How to Disneyland

We just got home from the most ridiculously fun and magical trip to Disneyland with our three-and-a-half year old. Yep that's right we left the almost two year old at home (woah, with Grandma I'll add) and enjoyed our oldest all by himself. Side note: kids need that, the one on one time, maybe not necessarily to disneyland but how about for lunch or to a movie or swimming, they seriously need that time by themselves to get full and undivided attention from their parents. It's just so good for their little hearts. Anyway we made it a short trip, 4 days in total but only two and a half in the park. It was just enough time to completely tire our little guy out and to do as much as was possible for his age and height. When I first started planning this trip I had a gazillion questions for all my veteran disneyland friends so I thought I would post a little something about our experience incase any one is planning the same kind of trip with their littles. 

Getting there
we flew, clearly the fastest way to get there, but there are obviously other options if you want them. We opted for a direct flight from YEG to LAX but we did investigate flying into SNA (John Wayne Airport) as it's a slightly quieter airport. We couldn't find any direct flights so as I mentioned above we flew into LAX. I did try to cost cut where I could but for flights I didn't have enough air miles so it was what it was. 

Staying there
Ive been to Disneyland as a child, teen and young adult and have stayed at various different locations so I did have some idea of our options. For our trip with our little one we decided to stay at one of the Disney Land resorts and here is why:
- we had only a few days and wanted to waste the least amount of time walking (or even driving) to and from the park
- we wanted to be able to get back to the hotel quickly if he needed a nap (which he did)
- we had never stayed at a Disney Resort and wanted to give it a try
- Early morning access to the parks ('Magic Morning")  and other perks peeked our interest
- lastly my hubby is not a great traveller so making things as absolutely easy and convenient as possible was an absolute must

there is obviously a bit higher cost to staying in one of the three disneyland resorts but after our experience my hubby and I both agreed we would absolutely stay there again in a heart beat. Don't be swayed by our opinion though, this is just what worked for our circumstances. Hotels outside of the park and even renting a house on something like VRBO are also really awesome options as well and have their perks. 

Airport Transport
Because we were staying at the park we didn't need a vehicle for this trip. As mentioned above our time their was short and sweet so we wanted to get from the airport to our hotel as fast as possible. This trip we opted to arrange limo service from the airport to the hotel. (Another side note, this "limo" was merely a cab painted black, if you catch my drift). Anyway we asked that they provide a carseat thus eliminating an extra thing to cart around at the airport. In the future we would definitely attempt one of the million shuttle buses but this is just how we did it this time. 

Park Passes
And here it is, the absolute nail in your coffin for cost of your Disneyland trip. The park passes will seriously have you cashing out your kids college savings. Kidding but they are a bit pricey, so I suggest using your AMA membership savings or air miles. I got our adult 3 day park hopper passes with air miles and it saved us about $600
I also highly recommend doing the park hopper as it gives you the freedom to bounce between parks during each day. We spent mornings at Disneyland and evenings in California adventure and definitely utilized the "hopping"

Plan Ahead
I did a ton of pinterest research on all the "money-saving" "hidden secrets of Disney" and so on. We DID take a stroller for our guy as it made it easier than dragging him around when he was totally exhausted at 8:00pm (wait did I say 8:00, I meant noon, yes by noon he was usually spent. We carried backpacks with our essentials (camera, snacks, jackets, phones, passes). The back pack was easy to carry, and easy to bring on each ride. We brought our own water bottles with us each day (seriously water and drinks are expensive in the park) and our own snacks. Because we stayed in the resort we didn't have a kitchen thus we ate out for our meals but bringing snacks was perfect for between meals. If you stay off the resort or have a kitchenette type suite I highly recommend packing your own food for the day. Don't want to carry it around all day? No worries use a locker at the park and come back at lunch time to grab your food. Some days lunch cost us $40 for a hot dog combo. We bought a few "souvenirs" ahead of time to save cash, one of the best ones being our glow sticks for the evenings. Those things can be pricey in the park so Im glad we stocked up at the dollar store before we left. That being said you can buy some of your disney souvenirs ahead of time (such as shirts and trinkets for the kids) to save some money on your trip. Bring ponchos from the dollar store instead of $12 ones from in the park… you get the idea. 
We also planned our days out to fit in everything we wanted to do. I downloaded a free Disneyland app that included shows and showtimes, places to eat, maps, park hours and wait times for almost all the rides. With the app I was able to see what shows we wanted to attend, and which rides had long waits. I researched which rides our guy was tall enough for and saved them on the app and was able to see how long the waits were for those rides. It was an awesome little tool and helped with out trip so much! 
Lastly take advantage of fast passes if you are going during busy time. Want to beat the crowds, research down times at the park and go during the slower months. Disneyland can get stressful, especially with kids and crowds but if you do your homework it can be the trip you dream of.

I was really worried that taking a three year old to Disneyland would be a waste or there wouldn't be much to do for him, but like my Disney Veteran friends told me, there was tons. We absolutely filled our days from morning till night and had such a blast. We were busy and exhausted and had the best time. Our little man might not remember this trip in 10 years from now but I will tell you this, my hubby and I will never forget the look on that little guys face when he got to meet Darth Vader. We will not forget his crazy little giggle as we spun round and round on the tea cups. And will definitely not forget the magic in his eyes as he experienced Disneyland for the first time!

Baby Wearing

I want to write a post about a recent love of mine that has had a lot of inquiry from other moms and friends, and that is; Baby wearing. So here goes.

Many moons ago, when I was pregnant with Al, I went online to Babies R Us and created a baby registry for my baby shower. Much like other new moms I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. I picked out things I thought I would need and little things that were cute. Now being a Mom for the second time around I realize what was necessary and what wasn't, but back then it was all new to me! One of the things I registered for was a way to wear baby. This was especially foreign to me but I do remember being interested in wrapping my little babe. I didn't know much about it but was very intrigued and definitely wanted to try. So I registered for a Maman Kangaroo stretchy wrap and a good ol' Baby Bjorn. Something I could try out and something that looked a little easier. I ended up receiving both as gifts (very generous of my family and friends) and started wearing Al right away. I mastered the stretchy wrap in no time and very much enjoyed it. 

As Al approached the weight limit on the stretchy wrap I started to use the Baby Bjorn more but found it relatively uncomfortable and started to use it less and less. It became more of a novelty than anything and was soon stored away in a drawer. Al was happy being worn for the first 6 months of his life for grocery trips and a few other outings here and there but as he became to big for what I had it seemed that we had "outgrown" babywearing. 

With number two on the way I started to revisit the idea of babywearing again and this time had a few really great inspirations to look toward for advice. "Try a woven wrap" they said! So I did, I ordered my first woven wrap. Now I must interject here that I was a bit shocked at the price point of these bad boys. I soon learned why they were so pricey by exploring different internet groups and doing some research. I also found out that these woven wraps held their value very nicely and could be bought and sold second hand! Anyway when I received my first order of fluffy mail (ah babywearing lingo, aka new wrap) and I gave it a try with Al. He wasnt much of a fan since it had been so long since I had worn him. However I realized that this wrap would have been a godsend on all the nights I had been trying to cook dinner and Al wanted "up"! Better late than never I suppose. 

I practiced with my new woven wrap here and there (with stuffies and pillows) until Ashe arrived. He was a big baby and we were able to start wrapping right away. I wore him all the time. It was my ultimate life saver! With two under 2 I was able to get my baby snuggles in while still playing with my toddler. I think it was one of the best investments I have made. 

I have since added to my collection but this time utilizing the babywearing swaps online to buy second hand (and sell some as well). Trips to the park, camping, grocery shopping, you name it, has all been made so much easier thanks to the world of babywearing. As Ashe has gotten older I have dappled in other forms of carriers and we have found our perfect fit with wrap conversion mei tais, basically a mei tai made from a woven wrap. He and I seem to like them best for their ease of getting on and off while still getting the beauty, structure and support of a woven wrap. I have even convinced Al to get in the mei tai a time or two.

I have come to learn that everyone will love something different to carry their baby in but it is the common love of wearing your child close to you while still "functioning" in your daily life that ties us "baby wearers" together. I really hope my big baby boy will continue to love being worn as he grows older as it has been such a bonding experience for us (plus a back saver!). I am by no mean an expert on any of this but I am enjoying learning new ways of wrapping and wearing my babes all the time. Heck I am even learning about things like safety, support & posture and so many other things! But if I can recommend anything to the second time mom it would be this, wear your baby! Whatever you choose to use will be the best for you but I promise you will love the closeness and bonding you get out of it! 

Next mission: convince Dad to wear the babes! (in something other than the bjorn)

Busy Bags

Well what do you know, last week it was pouring rain and this week it is scorching (and I mean scorching) hot! The poor weather last week forced us inside so we decided to work on some "busy bags". As usual I found a ton of inspiration on pinterest and got to work on a few different ideas. We are working on learning colours and numbers the last little while so I decided to base my "busy bags" on those concepts.  

The first busy bag I made was rainbow pompom magnets. There is 1 red magnet 2 orange magnets 3 yellow magnets... Im sure you can finish the sequence. This will allow us to work with colors AND numbers!

The next busy bag is a number match game with ladybugs and leaves. Each ladybug has a number of dots on its back between 1 and 5. Each leaf has the number 1 through 5 written on it. The idea is to count the lady bugs dots and match it with the correct number on the leaf.

We made a few busy bags that contain busy boards, basically felt boards with felt pieces that stick to them.Our  first busy board is a pizza with numerous toppings in varied colors. The next busy board is a fish tank with different underwater animals and plants. 

We added another bag to our collection, this one containing home-made slime. Our nanny made this with Al one day and he just loves it! Great for exploring textures, plus its cheap and homemade.

And along with our slime we made rainbow rice for more color and texture play!

Lastly we made a pompom pipecleaner press to work on fine motor skills. Al loves to push all the pom poms and pipe cleaners into the different sized holes and then dump them all out again. Perfect for the toddler that loves to pack and dump!

We have a few more busy bags to finish up but for now we are enjoying the nice weather outside. I think our busy bags will come in handy for all the trips we are about to be taking too! They are quick and easy and definitely keep Al entertained!

Threading the coloured noodles onto pipe cleaners 

Hide and Seek Bag

Rock Monster eye counting

Bean Sorting

Family of Four

Well it has been 6 weeks since Ashes arrival and things are going very well. The transition from one to two children was MUCH easier for me than the transition from zero to one. Al has adjusted quite nicely to life as a big brother and we are settling into routine. That's not to say we haven't had our moments. Al being the age he is,  is prone to the odd temper tantrum and that is only amplified by his extreme personality and the big change going on in the house. Like any other stage or phase we've encountered with him, we've handled it with firm limits and boundaries and lots of consistency. Rules are rules are rules. I know a lot of Moms in my immediate social circle are starting to experience the change we have just gone through and there is a lot of anxiety about how the big sibling will handle it all. I didn't get too carried away with prepping Al for it and I only did minimal reading on the topic but I did find a few things helped when it was actually time.

1. I tried to make sure Al got a few minutes of undivided attention from me intermittently through out the day. This is important not only to help with feelings of jealousy but also because of his age. He needs the one on one time. There is a lot of focus on new baby from the family and visitors so it is important that he still gets his focus and attention as well. It can be hard to put baby down and make that time initially but it is very important.

2. Routine. I am a huge advocate of routine so this one was a no brainer for me. Things in his world needed to stay as routine as possible to eliminate the upsets of "change". He is used to things a certain way so keeping them as consistent as possible helps him adjust. This includes boundaries. He definitely tried to push the limits and test new boundaries because of all the change, but staying as consistant with rules, punishments etc helps him to understand that the same behaviour is expected of him as always. 

3. Trying not to blame baby or cause fear or resentment of baby. We did this by allowing Al to show his affection and curiosity towards Ashe. I tried not to hover over him as he gave his brother hugs and kisses or touched his face and so on. There are definitely times where I have to intervene in his "affection" but for the most part I try to allow him to interact with baby as much as possible and not to be scared of getting in trouble or having a parent tell him to leave baby alone. I want him to interact with his brother so a bit of careful but relaxed supervision is key. I am convinced that is why god made Ashe so much bigger, to withstand some of the so called affection from his brother. The other thing is that I try not to blame baby for things, such as "we have to leave now because baby has to eat" or "please be quiet baby is sleeping". I read this causes resentment towards baby so changing your language or not blaming baby helps to develop more of a fondness toward the sibling. Who knows if that is actually true but worth a shot. 

Those were the only big things I tried to remember when dealing with the big change of one child to two. I think every family will have a different experience and every child will react differently but it will and does get easier. Take it a day at a time, and just spend time with the kids. Dont worry about the house and dishes and laundry. Relax and enjoy and soon everyone will be adjusted to the knew dynamic. I hope that helps any mamas about to go through the big family change!

The Bed Transition

Well we've done it, another big transition in the life of our Toddler.  Crib to Bed. In the last 6 months we have made some seriously big transitions, all of which I stressed and anticipated, and all of which went very smoothly. Why I thought the bed transition would be any different I have no clue. Probably because in my increasingly hormonal, exhausted and growing belly state I was anxious about the thought of losing any sleep! Anyway with the boys ages falling just 20 months apart (or there abouts) I went back and forth over the idea of keeping Al in his crib or progressing him to his day bed. Back and forth, back and forth. He wasn't showing signs of outgrowing the crib, but did I want to be doing this transition with a newborn. Would he stay in bed or would I lose those precious hours of sleep that I so badly need right now? Well needless to say after our 18-month check up with the Doc we decided to go for it. He basically said now is the time, and when I responded that I didn't think I was ready, he asked me: "So you want to do this when you have two kids?". Touché Doc, touché! So on Friday night we took the front panel of the crib off and put up the day bed railing.

And here it is, he did just fine. Night #1 he went to sleep without getting out of bed and slept the entire night. In fact he slept so well we had to wake him up for swimming lessons on Saturday morning.  He did just the same with his first nap on Saturday afternoon. Night #2 was a success as well. For nap #2 on Sunday afternoon he attempted to get out of bed twice but thanks to my video monitor (seriously one of our best baby purchases EVER) I was able to spot the little weasel and used the talk back feature on the monitor to give him a warning. He laid down after his second attempt and went to bed. We have just finished night #3 and he is doing great.  I know we aren't out of the woods yet but I always wonder why I stress over things as much I do. I am hoping he continues to stay in bed and sleep the night, but if not at least we have 9 more weeks to work on it!

I definitely have no advice for others going through the crib-to-bed transition debate as I think it is entirely different for every babe but I like to share these stories with my blog followers in case it helps in any little way. Oh and because it's always funny to look back at these posts and laugh!

Before & After

BEFORE

AFTER

Al's room transformation from little peanut to big boy! 

Now that we are finished this it is time to move on to Baby #2's room. 

Toddler meal time

A few weeks ago I started to notice my son, the all time eater, was starting to get bored with meal time! And to be honest I was too. I used to think breast feeding was so much work, then I started making purées and was soon longing for the days when al could start eating the same food as us. I quickly figured out meal time is a lot of work no matter what. Especially when you are opting for healthy, homemade alternatives. So I decided to start investigating fun toddler meal ideas to spice up the dinner table and keep things fun, for both of us. The biggest challenge is usually deciding what to eat. I'm a big meal planner for sandy and I and usually have our meals planned out for each day, a month at a time. This is especially helpful for cutting costs on your grocery bill, avoiding wasted and spoiled food and helps with my freezer meal prep.  I discovered that having a meal plan for my  little guy also helps avoid frustration. I started making a few meals at the beginning of the week that are handy to grab on the go or in a rush. The rest I make fresh but can easily decide what to have my checking of my list of ideas. So here it is, a few ideas to help with your toddler mealtimes. Please feel free to comment or email me with more ideas, I also way love adding to the list! And since Al will eat anything it's great to try new foods. 

Breakfast ideas

Oatmeal

Pancakes

Eggs

Yogurt

Fruit

Applesauce

Cereal

Muffins

plain waffles 

Lunch combos

Crackers

Cheese

Ham

Pickles

Banana  peanut butter sandwich 

Applesauce 

PBJ sandwich 

egg avocado salad

Sweet potato fries

Cottage cheese

Grapes

Beans

Cheese cubes

Noodles

Peas

Chicken tenders

steamed carrots ticks and celery sticks

Pizza calzones (ground beef)

Cheese ham pilsbury crescents

Hard oiled eggs

Cooked broccoli

Yogurt

hummus crackers

Cheese string

Berries

Taco biscuits

Sausage

Cottage cheese

Grean Beans

Avocado 

Meatballs

Cheese strings

Corn

Gold fish

Mac and cheese

With ground beef

Tomato

Avocado

Rice 

Tuna salad

Corn and peas

Sensory Play

Now that Al is a growing and curious little boy we have been playing with a lot of sensory items! Above are some of the pictures of things we have been playing with. Sorting beans was definitely a fun one, obviously with close supervision. The small coloured and different shape beans are great for fine motor skills and a better alternative to dog food!

We also made cloud dough with is just flour and baby oil. It is a fun creation to play with as you can pack it tight like a solid or let it run loosely through your hands like soft white sand at the beach. Bonus: it smells great. We also made colourful ice cubes to put in our water table but we haven't had a chance to use them yet! Hopefully when we are home from holidays we can take them out and experiment with the feeling of cold and the sight of different colours. My last creation was home made play dough which is super easy and cheap. We've played with it only once so far but it was fun to squish (and throw) and attempt to eat until Mom said "No". Lastly I made playdough filled balloons (sand works too but poses a larger mess risk) for the car ride to Canmore. They are fun and squishy without the mess! We filled a balloon from every color in the rainbow.

We still have a few more sensory objects we'd like to try making and playing with and they include:

Goop

Puff Paint

Colored Rice

Giant snow marbles (for winter)

and many more ideas via pinterest! Stay tuned.

First Birthday

Well Alexander is officially a big boy. He turned one last Thursday and we had a super fun Birthday Party for him this weekend with friends and family. As usual I went to town on decorations since that is one of my true loves! I had planned to have the party outside since that is the point of having a summer baby right? But unfortunately the weather did not cooperate so we were forced inside. It still turned out great and the weather smartened up throughout the party so we had some people in and some people out! I wanted to keep it really simple for his first birthday so I stuck with a theme of blue and green. We did a hotdog and hamburger barbecue and had chips, pop, veggies and fruit! It was a big party in terms of the guest list but I think it will only be like that for his first birthday! Anyway here are some photos of the house all done up!

the candy and present table

On this table we had the treat bags, birthday cake, 

candy buffet and birthday presents underneath.

the food table

                                                          Chips, dip, buns and condiments

the drink table

Our drink table with pop, water and ice. 

As well as veggies and fruit

custom water bottles 

I made these water bottles myself and they were super easy! scrapbook paper and labels printed from Avery! I highly suggest making your own if you want to add a special look to your water bottles.

First Birthday Cake

Candy Buffet Sign

No party is complete without a candy buffet. 

As a party favour each guest was given a bag to fill with treats for after the party!

Treat Bags for Al's friends

Fun treat bags for Al's little friends. The bags were actually 

sand pails and included shovels, bubbles, chalk and a mini sun screen!

Ive been told by several mommies that no one likes

the dollar store crap in their loot bags, it just piles up in your house.

We started the party at 3:00 and left it up to everyone to decide when they were ready to leave! We wanted it to be fun and relaxed. Although we had intended on having outdoor games and a fire we didn't quite get to them as the rain and mosquito combination were a bit deadly. Sandy was glued to the BBQ all night and after burgers and weenies were finished we opened presents and followed up with cake. I had a beautiful cake made by Teresa's Custom Cakes (she had done Sandy's cake for his 30th as well) and bought litters of DairyQueen soft serve ice cream to go with the cake. It was delicious, Al definitely thought so as well!

The aunties

Family Picture with our one year old

Grandma

New tractor from Grandma and Grandpa

Al's Friends

Trying out some presents

Carharts from Daddy

Birthday Cake

Al and his Girlfriend

Thanks to all my friends and family for their help with during the party and cleaning up afterward! It was a great first Birthday party and we definitely had fun playing with all his new presents the next day.