Tag Archives: essentials

Spring Fun with Gerber Snacks!

20 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by in Daily Happenings, Good Eats, Life's Loves

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Is there anyone else out there treating 60 degree weather like summer?!  These cabin fever babies and their desperate mother are game for any sunshine available.  Lately, we’ve been heading out after we get home from the day and soaking up any sun that is still shining.

But here’s the tricky part.  E is ready to run all over the place as soon as we go out.  Claire would love to join and while she is SO close to walking, sadly isn’t walking and everything is still muddy.  So, standing and/or her Walking Dead crawling isn’t really getting her very far outside.

Plus, when she gets home she is ready for a snack.  And is generally happy to sit and watch her big sis.  So , we get C in her high chair outside and set her up with some snacks and this appeases her until E remembers that there is a park nearby and she’s ready to head that way.
Yesterday, after snack, we headed to the park and Claire experienced her first swing ride!!  You guys!! She loved it!!  The joy that these firsts bring never gets old.

After school snacks have been an important part of our routine and enjoying a little family time while also developing Claire’s fine motor skills.

What are the ways you’ve been spending time as a family now that there are some warmer temps on the horizon?  Do you have an infant in the house learning how to pick up finger foods?
Claire is eating us out of house and home so we are thankful for coupons and affordable products like Gerber while still providing nutrition.  Head here for coupons to save!

Hope you all are enjoying this sunshine before the inevitable spring snows ahead—grrrrr.

Have a great week and a great first day of spring!
Erin

Claire is Six Months!

08 Friday Dec 2017

Posted by in Life's Loves

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Ok, these just might be my favorite pictures ever!  She is such a little snuggle muffin!  And I mean snuggle muffin.  It is literally her most favorite thing to do.  There was a good run there where the only time she was at peace between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. was snug in my arms.  Which, when you are working full time is a little tricky, but gah she’s cute and she wasn’t too cranky unless you dared to try and put her back in her crib.  The last month was one big guessing game, as is par for the course around this time.  Not sure if she was teething, it was the acid reflux, or a mixture of the two, but I think we slept a grand total of 10 hours the whole month.

However, I am not lying when I say she is pretty much the sweetest.  During the day she is as happy as can be, until she’s tired and then sleep is just a bit tricky.  But even if she sneaks in a 20 minute nap, she’s good!
She’s on soy formula and solids three times a day–she’s shaping up to be our good eater!  We don’t go in for her 6 month until Dec. 18th so that we can take her at the same time as E’s two year so I’m not quite sure what she weighs, but she is smaller weight-wise than E was at this point, but I think she is longer?
She takes full baths with her big sister now and she actually plays and splashes E!

She can mostly scoot to where she wants to go and I have a feeling crawling and pulling herself up isn’t too far off!
Our dimply little girl is SIX MONTHS!!  We love you Claire!

For comparison sake, here is E at 6 Months!

Plus a look back at Claire
Claire is One Month!
Claire is Two Months!
Claire is Three Months!
Claire is Four Months!
Claire is Five Months!

Hope you all have a great weekend!
Erin

Soothing with Desitin!

13 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by in Daily Happenings, Life's Loves

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Happy Friday, friends!  This week has been a little rough for this family.  E has a stomach bug and Claire might have the same?  Or teeth?  Hard to tell when they are this little!  But one thing is for sure…they are both in need of a little relief in the diaper area.  We started using Desitin Rapid Relief Cream as soon as the girls started getting sick this week.  It made a huge difference.  Slather it on thick and at every diaper change, especially when the kiddos start to get sick!

Does anyone else use this cream?  What other remedies do you have to help soothe the little ones when they are upset?  For more information on the Rapid Relief Cream and how to prevent a diaper rash, visit here!

Hope you all have a great weekend!
Erin

Life with Two Under Two!

22 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Daily Happenings, Life's Loves

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Good morning!  Today I am so excited to be partnering up with LÍLLÉbaby to share a few things that have helped keep us sane with two under two!  There are days where everything feels like a hot mess and other days where I feel like we might just make it out alive.  I honestly think the transition from one to two has been easier than zero to one for several reasons, but I think it mostly comes down to realistic expectations and a couple of really key products.

Here are a few tips and tricks we’ve learned so far!

  1. A diaper bag backpack.  I love this option because it has an over the shoulder strap if you just want to throw it on, but it also has a backpack option so that you don’t have to deal with it flopping around and you have both hands free.  Plus, it’s roomy and stylish which helped me feel put together even when I was sweating and running around like a crazy person before 9 am.  On our outings this summer, it was a serious lifesaver.
  2. A double stroller.  I get lots of questions about this one that we use.  Most people think it’s a single stroller and wonder where the baby is.  She’s down in her little nook!!  So pretty much it’s the best ever because it has the feel of a single stroller, but the second seat attachment slides right in and still leaves plenty of room for stuff.  It’s incredible.
  3. Give the older kiddo manageable tasks they can achieve with ease.  E is such a pleaser so she loves to help and ‘out-mama’ me everyday.  She’s constantly trying to help or do what I do with her baby.  So, giving her tasks like throwing away the diaper or wiping up a little mess keeps her occupied and feeling like she’s a part of things.
  4. Manage tasks you feel like are difficult into manageable parts.  We learned early on that trying to bathe both babies on the same night stresses everybody out and nobody can sense stress like a kid.  Until both are able to sit in the same bath, we will do one kid one night and the other the next night.  Or one right when I get home and the other later in the evening.  Just piece out/manage tasks to make them as easy as possible.  Give yourself a little grace here.
  5. Get on a schedule.  Obviously, with the little one, a schedule is just now becoming a thing, but we still, even from day one, had a solid routine with E.   We are in the groove now with unpacking and preparing for the next day as soon as we get home from work, eating dinner as a family, baths/relaxing before bed and then bed.  See more on how we establish nighttime routines here.  A healthy routine has really helped us all feel a little more control in the day!
  6. Babywearing has also ramped up with two under two.  I hardly ever wore E because I just didn’t really get the hang of it and I felt like I was hurting her or messing it up.  I loved holding her and it just seemed easier.  Claire has been a whole different story.  She only wants to be held and over the last few weeks, has been almost colicky in her need to be upright and bouncing 24/7.  I figured out how to baby wrap REAL quick.  Wrapping her in the LÍLLÉbaby Wrap was one of the only ways to get her to nap and relax a bit.  PLUS, both hands are pretty much required when you have a toddler and newborn.  The Complete Carrier is also perfect for carrying either kiddo.  It has 6 carry positions including forward carry, which somehow we missed as a feature in the ERGO.  If you get a carrier that doesn’t have the forward facing feature, you probably won’t use it except on your back.  I would highly recommend investing in this if you are thinking about a carrier of this type because you can use it for all ages, in any position.

What else would you all recommend?  Life with two under two can be a little chaotic, but it’s also a beautiful adventure that we wouldn’t trade for anything!

Hope you all have a great week!
Erin

*This post was sponsored by LÍLLÉbaby, but all opinions, as always are my own

12-18 Month Essentials!

12 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by in Daily Happenings, Uncategorized

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Good afternoon!  Hope all of your weeks are off to an excellent start!  E is now 18 months and her needs have totally changed so I thought it was high time I got around to doing a post about what she is loving/needing now!  The one thing that I have noticed, is that our “needs” are fewer and it’s becoming more of a what she “wants” and/or enjoys for longer than 6 seconds.

Bathtime

  1. We have moved her out of her enclosed tub (that was really just a bucket) and she is in the full bath now.  Dude, bathtubs are slick and toddlers have no concept of taking it easy.  After one tub-free bath session, I had to go get a bath mat.  Just make sure you let it air dry suction side up every once in awhile because it does get mildewy underneath!
  2. I found this bath fingerpaint in the dollar section at Target, or at least something similar and E loves it!
  3. In addition to these toys that she still loves, we have thrown in cups and bowls that she can fill and dump.

Diapering

  1. We’ve moved into the possible potty training phase of life.  I will probably do a full post on this as we get closer, but for now, the only thing we have done besides couponing for pull ups, is set a potty chair in the bathroom.  She doesn’t really like sitting on it without her diaper yet, but we encourage her to just sit on it when we go too, get comfortable with it, etc…

Play

  1. She still loves everything I mentioned in the 6-12 months post including babies, blankets, buckets, etc…
  2. One magic item I have found are pom poms, cups, and spoons.  When I need just like five minutes to breathe or drink my now cold coffee, I pull this activity out.  It will keep her busy for I kid you not, like 30 minutes.  She just fills up all the cups with a spoon (I demonstrate) and then dumps from cup to cup and then does it all again.  As she gets a little older, I am hoping she still loves it and it can become a sorting activity with all the colors!  Although my child blessedly is not obsessed with putting everything in her mouth, I do monitor this activity because the poms are on the smaller side…they may sell bigger ones?
  3. I gotta give a shout out to my mom for giving E this doll.  She can go in the bath and then when she is dry can function like any other baby/doll!  And she is so stinking cute!!
  4.  Purses.  She loves carrying a fake cell phone, keys, and her purse, waving and saying “bye”.  Wonder where she learned that??  Also, you have not seen a fight until you have watched two toddlers fight over a purse.  Gah, so awkward.  Always bring your own purse and baby doll to a playdate.  Always.
  5. ALL THE STICKERS.  You must always have stickers in your diaper bag when you go out.  MUST.
  6. She is finally getting into reading.  Before now, she really wouldn’t sit still for more than a touch and feel book.  I feel like she is just now getting to the point of understanding the elements of the story/remembering what is on each page.  Right now she loves Planes Go! and Hooray for Hat!
  7. I’ll go ahead and throw clothes on here again too because they often serve as entertainment.  She now can put on her own rainboots which is HUGE in the parenting of a toddler world.
  8. I might do a whole separate post on this, but big Items that are good for a birthday wishlist: Play Kitchen (we still need to get E one…she is obsessed), Tent (great for storing toys out of sight), Car, and water table (could fill with pom poms during the winter!)

Sleep

  1.  E no longer sleeps in a crib and if you feel like your kiddo is ready to transition I did a whole post on E’s transition to her big girl room and also a post on how we did Toddler Sleep Transition.  We love her Dockatot!  I also did a post on Establishing a Nighttime Routine!

Eating

  1. I wrote a whole post on Toddler Eating and some of our tips/tricks.  This age is all about control.
  2. E pretty much eats only what we eat now…no more just “baby/toddler” foods like puffs.  The one thing we do still give her are pouches.   Great for on the go, but also a great source of nutritious foods that she won’t necessarily get otherwise.  Especially when she was teething and wasn’t super into food, pouches were a lifesaver!
  3. We also love these sippy cups.  The spout makes for a great transition cup.  It was the first sippy cup E would take!
  4. E has also pretty much outgrown her beloved high chair which does transition into a toddler chair!  She likes her freedom when eating now and so we put her at a table with chairs!
  5. We take E to a sitter and we have to provide meals so we use this lunchbox and backpack to pack for her days there.  This fall, she will start helping us pack and unpack as a part of her chores/things that she can do to help–and let me tell ya, she LOVES to help.

To take a look back, here are the essentials from 0-3 months, 3-6 months, and 6-12 months!

We just adore this age.  They are so fun and really are becoming their own little selves.  What do/did your littles love at this age??  What should we prepare ourselves for in the next bracket??

Hope you all have a great day!
Erin