When I ask him to give me a kiss, he plants a big slobbery wet one on my lips. He walks over to give me hugs all day long and waits for me at the bottom of the stairs, yelling until I come back. He certainly doesn't like when I leave the room and follows me every time I do, often times gnawing on the bottom of my shirt or scratching at my pants. He's definitely in a strong Mama phase, though if we're being honest, I secretly hope this is one he never grows out of. Here's hoping he still loves me this much at 18 years old...minus the shirt eating ;) He's becoming much more independent, acting upset when I try to feed him because he can do it himself (or so he tries) and is also very proud of his nightly teeth brushing routine, pushing his stool to the sink and brushing up and down, just like Mom. It's fair to say we spend almost every waking minute together and yes, there are some inevitable moments where I'm grinding my teeth, counting down the seconds until I get a break (especially after cabin fever builds up during the polar vortex)!. But, then the break comes, and I just end up looking at pictures of him or blogging about him ;) He's growing up beautifully and is the love of my life.
What He's Up To...
Eating:
Fruit: Even when he's going through a food freeze and refusing to eat, he'll still chow down on fruit. He almost never refuses it, especially its blackberries (obsessed), strawberries, blueberries, grapes and most recently, cherries. We've started going to Costco for our weekly fruit haul because he goes through it so fast and we can't keep up. Also, I don't remember the last time I had a damn strawberry because there's none left by the time I get to them. Just sayin!
Mac & Cheese: The bane of every parents existence. I try pretty hard to diversify his eating habits and choices but when it comes down to it, his taste is pretty simple and he just wants to devour Annie's mac which I've come to love as well because let's be honest, I usually scarf his cold leftovers for lunch. Gotta rotate between the white cheddar shells and the classic blue box to keep things fresh and interesting over here.
Meatballs: Loves 'em. The ones from Buona Beef are his jam but he doesn't discriminate.
Pizza: Makes sense, because we've been participating in "Pizza Friday" with Mike's parents for as long as I've been in the Family (and his whole life before me!) so it's basically in Ro's blood/DNA/all that jazz. On new years eve, he ate an entire mini pizza and still had room for appetizers and dessert. When he wants to, he can certainly pack it away!
Dino Chicken Tenders: Because who wants to eat them in a normal shape?
French Toast Sticks: I won't lie - These have become a Family favorite. Frozen box from Aldi, pop them in the micro (but better in the oven) and enjoy. Holy cow, are those good! Remember when I used to eat healthy for breakfast? Me either.
Playing:
Overall: Ro is slowly getting better at independent play. Though, because I am home with him 3x a week, he is used to me being around him alllll day long so he still prefers me to be close, if not, directly interacting with him in whatever he is doing. I have noticed recently, his attention span has improved and he will play with one toy for longer periods of time instead of moving from thing to thing every 2 minutes. He is MOST interested in whatever I am doing at the time - If it's dishes, he tries to take them out/put them in...If it's baking, he HAS to stand at the counter with me, so I pull up his helper stool and he helps me add ingredients in and watches the mixer...If I'm drying my hair, he follows me into the bathroom and flushes the toilet incessantly. As frustrating as some of these things can be in the moment (because everything takes 10x longer), I also think it's adorable how he wants to imitate us and very sweet watching him try and often, clapping because he's so proud of himself .
Hape Toys: If there was a "Mom's favorite children's toy" category, this brand would definitely win mine. I am a HUGE fan of their products and if I had to start over with our toy collection, I would probably buy exclusively from them. Hape Toys is one of the world’s largest producers of toys made from sustainable materials. The products are creatively designed, eco-friendly and so good at fostering imagination and age-appropriate learning basics; social, sensory, physical and emotional skills.
Ronan currently loves playing with the pop up toaster set and to be honest, so do I. We spend a lot of time in the kitchen together, baking and him, just watching me make breakfast/lunch/dinner/clean so he's very interested in everything that goes on in there.
That's why he also enjoys the coffee maker which they have at our library and the grill, which we recently played with at Waterlemon. These kid-size version of adult accessories and appliances are some of the cutest and most inventive products and they definitely didn't make them like this when I was little. On our Hape wish list? The Smoothie Blender, Cash Register and Waffle Maker. Ok, I'm starting to wonder if these things are higher on my wish list than his but they're SO DAMN CUTE.
Our Library(ies): We are very fortunate to be surrounded by some of the BEST libraries in the area. Our town's library is amazing and before kids, I never knew how much I would end up utilizing it. We are here on a weekly basis, enjoying the play area, attending a story time or checking out books (which I've started to do for myself as well. Why was I buying so many for my Kindle?!). In addition to this one, we have 2-3 others in neighboring towns that we love going to and since our library card works at all of them, it makes it really convenient to check out and return no matter where we are. The Darien Library is another one of our favorites because Ro loves the kitchen setup and different baskets of activities they have to offer. The library is great when you just want to get out for a few hours and save money...you know, the opposite going to Target just to "walk around" and end up spending $100 in their dollar section. Whoops! We've also visited Woodridge, Elmhurst (mostly because there's a Brew Point inside!) and next on our list is Hinsdale. I love seeing how different they all are.
Kidstreet: This little gem is one of my favorite places to take him because there's a wide variety of things for him to do there so he's always engaged and big PLUS, the Grounds for Hope Cafe that's attached is super convenient, not to mention delicious. I typically let him play for an hour or so, meandering to each of the different rooms and then we break for a snack (and an iced coffee for Mom), before playing a little more and heading home for a nap. The rooms are huge and organized by age group so that kids can get social interaction with their own age groups, but they have the opportunity to go wherever they please. It's always clean, safe and well tended to so I feel good about bringing him here.
Waterlemon: This adorable play space is new to downtown La Grange and we're already big fans! This place is definitely a one-of-a-kind concept because it includes a boutique featuring unique children’s clothes, toys, party décor and gifts. There is also a café which serves coffee and snacks and the play place, suited for children 0-5. The decor is basically a Mom's Pinterest board dream come to life, carefully curated in trendy and stylish way, appealing to both children AND parents. Seriously, I wish our house looked like this and I'm not just talking about Ronan's play areas. Everything is clean, modern and the space is filled with every cool toy you wish your child had at home. We could spend all day here and next time we come, I fully intend to. Plus, I love that it's a Family owned operation and you can tell they are really pouring their heart and soul into it.
Funzone: This is place you go when you have cabin fever and have been stuck inside for 5 days because it's -6 degrees out and you're losing your mind (aka us recently). It's pretty close to us and is by far the cheapest of our outings at just $5 for the whole day. It has an arcade, playground for bigger kids (though Ro loves this part the most, giggling as we chase him throughout it), toddler area, bumper cars, laser tag and a decent-ish restaurant and bar inside. We recently wanted to hang out with some our friends (half who have kids and half who don't) so we all met up here for dinner because it allowed all of us to talk and have a few beers and those of us who are parents didn't have to find any babysitters. Plus, some of my guy friends got pretty into the arcade games- seriously, there really is something for everyone.
Dupage Children's Museum: This place is also in our top 5 but I feel like it requires a solid commitment because it's a bit of a hike for us to get there and there's so much to see so we just don't get there as often as I'd like. We are members because it's a great option to have in the Wintertime and they have so much to offer in addition to the museum staples. For example, we're doing "Breakfast with Daniel Tiger" soon and I look forward to trying other things like Family Night Out or Playshop. I feel so lucky to have so many amazing kind resources so close by!
Working On:
- Transitioning off the bottle: I know Mom's opinions are all over the place on this topic but for us PERSONALLY, I am not in a huge rush. Our pediatrician suggested we continue with it until at least 18 months and then see how's he doing so I've bought a few different kinds of sippy cups and try to offer milk in there sometimes. I can't say there's been a lot of (or any!) success with that so far because this kid is obsessed with his "ba ba" and my soft Mama heart just isn't ready to go through the process yet. Much like everything else we've done together, I feel he will let me know when he is more ready. That or, his 2nd birthday will come around and I'll have to put my foot down 😂
- Talking: Ro's always been more mobile than vocal and from what I've seen from friends kids and stories from our parents, it seems that one usually develops more heavily than the other first. He understands everything we say and impresses me every day with how smart he is, yet is still slow on saying a lot of actual words. There's a lot of new sounds these days and I can tell how hard he is trying and that he sometimes gets frustrated he can't accurately convey his feelings but 99% of the time, I know exactly what he wants and give it him within seconds so really, how hard does he have to try? Mike and I are being more conscious of making him say the word before doing what he wants though nothing is cuter than seeing him make the sign for "please" before everything :)
- Staying in the crib! He has climbed out the pack and play at my parents house and has figured out how to climb in and out of almost everything else so we're just praying this doesn't happen for AWHILE. If he lays in there too long in the morning before we get him, he will try to lift his leg over but he's not nearly tall enough...yet. Oh, the anxiety!
- - -
When people ask me lately how I'm doing, I feel like my answer is always, "busy." Every time. But, I would be lying if I said anything else. We're truly in that phase of life where everything seems chaotic and nonstop all the time but I am trying to embrace it for everything it is and p.s. if I feel this way with only one kid (and a very needy albeit loving, dog). I can only imagine how much more we will be able to charge for our circus whenever we decide to add to the Family. Ah, another post for another (future) day. For now, we are happy, healthy, exhausted and blessed.
Mama's with babies/toddlers at home: What are they currently loving/hating/getting into?
Should we add any places, foods or toys to our list? Tips and tricks? I want to hear it all!
What a perfect way to document these special moments and stages! He’s doing so beautifully and you’re doing a wonderful job. We truly are lucky to live in an area with so many great places for little ones to play, learn and explore. ❤️❤️
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