A Play-doh kind of day

This winter has been rough! It's been so cold here, since November really. We're finally in the last week of January, so only 2 more months until spring or so. Today all of the schools in the area were closed because of cold and snow, so that means Storytime at the library was canceled too. I decided to break out the Play-doh! We've only used it once since Avery got it at Christmas, and she loves it! I put some wax paper down on her little table and we played for a little over an hour with it. She really does great staying at the table and not making a mess. It was so fun, and Avery is at such a great age! I love the toddler stage so much more than the baby phase. It's great that she is communicating more and things are just easier and more fun. 

Here are some pictures of her playing: 

Of course Ranger tried to get in on the fun!

After the Play-doh was put away, I decided to clean out my clothes in my closet. I've been thinking about doing this for awhile, and today was the day! I tried almost everything on, and got rid of everything that didn't fit right, or just looked old (or just was old!) I filled up 2 garbage bags! Hooray!

The weather is supposed to continue to get colder, so I'll probably be staying indoors and warm for the next week or so. At least I have some birthdays to look forward to :) Travis's birthday is this upcoming weekend and I'm hoping it will warm up a little!!

Avery was baking today

Avery and I had a great morning! She has been having some tummy problems, so I've been really focused on keeping her diet healthy and full of fiber! She's been eating many of the same foods all week, so today, I decided to change it up a little and found a recipe for raisin bran muffins (using the cereal in the batter.) I've been trying to encourage her to 'help' me in the kitchen, and we have a little stool for her to stand on, but she's still a little small. Then I decided to bring her table into the kitchen and make the batter there! It was perfect! I poured the ingredients into the measuring cup, one at a time, and then she would dump it in to the large bowl and stir! It was honestly so cute, and I was totally impressed how well she did at (mostly) not spilling! She took her jobs very seriously, and she had a great time!

After we finished, and while the muffins were baking, I put her in her high chair with 3 different cups with a little water in one of them, and she had a blast entertaining herself by dumping the water into the different cups. She really didn't want to spill it, and she did great! I think this would be a better game to play outside when it's a little warmer (a lot warmer actually.....) but it was fun for her and I was able to keep the mess contained. 

Here is the finished product! The recipe can be found on my Pinterest, under Sweet Things.

Running in January

It's been a little while since I've given a running update, but I have continued running this month. It's not my favorite month to run outside, but I'm loving my new Lululemon winter running tights!! Honestly, I actually feel like I have some great winter running gear, so it's not too bad (even though the temperature when I ran tonight was 19.) I've even done 2 interval workouts in January, 2 more than I did in all of 2013 I think!! My first one was 2 weeks ago...I did a 35 min run with 10 short sprints in the middle. The second one was on Friday - I did a 5k workout where I jogged the 1st, 3rd, and 5the kilometers, and tried to run 'race pace' for the 2nd and 4th kilometers. I'm feeling pretty great after my running streak in December. I don't have any races planned yet, but I'm feeling confident in my running right now. My husband is doing his first full marathon in April, and I couldn't be more excited for him! Avery and I will be there to cheer him on as he's done for me so many times.

In addition to running, I've also done a few yoga classes, and they've been complementing my running nicely. I was worried since I haven't done a formal class for about 4 years, but it all came back pretty quickly. Yoga is great because it's more of a full body yoga, and it especially works my core. It's about time for me to do at least some core work since Avery was born almost 2 years ago!

Speaking of which...I'm in the early planning stages of Avery's 2nd birthday party, and it's going to be so cute! A little smaller than last year, but it should be awesome! A birthday brunch! My favorite.

It's naptime not playtime

We have been fortunate that Avery has always been a good sleeper. For the most part, she goes down for bedtime and naptime very easily, and recently she will even come over to me in the evening and say 'night night' while pulling me toward the stairs.

However, we had a first yesterday...Avery decided to take a nap on her own! I am still having Avery do independent room time (playtime) for about 45 minutes on mornings when we are home. Yesterday, I took her up to her room, and she played for around a half hour or so I think. I didn't hear her for a little while, but I just figured she was playing quietly. I went upstairs around 45 minutes to get her, and this is what I found:

Honestly, it was so cute, I couldn't believe it!!  She had pulled her blankets out of her crib, and taken them inside her princess tent to take a nap. She was really sleeping too, because I turned off the music, and took the pictures and she didn't even move! I did wake her up though, because I wanted her to get in a good afternoon nap, and she still was able to. When she woke up, she started hopping around and trying to pretend that she was so awake. It was really funny and adorable. Moments like these make me so happy to have my little Avery.

Storytime take 2...and my internal battle

I took Avery to Storytime at the library again today, and I'm now realizing that things are probably going to get worse before they get better. Avery was fine when we first arrived, and she was ok when another little girl sat down at a table with us, although she did want to sit on my lap. When we were called into the room for Storytime, Avery realized what was happening before we even went into the room. I still took her in, hoping that her screaming and crying would quickly die down, but no such luck. I stayed in the room for about 2-3 minutes while everyone else was arriving, and tried to calm her down, but we ended up watching through the windows again today.

I know it will take time, and I'm obviously going to keep trying. However, sometimes it's really tough being a good parent and following through on my decisions. Avery didn't want to stay and watch the kids as much today, and I spent much of the time trying to keep her interested and battling tantrums. I definitely considered leaving, but I don't want to give up that easily. I find myself having internal battles in my mind, as I'm sure many parents do. If I was an outsider watching myself and Avery,  I would say "Avery needs socialization...just take her to the library....keep going and eventually she'll like it....put her in as many social situations to help her overcome her anxiety....etc etc." However, this is so much easier said than done! In the moment, it's really hard for me to watch Avery cling to me and be afraid and see all of the other kids laughing and playing and having a great time! I find myself questioning my own parenting techniques, and asking myself "did I do this to her...did I cause this...is this normal?" However, as quickly as my insecurities come on, they also are calmed as Storytime is over, the kids come out of the room, and Avery plays happily for the next 45 minutes with several toddlers and many of the moms tell me "my kid did the same thing at first...just give it time."

And so we will.

Storytime at the Library

Today was Avery's first time going to Storytime at the library (since last week was canceled due to weather.) I was very excited, and we decided to go early to play a little beforehand.

It started out well. When we arrived, there were already about 10 or so toddlers in the kids area with their parents/grandparents, etc. Avery and I pulled out some puzzles and played in the vicinity of some other kids for about 20 minutes. She was watching them, and waving, and saying hi, and it was going great. Then we were called into the room for the actual story time. We walked in, and by this time there were probably 15-20 kids or so, and each had an adult, so it was pretty crowded. Avery started getting nervous, so I picked her up, and we went to go get our hands stamped. Well, that was about it-Avery started shaking and trying to climb into me, and was terrified. I was surprised, because she had been doing so well, but we decided to go outside of the room to calm down. Luckily, the room is enclosed with mostly windows, so we could still watch what was happening from outside the room. She wanted to watch and wave, but every time I tried taking her in, she melted down. In the end, we sat outside the room, and we didn't here the stories, but she was able to follow the movements/dancing/clapping that happened in between. Toward the end, the leader brought out some bubbles, and Avery looked intrigued, so I tried again, but she started screaming as soon as we walked into the room.

After it was over, most of the kids and parents came out and let their kids play with the games, puzzles, and books again. Surprisingly, Avery was TOTALLY FINE with this, even when we sat at a table and some kids came and sat with us! A few parents reassured me that sometimes it takes kids a few times and it can be a little overwhelming at first, but to keep trying. At first, I was only going to go once a week, on Mondays. However, it's offered on Wednesdays too, and now I'm thinking I should try to make this a more regular thing so that she can get used to it and we don't have to 'start over' each time.

We did get a few compliments - everyone thought Avery looked just like me - my little mini me! I'm hoping that with time, she'll love Storytime and playing with the other kids!

New Year's resolutions

I've been meaning to post about my New Year's resolutions, but with Lindsey having a baby, I put it off for a few days. Anyway, I did make some resolutions, and so far I've already put a little bit of effort into them. I have three things that I want to do this year, and the first two are somewhat related:

• Put myself in more social situations with others, and make more time for friends. 
• Put Avery in more social situations.

For some people, these might seem 'easy,' but since becoming mom,  I tend to almost isolate myself and Avery, and Travis. We do go out and do things, like shopping and running, but mostly by ourselves.

Avery has had 'stranger anxiety' since before she was 3 months old. I remember going to the pediatrician's office in May after she was born, and the pediatrician said that Avery was one of the youngest babies she'd seen with stranger anxiety (lucky us!) For the next year, she would basically only be held by me, Travis, and Travis's mom and stepfather. She also would cry when people went near her, or even looked at her. While this is in the range of 'normal' according to the doctor, it's made it challenging for me to take her places, and it's just so much easier to stay in our routines at home. Over the last 6 months, she's made huge improvements, but I want to do my part to help her even more. It's getting easier now that she's recognizing and remembering most of our family on both sides. For the last year or so, I've heard people tell me 'you just need to take her more places and she'll get over it," but that's easier said than done, and honestly, I'm not even sure if I believe that. I believe this is something that she's had to grow out of, and it is part of her personality, and now that she's feeling more comfortable, I can start doing more activities with her. I'm going to start taking her to Storytime at the library with other kids her age. We went on Monday this week, but unfortunately, it was canceled because schools were closed (due to weather.) We stayed for an hour anyway because they have a really great kids section, and there were a few other toddlers there that she waved and said 'hi' to. I would rather ease her into these situations, instead of pushing her into them and having a bad experience. I'm also looking into a mommy and me preschool for 2-year olds that starts in the fall.

For myself, I tend to favor 'alone time' activities like running and reading. However, it's important to me to maintain good friendships and I am going to make more time for friends and play dates. We're going to dinner with some friends on Saturday, and I'm really looking forward to it! I also started yoga again, and I'm not really there to make friends, but just do activity that's not solitary. Actually, yoga is kind of a good balance for me, because it's my own workout, but gets me out and surrounded by other adults and maybe other moms!

My final resolution is:

• Stay positive!

This one has been easier for me at times in the past, and sometimes more challenging. Recently, it's easy for me to get caught up in complaining and negativity, and that's not me! I am making a conscience decision to try and see the bright side of situations, and not stress about the small stuff. I almost need a daily reminder on this one, but hopefully combining all of these resolutions will make for a great year!

Time with family

Avery and I spent the last few days at my sister Lindsey's house with her new baby. My other sister Kelsey popped in a few times, and my mom came to stay for a week with them on Wednesday. It was a lot a fun. Of course I was nervous about how Avery would do since she's so used to having me all to herself, but she actually did pretty well, and I was able to hold my nephew quite a few times. I went there to help out, and while I'm not sure how helpful I was, I think it's just nice to be able to spend time with family at such a special time. I'm thankful that I'm able to stay home, and have the freedom to go out of town to stay with family at the drop if a hat. Cooper is so little and he's perfect! I definitely like being on the 'aunt' side of things, where you can enjoy the great things about babies, and then hand them off when they get tough (haha...I wouldn't do that!!) Avery and I are looking forward to seeing them again!

I'm an aunt!

My sister Lindsey had her baby early Saturday morning around 3 am. Cooper was born about 10 days early, but weighed over 7 lbs, so I think he was ready! They didn't know the gender beforehand, so it was exciting to find out it was a boy. We visited them in the hospital on Saturday, and they are all doing well. They are coming home today, and Avery and I are going to stay with them to help out for a few days this week.

It brought back many memories for me from when Avery was born. Some good, and some not so good...such as being exhausted. It's also amazing how small newborns are! He looked so tiny compared to Avery haha...she looked like a giant! Since I've been reminiscing all weekend, here are a few a newborn pictures of Avery, from 22 months ago. Can't believe how time flies!

Hopefully the next few days with my nephew and Avery will go well!