A Letter to my Son on his 2nd Birthday

My sweet Ro,

For the first few months after we brought you home from the hospital, I had this reoccurring dream: I would wake up in a PANIC in the middle of the night, thinking I had fallen asleep while nursing you and that you had ended up in our bed somewhere. I swear I saw the outline of your tiny newborn face, laying right next to me and would freak out that I hadn't put you back in your bassinet. This happened regularly and was just one of many parenting worries to come. Maybe it's because I was so nervous in our new phase of life and worried that we were doing something wrong along the way...

But now, as we approach your 2nd birthday, I look at you and know, we've done so much right.

Ronan, 1 years // 2 years

This past year with you has surely been the best yet. Selfishly, I think that's partly because you could never want me around more than you do right now. Just recently, you started saying, "I luh ewe, Mama," and I never knew I could feel so much joy from one sentence. We are best friends who do everything together and even though I know you will create your own circle of friends one day, I hope I'll always be your definition of home. 

I feel so lucky you are mine: You are the most loving, curious, exuberant, stubborn, strong-willed and sweet boy who is growing up beautifully and I am more proud of you than you can ever understand. It doesn't matter how long or difficult the day, every time you fall asleep in my arms and I stare at your still-baby face, I melt all over. My heart explodes just by watching you experience life and do the most mundane things... 

When you wake in the morning, I hear "Mama" on the monitor almost immediately and we begin our day, which is filled with no less than 2,874 "Mama's," over the next 12 hours which tests my patience at times but more often than not, makes me feel loved. You follow me into every room, look for my approval and get excited to show me all of your accomplishments. Lately, those include learning new words every single day, filling up your own cup of water at the fridge, scooping dog food for Fitz (and inevitably spilling half on the floor) and talking about every animal and the noises they make (with lions and ducks being the frontrunners).

You offer greetings to every living and non-living object: The birds ("b's"), our neighbors lion made of stone ("bye line!"), the ceramic bunny in our front yard ("hi bun!") and my new favorite, our dog Fitzgerald ("hi puppy gerald!"). You never sit down. You ask to watch Peppa Pig first thing in the morning and promptly tell us "NO!" if we try to put on any other show. You cherish your Peppa figurines, taking them out of your basket and lining them up on the shelf, calling each one by name. You say "Ohhh noooo" when you are concerned (especially if the oven timer beeps or your band-aid falls off). You recently discovered how much you enjoy the pool and I think our swim lessons have been a huge help with that. You are very much your own person who does things his own way. Every "first" with you continues to be magical for Dad and I, including your first trick or treating this past Halloween, your first visit to Santa at Christmas (no tears = victory!), easter egg hunting, your first carnival ride and watching you learn how to have conversations with us -- like most things you do, you handled all of these new endeavors fearlessly. 

Our hearts hurt when you are disappointed, swell when you are extra sweet and beat just a tad faster every day, as we cautiously watch you navigate life. Your happiness, self-esteem, values and morals matter more to us than anything else and most days, I feel pretty good about what our little Family is doing to make sure we meet all of these goals. You are so smart and we look forward to seeing how you change the world...

but in the meantime, we've been a little 
busy since you turned 1... 

August 2018

September 2018

October 2018

November 2018

December 2018

January 2019

February 2019

March 2019

April 2019

May 2019

June 2019

July 2019

August 2019

I wish so many things for you but in this moment, I wish you could stay this little, innocent and protected from harm longer than time allows. Right now, you don't know any real sadness or heartache and I would do anything to protect that security forever. When you were born, it was hard to imagine loving you anymore than we did on August 3rd but oh my, nothing to compares to our feelings for you now.

Thank you for making me a Mama and giving me the best two years of my life. 
I look forward to all of our adventures yet to come. 

Happy 2nd birthday, my love.

Your Mama.

Baby Lately: 17 Months

It's been awhile since I wrote a baby (toddler 😂) update and more than anything, I just like to document things here now and then because it's an online diary of sorts and I enjoy coming back to see what we were doing together. Ro was 10 months in the last post of this series and needless to say, a lot has happened and changed in that time. As he's grown, I have claimed many stages to be "my favorite," but here I am, saying it again. He's just shy of 18 months (which seems like one of those WHOA milestones) and continuing to morph into the sweetest little man with a big heart and lots of opinions. 

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. 

Visiting: 

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!

6 Products from Our Baby Registry We Still Use Every Day

It's kind of amazing how much stuff such a small human requires. When Ro was a newborn, we had 3 different contraptions for him to sleep in (travel bassinet, pack n play, rock n play - oh, and don't forget his crib) because we didn't have any idea what we were doing and we wanted to be prepared. Now that we're 12+ months in, we feel a little more knowledgable when it comes to buying for baby and what has long lasting quality/purpose and there are a few items I consider to be CRUCIAL because we have used them almost on a daily basis since he was born. 

Here are 6 of my favorite baby products with everlasting life:

Hushh Noise Machine

I am not exaggerating when I say this tiny noise machine our number one favorite item from our registry that still gets as much use today, as it did 12 months ago. I remember the day we got it – Ro had been in the world just a few days and my aunt came over to meet him slash give us a welcome home gift. We unwrapped the noise machine and thanked her, not knowing it would become as important in our daily routine as our hair brush or house keys. That afternoon, we put Ro on his Boppy Lounger for a nap (another early favorite of ours) and  urned the white noise on. He slept so soundly and we loved that it blocked out the rest of the sound in the house, some of which we can’t always control (aka Fitz barking at the neighbor’s dog). Since that day over a year ago, Ro has not taken a single nap or nighttime sleep without this glorious machine which actually has 3 different sounds but we routinely use the standard white noise function. 

Fun fact: I think we actually own 3 of them at this point because we broke a few in the early days of stumbling around in the middle of the night and then decided we always wanted to have a backup in the house - This is serious stuff, guys. We rarely leave the house without it and have a charger in our car so we can use it for Ro’s naps on the way to Wisconsin. Now...You can say what you want about creating bad sleep habits and you may be right – Maybe he will always have to sleep with some sort of noise (like his Mother – I bring a travel fan on trips with me!), but I consider that to be small potatoes in the world of getting your kid to sleep well through the night. Earlier this week we had crazy storms including hail that pelted our windows and guess who slept through it? RO. Thank you, Hushh 😉

Graco FastAction Fold Jogger

I knew I wanted a jogging stroller before I had a baby – Before I got pregnant, actually or was even in the realm of being Mom ready. When I would be out running in my early 20’s, I always saw young Mom’s running behind a stroller with 3 wheels, pushing their baby, voluminous ponytail bouncing along and I thought they made it look so easy. Maybe it WAS possible to have a baby and still keep my workout routine in tact. Turns out, it IS possible, though I’d like to go back in time to girl(s) with said ponytail and tell them I’m sorry for thinking anything about Motherhood was easy 😉 But this stroller DOES help I researched a lot of them before adding this to my registry and ultimately decided on this one because of its consistent rave reviews and because I knew and trusted the Graco brand. 

There are a LOT of fancy strollers these days, some of them closely resembling the bat mobile and some of them being more fashion than function for the leggings-north face-Starbucks tribe (not that I’m too far from that level of basic), but this one has proven to be a perfect choice for us. It is SO smooth, both in terms of pushing for me and the ride for Ro, whether we’re walking or running. There’s a ton of storage space underneath, plenty of cup holders/space for my phone and even though it’s large, it folds up with one pull of a handle so we can store it in a tiny space in our garage. Before we had Ro, I was so worried about where everything would go, especially the strollers because we own 2 but it becomes super compact which makes our lives much easier. 

Baby Einstein Sea Dreams Soother

I am NOT lying when I say this crib soother was KEY in Ro learning how to self-soothe. During the infant months, there were many phases where he would wake up crying and we would run in there to rock him back to sleep. Out of desperation, we had tried so many different sleep aids including several different types and brands of sleep blankets and swaddles, hoping one of them would provide the answer (btw, the Magic Merlin was the only one that actually worked and provided a great transition from the Rock N Play to the crib).

But then, around 4-5 months, we installed this adorable fish tank in his crib and it instantly became one of his favorite things. We would lay him in there during the day just for short breaks and he would watch it with a smile on his face, kicking his legs and making giggling sounds. Now, if he wakes up during the night, he will stand up and turn on the tank, watches the floating sea creatures (we have it set on low with music and movement) and a few minutes later, he usually lays back down and goes to sleep. This is AMAZING and such a change of pace from waking up and screaming because he's afraid or unable to get back to sleep on his own. He also turns it on EVERY single morning when he first wakes up. We will hear him through the monitor hit the on button and that's how we know he's up and he will stay content in there just watching the fish for at least a half hour which gives us a little time to get up and moving. We LOVE this product and recommend it to all parents when they're ready to put baby in the crib!

Moonlight & Melodies Elephant

This item was on our registry but we actually didn't start using it until about 6 months ago. A) I kind of forgot we had it and B) I didn't think we needed to add another thing to Ro's sleep routine but my Mom showed me a soothing hippo she used for his naps that played music and a projection on the ceiling and he seemed to like it which made me remember our SkipHop Elephant. Since that day I brought it out, it has been a staple and one of his favorite things in his room. I actually only turn this on before his nighttime sleep (not at nap time) because I like how calming it is and I think it's the perfect thing to signal to him that sleep is near. I give him a bath (every single night - I know, slightly crazy), read him a few of his favorite books, give him his bottle, turn off the lights and turn on the elephant. 

It has a star projection for his ceiling and lots of different songs/calming noises to choose from but we usually use the rainforest sounds for bedtime. It has 3 different time settings which is awesome so I just set it to 15 minutes and it typically turns off by the time he's sleeping. It has also saved us on his hardest nights, like the ones where has threw up all over his crib, followed by 2 hours of inconsolable crying. In order to get him to finally calm down and go back to sleep, I would turn on the elephant softly, rock him in my arms and then put him back in his crib, letting the elephant continue to play while he dozes off. It's calming, comforting and all of the things a baby should experience when they're falling asleep. 

Hudson 3-in-1 Convertible Crib

Our crib was one of the only things I didn't waiver on when it came time to register because I loved it's mid-century modern style and clean aesthetic from the moment I saw it. It's made with eco-friendly, non-toxic materials (which is comforting since Ro went through a heavy rail chewing phase!) and when we're ready, it will easily transition into a toddler bed and daybed so it can grow along with him for years. It comes in grey, white and a few two-tone options so there are a lot of choices depending on the style of your nursery. It was very easy to lower the mattress once Ro was mobile and we feel good knowing how comfortable and safe he is in there every night.

Dr. Browns Bottles

Though we are working on transitioning off of bottles soon, these were our go-to brand by far and we tried a lot of different kinds in the beginning. I breastfed Ro for 10+ months and early on, I was very concerned about finding a bottle that wouldn't deter him from that because I wanted to continue for as long as I could. I knew my Mom was going to be watching him a few days when I went back to work, so I didn't have a choice when it came to introducing a bottle and luckily, these worked out perfectly, allowing him to seamlessly switch from breast to bottle with no issues. 

The Natural Flow bottles use a patented 2-piece internal vent system which creates positive-pressure flow for vacuum-free feeding that is similar to breastfeeding. The breast milk or formula flows freely without nipple collapse and as the baby feeds, air is channeled from the nipple collar through the vent system to the back of the bottle. Air never mixes with the breast milk or formula so oxidation is prevented, thereby maintaining essential vitamins such as C, A and E. The vent system eliminates air bubbles in the formula or milk, which helps to reduce feeding problems like colic, spit-up, burping and gas. Dr. Brown's bottles are completely BPA, PVC, lead and phthalate free for baby's safety. 

SHOP OUR FAVORITE BABY PRODUCTS:

Mama's, what registry/newborn items are you still using a year later? 

 Let me know your favorites!