eager little mind

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but one of Daphne’s favorite late night activities is to go outside and look for the moon. So when I found the dvd that accompanied Daphne’s Catch the Moon cd I decided to pop it in and watch it with her. Here’s the video:

While Daphne was clapping and singing along, I was thinking to myself “I wonder where Lisa Loeb gets her glasses. I LOVE those frames. And look at her cute half updo. Whenever I try that I look like Sarah Palin.” My current glasses are similar, the shape is just not quite as exaggerated. But if I could find those frames (and they looked decent on my face) I’d buy them in a heartbeat! So I was pretty excited to find out that Lisa is putting out her own line of eyeglasses. Made my week actually.

Daphne is 23 months old today.

Some of these pictures just kill me. She’s looking so much like a little girl instead of my baby. She missed the preschool cut off by only 3 months, not that I would have enrolled her yet. But just to think that is a possibility blows my mind.

In the last month, she’s continued to add new words to her vocabulary and even put a few sentences together. She loves stacking things. I bought her some classic wooden alphabet blocks and left them with her in the living room as I was in the kitchen unloading the rest of the groceries. I turned back 30 seconds later to see she had a block tower going with at least 12 blocks. I also bought her some Bonnie Bell Lipsmackers (the liquid with the wand), which she can unscrew and apply herself. And she also made sure the dogs got some. Bed time is much less stressful. She’s even asked to go to bed a few times. Daphne likes to drink out of my water bottles. She could eat her weight in watermelon. I’ve been trying to get a video of her dancing. She does this Flashdance running in place thing combined with flapping arms. Of course, as soon as the video camera comes out she just wants to play with it and stops dancing.

When I was at the hair salon last week, I mentioned to the stylist that we spend a good bit of time at the pool. She laughed and asked me what spf I use. 7000? “How are you not tan?” (Welcome to my world.) Daphne, however, is brown and her hair has faint sun streaks. That kid loves to be outside.

We’ve had a great summer and are looking forward to Daphne’s 2nd birthday next month.

Here’s another item for my “Holy crap I feel old” file:

Paint splattered wayfarers from Forever 21. Can’t believe these are back in style. I had a similar pair as a young teen. I think they were teal.

You might be wondering why I’m looking at Forever 21, since I’m decades older than their target demographic. Ok, maybe not decades. Well, I recently discovered they had a great selection of cute headbands, most under $5. I bought 6 headbands on Friday night and am fighting the urge to go buy a few more and pick up some cute flower clips for Daphne.

Since I know I have so many lovely, smart, and helpful readers out there, I thought I’d post a few questions that have been rattling around in my brain lately. Maybe you can help.

- I need a will. I guess that was something I should have done years ago, but it just didn’t seem important. But now that we have Daphne I want to make sure she is taken care of and in the event that anything happens to us, she would be raised by the couple that we choose and there isn’t any unnecessary drama. I’m thinking about getting Quicken Willmaker Plus. Any suggestions?

- Potty training. Urgh. Daphne may or may not be ready for potty training, but I can assure you that Momma is definitely not ready to fool with it yet. I have a feeling that it’s going to be a major battle of wills and it makes me tired to even think about. But, I am thinking about it anyway. So far, I’ve purchased a few pairs of training pants and clipped a few Pull Ups coupons. Tell me what method worked for you. I’ve heard some people had luck with the 3 day method. Some say not to use Pull Ups at all just go straight to panties. Or just let your child run around naked. Hahahahaha. Please don’t say I have to let Daphne run around naked. Help me.

- Love this dress from mini Boden, but don’t love the price tag. Anyone know of a similar sewing pattern?

I know it’s not a terribly complicated dress, and if I wanted to do a sleeveless version I could probably figure it out without a pattern. I just don’t have a ton of experience with set-in sleeves.

- When did you stop using your stroller? Trying to decide if it’s worth buying another one at this point, since Daphne doesn’t like sitting in her Zooper. I can’t adjust it so she’s sitting completely upright and that bugs her.

Help!

Ok, confession time. I just went 9 months between haircuts. 9 MONTHS! For me, that’s completely insane. I’ve always been a “come in for a trim every 5 weeks” girl. But then I had all that 2008 hair drama, and I gave up. I decided to let it grow, and grow, and grow. Until it became completely unmanageable (and half way down my back!) and I pulled it up in a ponytail, threw on a headband and that was it. Totally, totally unlike me.

I was also bummed about the changes in my hair since having Daphne. I’ve always had straight, oily hair and now all of a sudden it’s super dry and frizzy with *gasp* curl in the back. But only in the back. The stylist who cut my hair today even mentioned the curl. Very weird.

So, I tried out a new salon (Wen Chic in Katy in case any of my local readers are interested), armed with a photo of what I wanted (top row, third pic from the left) and Tessa did an awesome job! Very happy with my cut and the salon. I will admit it’s weird to have blunt bangs. I’ve had side swept bangs for so long I keep trying to brush my hair over. I’ll upload pics soon.

My husband’s reaction? “You look like Laura Roslin!” (from BSG) What?! No! That wasn’t the look I was going for. Ok, my bangs are similar. But that’s it.

Only the ladies will understand my triumph.. yesterday I found the perfect swimsuit. I love it, it’s flattering, supports the girls and it was 50% off. And I had a gift card. Woo hoo! And it was only the second suit I tried on.

And now for some alliteration… Summer Sicknesses Suck. I have a sort throat and the sniffles. And Daph isn’t feeling well either. We both were up from 3-6 AM. Pffft.

Does anyone else out there still quote movies from the 70’s and 80’s? I find that Chris & I do that a lot in our day to day conversations. Last night as Chris & I were talking before bed, I laid down and dramatically exclaimed that I was on my deathbed. And without missing a beat, my husband starts singing, “When Jenny was in Egypt’s land. Let my Jenny go!” And you know what, I am totally not Cameron. I also threw out a “He hates these cans!” quote on Sunday (from The Jerk).

You know you are a babywearing nerd when you read this article, looking for a pic of the pouch used by the zookeeper.

I’ve been starting to think about Daphne’s fall/winter wardrobe, planning a few sewing projects. Maybe a fall peasant dress or knot. Once I did an inventory of the items I bought in advance last year, I realized she doesn’t need anymore dresses. Currently for this fall/winter she has 4 Matilda Jane dresses, 2 Hanna Andersson playdresses, 2 HA holiday playdresses (Halloween and Christmas), a HA jumper, 2 holiday dresses, 6 skirts… what was I thinking, considering our fall/winter is so short? And most of them too dressy to wear during the week. No more buying ahead unless I really LOVE the item. So I guess I’m just sewing tops and ruffle pants this year.

It’s going to be 93 degrees today, which is like paradise compared to the 100+ temps we’ve had lately.

I’m addicted to headbands lately and just added a bunch to my Etsy faves (you can see a few in my sidebar). I love the feather headbands from Sewsephine. I can pull those off, right?

We are off to the pool. Enjoy your Tuesday!

I had a light bulb moment yesterday while looking through some of the Stitch Wars photos on Flickr. I’ve heard my brother-in-law is a big Star Wars fan (who isn’t?) and while looking at all these Star Wars inspired softies and amigurumi I realized my little nephew might need something similar. Maybe a felt Chewbacca and Han? Or how about a Millennium Falcon Boppy cover? Don’t worry, Lauren, I’m only kidding about the Boppy cover.

If you are a Star Wars fan, or a lover of geek crafts, make sure and check out the Stitch Wars gallery. My favorites are: Baby Jabba with his cute bunny toy, Formal Chewie, Luke and Yoda amigurumi, Tauntaun and Luke (the Tauntaun unzips). Ok, I have lots of favorites.

And speaking of Star Wars crafts, have I mentioned that Daphne is going as Princess Leia for Halloween? Excuse the 2 second Photoshop job on this photo, but can you see Daph in huge side buns in a flowing white dress. I think it works for her.

We found out yesterday that my sister and her husband will be welcoming a baby boy in November. I think everyone in the family is pretty excited to meet the first grandson/nephew. And of course, my baby crafting/shopping urges are kicking into high gear. But, what do you make for a boy?

So, my crafty readers, point me in the direction of good baby boy crafts… clothing, toys, etc. I could only think of one crafty blogger (Homemade by Jill) with baby boy items. And did you see the tie and vest onesies from Jessie Rivers featured in one of her posts. Ahhhhh, the cuteness!!:

And since my sister will be registering soon, what are your must-have baby items? Here are some of mine:

– Changing table. I know this is always at the top of everyone’s “Do Not Buy” list, but I love my changing table. We still use it.
– Babywearing stuff. I have two pouch slings, two ring slings, a mei tai and an Ergo. I think if I had to do it over again, I’d have a Moby wrap for when the baby is little, and the Ergo. I LOVED being able to put Daphne in the BabyHawk or Ergo and have my hands free to do other things.
– Miracle Blanket. Daphne was a little baby Houdini and could bust out of just about any swaddle. And she didn’t like her arms tucked in. But, I still preferred the Miracle Blanket over the SwaddleMe or just using a receiving blanket. Here’s Daphers at 3 weeks old in her Miracle Blanket:

– Kirkland wipes (Costco). This isn’t helpful for my sister, since she’s planning on cloth diapering, but Daphne never had a problem with these irritating her skin.
– Pedipeds. Don’t know about the boys shoes, but I loved these on Daphne. I absolutely hated Robeez.
– The Children’s Place stretchies (zip up PJs). Love these. I’ve heard great things about Hanna Andersson pajamas too and might try those for Daphne this year.
– IKEA Antilop high chair and long sleeved bibs. Both awesome and cheap, cheap.

And here are a few things I hated, or Daphne hated:

– Bumbo seat. I’m glad I got this at a garage sale for $5 because Daphne HATED IT!
– Medela Pump in Style. This is another weird one for me to hate, since everyone loves it. I had better luck with the Avent Isis manual pump. Not that Daphne ever took a bottle. I’m sure if I was working full time and needed an electric pump I would have learned to love the Medela.
– Those weird baby gown pajama things. I had a family member get Daphne at least 10. Totally hated those.

Please comment and let us know what worked, or didn’t work, for you.

We had a great time in Galveston today. Daphne absolutely loved the beach. I think she could have stayed there all day. Here’s a slideshow:

Galveston isn’t the best beach. In fact, I hate the sensation of being sandblasted with every wave. There wasn’t much I liked about Alabama, but at least they had beautiful beaches. For comparison, here’s Gulf Shores, AL:

But considering Galveston’s close to home, and my kid had a great time… I’d say it was totally worth it.

-Interesting articles on Texas in The Economist magazine. I like how they mention Houston’s diversity and more international vibe. I always chuckle when I hear people from other places talk about the stereotypical Texan- redneck, truck, boots, loves football, takes his concealed weapon with him everywhere he goes. And I’m sure those people exist all over the state. But, you know, I haven’t met any in the last year. In fact, most of the people we’ve met in Houston aren’t even from Texas. I can look out my window and see the Vietnamese-American guy next door, or the African-Americans across the street with their nanny from Honduras, or the numerous Indian or Pakistani-American families in the neighborhood that stroll down the block after dinner. Or the woman who lives in the neighborhood and likes to wear her traditional African headwrap and clothing with a huge fur coat anytime the temperature dips below 70. A fur… in Houston *shakes head* But, I don’t see any “Texans” (rednecks).. maybe at the Houston Rodeo next year.

-We took Daphne to Petsmart tonight to check out the fish, birds and other small animals. I’ve been thinking about getting Daphne a pet. Like a goldfish. Since when did having a fish require so much stuff? As we looked at each goldfish tank, we noticed a sticker indicating how big of a tank each fish required. Goldfish really need a 20+ gallon tank? You can’t just stick them in a big bowl? (Can you tell it’s been a LONG time since I had a fish?!) Maybe I’ll get her a betta. Chris wants to get her a bird. But, aren’t birds messy? And, let’s face it, I would be the one stuck with cleaning up after the stupid thing. Chris can’t even put away his own laundry or remember to get the Tupperware containers from his lunch out of the car. Daphne actually bonded with a bearded dragon lizard. Of course, she has to fall in love with the $80 lizard and not the $3.99 betta. And, no, I’m not getting her a lizard.

- We are headed to the beach tomorrow. I haven’t been to the beach at Galveston since maybe 1992. Stay tuned for pics.

- I saw an article today with advice to pregnant moms on tasty gifts for your labor and delivery nurses to help show your appreciation. Ok, are you KIDDING ME?!!!! I might see a gift for a doula, or midwife who has spent a great deal of time with you and shown you personalized care… maybe, but a random delivery nurse? Daphne’s birth cost $14,000 (or maybe it was $17,000). Isn’t that gift enough??? And maybe a bubblegum cigar.