Toddler Photography

We first started letting Declan handle our little blue digital camera as a bribe for taking belly pictures of Firecracker (aka Evan).  And back then I was so cautious... it was our honeymoon camera we bought with  wedding money... don't drop it Declan!!

But now the joy (and countless moments) it has engaged him, it could drop and break tomorrow and  have been worth it... (plus our phones take better pics now!)

Of course most of the 600+ pics I have deleted look like this:

Although quite focused... I had probably 40 shots alone of feet in different outfits:)

And 20 of carpet

And 20 of Mr. Pointer

But here are some keepers:

Selfie 

Tent he made for Auntie B too!

I do love how many pics of Evan and me he has gotten as this activity is often used when I need to feed Evan and I have had enough Mickey Twice is Nice Christmas on Netflix!  

"Momma, I taking a pic of the picture room!"

He helped me make Evan laugh during "photo shoot" but had his camera too!

My fav! Though I don't think Croix was a fan as the flash was on!

Sleep!!

It's my thing... I have said it before in this blog and will probably say it again, but I LOVE and NEED sleep.  (And a hiccup this past week with my 2.5 year old crawling in our bed has reminded me fully of that!)

I am VERY grateful I had two full term, good latching, healthy, not colicky boys. And I know there are different personalities of even babies, but when people say I am lucky to have good sleepers, I don't believe it was all luck.  Here are things I learned before my firstborn was here and thru child #2

1)  Babywise was the guide book I followed via many recommendations of friends who had 3 months old sleeping 7-10 hr stretches!  I knew cosleeping/baby in our room wasn't for me as I am a light sleeper! Has recommended schedules but so does a babywisemom blog.

2)  Eat Wake Sleep Eat Wake Sleep is cycle to start striving for from 2 weeks on. Premise is fuller feedings because baby is rested, and lay them down while they are in their zoning out, tired phase before they are asleep.  Really believe this sleep

3)  DO wake a sleeping baby during day to EAT then PLAY... DO lay a baby down to sleep at last bedtime feeding and middle of night feedings if night!

4) After day EATING and PLAYING, SLEEP baby in one or two locations where they learn this is where they sleep putting them down awakish.

5)  DON'T wake a sleeping healthy growing baby during the night. (Or yourself to pump unless desperate to build supply for work return.)   DON'T go get a baby at first sound in crib during night or nap.  Make sure they are up and not falling back asleep. 

6) Research safe sleep environments and sleep baby on back... and try stop swaddling around 2 months, especially if attending daycares... they can't be in swaddles there.  (I learned there were 54 infant deaths in MN in 2014, and 52 were preventable!)

7) Good sleep brings on good sleep!  Routines are important.  BUT be flexible too... even when you all start getting good nights, they will get sick, teeth, regressions, etc... but you know easier they need you when they have had good sleep.

8) Study their cries.  They will have a different tired/fussy cry vs a hunger cry.  My first would cry for 5ish minutes most times whether I held him or not so I was ok laying him down knowing sleep is what he needed.

9) ASK FOR HELP! Dad's and family need to know if you are desperate for naps or after feedings wake dad to hold if baby unsetteled

10)  Good sleep makes them smarter.  At least I read something like that in my other favorite baby prep book: Baby Brain Rules.
And because I could get chores and work done while they slept on their own, I had time to rock them and sing and play on the floor with them when they were happy and awake!  (But of course holding for some naps during tv show netflix marathons happened too, just not every one!)

Good "luck" Momma's!

Christmas Letter 2015

This has to be one of my favorite things to write all year as reflection and gratitude of the great moments always trump the hard times!  The few stressful moments of our year were also the best moments!  Moving and having a newborn filled me with wild emotions matching Declan's toddler extremes!!  Ultimate excitement and happiness, quickly followed by (unnecessary) fear and sadness.  But everything works out the way it was supposed to, and 2015 was definitely one of the best years of our lives!

Our travels of this year (and the next few years I'm sure) kept us close with lots of short trips to Wisconsin over Easter , to the Dells and attending the PGA Championship at Whistling Straights for Evan's first vacation! We got to be there for St. Nick's day/Timmy's birthday this past weekend too!   We didn't get to see and fireworks at Whiteface cabin this year awaiting Firecracker's arrival!  But our California family made it to Hutch to meet Evan before they headed back to the west coast and that meant a ton to us!  We are hoping to "repay" the visit and get there in 2016!

Andy is no longer in the world of blue tape and is now working in SAP (Systems Applications and Products) at the 3M center.  I may be getting a little too used to this "not-working" thing basically being "off" since June, but I think I worked 2x as hard most days than teaching!  It was a full time job relocating with a newborn and unpacking our new home, but my extended maternity leave couldn't have been better timing.  It would have been 10x more stressful if I had been working.  Back to HLWW in January and excited to see my students and coworkers!

 Declan is busy being a chef everyday with his "tool".  He loves books, Netflix, music, art, trucks and trains!  He is getting lucky still asking for new parks but completing our Hutch Park Tour was a ton of fun!   Evan is working hard as a 5 month old flipping all over and scooting already to what he wants.  His two brothers (Dec and Croix) are his favorite people getting the best belly giggles out of him!  Croix loves the new house since it is so close to a small walking park and a 10 minute car ride to a great dog park.  Bouncer and Fuzzy have plenty of places to hide from hug tackling Declan and his friends' that chased them all over the place at our housewarming party.

The winter snow we did have got us ready for the Christmas season with candy canes, snowmen and painting snow!  We had fun decorating our tree and learned today in the kid's Bible App why we decorate trees.  Declan is having fun finding our elf, Happy Glitterballs, every morning and kissing baby Jesus goodnight before prayers thanking him for his birthday month and being the best gift!  We will see Santa ride by on a firetruck tonight before we unwrap our Christmas book for stories! I love the fun traditions we are starting and continuing and looking forward to fondue on Christmas Eve in our new home!  We wish your family a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday season and a marvelous 2016! 

10 reasons to join a (big) gym

Ok, joining any gym is awesome for you and your body, but these 10 reasons aren't mostly about my health... they stem around some random perks I didn't know how much I would enjoy when we joined "a big gym" after our move!  In no particular order:

#10: Cheapest childcare around... we pay 20$ A MONTH for both boys.. they can stay up to 2 hrs a time... do the math... way less than a dollar an hour if we make out 12 visits!!

#9: Mommy guilt-free me time. .. I am working out to be healthier to live longer for them, right??

#8: Me time... even if you don't wanna "work-out", hot tub or walk on the treadmill for the news

#7: Variety in classes and activites... I get bored doing the same thing... now I can continue to mix it up with Zumba, cycle, yoga, swimming, racquetball, volleyball, lifting!

#6: Save money on not buying hottubs, pools, treadmills, etc. you don't use enough and don't have to maintain.

#5: Use up all those hotel shampoos and soaps you know you take (while enjoying a shower on their water bill with no kids banging on the door crying that Netflix has stopped!)

#4: Blogging and reading blogs in the sauna... (That's where I started this blog!)

#3: Sleep better and have more energy... they say working out regularly does these things but always hard to believe until you feel it!

#2: Get some education with the free personal training consultation. It was interesting to use the body fat hand machine and have them working you to an intensity you maybe wouldn't push yourself.  Of course they try to sell you sessions with a trainer, and definitely do that if you can afford it, but I can't so figured there had to be an app for that!  I am using the JEFIT app for workout plan ideas to mix up my strength training.

#1: For us, reuniting with college friends who we played racquetball with has been a ton of fun. Even Andy and I having "date" matches where I make up rules to even the handicap bring us back to the dating years!

My Toddler Mom Hacks

Every mom has had that moment where just getting out of the house has made you feel like a superhero.  I wish I could be like my husband and just leave and not expect the worst by having snacks, water bottles, hidden toys, etc... but I am a worrier and planner by nature and sometimes I wish I could change that but other times, I just have to accept it and like myself :) 

These are a few of my personal mom hacks (aka Superhero triumphs!) for my toddler I have put to use on my maternity leave and wanted to share.  If you are expecting or have a newborn, tricks that worked for us on are this blog.    If you want to see some definite mom fails too, keep reading because maybe they could work for you!

1) Put Dec's shoes in my purse.   I have only forgot his shoes once and thankfully nowhere we really needed them but I was sick of putting them on before we were out of the driveway shouting so proudly, "Mama, I got my shoes off!"  Yeah, Declan, just yeah...

2) Load him in the car first with a book. I can let Croix out, pack Evan and make sure I have the "Mom's survival kit". Take him out of the car last... that one should have been common sense but it took him sprinting away from me in a parking lot to learn my lesson!

3) Let him read an I Spy/Find it book before nap.  We had a couple of days with a power battle for napping but when I said he could look at his book, it was done.  He looks for 1-15 minutes some days, but always conks out.  When he decides naps are over someday a long long time from now, at least I can try and enforce some book quiet time.

4) Visual Schedule   So this was mostly for me at first to keep a routine on leave!  I wanted to limit TV while I committed to some Time In with Declan as unpacking was going to make me want to always "work"!  Plus I had a goal of helping him learn to play better by himself.  When I am working,  I wanted to be with him every moment I wasn't.  But now... nope... he's got to give me some space and share me with Evan!!  Plus, I didn't want to neglect Croix boy and getting outside we feel and sleep better!  Even with it getting cooler, we are out most days twice!

5) Declan doing cooking/completing chores with me.  Yes, it slows down the process but gonna enjoy it as long as he likes and willing to wash pans, clean toilets, vacuum, wash windows, crack eggs, stir mixing bowls, he is welcome to help!

6) Toy Rotating!!!

This is probably my favorite discovery I learned about on Pinterest! Basement always has big toys but we aren't down there everyday so those are always fun, but the toy shelf in the playroom is all I fill now with 6-8 things.   When Declan gets clingy, I rotate from a closet I don't want him discovering... and it is like Christmas!  Plus, he plays longer and is more imaginative with less.  My personal selfish reason is cleanup is a breeze with less!  

7) Storytelling Fairytales/Fables:  This started as an "abuse prevention" during nursing sessions. (Dec may have hit Evan a few too many times...)  But now I love them too as it saves me in car rides from singing of Wheels/Old MacDonald/etc... you get the picture! And he asks others to tell Three Pigs, Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood and is noting differences!  Then Youtube videos save the day when I'm making lunch and he points out differences too  (Some are a little more truthful/scary than my endings so I am previewing them better now!!)

8)  On "abusive"/serious rule breaking moments... I took away warnings (because they always resulted in one more hit/bite to poor Evan to test me) and immediately carry Dec to his room and close door (child proof knob on inside!) for his time-away/reset with no words said.  (I quit using phrase timeout as he was putting us in them!) And honestly I think I did this 3 times and all abuse towards Evan has stopped.

And now onto my "Fails"!   I am missing teaching a bit so the web is my platform where I like to share what has worked for us to maybe help a mom or two out because this parenting thing is HARD.  But believe me, I "fail" everyday and work hard to get over it and not be guilty, because this parenting thing is HARD!

1)  Good Morning Timer nightlight.  We put the Time to Wake/Teach time clock on Dec's Christmas list and still want it, but tried just a nightlight on a timer for a few days.  Mistake number one was it not being high enough because Dec would play with dials and the switches and just turn it on... "Mom, good morning light is on!"  @ 500 am... guess what, we didn't set it for that!

2) Potty training:  I quit after 6 hours... neither of us was ready!  He clearly wasn't screaming in fear of toilet once the novelty wore off (because he did pee once that morning on potty when I loaded with juice and bribed with candy)  I don't think he does know when he pees, and my head cold gave me no patience.  I also told myself this leave was technically for Evan and he was fussy from his shots the day before I was feeling like a guilty failure!  Maybe we will try again in few weeks, but I don't hate diapers and he won't go to K in them!  Just making him not afraid of the toilets is enough for now.  Just because he is so verbal, doesn't mean he is ready for everything Andy and I have to remind ourselves often!  

3) Visual Schedule... well Dec is my son and likes routine and he has pointed out (aka tantrums) if we vary from the schedule a bit...Or if he wants to watch more TV or wants more music (aka YouTube) he is happy to point out it is that time when it isn't!  But really over all we have liked this!

4) I don't really consider any of these a true "fail" but before becoming a parent I swore the dog in our bed was enough and no kids would sleep with us.  Well, don't ever judge how you'll be as a parent until you are a parent!  But Dec is now waking up scared/wanting us and our bed almost every night.  Sometimes we get him to stay in his bed and fall back to sleep, but others we bring him to ours.  I don't mind it always, but I sleep so crappy and Andy's alarm going off gets him up 3 almost an hour before he usually would, so advice is welcomed! But PTL Evan is sleeping thru the night most nights... sometimes I visit him at 430 (which also stirs/wakes Dec if he is in our bed!!)  And thankfully Declan goes down for the night and naps willingly in his bed so maybe just dreams but if something has worked for you, advice please!

If you have any mom hacks that make you feel like the superhero you are too, comment away! 

Dear Evan, You're 4 Months Old!

Dearest Evan!

It has been a super fun month watching you love the world with your smiles and full belly giggles! And lately the past two weeks you have found your voice and talk and yell and SCREECH happily so loud!  You are social now and not ok with just hanging out in your swing or turtle mat if we walk out of the room.  

We had a fun housewarming party Saturday and lots of Hutch friends came back to see you and our new house and everyone said you are so big already.  And you have your own look and don't look much like your brother did as a baby!  You can tell you two are brothers but thinking maybe you will have more Linehan/Purkat in you!

You have been such a trooper with all the field trips we go on with your brother and you just love watching him play and watching all the other kids at library, ECFE Pop-in-and-Play School, parks and friend's houses!

We got to meet the cutest peanut Kaiden too! (Scott & Amara's new son!)  Seeing you two next to each other just astounds me how fast 4 months goes!  You were double his weight and have almost doubled your own birth weight... by 6 months I'm guessing you will!  You both snoozed until you woke up super fussy and in pain from your shots at dr today!  Made me sad but you 

Age: 4 months

Weight: 14lb 2oz  30%

Length:   25 1/4"    60%
Head:  16 3/4"   75%
BMI for age: 15  14% 

Feats/Mobility:  You have rolled from back to tummy now a few times, especially when cranking your neck to see the TV... You have watched hours more TV than your brother did... especially his only/favorite show Little Einsteins.  We'll be getting you into Signing Time soon! 

Likes:  Your big brother and your puppy Croix, especially him giving you kisses!  You love grabbing your footsies, especially if you have fun socks or pj feet that have animals on!  You will hold on forever!
Dislikes:  You have had a little cold, growth spurt and possible tooth coming out and had a fussy week a couple weeks ago.   You hate a wet diaper more than I remember your brother.  You also are not a fan of transitions for the first minute when you were content where ever you were, especially getting in your car seat.    Daylight Savings... oh wait, that is me who hates that... But you had been wanting to be awake at 430/5 again after you were sleeping til 6/630!!  We are all adjusted but you still were not until today! 630 again! Wahooo!  But really, you are one happy, great sleeper of a baby and you love your little world!

I love you for all that you are, and all that you're yet to be!

Mommy

Pinterest Projects in our new home!

My friend Meghan, in her assistance through her blooming business Designing our Dream Life, turned me on to Pinterest... But in the best way possible for me and my attempt at limiting technology/internet-time-suckers.  I hate to be too wired during these precious golden years with my littles!

So she did all the pinning for me with ideas I have seen from friends or shows and found articles to help with all my questions!    Plus, I wanted to use materials I had or could buy cheap... Owning two house for a couple months wasn't exactly cheap while repairing the Hutch one lots too :) She helped me accomplish projects with her ideas fast and assisted in doing our gallery wall.  (A definite two person job!) If you have projects ideas and want the extra assistance and encouragement to run design ideas by her, definitely check out her website and give her a call!  It may just be the extra motivation you need to get projects done to enjoy living in your home NOW! :) 

( Molly... I feel like I have copied half your house with some of these things... hope you truly don't mind and take it as a compliment!)

But thanks again Meghan for helping me with questions and showing me Pinterest for all our ideas!

Our new office desk:

I truly love this because the door is from our old house.. It was the kitchen doorway we closed off when we won the Ugly Kitchen Contest with Richard Larson's builder, I had a night stand and wanted a file cabinet so found one of Craiglist for 10 bucks and spray painted it white! 16$ desk!  We may buy glass for the top someday, but may not as I like it for crafts/photos/wrapping presents and using laptop on it and it has worked with the indents for all that so far. 

Homemade cornice boards:
Haven't done these yet... it is last on my list and trying to find the perfect fabric/tableclothes at a cheap price but below is a pic so you can imagine!

Gallery family photo wall:

SO MUCH FUN!  And we USE the dining room almost every evening because we want to see our pictures.  And if you don't know the toothpaste trick for hanging up frames, it is amazing.  I can't believe all the years I spent measuring and penciling frames!


Special photos on knobs:

Photo cred to my dearest Sarah! The knobs were .99 cent kitchen cabinet knobs from Menards that slid right over the nail!


And found lots of little organizing tips that were easy to do too!

Spice shelves/racks and utensils:

And ya, I alphabetized them... I'm a dork like that. 

Bath toy buckets:








Had mold/gunk growing on the corner one... but then did try washing that and seems good.  But these are working well for bath toy rotating and not millions of toys in tub too!












Milk can:

 Ok, I just spray painted it but I saw it on Pinterest and that gave me the idea to match our front door!

Clothes organizing: 

And if you missed my closet purging blog/how to fold clothes different, I did that too thanks to Pinterest, the freedom in moving and getting rid of things you don't use and don't bring you joy, and book tips in The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:

Bouncer Approved!

Our home is HOME now.  Projects virtually done (well... still sorting basement room for sale/donations in two weeks) but we love it here and look forward to just cleaning regular messes now!