Thankful for the gift of love

We received another well baby check update yesterday.  The well baby checks are such a blessing, at least most of the time.  He is healthy, growing as he should, but with each report we are realizing what we are missing.  The huge milestones for every baby—crawling, sitting up, standing, walking, even little things like waving good-bye and laughter are all passing us by.  We are thankful that we have a healthy little guy.  We are especially thankful for the gift the foster family is giving us.  It is the foster mom who comforts him in the middle of the night, who makes sure he is fed and bathed.  It is the foster mom who is playing with him, hugging him and making him laugh those contagious baby laughs.  The foster family plays with him and treats him like one of the family...I have no idea to what extent they are loving on our little guy, but I know this is a gift from the heart. Unlike adoptions from some countries, South Korea doesn’t have an orphanage system. They put all of the children in foster care.  Our little guy has been with the same family since he was two days old.  While it will no doubt break his heart to leave that foster family, we are so thankful that he has known and seen love since he was born.  The foster family is giving us a gift beyond imagination and their job will no doubt be a heart-breaking job when they pass him over to us.  But we will always remember their gift and sacrifice. 

To all those foster families stateside and abroad:  Thank you for loving on kids, especially this time of year when love and family seem to be extra important.   

Melissa + Doug toys

Confession: as a new mom, and frequent Pinterest-er, I might be slightly obsessed with Melissa & Doug toys. My kid can't even crawl yet but between a local consignment shop, online yardsale site, HomeGoods, Amazon, and even Barnes and Noble I've stockpiled these so far:

1) Jumbo knob puzzles.  I picked up a set of three complete with its own shelf at a local consignment shop.

2) Stack and Sort Board.  This was one of his Christmas presents this year. He can pick up blocks pretty well and this is going to be great when he can start stacking items on the pegs and much later when he can sort the colors & count items. 

3) Shape Sorting Clock.  Again, this is something he can enjoy now and still entertain him later when he can sort colors/numbers and learn how to tell time. These can be found in Amazon and Barnes and Noble stores (10% off with the yearly membership). 

4) License Plate Game.  I loved doing this when I was younger and this is also a sneaky way for him to learn the name and location of all 50 states!

I also plan on picking this up closer to his 1 yr birthday: http://www.melissaanddoug.com/latches-board-learning-game 

Related items (aka cheaper version of the Melissa & Doug toys ;) ):

1) Playskool Busy Gears http://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-Playskool-Busy-Gears/dp/B000BCEJ86. Their version: http://www.melissaanddoug.com/switch-spin-magnetic-gears-toy

2) Eric Carle lacing toys. http://www.amazon.com/Eric-Carle-Animal-Lacing-Cards/dp/0811860019/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355756541&sr=8-1&keywords=eric+carle+lacing+cards Several Eric Carle books are part of our nighttime reading routine (esp Very Hungry Caterpillar) so I had to get these. Their version: http://www.melissaanddoug.com/lace-and-trace-art-and-crafts

2) MULA Bead Roller Coaster from IKEA. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80014041/ Their version: http://www.melissaanddoug.com/classic-toy-bead-maze

They also have all sorts of puzzles with sounds and pattern blocks and boards that I plan on purchasing in the future. 

Holiday travels with a 6 month old

I swear I haven't done as much planning (or stressing) about a flight/trip as the one we will be taking next week. I've braved my first flight with the little one (solo even) and was able to bring most of his essentials in a backpack style diaper bag and everything else in a carry-on. Now he's eating solids consistently and will be heading on a two week vacation to his grandparents (where there hasn't been a baby in the house for oh 25 yrs?)...  this is the first time where packing for a little one really is packing for a third person, haha.

We've taken his Rock and Play sleeper for road trips and that's worked out well. When I flew to OH for a wedding, I just had him sleeping on a blanket, on top of the covers next to me. Now though, he's a wriggly little boy who likes scooting upward while on his back as well as rolling over.. in the end, we bought a Pack and Play and had it shipped to my parents house (and leaving it there for our next visit).

Since he is an independent sitter, we've been taking him out of his car seat and putting him a high chair when we go out to eat. When we drove to UT for Thanksgiving, we brought his Bumbo along for a feeding chair. Since I wasn't planning on packing (or re-buying) that, I bought this: http://www.amazon.com/Brica-Travel-Booster-Black-Green/dp/B004L2JJ6O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355504588&sr=8-1&keywords=brica+booster. Looks like it can fold up so I can put it in my diaper bag (will keep you posted on if this actually folds down that small). Hopefully if it is truly that portable, we can use that a lot more when we go out to dinner. I did find this and it goes on most standard chairs: http://www.amazon.com/Trendykid-TS007-TrendyKid-Totseat-Black/dp/B004TVODAO/ref=sr_1_4?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1355504658&sr=1-4&keywords=my+little+seat  I didn't buy it after reading customer reviews. It did say that it was easier to get set up than the similar My Little Seat fabric highchairs. However, it didn't dawn on me until I read the comment but these fabric highchairs aren't high enough to get the baby to table height.. that won't work for my social butterfly cause he needs to see everything!

As far as feeding, I plan on also bringing a couple of these: http://www.amazon.com/Plum-Organics-Just-Peaches/dp/B003QZM3LA/ref=sr_1_3?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1355504935&sr=1-3&keywords=just+peaches for quick feeding at the airport or on the plane. Best part is you can totally just squirt it into his mouth! I've also been able to prep some of his first foods so I will also be bringing mashed avocado in one of these: http://www.amazon.com/OXO-2-oz-Freezer-Storage-Containers/dp/B006YTW612/ref=sr_1_3?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1355504885&sr=1-3&keywords=oxo+tot+baby+blocks+freezer+storage+containers. He also loves bananas (another easy prep option that doesn't need refrigeration).

Even though we use cloth diapers, we use disposables when we travel. Last time I flew, my husband helped me prep and we decided that in order to cut down on all the stuff I would be carting around, I needed to pack only the number of diapers (plus 1-2 more) to get through the flights & layover... as soon as I got to my destination, I bought more diapers for the rest of my stay and enough for the return flights and layover.. and left the rest. We are probably going to do the same thing this time around.

Since he's a great traveler, I'm not bringing any more toys than what is already in his diaper bag. He did great on his last flight (even if it wasn't nonstop) and slept most of the time. I am definitely bringing an Aden + Anais blanket for something for him to hopefully nap on (at the airport or if we're lucky enough, an open seat). I'm also probably not bringing our Ergo Sport carrier cause my husband will be another pair of helpful hands (this was a must when I was on my own, though).

As far as future flights, I found a couple of things to keep in mind. This is the next car seat we will be getting soon for him. (http://carseatblog.com/17513/cosco-apt-review-does-it-compete-with-the-scenera/) It is FAA approved so we can use it on the airplane, but most importantly allows us to keep him rear facing up to 40 lbs. He won't need to be in a car seat on the plane until he's two so chances are we'll be gate checking this car seat for a while but this product (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0074JKQ0Y/?ref=cm_sw_r_pi_dp_4JZYqb176SE6X) will also be good to keep in mind. :)

Hopefully this cuts down on all the stuff we'll be bringing along; inevitably we'll be coming home with more stuff than what we left with haha.



What are some of your tips for holiday traveling with a little one?

A Peach Family Christmas

Mama Cowgirl blogged about her Christmas Traditions, which got me thinking. I've been seeing lots of Pinterest pins on fun (new to us) traditions from Elf on the Shelf to decorating the kids doors with streamers. With H being so little, it is sort of a bonus year - we can try things out and see what we want to keep. We are headed out of town for the actual Christmas Day, so Sunday we will be having a "Peach Family Christmas."

Here is a look at a few things we tried  this year as a family of three.

Visiting Santa & his Reindeer. Our first attempt to see Santa at Small Town Christmas in Monument, Co  did not go well. Little Peach was overtired and we didn't even get close. We are going to try again this weekend at the Zoo. We have had two great visits with reindeer. The first was at the Festival of the Trees in  Erie, PA and the second was at Small Town Christmas in Monument. The boys (Daddy Peach, Little Peach and a few of our friends' husbands) met Dancer and Prancer, while the ladies peaked in a few of the shops.  What can I say? Our little man loves animals.

Cutting down our own tree in Pike National Forest. (Information on Permits and can be found on the  US Forest Service Webpage.)

Tree Trunk Ornament to commemorate cutting down our own tree.
(Easiest craft ever - mostly because Daddy Peach did all the work. Directions can be found here.)

Salt Dough Ornaments. I may use a different dough recipe next year that is heartier. I did love pressing little Peach's hand into the dough. We also did a print of our key. Here is the recipe I used this year.







Our Travel Ornament Collection. As I posed on Mama Cowgirls post, it is so fun to decorate the tree and remember all the fun trips we have taken over the years. Here are just a few of our favorite ornaments.

We are Texas residents!  

Cable Car from a Christmas Spent in San Francisco and the Sydney Opera House from our Honeymoon. 

I lobster Maine- from a combo wedding -Acadia National Park Trip. 

One of my favorite things about Christmas is going to peoples homes and seeing all the ornaments on peoples trees. A few of  you commented that you also have ornament collections. I would love to see pictures!

Snow & Baby

Um... Mom? 

This was our second snow since moving to Colorado. The last snow was a freak storm that came over the mountain in early October. The December storm came with cold temperatures (my car actually read 1 degree) and lots of wind. The snow fell Saturday night. Sunday morning we canceled our  plans in favor of a snugly day at home baking cookies and playing in the snow.

October: This is so fun! 

Little Peach was really tolerant of the snow in October.. he even ventured out on his own. He rolled around, licked the snow and, in general, seemed to be having a good time. Why would anything be different this time?

It's amazing how much wiser kids get in just two months! You can tell just from the top picture  little H was already questioning why we were outside before even put him down.

December: Why Are We Doing This? 

The real fun came when my husband decided to pull him around in the sled that his Aunt B got him for Christmas (which we opened just for this occasion.) We did a few practice rounds in the house. He was laughing and giggling as he was pulled across the carpet. Then we opened the door... I really feel that the picture speaks for itself.

Once we unloaded him from the sled, he was back to his happy self. He laughed as I made a snow angel. Then he laid on hubby's chest, while he made a snow angel. It was at this point that Little Peach got excited and dove head first into the snow. At first he liked it. Then he decided it was just too cold and screamed his head off. He actually screamed loud enough to summon our next door neighbor out into the cold to see what was going on. She had a good laugh at our little snow ball and then we all headed inside for a warm bath.

I'm a believer in "try, try again" so you better believe that during the next snow we will be back out there on our sled!

History repeats itself

I thought I would discuss sleepless nights. It seems like a far and distant memory..me being jolted from a deep sleep (I say this sarcastically because I haven't ever been able to sleep deeply since having A) to feed a baby at 2am who was just awake 2 hours ago. I change the diaper, make the bottle, feed the baby, clean up the projectile vomit that she would always do because she had acid reflux, rock her to sleep, take her downstairs because she won't sleep, watch 3am tv and fall asleep with her on my chest on my recliner..those really were the best times. At the time I was too tired to see that it would all fly by in an instant, that I would miss those times like crazy.

A is about 2 1/2 now and recently she has reverted back to waking in the middle of the night. For someone who has not had to tend to a child for over a year in the middle of the night, this is quite exhausting. From about 26 months on she has decided she would wake up, scream for me to get her water or that she wants milk then play in her bed for a few hours before falling asleep again. Last night she actually got out of bed, opened her door, opened my bedroom door and let herself on my bed. I was asleep, husband is out of town so you can imagine the scare I got at 4am. She played in my bed until 7am. It is brutal. Did I mention I am exhausted and pregnant with twins? My body is sore and I can barely keep my eyes open during the day. But when she finally fell asleep at 7am and I woke up around 8 and laid next to her, I began to daydream about what it will be like to have 3 little buddies in bed with me. Ideally I would not want to have my kids get used to crawling in bed with us, but they are so peaceful and cuddly. I look forward to the sleepless nights and the special bond I will build with the twins during those middle of the night feedings...mainly because I know it will get better and they will eventually sleep through the night. Until they turn two at least :)

When it came to sleep training A, I had no idea when to begin or how to go about doing it. She was 10 months old and I was still rocking her to sleep at night and for every nap. I had a friend with a child much younger than A. She would just put her baby in bed, he would cry for a few minutes then fall asleep on his own. She had the same video monitor I had, yet hers was placed on a table away from her. She wasn't concerned with his movements when he was in bed. She wasn't obsessively looking at the monitor every time she heard a noise. She told me she just learned not to worry, that he would be just fine. It was then that My husband and I decided we would sleep train A. We put her to bed that night with a bedtime story and a kiss. I took the monitor downstairs and my husband made me turn the volume all the way down. I still heard her screaming and crying. I was crying as well. I felt that if I just went up and rocked her she would fall asleep much better but realistically I couldn't expect her to depend on me for that always. I needed to let go. That night she cried for 20 minutes. We discussed that if she cried for a half and hour that I would go up and rock her. 20 minutes and she was asleep. The next day she napped with no issues, no rocking. That night she cried for 5 minutes. After that night we would read her a story, kids her goodnight and put her to bed. She would fall asleep without making a peep. She learned how to self soothe and put herself to sleep. I was a proud momma! She is still tat way to this day. Though now she has a special blanket and teddy she has to take to bed with her. She can't fall asleep without those two things, but she does it on her own. In her own big girl toddler bed. That transition was easier, I think, because she learned how to comfort herself. I am not saying this might be the case for all kids, but for her this is true. Sure she has now learned how to get out of said toddler bed, but they do say that history repeats itself. Seeing as how her infant days flew by, which can only mean her toddler days will fly by as well and she will soon be in school and such, I will cherish each and every single moment I can of hearing the pitter patter of her little feet through the hallway and stopping in front of my bedroom door. I will miss that someday.

Christmas Traditions

Well, we sent off a care package for our little guy; it included a stuffed lion and a stuffed frog and several clothing items.  As usual, it was a bittersweet moment, trying to be included in his life right now, with the understanding that we really aren’t. He is simply too young to understand the process and planning swirling around him.  

             The conversations of late has been what family traditions to pass along…which traditions from each of our families should we keep and which should we let go by the wayside and what new ones should we create? 
                So far, the only one we have figured out was probably accidental.  We have traditionally put up our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving, (except for our first Christmas, when we were in the middle of a move to our current location).  While my husband and I have exchanged a few gifts each Christmas, we prefer to spend a majority of our resources on adventures…from hiking, to snow shoeing, to sea kayaking, etc.  We want to create memories and experiences with each other and want to pass that concept along to our little guy.  Last weekend, we even went shopping for a kid carrier/backpack so that he could go with us.   Certainly, we are looking forward to giving him gifts and enjoying Christmas through his eyes, but we are really looking forward to the traditions of family adventures.  We are also hoping that we never achieve the National Lampoon’s family vacation status.   

                I’m curious, how have you combined family traditions and/or made new ones?  What kinds of traditions were important for you to pass along, which ones weren’t?