Friday, May 25, 2012

Almost halfway there!

Can you believe it? I will be 20 weeks 6 days from today... wow! Time is flying with this little man... and he is doing just great! I feel him move all the time now and he is just like his little sissy, quite the active man! We have another ultrasound on Wednesday and I cannot wait to see what he looks like since its been about 6 weeks since we've seen him last! We are in the process of decorating the nursery and have finally settled on a color scheme of lime green/navy. Brynn's room is lime green/pink so they will both have a little lime going on :) I cant wait to get started on it but we have a lot of work to do as far as clearing out his current room before we can get going... with only a few months left I suppose we should start that soon!

Ryan and I just got back from Puerto Vallarta, MX for a few days and we had a great time! We literally did, nothing. We slept, ate, slept some more, laid by the pool and slept... it felt like we had literally caught up on the past year of missed sleep we've had. Only to come home to sweet little Brynn waking up all night, it was our payback for leaving her I suppose. She hung with her Nana for 4 days and from what I've been told, they had a BLAST. She went to the park, swam in her little pool and just played all day!

Brynlee is doing fantastic. It is crazy to see how smart she is getting. Smarter and smarter each day. It's weird to think that just from 12 months to 15 months she has changed in so many ways. She is so much more toddler like now and repeats almost everything we say. We have had to start watching our words more and more because she is a pistol! She can probably say about 15-20 words now with literally new ones popping up every day. I'd have to say her all time favorite word is "baby". She always has one in her hand or one not too far away. She feeds them, rocks them, hugs and kisses them, and takes them with her everywhere she goes. She really is going to be a great big sister, I can already see it now, Brynlee feeding little Beckham. Such a good helper, I know it! She also loves to say "coco" which is her giant teddy bear. She says "hi coco" every morning when she wakes up and see's him and is the first thing she wants to do when we get home from work. She has slimmed down a ton as well! People really cant believe it when they see her! Oh and her hair.... the HAIR... it seriously KILLS me. It is so curly in the back! Little baby ringlets all over...so frickin cute! I cannot handle it. Her birthday she didnt have barely any curls... and now its like woah. I really didnt think in just three months she would blossom into such a fun, creative, smart little girl... but wow, she sure is nothing short of amazing. I cannot wait to see how she continues to grow!

I will try and do a little photodump of our trip and Brynn and the belly soon! Until next time...

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Note to self... be a FUN mom!

I found this on another blog (once again)... I know I am a stealer but since I print my blogs at the end of every year I like to put things on here I want to remember... I loved this article on how to be a fun mom... and of course I want to be a fun mom! Who wouldnt want to be? I think I already tackle most of these items... like breaking the rules (Brynlee already gets a little ice cream when she is good for dessert right before bedtime, woops!) Turn on the tunes... we ALWAYS dance with her... and she is pretty good at on command "shake your booty" it almost never fails that she will shake her little butt! Oh and talking in silly voices? I have that mastered and Brynlee loves it. My favorite part of this was the note on how kids dont care or dont judge you, they look up to you and the more "fun" you have, the more they want to be around you. I want Brynlee and soon to be Beckham, to WANT to be around their mom and dad.. and to want to come to us in their lives... so note to self... be a FUN mom! Enjoy the read :)

#1 Way to be a FUN MOM- Spend time with your kids. That will make you the most fun mom on the planet!!!


Then...
Let Your Guard Down - RELAX!

Stop worrying about looking silly, sounding silly, or being perfect. Relax and smile. They are our kids, they are not judging us, just looking for us to love them and spend time with them. Living life up-tight, is not really living life.

Use Your Strengths - Be Yourself

I can fold a mean paper airplane and make a perfect cootie catcher. I shared this with our kids and they thought it was the coolest thing ever. It is a secret talent of mine. They thought I was so fun. I am also really good at cartwheels. Last week I demonstrated my cartwheel abilities to the kids. They were in awe. They are easy to please, but still. They thought I was fun. :) I am also pretty good in the kitchen, and can color a mean picture. I like to outline all the pictures and then color lighter inside the outline. The kids think that style is really cool.

It's not about what other moms are doing, or about doing it all. We don't have to be something we are not. Instead, look at your strengths and talents and use them to your advantage. What do/did you like to do? What are you good at?


I am not really comfortable talking in silly voices. I love the make believe and pretend, just not the silly changing of voices part. I always felt guilty because I didn't like talking silly with my kids. I shouldn't feel bad. So it's not one of my strengths. I have lots of other strengths. It's okay.

Use your talents, even if they are off the wall, goofy or silly.


Be Spontaneous-Break the Rules

Do something out of the ordinary. Read extra books at bed time, have hot chocolate after teeth are brushed, stay up to watch a movie, an unplanned trip to the park, let your child have a bowl of cereal before bed, eat dessert first, jump on the couch. Say yes when you would normally say no. It's okay.

What can you do today, that is unexpected?

Follow Along

Watch what your kids are doing, and follow along. Play house, color, swing, chase around the house. Follow their lead, and not only will they think you are fun, but you will really have fun. Are they acting silly, then act silly. We sometimes worry about what we are going to do with our kids. No worries, they will take care of that part for us.

Turn on the Tunes - Dance

Want to be more fun? Move. Dance. Jive. Boogie. Unlike our friends in high school, Kids don't judge your dance moves. They don't care.

I have made it a secret goal this year to dance with at least one of our kids everyday. (Guess it's not a secret anymore). Yesterday I danced with our 8 month old in my arms in front of the mirror. She loved it! Today I grabbed our daughters arms and started to twirl her in the kitchen. When my husband came home tonight, she ran to him to tell him how much fun we had dancing around.

When was the last time you danced with your kids?

Don't Multitask

Want to be more fun? Stop trying to do more than one thing at a time. Being with our children becomes frustrating when we are also trying to make dinner, check Pinterest, and fold laundry. All of a sudden, it feels like our kids are hindering us from what we are trying to do and we don't enjoy our time together. That isn't very fun. One thing at a time.

Say "Yes"

As mom's we can find ourselves saying "no" an awful lot. That doesn't make us very fun. "No's" are necessary, but we should try to say "yes" as much as we can. This is hard for me. "Mom, can I have another piece of gum?" I want to say no. They don't need it, they already had one, it isn't necessary. BUT... will it really hurt if they have a second piece sometimes? Of course not.

Sometimes I have an agenda, that I feel is the best, and our kids want to do things in a different order, and I want to say "No". Fact of the matter, does the order really matter? Usually it doesn't. So think about the 90/10 rule and apply it to "yes and no." Can you say "yes" 90% of the time?


What can you say "yes" to today?

Laugh

Laughter is great medicine. Want your kids to think you are really fun? Laugh with them. Having trouble laughing? Put a smile on your face for starters. You will be more fun when you smile, and then you will laugh.



I often have the thought, "I can't have fun with you, because then things won't get done around here". Nothing could be farther from the truth. When I have fun with our kids, more gets done, I feel better and so do they. And...they are more likely to help with a willing attitude which lightens my load.



Now, let's all go be FUN MOMS.