also like to say "that's funny huh?" or "that's silly huh?" "oopsie daisies!" and "aye yay captain!" 
• When we do thumbs up, you use your pointer finger shaped like a hook. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.
• You can write your name like a champ!
• You are about to finish your first year of parent participation pre-school, and you've grown up so much. You follow the rules, sit on the mat, do story time by yourself, etc. So proud of how far we've come since we started!
• You love to color and your pictures are no longer scribble. You stay in the lines and use all different colors. You're an amazing artist!
• You also love to paint and do such a good job on your crafts at school. You take them very seriously.
• Your favorite shows right now is Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Paw Patrol.
• You finally gave up your pacis last month. We were so scared to do it because you were OBSESSED your whole life, but after one night of torture we got through it and survived. The paci fairy brought you some Paw Patrol guys and their vehicles and I think you were satisfied with the trade.
• You started swim lessons last week and aren't sure if you love it yet.
• You sometimes sing a song to baby sister in my tummy that you made up. "Go to sleep, baby sisterrrr."
• You were a super potty trainer. Once you were ready, it was like you never even wore diapers! For us, the key was really just waiting until you were ready.
• You love the Step Into Reading books about Batman and the super heroes. But you also really love the Dr. Seuss books. We read a ton of books every night and you always ask for just one more.
• We like to go to the library and you help me pick out books now. 
• Last time we went to Knott's, you went on the log ride with Mimi! But now you say you don't want to do that again because you didn't like it. But you tried!
• After you get out of the bath, you and your dad like to trick me. You get in your jammies and then put your towel over them and make me think you just got out of the bath. You call it "jammie burrito" and think it's hilarious to do it EVERY NIGHT! You always say "I tricked you huh!!"
• You are a super friendly neighbor and say hi to everyone when we are on a walk or go to the park. The Fed Ex delivery guy came yesterday and you told him "I'm Kyle and I'm 3 years old!"
• We've been working on writing letters and you are doing really well! You can identify all of them and most of their sounds, and you can write A, C, E, H, I, K, L, M, O, Q, T, U, V, W, X by yourself (capital letters).
• You like to do puzzles and we play games a lot, like Candy Land, Memory, Chutes and Ladders, Sequence for Kids and Go Fish.

You are so stinkin sweet with your baby cousin and I can't wait for you to meet your baby sis. Only 5 more weeks!!

"snow" trip 2015

A few weeks ago we took our 2nd annual trip to Lake Arrowhead with a group of close friends. We look forward to this trip every year, getting all of the kids together and enjoying some time away. Kyle is the youngest kiddo of the bunch and probably the most work since he really, really loves walking up and down stairs all day long (and there were plenty of stairs in our three-story HUGE cabin), but we had fun nonetheless. It was fun comparing to how it was last year, when he was juuuuust about to take his first step and was crawling all around the cabin pulling himself up on everything.

The weather was gorgeous and we were able to play some outdoor games, and on Saturday we drove to Snow Valley for some sledding fun. Kyle loved going down the hill but was not a fan of his gloves or the ski lift (which freaked me out, too, thinking of him squirming out of my arms and falling out), so after his second run he got so worked up that he ended up falling asleep on me for a nice afternoon nap outside.

Instead of bringing the pack n play we just brought along his mattress to sleep on, but the first night he ended up rolling off and sleeping directly on the cabin carpet - which really irritated his poor face. That, combined with the sun/snow day and lack of good naps, really did a number on him and it took him a few days to recover from our vacation.

Next year Kyle will be almost 3 for this trip and I think it will be the most fun yet. Can't wait to go back to the beautiful cabin on the lake and watch him play baseball/soccer outside with all of his friends! Maybe next year he'll actually have fun in the snow, too :)

(You can read about our last year's trip here.)

23 months

Our last month with a 1 year old!

I took this photo of Kyle last Wednesday. I taught my first class that morning, picked Kyle up from his auntie's house and put him down for a nap. When he woke up I wanted to do something fun with him because it felt like we had been cooped up for the past few weeks while I met deadlines and prepped for school. I decided I wasn't going to open my laptop for the rest of the day, and we were going to make an impromptu trip to Knott's - just me & Kyle! It was one of those trips that I was soaking in every second because I was having so much fun with the sweetest boy. He's so good when we're there - he gets off the kiddie rides and waits for me, holds my hand, climbs in the stroller for a snack and has so much fun running from one place to the next. I know I'll remember these trips forever and will miss this time when he lets me hold him close while we ride the swings together.

23 months is really fun in our house, but can also be frustrating. It's so fun to watch Kyle remember words and communicate with us, but then it's hard to know what to do when he won't let us put pants on him or doesn't get his way and lies face down on the kitchen floor kicking his feet. He definitely gets his share of time outs, but I think they are mostly because he is working really hard to test his limits. Just recently he's starting doing "2 year old things" just to see if he can get away with them. Super cool things, like climbing on top of the piano and playing with his feet twice after I asked him not to, or pulling the diaper geenie bag out and wasting the entire refill pack by pulling 15' of plastic bag across the house. He also learned the phrase "no, no, no, mine" and can be possessive over things that he takes an interest in (where the F do they pick these things up?), so Brian and I are working very hard to teach him that those words are not allowed out of his mouth! It's so important to us that he's a respectful kid and treats others nicely. I know it's a process and will take time, so we are just trying to be consistent. It's a never-ending, exhausting journey through the terrible 2's!

I know things are clicking for him though, because he's usually a very sweet boy. He starting saying "thanks Mommy" or "thanks Daddy" without being prompted, which breaks my heart every time. He's asks nicely for things "play choo choos peeeeeese" and always takes a break from watching his show to pat me softly on the face and say "hi mommmmy" - you can only imagine how that melts me. We always talk to Daddy about our day while we're eating dinner, and he's starting to contribute to the conversation. After Knott's last week he kept telling him "choo chooooo!!!" because he was so excited that we took a ride on that train (his fave). 

23 month milestones

• Sleeping in his big boy, toddler bed.
  I feel like this milestone came a little too quick for us because I was definitely not ready to say goodbye to his crib, but he had been climbing out for months now and it just seemed silly at this point to keep the rails up. He loves his toddler bed and takes good naps in it, has only rolled off once and generally sleeps through the night (with the exception of last night of course when I finally fell asleep at 2:30 a.m. after my bar shift and he comes in our room at 3 a.m. and turns the TV on ready to watch Toy Story).

• Identifying a million pictures in a book.
  OK I'm exaggerating, but we read his "first words" book the other day and he could tell me so many words, I was so impressed! I'd point to a picture and ask him what it is, and he would tell me "hose," "bird," "shoes," etc. We're not quite there yet on the instruments page (no "cello," or "banjo" haha) but he nailed all of the foods, household and clothing items.
• Interest in sitting on the potty.
  Ok not sure if this is an actual milestone because he's definitely not even CLOSE to being potty trained, but he totally gets the process. He tries to go pee on the potty, but it just hasn't happened yet. But this month he would sit there and push, so I know he knows what to do. He also tells us when he needs a new diaper (sometimes). Baby steps! We're not going to push him until we know he's ready...
• Counting to 5!
  He loves to count, but he usually points to things and says "2, 2, 2, 2!" But a couple days ago he lined up his markers and counted "1, 2 3, 4, 5" and I freaked out! I randomly got it on video too, yay! I wasn't expecting it at all, and it's so fun to see things click in his mind. He hasn't done it again since, but now I know that he knows that there is a world beyond 2 ;)

22 months

At 22 months, Kyle no longer walks anywhere - he runs or skips as fast as he can. He is all over the place and touches everything in his sight. Today at the store, in the 1.5 minutes it took me to pay for groceries, he pulled down the car air freshener and a bag of plastic bags off the shelf. The checker said "that's what boys do, mom!" and I guess he's right! He loves to explore outside and inside drawers, play with his cars and choo choos, throw balls, do play doh, watch Curious George, eat peanut butter off the spoon, and pull boxes of cookies off the counter and stuff them in his mouth (ok, that just happened once but it was hilarious).  

Kyle is really trying to put sentences together! So far they're just 2 or sometimes 3 words, but in the past few weeks his vocabulary has really grown. He loves to say "shoes on" or "shoes off," "out back," "bath time," "ready... go!" "watch show" "silly Penny" ... his little voice is so sweet. His favorite saying is still "up up up up up up" any time I'm sitting or relaxing somewhere because he just wants me to be UP holding him up or walking around doing whatever he's doing. Until this morning actually it sounded more like "uh uh uh uh" and then out of the blue today he said "uP" and enunciated the P!

He loves going on adventures with his mom & dad. He gets really excited when we all get ready to go somewhere. He makes sure dad is wearing his hat, gets his hat out of the closet, brings me my shoes and chooses a toy from his toy box to take in the car with him and gets cozy in his car seat with his blanket. He loves car rides and is such a good boy when we run millions of errands together every week. The ladies at the bank love him because he knows how to swipe my ATM card correctly, and everyone gives him so much attention because he's just so sweet and handsome with his red mop ;)

My favorite time of day is the morning, even though I'm never ready to get out of bed. Kyle will wake up, come in our room, climb in bed with me and get under the blanket. He'll snuggle with me every day - sometimes just a minute if he is excited to start his day, but sometimes for up to 30 minutes if he's feeling sleepy still. Sometimes he'll actually fall back asleep on me, and those days are so special since we've never been co-sleepers and I get to hug my boy as I catch a few more zzz's. Then we'll get up, get his milk, make coffee and watch a show before breakfast. An easy routine but I feel so happy and spoiled every morning being lazy with my boy before our day gets going. 

Kyle is really, really funny. He loves to tease us and make us laugh. He LOVES to be chased and "hides" by running away and dropping on the floor and crawling up into a ball. He loves his sister Penny - no one can make him laugh like she does. Except maybe cousin Jacob, who makes him belly laugh just by shaking his head silly. He knows how to push his boundaries and do things he knows he shouldn't be doing, but is also a great listener and such a good boy when we go places. He's been refusing to give us kisses and wipes ours off for a couple of months now because he thinks it's so hilarious. It is pretty funny, but I really can't wait until he's over that joke so I can get kisses from my boy again! 

Just two more months until we have a 2 year old! The thought of that is just crazy to me. I can't talk about it too much because I'm known to cry at the drop of a hat just thinking about my boy growing up. I'm going to miss these days when I can still rock him to sleep and he likes to hold my hand on the couch and do anything in his power (i.e. climb on my head while I'm working on the computer, climb up my legs when I'm standing or lay on my chest) just to be close to me. Great I'm crying now. Love my boy so much and this phase has been so much fun.

Knott's Merry Farm

Kyle and I had so much fun at Knott's last week with our friends. He's tall enough now to go on the airplane ride ALL BY HIMSELF (a very stressful 1.5 minutes for mommy). He loved it so much, but I was super nervous. We went on all the Camp Snoopy rides a few times and then stayed for the tree lighting show, which he watched from my shoulders - a first for us! He loved it. It's so cute to watch him interact with his friends. His favorite is holding hands and walking by himself... such a big boy. 

xmas jammies

 Can't. handle. this. picture. 

Bed head! Big boy pose! Jammies! Stop it.
Kyle has entered the dreaded phase of "point a camera at me and I refuse to smile or look cute," but our photographer worked her magic, and I am eternally grateful for that sweet smile.

21 months

I can't believe it is almost time to start planning Kyle's 2nd birthday party! I'm getting so excited about it because I know he's going to have so much fun playing with all of his friends and celebrating. He is changing so much every day, I can't even imagine what a big boy he will be on his special day in just 3 months.

At 21 months, our sweet boy is talking more and more. He's really trying to put sentences together and sometimes I can even understand him :) He is also learning how to charm his mom, which of course melts my heart. He bribed me with a kiss the other day and is starting to smile so sweetly at me when he knows he's starting to get into trouble.

Kyle loooooves to be tickled, laugh and be chased around the house. He's really into Play Doh, his Woody, pretending to take a nap (so silly), playing with his choo choos and riding his little Jeep around the house. He's becoming a much better eater and recently discovered the joys of new foods like mac n cheese, and he even ate broccoli willingly! He'll sleep until about 6:30-7 a.m. in his crib and then come climb in bed with mom for some morning snuggles. Some of his common words and phrases are "up up up" (all day long), "outside" and "pleeeeeease" when he wants to do puzzles on my iPhone. 

I just love my sweet boy to bits and cherish every single day I get to spend with him. He is my heart!

Is it Friday yet?

My week as a "single mom" did not go as smoothly as I'd hoped. I tackled sleepless nights, meltdowns and even a trip to the ER alone (croup strikes again). I feel pretty good about the way I handled things, but I am soooo looking forward to having daddy home tomorrow! Especially excited to enjoy a glass of wine while he handles bath time for the next few days :)

the bad day

I wasn't dreading the hub's 5-day business trip too much. Yes, I would miss him and yes, being a "single mom" for 5 days isn't the easiest. However, I took some time off work and I just needed to get through Monday to have 4 full days in a row at home with my boy.

Day 1 just happened to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad f*ck*** day.

It all started with a very early 5 a.m. wake-up (for the 2nd day in a row). Brian had to leave the house at 6 and still hadn't packed. He didn't mean to wake me up, but he did. And I didn't mean to fall back asleep just 10 minutes before Kyle got up for the day (at 6:30). But it happened.

Then, I realized we were out of coffee. We could just stop there, but I'll go on.

I had to work at 10-5 and I'm not sure how this happened, but I forgot to make myself a coffee when I got there. By noon, I had a throbbing caffeine withdrawal headache that I knew nothing would fix. I was past the point of no return.

Work was work, and was especially fun when my last table of the day left me a $0 tip on a $120 bill. F THEM!

Kyle wouldn't let me rest at all when we got home, which I never really mind except for the fact that my headache was so bad that I was seeing spots and having trouble keeping my eyes open. In just 3 short hours, it would be bedtime.

Let me tell you, 3 hours is a long time when you are exhausted, have a migraine and just need rest, but have a 20 month old who just needs YOU. I tried so, so hard to have patience and keep my head up. But after Kyle fought me during dinner and wouldn't eat, fought me during bath and wouldn't let me put him in his jammies, fought me at bedtime... I was done.

I rocked Kyle to sleep because I desperately needed sleep for myself. I must have fallen asleep 8 times in the rocking chair and kept waking up suddenly, realizing I was holding Kyle. I'd look down, and there he was with his eyes open looking right at me. This kid fights sleep like nobody's business.

FINALLY at 9:20, he was out and I could put him down in his crib and close my eyes. Except Penny needed to pee and there were about 88 dishes in the sink with food on them. After a quick walk and a half-ass rinse of the plates, it was time to zonk out.

At 10:10 p.m. I woke up in a panic. Kyle was in my bed! He's not breathing! His face is buried in the huge pile of laundry that I was too tired to fold and pushed to Brian's side of the bed! Oh wait, that's just laundry, not a body, and I'm freaking out in my sleep. It took me about 5 minutes to have the smarts to look at the monitor and realize that Kyle was out like a light, peacefully sleeping in his crib.

At 1 a.m. I woke up again in a panic. Except this time Kyle really was in my bed, lying next to me and tapping my head. I told him it was time to sleep and he needed to go back in his bed. I laid him down, got him comfy and went back to my bed and fell asleep. 5 minutes later, there he is again. This happened about 5 times until he finally was able to go back to sleep at 3:30 a.m. Thank goodness we both slept till 9 a.m. and when I woke up, my headache and the bad day were gone.

Today is a new day and I'm going to do everything in my power to make the next 4 days home with my boy happy, loving and fun. I feel terrible when my bad days transfer to him. I know it's inevitable that there will be many more shitty days in my future, but I sure hope the next one isn't any time soon.

This morning, I let Kyle walk the entire park with his little wagon full of stuff. We just walked the park like this for a full hour, and I think it was just what we needed after our crappy night :)

Let's hope we can both sleep through the night tonight without any weird dreams or teething pains!

on spoiling

Sometimes, I just feel like spoiling my boy (and myself). I try to keep to the rules most of the time, but then other days I just feel like making him (and me) happy and taking a day off from what we're "supposed" to do.

It all started early this morning when Kyle climbed into bed with me at 5 a.m. I tried to put him back down in his crib like we planned, but when he came climbing back to me the third time I figured maybe we both just needed some snuggles. Once he settled in, we both passed out and didn't even open our eyes once until 9:45 a.m. WHAT A TREAT FOR MOM! A nice change from our daily 6:30 a.m. wake up.

Then, we went to our weekly play workshop at the library and afterwards stopped at the bakery for a muffin, some coffee (for mom) and chocolate milk (for Kyle). He only took a couple of sips, but WHAT A TREAT FOR KYLE!

He was being such a good boy that I let him watch Curious George on my iPhone while we got gas, stopped at the bank and then drove home. We definitely don't want to get in the habit of this, but today seemed special so what the heck. Sometimes you just need to have some fun.

lucky #13

Yesterday, we continued our tradition of celebrating our date-a-versary at Knott's Berry Farm. We spent most of the day at Camp Snoopy, and the only rides Brian and I went on had a 32" height requirement, but we both agreed it was our favorite year yet. Kyle loves driving the cars and trucks, and we had a blast taking turns riding alongside him.

For the past two years we didn't even go inside the park, just ate and walked around the shops (2012 I was pregnant and 2013 Kyle was just a baby), so to get back inside for some fun and reminisce about years' past was just what we needed. Such a fun family day!

20 months

My big boy is 20 months tomorrow! He said his first 2-word sentence this morning: "bye daddy!" You could see his little wheels turning as he put the 2 words together! He said it a few times with a big smile on his face, like he knew he just did something really cool.

I always say Kyle is 20 months going on 3. He jumps in the bounce house with the big kids and does a great job, climbs like crazy and has great balance. He's really tough, but also loves a good cuddle with mommy or daddy. To my dismay, he thinks it's hilarious to wipe off every single one of my kisses, but does give up sweet kisses to mom & dad before bed.

He's been having a really hard time falling asleep at night, but once he's out, he's out. When he wakes up, he climbs out of his crib to come find us, so it's probably time to transition to a big boy toddler bed pretty soon. He has his escape method down so I'm not too concerned that he'll hurt himself, but if he can climb out then what's the point, right? He just seems so young to say farewell to the crib forever! I was hoping to make it to at least 2...

I love so much about my boy, but it really makes my heart smile to see the way he treats other people and animals. He's had his going-on-2-year-old moments where he doesn't want to share his stuff, but he's generally very sweet and gentle to his friends. He loves to hold hands and give hugs, and today he pet a goat very gently and helped wipe some hay off of his friend's pants when she stood up :)  I hope he holds on to that sweetness as he enters his crazy toddler years!

Happy 20 months to my big boy!

workshoppin

Kyle and I signed up to participate in a six-week (free!) "play" workshop through the local library and this morning was our first session. There were various stations throughout the room with different types of activities for the kids, and they were free to roam about and explore their interests. A few library staff were there to help out and share tips on how to incorporate play and learning into our daily lives.

There were toys, books, puzzles, tunnels, cars & trucks, baby dolls, arts & crafts, little bikes to ride and big blocks to climb on. When we first arrived, I thought Kyle would run straight to the cars and bikes, but I was surprised that he stopped first at the toy station to stack some shapes. Then he decided he wanted to run around for a bit, until he discovered the arts & crafts station. For most of the hour, Kyle sat down and used the "bingo blotter" type of marker to make dots on his paper. He would unscrew the cap himself (see below), do one or two dots, and then screw the cap back on and go to the next color. We spent about 20 minutes out of the hour here, and he probably would have stayed longer if I didn't encourage him to try something else.

What shocked me the most from this workshop was much interest Kyle showed for the baby dolls. He sat there for a bit and fed them bottles, pointed to their eyes and ears and gave them a couple of hugs, which melted my heart! I was also a little surprised by how much he wanted me to pick him up and hold him. He usually loves running around and playing, but he woke up extra early today (5:50 a.m., really dude???) so I think by the middle of the workshop he was ready for a nap, and he knocked out hard on the way home.

I'm excited to go back each week and see what types of activities he's drawn to, and the different things he'll learn!

19 months

Saturdays are the best because Brian and I are typically together with Kyle all day long. It's the only day out of the week that we're both off, and I can tell that Kyle loves having us all in one place. This morning was the cutest  - the 3 of us were playing in his room with cars admiring his sound effects, then the kitchen with his train set, then back to his room to drill things. Then we had lunch together at the table and when we were done he grabbed Brian's hand, then grabbed my hand and led us both together into the living room, where he jumped up on the couch and told us to sit on either side of him, and then asked to watch a Mickey. How do you say no to that? So we all sat on the couch together to watch a show as a family and he had the biggest smile on his face the whole time.

Kyle is only 19 months but in a lot of ways he seems much older. He likes to do things on his own, like carry his stuff out to the car, get the milk out of the fridge, put his dishes in the sink, put lotion on his body, open the door with keys. When we go to the park he likes to play by himself, which makes me super nervous so I still hover over him within arm's reach. He's talking up a storm and probably says about 30-40 words. My favorites are "toodles" "bagel" and "blanket" (which sounds kind of like a two-syllable "bit") and he says "ya" when people ask him questions. He's starting to have strong opinions about who holds his bottle/cup or snack when he's taking a break from eating/drinking (it's usually me and NOT dad), and really likes to boss me around by pulling me off the couch and pushing me on the ground so he can climb up my legs/sit on my stomach/dive over me (the joys of being a boy mom).

He loves being chased and rough housing. His favorite thing is being tickled/running around the house like a crazy person and throwing himself on the ground. Everywhere we go he likes to fall on purpose, which I'm totally used to now but makes my friends a fam a little nervous.

Sometimes I miss my tiny baby so much it hurts, like when I stumble upon this picture when I'm stalking my friend's instagram, or when I read articles like this and unexpectedly bawl my eyes out. But most days I just watch him in awe because he is really turning into this amazing, smart, adventurous little boy who is always thinking and exploring. I just wish he'd get over his intense obsession with opening the fridge and touching everything in sight sooner than later.

hay!

For someone who really doesn't like driving to Irvine, I sure do make a lot of trips to Irvine Park. Maybe because it's actually in the city of Orange, or maybe it's because a ton of my friends and family live out that way...  either way we trekked out there yet again over the weekend to visit the Pumpkin Patch with Kyle's Mammie, Auntie and cousins.

My big 19 month old had tons of fun. He rode a horse, rode the train, went on a hay ride, ran through the hay maze, jumped in the jumper and climbed on pumpkins and piles of hay with his cousins, ate french fries and an ice cream cone... all on a 30 minute car nap. What a trooper!

I really like it out there and Kyle has a blast, but it's crazy to me how expensive it is. I'm sure we could do a trip without spending tons of money, but just a ride on the train (his fave) is $10 for the two of us. We ended up buying a book of 15 tickets for our family (3 adults & 3 kids) for $60 (they're normally $5/ticket), eating lunch for just under $50, not to mention 3 horse rides sold separately, ice cream cones, juice box break, a quarter tank of gas... eeek. But we made some great fam memories, and sometimes you just gotta live a little, right? :)

neverending summer

Dear Summer,

Please stay around forever, because Kyle and I adore you. 

Love,

Krista

I've decided we will pretend it's still summer until Halloween, when we will be forced to acknowledge the season "change." This shouldn't be hard to do since our temps in So Cal are showing no signs of fall (yes!!). Today we went to a friend's 1st birthday party at a park in Huntington Beach and it was the perfect day. Kyle had a blast running around with all the kids and the shade and breeze felt awesome while I continued to work on my flip flop tan lines :)

These past few weeks have been so much fun with my boy. We went to Knott's and Frogg's bounce house, where he climbed up slide ladders and slid down like he was 4. We checked out the OC Zoo, where he brushed a goat and rode the train (which is becoming one of his favorite activities). We swam at Mammie's house, took tons of walks in the park with Penny, Kyle had his first ice cream cone and got his 2nd haircut by his daddy.

I'm sure I'll say this about 1 million more times in my life, but 18.5 months is my favorite age yet. I've noticed such a change in Kyle recently - he is developing a silly sense of humor and has started to become more independent. He climbs in his car seat by himself, gets his washcloth and towel from his closet when we run his bath water, blows bubbles on his own and uses a fork for almost everything. Yesterday I was standing at the sink washing dishes, and I could tell he was getting bored so I suggested he go get some cars from the living room and bring them into the kitchen to play with. What do you know, a few seconds later here comes Kyle with a couple of cars, which he happily played with until I was done! SUCH a change from 16 and 17 months! He's such a big boy and I just love that I get to spend so much time with him.

Knott's FTW

I've shared how I don't think we'll be going back to Disneyland until Kyle is a bit older, but we went to Knott's Berry Farm with my good friend and her little girl the other day and we had SO MUCH FUN. Camp Snoopy is awesome for little kids, even as young as 18 months!

There's a few reasons why I think Knott's is a better fit for us right now:

• I bought an annual pass (good for all of 2015) for $76. Their annual passes work differently than Disneyland - they are calendar year passes, so it makes sense to buy them in January, or before the year starts. Since I bought mine early, it was on sale (normally $96). I got in for free the day I got the pass, and if I want to go any time in 2014 before my pass kicks in it's only $9.99 admission. You can't even get into Disneyland once for $76!!! And Kyle is still free, so that's an added bonus.
• It's waaaaaay less crowded. We waited in 0 lines, they let us do the rides twice in a row without getting off, and I feel 100 times better letting Kyle walk around in front of me because I can keep an eye on him without a chance he'll get lost in the crowd. This is a HUGE plus for me because he's at the age that it's just not fun to be cooped up in the stroller all day. 
• He loved all the kiddie rides! They're right up his alley - cars, trucks, boats, airplanes. Super fun for a little boy (and girl!). 
• My friend Heather and I took turns watching the kids so we could ride the big kid rides - not as feasible at Disneyland when you have to wait 45 minutes. Kids would get restless. At Knott's during the week days this time of year, you walk right on!
• It doesn't have to be an ALL DAY thing. When you go to Disneyland, you want to make the most of your day - even if you have an annual pass. It's a process to park, ride the tram in or make the loooong walk into the park through California Adventure. That in itself is 45 minutes. At Knott's, it's easier to spend a couple of hours there doing fun stuff since it's not such a process getting in/out.
• Kyle had a blast and felt like such a big boy!

I'm still a huge fan of Disneyland - I mean, you can't beat the atmosphere, awesome shows, parades, food, characters, history, etc... but at this point in our lives I am team Knott's. I can't wait to go back tons of times this year and next!

toddler meals: the struggle is real

Kyle is generally a pretty good eater, but that doesn't mean feeding a toddler isn't stressful. Is he getting enough calories? Enough protein? Too many carbs? Is he hungry? Did he drink enough water today? WHY DID HE LOVE OATMEAL YESTERDAY AND TODAY HE'S SPITTING IT OUT?

Yesterday I was feeling like I was in a toddler food rut when Kyle wouldn't eat his oatmeal and I had run out of ideas for breakfast, so I sent a text to some of my mommy friends to get ideas for toddler meals. I wanted to share some of our favorite go-to's, along with the suggestions I received so I can look back when I need inspiration.

Breakfast - what we've tried

• We've been doing the Gerber baby oatmeal mixed with banana and a veggie (usually pureed spinach, squash or carrots) almost every day for about 6 months, and Kyle is officially over it.
• Today we did cut up fruit (grapes and apples), and eggs scrambled with some jack cheese and cut up spinach. He ate the eggs, but I had to feed them to him. 
• Greek yogurt and cut up berries is always a hit, and he'll feed himself (making a HUGE mess).
• Kyle LOVES bagels with cream cheese but I don't like to give him so many carbs/sugar without a veggie or protein!
• Smoothies - spinach, berries, banana, greek yogurt or peanut butter. Kyle loves these, and I usually make them a few times a week for breakfast and/or a snack.

Breakfast - ideas from friends

• Waffles with peanut butter (we tried this and he wasn't a fan, but I think I'll try again now that he's a little older)
• Hard boiled egg whites
• Nutri-grain cereal bars with berries and yogurt
• Bacon! (I don't eat bacon so I never cook it, but Brian loves it so maybe I'll have to learn)
• Sausage 
• Pancakes (I've NEVER made them myself before! Must try, and look for a healthy recipe!)
• Toast with peanut butter/almond butter
• Steel cut oats mixed with peanut butter (this sounds amazing and I can make a big batch for all 3 of us. I picked some up today, so we'll try it tomorrow)
• Muffins (looking for a healthy recipe to maybe make myself)
• English muffin with cream cheese
• Cottage cheese and fruit

Lunch/Snacks/Dinner - what we've tried

• Cheese quesadillas - his fave! I'll try and cut up spinach or chicken into tiny pieces and hide it in the cheese. Sometimes it works :)
• PB&J - 2nd fave
• PB & honey or banana
• Grilled cheese - hit or miss
• Cut up deli meat and cheese
• Greek yogurt
• Cheese & crackers
• Cooked veggie. Likes: baby carrots, peas, cut up zucchini tossed in olive oil. 
• Corn on the cobb - a favorite
• Fruits: strawberries, banana, apple (slightly cooked and peeled), grapes, cuties
• Pasta - doesn't like... not even mac & cheese! I'm assuming this will change someday
• Baby bean burritos - hit or miss
• Cooked chicken/turkey - hit or miss
• Rice - hit or miss
• Soup - hates it

Lunch/Snacks/Dinner - ideas from friends

• Fish sticks - want to offer them to Kyle because I secretly love them :)
• Craisins
• Pickles
• Hummus on pita bread

Ok, looks like I still need more ideas for lunch and dinner, so feel free to share! The dream is for him to eat whatever we're eating, but we're just not there yet. Thanks to our growing toddlers, and their amazing ability to bring stress to the dinner table :)

Jeep love

I took this photo over the weekend, and I wanted to share it because every time I look at it my heart smiles. Kyle loves Brian so much, and he was just so excited to be in his Jeep and to be hanging out in the garage with his dad. I can see the twinkle in his eye, and I love that he isn't wearing his fake smile, but a real one because he is just so happy. At least I like to think he is :)

I truly can't wait to watch their relationship grow over the years. Kyle is lucky to have such a loving dad.

18 months

I asked my friend Morgan (@momoliti) if she would take some pictures of Kyle at 18 months and she captured him perfectly. I love these photos so much because I can see his personality in all of them, and I know they'll help me remember what he is like at this sweet age. He fell asleep on the way home from our little photo shoot, so during the quiet drive I was replaying the morning and thinking about how much fun I have with him and all of the little things I love about being his mama:

1. His cheesy smile for the camera and the way he says "chssssssss" in his high-pitched voice.
2. The way he shuffles his feet and walks silly when he knows he's doing something he probably shouldn't be doing.
3. How he thinks that if he curls up in a ball between the couch and the ottoman he somehow becomes invisible.
4. How much he loves ice, playing in the sink (still!), the hose, digging up sand/dirt, clicking his high chair straps, running up and down hills, being tickled and chased, hiding in his closet, running around with a towel on his head, playing with Penny, elephant pictures and sounds, gym class and wagon rides.
5. His continued obsession with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the way he says "Daisy" in his sweet baby voice.
6. His love for tortillas and chips, and how I can bribe him to eat pretty much anything if he gets a tortilla chaser.
7. How he opens his mouth, sticks out his tongue and says "aaaah" if he wants a bite of whatever I'm eating.
8. His stubborn streak and how he sometimes won't do a puzzle or animal sound because he knows I really, really want him to do it.
9. How much he hates sitting still at story time.
10. How sweet he is to babies and little kids, holding their little hands and giving hugs and kisses.
11. His amazing 2-3 hour afternoon naps that I do not take for granted.
12. How he's starting to "count" by pointing to things and saying "two two two."
13. How much he loves opening the refrigerator and staring at its contents.
14. How much he loves gym class and coach Lisa.
15. How he points to his cheeks when we sing "then you're face will surely show it!"
16. How he laughs at daddy's Donald Duck impression.
17. The way he curls up in a little ball on my chest when I'm in my work uniform and he knows I'm leaving for a while. 
18. How he gives daddy a sweet kiss goodnight every night.
19. His southern drawl when he says "hiiii" and "byyyyye."
20. How he asks me to rub his feet or hold his hands at night.
21. How he thinks he's such a big boy when we let him eat a snack or meal in the big chairs at the table.
22. How much he LOVES animals and making all the sounds.
23. His red curls and huge man hands. 
24. How I had to buy him the shoes in these photos because after we tried them on at Target he cried real tears when I put them back on the shelf.
25. The way he asks nicely for things: "asky plsssss."
26. Infinity more memories that I hope will never leave me.

Thank you Morgan for these sweet pictures that I will treasure forever!