Letter to Jax, This Time Last Year

13. July 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Letters to Jax, Play!, Toddlerhood · Tags: , , , ,
at the wiggles concert

Jax and me, at the Wiggles concert, summer 2011

I still write letters to Jax in a notebook I keep for him. Actually, I’m about to finish the second notebook of letters. And by “about to,” I really mean in another few months, since it seems I rarely have the time to keep up with the tradition I began when he was 5 weeks old. Lately, I find myself writing once every 4-8 weeks, and there was even a dry spell of about 6 months in the past year.

But nothing is more fun to me than reading some of the things I wrote about Jax over the past 3 years. Like this entry:

 

Wednesday, July 13, 2011:

Dear Jax,

I bought you your first babydoll last weekend. It’s kind of an ugly thing, but we were at Kohl’s and it was the only babydoll in the whole store. Today, you cradled your babydoll (oh, it’s a girl, by the way) and took her to get dressed with you. And then she accompanied us on the drive to daycare. But we had to keep her in the car to go “night-night” while you went inside to play with your friends. So cute. I’m excited to see your face when I pick you up today & you see babydoll in your carseat.

Last weekend, in addition to purchasing babydoll, we strolled around [town]‘s “Second Saturday” art thing. And at the end of the night, we (me & daddy) took you out for ice cream. You ate more ice cream than EVER before–peanut butter swirl. Mmm!

This week, we’re just laying low–it’s been 90 degrees or higher, so we aren’t leaving the house unless we have to. We might go visit Uncle Danny & Aunt Jackie tomorrow night. Randy will be over for our usual takeout meal on Friday night. But Saturday we have BIG plans –> The Wiggles! I scored us tickets to see their live concert. I have been so excited! But then I heard that Yo Gabba Gabba is coming this fall, and I want to take you to see that if this show is fun.

Well, I’d better stop writing and go back to work (I’m on my lunchbreak).

Love you tons,
Mommy

Uhh, that part about being excited to see a Wiggles concert? Mega-embarrassing, but whatever. Go ahead & mock.

Jax still occasionally snuggles his babydoll, but most of her nights are spent crammed into a toybox, the poor thing. And I don’t think he’s ever developed a love for ice cream like his momma has! These days, at most he’ll eat 3 or 4 bites and call it quits, whereas I could devour an entire pint–at least–in one sitting.

It’s eye opening to read the things I wrote a year ago and realize how quickly time is passing.

 

Happy New Year! (a review)

01. January 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: Family, Living better, My happiness project, Play!, Raising a boy, the parenting club, Toddlerhood · Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I spent a few minutes the other day jotting down a list of all the things I remember about 2011:

  • I started out 2011 sick with something called tracheitis. Which shouldn’t have surprised me, having a toddler (aka a germ magnet).
  • In mid-January, I wrote a post that generated over 10,000 page views in one weekend. I was on cloud 9 for a few days. I think that weekend remains part of why I continue to blog–that feeling of connecting with others.
  • My little family had a few vacations in 2011. One that was just for me & my husband–New Orleans. And one that was for the 3 of us plus my parents and siblings. We survived both vacations. Not only that, but we even had fun! Except for the weird voodoo incident. I also went to Orlando alone for work, but that was a whirlwind 1-night trip that was completely boring and uneventful.
  • Jax got his hand bit by dogs twice. And I subsequently developed a fear of dogs.
  • Jax and I built our first snowman together. It was about his size. So cute.
  • I stopped going to therapy altogether. (I must admit, I really miss my awesome therapist Michelle R.) My anxiety is under control, I no longer feel depressed sometimes, and I can cope much better with the bad nights of sleep–which have certainly decreased during 2011. Hallelujah!
  • Jax started a new daycare, which we really love. I do miss his previous daycare provider, Shannon, though. But this one is close to home, and he adores it. He even has a best friend, Jeremy.
  • My husband and I visited more museums this year than in the few years leading up to it. My favorite museum trips were when we took Jax to one a few weeks ago to see dinosaur bones and when my husband and I went to MoMA with friends in the summer.
  • Jax got to see The Wiggles and Yo Gabba Gabba live shows this year. Can you say F-U-N??? The YGG show was more our style, though, if I had to choose between the 2.
  • Lots & lots of zoo trips this year, thanks to a membership from my parents.
  • Dacia & I bought tickets for BlogHer ’12. So stoked for that.
  • I went to my first La Leche League meeting. I met Tiff there, with whom I share many common interests.
  • Jax got to hang out with Chica twice!
  • We went to a pumpkin patch several times in one month. Jax danced with a rooster.
  • I got to meet the beautiful and amazing Katherine Stone of Postpartum Progress and Diane Sanford of Real Mom Experts in person at a conference for perinatal mood disorders here in NJ.

If 2012 is anything like 2011, I can’t wait to share next year’s list with you! Overall, it was a fun year, with nothing major happening–a good thing. I wish you all a calm, peaceful, and fun 2012!

Happy New Year! (Mommy & Jax, January 2011)

 

Wordless Wednesday: Yo Gabba Gabba Live

12. October 2011 · 9 comments · Categories: Play! · Tags: , , ,

I got stuck behind a garbage truck this morning for a whole 5 minutes & my head almost exploded. Translation: I’m in the throes of awful PMS, so it’s a perfect day to keep mum & look at fun pictures (and even a video) of last Friday’s Yo Gabba Gabba live show with Jax. Guaranteed smiles!

Jax wore his DJ Lance Rock Halloween costume to the show!

Mommy & Jax (sipping on a juice box) at the show

Daddy & Jax at the show (sorry for the pic quality)

We Are Officially Potty Training

11. October 2011 · 9 comments · Categories: Potty training, Raising a boy, Toddlerhood · Tags: , , , , ,

Saturday morning, totally out of the blue, my husband and I started talking about potty training Jax. He seems ready, according to all the signs I know about, anyway. I just wish I could say the same for myself!

I used to read baby books cover to cover and enjoy doing so. But that was way back when I had an immobile kiddo. Now, I don’t have tons of reading time, so I read what I enjoy (fiction, mostly) more frequently than I read informative stuff–like how to potty train. So yeah, I’m pretty freaking clueless when it comes to knowing what I should be doing as we start this huge endeavor.

For example, first thing I did, at my husband’s suggestion, was rush out to Target to load up on M&Ms and Pull-Ups. Of course, in typical fashion for me, I tweeted from a red light to ask whether Pull-Ups are even necessary. And then, again in typical fashion for me, I forget to check for responses before purchasing them. Doh! Most people responded that no, they are not necessary and might even delay success. And we haven’t touched a single Pull-Up all weekend. Unfortunately, I’d already opened the package, so now I can’t get a refund.

Jax loves to be bribed. So as soon as I said, “if you go pee pee in the potty, I’ll give you chocolate candy,” he was on that potty in the blink of an eye. And he did it! He peed! Am I allowed to say, without sounding creepy, that it was so cute watching him strain to do it? And he was so excited to flush! He sang the “Goodbye” song from Yo Gabba Gabba. See? CUTE.

I let him pick out the color M&M he wanted (blue) and I may have even let him have a second one.

The rest of the weekend, he peed successfully every time I asked him if he wanted to go pee pee in the potty. He’s got it down, my fast learner genius boy.

But as for me, I’ve got some reading to do. I’m not sure what to do next. How do I get him to tell me when he needs to go? Or do I just look for signs that he needs to go? Do I try to figure out when he usually goes and beat him to it by leading him to the potty right beforehand? Should I try to get him to go on our toilet instead of the potty chair (which sings, by the way!)? And then there’s the whole issue of poop, which I’m totally not ready to deal with yet. Will I ever be?

And still more questions: Do I buy cotton underwear for him now? Later? When do we try to nighttime potty train? How will he potty train at his daycare? Should we teach him to pee standing up soon?

See how my brain works? Give me an inch and I’ll ask questions for a mile. Guess I’ve got some reading & tweeting to do this week!

Tips, please?

 

Perfect Autumn Weekend

07. October 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: Play! · Tags: , , ,

Image source: Starbucks

Our family has a fun weekend ahead of us, beginning in a mere 2 hours. As if Friday isn’t awesome enough just by being Friday, today the hubs and I are skipping out of work a few hours early to take Jax to see the Yo Gabba Gabba! live show in Philadelphia. (Are any of you sick of hearing about this yet? If so, you may want to avoid the blog for the next few days!)

Skipping, yup, that’s right.

After the show, we’re heading out to dinner. Nothing fancy. We do have a 2-year-old, afterall. But we seldom go out to eat as a family, so it will hopefully be a fun treat. I’m thinking Moe’s. And then it’ll be an early bedtime (I hope) for Jax so mommy & daddy can watch the Phillies kick some Cardinals ass (again, I hope).

Tomorrow, we are going to a birthday party at a farm. And not just any farm, but our local beloved farm, complete with a hayride, goats and other assorted animals (but goats are my kid’s favorite–you may remember the goat kissing episode), and pumpkin picking. Ahh, I can smell the hot apple cider as I write this.

Sunday is a bit up in the air as of yet, but it kicks off with momma grabbing breakfast with a dear friend–something that doesn’t happen often enough but when it does, brightens my day. Since it’s autumn, there’d better be a PSL involved. Maybe we’ll finish decorating the house for Halloween. Other than that, I got nothing. I need to put on my thinking cap to come up with a fun fall way to spend the rest of the day with Jax while daddy watches football.

Got any suggestions?

 

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