Fun-Filled Morning

This morning, Small Human and I headed over to the Jefferson Community Centre to meet up with our friends Eliza, Bea & Viv. After a 40 minute parking fiasco on my part, and a poopy diaper on Noah's part, we finally got to play!

The babes seemed to have a great time, and I don't blame them because this place had bouncy houses (that Noah was terrified of), all kinds of little vehicles to ride, tricycles, balls, foam play structures, it was great. The only bad part was when Noah ate it while pushing around a Buzz Lightyear spaceship and fell on his face. They strangely made me fill out an accident report. Is that a thing? I guess it is. I'm of the Kids Fall Sometimes generation, so this is all very weird to me.

Anyway, pictures! Also, I wanted to wish our baby friend Jeremy a very happy first birthday! xoxo

Checking his blind spot

Always gravitates towards the instruments

All that playing builds up an appetite!

Third Time's a Charm?

This weekend we went on house touring session number seven million and forty three. You'd think our spirits would be completely broken by now and yet we still persist. Lofranco-Wilsons never give up! We are definitely more to the point on the tours, no more politeness or pleasantries about what we don't like. If we don't like it, we don't waste time trying to like it, we get in and we get out.

Well, we found a house that feels like it could be home and would like to make an offer on it. If we stand a chance or not, depends on whether or not there is another insane bidding war. I'd like to say that we have a chance, and I'd love to say that the third time's a charm. We shall see and hope and pray.

Either way, it isn't a total waste because Noah loves house touring. He likes going anywhere new and is easily entertained, especially if there are stairs he can climb. What a monkey!

It was such a nice day in Seattle that we had to go to the park, but of course as soon as we got there it turned cold and grey. You can't let that get in the way of fun in the Pacific Northwest though, so we made the most of it. We ended the weekend with a dinner trip to IHOP, where Small Human happily shared pancakes with momie! He was so well-behaved and charming at dinner that momie and dada were both able to eat their meals without rushing and in perfect peace. Fancy that. :) Happy Monday! Here's to a bright new week to start afresh.

Mint & Grey Nursery Colours

Don't get excited, I'm not pregnant, we're not quite ready but I am already planning baby #2's nursery. I think that mint and grey is such a sweet colour combo, and perfect for a boy or a girl! The thing is... I chose yellow and grey for Noah's nursery because it was gender neutral, but also so I could reuse everything for the second baby.

Boo! I want to be frugal, but it's such a fun idea to give each kid their own colours isn't it? We'll see. I'm kinda jumping the gun on this one, but Noah also had a whole wardrobe before he was even conceived, that's just how I roll. I don't believe in "jinxing" things and I have zero superstitions. I'm OCD enough as it is without adding more rules to the mix.

So many of my friends lately have decided to keep the gender of their baby a surprise. I would never be able to do that, I need to know if I can buy a couple of pink outfits, ya know what I'm sayin'? I'm kinda scared of girl clothes these days, there is no way any daughter of mine is going to sport a sparkly pink onesie that says "Daddy's Pretty Princess" on it. If anything, she'll wear one that says "Smart Like Mommy", and she can wear it with a purple tutu if she so desires.

I can't believe I just wrote a whole post about this! Maybe I am ready after all. ;) Enjoy your weekend, friends! I will be in pamper city and I hope you will be too.

Lost It

You know those people who are really good at giving advice and helping people out? Well, that's me. My problem is that I should really learn how to take my own advice.

I keep stressing to my other Stay At Home Mom friends that they need time for themselves or they will absolutely lose it. That taking care of your own sanity is a must in order to be an even better mommy to your beastlets.

Well people, I officially lost it today. I'm probably making a way bigger deal out of this napping thing than I should, but it's too late. We went from one morning nap and either 0 - 30 minutes in the afternoon, to ZERO NAPS. It was not my proudest moment, but I let Small Human cry for 40 minutes in his crib. I just could not deal with it. I did everything I could. He was dry and changed, fed, watered, comfortable, he had a stupid cool mist humidifier going. I rocked him side to side, I rocked him back and forth, I sang to him, I kissed him, I patted him and rubbed his back. Nothing.

Sooo I let my child scream his face off for 10 minutes, which turned into a steady whimper with intermittent screams for 30 minutes, at which point he finally fell asleep. I wanted to turn myself in to CPS, but that's really not even a joke, and also let's face it, I'm too tired.

Anyway, I have decided that rain or shine, on Saturday I am going to treat myself to a day of Lilibeth Only Time. I think I need this special time every week, even if it's just for a few hours. 24/7 toddler time is taxing on my body and spirit. As cute and wonderful as he is, I need some separation. This way I don't binge on salsa and tortilla chips and let my son cry for 40 minutes straight. I hope he still likes me when he wakes up.

Is 3pm too early for a glass of wine? Screw it, it's happening.

On our walk, before the incident.

The only thing that can stop a tantrum? My wallet.

Sippy Cup Win

Alright, I have to confess that I misjudged Small Human. I thought that the transition from using a bottle to using a sippy cup would be a long and arduous journey, but it was more like a quick jaunt. We use the free flowing spout sippies for his water, and the valve spouts for his milk. This is just common sense for us because of our wall to wall carpeting. Spilled milk + carpet = bad.

I am pretty certain that our success with the transition isn't because our son is an advanced genius, like some moms like to think of their progeny, but because of our Pura Kiki bottles. Seriously, Noah's been using these stainless steel bottles ever since I stopped breast feeding at 6 months, so he's gotten used to them. What's great about them is that you can switch out the nipple for a sippy spout, and presto change-o!

Small Human is starting to dislike his water sippy cups altogether now, and would rather drink from a glass like Momie and Dada. It's messy, but worth it and kind of impressive to behold. Aack! My baby is growing up too fast!

Brendan and I are still actively trying to stay away from using plastic when it comes to Noah's eating and drinking, but it's so hard when everything made for babies is plastic, which is a shame. The best we can do is make sure he drinks mostly from glass, stainless steel, and silicone, but he really loves his plastic snack catcher, which drives me crazy. Oh well, I guess you win some and you lose some.

Here's a link to a great video and website on how you can help keep your child's environment safer.

Nap Trick Mayday

Help, I really need some napping tips and tricks for getting my son to take a 3 hour toddler nap. Please save your "Oh my perfect child just sleeps for a million hours on his own naturally", cause I don't care, that's not helpful. I am desperate and I need help. If you know me, you'll also know that I don't ever ask people for help.

This weekend, Small Human's Dada got him to take one hour+ naps in the afternoon, but for some reason, he won't do it for Momie. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but he just stares at me like I'm hilarious/crazy whenever I try to get him down. If I do manage to get him to sleep, it's usually for only 30 minutes. The morning nap has never been a problem, but I can't get him to sleep for longer than 2 hours, and I really don't think that's long enough for a 13 month old.

When he's well-rested, he sleeps for 12-13 hours overnight and we need this to always happen. I'm losing my marbles here. Maybe I'm SOL and there are no tips and tricks, but I just thought I'd put it out there. *Flashing Mommy Distress Signal*

Yes baby, I feel the same way. P.S. Look how tall this kid is!

Mr. Uh Oh

We had a great, rainy weekend here in Seattle. As per usual, our activities included lots of eating but we got things done too and ended it with pizza, salad, beer and the Oscars! I totally called all the winners except for Best Picture, and I thought it was a fun tv night over all, since we don't really watch television ever.

Small Human has been non-stop "Uh oh"-ing, which is hilarious. That was his Uncle Mark's favourite phrase too. It's the funniest to hear when he has just woken up. All we hear is a drowsy little voice calling out, "Uh ohhh!" Omghessocuteilovehimsomuch.

On Friday I got to experience what it would be like to have two babies. It was surprisingly manageable. Granted, I most likely just got lucky that both of them were being amiable and cooperative, but still. Look at these two, how cute are they?!

Talking to Elmo on the tv

Noah was happily sharing his toys with his lifelong friend

Causing trouble at Cupcake Royale

For three weeks now, we have been trying to go to Red Robin but something always thwarts us. This Saturday we were finally able to go! I'm not sure why, but that restaurant is the only American chain restaurant that I just adore. It probably has something to do with the family friendliness of the joint and maybe cause of the tower of onion rings they have on the menu. I am such a sucker for towers of food.

It's already March, can you believe it?! Happy Monday folks, and happy March! Beware the ides of March... just kidding, you should beware the ides of April, especially if you're an income tax procrastinator. ;)