Activity Table Fun

I've mentioned on here that we've had some great experiences with Craiglist within the past year and I can officially add one more to our list! I negotiated this Step 2 Play Picnic Table that normally retails for $70 down to only $20 last weekend! I've been looking for some type of activity table after seeing so many fun sensory activities in the blogging world and am in LOVE with this table that doubles as a picnic table!

Here's how we brought a new sensation to our little man one evening earlier this week!

Step 1: Purchase cheap lizards and some very fine sand.

Step 2: Let the kid experience the sand first however he chooses including throwing it all over himself, tasting it,  etc.

Step 3: Show him how to bury the lizards in the sand and then take them out.

Step 4: Sit back, relax and enjoy your beer while you watch the wheels turn.

Bath Time

I don't think I've ever mentioned this on here, but up until about a month and a half ago, Derek and I would take turns joining Drew in the water for his bath. It started out of necessity as our bath is super high and leaning over was not the most comfortable. And then it became a way to keep Drew IN the tub. (He wasn't too fond of being in there by himself.)

After our vacation to Sanibel, it just happened to be a nice transition period for him to bathe alone. We didn't get in with him at the cottage and he had so much entertainment that I think he realized it was A-Ok to fly solo.

He still fusses for about 5 seconds right when you put him in, but once he's sprayed by his water froggy or sees his boat, all is well in the world.

Weekend Outdoors

The only thing I had planned for this weekend was a quick trip to a local Greek festival. I figured we could enjoy the music, food and hopefully a kids area. When we arrived (after they opened), they were still setting up and there was probably 4 other cars there. Ugh. (I later googled about it only to find out  it's more of a drinking type festival for adults with bars and bands playing till the wee hours of the night.)

Oh well.

We got our gyro's and baklava and that's really the main point of attending a Greek festival right? The rest of the weekend was spent outdoors and was pretty low key. We went on a jog in the Metroparks, did some housework, took the girls for a walk, went to church, got groceries, watched a movie and that's about it! Sunday evening, however, was my favorite. We went back to the Metropark for some good ole time with mother nature. We followed a couple trails off the beaten path into the woods and down to the water breathing in the most fresh of air and splashing in the water as the birds sang around us.

It was calm. And quiet. And Drew picked up on that. He barely made a peep as he watched animals and soaked up every sound and sight.

I love our high volume of electronic-less nights. They are good for my soul.

7 Years

Derek,
     On this day, 7 years ago, I made a pledge to stand by your side for the rest of my life. I made a vow to love you with all of my heart unconditionally and remain your best friend and rock through thick and thin. I was so excited, and nervous, and happy, and scared and many more emotions that now seem so silly. It was just the first day of the rest of our lives as partners/lovers/soul mates and it's been an almost perfect journey since that day. You have made me so happy and I am so blessed to have truly found the one that I will spend the rest of my life with. Thank you again, for another wonderful year as my husband. You really are my best friend in the world.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

The Data Speaks

Everyone is entitled to make parental decisions on their own, but there are some subjects that I'm passionate about and need to discuss on here. I've seen a lot of people on facebook, instagram, the blogging world etc posting pictures of their little ones forward-facing in their cars lately. We're talking some as young as 11 months old. I realize that some of us have tall toddlers, but that's no excuse to turn them around. The "rear-facing until 1" standard was thrown out YEARS ago and people are now rear-facing their children up to 3 and 4 years old!

Here are the main two reasons why I chose to rear-face:

A) It's what the pediatricians recommend. One of the first questions my pediatrician asks is if Drew is still rear-facing at every single check up. Some people trust certain websites, some people trust old wives tales, some people trust just their gut. Personally, I trust my pediatrician as well as the American Academy of Pediatricians. There is so much information out there, but this is my go-to source for all things baby. Do these people changing their young children to forward-facing not have pediatricians hounding them about this?

• This is directly from their website:

  Infants and toddlers—rear-facing

  The AAP recommends that all infants should ride rear-facing starting with their first ride home from the hospital. All infants and toddlers should ride in a Rear-Facing Car Seatuntil they are 2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car seat’s manufacturer.

B) The data. It speaks for itself.

• Rear-facing car seats spread front crash forces over the whole area of a child's back, head and neck; they also prevent the head from snapping relative to the body in a frontal crash.
• A 2007 study in the Journal of Injury Prevention found that rear-facing toddlers under the age of 2 were 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured in a crash. 75 percent people!!!!!
• In the same article, they stress that 2-year olds and under were FIVE TIMES SAFER riding rear-facing than forward!
• According to the NHTSA, a rear-facing car seat is 71 percent safer than no restraint at all, where a forward-facing car seat is only 54 percent safer than no restraint at all.
• Forward-facing seats only show a 77% injury reducing effect whereas rear-facing shows a 96% injury reducing effect.
• In a crash test, it was also found that toddlers in forward-facing seats have 300kg forced onto their necks in a 30mph crash whereas rear-facing toddlers have only 50kg to handle.

For now, Drew is a tall, happy rear-facing baby and will stay that way until he is at least 2. I would urge all parents out there to let the above stats really soak in. Are you willing to risk your child's life just to turn him around? Forget the old myth that it's uncomfortable for them. It's not. they just prop their legs up or cross them and are more concerned about looking out windows and/or playing with toys than their comfort. 

Please understand there's no judging from this momma. To each his own and I truly believe that, however, I just want to educate my readers!

Planes and Helicopters and Guns Oh My!

This past Sunday the weather was muggy, hot and just plain gross outside. It was one of those hazy days where the humidity just spikes and you feel like you want to shower after just 5 minutes of being outside. We didn't let our sweaty backs and greasy faces stop us from venturing down to Cleveland Marine Week and their exhibits. Essentially, there was a tons of planes, guns, helicopters, armored trucks, and of course, hundreds of marines. Poor guys having to be in full uniform in that disgusting weather. YUCK!

Let me back up for a quick sec and post a picture of the pumpkin pancakes I made for Derek for Father's Day! I used this recipe and they were really quite tasty. It's not the best heart, but it's the thought that counts.

Once our tummy's were full, and our skin lathered up with spf 700 lotion, we headed downtown to see the events. This was definitely a great thing to do on father's day and I just sat back and watched as Derek took Drew up to each vehicle.

After that, we tried to attempt a working dog show that was part of their festivities, but after about 10 min in, Drew was done. He was hot, tired, hungry and ready to head home. After a 30 min hike back to the car with an unhappy toddler, I couldn't yearn for a time machine anymore than at that moment to get me home fast. When I say that I literally jumped into the shower the minute we got back, I'm not kidding. We quickly fed Drew, got him down for a nap and then I sprinted to the cold water. It felt so good to get all the sweat off more than it ever has before!

I'm kinda excited for a down weekend this coming one. It will be nice just to relax and enjoy our little man without having anywhere to be. I love nothing more than getting out and attending festivals, parades, exhibits, etc, but the most important thing it just quality time.

And who wouldn't want to just hang out and play with this guy all day?

Baby Robins

Some robins decided to make their nest in our cherry blossom this spring and I've been creeping on them since they were itty bitty. One little guy was kicked out early, but 4 others remained all fuzzy and cute waiting for their mamma to bring them food. All safe and warm in their cute little nest they just sat watching the world go by.

And then this picture-obsessed mommy blogger had to stick the camera lens in their face and cause mass chaos.

I mean, feathers everywhere, all four babies attempting to fly out of the nest running into walls and slamming into the ground. Oh lord did I get teary as I just realized what I had caused. The mom had called the father and at least two other robins to help in the mess and try and protect the little ones. They flapped and chirped with all their little might at me sending me farther into panic mode as I evaluated what had just happened. I tried to tell myself they'd be ok as they could fly a little bit, but that wasn't enough. I got my gloves and chased them around, finally nabbing one and plopping him back into his nest while its mother is screaming at me to get away. The others were too quick and a couple had made it up on high (safe) ground.

I haven't seen the babies in the last few days so I'm hoping they are high up in a tree somewhere safe from the neighborhood cats and other baby-snatchers. Or at least safe from humans who want to get up-close pictures.

Oh yeah, and here's the one little picture I got before I ruined the little family's lives.....

Happy Fathers Day

Let me start by saying that I'm so very grateful for my father and everything he has done for me my entire life. I'm also grateful for my father-in-law and the part he plays as a role model for Derek as a father.

But this post is about Derek. The father of my little man. The person who has exceeded my every expectation of what a father to my child could be. The person who I'm excited for Drew to look up to and learn from.

Thank you, Derek, for the unconditional love and support you have shown Drew. This journey of first time parenthood is a crazy one, but I'm so glad I'll have you to go through it with. Although Drew can't talk yet, we can all see the love through his eyes when you walk into a room. To him, you are the most perfect man in the world and I know that reign will never end.

Happy Father's Day Derek!

Duct Tape Festival

Huh? Duct Tape? Yep! The city of Avon, Ohio is a mass producer of this heavy duty tape and therefore they have an annual festival to celebrate themselves! Do you see the reoccurring theme around these parts? Yep... people like to celebrate themselves. Fine by me as it's just more events for us to take Drew to!

This three day event started Friday, but we attended the parade this morning and then wandered around the festival for a bit. The floats were SO neat considering they had to incorporate duct tape onto them somehow. Who knew how many uses this versatile product had!

Drew's favorite floats were obviously those that had animals on or around them. At one point, about 25 mini-horses walked by all dressed up and I think Drew squealed for about 10 minutes straight as he pointed to them.

Then we spotted some Ducks across the parade route and ran over for a quick visit.

The festival part was pretty lame. The hot sun beating down on us didn't help, but it was just your 'ole run of the mill fairground rides, games and exhibits manned by scuzzy creeps. We grabbed our corn dog and headed out about 15 min of wandering around. So glad we saw the parade though!

Picnic at the Park

During my run this morning I decided that I wanted to have a picnic tonight with my two boys. I knew it was going to be a gorgeous night and we needed to be outside to enjoy the fresh air. 

I guess you could say it was a mothers intuition, but it turned out to be the perfect night. With airplanes flying overhead, we watched tons of dogs playing fetch in the water and noticed that a kayak-er had even come ashore. I realized, as we strolled through the pockets of sunlight through the trees, that I often feel so blessed. Derek says these times are 'good for my soul' and he's right. Sitting on a blanket with my family watching birds fly by is what life is all about. And my soul feels good tonight.

 

Weekend Recap

So my little brother got in town last Wednesday and we did SO. MUCH. with him until he left early this morning. Here's a quick rundown of what we did and our thoughts in case you know anyone moving to Cleveland anytime soon! :)

• Sushi Rock - YUMMY sushi...but don't get the lettuce wraps... they are weird!
• Men in Black 3 - Pretty cheesy, but if you liked the originals, it was ok.
• Great Lakes Brewery - We had some wonderful food on the patio with gorgeous weather followed by a brewery tour for Derek and Mike.
• Parade the Circle - SLOWEST, weirdest parade we've ever been too. It was hot so we jetted early. Drew loved all the colors, but it was just a very odd, strange, make-your-own-weird-costume parade.
• Lake Erie Crushers Game - Gorgeous weather to sit on the lawn and enjoy a game. Drew loved throwing his ball and watching the older boys around him play. 
• Mapleside Farms - Enjoyed some old cars, apple fritters and the views once again. We love this place!
• Harry Buffalo - Perfectly greasy, huge, plates of yummy food. I think my salad was big enough to feed a small country.
• Prometheus - Kinda different than what I expected, but overall it was good. Probably would have been worth the extra $$ to see it in the Imax theater.
• Horseshoe Casino - Crowded, tons of sketchy people and horrible bartenders. Glad we went to see what Cleveland's first casino was like, but we might not be back ever!
• Zocalo - Delicious sangria and a great patio to sit and people watch!

On top of all of that, we grilled out, had hours of playtime with Drew, played tennis, gave the dogs a bath and even took them on a couple of jogs! WHEW! I feel like my brother was in town for a week as we packed so much into 4 days. 

Anywho - here's a few pics from his visit followed by a little instagram collage....

Family Beach Pictures

So for my parents 40th wedding anniversary, I arranged for a photographer to take some beach shots of us all dressed in the traditional white and khaki. For it being super muggy out and Drew having suffered his burn earlier that day, I think the pictures turned out well.

Instead of posting a ton of collages of pictures from our beach session, here are a few of my favs! Obviously the two in the header of Drew are my favorite of him, but there were so many cute ones!

My big family:

My little family:

My parents:.

And I couldn't leave this as a boring picture-show-off post, so I'll leave you with a few of my favorite bloopers. If you look closely, you'll see crazy faces, eyes closed, squinting, sneezing, shirt adjusting and much more! I'm so glad our photographer included

And what beach shoot is complete without baby throwing, grandma chasing, dolphin spotting and the cheesy-but-fun family jump pic?

________________________________________________

And on another note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my BFF Michelle!! Love you tons! 

Lake Erie Family Fest

Our friends told us about the Lake Erie Family Fest this past Sunday and we spent a couple hours there checking out the animals and walking around the center. After we bought Drew a duck for the duck race, we explored around seeing animals, birds and reptiles. Drew got to touch a possum, bunny, turtle and even the side of a lizard. Derek and I avoided the GYNORMOUS python that was out for touching. Um... no thanks.

It was amazing watching him roam from exhibit to exhibit. I'm not sure when the shift from early-walker to independent toddler who knows what he's doing and sure on his feet happened. All I know is that it was quick.

He has likes now. He has dislikes. He knows what animals he wants to touch and he hesitates on some understanding they could potentially hurt him. I love seeing him reason and think out ideas in his head. They way he studies and processes internally makes me believe he'll be an introvert like his dad and much unlike myself. 

I also realized Sunday that I had not seen fear in my child before. I'm sure he's felt scared before internally, but I have never seen it overtake his body and actions.

Although the picture is kinda blurry, this lizard was a couple feet from Drew (behind the glass) when he started to walk towards him. You could see Drew's face show signs of fear as he realized what was coming towards him and he slowly began to back up. Once he was a few feet from the exhibit, he looked up at us with these wide eyes that could fill up with water at any second. As much as we told him it was ok and it was a good lizard, he didn't go up to that glass again and needed some hugs to make everything ok. I guess the emotion of fear is good for a toddler to have. I don't want him to get too close to random creatures or things he's unsure of. But still, it was crazy to see a new emotion played out so vividly!

We're On a Roll

I feel like we've done so much these past few weekends and I. AM. LOVING. IT. You see, up here in Cleveland, there's not a ton to do in months November, December, January and February. Sure there's the rainforest part of the zoo, or the Children's Museum, but as far as fun, annual events, it's pretty limited. I've always said that the city does a great job making up for rough winters by having SO much to offer May through August. I'm trying to take advantage of everything there is to offer up here with my little family of three!

Saturday morning we drove to the Lakewood "Meet The Trucks" event. Everything from a tractor to a fire engine, to a police SWAT vehicle to a city recycling truck was there and Drew had a blast! He honked some horns, toured a police boat, watched the 'trash talkers' perform and we all simply enjoyed the 70 and sunny weather.

We even ran into our friends after petting a doggie!

Drew had so much fun and we will definitely be back at this event next year!

Birthday Wishes to The Best Dad

Each year I think of everything I could write about you on your birthday but always end up just keeping it short. I love that we don't need a blog post to show our appreciation and love for one another. We are so blessed to have such a great relationship and I couldn't be more proud to say you are my husband and the father of my child. I'm so thankful to your parents for bringing you into this world and for God deciding you were my soul mate. Today, we celebrate another year of growing older and wiser together and I can't wait to celebrate many more!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEREK!

xoxo