Bye-Bye Bottles (18mos)

We may be a year late according to her doctor, but we have finally broken Alice of the bottle. 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately for us, Alice never took to a binkie. I say "unfortunately for us" because it has made life harder on us for sure. If Alice was whiny, she wanted a bottle to soothe herself. Because she mimics her big sister's mannerisms, she wasn't too big on self-soothing, and instead she would just stand there and scream. After about ten minutes, I'd cave in and give her a bottle. My sanity can only take so much screaming.

Cheeeeeeeeeese Face.

I blame the binkie-less 18 months on her "tight tongue." No, not a tongue tie, but a tight tongue. I was told when she was just a couple days old that she had a tight tongue. That it wasn't anything to have surgery for, because it should work itself out over time. However, the simplest of things was/is a challenge or not possible at all. Nursing, binkies, popsicles, suckers, and now certain words. It's getting better over time, but very slowly.

She loves the cheese face. Haha!

Anyway, back to dropping the bottle. 

Happy baby. <3

My childrens' doctor is big on dropping the bottle at six months of age. I wasn't ready at that time. I was very overwhelmed (as I still am), and I didn't think I could handle sleepless nights. Okay, okay, my nights were already sleepless most of the time, but I didn't want it to get worse. So, I kept her on the bottle. At nap and bedtime, and then if she was inconsolable. 

Cheese face while eating a cheeseburger.

But I started to feel guilty. She was growing fast and acting like a big girl, but yet she still had a bottle. I think the last straw was when we took her to breakfast with Santa and we forgot her sippy cup. We had a spare bottle, so we used it. Here, she was sitting on her own, eating on her own, but she had a bottle to drink out of. Yes, it wasn't the norm, but I was embarrassed. I wondered what people were thinking. So I told myself then, that when opportunity knocked, I was going to take advantage.

She does the funniest things.

So one night, I happened to see a cup with a lid for a straw in the cabinet when I got Emma her bedtime sip of water. I thought to myself, "I'm going to have Alice drink as much milk out of this as I can, and eat as many cheez-its as she can, and see if she will go to sleep with a full belly." Low and behold, she ate seven cheez-its, drank about half of the cup of milk, fussed for about 30 seconds and went to sleep in my lap. 

Loves her "Mo-Mo."

It took 5 nights, and 4 of those nights were ROUGH to say the least. But, it worked. She is bottle free! Knock on wood, she doesn't even ask for it anymore. We don't know what each night will be like, so that's kind of stressful, but all-in-all, I guess it's going pretty well.

My rough and tumble girl. <3

My baby girl is slowly turning into a big girl!

Alice's 18 Month Appt:

Weight - 29lbs 4oz (97%)
Head - 47.5cm (78%)
Height - 33in (75%)

Christmas Season 2016

Boy, am I glad Christmas is over. Every year I start way too early because I just can’t wait, so by the time Christmas Day gets here, I’m just ready to open gifts and be done with it. I was going to rip down the lights and tree on Christmas evening, but I held it together and will do so through the week up until New Years. The sooner the better.

But, while I’m totally over the holiday (so over it that this Christmas post is way late), I’m still gushing over all of the cuteness it brought. Here are my favorite moments and pictures:

Summer Vacation - Coming Soon!

Well, it's official, this Momma took initiative and planned out her family vacation. It will be early summer, and we will be going to sunny Gulf Shores, Alabama. 

------------------------------------------------------------

My family and I have never been to Gulf Shores before. I've been to Florida more times than I can remember, but this will be something new for all of us. *Yes, my parents and cousins are going with us as well, and I'm super excited about it!

Before children, the hubs and I didn't make it a point to travel. We never really had the money to, or if we did I was being frugal and chose not to. Then, once we advanced in our careers (after kids), we decided to plan yearly trips for our girls to see the world; we will stick to the US until they're older and can appreciate what the world has to offer. Check out our Spring Training trip HERE.

Since we've mapped out the travel (we're driving), and we have our house booked, now it comes down to the fine details... like what to wear. Haha! I'm not one to buy new clothes for vacation, but this year I just so happened to catch the new year Lilly Pulitzer clearance sale. And if you know Lilly, then you know that the prints are bright and VERY summer-y. So, I guess you can say I've started on my vacation wardrobe. 

I've also started to check out the local happenings in Gulf Shores. I found a few places to go, but I could use a little help from those that have been there. They have a petting zoo, a water park, some state parks, a recreation type place (go-karts, etc.), and some historic locales as well, but nothing that screams excitement. We will probably spend a lot of time on the beach, but it would be nice to have family-type fun in mind as well. And restaurants!!! We will eat at the house a lot, but I still want to go to a few top-notch eating establishments!

That all said, for me, this vacation is just to relax. I'm not going to plan out dates and times for any of our trip (other than check-ins), so hopefully that keeps it very relaxed and we can decide day-to-day what our plans are. I'm thinking beach time, board games and maybe even some late-night movies. Casual. I don't want to come back exhausted; I want to come back recharged.

So, June can't get here soon enough. I could really use a vacation right now, but, it'll have to wait. In the meantime, I will daydream about those gorgeous beaches and rolling waves. 

Pinkie Pie and her 3D Deco Light

You know what I found out this Christmas? My oldest, Emma, knows a lot more about toys and characters than I do. I’m sure she gets it all from You Tube Kids.

I stuffed her stocking this year with Shopkins, Grossery Gang, and My Little Pony blind bags. Low and behold, the My Little Pony was her favorite. Who knew. Actually, I should have known considering we had to look for her lost Pinkie Pie at the park for way too long. I should mention that we never found it and I had to buy her a brand new stuffed Pinkie Pie for Christmas. Smh.

Anyway, as I was looking for said Pinkie Pie, I came across the coolest thing. A 3DLIGHTFX 3D Deco Light of Pinkie Pie herself.

Pinkie Pie

Neat, Right?!?!?

Here's what the lights are all about:

"3DLIGHTFX 3D Deco Lights are the perfect gift this holiday season. They have a full range of comic book, super hero, Disney Princess, sports and car lights that look as though they are popping right out of the wall! They are battery operated and cool to the touch so you can place them any where in the room! Your kids will loves having these in their rooms and they're also the perfect editions to a den, family room, man's cave or office!"

Find all of these amazing products here: http://bit.ly/TargetUSFamily

Turns out, they sell them at Target and Target.com!

There are so many neat ones…

Captain America

Football

Star Wars

I know Christmas is over, but these need to find a place in your home. So cool! And did I mention that they’re completely safe? Cool to the touch, battery operated and cordless. And the crack sticker that’s included won’t ruin your wall. ;-)

If you get one, let me know which one you went with!

Holiday Shopping Tips - Part 1 - TARGET

Cue the music… “It’s the most wonderful time, of the year!”

I’ve worked retail since high school. And as a seasoned retail employee (okay, optical isn’t really retail, but it almost is), I can feel the holiday season in my bones. So much so, that at 11:15 pm on Halloween night, I said to my husband “okay, we’re done with Halloween, we’re moving on to Christmas!” He rolled his eyes. If you haven’t met my husband, just know that he is pretty much the living version of Charlie Brown… I can hear him say “Good Grief” in my head each and every time he disapproves of my shenanigans.

I like Thanksgiving and all, but I see my family regularly (I love them… I want to see them more than a couple times a year), and I just love Christmas so much that I don’t want to wait!!! By the way, when did it become socially acceptable for people to bash others for getting into the Christmas spirit early?!? If you ask me, those are the people with the problems.

Anywhoo, as soon as November 1^st gets here, I’m ready to watch for the Christmas present deals. Since I like to share the wealth, I thought I’d go ahead and let you know of all of my tips and tricks for finding a good deal. I hope you’ll share yours with me too!

Because there are so many different stores and ways to save, I’m going to break it down into a few posts. I’ll start with my biggest and best resource (you’ll soon see why)… TARGET!

Now, I know Target got a lot of grief this year, and shoot, I was one person who stopped shopping there until they realized their faults. But, they’ve been taking a lot of steps to correct the issues, and they’re offering even more deals than usual to make up for losses. Bonus!

Here we go…

Target

Okay, for all of the occasional Target shoppers out there, let me start off by saying that YOU NEED A RED CARD. My Mom hates debit cards – she still writes checks – but I’m always telling her that she could save $300 a year easy if she would just get a Target Red Card. It saves you 5% each time you use it and it just comes straight out of your bank account; it’s NOT a credit card (unless you want a Red Card Credit Card, because those are available too).  It also gives you free shipping if you shop online, and you should always check them out online because there are tons of online deals that you can’t get in stores (right now you can get 20% off of toys, through 11/5).

On top of the Red Card for a free 5% off, they have a Cartwheel app that can save you tons of money on things you already purchase, coupons you can print from Target.com that you can also stack with manufacturer’s coupons, and now in St. Louis you get points for all of your purchases to earn free stuff (also on Cartwheel). Plus, they do a lot of their “Buy X, Get X” deals like buy 3 bottles of shampoo and get a $5 Target Gift Card. It’s all just free discounts. Hardly any effort!

Even more free goodies with Cartwheel Perks!!!

But, the best deal they have going each and every year at this time, and the reason I decided to do this post, is a Toy Deal of the Day on their Cartwheel app. What it is, is they put one specific toy on the app each day from November 1^st through December 24^th, and it’s 50% off. Yep, you saw that right… 50% off. HALF OFF. It’s a big deal. New toys. For HALF. OFF. Sometimes the toy will even be on sale in the store, and then you’ll get it even cheaper! More than… HALF. OFF. Can you sense my excitement? The catch is this: Once it gets closer to Christmas, they sell out of the toys before 9am (it’s only in store and they only have what’s on the shelf to start with). So, if you check the app when you wake up, and get to Target at 8am, you should be okay. We missed sooooooooo many good ones last year. But, I’ve got my game face on this year. ;-)

An example of a 50% Off toy deal.

I know, I know, I’m crazy to spread this piece of deal-saving-goodness… but, even though I’ll probably take out a few of you with my elbows getting to the goods, I still wanted to share the wealth.

Oh! There’s one more thing. Now, this is new this year so I’m not quite sure if it’s easy to use all around, but Target has a new app called “Target Kids’ Wish List.” Your child can create a list of the items they want for Christmas (or you can create one for them) and anyone can search for the list online or in stores; it’s like a registry. I think that’s pretty freaking cool! And the best part is that you can get 10% off of those items if purchased by November 23^rd! There are some exclusions, and rules… I believe it’s a one-time use, but I’m not sure if that’s per person shopping, or per child. But, if you have the holiday shopping money now, you may as well try to get as much as you can in one stop.

So there you have it!

I hope you got a lot out of my first Frugal shopping post! I know I have a pretty good game plan for the next couple weeks that’s for sure. ;-)

Make sure to let me know of any Target deals you come across too. I’m always looking for more insights on how to save more of my hard-earned money!

And be sure to follow The Average Momma on Facebook so that you don’t miss out on any future shopping tips/tricks posts I might have.

*All graphics and pictures on this post were from my electronic device and/or creations of my own.