18 Months

     18 MONTHS:

• 1 bottle of baby shampoo
• 7 40L bins of baby clothes
• 8 doctor's visits
• 260 loads of laundry
• 546 nights of interrupted sleep (minus maybe like 10)
• 3820 diaper changes
• 5694 photos 
• infinite amount of love

     Yesterday, our little monkey turned 18 months old. 

     Now, I have considered her a toddler for a while... but a baby toddler. ;) I think the general consensus though, is that by 18 months your baby is officially a toddler. There are so many things that remind me every day that she is growing up so quickly. The other night we randomly decided to go to McDonald's since we were out and about at dinner time, and we ordered her her very first own meal. A cheeseburger Happy Meal with chocolate milk. And she even ate most of it. This was very emotional for me for some reason. I guess because she is, like, officially a kid when you have to order her her own meal.
     In the last two months, she has been increasing her vocabulary almost daily. She has well over 40 words by now, I'd say. It is so much easier to communicate with her now (which is great) but at the same time, it's just another one of those things that reminds me that she isn't a baby anymore.
     We are going on vacation next week, and when we come home and are settled back into routine we are planning on taking the rail off her crib. I'm thrilled that she is becoming more independent and learning/ doing new things, but I don't know quite how to describe this feeling I have about her leaving babyhood behind.
     Another sad fact about the 18 month mark is that I am going to have to go back to work now. I rationed my maternity leave money so that I would be able to stay off longer, but sadly, it is almost gone now, and I have a student loan to finish paying off. So back to work I go. Hopefully I will be able to pay it all off before #2 arrives (don't get too excited, there is no #2 yet, we're still in the planning stages), or at least be able to finish paying it with maternity leave money then. The plan right now is to get a waitressing job in the evenings (probably part-time) so Josh can stay home with Laura and we won't have to pay for/ send her to daycare. Wish me luck! (Or just give me $15 grand...) :)
  
Happy 1 1/2 Birthday, Laura!

PS I don't know why Photobucket won't let me add the 17 month caption... also thanks to Josh for helping me embed the slideshow <3

Night Away

     This weekend, at just shy of 18 months, Josh and I left Laura overnight for the first time. One of Josh's good friends was getting married, and when we had spoken with the bride and groom earlier this year about whether or not Laura was invited, they said it was fine, "It's not like she's an infant anymore." Hmmm, I thought, if you think our one-year-old is going to be less disruptive than an infant... yeah. I'd rather not be the one to break it to you (on your wedding day, no less) that one-year-olds are hell raisers. So, we decided for the sanity of the bride and groom, as well as our own (mainly mine, since I would likely be the one chasing her around all night) that she would not be joining us. 

     Since Grandma had been bugging to keep her overnight anyway, the new plan was that Laura would be having a sleepover there. Although she is comfortable with my mom, I worried about her because for the last few months she has been going through the shy/ stranger anxiety phase; I don't think she was at a good point developmentally for me to leave her for so long when she felt this insecure. BUT at the same time, after 18 months I felt due for a night off! And I was really looking forward to having some 'adult only time'. So, after going over a lengthy instruction manual on how to operate my child, off we went, leaving Laura at Grandma's. I cried a little when we drove away. And then again when someone brought it up at the wedding. But then I was okay, and actually even started having fun. :)
     The wedding was held at a small resort nestled beautifully amongst the pine trees on the shores of a small lake - a very intimate and rustic setting. We arrived for the ceremony with little time to spare, as Josh informed me as we were getting ready to leave the hotel (we weren't able to stay the resort, sadly, due to financial constraints) that he had left his dress shoes at work. So we made a short pit-stop to rectify that situation, putting our arrival time within minutes of when the ceremony was to start. But, we didn't miss anything, so all was well. The ceremony was held outside overlooking the lake, and although the forecast was threatening thunderstorms, the rain held off until after dinner.

The ceremony was really lovely, and the bride was beautiful.

 

 

 

 

They released butterflies as part of the ceremony. So pretty!

 

     After the ceremony and the wedding party had snuck away for photos, we had dinner in the lovely chalet overlooking the water. Everything was really nice. We stayed until midnight or so and then drove back to the hotel. After a night of very little sleep (but probably not for the reason you're thinking of) we headed back to the resort for the Farewell Breakfast. It was really great being able to get together with all of Josh's friends for the weekend. 

     After breakfast we drove back to my mom's place to pick up Laura. Although I didn't really miss her, I was looking forward to seeing her (and nursing!). When we walked in, she came straight over to me, put her arms up to be picked up, and said, "nursing". LOL. I guess that's all I'm good for. Honestly, I was expecting a little more of a reaction than that...
     She was very tired as she had a late/ short nap, and didn't go to bed for Grandma until 11:30. So, we packed up all our things and headed out. She crashed very shortly after I started the car. Once we got home she seemed her normal self again... until it was time for bed. Mommy and Daddy were very tired and wanted to go to bed early. Going to bed early seemed like a good idea for Laura, too. Except she wouldn't go to sleep. I seemed to have broken our relationship and her trust in me that I would be there for her in the morning. She wouldn't let me leave. Poor monkey. It took a good hour of her crying and me reassuring her over and over that I wouldn't be leaving until she would go to sleep. But she ended up sleeping for about 14 hours once she did. 

    I guess I don't really know how I feel about the whole situation, still. It was very nice to enjoy adult company, but I feel guilty because Laura seemed so disrupted by it all... :/ hmph.

Golden Afternoon

     I am writing this blog post mainly to capture this "happy place" we created today for me to remember when Laura is inevitably driving me crazy at some point in the future... ;)
    Nearly every day after Laura wakes up from her nap (usually around 4pm), we go outside for an hour or so until Dad gets home. It works out well because the sun is down far enough by then that a) she won't get sunburnt, b) I don't need to fight her to wear a hat anymore (because she won't leave one on her head), and c) there is enough shade that I can sit out there without becoming uncomfortably hot. Usually I sit and watch her paddle around in her pool, filling toys with water and dumping them, going down her slide (and climbing back up!), writing with chalk on the wall, digging in the garden, etc.
     But today we had a particularly delightful afternoon. It was hot, and Laura was splashing water from the lid of a tupperware bin and getting it all over herself and in her face. But instead of getting upset and crying, she laughed. She even started "singing" her own little song about it. I tried to think of a kids' song to do with splashing water that I could sing along with her, but then realized that sometimes songs with no real words are just fine. Following her lead, we sang a few verses of "dum dah dah dum dum" (or however it went, I can't remember now). We also shared a laugh at Willow who, after I turned the hose on her, began attacking the water like it was some small animal of prey. Very funny.
     Then I decided to chase Laura around on my hands and knees. Our respective speeds are matched just about perfectly for her to be able to run away just out of reach, which she loves. Giggling wildly she picked up a handful of grass clippings and threw them at me. My first instinct was to be mad and tell her not to do that. But then I realized, what was the harm? So I threw a handful back at her. We both ended up covered in grass clippings by the time we were done. I realized today that it's good for the soul to just loosen up and have fun like that.
     We also had some mommy horsey rides that she loved, as well. I guess I need to get down on her level more often. Having a happy giggling toddler makes for a happy mommy. <3

(please excuse the less-than-flattering camera angle of my giant rear) ;)

Time Out

     In the last few weeks Laura has picked up the adorable habit of hitting. With her fingernails. We started taking her to her room and putting her in her crib (the only place left in the house to contain her) to let her cool off for a minute or two, which seemed to do the trick. 
     But then we began wondering if she would negatively associate her room and bed with being 'in trouble'... so we went back to the drawing board. The problem is, since we don't have anywhere (besides her crib) to put her for a time out, we are coming up blank. I decided that today I would sit her on the stairs and actually use the words "time out". I've only had to do it once, so I can't attest to how effective it is so far. In the meantime, I am open to other suggestions on how to stop the hitting/ scratching!

Rainy Days

     Last night it rained. We needed it soo badly; all the grass is brown! Too bad my laundry was out on the line, though. Oh well, it will dry again. This morning was still overcast and not much fun for playing outside, so...

     we made playdough! And by 'we', I mean 'I' because, though I tried to get Laura involved with pouring the ingredients in, she only wanted to run around the kitchen eating chocolate with measuring cups and throw the dog bowls around the floor instead. Sans pants.

     In case you were wondering, I used this recipe for the playdough:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup salt

     Combine all ingredients in a pot and stir over low heat until desired consistency is reached.

     I also used leftover Koolaid packets to dye it and make it smell yummy! :D
I let Laura pick one (she picked lemon-lime) and I picked grape. After kneeding it into the dough, I had one very nice shade of green, and one fairly homely shade of ... grey.

     Several drops of red food colouring later, we were back in business.

 

It's not for eating, but I guess you could since it's made with all food ingredients

 

my awesome dinosaur making skills are overwhelming, I know

     and we also finger painted with dyed yogurt! (also okay for eating!)

 

     ... which - as it turns out - is way more fun to paint the table with and/ or throw at the dog when Mommy goes downstairs to hang up the paintings to dry...

 

Chester's such a good sport; dutifully cleaning up yogurt splatter even though he is covered in it <3

 

     It looks like it's clearing up for the afternoon, so maybe when Laura wakes up we can go to the park! Happy Monday! :)

Disposable Diapers

     This week we have been battling a diaper rash. I thought at first that it was just a heat/ moisture rash, and was able to get it to go away, but then it came back again, which made me wonder if it was contagious (ie. yeast infection) and our diapers were infected. So, I went out and bought a pack of 'sposies so I could treat all of our cloth diapers at once, and also so I could safely put a barrier cream and yeast cream on Laura without worrying about ruining our diapers. Usually I don't bother to buy disposable diapers if she has a rash; I either a) just use coconut oil as a barrier (which almost always works) or b) use flushable liners in our diapers when using a more heavy duty barrier cream like Penaten. But, since I suspected that our diapers may be infected, I decided to just bite the bullet and buy a pack of disposable diapers to use while I was treating our cloth ones. It sucks because all the packages cost upwards of $10, and I only needed enough diapers for maybe one day... about six. So, I guess we'll just have some extra on hand if we randomly need 54 emergency disposable diapers now.
     We started using cloth diapers when Laura was about three months old, and haven't even bought disposables in probably the last 10 months. But whenever we buy them, I am always reminded of how much I prefer using cloth diapers.

     Here is my list of reasons why I love cloth:

• I am not throwing 3 tonnes of non-decomposing, poo-filled plastic in the landfill (per child!)
• Instead of supporting large corporations and paying money for something for our child to poo in and then throw away every week, we were able to support entrepreneurial and Work-At-Home-Moms when we started up. It was a one time cost and we will be able to use them on subsequent children and probably sell them when we're done (or at least donate them), saving us thousands of dollars. If you think about it, buying disposable diapers is akin to buying disposable plates because you don't want to wash reusable ones.
• Although cloth diapers use water and electricity in the washing process, I don't feel nearly as bad about that because wastewater is treated and recycled. The only thing we are "wasting" is electricity to wash them, and not much at that (we didn't even notice an increase in our bill) since we have a high efficiency front-loading machine, and hang dry the diapers as much as possible (and our electricity is hydro, so not even that bad for the environment in the grand scheme of things.)

• I never have to worry about finding those unsettling, chemical-filled, gel beads that inevitably escape from the absorbent layer of disposable diapers on my baby's bum anymore 

• The cloth diapering community has opened my eyes to many other ways we can reduce our ecological footprint. I like feeling like I am doing something to help the environment.

• Laura's pants actually fit when she is wearing cloth diapers

• While I somewhat enjoy the smell of a fresh disposable diaper, it does not counter how horribly bad (like make-me-want-to-retch bad) they smell when they're used.
• Disposable diapers feel weird on my baby's bum... like crinkly tissue paper. Why would you want to sit in that when you could be sitting in a fluffy, fleecy pile of goodness?
• Cloth diapers are just cuter. And let's be honest, it's fun to coordinate diapers to outfits.

      Of course, disposable diapers have their advantages as well, but for our family, cloth is what works. 

Our stash :)

24-Hour Disaster

     They say bad things happen in threes. Hopefully that is not the case for us! Our life for the last (slightly less than) 24 hours has been somewhat disastrous around here:

      Last night Josh and I were discussing the lack of progress our vegetable garden is making. I pointed out that we should probably be watering it more than we are, and suggested Josh mow the lawn and then turn the sprinkler on to quench our collective greenage. He agreed as long as I went in to get dinner started. While I was busy coordinating dinner items while simultaneously trying to watch Laura, he yelled in to me to close the windows upstairs because he was imminently ready to turn on the sprinkler. I ran up quickly and shut the guest room window because I knew I had had it open earlier in the day, but what I failed to remember was that Josh gets way too hot to sleep at night (as we have no air conditioning) and has to leave our bedroom window open. So, because I wasn't the one who opened it and was preoccupied with dinner/ Laura, I forgot to check and make sure it was also closed. It wasn't. (Do you like how I transferred the blame, there? ;)) When we finally went to go to bed at 11:00, we realized that the curtain, duvet, pillows, sheets, mattress, and floor had all received a good watering along with the vegetable garden and lawn. Great. Just what I wanted to be dealing with when I was about to go to bed. So we spent 15 minutes changing sheets and hanging bedding to dry before bed and decided we would air out the mattress and pull the nightstand away from the wall in the morning to let it all dry out during the day. 

DISASTER #1

     This morning after breakfast Laura made her way up to our room only to discover a grand new play area! Did you know that box springs are a great playground for a one-year-old to jump and roll around on? Neither did I. So I just sat on the floor in there and watched her for a good 10 - 15 minutes. Then I decided I was going to paint in the guest room while she napped today, and so went in there to prep while she was otherwise occupied. I was moving a shelf out of the way into the nursery when I came back to discover terrible terrible disaster #2. Laura had gone into the guest room during the 60 seconds it had taken me to move the shelf and tipped over the entire bucket of paint. It had a lid on it, but it wasn't on tight, and so I came back to a centimetre deep, two foot wide bright turquoise puddle of paint soaking into the beige carpet.
"OOOHHHHH NNNOOOOOOOO, Laura NOOOO!!!"
     She was covered in it. She must have sat in the puddle, because there was paint covering the entire tops of her feet, pretty much up to her ankles, and the bottom of her (beautiful and expensive) cloth diaper were all Carribean Sea coloured. She started crying because I was freaking out. I put her in the tub while I frantically tried to scoop up as much of the puddle of paint back into the empty can as I could. Not only had she managed to dump the entire can of paint and coat herself in it, she also got bright turquoise paint on our clean white duvet that was in the guest room drying out from last night's fiasco (and also on a variety of other things that were in there.) Additionally, there are coordinating turquoise footprints in the carpet leading away from the puddle. There was no way I could deal with this myself. Laura was screaming at the top of her lungs in the bathtub thinking the world was ending, and as soon as any of the paint dried, that would be the end of my hopes of trying to get it off. Josh was already planning on coming home for lunch today, so I called him and told him to come home early. When he got here he dealt with Laura while I tried to salvage the rest of the paint covered items. There was obviously no hope for the carpet... I tried using the Green Machine to suck up as much paint as I could, but it is stained beyond hope. There was a power bar casualty. The duvet I'm not sure about yet... I doubt I will be able to get all of it out, there will likely be a faint turquoise stain, which isn't too bad since it won't be visible once inside the cover. The paint came off the diaper cover, but the fleece inside will probably remain turquoise for some time, as will the insert. My clothes got in the line of fire and are probably ruined, and there was also a reusable bag that was hit, but it was the one thing that came clean.

DISASTER #2

     I said to Josh, "Could this have possibly been any worse?" to which he replied, "Laura could have drank the paint." Good point. Well played. I also came up with, "Well, at least we hadn't already replaced the carpet in that room," and, "at least I was able to save most of the paint (although there is probably significantly more hair in it now)".
     So now what? Well, hopefully our mattress from fiasco #1 will dry out and not grow mould. And as for disaster #2, I guess we will be replacing the carpet in Laura's new room. We have a new student coming next week, though, and something tells me it's not going to happen before then. I guess she is going to be living in a room with a large, ocean-coloured stain on the floor. Ugh.