She’s getting it

I’ve mentioned before that Daphne isn’t a big talker. She’s been saying mama, dada for a while now, although there have been weeks when she was so obsessed with walking that she barely talked or even babbled. Currently she can say mama, dada, hi and Ginger (my parent’s dog, although she’s only said it a few times and it comes out Gin-Gin) and I swear she almost said “pat cake” when we were playing pat-a-cake earlier in the week.

I’ve been trying to encourage her to talk more by coaching, being very clear with my speech and reading to her. Until recently, reading was not something she really enjoyed. I’d pull out a book and start reading, then she’d sit for about 5 seconds, pull up on me and start cruising around the room. I’d keep reading, but would soon find myself alone with her stuffed animals as she cruised out of the room, down the hall. She’s better now and will sit in my lap, as long as I let her turn the pages.

So a day with us is pretty much like “My Fair Lady- the Toddler Years”, but instead of “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain” it’s “Say bye bye, say hi to Grammy, do you want more/say more, say Poppa, say hi dada, hi dada (while waving).” And this morning we had a breakthrough. Chris came into the room and Daphne got all excited, stood up and clear as day said, “Hi, Dada Dada!!” By george, I think she’s got it! And I guess that counts as her first two word sentence. She’s said hi and dada before, but never together. Go Daph!

Feeding Herself

Today I decided to give Daphne the spoon while she was eating her applesauce. To my surprise she actually did pretty well feeding herself. My mom had asked if she could feed herself with utensils and honestly I hadn’t thought to try it. Hopefully that isn’t something she should have been doing months ago. I have no idea. But I have that fear since my mom never taught me to tie my shoes. I went off to Kindergarten without having that skill and I remember my teacher was just horrified. So hopefully there won’t be any important skills that I’ll forget to teach her. Here’s video of Daphne:

Oh, and I bought her a new high chair. She originally had a fancier German high chair, the Euro-Baby Family High Chair. I liked the idea of a wood chair and that it was adjustable for even adults to sit in, but it’s a pain in the ass to clean and the tray totally sucks. So don’t buy this one:

I got it for next to nothing as an Amazon Baby deal of the day. So I’ll either see if my sister-in-law wants it for her new baby (she’s due in March) or it’s going up on Craigslist. Her new high chair is from IKEA actually and cost a whopping $24.99 (it’s the one in the video). I love it! It’s a breeze to clean and get her in and out. I did some research before buying it last night and it seems like a great chair. I love how small it is and how easy it would be to travel with it. And it’s so light I can pick it up and hose it off if it gets trashed. Awesome.

Toy Storage

I think after Daphne’s birthday we are definitely going to need a better toy storage system. I’ve been going through all the storage posts on Ohdeedoh and their “Now you see it, now you don’t” contest entries, as well as IKEAhacker trying to get ideas. Currently, I’m thinking of using under the bed bins for her larger toys (put under her crib so she has easy access to them) and maybe the Trofast system from IKEA or another unit with cubbies and baskets. Like this Trofast unit, but I’d paint it and do pink and white bins:

We’d secure it to the wall for safety purposes, but do you think this would be a climbing hazard? The tallest point is 36″. This would be another option, but I probably wouldn’t put so many units together. I don’t think we’d have the space for something quite so long:

Chris & I are going out on a date tomorrow night and I’m thinking about having him drive me over to IKEA so I can check them out. I also want to look at the Expedit series after seeing so many people use them for toy storage. Target also has a few options, but I like how IKEA’s systems are more customizable with different sized bins.

Or should I just get a toy box? But it seems like things get so jumbled up in them. Anyone have any tips/suggestions??

No More Baby Food

I think Daphne is officially over baby food. That might sound odd to some of you out there. I know she’s 11 months old and it seems that all her peers are chewing on chicken legs. But Daphne didn’t want anything to do with baby food until she was 8 months old and still only has 2 little nubs for teeth. In the last week she’s refused pretty much every savory baby puree I’ve tried to feed her. She still eats her Yo Baby yogurt and pureed fruits and has started to show a real interest in whatever we are eating.

Anyway, yesterday she practically attacked me to get to my chicken fried rice. We were not going to brave the crowds stocking up for the storm at the grocery store Monday night so instead we ordered a ton of Chinese take-out. I was sitting on the sofa, having the leftovers for lunch when Daphne walked up and wanted a taste. I gave her a bit of rice and a few veggies and her face lit up, she started bouncing up and down while reaching for the bowl. Let’s just say she ate all my rice and squawked when the bowl was empty, so then I had to get her another helping. For dinner I gave her some chicken, mixed with her organic chicken and stars baby food. She wouldn’t eat it. But she did have more chicken fried rice. My husband never wants to eat Asian food, unless it’s PF Chang’s. I’ve asked him several times what he would eat if we did decide to pursue international adoption and had to be in China for 2 weeks. His answer? White rice. So at least I’ll have a little buddy to go eat Chinese with now.

While I’m on the topic of eating, Daphne bit herself for the first time on Sunday. We were eating cake at my niece’s party and Daph chomped down on her fingers. Hard. And it apparently hurt. A lot. She cried and shook and refused to take another bite of cake. Poor kid.

Freepeats

I joined the Freepeats Houston group today (free lifetime membership if you sign up before Aug 31, same for the B’ham group- for my Alabama readers). Members pass on gently used baby, kid and maternity stuff. You can also post things you are looking for, as well as pass on info about sales/deals. Freepeats is now in 25 cities, so if you need baby or kid stuff make sure and check them out.

I know I have several outfits of Daphne’s that didn’t sell at our garage sale that I plan on giving away. I don’t mind doing Craigslist for bigger stuff, but I’m not going to make arrangements with someone to sell a $3 baby dress.

Southern Style?

I was reading a blog the other day that mentioned Southerners fascination with putting bows on babies. I didn’t realize this was a Southern thing, but OK. I think they were referring more to slapping tiny bows on bald babies, held on by Karo syrup or some other such nonsense. Luckily I had a baby with a ton of hair and we could immediately use hair clips, otherwise I suppose I might have been tempted. Chris, however, was adamant about no baldy hair bows or headbands. I understand his position, but I’ve also seen some tasteful headbands. I think my little bald niece looked cute here:

And I try not to put too large of a bow on Daphne. I don’t want her to look like something landed on her head. But if bows in general are a faux pas then I am guilty.

Something else the blog mentioned was smocked dresses. I have to admit I’m not a fan of these either. Really, really not a fan. I don’t know exactly what I don’t like about them. I mean it’s not the smocking itself, maybe just the common dress shape? I don’t know. What is even worse are the smocked outfits for boys. I really try hard not to use the word “never” but I swear I will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER dress any boy of mine in some outfit like these:

I had a co-worker whose wife dressed his kids like they walked out of a Strasburg catalog every day, even to go to the playground. She did her own custom clothing for them and really liked that look. I know this is terrible to say, but I always felt sorry for the little boy in his smocked jon jons and bowl haircut. Because you know he’s going to get his ass kicked in elementary school for dressing like a sissy. I hope she doesn’t let him wear knee socks and jon jons to school. Oh dear.

Crazy 8

I’m officially done with Crazy 8. For those of you not familiar with the company it’s Gymboree’s lower priced sister store. Like Old Navy is to Gap. Anyway, apparently they only make children’s clothes for freakishly tall anorexic children. I bought this t-shirt for Daphne in a size 12-18 months (supposed to fit 22 to 27 lbs, my child is probably 17.5 lbs):

It’s really snug around the middle, but if I sized up to a 18-24 months, then she could wear it as a dress and the neck would be big and weird. I really don’t get their sizing. Daphne is average for height and below average for weight… she should fit into one of their sizes. But she doesn’t. Too bad.

Hot Child In The City

Is it just my car seat or do all rear facing infant seats bake your baby in the hot summer months? It seems like it traps in so much heat and since she’s rear facing she doesn’t get the benefit of the AC blowing directly on her. When I take her out she’s all sweaty, crumpled and pathetic. I’m thinking about swapping out her Keyfit for the OU Britax convertible seat I bought her last year, just to see if it would make a difference, but I’m not sure it will fit rear facing in the back seat of my xB. I want to keep her rear facing as long as possible and since she’s a peanut she still has to gain 13 pounds or 3 inches to max out her infant bucket seat. So she’ll be rear facing FOREVER!

I’ve seen a few items on Parent Hacks that involved reflective window shades placed over the seat and a seat sized gel cooler pack. I’ll try those tips. Anyone else out there have a suggestion? I have to do something. Yesterday it was 97 degrees and I don’t want to feel like we are trapped in the house.

Cute Chicks

This is totally me:

You might not be able to read the caption, but it says “Jenny spent many a pregnant night dreaming of breast-feeding, washing hemp diapers, and handcrafting education toys from pieces of twine. And then she had the baby.”

I was one of those people who said my kid won’t watch TV until she’s much older, and even then in moderation. Then I had the baby. And if 5 minutes of Noggin will snap her out of a fussy time and allow me to regain my sanity, then let’s watch Oswald, baby! I’m still on the fence about cloth diapers. I swear my child poops more than I thought possible. I should have started back when it was all breastmilk poop and not as offensive as real food poop. Yucko. Oh yeah, I also wanted her to play with handmade, organic toys, not loud obnoxious plastic stuff. Unfortunately she only likes loud, plastic stuff that requires batteries. She doesn’t even touch her stuffed animals.

I love Sloane Tanen’s work. She is so funny and I love those little chickens. A few years ago I had one of her calendars in my office, but my boss at the time was a little offended by the lesbian reference in Paige, so I took it down. Recently, I put her Hatched book on my Amazon wishlist without seeing any of the images and now that I’ve looked at a few of the prints I realize I must have this book. In Placenta, the chicken is babywearing!! (There’s a phrase you probably don’t see often, “the chicken is babywearing”) Only my fellow babywearing mamas probably find that as hilarious as I do. And Ned’s bedtime,
Goodnight Moon and Polygamist are pretty funny too. I think the book would make a really cute gift for a new mom.

More Birthday Plans

The move has really put me behind in terms of planning for Daphne’s 1st birthday party. Normal people probably just buy some plates and streamers at a party supply store, get a cake from their local grocery store bakery and blow up some balloons. Not me. I’m completely not normal.

This week we need to get a good picture with her birthday hat so I can create invitations, have them printed and get them mailed out to the family. Now that I have a partner in crime (Mom) I’ve decided to try and decorate Daphne’s birthday cake and cupcakes, instead of going to a bakery. My mom usually decorated our birthday cakes growing up and that’s a tradition I’d like to keep going. Her color scheme is hot pink, light pink and orange and theme is a butterfly/flower thing (which coordinates with her hat and the print of her birthday dress). We’ve been inspired by a few cakes and cupcakes, like these:

This is from Butterfly Sweets. It’s a little over the top, but we wouldn’t have to put so many colors or designs on it (I mean, I’d like it for me, but since her hat and dress are so busy I think a super busy cake design would just take over the pictures.)

Another from the same blog. But I don’t love the taste of fondant and neither of us have ever worked with it before.

Cute cupcakes from Flickr:

As far as decor, I’m thinking paper lanterns or flowers. I love these from Lunabazaar.

But we probably don’t need those, since I plan on doing these flower balloon bouquets from Martha Stewart:

She loves balloons.

I picked up a few books today to help with the cake thing. The Whimsical Bakehouse and Hello, Cupcake! Both books are incredible, but I just love the cupcake book. Seriously, if you have kids or ever need to make cupcakes for any holiday or special occasion you must get this book. The Shark Attack cupcake instructions are worth the $10 you’ll pay for the book on Amazon. See what I mean?:

Now I just need a little boy so I can plan a shark themed birthday. Alright, back to Daphne. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please send them my way! I’d love the input.