Another Boy On The Way!

I am so thrilled to share that we are having another boy scheduled to arrive via C-section on May 31, 2011.

Time has flown by quickly and I have so much to share from the last year. My first son is now 2yrs old and so much fun to be around. This year has been the reveal of quite a sense of humor and hunger for learning.

I hope you are all well and would love for you to share anything new in your lives. Please also let me know if there is any specific topic you would like to discuss.

Take care for now and I promise there is more to come soon.

Spray Parks

This year we discovered what a spray park is and I wanted to share this information with you in case you too were missing out.

A spray park is an aquatic playground with interactive sprinklers which come in many shapes, sizes, and themes. The large variety of different types of spray patterns and water pressure make the spray park a perfect play environment for toddlers and big kids. The parks in our area have sections of soft material on the ground in areas where children are most likely to sit or slide around on. There are drains located around the spray park to assure the water is drained properly preventing any unwanted collections of water.

Spray parks tend to be in locations of state parks and sometimes pool areas. You can google "Spray Park" in your local area and I am sure will find one or more close to your home.

Even if it takes a short drive to get there, I know you and your children will find it well worth the drive. A day at the spray park is a fantastic way for the family to beat the heat and also a great place for the summertime birthday parties where you want people to be easily entertained without much effort on your part.

For people in Washington State here are some great Spray Parks in the Seattle area.

Tukwila Aquatic Playground - Tukwila, WA


Crossroads Park - Water Playground - Bellevue, WA

Grass Lawn Community Spray Park - Redmond, WA

Willis D. Tucker Community Spray Park - Snohomish, WA

Rotary Centennial Water Playground  - Everett, WA

18 Month and counting

Hello Blog, I am sorry to have been away for so long. The past few months have been spent having fun..fun...and more fun. Once my son was walking he was soon running and that meant instantly that he was ready and eager for more activities and outings.

My upcoming blogs will be on topics of how to entertain toddlers and I will be doing some reviews on new products we invested in to keep up with our son's transformation from baby to little man.

My Son is Walking!

My son is walking now. He started taking first steps right near his first birthday but didn't actually start walking well until the day he turned 14 months old. I worried a little thinking he was behind but I found from talking to other mothers and reading some articles that the walking age varies.

My son had a very bad cold for three weeks right before he started walking so I believe this may have caused him to lack the energy he needed to start walking well sooner. Once he was feeling better he was standing and taking steps on his own very quickly. 2 steps turned into 10 or more in just a couple of days, now he is very comfortable walking but if he is tired he does have a few tumbles but just shakes them off as if nothing happened and starts walking again immediately.

The best part about seeing my son walking is the smile of complete joy and satisfaction he has on his face. Without anyone even telling him, he knows this is a great accomplishment and worthy of much praise and pride.

Baby Center has an informative article regarding milestones and walking that is definitely worth reading.

Developmental Milestone: Walking

I would love to hear your first walking stories or anything you feel like sharing so please post a comment.

Thank you and happy walking to all you precious first steppers!

Please support me in raising money for March of Dimes

Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. I'm walking in March for Babies because I want to do something about this. And I need your help.

Please support my walk. Making a secure donation is easy: just click the 'donate now' button on my personal page that can be viewed using the link below. Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

March of Dimes - My Personal Page

When Breastfeeding Ends

I started weaning my son about a month before his first birthday. I first cut back to only one feeding a day and pumping only once at work. This routine really helped lesson the pain of drying up. It was actually much easier than I thought it would be. He was ready and so was I. The last time I breastfed was the day before his first birthday and he never acted as if he noticed anything had changed the day after or since then.

I worried that our relationship would change and that he might not need me as much after being weaned but I was wrong. Our relationship continues to grow even more now than before because he can express his love by hugs, saying mama, and smiling at me like I am candy or a puppy, which is truly the best.

Breastfeeding is an amazing experience but there is much more joy and growing to come so enjoy your moments now and just know that you will always have moments like this even after your child is weaned.

I would love your feedback so please share any input or opinions you might have about breastfeeding, weaning, or anything you feel like talking about. Thank you!

Hello Blog

Time has flown by so quickly. My son turns 11 months old tomorrow. This last year has been a wonderful blur. I wouldn't change one minute of it other than wishing I had a little more time for my blog.

I don't have a particular topic but just some off the top tips.

Watch out for your jeans top button when breast feeding. Once I picked my son up after he finished feeding and I saw a pretty deep indent from where my button dug into his rib. I felt horrible so I hope to save another mom from the same agonizing moment.

Keep your diaper bag packed at all times. You learn from experience when you don't pre-pack the diaper bag with the essentials you are bound to forget one of them. Keep the diapers, wipes, extra socks, blanket, bib, sippy, and washclothes stocked and prefill after each time out. It may sound like extra effort but you are going to see it pay off when you are in a rush to make it somewhere on time which is a miracle in itself for anyone who has a child.

I hope to share more with you soon. Until then I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.