Adventures in Puppyland

 

 

So, we've had this guy, Kevin, for just over a week now, and it's been quite the ride already.  Lyla has already picked up on the fact that he'll eat anything she gives her, and so my vocabulary has mostly become a very loud "NO!"  Also, my high-intensity-cardio sprints have increased, racing from one end of the house to another trying to stop baby and / or puppy shenanigans.

But who can complain when I have a very helpful little sweeper and vacuumer around at all times??

- K

Girl Power! (Not the Spice Girl Kind)

Today Ryan posted a pretty cool article about some pretty cool women on my FB wall, and for a guy that's never really been much of a "feminist", it was a little bit surprising.  I think this whole "having a daughter" thing may be changing him.  :)

In fact, it seems like I'm seeing such inspiring things about girls and women pretty frequently these days, and I love every second of it, so wanted to share them here.

Like this quote from Kate Winslet:

“As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, ‘I love my body’. Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, ‘I am so proud of my body.’ So I make sure to say it to Mia, because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age.” – Kate Winslet

Which totally made me want to give her a hearty high five and yell "AMEN, sister!"

And these completely inspiring letters / stories in the news lately:

A Letter from a Daughter to her Mother

A Letter from a Dad to his Daughter

The Article Ryan Shared - About 4 Amazing Women

So, there you go ladies!  And guys, don't be fooled.  This is for you too.  Because the more your ladies love themselves, the more they're gonna be lovin on you too.  ;)

Have a good weekend!

- K

Random Thoughts Including, But Not Limited To, Naps, Cupcakes, and Parallel Parking

Lyla is definitely not one of those kids that nap on the go.  She loves her crib and sleeps with a pillow, 4-6 blankets, and 8-10 stuffed animals at a time.  She makes to sure to show off just how comfy her bed is every time she wakes up by flopping around and patting and cuddling every last "cozy" before she can get out.  It's really cute how much she loves her bed, but inconvenient to get pretty much anything done when you have to be home every few hours for a few hours. 

Once she is finally awake, has thoroughly loved everything in her crib, is dressed, fed, and has shoes on, I have to run around and try to pack the entire house into my Mary Poppins bag.  Because you never can have too many snacks, changes of clothes, drinks, toys, books, or diapers.  After all that, and then drive time, actually having time to DO something is rare.  It's a constant internal battle of "is it really worth it?"

All that to say that while Jo was in town we packed up and went back to 50th and France, that cute little shopping area we discovered a few weeks back.  By the time we got there (and nailed a freaking awesome parallel parking job, by the way) we had about 21 minutes to spend before needing to pack back up and get L back home for her second nap.  After browsing through Anthropologie, inhaling a cupcake, and of course snapping a few pics, we were outta there.

It was still pretty fun though.  I think.

- K

 

 

A Puppy!

 

So, we did it.  We got a puppy!  We've wanted one since we got married, but it's funny how finicky we were with the idea of taking care of a puppy, and then we just dove right into the whole raising a human thing. 

 

Lyla has been obsessed with puppies for a while, so we decided that now was the time to do it...mostly so she can stop dragging me next door and across the street to go see the neighbor's "puh puhs".

 

He's a pretty cute little guy.  He chases L around like nobody's business.  Which she kind of hates until he stops, at which point she turns around and yells until he comes with her.  They're totally already best frenemies.

 

Oh, and the cats are super excited too.

 

- K

Independence Day

This 4th of July it was just the three of us, which makes for a little bit of an anticlimactic holiday, but it was pretty fun nonetheless.  We went to the pool for a while, which Lyla is totally loving these days.  She's starting to keep her sunglasses on, and prefers to swim with a bow in her hair, so she's pretty glam and kind of steals the show in her little pink bikinis.  She's getting really good at floating, dunking her face under the water, and kicking her legs, but mostly she likes to collect as many toys that aren't hers as she can.

After the pool and a nap we had a little BBQ at home and shared some bomb pops - Lyla's first popsicle.  She went to bed well before it was even dark, so she has yet to know the wonder of fireworks.  I really can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees them for the first time next year!

Hope you all had a good 4th!

- K

 



Stillwater

The day after Jo got in town we took a drive out to Stillwater, which is the cutest little town right on the St. Croix River, across from Wisconsin.  Lyla was pretty intent on running into the street, jumping into the river and / or breaking everything in the antique stores.  Still, between the houses, the shops, the ice cream, the sunshine...the mediocre 90's cover singer...it was an all around good day.

- K

Photo creds to Mary Jo Aguilera, MJ Aguilera Photography

 

 

 

 

 

Toddler

Tonight I got to rock my big girl all the way to sleep.  When she was a little baby I would do that more often than not and then worry about "spoiling" her and making her too dependent on it to go to sleep.  Tonight it was heaven.  It's been a long time since she's fallen asleep with me, and I've missed it.  To hear that slow, even breathing, and have her little face pushed up against my chest...I'm pretty sure that right there is my favorite thing about being a mama.

This toddler stage has already had its share of rough days.  We've suddenly encountered our first glimpse of separation anxiety, (I think mine is as bad as hers), and we're starting to transition down to one nap, which I'm not exactly ready for.  Not to mention that suddenly we're not just dealing with survival issues like making sure she's eating and pooping regularly.  We're now dealing with character building issues, which it turns out is so much more daunting.  Figuring out that fine line between discipline and letting kids be kids is proving to be tougher than I expected.

But tonight, none of those things mattered.  We were back to our roots.  Just me and my baby, rocking and cuddling.  I could have stayed there in that chair all night long.

- K

Photo creds to Mary Jo Aguilera, MJ Aguilera Photography