Happy Wednesday

Hi everyone, I wanted to make sure you all knew that we are alive and well, but very busy having a good time back home in Toronto. Brendan and I were discussing our awesome trip back and we both came to the conclusion that while it's wonderful to go home and see all the people we love in a city that we miss, it really feels less like vacation and more like a press junket. We're constantly on the go, going on tour, and making the rounds. It's the best thing ever, but beyond exhausting.

The Small Human has been doing so well with all the different faces and places. He's eating well, napping (a little less well), and sleeping through the night like a champ. He's been really great on this trip and having fun being loved by everybody!

Today we are taking a road trip to my home town of Montreal, which is a 5 hour drive from Toronto. We're going to have to make a few more stops than we normally would, so that the little man can stretch his legs and run around, but I think it'll be alright. This time we are equipped with my cousin's iPad Air and a seat mount, for emergency Sesame Street sanity-saving.

Mostly, I'm stoked about getting to see my little boy in the house I grew up in, playing in the parks I played in, and eating my beloved and delicious Montreal foods! It'll be a nostalgia explosion for Momie, and I really can't wait.

Thank you so much Toronto family and friends for a wonderful whirlwind visit. We truly had a blast and already can't wait for the next time. xoxo

Nana & Papa's 65th wedding anniversary party

Seeing his first roller coaster

At the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition)

My & my Tita Nini

Tzatziki and Cinnamon Bun?! 

Just a few of the Reyes Cousins :) Shenanigans!

At Nonna's house

With Nonno and Dada

Playing hide & seek!

And We're Off

The day before a big travel day is always a bit stressful, but if you add exhaustion, extreme headaches, a sick bunny, a whole lot of running around with a toddler in tow, and people coming over to change all the light bulbs in your house (Thanks Seattle City Light, I think?), it can be quite overwhelming.

But I am a grownup and this is what grownups do, so I sucked it up and did it, with a lot of bitching and moaning of course. We are now on our way to the Great White North, (even though we are actually flying south where Toronto is).

Small Human will get to see his Dada's entire extended family on his dad's side for his great grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary. Over Christmas he got to meet the adult family members but this time he'll get to see most of the kids too. It's going to be a family zoo and it will be great fun!

The visit with my side of the family will be slightly less fun with the recent sad events, but I'm hoping my Small Human can help to spread a bit of cheer. He's such a happy little boy, and so good at bringing smiles to peoples' faces.

The Wilsons are coming back to Canada, so bring your party pants, people.

Wilsons out. xoxo

Prepped & Ready?!

Few things stress me out more now than airplane travel. You'd think that by now, after what feels like one million flights later, I would be confident about it, but Small Human keeps stepping up his mobility game. Long gone are the days of showing up at the airport, perfectly coiffed and ready for a flight home. Maybe even in heels. You have your ear buds, light snacks, neck pillow and teeny tiny carry-on suitcase that some nice man will probably lift into the overhead compartment for you. Easy breezy.

Now it feels like I am packing for an epic, Oregon Trail, cross country road trip by horse and buggy. I'm ready for: Poop-mageddon, Pee-mageddon, Scream-aggedon, Cry-mageddon, and Bored-mageddon. God help me if there's a Whine-mageddon cause ain't nobody prepared for that. We'll have a travel stroller with us, a travel crib, huge diaper/toy bag, insulated lunch bag, my giant purse, and two suitcases. Oh and the child, of course.

We've got it down to a fine art, and I have a good feeling that things will go well at the airport, even though so many things could go wrong with the execution and with the volatile toddler. I'm mostly worried about the five hour plane ride. He's going to want to run all over the plane, climb on people, steal their things, spill drinks and basically expend all that energy he's used to expending.

OMG, I have twenty-four hours to turn myself into a zen human being. Happy Thursday.

A rare zen moment for Small Human

Happy Blog-iversary!

It's been a whole year since I started my Captain's Log Mommy Blog, if you can believe it. I wanted to thank you all for reading and supporting and keeping me company on my journey as a mommy. It really means a lot to me to get messages of encouragement from you, or letting me know that I have helped you in any way, whether it be because of a product recommendation or just making you feel like you're a normal parent!

I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the mommy blogger world. I find it cathartic and fun, so thank you for going on this adventure with me. To thank you, I will be having a giveaway! It will be a surprise package of awesome things that Noah loves, and really, who doesn't love a surprise? I promise it will be good. heehee And yes, please feel free to enter even if you are my friend. Giveaways are fun, no matter what!

The winner will be announced the day after Labour Day, to allow people to enter even though they may be on vacation or offline. Good luck!


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19 Month Favourites

OMG my baby is 19 months old. In my head, he stopped aging at 6 months old, which makes me certain that even when he's 35, he will still be my baby when I look at him. These are a few of the things he's really into right now. His top favourite thing is exploring outside though and I'd have to agree, you can't really beat that when the world is brand new to you!

Laptop

Children love to do what the people they look up to the most do, and Small Human sees us using our laptops, cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry a lot. We try to include him in everything, but using Momie and Dada's laptops are out of the question (see last week's post), so we got him his own toy laptop. It was an instant hit, and he still plays with it even though it's a month old. That is impressive in the toddler world. As a mom, I like that it actually seems helpful with learning the alphabet and phonics and word/picture association. It even has a music option if you just wanna rock out to some tunes.

Henry Helps Books

At the library we recently discovered a series of books geared towards toddlers called the "Henry Helps" books. It's all about a toddler named Henry and how he likes to help with the family chores like feeding the dog, doing the laundry, etc. They are very simple stories with adorable illustrations that are meant to show young ones how to behave and what is expected of them. There are also helpful tips for parents on the back, which I appreciate.

Silicone Sippy Lid

I found these Siliskin Silicone sippy tops that can fit over small sized glass cups. I use them on our mini Mason jars to turn them into drinking glasses for Noah. He loves them of course because it makes him feel like a big boy, and we don't have to worry about using plastic. Plus Mason jars are pretty durable, especially with silicone covering the most fragile part -the lip. There's a bit of a learning curve with getting these on, so I suggest using them with just water first if you have butter fingers.

Buckles

Small Human is obsessed with buckles that snap together. He loves playing with his Dada's helmet and messenger bag buckles. It's gotten to the point where he will be happily silent for 30 minutes just trying to fasten them and unfasten them over and over. He doesn't have this kind of attention span for anything else. Thank you buckles!

Enjoy your week everyone, I'm not sure how much I will be around, as we are getting ready to go on vacation and things are piling up and getting crazy. xoxo

Slowly Going Crazy

Living life with a hyper toddler is really starting to get to me. I am seriously losing my marbles over here. I can't really complain, because it means I have a healthy and happy little boy but it also means I am one tired Momie.

Several times a day he likes to climb up onto the dining table if I happen to walk out of his sight for more than five seconds. While on the table he likes to: A. Dance B. Swing the pendant light C. Rip my shift key off my laptop keyboard D. Spill water E. Laugh maniacally and dance some more.

Right now he's holding a metal pizza tray and banging on it with Dada's shoehorn like a one man marching band. It is giving me a headache but again, he is so happy! Other things that drive me crazy are coffee table surfing (our coffee table wobbles, which makes it extra fun), t.v. kissing, smashing the blinds by throwing balls at them, scaling the baby gate, and terrorizing sweet little Tidbit and Toby.

I have knots in my shoulders from bending down and picking him up and chasing and trying to admonish a little person who doesn't want to listen. We've done one crib time-out so far, I've discovered that yelling doesn't work, and neither do wrist slaps. He has also taken to screaming impatiently for things that he wants. With that though, he seems to respond to reasoning at least.

What's funny is that when I tell people these stories, it's like they're not listening to me, and at the end of our conversation will ask, "So when are you having another?". I'm flattered people think I can handle another one, but right now I feel like I want to sleep for a year.

I have to go now because someone wants me to pick him up and dance with him, so I wish you all a relaxing, stress-free and happy weekend. xoxo

For My Tita Brenda

I can't be at home right now, which hurts so much, but I have been asked by my family to write a little something to be read at my aunt's funeral so that I can be there in spirit.

The very first memory I have of Tita Brenda, is of a long haired, gorgeous woman who looked like my mother, and that has never changed in my head. For as long as I've known her, she has been a force to be reckoned with. She said what she meant, and meant what she said, and while sometimes we Reyes cousins would fear her scathingly honest tongue, we also knew that she loved us just as fiercely. Tita Brenda was nothing if not passionate about life. We could always count on her to be our champion, and her generosity was unparalleled. If you were with her, you never wanted for anything, whether it be food, clothes or attention. Somehow, she made every one of us feel like we were special to her in our own right.

It is because she was such a source of strength for the family that her passing has broken our hearts so badly. I never imagined we would have to live without you, Tita Brenda, and now somehow we must. You were the Reyes family's warrior, passionate champion, hilarious prankster, shopping maven, and loving aunt to all of us kids. I bet you never thought your life and legacy would live on through each one of us, but it does. We are who we are in part because of you. I just wish I could've told you that in person.

I will love you forever, and I know that I will miss you forever. But oh how cool that you get to meet Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall. They won't know what hit them!

Brenda Reyes April 22, 1942 - August 7, 2014

Obnoxious Breeds Obnoxious

I realize that this might be a controversial title, but it's only one mother's tongue in cheek opinion based on observation, and not fact. My friends all have great kids. Sure, there are toddler squabbles and no one quite understands how to share yet, but they're all good kids. Maybe it's cause they have good parents?

When I meet asshole kids at the park, you want to give the parents the benefit of the doubt, because children do go through a phase where they act like selfish jerks, and that doesn't mean it's necessarily learned behaviour from the parents. Mostly.

Yesterday was a scorcher of a day at 96 degrees Fahrenheit (36 Celsius), so we spent a good two hours in the wading pool to stay cool. It was a winning formula really, because it kept us comfortable, Small Human was ecstatically happy in the water, and being in public made me less likely to cry over being so far away from my family who were all mourning together in Toronto.

Being a child, Small Human thinks everyone else's toys are the coolest thing EVAR, and being a toddler means he doesn't understand that he can't just take any toy he sees whenever he wants. All the parents know this and behave accordingly.

A really cool pink princess life preserver just outside the pool, caught my Small Human's eye, and he went for it. The mommy who was sitting next to it basically completely ignored my toddler and his pleading looks to use it, so he just grabbed it. It should be said that she ignored me too, weirdo. The little 6 year old who owned it though was quick to shriek, "Give it to me!" while the mother said nothing at all about her bratty older child's behaviour. Instead the mother decided to much too loudly and obnoxiously cheer on her 4 year old for "swimming" in the wading pool.

That lady got a look from me that made her shrink, and funnily Small Human gave the life preserver back to the little girl shrieking for it, cause he's a baby gentleman. Then the obnoxious lady's kids both hurt themselves in the pool simultaneously and were overly dramatic about it for bigger kids, and I silently thought, "Karma's a bitch, lady."

I'm glad I encountered that woman and her children though, because now I know that I want to make it a priority for Small Human to be considerate to others. You don't live life alone, you have to share it with a world full of people, so you might as well get used to it at a young age.

Taking a Small Break

Hello all, I am just taking a break from the blogosphere for a few days because we have just had a second death in our family in a month. I'm sure you all understand, and I thank you. See you next week.

Lilibeth xoxo

Unconditional Love Barf

I have known the definition of unconditional love for quite some time now. It is a term often used when new parents talk about the incredibly deep emotions they feel for their children, so it has become somewhat hackneyed and cheapened in the parenting world. It's basically considered super cheesy and will probably induce several eye rolls.

It means nothing to say the words "unconditional love". Words just don't cut it, the only way it can truly be conveyed is through actions and feelings. So what is unconditional love to Lilibeth?

Yesterday, I turned my back for 20 seconds only to find that my Small Human had climbed up onto the dining table and was busy stuffing my roasted almonds into his face. Nuts are one of those OMG-don't-feed-them-to-your-toddler-they're-choking-hazard foods, so I panicked a bit, but he seemed to be handling them just fine. Also, he's such a picky eater that I wasn't going to stop him from choosing to eat something outside his comfort zone.

Everything seemed fine, he washed them down with a cup of milk, and then I asked for a kiss which he always willingly gives, and then proceeded to gag. "Great, my kid gags when he kisses me!" I thought. Then the gags turned into coughs and then full on vomit. I think some almond pieces got stuck in the back of his throat like almonds tend to do and he wasn't used to it, so he ended up barfing out the cup of milk he just drank.

There was vomit on his face, hands, feet and chest, and the only thing he wanted to do was press his tiny, vomit covered body, safely into momie and cry. He even wrapped his tiny vomity fingers around my hair. It took all the strength that I had not to barf, myself. That's when the thought occurred to me: This is what unconditional love is. It isn't some romantic, beautiful notion. It's hugging someone completely covered in sour, stinking puke because they need to be held by you, and you don't give it a second thought.

If you care to read this one day my Small Human, please know that this is how much momie loves you!

Happy hump day. xoxo

Moms Just Wanna Have Fun

Whether you are a toddler, a grade-schooler, a teenager, or twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty something and beyond, sometimes you still feel like a girl that just wants to have fun. There may be times when you forget to have fun, are too exhausted to have fun, or don't have time to schedule fun, but I think the general consensus is that fun is necessary.

Yesterday was a bit like Christmas in August for me because Brendan was going to come home early so that I could go out for dinner with my friends and watch a movie. I haven't been to the movie theatre since actual Christmas 2013, which is the oddest thing in the world to me since I used to love watching films regularly. I worked in a movie theatre for years, so every time I go is kind of like a trip back in time, revisiting my awesome early adulthood.

The dinner and my company were excellent, as always, and the movie (Boyhood) put me in both a morbid and hopeful state of mind simultaneously. I won't go into detail about the psychological state the movie put me in, but I can say that a break from my usual toddler dinner and bedtime routine was most welcome. I am happy to report that we did, indeed get to have some much needed fun, sans babies!

Proof of said fun, complete with Canadian ketchup chips!

So Long, Hair

The last five years I had been obsessed with growing out my hair. This is because five years ago I got engaged and started to plan my wedding, and everyone told me that I had to grow out my pixie haircut before then. So I did, and I hadn't stopped growing my hair out since. 

When I was pregnant with Small Human, my hair grew nearly a full inch a month, and it still grows quickly because I never stopped taking those awesome prenatal vitamins. It got to the point where I had over two feet of hair! I'm only 5'3" so it kinda looked like a cape, but I loved it. Well, I'm over it now, and decided to chop it off into a long bob (LOB) this weekend.

I love it! I still feel like I have tons of hair, except it doesn't get stuck underneath me when I sleep, or get caught in my armpits (gross). I do miss my bun though, but that's ok, I'll just give it a couple of months. ;)

Happy Monday!

Trying to look natural while someone is smashing my calf with a Jack-in-the-Box 

Word Explosion

I don't know what is going on but my Small Human has suddenly become really adventurous with his mimicry and word knowledge. Just this morning he has said "more", "ya ya", "kick", "did it", and "meow". This is just bananas to me and I'm so proud and excited by it!

He understands pretty much everything we say, but so far he has only been saying maybe 15 words total, 12 consistently. Maybe he's finally gaining more confidence in himself, or has figured out that that is what he's supposed to do, who knows.

It's that look of pride in his eyes that really gets me. He just knows that he's doing something cool and new. Everything is cool and new to him, which I am really envious of. That innocence and awe is better and more intense than any feel good Tom Hanks movie I've ever seen has made me feel.

As cheesy as it sounds, becoming a mom has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. Mind you, I'm saying this on a day that I didn't have to clean up any germy bodily fluids from places they shouldn't be, had to scrub nearly indelible stains off the walls (yet), or retrieved 7000 toys thrown off the balcony (yet). It's a happy Friday and I'm just gonna roll with it.

Here in Seattle we've got the Blue Angels in store for us, along with a haircut and massage, and beaching! Have a wonderful August weekend!

He's been such a snugglebug the last few days. Must be more teeth, as evidenced by the finger biting.