Toddler Talk: Picky Eaters

Has anyone else out there been blessed with a picky eater in their home? Sadly Stafford, myself, and McKinlee are all pretty confident in what foods we do and don't like (thank Heaven for Addie who is an angel and likes most everything she's tried so far) to put in nicely. I'm a vegetarian, Stafford MUST have meat and avoids colorful vegetables when possible, and McKinlee is a mixture of us both, which basically leaves chocolate and fruit. So this post is for anyone out there that can relate.

Every situation is unique. McKinlee has a lot of stomach acid like her dad, she has a crazy sensitive gagging reflex, and is not a fan of textures. Being our oldest, I just thought this is how all kids are, but so far Addie has proven that wrong (there's hope for our future children!!). Through the 3 years of McKinlee's life, I have learned a few tricks that have helped us in the food department.


Don't let them graze 

Early on, we let McKinlee eat whatever she wanted whenever she wanted because at least she was eating! I think all parents of picky eaters probably feel like this at some point. We decided to cut out half of her snacks and limit her to 3 meals and 2 snacks. Right away we noticed a difference that she was eating more at meal times. Hallelujah! I was so ecstatic! That was one of the biggest and best changes we could have made.

Offer healthy options 

I made sure her snack options were more healthy. She didn't do vegetables, but I started doing fruit cups or fresh fruit, crackers and cheese, apples and peanut butter, etc. If she liked something she would usually stick with it for a few days in a row before she would ask for something different. When she started talking more and more, food became a lot easier to figure out.

Limit distractions

I took a toddler nutrition class in college and this stood out to me. We keep the TV off, I clear the table of crafts and other clutter and try to make meal time focused on the table and eating. Young toddlers may have a hard time with this at first, but keep trying it! Consistency is key!

Only try one new food at a time 

It would be overwhelming for me to sit down to a plate with all new foods on it. When we decide it's time for McKinlee to try a new vegetable (or chicken) I make sure to make the rest of the meal something she's comfortable with. She loves pasta and rice, so that's my easy meal to introduce a new vegetable. Lately I've taught her to mix her veggies with her main dish and that sometimes distracts her from what she's really eating. It's all about finding what works for your babe.

I hope you find some success with at least one of these tips. I know food has been a source of frustration in my mom life, but it has gotten a lot better with time. Let me know what works for you, as we are still working with our picky eater ;) Happy hump day!

Life Lately + From the Toddler's Mouth

A few months ago, Stafford and I were talking about journaling and writing down the little joys in our day. He began writing in a document and I asked if I could add to it. It's kind of become our family journal and I love having it. I was reading back through some of our entries and I just thought I would share a few funny things we wanted to remember from our talkative 3 year old.

One night at dinner McKinlee was climbing around in her chair, as usual, and suddenly slipped. I caught her arm before she fell to the ground and with a look of amazement she said "good save mom!"  Love her! I'm not the smoothest athlete- I almost always drop the keys when Stafford throws them to me, but I think motherhood makes you into some kind of super kid-catcher.

From Stafford: As I was getting ready to leave for work this morning I found a pair of McKinlee's shoes nicely stacked next to mine in my closet. She put them away by daddy's shoes! I love McKinlee surprises. We often find little things from McKinlee around the house. Sometimes it's 5 half full water bottles lined up on Stafford's night stand, other times it's a sippy cup full of apple juice in her play fridge (yikes! Because that's where apple juice goes- in the fridge!).

We were at our friends' house babysitting over night and Addie was having a hard time adjusting. I decided to let her cry it out for a bit while I fixed McKinlee and one of the kids a snack. I sat on the stairs while they ate so I could listen to Addie. I told Anna it was so sad (to listen to her cry). McKinlee got off her chair with her bowl and sat down by me even through my protests. Addie wailed again and I repeated that it was sad and McKinlee said, "your not sad, I sit by you!" It just clicked that she sat by me because she thought I was sad! She is so sweet!!


Stafford was downstairs (while we were still babysitting) and for some reason McKinlee needed him to come up. She stood at the top of the stairs and yelled down to him, "Daddy, come up! Right now! 4.... 5... 6...." she shrugged her shoulders and continued, "Ok! Spanking time!" And with that she marched herself down the stairs. I couldn't help but start cracking up. What a funny girl!

I do miss my baby McKinlee, but talking McKinlee makes up for it. Plus I have baby Addie to snuggle and kiss all over, so I'm set.

5 Tips to Getting Things Done With A Toddler

I do not claim to be an expert at this whatsoever, but I did want to share what works for me and my girls on a daily basis (most days). This is mostly geared towards toddlers, since McKinlee takes a little more effort than Addie (6 months old). 

Utilize nap/quiet time

One of the best pieces of advice I got on multiple occasions is to always have quiet time. I don't necessarily care if my 2.5 year old sleeps, but she always has quiet time in her room by herself. She has a few stuffed animals and books that she can read, but other than that I keep the rest of the room empty so she's not distracted by toys. If she does fall asleep, it's usually for 2 hours or so. If she won't fall asleep, I'll have her stay in her room for 1-2 hours depending on how she does. Somedays she'll play for an hour and then fall asleep. It's all a guessing game, but I am so happy I've enforced it because it gives both of us a little break. While she sleeps I shower if I haven't been able to yet, blog, plan dinner/grocery list, or have some me time. Yes I consider taking a break still getting things done, because sometimes you just need it. It's also a good time to fold laundry while I watch a little Netflix and eat my popcorn + chocolate chips. I try to save my quiet activities for this time so I don't wake the girls up.

Involve Them

There are plenty of things I do through out the day that I can involve McKinlee in- they just take a little longer. When we make beds together, we end up making pillow forts, which is ok sometimes and other days I try to get it done quickly. We brush our teeth together and get ready for the day together. If I'm picking up a room, we'll sing the clean up song and she'll usually jump in to help (but occasionally she'll say "no" and continue throwing every toy out of the basket. It's a toss up.). She really enjoys cooking with me, so if I need to distract her, I'll give her a plastic bowl with her special spatula. It's not long before she asks to put some condiment in her bowl to mix. I don't love messes, but they're inevitable with a toddler so I usually try to choose a less messy option.

Clean While They're Awake

When McKinlee was a baby I never felt like I could put her down and clean. I would wait until she was asleep to pick up the 409, but it seemed like as soon as I did she would wake up from the noise. After some time I realized it was not the end of the world if I put my baby down while she was awake. Now that McKinlee is older, I can easily clean while she is awake and distracted, or as mentioned before, she will sometimes try to help. She loves washing windows and mirrors, which is an awesome easy thing for me to pass off to her while I work on some of the bigger jobs. For me, nap time is sacred time and it should not be wasted on cleaning. I like it better that way.

Set Aside Specific Time For Them

Do what they want to do, play their games. Put your phone somewhere out of reach so that your little can see that you're focused on them. I know McKinlee can tell when I'm not giving her my full attention, because she'll get frustrated quickly, or start to act out to get me to focus on her. I have learned that it is best for all of us if I give her the special time she needs. I try to say yes to whatever activity she wants to do. Painting? Yes it'll be a bit of a mess, but that's nothing when compared to the value of aiding in her creativity. Making a snack? The kitchen is probably the room where the biggest messes happen, but she loves to mix and cut and pretend to cook things with me. Kids need variety. They don't want to do the same 5 things every day. Their minds love to explore and learn. They're not called "little scientists" for nothing. Give them the freedom to do new things, and be there with them while they learn.

Give Them Simple Tasks While You Work

Some of McKinlee's favorite activities while I'm busy in the kitchen are stacking frosting containers/spices, playing drums using measuring spoons and tupperware, and "sweeping" the floor. After they lose interest, have them clean up each mess. This usually buys me two more minutes to finish up whatever I'm working on. McKinlee also loves following a chain of instructions. For example: "run down the hall, touch the door, then come back and do a flip on the couch." She could do this for a half hour easy if I can continue coming up with new things for her to do.

I hope this helps give you some ideas of what to do with your busy toddler when you so desperately need to wash the piles of dishes in your sink from the night before, give your 6 month old a bath, and fold the 3 loads of laundry you were finally able to get done... This is just an example of course... ;)

Happy Friday!

Potty Talk

We are officially in the potty training stage! I have to admit I was eager to start McKinlee on the potty, because I wanted to give her enough time to fully adjust before baby girl comes in May. I figured 3 months would be a good amount of time and hopefully she won't regress too much when the time comes. We started prepping her for this way back in November. We bought a toilet seat for her to use on the big girl potty at first. I thought this would make it easier for her to use a big girl potty in stores and while we're out and about. She used the potty a few times (for potty AND poop!) and I thought we were making some good progress! Then we went to my sister's place in Chicago and McKinlee got to try out her cousin's little toilet and LOVED it. So we decided to pick one up when we got home. My sister has this one and I like how small it is. This one is a little bigger, but McKinlee does great on it, so we're good. (We also bought a second potty to take in the car with us. I've heard this can be helpful when we're running errands. I'll let you know when we get there.)

When she stopped progressing, we decided to take it more seriously and try the 3 Day Method. It's basically spending 3 days naked in the house with a focus on going potty. The book tells you to give them lots of fluids and take them potty every 20 minutes the first day. I tried setting a timer and after 2 times, she decided she didn't like the timer. I trusted her, so we went without. Instead I would ask her every 10 minutes or so if she needed to go potty. I knew if it was on her mind, she would be less likely to have an accident and eventually she would say yes. Sure enough it worked for us!

The book also makes it clear that these 3 days are really devoted to your child. I chose 3 days that Stafford would be around so if we needed to run an errand, one of us could stay home with McKinlee.
I started out with 12 pairs of little panties. The smallest I could find were 2T-3T, but they work just fine. I got her some My Little Pony ones because I wanted her to have something to be excited about. I've heard lots of people take their kids to choose some out, but I ran to the store the night before we planned to start and just didn't have the energy to take her along ha! I also picked up this little M&M dispenser and some candies. I thought this would be a fun way to encourage her to use the potty.

Day 1 started out great. We woke up, I let her take her time to get going and when I was ready to change her diaper, I took it off, wiped her bum and showed her the new panties. She was excited at first and put them on. We face timed daddy at school to show him how pretty they were. As soon as I asked her if she wanted breakfast, she started asking for a diaper. Luckily I hid all the diaper supplies in our room the night before. I told her we were wearing panties today and going potty in the big girl potty. She threw a little fit, but moved on. She went potty successfully 2 times that morning! I think the excitement was still there. She loved getting praised, and candy. We face timed daddy each time and she just loved that. I was concerned when she wasn't going every half hour or so, but as long as it was in the potty I was happy. As the morning went on, I was still feeling positive about the experience, which is good because I was already tired. It is pretty exhausting. I really focused on her wants. We played play-doh, colored, used stickers, etc. It was a good morning. Then came nap time and a little rejuvenation time for me. I put a diaper on her for bed and took a little nap myself. The rest of the day went pretty well with no accidents at all. That's right... NO accidents. Now when I say this I guess I should include that right before she would go in the toilet, she would get a little drop on her panties, stop and exclaim "POTTY!!" then proceed to take off her panties and run to the toilet. I considered this a win, because I knew eventually she would be able to tell she needed to go before her panties got a little drop on them. We went through lots of panties because of the little potty she got on them and sometimes she just wanted to change into the next pony panties. Not a battle to fight at all in my book.

Day 2 was a little harder because it was Saturday. From the book and from others I heard day 2 would be a little depressing at first because it's much like day 1 in the morning, but it gets better. I kept a positive attitude going into it. We had the same morning routine, except daddy was home. I should've known better because McKinlee tends to be a little whinier when daddy's home and she thinks she can get away with more things. I blame it on the fact that daddy can't say "no more candy" to that cute face... I mean... Can you blame him? So she struggled a bit in the morning. She had 2 accidents that day. I think it was harder on her to have Stafford home because it's different than our norm. Usually he's gone all morning until dinner time (except for the weekends). Overall I think it worked out fine because a weekend was bound to happen eventually and I'd rather her get used to going potty with mommy OR daddy sooner than later. The day got better after nap time. Since we had been cooped up for a week because of bad weather, we decided to get her out of the house to let her get some fresh air. We went to a park to play on the playground and touch the snow. For this we put panties on first and then a diaper. I knew she would go in her panties, but the book suggests this so she can feel the wet instead of just letting a diaper absorb it. I was a little bummed to take her out, but I knew she needed a break from the house. After our little outing, she had no more accidents that night, and she even went poop in the potty (she's done this a few times, but it was still exciting)!

Day 3 was awesome. We put panties on right away. No accidents at home. It was Sunday, though, so we went to church. I was torn. I thought about having Stafford and I take turns staying home with her through church, but we decided to just do the diaper thing and go for all 3 hours. She was wet when we got home, so we put on a fresh diaper and put her down for nap. The rest of the day went great with no accidents. I was one proud momma! This gave me courage for the week ahead of me with no Stafford.

The 3 Day Method is awesome and I definitely suggest trying it. We saw that McKinlee was ready and we wanted to take advantage of it while we could. I will admit that the whole first week was exhausting. We really avoided taking her out after the first weekend. I wanted to give her the best chance to be completely potty trained. The next Sunday was the first time we took her out without a diaper. I was SO nervous, but Stafford took her to try once during the first hour and she totally went in the big potty at church! I was surprised. She'd never gone anywhere but home. I was still nervous to take her out by myself for a while, but we did attempt a few trips later that week and she was able to stay dry the whole time! While we're out and about, we always just make sure to ask a lot and she will tell us for the most part. Sometimes we just have to take her to try and she'll either refuse to sit or she'll go for it. We can confidently leave her in nursery now and they'll bring her to us when she says she needs to go. I am so proud of her! We still give her m&m's when she remembers to ask for them after going. Hopefully that will taper off more and more as time goes on.

Whew! So yes, this was a long post, but I know when I was gearing up for potty training, I LOVED reading other's experiences and what they did. This blog post in particular really helped me gain some courage. Good luck to all you other mamas out there getting ready for this exciting mile stone. It CAN be done! haha

Easy Valentine's To Make With Your Toddler

This week we have been busy babysitting some family friends, which has left little time to get our Valentine's in the mail! Luckily we had everything on hand to make the perfect Valentine's from McKinlee.

On Wednesday, I pulled out some stickers, pom pom balls, and all the different pink hues that I could find in our crayon box. I gave McKinlee a glue stick and let her go to town.

Obviously the stickers and glue were a big hit. We sent those out to grandparents in pretty envelopes.
This morning we decided to make daddy a little picture as well. I taped off "I LOVE YOU" and pulled out the watercolors. Painting is probably one of McKinlee's favorite things.

At first I was worried because she just started painting little lines and then moved onto the taped off sections. She was trying to stay in the lines... the one time you don't want to stay in the lines! haha. Once she got going though, she was unstoppable.

Look at that focus. She is in the zone.

 And there you have it. Two really easy Valentine's to make with your toddler. I think the grandparents and daddy will love them!

Hope you have some fun plans for tomorrow! We're thinking bagels and strawberries for breakfast (Einstein Bros honey wheat with strawberry cream cheese has been a serious craving for me this pregnancy). Then we're taking the big group out for some fun on the town and finishing off the night with hopefully a little ice cream in bed :) I'm grateful for the loves in my life. Happy Valentine's Day!

18 Months

 

Age:18 Months
Clothes: Still fitting into her 12 month and finally getting into her 12-18 month clothes! Learn from me and DON'T buy your baby clothes too far in advance! haha. I will now have 18 month skirts and short sleeve shirts that will fit her this winter.

Favorite Foods: Pasta, Peaches, PB&J's, apples, and chips.

Favorite Words: Hi, Nigh nigh, shoe, three (teee!), go (thank you "Let it Go"), and she currently calls Stafford, grandpa and grandma all da da, but in different ways. haha I'm still waiting for the day she uses mama for me. It's like she totally wiped it from her word bank. Please tell me it will come back!

Favorite Activities: Running through the sprinkler is a new favorite. She was so unsure of it at first and then after an afternoon with my little sisters, she was running around with a naked bum LOVING that sprinkler. She also enjoys climbing in and out of the kiddie pool, chasing around our cat and trying to kiss him (which he doesn't love at all).  It's been nice having a yard this summer and I think that has helped her in the mess department. She doesn't dump out all the tupperware here and I think it's because she has more to do than she does in our little apartment. By the way... this chapstick was the only way we could get through our pictures at our family reunion. Thanks Kasey for sharing and not minding a little toddler saliva :)

 
Least Favorite Activities: She absolutely does not like going to bed. The past 3 days have been the worst ever. She has always gone down easy with little attention at nap time and bed time, but lately she will hold on tight to us and yell and cry. It is so sad and I don't know if it's separation anxiety or being in the dark (which she's always slept in pitch black rooms with a noise maker). I'm kind of at a loss and I'm hoping it's a phase that she'll grow out of... soon.

Signature Moves: Giving kisses (and saying mah!), brushing her own teeth, and singing. She has started trying to do a somersault and will clap for herself after she falls to the side. It is pretty darn cute. She also loves rolling her arms like in pat-a-cake -One day Stafford was showing my sisters a magic trick and must have rolled his arms like that, so she picked up on it and we now tell her it's magic. She does it anytime Frozen's "Let it Go" song comes on. That song plays a big role in our lives haha.

 

 Favorite age so far? I think so! She really couldn't be a sweeter, more fun little girl. Having a toddler can be totally chaotic, but it is also so much fun. I just love this cute girl of mine!

Top: Carter's old- similar here
Headband:  Lovestrong Shop

My Big 16 Month Old

This girl seems to have grown 5 inches over night! Her little personality is showing through more and more and I love it!

Height: 29.75 in. 21%
Weight: 16 lb 15 oz. 3%
Head: 45 cm. 30%
(As of her 15 month check-up)

Sleep: We're pretty much at one nap a day around 1:30 for 2 hours. It's a great little break for both of us and let's me get stuff done around the house and squeeze in some relax time- Thank you Hulu! She's still sleeping 12 hours at night and goes to bed at 9:30. I feel like we just have our schedule down and it's awesome. I don't know why, but so much of my motherhood experience has felt like I'm guessing at everything. I love when I finally feel like I have a handle on everything. It's only taken me 16 months!

Food: McKinlee is just a little muncher. She only takes a few bites of everything which drives me crazy! I can't make 5 different things for her each meal! She does like Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, Graham Crackers, pretzels, mac 'n cheese, any kind of cheese really, and applesauce. 

Milestones: This cute girl is quite social. She smiles, waves, and says "hi" to everyone we pass. I love that! She signs please, food, more, all done, and water. Babies signing is pretty much the cutest thing. She will say "wah" for water, "hi", "uh oh", "Tank ooo", "bye bye", "ba tie" (bath time), and "nie nie". She also knows the sounds for dog, cat, cow, rhinoceros, sheep, bird, bunny (hop, hop), fish, and horse. One of my favorite things she does is licks her fingers clean after eating something messy. Ah-dor-ah-ble. And she'll smile on demand now. So cute. She recently picked up how to fold her arms for prayers out of no where! She also gives kisses immediately after prayers which I love. It's safe to say that we have LOVED seeing her learn new things the past couple months.

This cute girl has been so fun to watch grow. I am grateful for her sweet spirit and spunky personality. We have entered the tantrum stage a little bit and I'm hoping to nip that in the bud quickly, but she's too cute to be mad at! How do you cope with tantrums with your littles?

Happy Monday!

Toddler Talk: Transitioning From Formula to Cow Milk

Hi everyone! Sorry for the absence- I got my wisdom teeth out on Wednesday and have just been trying to heal. Can I just tell you how bad I want a sandwich? or the Ben and Jerry's ice cream I bought for myself? I can't have any of it until I can chew a little bit better. My diet currently consists of applesauce and Wendy's frosties. Yum.

Unlike myself, McKinlee is a great eater right now. I was only able to breastfeed McKinlee until about 8 months. I never felt like I was producing enough for her, so we supplemented with formula everyday. I have higher hopes for our next baby, but we'll see how it goes. We used formula until right around the time McKinlee turned one. I was a little nervous about going straight to cow milk, but we gave it a go and she couldn't stand it! She kept scratching her tongue like there was a hair on it or something haha! We tried a few more times with no luck. A few Sundays later I was talking to a friend at church that said she put her kids on almond milk right away. I looked into the nutrition side of it a little bit and decided we should try it. I was desperate to get her onto something other than formula just so we could be progressing. We filled up the bottle when she first woke up and BAM. I couldn't take it away from her! YAY!!

Later we switched from original to unsweetened original so it wouldn't be so sugary. The amount of Calcium is double what is in cow milk, so I thought we would be okay in that department. McKinlee is a small small girl, so that made me think about the fat content. After more talking with the hubs we decided to try whole milk again. Still too gross for this little girl. So now we mix the two together. We try to do a little more whole milk to almond milk ratio so she gets a good amount of fat. We just got off of bottles this month as well and we can already tell a big difference in her food intake. HUGE difference! Our doctor also told us to only give her milk with meals and water any other time. This has changed nap time and bed time all for the better. So we're doing well :)

Hint: Grilled cheese and tomato soup on her own? This should have been a shirtless meal followed promptly with bath time.

Did you experience anything like this with your little? I'd love to hear any tips!