38/52

 "A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2016."

in this moment:

right now, in this moment, I'm in love with your dream talks.  the other night we watched the fireworks in our backyard from the country club, and in the sweetest voice imaginable, you stated, "mommy, when I go to bed I'm going to make sure I dream of the fireworks in Disneyland tonight."  and I melted, in this moment. 

mom blogger note:  yes, we already started decorating for her birthday party, which is in exactly one month, because it is fun, and I work too many hours to wait until the last minute.  my house is going to be festive for days.  oh, and she's technically having a dia de los muertos party, so one half of my house is traditional halloween, and the other is super colorful!  this photo was a trial run for this photo wall, which is pretty much rocking my world right now, and it is not even done!

24/52

"A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2015."

everly says - 

"Oh this is so much better.  I wanna stay inside."

"Stay here.  I'll be right back.  Stay here."

"Mama, I lose you."

"It's my castle, it's my dream."

"Oh, that's Buddha!"

"I like cookies at Nona's house.  I go buy some." 

"Daddy tripped there.  It was bad.  I see it." [pointing to the bank where the Mr. took a pretty serious tumble while driving by days later, I tried not to laugh at her retelling of the event]

mom blogger note:  can you tell it was the first week of summer?!?  look at the number of phrases I recorded over the week.  yay summer!

one more night of one

Tonight I spend my last evening with my one year old, because when we wake, she will be two. And with that, I couldn't resist posting a few photos while they were still relevant. Thanks Lennon for letting us borrow a party sign to have some fun with while she was still "ONE".

Thanks for ONE Everly, it's been a ride, and we are lucky to be along for it.

mom blogger note:  this post was written with my little lady dancing around me while listening to Hozier, and sitting on my lap asking to wear my rings and bracelets.  she's not so little anymore.

Why working moms need strong working mom friends, and vice versa

Being a working or stay at home mom are two completely different beasts. And because I'm a teacher, there are several times a year where I experience being both. What I've learned the more I socialize with moms, is you need really strong examples of the "kind" of mom you are. Not saying that you can't be friends with all types of moms, but making sure you have someone by your side who really knows exactly what you are going through, really helps. Stay at home moms deal with a type of exhaustion that only our little ones can give us when we are on 24/7. Working moms deal with the type of exhaustion that comes with never having enough hours in the day to be a mom and contribute at home. For me, I do not experience the bliss of nap time. So when I'm home, all of my attention is focused on my daughter, and this also means there is never any down time for me to do something that really might need my attention.

Lately I've been able to enjoy a friendship that I've had for years in a brand new way. We are both new moms, and teachers, and have a lot to say about both. Wearing our babies while we walk around our neighborhood has been just the friend therapy we both need on some days. Because as much as I would love it, my mom or stay at home mom friends are never going to get my experience. Just as much as I'm never going to get theirs. So this isn't about who has it harder, because I really don't think that either group has the better mom gig, it's just about supporting the type of mom you are with friends who can really relate.

And while on the topic of mom types, when socializing with the "other" moms, be mindful of what you say. You don't know how badly that working mom may want to stay at home with her babies, and doesn't need you to make her feel worse about the situation. Or, you never know which stay at home mom is battling her challenges and guilt associated with wanting to be away from her children, just sometimes, but knows she's expected to stay at home and raise her kids.  So leave your "oh that's too bad" comments and mommy judgement at the door, we are all doing the best we can here, and that should be enough.

Mom blogger note: This post was written on my phone while Everly slept in Saturday morning, laying completely over me making it hard for me to move, not that I wanted to anyways.  And for these photos, she had a blast exploring the spring ready backyard, even though you can't tell it here.  Her serious faces kill me!

How to enjoy, not survive, Disneyland with a baby

Everly has been to Disneyland four times in fifteen months. We have passes, and if we didn't live 6 hours away, we would be there weekly. Here are a few things that have always helped us enjoy our time in Disneyland, not just survive the experience.

#1 We joked that a four to one adult/child ratio was perfect, and we really weren't kidding. If you can, an extra set of hands makes the experience complete. Going on the "big rides" by yourself gets old after a while, so bring family or a friend. If you are anything like my family, there is always at least one person who isn't going to be into that particular ride, and instead will hop on something else with the tiny one. 

#2 Ditch the stroller. Now, with that being said, we don't have a stroller to ditch, and the reason why I can say, you just don't need it. Hands, feet, baby carrier. That's all you need. Everly flawlessly made the transition between the three. Being in Disney is an experience that the little ones want to be a part of. And when she got tired, we popped her in the carrier, she slept and we went on more rides. Can't do that with a stroller. Oh, and you can't beat the flexibility of nursing while baby carrying. Just saying, it will save you, your tired baby, and everyone around you. 

#3 Backpacks. Plural. We had three for five people, so essentially whoever had Everly didn't have a backpack [and Everly wasn't made to carry her stuff]. Water is like $4 in the park, and they let you bring in your own drinks, so do it. Besides water, they are perfect for storing the baby carrier when not being used, sweatshirts for when the park drops 30 degrees at night, sunblock and snacks. 

#4 Snacks. I don't think my kid is the only picky water on the planet, so bring food they will actually eat. And be okay when you realize your kid has pretty much only eaten "snacks" all day because they refuse anything else. It is only temporary. They will survive.  [Or is it just my kid that refuses theme park food?!?]

#5 Stay somewhere with a mini kitchen. Our hotel had a full kitchen, which made me feel better when my little had only snacked all day, and we could take her back, have her sit in her own little high chair, and eat her favorite things that are always perishable, even if it meant dinner at 9:30 at night.

#6 Make a ride plan. Each day we would make sure we had a plan for what we wanted to get done. And since Disney offers Fast Passes for their big ticket rides, you need to plan to avoid over walking, over waiting in lines, and getting over your Disney magic quickly.  The last trip we took with just our family of three, we didn't have a clear plan of what we wanted to ride, and found ourselves not really riding anything, and being disappointed with our wandering.  Make a plan, seriously.

#7 Visit the baby care centers.  Disneyland has a little gem of a space at the end of Main Street where families can go and get things taken care of.  Everything from a quiet and private place to nurse, especially if your little one is easily distracted, to large changing stations.  Now that Everly is older, I didn't stop to nurse her here, but our first three trips I did frequent this room a few times, and it was a great place to just unwind for a bit.  [They also have one in California Adventure near Ghirardelli Soda Fountain which I didn't know about and will have to check out in June!]
#8 If possible, avoid crowds.  Take some time in the off season to enjoy the park, and weekdays are always preferable.  Everyone is going to be a tad cranky after waiting in an hour line for a 2 minute ride.

And most of all, remember that you are making family memories.  Sure, Everly will be too little to remember these early trips, but I know she will love hearing stories about them, and seeing pictures and movies of her having the time of her life with Minnie & Mickey.  We had the absolute best time enjoying our days with her in the park.  It is amazing the new joy you feel when being somewhere special with your little ones.  Every smile is worth the work and planning ahead!

^^and I promise, that tan baby is mine, genetics is a crazy thing^^

mom blogger note: this post was written while my daughter slept in until 11, because late nights with friends, and daylight savings, wears out a babe!

oh hey, I'm ONE [16 months]

this past week I turned 16 months

and clearly, I decided to really ring in this month with a bang

literally

between coffee tables getting in my way

and falling off a few chairs

and my most dramatic moment

of falling headfirst into the empty bathtub

besides a few minutes of tears, a baby little bump

and a perfectly round bruise

I survived the incident, and now stay far away from the bathtub

on the doctor front, I had my checkup just about a week ago

and I sure made my mom have a hard time

because I am following in her foot steps of hating doctors

I guess what goes around comes around

sorry mom, you have several years of dealing with this

so get used to it, and make my daddy get the night off so he can be there for support

my stats are now 18 pounds, 9 ounces

putting me in the 10th percentile

but because mom was about a month late on getting me my 15 month check

my percentile is probably a little lower, but oh well

the good thing about being tiny is mom and dad like cooking my food with butter

like a lot of butter

I'm now 30 inches long, which puts me a tad below average for height

 but I don't think my family really had huge hopes for that, so okay

lately I'm still gibber jabbering along

new words I'm loving this month include

nose, eyes,

[sometimes I even call mom's sunglasses "eyes"]
I can point to my belly and bottom

[and because my mommy has a bad habit of saying butt often, 

I've not only pointed to it, but let my family know I can say butt too]

I also love saying "this"

sometimes used to point out something awesome

and other times to ask "what's this"

in addition to my words, I'm impressing those parents of mine

but signing "more" when eating

I'm working hard to say "Minnie Mouse"

but it just kind of sounds like mimimooo right now

so I'll keep working

"Luna" is just about mastered, and speaking of Luna

now that I'm such a big girl, I'm trying to pick her up

but it's not going so well, so maybe we will just keep snuggling

while on my adventures I've realized that can walk down most stairs

without any help, and not on my belly crawling backwards

just walking down like the big girl I am

I steal glasses off faces

give the absolute sweetest kisses

and cannot get enough of socializing

my parents have finally given up the "highchair battle" 

while eating out and hope for a booth instead

so I can stand, dance, move my way through dinner

and maybe eat a little too

until next month

-Everly Mae

mom blogger note: this post was written while my daughter slept in her car seat after being worn out from an evening of comic-con and dinner out, success.  now it's time to get her a fresh diaper and sleepy clothes without unleashing a baby monster, fingers crossed.

bubbles

Sometimes you take advantage of some other kid's $16 Disneyland bubble gun. This is what you get...

mom blogger note: my child consumed paper while I wrote this post, and no, she's not hungry, it's just her favorite snack.  we're working on it.

When Minnie Magic Happens

Everly was loving the characters this trip to Disneyland. In fact, seeing Mickey in California Adventure was what turned her very serious "I'm taking this all in" face into a smile. We decided we weren't going to be too crazy with chasing down characters and instead enjoy the rides. However, sometimes Minnie Mouse just happens to be in the right place at the right time, and then a little magic happens. Everly loved being one child length away from Minnie, but when it was our turn to meet her, little miss got a tad shy.  And since this wasn't Minnie's first go at getting the kodak moment [should this now be called a nikon moment?!?], she made sure Everly had a special moment. So here's when Everly met Minnie Mouse.

Mom blogger note: this post was written while in the car driving back home, photos added while Everly was dancing around the family room to Katy Perry with a dish towel on her head.

well I just threw this one together

can I just say that I am so inspired by those moms who have got it together

they have the perfectly dressed kid with a valentine's day background

that they began planning at least a day in advance

[probably more like a week or so]

and they have a kid who will sit still in their photos

and then I love the moms who get their kids a box of valentine hearts

and call it a day

well, I'm somewhere in between

I decided one day after work to throw this together

birthday banner came out of the closet

her minnie inspired dress for vacation next week was pulled on

and 75 very blurry photos were taken of my child

this is what I could salvage

and yes, that is my lens cap that is making her extremely happy

and no, one water bottle is not enough for her

she needs every single one she own at her disposal to be content

mom blogger note: this post was written while nursing my little teething toddler

Everly babbles

I've decided that children of teachers have it hard.  I'm pretty sure only the babes of children physiologists have it harder.   On one hand, it can be very beneficial having a parent all wise in the workings of children, their development, and milestones, but on the other hand, I think we may be "harder" on some things.  So far, I can tell that my teacher-ness is making me different than my non-teacher mom friends when it comes to the milestone of the ones, talking.

We have been very lucky that Everly has always been a talker.  Babbling, cooing, and getting on the whole dadadada word pretty quickly.  But here's my thing, just because she mimics a sound, doesn't mean she is saying the word.  And here is where my craziness begins.  To say that she is saying certain words means she is saying them with intent.  So when she was saying dada to the wall, the coffee table, and her daddy, well, I wasn't considering that a word.  And now you are probably seeing what I mean that parents are going to be so different depending on their backgrounds and professions.  For me, language is huge, and only once used within context will I classify the sound as a word for Everly.  I know, poor child of a middle school English teacher.  But hey, the good thing is she will be too little to know that mommy didn't count every noise that resembled a word.  And come on people, your three month old baby is not saying their name, really.

So at 14 months, this is what Everly is saying:

dada
mama
dog [even if she just hears one bark she's got that one down, and I'm impressed, and was definitely the word I would classify as her "first", and no, we don't even have a dog]
cat
up
down
go [used with Luna on the daily, she is always bossing this poor kitty off the bed, or sofa, or anywhere really]
hi
bye

she is mimicking:
duck
the crazy sound her stuffed monkey makes
truck
any weird noise or song I come up with
gigi [her name for one of her great-grandmas, and apparently it was a good nickname because she's almost mastered it]
and when listening to music she makes a lip syncing motion with the song, it is priceless

So far we have been able to figure out exactly what the little lady wants, she is very clear when pointing at something and making her "uuuhhhh" sound that tells us "parents, this is the thing I need, right now"

And let's just also put it out into the universe that the milestone comparing is stressful.  Her first year it was all about her size, percentile, and all that junk.  Well, the conversations then quickly move to walking and talking.  I hear all the time 'so what words is she saying these days', and man, if I had to go through another year of not having anything to say, I would be a wreck.  So thankfully she may be tiny, but she's got a lot to say.  I'm also thinking I will keep this in mind when talking to other moms, if we aren't having a conversation about our children's "words" then I probably won't pry.  Because the bottom line is our children will all get there, sure my kid is going to be in a car seat until the fifth grade, and yours might not speak until they are four, but I bet they will both be talking and riding with only a seat belt by high school graduation, and that is all that matters ;)

mom blogger note: while writing this post my daughter poured out my entire water bottle on the carpet, and then was playing in the puddle of goodness, soaking her entire outfit and diaper