PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

[Loves Vintage]

Hi Everyone,

I know it's a little late, but does anyone have any Halloween costumes to share?

Skippy, Just saw the picture of your boys! So.Much.Fun!!! You must delight in every day!!

Here's another question: does anyone still use a sleepsack? Puppmom, I know you were a fan of these for a long time. Still use 'em?

We stopped, but I put S in an xl one last night. She slept LATE! And, was toasty warm when she got up. She always kicks her blanket off, so I wonder if the sleepsack kept her snoozin' longer, lol. She still moved around quite a bit.

Where are Geri, DCG and Lanie? I know it's been a long long time since Lanie posted. Anyone in touch with her outside of PS?

 

[Laila619]

Hi Everyone,

I know it's a little late, but does anyone have any Halloween costumes to share?

Skippy, Just saw the picture of your boys! So.Much.Fun!!! You must delight in every day!!

Here's another question: does anyone still use a sleepsack? Puppmom, I know you were a fan of these for a long time. Still use 'em?

We stopped, but I put S in an xl one last night. She slept LATE! And, was toasty warm when she got up. She always kicks her blanket off, so I wonder if the sleepsack kept her snoozin' longer, lol. She still moved around quite a bit.

Where are Geri, DCG and Lanie? I know it's been a long long time since Lanie posted. Anyone in touch with her outside of PS?

LV, we do! I think my kid is going to take his to college, he loves it so much!

He sleeps so great in his sack, so we'll be using one as long as we can.

 

[Loves Vintage]

LV, we do! I think my kid is going to take his to college, he loves it so much!

He sleeps so great in his sack, so we'll be using one as long as we can.

Aww, he sounds so cute!! Maybe he'll be a candidate for a snuggie in the future, lol! How are you doing? Today's your EDD!!! Anything going on? Did you go early with your first? Are you all ready??!?!?!

 

[Skippy123]

oh congratulations soon!!!! I can't wait to see pics Laila619 !!!

LV, those sleep saks sound like a great idea; we just use fleece pj's. I put small blankets in but they don't keep them on them. Maybe I should look into that! aw thanks about my boys; I always we lived closer so our kids could play together! How is S doing? Please post a Halloween pic of S!

yes please post Halloween Costumes; I miss you ladies and babies!

 

[Laila619]

Thanks LV and Skippy!

Yep, today's my due date, but nothing.

L was two days early, so this little one is being a bit of a stinker. I had some relatives fly into town on Friday in anticipation of meeting the new baby, but they had to leave today so they'll miss it. Ah well, hopefully soon!

I hope your little ones are doing well! S, and E & M are such cuties!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Laila - That's too bad about your family missing the new little one. Timing is hard to predict with these things! Your pregnancy really seemed to just fly on by! Keep us posted!!!! Tell us more about what L is up to these days.

Skippy - S is doing well. She is a joy every day! She loves being outside. We go outside everyday with the dogs and she thinks it's the funniest thing ever when they run around with each other. She takes swimming classes now, once a week and loves being in the water. Her evening baths are soooooo long now because she just plays and plays and plays. When I turn off the water, she says "more, more, more." She's talking a lot more and has her own cute words for some things. She used to say one girl's name at her school, and now she's saying more of the kids' names, which I find super-cute.

I bet S would have the best time hanging out with Evan and Miles! What new things are they up to?

*********

So, we just took these photos today. We didn't go out for Halloween, which is just as well, since I didn't finish her costume until this morning! Oops!

 

[Skippy123]

Laila, I would love to see pics of L!!! sending dust the baby arrives soon, can't wait!!!

LV, S is a gorgeous owl!!!! She looks like such a joy! Wow, that looks like a lot of work; great job!!!!
My boys are really sweet to each other; they love to tease each other and do nice things for each other, like give one another a sippy cup if someone doesn't have one. Miles says more words but Evan isn't talking too much; we have a Speech therapist helping us out. Evan loves bath time like S; Miles likes bath time too but Evan could stay in for a long time. That is wonderful she is talking more and more! Thanks for posting a pic!!!


Anyone else's little ones having the hardest time with the time change?? My boys were up at 5 am and just kind of fussy because their lunch and meals and naps are kind of off. Fingers cross they get back on schedule soon! Happy beginning of the new week soon!

 

[janinegirly]

Hi everyone, sorry for being MIA - I now realize I belong in the toddler threak...eek! Looking forward to catching up.

My A turned one 2wks ago, and is already changing. Crusing and just getting into everything. However solids are still a struggle. she prefers milk (we're on whole milk now and the max is 24oz) and will only eat yoghurt. I put things in the yoghurt (fruit, peas in afternoon). She'll eat sweet potatoes and cheerios, crackers and that's it! I have put a lot of things in front of her, but will play with it and put it on the floor. If I put it in her mouth - no matter how yummy - she spits it out and wants nothing else!

So was wondering if anyone had similar experience or any sample menus for 1 year olds that you actually use? I've seen some online and it's a lot of food! She's a good weight so no concerns but don't want her to lose, I like her chubby!

Thanks and hi again to everyone!

 

[Kunzite]

Awwww, I love S as an owl! That is too cute LV. I'm going to need to steal that some year!!

Can you tell we let O pick his own costume? He went TOT for about an hour and loved it. He had such a blast pointing out the houses that had lights on (A light! A light!) and telling everyone bye bye.

 

[lliang_chi]

Heart be still!

LV, S looks ADORABLE in the picture!!! Looks like she loved her costume

Kunzite, Aw, I love O as Cookie Monster!

Janine, wow! I can't believe A is ONE already. No tips on the solids, have you tried table food? Maybe she just doens't like the texture of purees?

 

[geri]

Hi LV

Just popping in to say a quick hi! I tend to lurk but it has been pretty quiet in here. Nice to see a bit of activity in here, especially all the cute Halloween pics!

S is gorgeous - a real little girl now! What a fabulous outfit you made her. And yes, C is still in a sleep-sack. Not only does it keep her warm but it's the one thing that is stopping her climbing out of her cot and I'm not ready to move her to a bed yet!

I can't believe our little ones are growing up so fast. So cute when they are talking more, isn't it. C is a real chatterbox and cracks me up with some of the things she says. A couple of quotes: "Daddy cut trees, oh dear" after daddy trimmed the hedges and "Cutting arm off" instead of setting the alarm off. The downside is that she now very politely say "no thanks" when she doesn't want to do something, which is quite often! She is incredibly cute at the moment but also a massive tantrum thrower which is not so much fun. Our terrible 2s started at 16 months so hopefully she will grow out of it early.

Skippy - those boys are just too cute! They always look so happy.

Kunzite - O is such a cute cookie monster!

Janine – I wish I had some advice for you. I hope A’s eating improves soon.

Laila – good luck for the impending arrival! The time just seems to have flown by!

And a quick picture of C. Halloween is not so big in Australia but daddy dressed C up as a fairy to go trick or treating. He assures me the lollipop was organic watermelon!

 

[Skippy123]

Geri, she is a doll!!!! I like that she says no thanks and all her cute saying! My boys are just saying a few words right now. thank you about my boys! they are sweet guys

Kunzite, awww so cute, love Cookie!!!

 

[Puppmom]

Just popping in to share a pic of my little man. He's seriously the cutest thing. DH keeps saying this next kid will have a hard time measuring up.

 

[Skippy123]

Just popping in to share a pic of my little man. He's seriously the cutest thing. DH keeps saying this next kid will have a hard time measuring up.

he is the cutest thing! you will have 2 cutest things!

 

[Puppmom]

Everyone here has such gorgeous kiddies and I love looking at the pics!

Skippy, I'm super curious to see what this baby looks like because N is all DH! I'm kinda hoping for a little me in this one.

 

[ello]

Mrs Loves Vintage, I absolutely adore the owl costume - adorable! Great job mommy!

 

[ello]

Hi mommies,
Do you ever come across an adorable picture that someone else took of your kid that you did not know excited? Here's one my brother in law took of us & I just received. I love how he is giggling over my shoulder, I had no idea he was being a goofy!
Please share if you have surprise pics...

 

[Skippy123]

Ello, that is so cute and blissful! I don't have pictures like that. If they are out there, family has not sent them to us yet. that is great people send you the pics they take!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Aww, ello - that is a very sweet photo. None here like that, unfortunately!

puppmom - he just gets cuter and cuter!

geri - She's sooooooooo sweet! A little fairy princess!! Wow, she is quite a talker! She sounds like a smart little cookie. How are you dealing with the tantrums? We haven't fully entered that stage yet, but I am pretty sure I will have no idea what to do when we get there!

LC - Nice of you to pop in!

Kunzite - O is adorable in that photo!! I showed S and she said "ELMOOOOOOOOOO", then she studied it a little longer and then said "BAAAAAAAAABYYYYYYY". Too funny!

Skippy - That is so so cute that the boys will get each other things like sippies.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Oops, meant to post this recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/317948/whole-wheat-bars-with-raspberry-jam

These are like nutri-grain bars! S loves 'em. Made them this week. Yum.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

B is now officially 4, but I continue to hang-out on this thread

LV-that costume is amazing and S is so so cute! Your photos are awesome!

Pupp, Kunzite, Skippy, LC et al...your kiddos are just

Geri-how is it possible that she is so big!!!! It seems like not that long ago that we were in the TTC threads together!

Life with a 4 year old is awesome! We have a tiny 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment. I put B to bed the other night and was shocked to find his old training potty in the middle of his floor...full of pee...I was like "um, DH, why is there pee in B's room? He was like, I don't know...after piecing together his perception of the afternoon's events and B's, apparently DH was using the bathroom and B decided that he had to go and just took care of things in his room. Perhaps we will need a 2 bathroom in a few years, or we'll just count that baby bjorn potty as our second bathroom

This morning B and I ran some errands/had a date. We took the subway to Columbus Circle, walked through the park to the Baby Gap at 59 and Lex to exchange a sweater someone had given B that was a few sizes too small, then went to FAO Schwarz to get a birthday present for one of B's friends (using a gift card we had so it was a free trip, B got to play the big piano at FAO and play with several train sets--he was mezmerized, then we went to Buchon Backery (or Bougie Bakery as DH calls it ) and got hot chocolate and cookies (well, macarons for me and a parisienne that we confirmed had no eggs for him). Now he's taking a nap before we go to this party...I need a nap too

 

[lliang_chi]

LV, S is looking so gorgeous!

Bella, your date with B sounds fantastic! Hope you had a fun party.

Ello, your little giggler is adorable!

Pupp, hope you and young Master N are doing well He's adorable.

Geri, I can't believe C is so vocal and expressive! And beautiful!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Bella - How fun! How was the party? Do you find that you have a lot of kid parties to go to already? All of my friends with kids 6 and up seem to be at birthday parties every weekend, sometimes 2 in one day. It's insane!

Oh, Geri, I was going to ask you -- you must use Grobags? I finally broke down and ordered a 2.5 from Amazon. They are so cute! Can't wait to get it. Oh, and she can totally walk around in her current halo sleepsack. One night, I tried putting her in her little toddler bed. She slept there til like midnight, and then woke me up, standing next to me in her sleepsack - "uppa? uppa?"

*************
So, S now says "I love you." Except it's all one word, and always yelled "ILOVEYOU!!" You know when they have people on tv or the radio who insist their cat or dog is saying iloveyou? THAT is what she sounds like. It is ADORABLE and precious!!

 

[Skippy123]

BELLA, that Piano and FAO is soooo cute! yay for a date!

LV, awww, I love that she can say I love you, heart be still! Miles will hum I love you but doesn't say it yet. so sweet!



Tantrums??? What do you all do when they are having them? I try to walk away, ignore or redirect. Sometimes it can be tough though. lol For the most part my boys are Happy happy guys but sometimes a melt down happens. I am nervous about the melt downs, do they progress as they get older? just curious.

 

[Kunzite]

I really want to reply to everyone but only have a minute (shocking, right?!) so I thought I'd share a few 2nd birthday pictures! I keep saying I'm going to stop posting O's photos online and I mean it this time! Two is a good time to start.

On his actual birthday wearing his favorite shirt (penguin, penguin!), before his birthday hair cut!



Opening presents.



Playing with his new tool set and plasma car.





Elliot loved the balloons!!



... and just because! All of the boys hanging out. He is such a good brother most days!!

 

[geri]

Bella – That potty story is great! That shows thought and initiative – good for B! I also can’t believe how big these kids are getting either! Where does the time go?

LV – The “I love yous” are the best! So sweet that S is saying it. Yes, I do use grobags but I also had an ergo one for winter because it was warmer than the grobag and her room gets really cold. I am keeping her in the lighter weights ones for summer so she can’t climb out of the cot. I can see just imagine her coming to visit at all times of the night just like S! Have you moved S to a toddler bed permanently or do you just have one that you use every now and again? And how is the potty training going? C was I interested a few months ago but now she has no interest at all.

LV, Skippy – My strategies for tantrums are clearly not working because she keeps having them! And I have been told it could last till she is 4 - holy moly! Some of the things we have tried with varying degrees of success are:
• having routine for key parts of the day eg feeding, nappy change, clothes change, bath and bed so she knows what to expect. This seems to work well most of the time;
• managing transitions from one activity to another – lots of pre-emptive language and repetition – we are going to do x now, then we will do y, last book then we do x etc, nearly time to do y. This is working reasonably well now that she is talking more but we still have occasional melt-downs when we stop her doing something she is really enjoying, especially watching the Ipad.
• giving her choices – this works okay sometimes but is obviously only helpful when I don’t mind which of the two she chooses.
• redirecting - sometimes works but she is pretty persistent so will often keep on going back for the same thing unless I say no.

Once she has started the tanty though, all I can do is sit back and wait till she calms down then give her a cuddle. If I try to touch her or even talk to her during the tanty she gets even worse. I even got told “go away mummy” yesterday! I must admit I don’t handle it well. It stresses me out and I find myself getting angry with her so I am working really hard to recognise it is just a phase and not take it personally and to walk away when I am getting annoyed. I have bought a couple of parenting books for some ideas but haven’t yet had time to read them. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them!

Ello – what a sweet picture!

Kunzite – Happy birthday O! What gorgeous boys they all are.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Skippy - Miles' humming "I love you" is too cute! I need tantrum advice big time. I think I need a whole change in personality, actually, because I tend to accommodate whatever she wants. And, my husband is worse than me! I need some books!!!

Kunzite - Wow! O is two! Happy Birthday O!!! He looks like he had a great time at his party, he is soooo cute, and I love that two t-shirt! Oh, and love the penguin sweater too. hee-hee! And, ohmygoodness, that photo of the three boys together! You really know how to take great photos!!!

Geri - Yay for baby "I love you's". So funny about the sleepsacks. I had no idea that ergo made them. Must research next. The sleep sacks here tend to be thin (for winter) cotton and fleece. The grobag arrived, and sadly, they sent me something for 3-6 year olds. The label on the box was wrong, but this thing is laughably huge. I was like - do you fold it in half? Weird. So now I have to order another one, but it cute!

Oh, we still totally co-sleep. Every once in a while, I decide to put her in her toddler bed (which is in our room!), and she always wakes up a few hours later, comes to me and says up. What is funny is that she will go to sleep on a floor mat at daycare ON HER OWN. Oh, yeah, I still cuddle her to sleep every night!!! AND, when one of the daycare teachers babysat, she brought her to her toddler bed, put her in it, patted her back, and SHE WENT TO SLEEP!! So, clearly, she has different expectations of me and DH. Whenever we have tried to get her to fall asleep in her bed, we have to get in the bed with her, and then she still won't fall asleep. It sounds crazy, I'm sure, but we haven't really set out to change this, so I guess we're still ok with it.

I really like your advice, especially the daily routines and transitions. C is so talkative. I'm so impressed!

 

[noelwr]

Such cute pics, Mommies!

 

[noelwr]

Glad to hear that all the kiddos are growing up so well and that they are staying as cute as ever!

DH got a job 2 weeks ago, so we got a live-in helper and it has been fantastic! She does everything: cooks, cleans, laundry, ironing, grocery shopping and taking Skye to school and picking her up. We can go out on date night directly from work and she will take care of Skye: pick her up from school, go swimming, give her a shower, give her dinner, play, brush her teeth, read her a book and put her to bed. She gets up when Skye cries for her morning bottle any time between 4-6am. On Saturdays we can sleep in while they sleep and have breakfast. Sundays is her day off so that is our family day. I thought it would be weird having another adult in the house, but it's been absolutely fantastic!

Skye is also doing really well. She loves school and already speaks/understands some Mandarin. She knows a lot of words and some small sentences like "Where are you?" "How you doing?" She also started singing "Happy...to you." Her swimming is coming along great. She can now swim under water, without a floatation device, between two people as long as it's within one breath. Potty-training is going well. At home, she tells us "poo poo" or "wee wee" when she needs to go and we put her on the toilet. She doesn't do this outside the house, yet. Not sure what she does at school. Regarding playing, she loves pretending, especially having tea parties and that all her stuffed animal guests are sipping tea and eating cake.

Tantrums are also part of her ritual. She will sit on the floor, flapping her arms about, or lie down on the ground crying. We usually ignore it, walk away, and pretend we're having great fun somewhere else. She'll usually get up and come over to investigate. Skye turns 2 in 3 weeks.

We went to Krabi, Thailand, for a long-weekend, so here a photo from the beach and the other is when we were on a boat. She thought it was so beautiful that her jaw dropped....


We also had some professional photos taken, now that my hair has all grown back.

 

[noelwr]

by the way, I kept hearing that at some point your kid kind of permanently latches on to you and becomes shy of strangers or has separation anxiety... yah, never happened. wherever we are, Skye runs away and if she finds a family with kids, she pretends she's part of that family. otherwise, she shares her toys with other adults or tries to get them to color with her. I'm quite happy this is her character because I was quite the shy and introvert child, but we do spend a lot of time running after her...