Three is a dilemna when you have a child that truly requires patience and timing. Shoes.
Now that Abby can walk, shoes are not only important, but essential. It was not that long ago that they were simply a fashion statement... merely a foot covering. Now that she has the ability to use the bottom of her feet for more than tickling the right shoe at the right time has become a game.
In the last month Abby has grown out of five pairs of shoes. One she had worn for a month prior. One we got on July 3 and she is wearing for the last time today.
One pair, though, she wore twice. TWO TIMES. $42 for less than 24 hours of wear time. ARGH!
We got a pair of the Robeez Tredz* when they first came out, but knew that they were too big. Every other week or so I've checked to see if they fit, but they never did. Until last Saturday afternoon. Success! The shoes fit! "She should wear them Sunday" I said, and so she did.
"They're adorable, she should wear them everyday" I said.
And she did.
Until Monday afternoon.
You see, Abby has very chubby feet. They're better now than they used to be. At least they are no longer as fat as they are long! I noticed that her chubby feet were a bit constricted on Sunday when we took her shoes off, but she seemed okay with it, so we thought they were good.
On Monday at school she apparently just gave up walking about halfway through the day because her feet hurt so much. Poor kid. She tried to rip her shoes off of her feet, so they took them off for her. Luckily we had sent some socks with grippy feet, because that's how she got around the rest of the day.
TWO. DAY. SHOES. This might get expensive over the years...
Lucky for her we have a few pairs ready to go, including three that fit right now. That does mean, though, that we will be buying shoes this weekend in several sizes. (Outlet shopping ROCKS!)
*We are hoping to find a pair of Tredz this weekend that are more shoe than sandal. The linked shoe is the one Abby wore for two days. It is in no way a reflection on their shoes, simply a reflection on her feet.
Showing posts with label Baby STUFF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baby STUFF. Show all posts
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Abby's First Birthday Party!
Saturday was Abby's big day, in more ways than we could have thought! We had a really good turnout for her birthday party, but her day started way before 2:00.
When Abby first woke up it was way too early - 5 am. I swooped her up and rocked her back to sleep for the next hour and a half so that we had a bit of a head start on sleep for the day. We headed off to the Farmer's Market where she was the center of attention in her new Red Wagon!
On the way home from the grocery store she fell back asleep, it was about 9:15 by then. Instead of letting her get a 30 minute nap in her crib, I once again rocked her to the tune of another hour. All of this forced/extra sleep was in anticipation of an afternoon of missed naps and great excitement. Turns our our gamble was worth it!
Abby was showered with gifts and attention and loved every minute of it! She got to play with her friends Evan and Luke and had one more trick up her sleeve for the day......
Once about half of the crowd had left Abby WALKED!!!! Anny was in a chair and I was on the couch and Abby went back and forth with no help several times! Yes, all apologies to my wife, but Abby is the kind of child to wait for a crowd to blow our minds!
There are no pictures or video of the walking, but there are plenty of the party and day. Here's a slide show of the day:
When Abby first woke up it was way too early - 5 am. I swooped her up and rocked her back to sleep for the next hour and a half so that we had a bit of a head start on sleep for the day. We headed off to the Farmer's Market where she was the center of attention in her new Red Wagon!
On the way home from the grocery store she fell back asleep, it was about 9:15 by then. Instead of letting her get a 30 minute nap in her crib, I once again rocked her to the tune of another hour. All of this forced/extra sleep was in anticipation of an afternoon of missed naps and great excitement. Turns our our gamble was worth it!
Abby was showered with gifts and attention and loved every minute of it! She got to play with her friends Evan and Luke and had one more trick up her sleeve for the day......
Once about half of the crowd had left Abby WALKED!!!! Anny was in a chair and I was on the couch and Abby went back and forth with no help several times! Yes, all apologies to my wife, but Abby is the kind of child to wait for a crowd to blow our minds!
There are no pictures or video of the walking, but there are plenty of the party and day. Here's a slide show of the day:
Friday, June 13, 2008
Birthday Review of The Day
Yesterday was Abby's First Birthday! We played things a little lower key because her party is not until Saturday. We did not do cake, though there is a rumor that mom and dad broke out Samoa's from the freezer after Abby was in bed.
Abby woke up extra early, beating out my pre-planned wake up alarm of the song "It's Your Birthday" by Justin Roberts. (If you have iTunes, you can hear a sample HERE). I had the alarm set about five minutes before our normal alarm. Abby woke up about a half hour early! I still managed to get the iPod going and we sang to her to open her day.
At school they celebrated, too. Anny got to go, but since I left early on Wednesday for the end-o-year party, I didn't hop over. Anyway, Anny said that Abby soaked it all in. Loved the attention and the special party hat. We sent fruit cups and they were a huge hit! One of the babies had never had grapes and she went crazy over them.
Before dinner, Abby "helped" me put together her new Radio Flyer Wagon! By "helped" me I mean that she spun the tires and waved a screwdriver at it. Once it was all put together, she got in and played by herself, opening and closing the seats and playing with the canopy cover, for quite a while. See picture:
For dinner Anny and I had burgers, but Abby had peas, burger and leftover fruit from earlier. Absolute heaven. No, we did not give her a cup cake or any sugary goodness.
Abby went to bed a little late after opening gifts and cards that have arrived already. The big party is Saturday, so I should have some more pictures up soon!
Abby woke up extra early, beating out my pre-planned wake up alarm of the song "It's Your Birthday" by Justin Roberts. (If you have iTunes, you can hear a sample HERE). I had the alarm set about five minutes before our normal alarm. Abby woke up about a half hour early! I still managed to get the iPod going and we sang to her to open her day.
At school they celebrated, too. Anny got to go, but since I left early on Wednesday for the end-o-year party, I didn't hop over. Anyway, Anny said that Abby soaked it all in. Loved the attention and the special party hat. We sent fruit cups and they were a huge hit! One of the babies had never had grapes and she went crazy over them.
Before dinner, Abby "helped" me put together her new Radio Flyer Wagon! By "helped" me I mean that she spun the tires and waved a screwdriver at it. Once it was all put together, she got in and played by herself, opening and closing the seats and playing with the canopy cover, for quite a while. See picture:
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| From June 2008 |
Abby went to bed a little late after opening gifts and cards that have arrived already. The big party is Saturday, so I should have some more pictures up soon!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Books for Bed Time
Dad Labs has been focusing on Children's Books this week. (Not sure if the link will load for you. Since they got picked up by a bigger company access is hit and miss. They're also on YouTube.)
Here is one of the videos about Bed Time Books:
We have taken to reading a couple of favorites already. Snuggle Puppy (Sandra Boynton) and The Napping House (Don and Audrey Wood) are two that we all seem to like. Anny and I each have other favorites, and some that drive us nuts. For example, I tend to go fairly quickly to Z is for Zamboni (Matt Napier), an alphabet book based in hockey.
We like Snuggle Puppy a lot since we were also able to download the song from iTunes! The same was true for Barnyard Dance (Sandra Boynton, too). I am a huge fan of things that are truly multi-media.
What are your favorite Bedtime Books (so far)? Do you find that one parent favors certain books over others? Do you rely on old reliables like Seuss, or is there something new that you could tell us all about?
Discuss, please!
Here is one of the videos about Bed Time Books:
We have taken to reading a couple of favorites already. Snuggle Puppy (Sandra Boynton) and The Napping House (Don and Audrey Wood) are two that we all seem to like. Anny and I each have other favorites, and some that drive us nuts. For example, I tend to go fairly quickly to Z is for Zamboni (Matt Napier), an alphabet book based in hockey.
We like Snuggle Puppy a lot since we were also able to download the song from iTunes! The same was true for Barnyard Dance (Sandra Boynton, too). I am a huge fan of things that are truly multi-media.
What are your favorite Bedtime Books (so far)? Do you find that one parent favors certain books over others? Do you rely on old reliables like Seuss, or is there something new that you could tell us all about?
Discuss, please!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Baby STUFF - Slings
(Continuing to share the THINGS that have made parenting easier in our household)
We began slinging Abby very early on.... probably two weeks old. I was very hesitant at first
Advantages of slings:
We began slinging Abby very early on.... probably two weeks old. I was very hesitant at first
Advantages of slings:
- Bonding - Abby is on one of us anytime we were out of the house. (we do use the shopping carts now, too. She had to get a lot better at balancing to get to that point!)
- Poeple think it's cute. Okay, maybe just when a daddy is doing it, but it made me feel like a hero.
- People don't touch your baby. We have had stangers get WAY too close to our baby when she's in her stroller. People seem to respect another adult's personal space than that of a baby. Yeah, she's the one that does not have a fully developed immune system yet!
- I'm sure there are others, and am confident that either Sarahlynn, Natalie or Steph will comment below!
There are many types of slings, but we really love the two we use.
We got a Ring Sling from Sarahlynn. When Abby was too little to hold her head up, we could hold her. When she could hold her head up, we could hold her. Now that she's gotten taller and heavier, we can still hold her! They say that you can use it for as long as you can hold them. I don't know that I'll have her on my hip at 40 pounds, though!
We also have a BabyBjörn . This has done us great service over the last few months. It has more limitations, but seems to be more prevalent. Abby could not be in it until she could hold her head up, and is now on the upper limit of the height and weight limits. Okay - I'm not sure that they have a height limit, but my brother put it best when he said "I will not carry a baby like that when they are learning to walk." I'll be a little more blunt, it's more of an issue for men than women.
I can not imagine that we would have done without our sling(s). One great thing about slingers is that they tend to be easy to talk to. If you have a question, you can always ask! (We know, because we stopped a woman in Babie R Us a couple of weeks back for a few pointers!)
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Why I Love Cloth Diapers
We did it! We made the switch about five weeks ago from all disposable to all cloth diapers! We lucked out completely in our timing to purchase and saved a bunch of money, too.
We asked around to get as much information as we could to make an informed decision and settled on the BumGenius diapers. There are other brands with names just as cutsie, we just chose these based on recommendations. The BumGenius grow with your child from birth to 35 pounds, which means that we buy them now and potty train before we buy bigger diapers. They just released the 3.0 version, and we stocked up on the 2.0 diapers while they were being clearanced out.
I will admit that I was the reason that we did not start out in cloth. Anny told me that they are not like what I was thinking, but she never made me look at them. Part of the reason behind my not looking is that stores do not carry them prevalently. (There are specialty shops, but not close to our house) I wanted to be as far away from pins and pee as possible.
As it turns out, cloth diapers are almost easier than disposables! Yes, we have to put more effort in by washing a load of diapers every other day, but that's nothing. We take turns and are sure to notice when it's time so that we have enough clean at the right time.
Reasons we switched (not in any order):
Money - We've spent only about $400 for our diapers, trash can and can liner. We have already spent about $300 on disposables.
Environmental - Yes, we used to be tree huggers and are getting closer again. We've done lots of other things to do our part and this seemed like a logical step.
Ease - Honestly, they're simple now!
Daycare - Our incredible daycare got better when we talked to them about going cloth. Their regulations really are where our issues came in, but those were easily figured out. We had to buy them a trashcan that locks and a bag. We do all of the cleaning, but they have had no problems at all.
If you're considering it we would certainly encourage it! It can sound intimidating, but the advantages sure seem to outweigh the downsides!
(This is the first of what I envision will be many posts under the Label of "Baby STUFF." There are a lot of things out there that we have tried, and a lot that we have looked at and not tried. Heck, there are things we have tried, like disposables, and decided later to go away from. Feel free to offer other suggestions or add any information that you would like to!)
We asked around to get as much information as we could to make an informed decision and settled on the BumGenius diapers. There are other brands with names just as cutsie, we just chose these based on recommendations. The BumGenius grow with your child from birth to 35 pounds, which means that we buy them now and potty train before we buy bigger diapers. They just released the 3.0 version, and we stocked up on the 2.0 diapers while they were being clearanced out.
I will admit that I was the reason that we did not start out in cloth. Anny told me that they are not like what I was thinking, but she never made me look at them. Part of the reason behind my not looking is that stores do not carry them prevalently. (There are specialty shops, but not close to our house) I wanted to be as far away from pins and pee as possible.
As it turns out, cloth diapers are almost easier than disposables! Yes, we have to put more effort in by washing a load of diapers every other day, but that's nothing. We take turns and are sure to notice when it's time so that we have enough clean at the right time.
Reasons we switched (not in any order):
Money - We've spent only about $400 for our diapers, trash can and can liner. We have already spent about $300 on disposables.
Environmental - Yes, we used to be tree huggers and are getting closer again. We've done lots of other things to do our part and this seemed like a logical step.
Ease - Honestly, they're simple now!
Daycare - Our incredible daycare got better when we talked to them about going cloth. Their regulations really are where our issues came in, but those were easily figured out. We had to buy them a trashcan that locks and a bag. We do all of the cleaning, but they have had no problems at all.
If you're considering it we would certainly encourage it! It can sound intimidating, but the advantages sure seem to outweigh the downsides!
(This is the first of what I envision will be many posts under the Label of "Baby STUFF." There are a lot of things out there that we have tried, and a lot that we have looked at and not tried. Heck, there are things we have tried, like disposables, and decided later to go away from. Feel free to offer other suggestions or add any information that you would like to!)
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