Bye-Bye Bottles (18mos)

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

 

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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. 

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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. 

New Year - Bring on 2017!!!

It’s funny… I always get to the end of the year and I reflect back on all of my accomplishments over the past twelve months. Yet this year I’m having the hardest time figuring out what I actually achieved in 2016. I can’t think of a darn thing.

Isn’t that pathetic? I can honestly say that I didn’t reach any goals this year (okay, maybe one... I hired someone to refinish my downstairs bathroom); but that could be because I didn’t set life goals for myself. I’m 32 years old and I’ve done nothing but fly by the seat of my pants my entire life.

Well not this year. This New Year holds wonder and excitement. I’m going to buy myself a LIFE planner, and I’m going to set goals for myself. Not just for work, but for the blog and my life as well. I’m going to keep my family in the loop, and I’m going to get it done.

I’ve learned over the years that I can’t really count on anyone else. My Mom is reliable almost all of the time, but sometimes she doesn’t want to do things on the weekends; and sometime I don’t want to ask her because I know she needs time to herself too. My husband isn’t reliable in the slightest (sorry Babe, but you’re not). And I don’t ever ask my Dad for help because he has his own stuff going on. So, it’s all on me to get done all of the things that I’m wanting out of life.

I’m going to take off running with it. I’m going to get all of the things done that have been weighing on me lately. I mean, the only person that can make changes to my life is me, right? Well, and God, of course.

So wish me luck. Because while I might be working on getting organized to make more things happen, what will come with it is a world of work.

Happy New Year!

2017 is going to be a good one!

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!

What to Get a Working Mom / Woman

Around the holidays, I get a lot of questions from friends and family asking me what I want for Christmas. It's a hard question because I have almost anything I could need at home, and while I want clothes, I don't really want anyone to pick them out for me.

So, I thought and thought, and I looked around at what my co-workers have and/or need. And I compiled a short list of quick go-tos for any working woman out there (I was going to say working Mom, but really these items work for anyone).

1. Anyone who works with a laptop, a bevvy of papers and office products or an iPad will appreciate a nice large bag to carry everything around with them. Leave it to MK to be the sylish go-fer this season. The one pictured is a Michael Kors Extra Large Leather Tote in grey.

2. Working at a desk all day can seem dull and boring. Some fun and whimsical decals can spruce up your laptop and keep you motivated. Etsy shop owner "KareAndDesign" has a ton of them to choose from.

3. I just love Franklin Covey planners. I haven't used one in years (I tend to like my lists), but I've been itching to get one for 2017. The one shown is a good option for a list maker like myself. It's a simple two-page calendar with lines to add your to-dos to. Every year I get into an organization mood for the new year, so I think this would help me out tremendously. Don't you?

4. This is an oldie but still a goodie. I love my Pilot G-2 07 pens. In fact, I'm obsessed. I also like to have different color options because a list-maker like myself needs to be able to easily separate tasks by importance, day or even department. To the person who stole my lime green G-2 07 pen off my desk - I know who you are, and I want it back.

5. When in doubt, a gift card works nicely. I can't tell you how many days I'm out and about in the city for work, and I have to buy lunch. A gift card would help to cut down on the amount of cash I have to use from not being able to brown bag it. Good options are Panera and Starbucks; carbs and coffee makes for a happy woman. And if food isn't cutting it, an Apple card would help to pay for apps and iTunes.