Hibernation

So I took a summer hibernation but I am officially awake! ( I know you have been on pins and needles waiting for my return).

So the question is what to tell you about first. I wish it was that I had so many things to write about that I couldn't just pick one but the truth is I don't know if anything that is going on is worthy of writing about.

ONE ONE ONE!!:

My little M. turned one a month ago! We threw a little birthday party bash!

Theme: Baby Luau

Hope you all have a good day!!

CHOMP

Sorry for the temporary leave of absence. These past couple of weeks have been very stressful! Anyways I am back and roaring to go!

CHOMP!

Little M. has her first tooth!! We found this out while walking threw Costco one day. Innocent Tyler was playing with Little M. she grabbed his finger and put it in her mouth. Then...

CHOMP!

Tyler then came to realize that our child had cut her first tooth! Finally! For all of you that have been following little M's teething experience (Since 3 months old). We are finally victourious we have one tooth!

A couple days later we thought we felt the second tooth come in ( she won't let us look so we have to rely on touch). However, this was just her tooth pushing up she hasn't cut it yet. You win some you lose some.

Race to the Dog Food

Announcer: And their OFF! It seems Little M. has a head start as she chose to start the race while mom was FOLDING clothes.

Mom: little M. No No you can't eat dog food.

Little M.: DA DA DA DA (said in a very high pitch scream).

Announcer: This is a going to be a close one. Who will reach the dog food first. WHO WILL IT BE!

Announcer: Little M. has some dog food in her hand will it make it to her mouth. Oh foiled again! mom swooped in from outer field and stole the play!

This is what my life would be like if I had a sports caster narrate my life. Little M. has a new fascination with dog food. Sammies dog food happens to be in our loft area right where little M. plays most of the day. This has become very annoying for me needless to say. We are currently looking for a place to relocate the dog food but there is really no where to put it where sammy could get it and little M. can't. So for now Sammies dog food sits on top of his cage and he can eat when little M. is sleeping.

100% Calm Tomorrow Not Today

So for those of you who have been following for a while you all know that Malia is a small baby.

Her 9 month doctors appointment was yesterday. I was a little nervous all day thinking all of the things the doctor would tell me.

"We will have to admit her for failure to thrive" (This actually happened to a baby around her age for only being 13 pounds and that was the only thing wrong. There was no develop mental problems just weight.)

"She doesn't weigh enough we will have to run some tests" (Which I know isn't a big deal moms have to deal with a lot worse. I think the thing that would kill me is waiting to see if something is wrong with her.)

So by the time I reached the doctor I was on edge. Over the last couple of months I have been trying to reassure myself. Tyler was 18 pounds at three this is normal. Then I would see other babies the same age as her and they are triple her size! Then other moms would say (as they hold their 20 pound babies) she is just fine I would never worry about that.

So we got there nervous stomachs and everything. We continued to wait in the waiting room for 45 min! (My doctor is a chatty one which I like when I am seeing him not while I am waiting for him). So when we finally went back they weighed her. Her weight at 4 months was 12 lbs 9 oz at 6 months it was still 12 lbs 9 oz. She now weighs 13 lbs 14 oz! I felt a small victorious cheer go on in my stomach.

We then waited for the doctor I was feeling good about myself I mean she had gained weight thats all we needed. So the doctor comes in "She needs to gain more weight." We are now back on nursing every 3 hours plus solids (packed full of butter) three times a day. She has to go back in 6 weeks for another weight check.

I just can't help but worry, if things were normal I wouldn't have to do this. I know things could be a lot worse but I just wish everything was normal. I am slowly adjusting to the new schedule of nursing alot again and calming down. I plan on being 100% calm about it tomorrow.

Writters Blogging Block

WRITERS BLOGGING BLOCK is a condition, associated with writing a blog, in which a blogger loses the ability to produce anything that evokes any humor. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in being humorous. At the other extreme, some "Blocked" bloggers have not been unable to ever entertain anyone again. It can manifest as the affected blogger viewing their posts as dull or lifeless, when in fact it could be the opposite. There are some symptoms of this condition listed below. If you have any of these symptoms please visit other bloggers immediately to see if you can find any inspiration.

- May have 3-5 new posts saved as drafts, but can not post them as they are not "good enough".

- May lay awake at night after checking their blog thinking they really should update their blog. BUT WITH WHAT!

- May try to be finding humor in things that are in fact very boring.

- May not have updated their blog in quite a while.

- May have slight jealousy towards other bloggers who seem to never run out of anything to say.

I have decided that I am afflicted with this illness hopefully only temporarily. Please hold while I search for something to write about. I have a feeling it will be tomorrow or maybe the next day but its coming!

The Closet

I may or may not be feeling extremely lazy recently. This may be why I have not posted since Thursday. Or maybe that's why the laundry is not done. None the less I am back.

Today started off pretty good took a trip to Costco with a friend. I came home and did not feel any motivation to do anything. After a while I finally got up some motivation and cleaned out my closet!! Hooray!!

Three months ago I organized my closet to try and get rid of some clothes. If you are like me you can not part with clothing easily. The conversations that go on in my head I am sure would be very entertaining.

Me: I haven't worn these pants since we got married and there is no way I will ever fit these pants again. I should throw these away.

Hoarder in Me: But you wore these pants on the day you went ring shopping with Tyler. How could you possibly be thinking about throwing these away!

Me: I really don't think I should keep this hoodie it has a picture of Tiger on it. I am trying to look more like a grown up. ( I am sick of people commenting on how hard it is to be a teen mom. I AM NOT A TEEN MOM.)

Hoarder in Me: But what if all 12 of your other hoodies are dirty and you need one. You DO NOT want to run out of hoodies.

Me: This jacket is pink its pink why do you have this jacket! It has the tags on it still and you have never worn it ever.

Hoarder in Me: But someone gave you this jacket and when they bought it I am sure it was expensive. Maybe some day I will find a use for this jacket.

So to fight this inner battle 3 months ago I separated all my clothing on to two racks. One rack was for clothes I was going to keep and the other was the ones I couldn't decide on.

Today was the day I went into my closet with no remorse. I had not worn any of these items of clothing for 3 months! I do not need this clothing! I just took 90% of these items and threw them in the donation pile. I did keep some of the items that I just couldn't decide on. I know I know I should just get rid of them but I can't bring myself to purge that much.

Here is to spring cleaning!

Standing Proud

Malia is now pulling herself up to stand on everything and I MEAN everything. She even walked her hands up the wall and stood against the wall this morning. She doesn't even need an edge to pull herself up on now!

My baby learns everything so fast. She doesn't slowly start to try to pull herself up and have attempt after attempt. She shows no interest in this activity at all until one day HOORAY she does it perfect the first time. I can't believe how many milestones she has reached now!

Now with this new accomplishment comes its own little challenges. So this is a warning to all you new moms out there that every time they learn something new you need to adjust how you do things and I mean every time.

#1: She has forgotten how to nap.

Normally I put Malia down for a nap start her music and walk out of the room she cries for like 5 minutes and then she is out. Now that she has learned to pull herself up she stands on the side of her crib and cries for about ten minutes and then sits down. Then about 5 minutes later she gets back up and stands and cries and cries. (Poor girl)

#2: The Joys of Shopping

Now that Malia has become more mobile shopping has become a challenge. We were a Walmart today looking for mothers day cards ( Which by the way is really stressful remind me to tell you later). She decided to start exploring the cart. She was sitting in the car all strapped in and I am reading card after card. I glance over at Malia to make sure she is alright and to my surprise she had just finished turning herself around in her seat and she is attempting to stand she has the seat belt on so this is not possible but she sure tried. This scared me and I am trying to think of a solution to my shopping cart problems. I will let you know if I find one.

#3: Play Time

I used to just let malia crawl around downstairs and play I watched her of course but I did not have to be like a hawk. I now have to hover over her as she tries to climb the stairs. Which she did successfully get up one stair yesterday. Go Malia! This cuts my time down to about an hour a day to get all of my chores done.

So here is to milestones and adjusting your parenting technique.

My House Is A Toy Box

The Picture From My Eyes: When I get up for the day and start doing my daily chores I feel like my house could eat me alive for breakfast some mornings. I always keep my home fairly clean, clean enough that I could have people stop by with out being embarrassed. In my mind I look around and know that I haven't cleaned the cupboards in months, I need to vacuum, and those dishes in the sink might as well be touching the ceiling they look so overwhelming. One day I was standing looking at my house and feeling overwhelmed.

I all the sudden hear Malia squeal for excitement I turn to see her pulling herself up to stand on her bouncer chair! I then remember something my Father In-Law told me while I was pregnant. "Your house will be a toy box, and that's ok!"

So today that is my motto "My house is a toy box and that's ok because I would rather be playing with my little girl".

Teething

Update: Malia is starting to get a little more independent thank you so much for your advice I will let you know when things get lots better :)!

The Beginning: Malia started to teeth at 3 months old. I know everyone tells me oh she was probably just fussy not teething. I thought this was strange to so I was at the dentist for an appointment when she was 3 months old and I had him take a look. He told me that she was in fact teething and not just teething but teething her canines (this is unusual I would have had no idea). He told me that she probably wouldn't have any teeth cut in for a long time but that they would go up and down in her gums. So every once and awhile we will have a bad teething day.

Recently: We have had more and more bad teething days. When Malia has a bad teething day she gets a little fever ( no higher than 100) and she bites her fingers and anything else she can. She gets really clingy and sleepy. Well we went to the doctor a few weeks ago to check her weight and he looked at her teeth and said now her two middle teeth on top and bottom are starting to come down. But STILL NO TEETH ACTUALLY OUT!. I keep hoping to see that little tooth pop through just so she can have some relief from this misery. Poor Girl.

Here is to hoping that a little tooth will come through soon and also that when that tooth comes she doesn't bite when she is nursing :).

Attached At The Hip

As a mother you are always facing challenges. Once you solve one the next one starts to rear its head. My recent challenge happens to be one that I do not know what to do about.

The Challenge: Malia has started to attach to me and by attach I do not mean just crying when someone else is holding her. She will cry if I put her down or walk away from her. I love this time together and I love that she seems to know that I am her mommy. I just feel so bad for her. I can't imagine feeling that kind of anxiety all the time. I want her to be able to explore and have fun crawling around with out feeling alone and scared. I have tried almost everything to teach her that I am not leaving her and that it is ok that I am not holding her.

So If any of you have any advice I'd sure like some input on this one.

When It Rains It Pours

Setting: My kitchen cooking baby food.

Today was my day to cook my baby food for the next two weeks. I had already made a large dent in this process. I had finished the carrots, sweet potato's, raspberries, and pears. The butternut squash and the broccoli were still cooking. I was just about ready to blend the peas.

I was feeling really accomplished finishing all of this work and just feeling really empowered. I went to press blend and the second I did hot peas went flying all over the kitchen and all over me. I had the lid on so no I did not make that mistake. Apparently the peas were to hot and the pressure made the lid fly off.

Lesson Learned I will now make sure the peas are cold before I blend them.

Sickness

What do you do? What do you do when you are deathly ill and your baby is bright, bubbly, and ready to run or in my case crawl.

This last week has been a long one ( and its not even over!). My week started out ok on monday I had a slight skin infection from a bug bite so I trotted over to the doctor and started some meds. Then Tuesday came I was ok we dropped Malia off at the grandparents and went on a double date with some good friends. We get home and everything is great. The next day we are supposed to go film a family wedding. Then it begins.

4 am I wake up not feeling so hot.

4:30-8:15 Throw up 26 times.

8:15- 10:00 Go to the doctor get put on an IV and anti-nausea medication

10:00 have a friend pick me up and realize my husband has taken my wallet with him when he went to the wedding ( He also took Malia so I cant complain). I need to buy meds and I need my credit card and insurance card for this.

10:00-11:00 drive all the way to provo to get these things and get my meds.

11:00 am to 10:00 pm hang out with husband while he films.

Thank heaven my husband and inlaws took Malia because I have no idea what I would have done. I also am so thankful for friends who come pick you up at the doctors thanks Sandra!

p.s. if I was supposed to do anything for you these last couple of days I am sorry some things have slipped threw the cracks I have been slightly out of it :).

The Binkie Battle

The Beginning: There we were with our brand new precious little girl. We had it all planned out how it was going to go with everything. Down to wether or not she was going to be a thumb sucker and we had voted no. We had researched all the best binkies and had already purchased them. I had packed them nicely in her hospital bag. I thought that was going to be the easy part.

The first day we had decided not to give her a binkie ( maybe thats where I went wrong I doubt it though). The second day rolled around and we pulled our binkie case out and tried to give a binkie to her. This did not go as planned. She wouldn't suck it and it would just fall out of her mouth. There was nothing I could do to entice her to suck that binkie.

I continued to try to get her to take a binkie over the next couple of weeks. I tried every binkie on the market and nothing seemed to work. We finally used the new born binkies that look like little thumbs she would suck that one for like a minute and then spit it out.

The Turning Point: Malia was 2 weeks old and still hadn't taken a binkie really. I came in one day and looked at my precious daughter in her bassinet. To my surprise she had her thumb in her mouth! She was sucking her thumb! This was unacceptable she was not going to be a thumb sucker.

So then we started our battle we would take her thumb out and try to give her a binkie. She would then cry spit it out and put her thumb back in. We went on like this until she was 4 months old.

The Final Battle: We were on a plane to Hawaii to visit my parents. I had forced Malia to take a binkie on the plane. When I looked down at her and she had stuck her thumb in the little hole in her binkie and she was sucking her thumb threw her binkie! I gave up right there. Malia was born a thumb sucker and there was nothing I could do about it.

Easter

This Easter was different from any Easter Tyler and I have ever had because this year we had little Malia to share it with. She may not know what is going on or why their is a basket full of toys and puffs but it was fun for us at least.

We went to Walmart to go shopping for her easter together this week. I thought this was going to be an in and out task. Little did we know we hadn't yet blended our Easter traditions. I remember when we were first married and we had to decide how to handle the big holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. After our first Holiday season I assumed we had blended our traditions and it was all done. I just didn't remember Easter because until you have kids this holiday just doesn't seem as big.

So there we were standing in Walmart trying to figure out what to do. It wasn't an argument at all in fact most of the time we were laughing because we both hadn't realized that our Easters were so different.

The questions of whether we only buy one basket for all of her Easters or a basket ever year?Do you have toys in your basket or not? It was funny to see how opposite everything was. We did come to a conclusion that this year it didn't matter. We bought a basket if we don't use it next year ok. We did get her a toy because come on she can't eat candy and we were just buying her puffs as her treat she might as well get something enjoyable out of it. So here is to a great Easter weekend!

Winner of Give Away

And The Winner Is

Julie! Please contact me at stylishsweeethearts@Gmail.com.

Cute Hats!

I recently started to crochet hats for Malia and everyone thought they were so cute. So I am now selling them. I started an Etsy business for all of the little things I make for Malia! I am also about to list a baby boy hat that is adorable.

My Site: www.stylishsweethearts.etsy.com

I am offering 10% off one item to all of my blog followers. Just send me a conversation with the promotional code BLOG. I am also offering a free hat to one of my followers! In order to qualify for this you need to become a follower of this blog and leave a comment on this post. I will decide who will be the lucky follower on Thursday April 1st.

Happy Shopping

Nursery Rhymes

The other night I was reading Malia her bed time story with Tyler. I had picked a nursery rhyme book. We came to the nursery Rhyme "Little Miss Muffet". I was not raised with the traditional version of this nursery Rhyme. My mother wanted me to be independent and she started teaching me from a young age. This was the nursery rhyme I was told as a child.

Little Miss Muffet

sat on her tuffet

eating her curds and whey

along came a spider who sat down beside her

and she smashed that sucker flat!

Tyler however was not a big fan of this version. I stated my case as to why I liked it and we moved on. A couple of nights later Tyler was reading the nursery rhymes and this is what he said.

Little Miss Muffet

sat on her tuffet

eating her curds and whey

along came a spider who sat down beside her

and frightened Miss Muffet away.

Then she came back and smashed it.

This reminded me how much I love my husband and I thought I would share.

Crawling!

BREAKING NEWS

Malia is crawling!

This last week Malia started to commando crawl. We are not hands and knee crawling yet but she is pulling her self along with her arms and pushing with only her big toes. However this was not the first way Malia tried to crawl. Her first attempt at crawling had everyone in the room on the floor laughing. She would lay on her back and arch her back so far back that she was on top of her head. Then she would push with her feet. Essentially she was crawling on top of her head. At least she is creative.

This past week has been so hectic I haven't had enough time to even think! I am sure we all have those kind of weeks.

Swim: A little update on swim lessons Malia is a smarty pants ( I know I am her mother I am allowed to brag). This week we started to put their mouth and nose under the water. We went in the splash pool put a toy under the water and let them lean over to pick the toy up this way their nose and mouth would go under the water. Malia did this once and when we tried to do it again she looked at the toy then back at me and cried. The conclusion of this lesson for me was I can not trick my daughter into doing what I want not even at 7 months!

Tight Shopping

The Question: How many of you moms have gone in to a children's clothing store with your stroller and gotten stuck in aisles and in between displays? ( Seriously leave a comment if this has happened to you!)

The other day I went shopping with one of my friends at a mall. We both had strollers. As we went in and out of these children clothing stores I got more and more frustrated. How do they expect you to navigate these stores with strollers. What I don't understand is why this is a problem at all. These are CHILDREN clothing stores. Obviously these children do not go to these stores alone ( Although maybe thats what they think as their aisles would fit an average 5 year old). The people that visit these stores are moms and I would guess 90% of these moms have strollers! So why don't they cater to their clients and make their aisles larger! I just don't get it, it makes me want to just shop online!

Swimming!

Malia started swim lessons today. It was quite the adventure. I realize that some people think that swim classes for a 6 month old is useless. What are they going to teach your baby anyways. Well my take is this.

Realization: When I was 8 months pregnant I went to watch my little niece ( 10 months at the time ) at her swim lessons. I hadn't really thought about swim lessons for my baby until then. In the same pool there was a three year old boy who had just started swim lessons. He screamed and cried and screamed some more through out the entire lesson. Then I looked at my little niece who was smiling and having fun. What was the difference was my question.

Learning: So I thought about this over the next couple of days. This is when my realization hit me. He was never taught to get used to the water. They just threw him in at three and expected him to be ok with this new experience. Three year olds are not as open to change as a new baby might be. To my little 6 month old everything is new so she maybe a little reserved the first time in the water but it won't be months of screaming. A three year old has a schedule and rarely has any startling new experiences such as swim lessons. So I realized what they are teaching them at these baby swim lessons is to love the water. To want to go to swim lessons when they are three and beyond.

Malia loved the water didn't cry once. Who knows I might eat these words when Malia is three and she is screaming haha. For now I think baby swim lessons worth every penny.

Growing Up So Fast!

Yesterday Malia reminded me how fast your baby grows up. We had received this amazing mobile for Malia before she was born. I was not a big fan of mobiles until I saw this one it was perfect. It played classical music, the animals were tilted down so Malia actually saw them and these little disks would move and go clack clack as it spun ( that way she actually knew it was there). She loves to watch this mobile when she goes down for naps.

Last week I was sitting down stairs after putting Malia in her crib for a nap. I realized the music was going longer than it usually does ( it has a timer for 15 min). I went upstairs to check on her and as I came in I saw Malia reaching up and touching buttons on its base ( she was trying to turn the music back on). I guess she had seen that this is where I turn the mobile on so she was going to do it her self.

Yesterday Tyler put Malia down for a nap. After a while he peeked his head in to see if she is asleep yet. Malia is known for just laying there quietly. To his surprise as he peeked in he saw Malia had gotten one of the animals on the mobile in her hand and she was pulling it down. He rushed to save our mobile.

As of yesterday we took Malia's mobile down ( it didn't break thank heavens). It just reminds me how fast they grow up. She is now to old for her mobile. I wonder what will be next.

Pricey Pricey

I have had a couple of my girlfriends ask me what kind of baby food I buy. Before I started to feed Malia solids I researched all the different brands. This is what I learned.

The Conclusion: After looking into all of the different kinds of baby foods I started to run the numbers. The cheapest baby food I could find was .60 a jar which is only 2 oz. Well Malia eats 6 oz of baby food a meal. That is $3.60 a day and $108 a month! thats nuts.

My solution: I decided there was no way I could spend 108 a month on malias baby food. So I purchased a book with baby food recipes and started to make my own. I spend currently $30.00 a month on baby food.

Making baby food is easy all you need is a stove and a blender! and it saves you tons in the end!

The Adventures of Food

Malia and I have learned a lot over the last 2 months while she has been starting to eat.

Malia has learned more elementary things such as.

1. If she doesn't like fruit she does not have to eat it.

Malia has recently started to spit things out on a larger scale. She always some what spit food out but I could catch it before it made to big of a mess. Now however she takes a few bites and doesn't swallow. Then out of no where she spits this food out while turning her head at an alarming speed. The food then sprays all over her and the table.

2. Mommy can only feed you so fast.

Malia is not a slow eater. She takes a bite and literally one second later her mouth is open for more. This creates a small problem as I can not possible get food to her little mouth that fast. It is not humanly possible. So for the last month and a half. She would get mad cry put her hands on the table and then place her face on the table and just scream. This would prolong the time in between bites. She finally learned this week to just wait an extra second and she won't have to go through this hassle of crying. Hooray!

3. Vegetables are yummy fruit is gross.

She still hates fruit! My pediatrician said he had never met a baby who didn't like applesauce and banana's. Well welcome to my world! We tried pee's this week and she couldn't get enough she was so excited! I guess I will count my blessings it is easier to hide apple sauce then pee's.

Lesson Learned

The Lesson: Walmart shopping carts are gross and you should try to avoid your children having any interaction with them.

How I learned this lesson: I always thought those shopping cart covers were cute but impractical and expensive. You can just put a blanket in front of your kid on the cart and it would do the same thing! In theory. Well yesterday I tried this method. At first it was working great I thought to myself, " you are so thrifty!". Ten minutes into this adventure I was feeling pretty darn good about myself. I look down to Malia and to my horror she had put her seatbelt strap in her mouth! I mean those things are so so so dirty! I unbuckled her and then just watched her carefully. Then as I was holding her and reaching for something. She reached for an uncovered edge and put it in her mouth! I was done! I learned my lesson I will now be buying a very practical and affordable (compared to the hospital bills from who knows what diseases that lurk on Walmart shopping carts) shopping cart covers.

Does anyone know of a good buy on a shopping cart cover?

Car Seat Covers

CAR SEAT COVERS FOR SALE.

At my baby shower I received the cutest car seat cover as a gift. I was so excited about it I decided to make a second. I realized that these car seat covers are so useful over the last 6 months. When we are out and about and Malia is tired I can just cover her car seat and it instantly becomes a traveling crib.

I have decided to start making these cute covers for other moms! I can do what ever color scheme you would like. I can have your car seat cover to you within the week. These car seat covers will only be $40.00. Which is a great price for the market! Leave a comment or send an email shannonmarierose@gmail.com to place an order or if you have an questions.

Clothing

When I started to purchase clothing for Malia while I was pregnant I realized that baby clothes are way more expensive than they should be. I mean some stores charge $20.o0 for a little baby shirt! Ridiculous! I have found ways to save money while still dressing your baby cute!

Ross: Ross has some good deals on things but you have to know what you are looking for. You can get great deals on Carter clothes. DO NOT try to find cute dress's at ross. I mostly go to ross for onsies or pants.

Gymboree: Twice a year gymboree has a grab sale where you can get dress's for only $5.00. I bought a bunch of summer things at this sale in December. I got 6 hats, one dress, a matching shirt and pant set, and a swim suit. The end total was only $20.00

Buy off Season: The key to getting really cute stuff that is normally expensive is to buy off season. Recently I decided to start looking for Malia's winter coats for next year. I got her a purple coat that is adorable. Normally $100.00 it was at an upscale boutique I got this adorable coat for only $20.00. I also bought a snow coat for only $5.00. Normally I wouldn't have been able to afford both coats together I would have had to choose between the two.

Just a little advice from a mom on a budget.

The Industry Has Got Us Duped

There are a lot of useless things on the baby market. Some of them are obvious and some are things we believe we need.

While I was pregnant I shopped and shopped for the perfect bedding set. I bought one online and was convinced this was the one. I then decided 2 weeks before having Malia that this one did not feel right. I purchased another set. I could not return the other set so I was stuck with two sets. I just couldn't imagine bringing Malia into the world with out the perfect bedding set. This was most likely my nesting hormone but still.

When Malia was a newborn she slept in a bassinet at the end of our bed. No need for a bedding set. So weeks went by no need for this bedding set I had shopped and agonized over.

She was two months it was time for her to go to her own crib. We had a doctors appointment and I was talking about her being in her own crib. Then my pediatrician informed me that bumper pads were not safe in her crib.

Crib bedding without bumper pads is basically a dust ruffle and a crib sheet. You pay ridiculous prices for these sets and in the end all you use is a dust ruffle and a crib sheet. I just don't see how this is worth it.

My advice to all you expectant mothers just buy a dust ruffle and a crib sheet and save the money! THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU NEED IN THE END.

Malia Against the Machine

Toy: The perfect ball machine. The balls are clear and have objects for her to look at. You push a lever a ball falls out and it lights up and sings. By far the best one on the market.

Malia received this toy for Christmas from Tyler's parents.

The way Malia plays with this toy:

I realize eventually she will learn how to play with this toy but for now here is to entertainment.

The Doctor is in

I don't know about you but me and my pediatrician don't always get along. I guess the reason why is because I call her for advice on a problem Malia is having that day and she decides to not call me back for 5 hours to 2 days you never know. So to solve this problem I left this headache behind and switched pediatricians.

We arrive at the new pediatricians office 15 min early to fill out paper work and then proceed to wait a half an hour for the doctor. Why do they tell you to come 15 min early if they aren't even going to see you until a half hour after your appointment time! So after the wait we finally saw the doctor. To my surprise even after the wait I LOVED THIS DOCTOR. I guess maybe it was because he answered my questions instead of telling me where to research it ( I am asking you as part of my research!).

So we went through all the normal checks height 25 inches., head 41 cm, and weight 12 pounds 9 ounces. That was only one more ounce then her four month check up! I started to panic. So now I have to go in and weigh her every two weeks to make sure she isn't losing weight. Usually after a doctors appointment I am calmer than when I came. Not so this time I start freaking out. I mean I don't understand why she is not gaining weight she eats so much every time I feed her.

Well I have come to this realization :

NEWS FLASH MALIA IS SMALL BECAUSE HER PARENTS ARE SMALL.

I mean lets think this out logically I am 5'2'' and Tyler is 5'6''. Tyler weighed 18 pounds at three and I was in toddler sizes for longer than I should have been. I have talked to so many moms that say that their kids stopped gaining weigh at one point or another. The doctors worried ran them through all of these tests and they just ended up being small kids.

The Question: My question to all of you is should I freak about Malia not gaining weight? Or is my realization logical?

Does Indoor Swimming Have a Season?

Yesterday I decided I was going to take on the adventure of taking Malia swimming. We tried swimming while we were in Hawaii visiting my parents. It didn't go as well as planned. We put her feet in the water she retracted them and cried. Almost the whole trip she cried if we even pretended to put her in the water. The only time she did not scream was when we took her to the natural warm ponds. The water at the natural warm ponds is bath tub temperature or better. So I did not have high hopes about our outing.

We started off the day shopping and getting all of our errands done. We had to stop and get some swim diapers and rubber pants to go over them (ridiculous). This is what I learned.

1. One size swim diapers don't fit all.

I do not understand why diaper companies think that babies should not get in the water until they are at least 18 pounds. My husband wasn't 18 pounds until he was 3! The size smalls are 18-24 pounds. I guess they just assume that babies don't come smaller than 18 pounds. So Malia is 12 pounds and these swim diapers are huge on her and it is my only option. I just don't see how a huge swim diaper and rubber pants is going to protect any of us if she decides to go.

2. You obviously don't have kids.

I did not understand the statement " You obviously don't have kids" until today. I went looking for swim diapers at Walmart first- they usually have everything. I asked a lady working at Walmart where I could find them (after not finding them in the diaper aisle). She told me they were in the clearance section. Confused, I went and looked and all they had were mediums and larges. I went back to the same lady and asked if they might have any in the back. She then turned to me and said " Why, its not swimming season?". This comment surprised me and all I could think was " Does Indoor swimming have a season?". I realized then that this lady definitely didn't have kids.

Malia did like swimming and we start swimming lessons next month. Hopefully she still likes it then.

Sitting Up

In Theory: Children practice a new skill slowly and then they are able to do that said skill.

Reality: They have no interest in said skill and you try and try to get them to do it. Then one day when you least expect it they just do it. Sometimes at the worst time possible.

Example: For the last couple of weeks I have been trying to get Malia to at least try to sit up. Every day we would try to get her to unlock her legs and sit. She would squirm cry and tip over. Repeat next day. I had given up. I decided my child would never learn to sit and we would have to make her special desks that she wouldn't have to sit and so on. Then one morning Tyler decides he is going to give it a shot. I of course was not excited at the idea. He props her up no squirming no crying and she sits no tipping over.

At this point I have given up on any books that could give me advice on my child's development. My child is stubborn and only does things on her time table. She especially won't do things if its what you really really want her to do. My advice this week throw out all those stupid milestones and just laugh at the experience.

Yummy in her Tummy

Malia has started solids this last month. This has been a learning experience for the two of us. I would like to warn all new moms of the trials of starting solids that no one wants to tell you.

1. The back up in the back end.

When Malia first started solids I had read everywhere that you should start with only rice cereal for the first little while. Well the one thing they didn't mention that some babies have a hard time popping if thats all you feed them. Looking back on this it should have been common sense. I mean come on its rice cereal there is no fiber in rice it becomes a glue! So a week after Malia had started solids she still hadn't pooped. To top it off we were on vacation visiting my parents in Kona. So I worried and worried about why she wasn't pooping. I was used to poop every 2 min now we were going days. So on the 7th day I finally freaked and rushed her to the doctor. Since it was out of area it was going to be a pricey visit. While we were waiting for the doctor in the waiting room. MALIA FINALLY POOPED. My child has the tendency to wait until the last minute for everything.

My advice for this problem is don't freak out. They just started solids of course it will take a while to get used to this. After the first two days of rice cereal introduce a little prune juice in their milk this will help regulate things. Think about what food you introduce first also. Choose something with fiber. Apples or Bananas are a good choice. CAUTION: Carrots will make constipation worse. Add apple to your carrot mixture.

2. MMM Fruity

So I always hear moms saying they didn't feed their kids fruit until they had all their vegetable tastes first. This is to avoid them only wanting fruit in theory. Well news flash not all children like fruit my child hates apples and is not a huge fan of bananas. I have to hide fruit in vegetables. She is a huge fan of Sweet potatoes and carrots on the other hand.

My advice don't worry about it. They will like what they like no matter when you introduce it. Don't give up on foods after one try they will get used to it.

The List

1. Apples

2. Carrots

3. Bananas

4.Sweet Potato

5. Avacado

New Foods this week will be:

Pears

Butternut Squash

Heres to hoping that Malia will like pears!