Things I Love: Toddler 15-18 Months Edition

I'm continually amazed how blips in time fly by at record speed since Tory entered our lives. I suppose time always marched on, but I'm surely more aware of how different our lives seem to fly by as directed by a growing (infant, now) toddler.

The 15-18 month stage is my favorite, favorite, favorite by far. Suddenly, there's a new sheriff in town with her own opinions on what cups, plates and bibs to use and most certainly in clothing, blankets and toddler gadgets. Some of our old tried-and-true kid stuff is still in the mix, but I've also discovered some new things the last few months that have made our lives much easier.


-USEFUL -
Aden + Anais Cozy Slumber Four Layer Sleeping Bag
The Aden + Anais sleep sack has been on my "things I love" list since the beginning, but this winter I discovered the Cozy Slumber Four Layer Sleeping Bag and it's quickly become my favorite product. Tory still wears a sleep sack at naps and bedtime, partly because she's quite the climber and I'm confident she'd learn to monkey right out of her crib if her legs weren't contained, and also because I worry about her sleeping uncovered in the night. She has the coldest bedroom in the house and I want to make sure she says warm and snuggly (and sleeping!) through the night.

The Aden + Anais sleep sacks / sleeping bags are very durable and actually become softer the more times you wash them. I have two Cozy Slumber Four Layer Sleeping Bags in rotation because inevitably, one is in the wash due to a leaky diaper, poop, puke, etc. What makes this sleeping bag better than the cotton sleep sacks is the four layers of warmth it provides without causing overheating.

Bumkins Bibs
Tory is quite insistent on wearing a bib during meal times (hallelujah for protecting her clothes!) and the older she's gets, the more I've grown to love the Bumkins Bibs. I remember people telling me about these bibs months ago when Tory first started solid foods, but for us they never caught all the food she was dropping and therefore, didn't cut down on the mess. Back then, I liked the Tommee Tippee bibs much better. Now that Tory can efficiently feed herself (as in, most of the food on her spoon actually makes it to her mouth), the trough-like function of the Tommee Tippee bib isn't necessary. The Bumkins Bibs provide a nice shield on the front of her shirt to combat food splatters and I like how small they fold so I can toss one in my purse if we're going out to eat.

Columbia Snowsuit and Fleece Jacket
We purchased these two items for Tory during the winter that just wouldn't end (aka: winter 2012-13) and I have to say, we got our money's worth. I have been so pleased with the quality and warmth the fleece jacket (Tory's everyday coat) and snowsuit (Tory's heavier winter coat on blustery days and/or snowsuit for playing outside) provided. I've washed the fleece jacket numerous times and it's still held its shape and color perfectly. The snow suit is easy for Tory to move around in and protected her perfectly through all our winter outdoor adventures.


-FAVORITE TOYS / GIFTS -
Tea Set
Tory received this tea set from my parents at Christmas and she's played with it non-stop ever since. The tea pot makes a "pouring sound" she finds very life-like and therefore, our tea cups are never empty.

Baby Dolls
We have our share of baby dolls in this household and surprisingly, they are receive equal amounts of love from Tory. We have several versions of this cheap Target baby doll and they've held up well to her continual playing. The legs, arms and head also wipe clean easily.

Doll Stroller
No baby doll would be complete without a doll stroller! Tory received this one at Christmas from Andi's Grandma and she plays with it constantly. It's more sturdy than some of the other ones I've seen in stores, but probably wouldn't be sturdy enough for a baby who's just learning to walk on their own. For Tory's age and skill set, this doll stroller fits the bill.

Pre-Easter Celebration

Last Sunday, we were invited to Andi's parents house for a pre-Easter celebration. Since we're flying to Nebraska to visit my family for Easter this year, Andi's family didn't want to miss out on the Easter fun. We kept our celebration light and casual. Each of us brought an appetizer to share - chicken wings, cheese and crackers and fruit pizzas - and we spent the evening witnessing the magic of Easter through Tory's toddler eyes.

Delicious and fun fruit pizzas Lindsay brought
Recipe here

First, we played hide the Easter eggs with Tory. This is by far her favorite game right now and Grandpa Jim had stashed eggs all around the living room. Different than our daily Easter egg hunts (because oh my gosh, we hide Easter eggs fifty million times a day -- "hide, hide" Tory says, in a whispery voice), these eggs were filled with stickers and M&Ms. The look on Tory's face when she discovered the first egg had treats inside it was priceless!

Next, Tory opened her Easter baskets from Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie Lindsay. She was spoiled with her favorite treats of course (lots of M&Ms and animal crackers), plus bubbles, jammies, a new swimming suit and wet bag for carrying, paintable face masks and more. Janie and Jim also gave Andi, Lindsay and I Easter baskets. I got a springy new infinity scarf and candy.

Tory checking out her Easter basket goodies

Peek-a-boo!

Then, we colored Easter eggs. Janie went all out with glitter, Epson salts, wax crayons, stickers and craft papers to decorate our eggs. Andi was so funny coloring eggs. "If you can't get out of it, get into it," Janie said and that's exactly what he did. Who knew he was so crafty?

Andi's egg masterpiece

Janie saw an idea on Pinterest that worked great for helping Tory color eggs. She placed an egg in a whisk and let Tory dunk her own egg in the colored water. 

Coloring eggs with Grandma

Enjoying her very first Tootsie Pop while waiting for her egg to dry

We're so lucky to have a fun, loving family to celebrate the holidays together. And, having a little one in the mix gives us an excuse to participate in all the fun holiday traditions that make this time of year so special. Now, who's going to eat the two dozen hard-boiled eggs in my refrigerator?

A Weekend with Internet Friends

If you're not a blogger, you probably think meet up with an in-real-life stranger / Internet friend is crazy. Honestly though, it's very similar to Internet "friend dating" because you know a heck of a lot about someone you've never actually met face to face. (Not that I've participated in any sort of Internet meeting-up, but I assume it'd be a similar thing). Regarding blogging friends, it's surprisingly not awkward once a real-life meeting takes place. In the past year, I've become great friends with people I only knew existed on the opposite side of the Internet.

When Andi told one of his long-time friends we were going to the cabin with "Heather's Internet friends" this weekend, it probably made me sound like a giant loser. But hey, it can't be worse than the time I flew half-way across the country to meet up with 50 blogging strangers, could it? That didn't seem weird to me and neither did inviting my new friend Jodi from Raising Snowpeas to enjoy a weekend at one of my favorite places on Earth.

Jodi wrote her own thoughts on visiting our cabin here. I can say I honestly wasn't nervous for her family to hang out with us for the weekend one bit. I know Jodi and I get along great and we're both very similar when it comes to planning meals and hanging out. Our kids get along great together and I know Tory would love having Allie and Jake at the cabin. The only wild card was our husbands and fortunately, mine can get along with just about anyone. It turns out, Jodi's husband is the same way.

 

Jodi and Jake

Snowpeas snowman building

We spent our weekend at the cabin playing with the kids and lounging around. My husband is always itching for a little adventure, so he took Jodi's husband on an ice fishing trip for a few hours on the lake. We made yummy meals and relaxed in the evenings after the kids went to bed.

My girl loves to sled

Aren't these two just the cutest?

The only thing that would have made the weekend better is if it was summer and we could've gone for boat rides, had a bonfire and played in the lake. Guess we'll have to invite the Snowpeas up for a weekend repeat!

Easter Egg Time

It isn't Easter time until you decorate eggs, so that's exactly what Tory and I did today. It was a sunny, cold 28 degrees outside, but that didn't stop us from participating in fun spring holiday traditions. I wasn't quite sure how egg dyeing would go since Tory's awfully young yet, so I prepared myself for mess and figured we'd be in good shape if we had a few colored eggs at the end. I bought Tory a special Sesame Street eye dyeing kit with stickers to decorate the eggs which I thought she'd especially like since she loves stickers so much these days.

I began the egg dyeing process during Tory's nap because I figured it'd take a long time to boil and cool the eggs before using them. I kind of forgot how long it takes for the actual dyeing as well since I like my Easter eggs to be nice and bright. Tory was very interested in all the pretty colors and desperately wanted to touch the eggs while they were coloring. I held her off and we played in the other room while this step was taking place.

After the eggs were colored and dry, we set to decorating. Tory was so dang excited about the eggs she kept wanting to squeeze them! Plastic Easter eggs are her favorite toy, so I suppose the love spilled over to real eggs, too. I handed Tory a few stickers and she did her best to stick them onto the eggs, but the dumb things wouldn't stay put. Also, stickers on eggs are a great idea for 18 month olds but for moms who likes things to lay flat and smoothly, they were the most annoying things ever.

Didn't matter much because Tory's favorite thing to do with the eggs was slam them on the table anyway. She smooched the blue egg pretty good, so we ended up eating that one and tossing the shell.

I imagine this activity becomes more fun when kiddos can actually do the dyeing themselves. This year, it was a lot of waiting, watching, stickering and cracking.

Also, for comparison's sake, I paired last year's Easter Bunny photo against the one taken yesterday. Isn't it crazy how much difference a year makes?

Easter Bunny 2013

I took Tory to visit the Easter Bunny today at a nearby mall. I talked our visit up big time this morning, asking her if she wanted to see the big Easter Bunny. She nodded her head (and her entire upper body) in agreement, as she does these days when she's excited about something. I told her about the big Easter eggs she'd see when we visited the Easter Bunny and again, she nodded her head yes with much excitement.

It was a blustery 28 degrees as we pushed though the parking lot at the mall and felt more like January than March. I opted to dress Tory in her Easter dress at the mall, instead of at home, because it was so cold outside today. Once we arrived at the mall, I high-tailed it to the family restroom to change Tory into her adorable Easter outfit. The entire time I dressed her, we talked about the Easter Bunny and how big his ears were, how fluffy his fur is, and how happy we were to visit him. I was trying my best to prepare her for the Easter Bunny's size and hoped she'd be as jazzed to see him as she was during our conversations.

Remembering back to our Santa Claus visit in December, I dressed myself in a "springy" scarf with the off-chance idea in mind I *might* have to sit in the photo with Tory. I really, really, really didn't want to do that and surely she'd be okay snapping a photo with him solo. When we talked about taking her photo with the Easter Bunny in the car ride on the way to the mall, Tory even said "cheese!" with her new camera smile. She's got this! No big deal.

As we wheeled up to the Easter Bunny and Tory gathered what was about to happen, her little legs clamped around my waist like a vice script. She puckered her lips and began to whimper. I tried talking to the Easter Bunny and giving her a few minutes to warm up to him, but it was no use. Luckily, Tory and I were the only people there so we had as much time as we needed. The photographer suggested I sit in the photo with Tory so she'd feel more comfortable and of course that's exactly what I did. Dang it.

I don't want to be a mean mama by torturing her with these photos at the holidays, but I also feel like I need these photos for her baby book, too. Quite the parenting pickle. As soon as we walked away, Tory was back to her normal, bubbly self so all was well in the end.

After I changed her back into her regular everyday clothes, I decided to treat us to lunch at Qdoba. Tory was such a little angel at the restaurant and even ate her entire cheese quesadilla with a side of black beans. I couldn't help but smile as we shared our lunch together. She is really growing up to be a big girl and I cherish moments like this with her.

Tory's new "cheese" face for the camera

After lunch, we did some shopping at Stride Rite and I bought her an adorable pair of pink tennis shoes. She's going to need some solid playing outdoors shoes this spring / summer, I thought, and I can't seem to find quality tennis shoes for her anywhere else.

Last stop at the mall was the kid's area where Tory had a ball running around with all the other kiddos. These play areas are heaven for Minnesotans stuck inside for months and months on end.

Not the greatest picture, but it was hard capturing a shot of this girl on the move!

What a fun day with my little Bean!

Music Together

This winter, we took a break from swimming and I signed Tory up for music lessons at a local church. I thought we needed a change in pace every week and music seemed like something different, fun and warm! (There was no way I was walking outside with a wet head of hair during the Minnesota winter.) Another reason, I thought Tory was growing a little bored of swimming after the fall session. She seemed less excited about getting in the pool each week and our class during the last session was a bit strange. For one, most of the parents were dads and I felt a little awkward swimming with dudes for some reason. Secondly, Tory seemed more experienced than the other toddlers in her class, so she was learning less and distracted more. I don't say this in a braggy parent way. Tory's interest in swimming was obviously higher than the girl who screamed the entire class and the others who flat-out refused to participate in some of the activities. Lastly, the teacher was really splashy. As in, she splashed really aggressively and I was sick and tired of being sopping wet after every stinkin' class. I know I was in a swimming pool and likely to get wet, but I'm not the one dunking my head under water and I'd rather not feel like it by the end of the class. So, a break from swimming was needed.

I met Lindsay and her daughter, Ashley, at swimming class last summer (at our super fun swimming session where all the kids were exactly Tory's age and skill level) and we became fast friends. Lindsay invited Tory and I to sign up for the music class they'd taken in the past and were taking again this winter. That music class has seriously been the highlight of my week this winter and I'm not even kidding. (This probably makes me sound pathetic and I can hear my husband telling me now that I need to get out more, but it's true!) I saw a new side of Tory in music class that I've never seen before. I know she's an outgoing kid, but it was so neat to see her "learn" music and the evolution of her interest in the class from start to finish. At first, she happier running around than singing and dancing, but quickly began tapping her knees and singing along in her own way -- "baa baa baa." The music teacher said children learn music in four stages and I found this to be very interesting:

1) The child hears the music
2) The child hears the music and attempts to participate by keeping the beat, but then loses pace
3) The child hears the music, attempts to participate by keeping the beat and can keep the pace
4) The child hears the music, attempts to participate by keeping the beat and can even change tempo

It's truly inspiring as a parent to watch Tory evolve in this way. She's obviously quite young and at this point is only learning to catch the beat then loses pace, but she's interested! And learning! And happy! I also loved watching her interact with the other children in the class, offering to share instruments with others and hugging her friends repeatedly. Since we're at home everyday, it feels good to see her loving spirit happening in public settings and not just at home. I want to make sure she has the opportunity to socialize and learn how to act around others her age and older / younger kids, and that's the primary reason we even sign up for activities like music or swimming.

We met a new friend, Katie, and her daughter Britta, at class and the six of us (Lindsay/Ashley, Katie/Britta and Tory/I) had a ball singing and dancing together every Friday. I'm really going to miss our time together now the session is over. After class last Friday, I snapped a few photos of Tory and her music friends so we could always remember the fun winter we had together.

Ashley, Britta and Tory

May I also say, this class was a bit of a learning experience for me as well. I am not musically talented in the least bit. I'm the girl who has a hard time clapping on the beat with fans at a sporting event. I love to sing but I stink at it, so I save all my belting notes for church, car rides and singing happy birthday. Plus, I haaaate dancing.  This class definitely forced me out of my comfort zone!

We start swimming lessons again this Wednesday and I'm *crossing my fingers* for a fun class. I think Tory will be excited to get back in the pool again and with lake season coming up at the cabin, Andi and I feel it's important for Tory to have as much exposure to the water as possible.

It's moments like music class that reinforce my love for being a stay-at-home-parent. I realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to see Tory grow and learn in these environments and for this chance, I'm forever grateful.

Living Room Decorating (Un)Inspiration

Being home every day has unearthed a serious desire to redecorate my house. I don't know if it's because I stare at these walls for more hours than I used to, or because I'm not dog tired at the end of a work day and actually have the energy to care about such things. Maybe both. Or, it could be a spring cleaning / out with the old (winter) and in with the new (spring) desire to liven up the place. My challenge in decorating is always to use what I have, re-organize things in different ways, move items to different rooms and spend as little money as possible on new home decor. Vases and knick-knacks and things seems so darn expensive in the store and I'm never sure how they'll go together with our already-existing stuff anyway. This might also be why I'm itching for a change.

Our basement is on my to-do to redecorate this year. It's cold downstairs and even though we have a gas fireplace which warms things up quickly, we don't spend much time hanging out there. I think it's because it doesn't feel very inviting. We have the benefit of having nice sized windows in our basement so it's not completely doom and gloom. I'd like to brighten things up a bit more to make it a space we feel comfortable hanging out together as a family.

In our downstairs living room, we have built-in wooden bookshelves on two of the four walls. While everyone in the world gushes over how wonderful they are, Andi and I are less than pleased with their appearance. I know the built-in bookshelves were probably expensive to install and they offer great decorating potential, but I really have no idea how to decorate so many shelves in one space. It seems as if every example I find for inspiration has bookshelves filled with books (now there's a novel idea) or they're bookshelves one-fourth the size of what we have to work with. Yes, I'd love to have a cute stack of books with a ceramic bird perched on top of them, a faux lantern displayed next to it and maybe a frame or two of our cute little family. But, then what? How shall I decorate the other fifty-million shelves available in our never-ending wall of built-in bookcases?

One might suggest filling our bookshelves with real books but well, Andi and I own about six of those between the two of us. It seems silly just to buy books to decorate our shelves. We both have Kindles for goodness sake! Tory has quite a few books, of course, but I don't think Chica Chica Boom Boom and Noisy Barn will convey the same grown-up look we're trying to achieve.

The fanciest books we own

The built-in bookshelves are just too dark for us and that's one major issue. Our plan is to have the wood professionally painted white to match the white trim in the room. I'm a little nervous to pull the trigger on this home renovation project because I can't get my parents voices out of my head. I just know my dad would rather die than paint over perfectly good wood. We had the white paint job cued up for this spring, but decided to hold off for a bit and spend the money elsewhere. So for now, the brown-colored built-ins are here to stay and if I can figure out how to decorate them as is, I think I'd be happier in the living room space all together.

The ginormous area of built-in bookshelves has left me uninspired when it comes to the fireplace mantle. Fireplace mantles seems so easy for everyone else to decorate, but I'm seriously stumped and to be honest, a bit intimidated. I'd like to decorate the mantle with adorable family photographs, a few candles and maybe a decorative plant or two, but I've already got that going on in the bookshelves. I think more photographs and candles would be overkill.

I've seen inspiration mantles with spring flowers in vases and they look so fresh and inviting, but are fresh flowers really practical, especially in a basement? I think Andi would have a heart attack if I put fake flowers in our house. I don't think, I know he would. I've been tempted to try crafting one of those cute mantle banners all over Pinterest. I'm worried doing anything special to the mantle will seem off-balanced until I fix the built-in bookshelves as well. I'm at a uninspired decorating stand-still when it comes to our downstairs living room. I'm thisclose to raiding the neighborhood Home Goods and completely starting over.