Jumping out of the Crib... please say it's not happening already!!

We have a jumper! Yesterday Isla walked right out of her bedroom at nap time following a large loud thump and some crying. Thankfully she wasn’t hurt and also I think may have scared herself a bit but now I’M scared that I will have a toddler that doesn’t stay in her bed!! She is nowhere near ready for a big girl bed or a toddler bed. She still very much needs to be contained to her crib, but I’m at a loss for what to do if this gets worse. The only 2 solutions I have found after some good old fashioned Googling are 1. Put her in a sleep sack to make it more difficult to lift her leg over the bar to climb out (we’ve been doing this and so far it’s worked but of course the one day we forgot at bedtime she got that little leg over!). 2. A company called Naughty Monkey on Etsy that apparently make Pajamas with a piece of elastic sewn in between the legs of the pajamas to have the same effect as the sleep sack. Not able to get her legs wide enough apart to climb. I know this sounds crazy but I think it’s way safer than a crib tent! Thoughts?

1st Stamp in Isla's Passport

Little girlfriend had her first trip to the Bahamas this year for the week of New Years. She LOVED it! (i mean who doesn’t?!) We were able to do slides and pool and tons of walking around and exploring with her. It was the first time she’s ever done anything like this and she was such a good girl and had such a fun time. She was particularly obsessed with singing “Baby Shark” the whole trip after she saw some fish and insisted that every giant fish she saw was a “daddy shark”.

Birthday Party Mania

We have finally become those people who’s weekends are filled with kiddie birthday parties. I knew the day would come but tried to avoid it for as long as possible. We’ve been on a little tear lately with double parties in one weekend sometimes. I have to say it hasn’t been as bad as I had imagined. My tips to staying sane while being in the thick of it:

  1. plan a brunch before or after depending on the party. It will give you some kind of adult factor to your day to enjoy yourself. Even if it means wrestling your toddler in a restaurant sometimes there just nothing better than a good mean (especially brunch) out.

  2. Pre Buy small little gifts and keep them wrapped in the closet at all times. That way you don’t have to stress about shopping and you can just grab and go as you walk out of the door.

  3. Try to keep your timing at about an hour and a 1/2 (which is usually how long these parties are) because after that there will inevitably be a meltdown.

  4. If not the pizza, please have the cake. Take advantage of the perk of being a parent that you can eat a slice of cake in the middle of the day just because. It’s your reward. Take it. Work it off later!

Isla's 1st Christmas

I wasn’t sure if the holiday season would have any effect on Isla and if she would really care. I mean yes she gets a lot more than she did last year as a newborn but I didn’t think she would really fully grasp the concept. Well…. I was wrong! WE kicked off the season with her birthday in November and didn’t stop until the last sugar cookie was eaten. Although this may be a problem later on, she knew exactly what was happening every night when it came to opening Hannukah presents and was so excited to see what was inside. She perfected the phrase “open it” by the first week of December. Christmas morning was just as great as everyone with kids tells you that it will be. her sheer excitement and surprise was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She had an obnoxious pile of gifts and couldn’t even contain her excitement. Her favorite was the new vanity set she got so that she could sit an “do her make up” and “yipstick”.

Hand Mouth Foot.... Oh God

Isla was just diagnosed with Hand, Mouth & Foot disease and I have to say my first reaction was… Ew. I know it’s soooo common and tons of kids get it, but it also falls into that category of lice and ring worm in my head. Just so gross. I cannot believe that my kid has this. And then on top of it the poor thing is in pain!! Thankfully she is on the tail end of it so I don’t think the blisters will get too bad. She only has a little rash on her feet and blisters on her hands. No blisters in her mouth. Thank god. I’ll be spending my Friday night sanitizing.

Ummm I have a Fainter on my Hands... WTF?!

I was treated to a little tantrum that quickly turned scary a couple of days ago and learned that my daughter is a fainter. Apparently, it's a fairly common thing for toddlers to hold their breath until they pass out either on purpose or while crying as part of a tantrum. Annnnnd apparently my kid is one of those toddlers. Yesterday marked the 3rd time that Isla has done this and it is SO scary! She screams either after she has fallen and gotten hurt OR when she's angry and throwing a tantrum. It then turns into her eyes rolling back and then she usually collapses into my arms. She pops her head up about 5 seconds later as if nothing ever happened and wants to go on her merry way. After speaking with my doctor, for now it seems I have nothing to worry about because it's a pretty common thing. I'm going to keep my eyes open for any weird things like throwing up or turning blue. So yeah.... one more thing to worry about. 

Dance Camp Drop Off

We are officially creeping our way into "drop off" territory and I couldn't be happier. I don't know about anyone else but I desperately need a little time to myself for an hour. Even if that means I go to Starbucks and back... it's still something! Unicorn and mermaid dance camp was 2 weeks and Isla loved it!

Isla's 1st Official Beach Day

I was a little timid about taking Isla to the beach. Not because I was scared for her. No... I was scared for me. Scared I would be in a constant state of worry that she will fall into a hole and I'll never find her, that she'll dive into the ocean when I look away for 1 small second. The worries are endless I could go on for days. I'm happy to report that none of that happened and she actually was so overwhelmed by all the space for running she tired herself out pretty quickly and would take little breaks hanging by my chair and playing with toys. I am crossing my fingers this continues for the rest of the summer!! 

The Answer is Yes. Babies Should go to the Dentist

I've been wondering if I'm supposed to be on top of Isla's dental hygeine or we'll just keep brushing her teeth because she thinks banana tooth paste is a treat and because I think it's funny. But apparently I DO need to take her to the dentist. Sometime in the next 6 months. Judging on her 15 month check up this sounds like it's going to be so fun (insert eye roll here). Any recs are welcome!

Finger Food Pergatory

Isla is an amazing eater and will try just about anything but I'm a little nervous that we are officially stuck in the phase of her eating everything with her fingers. I've tried to give her a fork or a spoon but she doesn't have much interest other than banging them or throwing them. Is she going to be an adult eating her steak dinner with her fingers at 45?! ugh. 

Baby Audition Lewk

Today is the day for our preschool playdate that isn't actually preschool it's a 2's program that we have yet to get into. Well, let me just tell you how it went with my sweet little Miss. After racking my brain all night and morning of what kind of look she should wear I decided on a nice mix of classic baby (pale pink cozy sweater and leggings) with just a small hint of chic cool factor (a neon bow and dark knit pants with tiny matching pom poms on each ankle). The playdate/interview/auditon was all of 30 minutes. Isla also discovered bright blue playdough for the first time. She refused to put the playdough down when it was time to clean up and start the music sing along. Her actual response was to growl at me. Something I've never heard come out of her mouth. I spent most of the audition pulling Isla off of the table that she learned to climb with 4 balls of playdough in her hands while continuously growling at me. Oh. And her brand new knit pants lost BOTH pom poms on one ankle. never to be seen again. 

Anyway, I think we nailed. 

No more bath seat!

We finally have moved out of the bath seat. I know I know. It's a little crazy that Isla's still in it, but to be honest it kept her in one spot while I washed her hair, and it also kept me from having a heart attack while she slipped around like a fish. If you have never tried a keter bath seat I recommend it... but maybe for not as long as we used it. Oops! 

Baby Auditioning. AKA a playdate interview.

Do not be fooled. There is still no confirmation on whether or not we have gotten onto a waitlist for a 2's program but good news is that we scored a "playdate" at the school. Basically, I think it's an interview for a 1 year old. They go. They play. The teachers watch. All while parents sit there and wonder how exactly they should be acting. We go tomorrow. 

Terrible Twos Are a Big Fat Lie

So in case no one else was told (like me) terrible twos actually don't always start at 2. It's basically anytime after they turn 1 and can continue to age 4. Please join me in saying, W.T.F. ?!? We got our first biiiiiig taste of Isla's new found inner bad girl, and I have to say she's kinda mean. She hits, she yells (a lot.), and she doesn't give AF about anything you try to tell her. Good Luck to us all. 

College Applications. Ahem... I mean Preschool Applications

OK I knew the NYC school situation was a whole world of it's own but I really did not think it would come up so fast. Turns out applying to a 2's program. NOT preschool. Just a 2's program... should have been done almost a year in advance. Soooooo that would've made Isla 9 month's old. It's been brought to my attention several times that I am very behind in applying but I still did it anyway. We're waiting. To get onto a waitlist.... stay tuned.