Articles from November 2012

November 29, 2012

What a Difference?

What a Difference?
Warning: This may be another irrational moment here. None of Henry's doctors are concerned about his growth. He's just small, and he's just going to be small. But, this one shocked me a little. One year later. Wow. It does fit a little different, but still, it still fits. It fits really well now actually. My guess is, those pants may still fit next year. On principal, I'm still going to buy him new Christmas pjs. But, I kinda wish I had to.  Anyone else have a toddler wear the same clothes for a year? Is your doctor concerned at all about slow growth? Pin It
November 28, 2012

Finding Meaning, Finding our Home

Finding Meaning, Finding our Home
When you experience a pregnancy loss , there are a certain percentage of people that know who will tell you something like "it was meant to be" or something similar. At the time, I thought, "wow, that's total bullshit." I understand why people say it, it's a tough situation and nothing anyone says makes you feel any better.  But, for me, I think I have finally found some meaning to losing our baby -- who we have named Elsie. Not necessarily, that it all happened just for this, but, I don't know, it's hard to explain. I just feel, now, that Elsie came here to give us something -- our home. If I hadn't gotten pregnant, I am 100 percent certain we would never bought our new house, or moved at all.  See, we loved our little rental house prior to moving. Yes, it was too small for us, but it worked. When I got pregnant in July, Morgan and I sort of panicked. Where were we going to put the baby's stuff and Henry's stuff? Where is
November 27, 2012

TAT: My Non-existent Hobbies

TAT: My Non-existent Hobbies
When I saw today's Toddle Along Tuesday topic, I was kinda at a loss. My hobbies? {What are hobbies?} Well, all I can say is, you're looking at my hobby. My blog. Between work and Henry, pretty much all I have time for is blogging. And some  a lot of days, I even fail at that. In theory, I have other hobbies. I have a sewing machine, a bunch of scrap booking stuff, and an awesome camera. But for now, this blog is where I spend my extra time and energy. And, I honestly love it. Blogging lets me use my brain a little bit, helps me feel like I'm talking {kinda} to other adults, and contributing something to someone. Plus, I've always liked writing, and while, I don't think I'm all that creative of a writer, it does push me creatively. In July 2013, I'm taking my blogging hobby to a new level -- I'm heading to Blogher13 in Chicago! Some of you may have noticed the button on the side of the blog, but I never officially mentioned it here. I'
November 26, 2012

Thanksgiving Tot School

Thanksgiving Tot School
Henry is 20 months old. Last week in tot school, our theme was Thanksgiving and our shape was star. It was a short week since we left home for the holiday, but was still really fun.   On the activity wall, was a shape/number felt turkey. Each of the feathers had a number and a corresponding number of shapes drawn on to it. Henry wasn't super impressed with the turkey but did play with it some. On the magnet board was a few wooden star magnets I made and a few letters spelling out the word "star." The tot trays were really fun this week. The first tray was a set of pilgrim men in varying sizes. Henry was supposed to order them according to size. We've only just started working on size so Henry really didn't understand what he was supposed to do. Next time I do this activity, I think I'll add a self-correcting sheet that gives him a little more direction.  The second tray was practical life skill tray. I taped a star on to
November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving
This year has, well, been up and down to say the least. We've experienced the highest highs, and honestly, some of the lowest of the lows. Through it all, I've had Morgan and Henry. And they give me so much to be thankful for. I'm also thankful for all of my readers. Thanks for your comments, support, suggestions, and help. You guys make blogging so much fun.
November 21, 2012

BumbleFly N ButterBees Wooden Coin Memory Game Review

BumbleFly N ButterBees Wooden Coin Memory Game Review
Over the last couple weeks, Henry has become very interested in letters.  Every letter, he points, "dat?" {That's "what that?" for those of you that don't speak Henry} Me: "A"  Hen: "Yeah!" If Henry guesses, letters are either A, L, or Y. I know, random. We're working on it -- or at least we will be at tot school soon. So, I've been looking for great toys we can use to help with his learning. And, luckily I've found one --  BumbleFly~N~ButterBees Wooden Coin Memory Game ! The game comes with 52, 1.5" handmade wooden coins. Each is stamped with an upper and lower case of a letter with two of each letter. They are impeccable and beautiful. And, yet, awesomely educational. They offer so many possibilities -- memory game, letter identification, stacking, and so much more. Henry really loves these. He's not ready for the memory game. But he loves to stack these, place them in a cup throu
November 19, 2012

TAT: Birth Order

TAT: Birth Order
" You are a perfectionist, organized and conscientious individual. People often see you as the leader, with strong drive and determination. You get good grades and you don’t like surprises." - Oldest Child,  Birth Order Personality This picture was taken in 1986. ::hint hint:: I am not one of the babies in the shade. I do not have a hat or a shirt. Such is the life of the oldest child. {Side note: Can we pause here and gawk at the awesomeness of the three-seater stroller? That thing must have been a beast.} OK, back to me. I'm not a 100 percent sold on the idea of birth order personality, but I do have to say, I fit a lot of the oldest child descriptions. I'm a little anal. A little uptight. A natural leader? Eh. Sometimes. Good grades -- yeah, I was  am a nerd. But you know what, Morgan has a lot of these same traits and he is number 3 of 4. So, explain that? Being the oldest did teach me one thing from early on: life is not fair. Example -- O
November 18, 2012

Tot School: Bugs Love Diamonds

Tot School: Bugs Love Diamonds
Henry was officially back to a full tot school schedule this week. Our theme this week was bugs and our shape was diamond. It was kind of weird for him at first and he was not used to having so much space and so many distractions at tot school. But by the end of the week, he was figuring out that we weren't going to watch TV, play with random toys, or run up the stairs during tot school time. I think we will eventually get back to where we were before moving.  One major change from last week was that our activity wall stuff finally got unpacked -- although not hung up. Henry really liked me to quiz him and make him point to each shape. He also spent a good amount of time carrying around the board which was pretty funny. The magnet board had bug and diamond shaped magnets. The "bugs" were a little girly (mostly pinkish butterflies) but that's what I had so, oh, well. Hen didn't seem to mind. This week, the tot trays weren't