The Life of an Almost 3 year old...

I've been so terrible about updating this blog. Life has gotten so in the way, it is very rare I find time anymore to sit down and let my thoughts flow.

However, lately, I find myself watching Adly and wanting so desperately to hold on to so many moments in this stage. There is no doubt that there are days I want to pull my hair out from the incessant "why" questions and the non-stop talking. But there are also some really crazy moments that happen right now that have made me stop in my tracks and really try to soak them in.

The other day, Adam had taken the girls to the park when I got home from work. I went over to meet them and found Adam walking Ellie trying to get her to nap. Adly was off running around so I went over to meet her. I was immediately struck by how much she had grown over the winter. Here was this confident, outgoing girl who was running here and there, climbing with ease and giggling like crazy. When she noticed I was there, she happened to be sitting up on a ledge, about 3 feet off the ground. She motioned for me to come over to her.

When I got there, she explained she needed to get down but was scared. I told her she could jump, it wasn't that high. She immediately went into her shell, got all quiet and said she couldn't do it. So I told her I'd "help" her. My version of help was that I was going to fake hold her and let her do it on her own. I'm that kind of mean mom. Sure enough, when she jumped and I failed to hold her, she survived! And what's more, she realized she really could do it. What followed for the next 15 minutes was Adly excitedly climbing up, asking me to watch her, saying she wasn't sure she could do it, jumping, and then giggling and beaming with pride at her accomplishments.

I, of course, couldn't stop tearing up. It was such a small moment of confidence building that for whatever reason, has stuck with me since it happened. These moments are so fleeting, and it just so happened to capture innocence of my first born that is quickly slipping away with each day.

This past week, we closed on our new house and on the same day looked at preschools. I have literally been counting the days to preschool. Adly so desperately needs social interaction with other kids, and I know it will be a great experience for her. However, at the end of the first tour, I started tearing up and then could not stop the tears! I know. I was that mom! And to think, I work in schools! But I can't even begin to explain the rush of emotions that overcame me when I realized my baby girl really is growing up. Soon she will be one of many in a class, listening to a teacher, learning social norms, and having to problem-solve, all without her mama there to help. (Cue the sobs!)

She has recently started telling me she loves me. Like, really telling me. For the longest time, you'd tell Adly you loved her and she'd reply with "thank you." Now there are days when I come home from work and she looks me in the eye and says, "Mama, I was worried about you today. I want you to know I love you." She'll watch me leave in the mornings and Adam will text me saying she said, "Mama is so pretty. I'm really going to miss her today. I'm going to pray for her." She doesn't only do this with me. She's also begun telling Adam she loves him, as well as other family members. And the best, my favorite, is when I say goodnight, she always says, "goodnight mama. I love you!"

Her imagination is running insanely wild. These days, she wakes up as anything ranging from a gazelle to a pony to a doggie. She always announces in the morning what she is by saying things like, "the gazelle is happy to see you today!" And from there on out, for the rest of the day, you will be informed on what the gazelle is doing and what the gazelle would like.

While Adly's speech is quite amazing, there are a few things she says incorrectly that I don't want to forget because it is so gosh darn cute.
-pur-rayers (prayers) "Mama, can we say our pur-rayers tonight?"
-spice (slice) "One spice of pizza for you!"
-seer-e-up (syrup) "Can I have more seer-e-up please?"

Adly thrives on the moments when just her and I get to have alone time. Her favorite thing is when I can time Ellie's nap with Adly's and can usually get Adly first. This gives her and I some much needed one on one time. I'll climb into bed with her and we'll pretend (for as long as I can take it), to cook cupcakes, pancakes, bacon, and ice cream cones. We take orders like we're in a restaurant and then bake the foods and serve it to each other. She never wants these moments to end and oftentimes, it leaves me realizing how little she gets all of my attention any more.

Having two is hard. I don't know how moms have more and where they find the energy to cater to all the kids. I feel stretched thin on a regular basis and no doubt have major moments of stress, anxiety, and frustration. Sometimes, all of the above at once. But these memorable moments help make it all worth the hard times. I'm really trying hard to hold on to the meaningful moments and move on quickly from the tough ones. Sometimes thats easy, sometimes it takes a lot of complaining and wine.

Adly turns three in July and I just can't even wrap my head around how we got this far so fast. I feel like I'm going to blink and she'll be six. For now, I'm continuing to try to slow down and soak in all the greatness that this age brings. (And take deeper breaths when all the craziness of this age wants to make me disappear to a foreign country). 

Love you, my sweet pea. 

Cooking With Your Toddler: Banana Muffins

I am not a baker. I don't claim to be one, I don't really even strive to be one. However, cooking isn't always the easiest to do with your child, as it usually involves a stovetop and raw meat of some kind. And my child happens to love being right next to mommy, cooking away.

So in order to solve that problem, I began baking with her. It's easier to keep her entertained, she can stir things that aren't hot, and none of its going to kill her if she eats it as we go (since that's what she does. Every. single. time.)

I've tried out a lot of recipes and one that has become our favorite are these banana crumble muffins. We have made these so many times and every time they come out tasting delicious. They are also great to take to friends houses or any brunch events.

They mostly are an awesome recipe to cook with your toddler mostly because of the crumb topping. Who doesn't love a bowl of brown sugar/butter yumminess? When applying the topping, Adly likes to follow the golden rule of "some for you muffin, some for me". Sorry, people who have had them. You've definitely had a little bit of Adly love, mixed in. 

When I first began cooking with Adly, I'm not going to lie, it was really hard to keep my patience intact. I would get very frustrated when flour spilled or when things dropped on the floor. Over time, I've tried to keep reminding myself that a mess is a mess. And it can always be cleaned up. What can't be replaced is the fun your toddler will have, being a part of what mommy does and acting as a helper. She seriously gets so much joy out of pouring the ingredients in, stirring them with a whisk, and then tasting everything as she goes.

She even has her own apron, thanks to her godmother who sewed her one. This apron is essential to Adly's cooking process and must always be worn.

Another benefit to these baking sessions with Adly has been the growth in her imagination skills. She loves her play kitchen and now really loves pretending to cook. I hear her using the same terms we use as we bake as she makes her own creations, playing on her own in her kitchen. Although she gets a little crazy with chicken and ketchup and french fries in her one-pot-wonders. 

I honestly follow the recipe to a tee, except that after reading comments from others, I add cinnamon and nutmeg to the flour mixture.

I encourage you to give this recipe a try, with your toddler. It has made so many rainy Saturdays much more bearable in our household!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 bananas, mashed 3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten 1/3 cup butter, melted 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2.	In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3.	In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4.	Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Picky Eaters: How We Dealt with Ours

Picky eating phases suck. 

There is no other way to put it. They are unbelievably frustrating for parents and make mealtimes become dreaded for everyone involved. This is a terrible feeling for someone who enjoys cooking and sharing food with others. Imagine making an entire, healthy, delicious meal for your loved one only to have them turn their nose up at it, refuse to try a bite of any of it, ignore it, or just throw it all on the floor. Now imagine when all of the above happens during one meal time. 

It will bring any sane person to tears. And that was what our mealtimes started coming to. Around 18-20 months, Adly began deciding what she did and didn't like. Most things, she didn't like. So many things she had once loved became yucky or things she would eat one bite of and say "Adly no like it". Then would come the whines to get down or for other foods she had decided that day she wanted instead. It is the most frustrating feeling to make an entire meal and then have this little person try to dictate five other things they'd rather have instead. 

Out of frustration, I did what I always do in this journey of parenthood I know nothing about, I started to read. I wanted to know about others' experiences, I wanted to hear ideas that worked, and I wanted it to fit our family. 

One day I came upon this article. It had me from the start, mentioning having a picky 6 year old and 5 years from now, still fighting the food battle. Oh hell no! Was my first thought. She goes on to have some amazing ideas that, as with everything, made perfect sense and made me be all like "now why didn't I think of that?!?" 

I loved it so much I bookmarked it and sent it to Adam. Adam admittedly doesn't always love reading about raising children as much as I do, so he usually just trusts what I say and runs with it. (See?! He's amazing like that. I love when people listen to me!) But the picky mealtimes had definitely been a source of tension between the two of us, and I wanted it to be a plan we'd both be on board with. Back to the frustrations picky eating brings out, at least in our household, mealtime fights put everyone on edge. I think it's important to have a solid frontline when dealing with a picky toddler to ensure you are doing the same things to create consistency across the board. 

He read the article and agreed with it too. So we jumped in full force the next day. And lo and behold, it worked!! 

We tweaked her ideas slightly in order to fit our family. This has created a ton less tension between all of us during mealtimes. I've let go of the guilt I used to feel when Adly refused to eat one bite. I've stopped getting mad at her whenever it happens. Essentially I've just let it all go. Because I know in the end she'll be ok.

Here are the eating rules we live and breathe these days. 

-Every meal offered contains a protein, dairy, fruit and a veggie (most days. I am admittedly terrible with vegetables). Sometimes a grain.

-Every meal contains at least one thing I know she loves. This allows Adly to feel like she has choices in what she eats on the plate. This also gives her the independence she was seeking during meal times. 

-In our house, she can have more of something (usually fruit) once she eats a few bites of the protien (usually what she doesn't eat).

-She doesn't have to eat it all, and when she is done, she's done. For Adly, she gives us her plate and says "all done" when she's done eating. There is no snacking after dinner. 

-Afternoon snacks have become lighter to help with dinner eating. 

-Dessert is unknown. We don't use it as leverage or even talk about it. Any time we have mentioned "dessert" she says yes to it and she is presented with applesauce or yogurt. They're sweet, right? 

-My biggest takeaway from this article? Six words. You don't have to eat it. 

I swear to you, since we instilled this plan into our mealtimes, not once has Adly refused her entire meal. Not once have I cried. Not even once have I gotten frustrated. (And this is coming from the most easily frustrated adult-toddler there is!) It was as though we saw the light. Seriously, that cheesy. I also believe that once my attitude got an adjustment, Adly picked up on it as well, and the battles ended. Toddlers are so much more intuitive than we give them credit for. 

That article saved our mealtimes. And as soon as it did, mealtimes became fun. A time to relax and talk and sit back and laugh. Or just relax. 

There are days where Adly doesn't eat hardly anything. And I'm ok with that. She lives with it and then eats like a monster at breakfast the next day. She is always fine. There are also times where Adly's sensitive stomach gets a bug and she has days of diarrhea. This is when we go back to the age-old BRAT (banana, rice, apples, toast) diet and our normal diet is completely out the window. So of course, this, like everything else when it comes to babies and toddlers and kids, takes flexibility. 

If you're stuck at home, crying in the corner of your kitchen because your kid threw yet another delicious meal on the floor, I suggest you read this article and/or try some of the ideas out! It saved our family, hopefully it will help yours too. 

"Adly silly. Take a picture mama!"

Navigating the World of Playground Etiquette

Adly is at the age now where her favorite place to be is the neighborhood park. She asks to go daily, sometimes more than once a day. We live in a city, with no backyard, so I get it. It's her place of freedom where she can run free and be a kid.

As a parent, it's a whole different world. Suddenly I'm finding myself thrown into a whole new social gathering that can be nice, awkward, and sometimes just plain hurtful or rude.

Adly isn't old enough yet for me to just sit on the bench and let her play. She still likes to make random daredevil moves towards high up openings. Or she just enjoys mama watching her as she runs like the wind to go down the big slide for the fiftieth time in a row. Therefore, I'm up walking around with her the whole time, along with five other parents hovering over their own little daredevils. 

Adly is very social with other toddlers now. She looooves making friends at the park. She calls them by their names, they hug, they hold hands, and they run and yell together. It is so cute and always tugs at my parent heart strings. Adly is one-on-one with an adult every day still, and I always second guess whether she's missing out on something socially.

Anyways, that's besides the point. So far, Adly has met some really nice toddlers to run and play with, who also have relatively nice moms with them. We follow the girls around and have quick conversations about their ages, how silly they are, when we're having a second child, etc. You see, all of the other parents following their kids around are always other first time helicopter parents. When the second child comes, they'll be running free as soon as they can walk so mama can get some quiet time on the bench. 

Most of these moms are cordial. It's awkward and I get it. For the most part we chat quickly, smile, and then focus on our own kids. One time, I met a mom that was very friendly. She asked so many questions in such a great conversational way. I liked her immediately. Within minutes of chatting and moving into a real conversation, I learned that she used to be a teacher too. Of course she has great conversational skills. We talk for a living! That day, Adly was in a non-friend mood and more interested in doing her own thing. I was bummed because she was genuinely someone I would've wanted to become friends with. We left shortly after Adly jumped down from her swing, so I didn't get a chance to reach out and ask for her number or to set up a play date.

Meeting new mommy friends is totally like sober dating. You start chatting, ask a few questions, see if you're on the same page as moms. They have a daughter around the same age. You like talking with the mom and the girls seem to like each other. You awkwardly ask for their number or ask to meet again. Or you consider all of these options, but don't actually have the balls to do it--which is usually my case. You leave feeling elated at the score of a new number- and possibly a new friend. Or you leave bummed that you missed an opportunity. 

See that there? Yeah that's what we used to do with the help of a lot of Miller Lites and help from the darkness of a stinky bar and loud music. Now it's just us, our coffees, the sun, and shrieking kids. 

Then there's the other type of kids and parents. Ugh. Thankfully I've only run into them once. And it was yesterday. It drove me to write again so I'm clearly fired up about it still. These are the bitches of the playground. (Excuse my French, but as I told Adam this story and my daughter chimed in with "nitches!!" I felt the retelling deserved credit with the word, since clearly Adly and I felt the same way). 

It started with the kid. Adly was happily sliding down the toddler slide with a handful of other kids, going down, running up the stairs, and going down again. Round and round. They each took turns as they went, being very nice to each other. Then this adorable little girl with long blonde locks entered the scene. Adly turned to her at the top of the slide to say hi. With her back to me, all I saw was the little girls head shaking in the shoulder-popping, finger-shaking "oh no you di-nt!!!" style. Full of attitude. Adly balked at her, as if saying "Umm you're weird." Then she slid down the slide and went on her merry way. 

Minutes later, Adly wandered over to a pink push car just like ours- but it's pink. Adly loves these little push cars (she just got a red one) and she loves the color pink. Perfect storm. She was looking intently at it as I was trying to guide her away from it explaining that it wasn't ours. The mom guarding it never looked up from her phone while Adly and I had the exchange about the car in front of her. I redirected her back to the slides and she went down a few more times. 

Minutes later, Adly headed back towards the car. This time, I see the same little long haired B of a girl taking to her mom. "Ohhhh..." I think. "Now I see where the kid gets it." I know. I'm a total Judgey McJudgerson. As soon as the girl sees Adly walking near, she jumps in the car and goes "You can't come over here! This is MY car!" 

I jumped into teaching mommy mode by saying to Adly "Yep, that's her car and we have our own. Let's go back to the slides or swings or we can go and see our car." As I'm doing this, and guiding Adly away, the mom stands up in a huff and says to her little girl, "I think we have to go now, since it's clear this little girl doesn't want to leave your car alone."

I'm sorry, what?!? I was so taken aback I didn't have the thought to stop to let my typical inner Kage Rage out. But seriously?! I'm sorry my child wanted to "look" at your child's car that is just like hers- but in pink. Yes. You are the better mom for buying your child every gender specific item she ever dreamed of. And NOW I see exactly where your child gets her demeanor from.

Humph. And that's when playground etiquette is hard. When you have to deal with bitches. And unlike in the good ole bar days, there are no bottles to send flying when someone cuts you and your daughter down.

For now I'll be working on my sassy, undercutting comebacks in the event we run into any other awful mother/daughter duos. You know, the kind of remarks that the person won't realize were a total cutdown until you've starting walking away with a smug smile on your face.

I know, I am definitely not a bigger person. 

Miss Manners

A while back, Adam began to make it his mission to get Adly to start saying things like "please" and "thank you". I think that manners are SUPER important and I can tell you from experience that it is very easy to spot children who come from homes where politeness is considered important.

However I can't say I fully agreed with enforcing it so early. I'm not sure why, I guess I just didn't think it would stick yet, so why bother? Thankfully Adam is in charge over the winter, so he began enforcing it on his own while home with Adly. 

His biggies were to say "please" when asking for things-not just demanding. Say "thank you" when someone gives you something and say "bless you" when someone sneezes. Simple enough. 

Ironically, these small phrases began to stick pretty quickly. She especially took to saying "bless you!" after someone sneezes which, while polite, is also beyond adorable.

The other day as we were driving I sneezed a few times. When I was done I hear "Bless you mama!" from the backseat. I mean, come on. When I hand her things now, I usually get a "tank you mama" or when asking for things she usually adds on a "pleeeease". 

While she uses these phrases pretty regularly, I know that she still needs time to fully understand the meaning of being polite. Recently we had a dinner conversation that went like this:

Adly: Mama get a pancakes please.

Me: I don't have pancakes.

A: Mama get a pancakes please.

Me: Adly, I don't have pancakes.

A: Mama MAKE a pancakes please.

Me: I can't make you pancakes.

A: (growing frustrated, furrowing her brows, deep breath)

A: Mama make a pancakes! I SAID please!!

Here is where some more understanding of the word "please" might've helped out the situation. See, some days Adly decides to act like a finicky royal highness toddler at mealtimes and demands any other kind of food that isn't on her plate. This was one of those instances. Of course, I being the mean mom that I am, refuse to give her anything other than what is offered. But in this case, she was very frustrated and confused as to why she couldn't get the pancakes because, after all, she said please!

In an unintentional way, another use of "polite words" has entered Adly's vocabulary. These days I find that when she is annoyed by me touching her, or being in her way, she'll say, "I'm sorry mama". And move whatever is in her way. The other day we were on the couch next to each other, so naturally I put my tender loving arm around her. Apparently, this annoyed her and she immediately moved my arm off of her as she said, "I'm sorry, mama." Sometimes she'll move into my territory and decide she doesn't like something, only to move it saying, "I'm sorry, mama." Like when she came blasting through the house pushing her baby stroller and ran into my legs. She stated, "I'm sorry mama." But not because she was sorry she ran into me, because she was sorry I was in the way. So in other words, it was a "get out of my way!" type of sorry. This phrase always makes me laugh when she uses it in these situations. 

I love how people in the South use ma'am and sir to address adults, yet I don't think it fully fits in with our Northern nasally dialect. Therefore, using simple words like please and thank you have been our way to make sure we feel appreciated on some level throughout the day. And it's working! So I guess it never really is too early to try enforcing those small, yet very meaningful words. 

ER Initiations

I think that every parent needs to be initiated into parenthood by some sort of emergency room visit. That, or some episode that scares the living shit out of you enough to remind you that these toddlers are still just babies and anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Until then, you really haven't lived as a "parent".

A few weeks ago, we received our initiation. After moving, things were everywhere. After moving, I also had some insane bouts of insomnia and a cold. Fun times. Before heading back to work on Sunday, I wanted to make sure I actually slept, so I put a bottle of Nyquil by my bed in the event I woke up in another coughing fit. Thankfully, I slept the entire night through just fine.

The next day I was at school teaching when Adam called. He's at home with Adly still and I thought it was weird that he was calling knowing I was at work. There was another teacher in my room at the time so I ran out into the hallway to answer. Adam didn't have good news.

Adly had gotten into the Nyquil on my nightstand in the matter of a minute Adam had walked around the corner. She had it in her mouth and down her shirt. To start, Adam called poison control. They recommended to immediately head to the ER, because any amount she drank could have serious consequences.

After I hung up, I went right back to teaching, convincing myself she'd be fine. She was in good hands. She wasn't at a daycare or with a sitter, she was with her dad. I went through the next 30 minutes until lunch as normal. When I got to lunch I kept texting Adam, who was at the ER already, for updates. He had no answers other than that it was definitely starting to effect Adly and that they were running a lot of tests.

All normal, considering the situation, I thought. Then came the news they'd need to keep her for another 3-4 hours to continue monitoring her. He didn't have her blankie or any bottle or food for her. I knew I had to get there. There was some sort of unnerving feeling as a mom that I just had to be there for her. My baby was in a hospital. How could I not? My boss was amazing and worked it out for me to leave within minutes. I ran home, got Adly's favorite things and headed to see them.

As I went to the hospital, my mind was racing with questions. I just couldn't figure out how she had gotten into the the bottle in the first place. Had I not screwed the cap on tight? Is she a superwoman? Maybe she's an extraordinarily talented toddler and has a super skill for opening bottles. It just didn't make sense to me how a toddler could get into a childproofed medicine bottle. Because, after zillions of lawsuits, aren't all medicine bottles childproofed these days?

When I got there, Adly was out of it, tired, with super red cheeks. They asked me how much was in the bottle before she got to it...but who ever pays attention to that? She doesn't know how to drink out of a cup, so that was a good thing. We just couldn't fathom she had actually swallowed that much. Shortly after I arrived to the hospital, Adly started coming around to her normal self again as the effects of the medicine began to wear off.

We thought we were home free and would be fine to take her home finally. This was when the doctor came in to deliver the news that the next step was to test for Tylenol poisoning. Tylenol, which can cause severe liver damage in small doses for little ones, is apparently in NyQuil. To test her levels, they had to run an IV. By now, we've seen plenty of shots be stabbed into our sweet little girl for her regular vaccinations. But nothing can prepare you for watching them be stuck with an IV needle. (Ok, I still have to turn my head when I get stuck for things...so maybe needles are a little rough for me in general). They wrapped her up in a swaddle-burrito with just her arm hanging out. We kept telling her they were going to do tests on her. She kept looking at us with wide eyes saying, "Adly tests. Adly tests." I held my phone in front of her with her beloved Peppa Pig playing to distract her while they poked her. She didn't scream or cry. There were only big tears falling from her eyes as she looked at me like "why are they hurting me mama?" Of course, I was sobbing. Then within seconds she was totally fine, while I had to take some time to recollect myself. My toddler is way stronger than I.

As we waited, we also got the delivered the super embarrassing, yet mandatory, lecture on medicine and children. We do keep all medicine in a cabinet above the sink. This was obviously a fluke incident and a moment of absentmindedness from myself. Still, it's hard to hear someone remind you of these simple steps and not feel like you failed as a parent in some way. The ER doctor had asked me to bring in the bottle of medicine with me so she could examine it. As soon as she got it into her hands she twisted it off. Turns out, to my shock and utter disbelief, not all medicines are childproof. How on earth this is plausible still boggles my mind. I guess I had become accustomed to the notion that all were treated the same, and therefore had never even considered it a possibility that a cap might simply twist off. 

Thankfully, the tests came back low and so we were cleared for release soon after. It was a scary day and hopefully our last visit to the ER for a while. As parents, there is nothing worse than sitting helplessly next to your sick child. Clearly, I married Adam for a reason. He is the sanity to my insanity in these kinds of moments. Always looking at the positive outcomes, while I, ever the realist always think the worst. I'm so grateful it was him at home with Adly during all of this. He who had the clear mind to take responsible action calmly and quickly, whereas I would've been sobbing, panicking, and running around like a madwoman.

It is also not lost on me that we were the lucky ones. Our ER visit was short and ended fine. I've come to follow a few journeys of toddlers from my home state who are battling horrific cancers or terminal illnesses. How do those children deal with the pain every day? And their parents. The strength they have is inspirational. This job called parenting sometimes finds a way to show you just how weak you can be, or how strong you actually are, when you least expect it.

Snuggles with mama and her beloved nye-nye. 

Do you likey my dress?

When it smacked me in the face that my "big girl" is still such a small baby. Tear. 

A Whole New World...

A few weeks ago, Adly and I were out walking at dusk when she saw the moon in the sky. It was her first connection from everyone's favorite childhood book Goodnight Moon to the real world. She has been obsessed ever since.

We were headed to up north Wisconsin the day after she discovered the moon, so she had plenty of opportunities to see the moon in the clear northern sky while we were there. Since then, at random times throughout the day she'll say "moon! moon!" and run to the window to see if she can see it. We've come up with some inventive ways to explain why the moon isn't always there. Some are: it's taking a nap, it went to work, it went to play...you get the point.

While fostering her love of the moon and peering out our windows, she has also discovered she can see and hear planes flying by, heading to O'hare. This is something all of us had taken for granted and I was shocked when I heard her at the window with her dad saying "plaaaane! plane!" I thought for sure there was no way she could see and/or hear a plane. I mean, we had never noticed. Sure enough, there are planes buzzing by throughout the day. Some near and very large, others far away and smaller. Either way, she has been obsessed with sitting at the window looking for the planes in the daytime and the lights on the planes in the dark. She'll sit at the dinner table and whisper, "Listen (yeeesen). Plaaanes. Listen. Heed it. (hear it)". And then with big eyes she stares out the window for a glimpse of a plane.

How incredible it is, to see the realization happening that there are so many bigger things out there in this world of ours.

Cow Girl

A few weekends ago, my dad (PaPa) and Anita (TaTa) came in for a visit to see Adly. (We don't bother pretending that people come to actually visit Adam or I these days). 

In the last few months, my child has become cow obsessed. The girl just loves cows. What is it about them? It started with a visit to my aunts family farm, where she got up close and personal with cows. One even licked her. The girl asks to watch that video any time she sees my phone. It used to be by request of "moo, moo, moo!" Now it's "cooo-w, cooo-w, cooo-w!"

When papa came down this weekend, of course he came fully stocked with cow toys. One being a small figurine of a cow. Guess who hasn't put the cow down since? 

On Saturday, we decided to go visit Adly's favorite suburban getaway, a family farm. Shocking, I know. My intended city girl is definitely a country girl at heart. There we could look at the cows, see horsies, piggies, and roosters (which, oddly enough, Adly is terrified of). They also had ginormous pumpkins and a farmers market. It was beautiful weather, making for the perfect fall Saturday.

Here is my little pumpkin, standing on her own, talking to the horsies and hanging with Papa and Tata. Fall is officially here!

Wait...didn't I get put in one of these things last year?!

Just a girl, checking out some horsies.

Papa had to stop in the gift shop.

Rehydrating after a day at the farm.

Up Nort

A few weekends ago we got a chance to head up to Adam's family cabin in Door County, WI. All of the siblings went, as well as my mother-in-law (ga ga), and Adams aunt KK and uncle Bruce. We had planned it months in advance and were excited to all get away together.

Since Adam couldn't come up until Saturday, Adly and I hitched a ride with my sister-in-law Nora (aunt Ra Ra) and her husband Steve (uncle Seve). We headed up right after school on Friday. On the way up, we had a hankering for dinner, so we stopped in at a random Culvers to grab a quick bite and get back on the road. Thankfully, Steve was fine with driving and got us there safely despite the downpour of rain we faced the entire drive. 

Adly was so excited to have a crowd of onlookers around her, which she loves more than anything. She had a blast being the center of adoring attention from her family. I was excited to get away with the family and just relax. We all spent the first half of the weekend lounging around eating, and reading books, shopping, and relaxing. Unfortunately, the trip rounded out with a nasty, nasty case of food poisoning for Nora, Steve and I. Each of us spent a good share of 12-hour periods with marathon puking sessions. We now think it was from Culvers since we were the only three who got sick and we all had mayo in our food. Yuck. I hope I never have to experience that hell again. 

Despite that downside, we were all able to celebrate the engagement of my brother-in-law Mike and (soon to be) sister-in-law Jess! While we knew he was planning to propose (after 8 years!), we didn't know it was going to happen while we were up north until the last minute. Mike quietly told Nora and Steve (who were still working their way through the food poisoning) to come downstairs to the windows. He then quietly told the rest of us to make our way to the wall of windows facing the lake. 

Right after, Mike led Jess outside to check out the beach. This was her first time in all those years visiting the family cabin, which is an incredibly special place to Adams family. Soon after heading outside, Mike got down on one knee and said those special words. It was unbelievably special to be a part of their big day and we are SO happy for them!!!

We had a wonderful weekend with family, celebrations and just plain love. I sure did marry into one fantastic family! 

Adly and her adoring onlookers. 

Piggy tails!

Looking at pictures with uncle Seve. 

Snuggles with mama who was on her deathbed. 

Before she saw him on bended knee....

Engagement Paparazzi. 

YAY!!! The Future Mr. & Mrs. Michael Brockway!

Right after they got engaged. The sun was shining down on just the two of them. Beautiful. 

Checking out the waves. 

Playing with Aunt Jesse...with that new bling bling on her hand. 

Yep. That's my dear MIL. Chasing us down the street. 

The pickle queen herself. 

Tasty treats at the Yum Yum Tree. 

She is such a ham. 

Until next time, Door County!!

Gimme some mo'!

As Adly's language continues to develop, we hear some pretty funny interpretations of words that process through a one year old's mind. But there is one word that stands out as my absolute favorite.

It is: more. 

In Adlys world, it is: "mo!"

No matter how many times she says it, it never gets old to me and I can't let it go by without giggling, despite her ever so serious attempts to get "more" of something. The worst part is it almost always revolves around food and she's usually frustrated when asking for more so she says it aggressively and it comes off pretty rude. Adam has tried to get her to say "mo please" to take the edge off her demands, but alas, saying please isn't where her mindset is just yet. Even our babysitter that just started laughed at the end of her first day, commenting how she thought it was so funny how she yells "mo!" 

Today I caught it on video as I was trying to show my dad just how much she loves hummus. In the process she yelled out an emphatic "mo!" Because well, she wanted more! (After she licked the container and discovered it was "all goooome")