Water Table

As I was sitting outside with the girls the other day I decided they "needed" :) a water table. As I looked online I found everything from a basic water table to a water and sand table that comes with an umbrella -a range of $35 to $100+. On Sunday, Target had the Step 2 Arctic Splash Water Table on sale for $24.99 which was the best price I had seen. We ended up having to go to 3 Targets before finding it in stock (and even then it was in the stockroom) but to me it was worth it.

Here the girls are playing at the water table:





For the most part, the girls are having fun playing with the animals that were included and splashing each other, however it is also causing some fights. Anna's favorite part is to send the penguin down the mountain waterslide; Maddie doesn't want the mountain (which annoyingly separates into 3 pieces) on the table. Anna wants to pour water on the animals; Maddie wants to climb into the table to water herself.

I thought this would be the perfect summer activity for Maddie since she loves to play in our dog's water bowl but it actually seems to be more on Anna's level for now. Either way, this table was definitely worth the price!

Sweet Imagination

A few months ago I wrestled with Anna's naps or lack thereof. It was either struggle with her to take a nap during the day and then have her up until 10 at night or not have her take a nap and lose my sanity of entertaining a 2 year old from 7am to 5pm straight. We finally found a compromise. Everyday around 1:30 Anna goes up into her room for some play time by herself. I get out her Fisher Price Little People house and farm and all the accoutrements and she is happy to entertain herself for about an hour.

It is so sweet to listen to her talk to the little people. She is often telling them to go potty or puts them in chairs around the dining table for dinner. I love to hear her use her imagination - I had to sneak in a take a pic.

A Look at the Future

I say it over and over again, but I love my neighborhood. Last night our family was invited to a graduation party in our cul-de-sac to celebrate 6 teenagers that live on our block who were all graduating from high school. The event kicked off with each of them saying which house they lived in and how many years they had lived in the neighborhood. They all had moved in 10+ years ago when the neighborhood began so they had grown up together.

As they talked, Anna was running around with her friend Hadley who lives a few houses down. They chased each other and hugged each other. Once again, I was thankful for our neighborhood and the friends we have made here. Who knows, maybe 16+ years from now we'll be in the same place having a cookout of our own.

Going Smaller

Now that Maddie is a year old and doesn't require as much "stuff" to travel around town, I decided it was time for a new diaper bag. I have absolutely loved my Storksak for the past year, but I thought it was time for something a little smaller and more colorful. After my husband and I did lots of looking online I was bummed because most of the diaper bags were at least as big as my current bag but then it hit me - if I still want to carry around diapers, wipes, 2 sippy cups, "just in case" snacks, anti-bacterial wipes, cell, wallet, etc. etc., I could only go so small. I realized it wasn't the size of the bag that was bothering me but the disorganization inside of it.

I was looking online at little dudes and divas (who has great sales!) and found the perfect thing for me -the Ju Ju Be Be Mine Wristlet. Inside I can put everything that was previously in my wallet as well as all of those "extras" that were floating around my diaper bag and driving me crazy. I pair this with my diaper clutch and any of the 20 purses already in my closet make a good diaper bag.

I have only had this wristlet for a few days but can already see some of the pros and cons.

Pros:
- machine washable (not sure I've ever had to wash a purse or wallet but seems like a good idea)
- at 5" by 5" it is one of the few "wallets" that my odd-shape cell phone fits into
- extendible pen (may seem silly but I've ruined many good purses on account of a ball point pen that lost its cap at the bottom of my bag)
- I can use the wristlet strap to attach the wallet to the strap on my purse (again, silly? but ever since I was at the checkout line at the grocery store and realized my wallet had fallen out of my purse at home, I'm extra cautious.)
- combines everything that was in my wallet plus my little "extra" bag of antibacterial wipes, chapstick, receipts, and the ever useful tiny tub of play-doh
- I can easily carry this without another bag

Cons:
- when open it's a little floppy so I keep waiting for all of the contents to fall out (if this happens I think I will have to go back to the drawing board)
- may drive you crazy if you carry lots of credit cards or are accustomed to displaying them all since there is just a single pocket to hold them plus your Brusters ice cream punch cards
- I rarely carry cash anymore which I'm guessing is the growing trend but it was a little annoying having to put my dollars in the zippered pouch with my change

There's only one way to put a wallet to the test, I better go shopping, hahaha.

I'll be Your Cheerleader for Life

The phrase around the house as of late is 'need to go potty?'. For some reason (and despite everyone telling me that Anna would go potty in her own time and not to push it) I thought spring would be a perfect time for potty training and so we have started with varying degrees of success from day to day.

This morning as Anna went on the potty and we celebrated by singing and dancing around the house I realized something valuable - Anna needs a cheerleader, as we all do. Someone to tell her when she's doing something right and not just correct her when she does something wrong. She needs someone to encourage her when she doesn't think she can do something (the saddest part of my week last week was when Anna was sitting on the potty and said 'Mommy this is too hard for me - I can't do this'). She needs some to celebrate with her in her successes and say 'it's ok' when she messes up. I've seen Anna's confidence grow in just a few weeks as she has seen she can do this and it makes me smile.

Potty training is probably not going to be complete anytime soon and I agree with the others that she will get it when she is ready. But in the process, I'm going to continue to be her cheerleader.

Mother's Day Gift

This year for Mother's Day I got a ring from Nelle & Lizzy. It is a double silver ring with Anna and Madelyn's names imprinted on it. I absolutely love it; thanks hubby!



Another added treat is that Anna can say 'Happy Mother's Day' and has been saying it to me all day without prompting. So sweet!

A Growing Girl

Maddie had her one year checkup today:

Weight: 22 lbs 6 1/2 ounces (70%)
Height: 30 1/4 inches (80%)
Head: 47 1/4 centimeters (95%)

Maddie has transitioned well to being a year old. She enjoys facing forward in the car and seems to have transitioned well from bottle and formula to a sippy cup with whole milk. BUT there are a few new things that I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with.

First is meal time. I daily have flashbacks to meals with Anna around the one year mark. Maddie has gone from a girl who would eat anything put on her plate to only eating select items and throwing the remaining (which is almost everything) onto the ground. This makes mealtime at home hard, but eating out is almost unbearable. For example, in order to keep Maddie from throwing an absolute fit while we were having lunch out today, I let her have a fruit cup and goldfish as a meal :(.

Second is nap time. As it now stands Anna no longer takes a nap (may play in her room for about 30 minutes) and Maddie sleeps anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour once a day (and sometimes this is in the car). I have to admit I am absolutely worn out. I talked to the doctor and he recommended setting a timer (~90 minutes) and having her stay in her crib the entire time. Ideally her naps will gradually lengthen. I guess I'll put this on my list of things to start on Monday.

Maddie's Birthday Day!

Good morning birthday girl!



A trip to Marbles Kid's Museum:



Sitting in her birthday chair:



Ending the day with birthday pudding: