Months 8 and 9 Must Haves

I didn’t get to write this one last month- what with having to check a gazillion papers, write a 200 question final and clean up a classroom and all. I mean I love my job, but sometimes it really gets in the way of my blogging. We need to get that under control.

Anywho- on to the list:

Go Baby Go- Crawl Along Drum

Dear lord- is this child obsessed with this toy. He loves to pick it up, turn it over, and play with the little daisies on the sides. It snaps apart into two side by side drums, so we can take it in the car to keep him occupied...and the best part is it has a volume control so you don’t have to hear it loud all the time. Thank you, Fisher Price, for that genius adaptation.

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn with Friends Musical Table

We received this as a baby shower present- and for awhile we had the legs off and Grayson would play on it. Now that we're standing it’s the coolest thing since sliced bread to play on. He loves pressing all of the buttons- over and over and over again- and walking around playing with each of the four things. Right now we like the music option the best, but as he grows he can learn letters and even Spanish from this little table. I love a toy that will grow with him, and doesn’t only last us 2 months.

Beco Baby Carrier

For the first few months of his life- Grayson was super content to hang out in the baby K'tan. Then old chunkers got too big for that, so we had to look for a better carrier option. I was going back and forth between this carrier and the Ergo- but ultimately chose this one because of the ability for the Bean to face outwards. We have this pattern, the robots, and it is super cute. It is also ridiculously comfortable- I wore Grayson for 5 hours at the Pittsburgh Marathon and my back didn’t hurt at all. It folds up nice and small, so I just toss it in the basket of the stroller and when he decides he’s had enough I stick him in and hes as happy as a clam. It also puts him at the perfect height to help push shopping carts, which is a big thrill. I love, love, love that the baby can be worn on the front, back or hip and face in or out- it just makes for a very versatile carrier that can be used for a long time.

Nuk Learner Latex Spout BPA Free Cup

Mr. Picky will only drink from two types of sippy cups and this is the first one that he would try. The handles make it easy for him to pick up, and the cup isn’t too heavy for little hands to hoist up. Plus the handles make it easy to tote around for Mommas too. He still loves to pull this around with him as he crawls around, which I don’t mind because it doesn’t leak all over the place.

Nuby 2 Count Super Spout Easy Gripper

This is the other. Once we had it down with the Nuk cup, we tried these out. He took to them really well, besides the fact that he prefers to drink from it upside down. They are a bit heavier and bulkier than the Nuk cups, and seem to give more liquid out at once so I would wait until the Bean is 6 + months for these for sure. One thing that thrills me about this particular cup is that it fits in the cup holder of the stroller and car seat- unlike the Nuk cups with those pesky handles.

Safety 1st Complete Air 65 Convertible Car Seat

It was getting to darn hard to lug the Bean around in his infant seat (Chicco Keyfit 30), the time had come to graduate to a big boy seat. After doing tons of research and trying out a few various car seats in our car/at Babies R Us, we ultimately decided to go with this seat for several reasons. First was its tall shell- Grayson is tall so he probably would outgrow the Britax pretty quick (not something I was willing to do with the price tag for one of those bad boys). Second was its rear facing weight limit of 40 pounds, allowing him to rear face longer. Third was its ease to install and work. It was one of the easiest seats to install with the Latch, and it felt really solid once it was in. We had looked at the Evenflow Triumph, but for the life of me I could not loosen the harness with that red lever thing. With the CA65 it was the same system we were used to with the Keyfit- so it worked well. Last was the price- we got ours on sale at Babies R Us for 115 each- which was something to consider when we had to buy three separate seats. So far, we love this seat. He has plenty of leg room rear facing, with lots of room to grow. He can see out the window now, which makes him a happy camper and its really easy to get him in and out of. Hopefully we will continue to love it as much as we do- since we're in this for a long time!

Pampers Extra Protection Nighttime Diapers

With all of this extra water we're drinking because of the heat- someone started to wake up when his poor little diaper couldn’t take it anymore at about 2 am. We tried Huggies Good Nights- but they leaked all over the crib leaving one unhappy sheet changer. When I saw that Pampers had a Nighttime version, I bought a small pack and we haven't looked back. Seriously, if your kiddo wakes up in the night needing to be changed you need to get your hands on a night time diaper. Eight un-interrupted hours is well worth having to remember to put on the diapers with the sleeping characters of Sesame Street if you ask me. Just remember to buy one size up for nighttime dipes!
 

Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Learning Workbench

He's his father’s kid- and loves tools. The current thrill of the day, taking that hammer and beating not only the colorful nails and screws on the bench but everything in his little wrecking ball path. As he gets better with the aim this will probably become a bad thing, but for now its just really cute to see him crawl-chase the dog with a hammer.

Thats all for now I think- if you missed months 1-7 be sure to check them out here!

Nine Months Old

Grayson Boy-

Happy summer, baby boy! Mommy was so excited for summer to come so I had a chance to spend three glorious months with you. You learn things so fast, and I just want to be able to see them for the first time...rather than being told by Daddy and Grandma all of the fun tricks you have mastered in your day.

 

·        At your 9 Month appointment you weighed in at 21 pounds 8 ounces, right in the 66th percentile. However, you were 29.5 inches- ranking up in the 86th percentile. You’re tall bubbers- that we already knew. You’re still mostly in 6-9 month shirts and size 3 diapers, but you need 9-12 month shorts or pants, because as Daddy pointed out you are not preparing for any floods.

·        This month you started asserting your independence- you want to feed yourself, brush your own teeth, dress yourself- all of a sudden and at once. You let me help you get the shirt over your head, but you want to put your arms through yourself- or you have yourself a mini breakdown. Same with tooth brushing- you’ll let me brush them for about 30 seconds before you wield the brush yourself. I swear, the way you like to brush your teeth I won’t be surprised if you decide to be a dentist someday. Literally every time you go into the bathroom, you're begging at the sink to brush away.

·        You took your first little baby step (and Momma got to see it!) at Haley and Jeremy’s house. You stepped from the couch to the coffee table, and were so proud of yourself. Mommy cried, and Daddy yelled because he missed it.

·        You also associated your first word this month! Daddy was asleep with you on the futon in your room, and when I walked in to wake him you woke up instead. You looked up at me with those pretty blue eyes and said "Mama" with a big old grin. I swear little boy, you made me melt into the carpet. I was your first word, and for that when you turn 16 you can pick out any car you like. You have since said Dada to Daddy and Nana to Grammy. You made both of them cry, but I was always quick to remind them that I was first.

·        Other tricks we are working on is so big, waving, and high fives. If we say to you "How big is Grayson?" you lift your little hands above your head as we say "Soooo big!" Sometimes you even lift your arms and look at us as if you say, "Well, how big am I?" You wave, but it’s mostly backwards and you give high fives when you feel like it. We're definitely in the early stages of mastering those skills.

·        You drink water from a sippy all day long, and have been working on taking the fork out of our hands to feed yourself. It makes every meal take 10 times longer, but it’s so cute to see.

·        We started our summer bucket list, and have been doing all kinds of fun things together. I hope you look back on all of this someday and say that you are glad we did so much stuff with you- we really want you to know how much we enjoy you and enjoy being your Mommy and Daddy. We want to make sure you have all kinds of fun experiences and memories- so we refuse to think that you are too little to enjoy things and are just trying to expose you to as much as we can.

·        Gizzy has made up to you a bit this month- she actually lets you play with her! You crawl around dragging her sock puppy and she chases you around in slow motion. She loves you, that’s easy to see; she’s just not too fond of you stealing her attention or pulling on her ears. Since you've started to eat more food and are kind enough to give her bites- she really likes you more than she did a few months ago.

Bubbers, I can't wait to do more fun things with you as we spend every day together. Im looking forward to our first vacation as a family, and seeing you learn to walk. Im so blessed to have such a sweet, smart, funny little boy to call mine- even if I do have to share you with Daddy.

XOXO,

Mommy

10 Tips and Tricks for Summer!

Ahhh, summer. How I love thee.  Warm days, cool nights and three glorious months off.  Here's a list of Tips and Tricks that can help this summer- or anytime you need em!

1. Emergency Contact Information Stickers for Car Seats.  I pin alot of stuff- hey a girls got to do SOMETHING during nap time- with the intention of getting to it.  This I did right away. With summer coming, I know we'll be traveling quite a bit and in case something happens where I cant communicate I want them to know how to get ahold of family ASAP so someone can come take care of Grayson.  Its pretty simple, print out all of the important info (name, birthday, address, phone number, allergies, etc) on a piece of paper and use a nice piece of packing tape to adhere it to the car seat. This idea came curteosy of the super funny blog Dont Pat the Belly.  Momma G keeps me in stitches with the posts $#*! My Three Year Old Says.  If you need a good laugh, check her out!

Image Via Dont Pat The Belly

2. Sparkler Shield! Hello, genius!! Shauna from over at Love 2 Dream, Do You came up with the perfect solution for little ones who love to hold sparklers. The answer- a simple Red Solo Cup. Simply poke a hole through the bottom and feed the sparkler through-no burns! You can bend the wire if you're worried about little ones pulling the sparkler through. And dont worry, Shauna tested the cup and as long as the lit sparkler is not placed inside the cup it will not melt!

Via Love 2 Dream Do You

3. Gwen from over at Gwenny Penny gave me an idea for Grayson Boy's birthday party- and one that we can all use all summer long. Reuse a laundry detergent container for that handy dandy bubble refill station. No having to go out and buy a new container and it keeps the bubbles going all summer long!

Via Gwenny Penny

4. Kim over at All Things Simple shares some valuable info for traveling with kiddos. One of the best things on the list is for packing their clothes. Pack one complete outfit, clothes, socks, undies, hat, hair accessories, etc. in a zip lock baggie. Then when you get to your destination you can put them in a drawer and pull one out per day- no more rummaging around in a suitcase!  This would work well whenever kids are going anywhere- esp if you are not going to be with them and they need everything in one place to get ready quickly!

via

5.  If you remember back to my post on Fathers Day I said we went hiking. Well I used all of the bug spray on the boys and missed a leg- biiggg mistake because my right leg came home COVERED in red, itchy bug bites.  Michelle over at One Ordinary Day said to try rubbing a bar of dried soap on them- and that worked great! The pharmacist I talked to also said to try some Preparation H on them.  Apparently whatever is in there works wonders and kept those babies itch free all night long.  If you dont want to be seen buying hemorrhoid cream, Id try the soap first.  Lucky for me, I got a tube in my hospital goodie bag and it was just hanging out in the bathroom cabinet.

6.  Summer is the time to clean out the closets around our house- and this year I will definitely be using Erica's tip from her home design blog Tart House. I tend to have alot of purses...like a whole lot. Its bad.  Currently my purses are all in their cloth bags sitting on some shelves in my closet- but as of next week they will all be hanging up nice and pretty with shower hooks!  (PS- how amazing is that shoe organization as well? I only wish my closet looked this nice!)

via Tart House

7. One of my fave things to bring back from any trip is booze. A good bottle of wine, a bottle of tequila from Mexico, delish new vodka- Im really not biased. However I do want to avoid looking like a raging alcoholic on an air plane by having it break in my suitcase and having to do the walk of shame through Pgh International smelling like hooch. So when I saw this from Real Simple I was super excited- wrap bottles or breakable objects with kiddos inflatable pool floaties!

via Real Simple

8. Another summer travel must is the umbrella stroller. Sometimes its just not practical to drag the Travel System somewhere, and that lightweight little stroller is just what the doctor ordered.  However, the absolute worst is the fact that the stroller is so light that if you try to hang your diaper bag on the back without the baby weight in it- it falls right over.  Well, not anymore. Courtesy of Real Simple- wrap those ankle weights we all have lying around to the front bars right above the wheels.

 Source: Real Simple

9.  If you're like me, sometimes your hair gets greasy in the summer. Its lovely mix of sweat, sun screen, bug spray and salt in the air that gives me this pretty sheen- which is not always as attractive on me as it is on the Victoria's Secret Model 'beach' hair ads. Whatev. Before I dare to spend 10 bucks plus on some dry shampoo I reach for my $3 bottle of baby powder. Sprinkle a little on your roots and brush through and woosh- good as new.  Also good for those new Mommas who can't remember the last time they showered, but still want to appear as if they have it together when unexpected company shows up. Hey, we've all been there!

10. This one is everywhere on-line, but I can tell you from personal recent experience- it works like mad.  When your cell phone decides its too hot and needs a dip in the swimming pool (or your sweet little boy chucks it into the toilet like mine did), fill a container with some dry white rice. Remove the SIM card and place the phone into the rice for 24-48 hours.  Hopefully this will do the trick and save you big bucks at the Verizon store!

Happy Summer, Lovelies!

Have a Banana Split for Ryan

If you haven't heard about 21 month old Ryan Roberts, get your tissues out and see a video about him here and read about him here.

Hes the most adorable little guy who was born with Downs Syndrome and a congenital heart defect.  A few weeks ago his parents got some devastating news- there was nothing more doctors could do for this sweet, sweet boy. So they made the decision to fill his reaming time with as much fun as they could- creating a bucket list of things that he needs to do like pet a puppy, get a speeding ticket, have a beer, and eat a banana split.

People started asking his Momma, Diane, if there is anything they can do for the family and her response was so self-less and sweet, it needs shared.

"Go out and create a memory with your kid. Throw a banana split on the table for dinner," Diane says. "Wouldn't you remember having banana splits for dinner one night when you were a kid?"

I give all of the credit in the world to this family, I can not imagine the emotions they are going through right now. When I read about them, I cant help but getting tears in my eyes. I would do anything I could to help someone in this situation, and if all this family wants is for me to feed my kiddo ice cream they can consider it done.

A facebook group called Ryans Banana Split Party was created by a family friend where people have posted pictures of them doing just that. Forgoeing the veggies and protein for one night to eat banana splits all over the world.

So one more thing is added to our summer bucket list for the summer, to have a Banana Split for Ryan.  Tonight for dinner Grayson will be having his dessert for dinner in honor of this sweet boy



Happy Daddy's Day Hubs!

You know I love my husband to bits when I volunteer to go out into nature without him having to ask first.  I wanted his first Fathers Day (out of the belly of course) to be nice, so I decided to take him hiking at Ohiopyle.

(Plus, you know, it was on the bucket list...Im determined to get that thing finished!)

Now let me explain.  I grew up playing outside. We went to the beach. I played in the woods.  I enjoyed nature, but was by no means an outdoor gal. I didnt camp, I didnt sleep outside in the summer, I didn't look for bugs and snakes and think that stuff was 'neat'.

Meanwhile, the hubs I think was birthed into the wilderness.  He loves hiking and camping.  He thinks bugs and lizards are cool. He spent a week in high school hiking the Appalachian Trail and carrying all of his equipment on his back like a billy goat. He would have me sleeping in the dirt every weekend if I would agree to it- which there is no way in hell I ever would.

So my surprising him Saturday night with a day of hiking, picnicking and playing in the water was an amazing gesture on my part- and the hubs was more than excited. He had our stuff packed an in the car before bed on Saturday night. He was also excited to learn I had invited his cousin and his kids to go along- so it was going to a big adventure.

We broke out the hiking backpack- the one where Grayson fits right in.  We were not sure how he would take to it..but he's his Daddy's boy- he loved it.



Matching Backpacks

The Cascades

Splashing in the water

Checking out the water

Making Momma nervous as heck

He had no fear, he crawled, splashed and played in every pool Patrick set him in.

Somehow I think this means Im going to have many heart attack moments with this boy.

On the way back out of the gorge, we passed a tree that I just so happened to look up on.  On the branch sat the biggest spider I had ever seen in my life- no lie, it was bigger than my hand.  It looked like something you see at the zoo. 

And the hubs wonders why Im not a big fan of nature...its cause guys like this can eat me.

After the hike it was time to eat- we had a wonderful picnic lunch in a nice cool spot.

Smooches before Sandwiches.

We wanted to hike another trail, but the only problem was that two of our kiddos were ready to pass out, so we decided to head home for the day.  Its only a little over an hour drive, so we'll go back again to hike another trail and ride the natural water slides.

After a good long scrub in the tub we took our official Fathers Day picture.

Happy Fathers Day, hubs. You're seriously the best Daddy I could have ever asked for our little guy.  You love him unconditionally and more than the Moon- and he feels the same way about you. There isn't a thing you wouldn't do for him, and for that we are both grateful. For you I went out into the woods and came home with a leg full of bug bites because I sprayed you and Grayson first and ran out by the time I got to me, but I'd do it again and again to make you happy.  Ill just stock up on the Off and bathe in it first next time.

We love you!



The Children's Museum

On my last day of school for the year (woo!) Grayson and Daddy came to pick me up for a fun filled afternoon at The Childrens Museum of Pittsburgh.

It was on our summer bucket list- and it was a nice way to spend a few hours.

If you live in the Pittsburgh area, Im told you HAVE to take your kiddo to Tot Time on Tuesdays or Wednesdays...everyone I know raves about it.  Grayson is still too young (18 months to 3 years), but its something we'll do next year for sure. 

The hubs was worried that Grayson would be too young, but from all of the Mommas I had talked to they said that he would be able to enjoy over half of the exhibits, so I wasnt worried.  He actually enjoyed more than half of it, which was a nice surprise. What the hubs doesnt know that I didnt care if Grayson hated it...they have a visiting Wizzard of Oz exhibit and this Momma is slightly obsessed with that movie. We were going, and at least I was going to have fun! (Truth be told, I knew they had a nursery floor and a giant floor that is for water play- my fish would be just fine!)

Off to a good start in the Gravity Room

 Coneheads

Making music

Ruby Slippers!!! Okay...so I may have been the only one excited for this.

Riding Miss Gulch's Bike

The Garage was much more both of these boys idea of a good time...

Playing in the tree from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

Okay Lovelies- I need some help. Grayson spent like 45 minutes playing with this snail. It had no distinguishing marks on it, no brand name or anything. It had beads in the clear ball that when you spun it around, ran down over the hard plastic lines and made noise. If anyone knows who makes it PLEASE let me know...the poor kid cried when we walked away from it!

Close up! 

Making bubbles!

 Playing with the blocks.

Overall we spent three hours at the Museum- and had one super tired kiddo on the way home. I think that was the first time in a very long time we took Grayson into a restaurant, and he slept on my lap rather than tried to scam me out of all of my food.  We will definitely have to go back...even if its just to play with the snail!





He Speaks!!!!!

Grayson has had his "voice" for awhile. He has been babbling on and on for a few months now and he distinctly says Mama and Dada- but he had never really associated them with anyone.

Until last night- 6/20/2012 will go down in infamy in the K house.

The hubs took Grayson upstairs to put him to bed, and he fell asleep laying on Daddy's lap finishing his bottle.  When this happens, its almost inevitable that the hubs will put his head back and fall asleep as well. So after about 30 minutes of silence on the monitor up the steps I trudged to wake the hubs and put the babe down for the night. 

When I walked in, I first woke up hubs so he could look at the sight of Grayson sleeping with his foot sprawled above his head. Well, something happened and Grayson opened up those sweet blue eyes to see us staring at him.  His face broke into that sweet grin and he said plain as day the best thing I have ever heard...thats right, he said "Mama"!

*Insert giddy dance here!*

The sun may shine out of Dada's rear end around here, but my baby boy said Mama first.

Take that, Daddy.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a pony to go purchase.