the caterpillar project

A few weeks ago, we received a very special gift from the Warner family. They sent us a live caterpillar kit in the mail so that Brynn could witness nature's magic firsthand.
I just have to say that we have had so much fun with this experience... It has been thrilling and magical, and Brynn was completely entranced in watching the transformation of these Painted Lady caterpillars. If you are interested, you can find your own kit at Insect Lore.

Of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a video of our experiences...
Thanks again, Warner family. We are so grateful for your kindness, and can't wait to return the favor.


.... Oh, and stayed tuned at the end for your daily dose of Brynn's kooky personality. (on a side note, please tell me other 3 year-olds act this way...)

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the caterpillar project

The Aquarium

Being that it has been six months since we moved to Florida, away from our family and some of our friends... It was so nice these last two weekends to enjoy some company in our new home. This past weekend, we were so excited to have Allen's parents, his sister Kate (Brynn's godmother), and her fiance, Sam, for a visit. Although, I guess not a lot of things went exactly "right" or as planned, we all seemed to enjoy the Florida Aquarium.... which happens to be one of Brynn's favorite places!

 enjoying the mangroves with her beloved Aunt Katie.

 of course, there are many 'rays to be seen in Tampa...

this little guy was practically waving at us the entire time, so I had to snap a shot of him...

There is plenty of opportunity for "petting" at the aquarium... Sea stars, rays, horseshoe crabs, etc... I love watching how curious Brynn will be, yet not quite brave enough to reach her hand in there!

It was so great to see some family,
and I hope they all managed to enjoy themselves as much as Allen and I did.... :)

And thank you for the date night!

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The Aquarium

Unforgettable Valentines

while we're waiting to hear back about a potential home in FL,

(and to keep myself from going crazy with anxiety)

B and I decided to have a little CRAFT DAY to make some super cool Valentines for family...

 i popped onto Pinterest for some ideas, only to spot this super-adorable guy.

Source: iheartnaptime.net via Emily on Pinterest

 it was toddler-friendly, and looked easy enough...

so i went around gathering supplies.
as soon as i brought out the "google-eyes," B was game... 
sister loves her some google-eyes!

 it turns out that i had already packed up the construction paper,

 so i had to bust open a box to retrieve it...

 it was well worth it, though. ;)

of course, B wasn't much into the whole tracing part...
or the cutting part...
but when the glue and google-eyes came out, she was ready to participate!

and we did have to take a small break to dance during key songs on Cinderella...

these days, it is not uncommon to see B randomly dancing or singing...

as i said before... at this stage, B just isn't really into the "preparation" aspect of our crafts...

but my glue-lovin' gal is always ready to get sticky!

 

 and she loves to help "blow" on the glue to help it dry... very essential. ;)

 

we made a few purple and a few pink... 
and as soon as they dry, they will be ready to send out to all of B's special valentines!

i hope you all are enjoying your preparations 
for Valentine's Day!

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Unforgettable Valentines

| once upon a potty |

yes, today was  DAY 1  for us.

and while every mommy wants to say, "my child did so wonderfully..." at the end of each day

during the potty training process, i am certainly not the mom who anticipates

that i can- and will- potty train my child in 5 days or less.

to me, that's entirely too much pressure to put on myself, not to mention my baby girl!

and let's face it, we won't be sending her off to college without being potty-trained.

it will happen eventually.

like most things that occur during the "toddler" stage,

PATIENCE is always your best friend. 

you know, like the girlfriend you call when you're at the end of your rope.

yes, she has been a fabulous friend for me lately. 

the one who makes me stop and evaluate exactly what 

i'm teaching my child with every word and action done in frustration or distraction.

the one who is there to force me to stare into my reflection in Brynn's eyes long enough 

to take that deep breath, and find that last drop of patience at the end of the bottle... 

the same bottle that i thought was empty only a moment before. 

that's not to say that B didn't have a fabulous first day...

she had a few accidents, and, overall, she "gets" it,

but there are still a few bumps in the road that we're going to have to work on.

it's all a learning process... for me, and for her...  

the biggest challenge is that she absolutely refuses to #2 in her potty chair.

and i will admit that i am not one of those people who thinks it's 'no big deal' to clean up poop.  

UGH. i mean, when it's contained in a diaper, that's one thing... but when you're trying to get it off of little Tinker Bell panties...  well, then i am totally that mom who is trying like hell not to gag.

large amounts of blood, i can handle. copious amounts of phlegm, i can handle. 
but anything digestive-related... the old gag reflex is engaged and ready for action! 

one of my raunchy former coworkers once told me a little joke about "How God Decides Who Will Be A Nurse, and Who Will Be an Respiratory Therapist." And it goes a little something like, He buried us all in poop up to our necks... haucked a loogie... and those who "duck"... well, they are nurses, if you get my drift...

that might sound a little bit FEAR-FACTORISH,
but it perfectly explains the difference in occupation preference.

and needless to say... i would never, ever, ever- in a million years- even consider ducking.

my worst nightmare and biggest mommy fail- to this date- was the Great Pooptastrophe of 2011

but let's get back to B's first day...

as her momma, i can definitely say that i am very proud of my sweet girl after today.

immediately following her third accident, i picked her up to take her to the potty chair, 

and i think she could sense that i was very slightly frustrated...

mostly because i had just asked her if she needed to go only a few minutes prior to discovering her walking bow-legged over a puddle through our kitchen... 

but i also knew that she had been distracted by playing with her toys, 

and as i carried her to her potty chair, providing plenty of encouragement that she would "get it the next time"... she hugged my neck, and leaned back to say, "i sowwy, mommy," right before throwing herself into another big hug.

heart. officially. melted.

and after i pulled my soaring heart out of my throat, i hugged her back and said, "oh, baby... mommy is so proud of you no matter what."

 

it's moments just like that one that make every ounce of effort absolutely, 100% worth it all. 

i am definitely excited for this stage to be over,

but a big part of me will be so proud to show off the scars we have from enduring this challenge.

i am 100%  proud of my girl no matter what.

and onward we march...

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| once upon a potty |

Carving Our Pumpkin

 we were so excited to finally carve our pumpkin this evening!

 | news flash | it wasn't enough to keep this toddler interested for very long. :)

she participated for roughly 20 seconds before it was on to the next adventure... 

   

   daddy cut it open and we started to get messy with all of the pumpkin insides,

   and that was B's cue to cut out... asap.

   she touched the pumpkin slime once, immediately wiped it on daddy...

   then got up and walked away like, "are you serious? that is soooo not playdoh!"

   

she really enjoyed touching it and sitting with it once it finally had candles in it, though....

she even gave it a hug, and said, "awwww, punky."  
unfortunately, she didn't sit still long enough to take any decent photos...
so this is all we have :)  

i had a little time to take a few photos...

and i even had a little time to create a cinemagram!

i hope you all have a happy and safe halloween!

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Carving Our Pumpkin

| the picnic |

we had a little picnic today...

it was almost 80 degrees and sunny,

and i know that days like that are quickly dwindling down into 

the cold, cloudy days of an indiana autumn.

where you almost feel like you're in a movie that has been edited all twilight-ish.

yes, i said "twilight-ish"...

anyway, we couldn't resist one more outdoor activity,

minus the jackets. :)

B was all about the swing and all of the big "sticks" out at pawpaw's farm...

she couldn't get enough. {see video below}

this momma also took some time to embrace the camera...
and i found out that it's extremely difficult to manuever a dslr in one hand,
and a toddler in the other ;)

hence, there is only half of my face in these photos.

 B is obsessed with sunglasses...
 she will do just about anything to get her hands on mine.
 and when i mean anything...
 i mean, sneaking into the kitchen to move chairs over to the desk where i keep them!
       silly little monkey.

B wasn't quite done with her picnicking when we arrived back home.

she decided to have her own in our backyard...

i'm pretty sure it was to avoid going inside for naptime ;)

      this little girl
          is my whole world.

           happy picnicking :)

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| the picnic |

DIY Toddler Adventures: Cloud Dough

Lately, I've been inspired to have a daily "play" activity ready for Brynn-- whether that involves Play-Doh, adventure walking, painting, coloring, or whatever I can throw together, or potentially plan for her, to allow her a little control, but keep her imagination busy, and just let her be a kiddo... 

After spending some time exploring through all of my Pins that I've had in my "For the Kids" board, I've also been inspired to start a new series about do-it-yourself adventures with your toddler.

DIY Toddler Adventures on BabyBerry.

The good. The bad. And the messy! :)

Basically, I'll just be "Pin-testing" activities that mommies can whip up on one of those days where you need something in a pinch. ;) Things that you can find in your kitchen cabinets, or somewhere around your house! And, of course, we'll also be sharing a little review on our experiences.

this week, we tried out a DIY for CLOUD DOUGH.

for those that may not be familiar with cloud dough-- because I certainly wasn't-- it is similar to the Moon Sand they sell in stores.

BACK-STORY: I have really wanted to build Brynn a "sand table" for some time now, but when I went to pick up some PLAY SAND from the store, I noticed a warning on the bag that said "contains material known to cause cancer in the state of California." Hmmmmm. Whether we're talking about California or Indiana, here... That's not cool.

For obvious reasons, I decided against a sand table... And where in the heck are you going to get SAFE and SANITARY sand in Southern Indiana, if it doesn't come out of a bag? This is why I was so very excited to find this ever-magnificent recipe for cloud dough.
And, of course, we decided to choose it for our very first Toddler Adventure post!

CLOUD DOUGH RECIPE:

**************************************************

8 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup baby oil (or coconut oil, olive oil, etc-- if you have a "taste-tester")

mix flour and baby oil together in a bowl with rubber spatula
use your hands to "squish" it together. this will help to mix it more thoroughly. :)

after mix is ready, put it in container for playing
add "play" utensils and HAVE FUN!

But, wait... 

Before you begin, here is a little advice from us:

1. wear old clothes that you don't mind getting a little "dirty." and yes, this means BOTH of you! be prepared to get your hands dirty too!

2. if you can, go OUTDOORS and use an old blanket or a play area that is easy to clean up. this is definitely a messy activity!

3. try to have as many different toys and cups as you can... Brynn really enjoyed experimenting with the different cups and molds!

4. for easier clean-up, have your washing machine ready for a load ;)

5. have a broom handy, and maybe a towel for clean-up.

6. i hope you enjoy the strong scent of baby oil (if you use it instead of the coconut or olive options), because you should be prepared to smell it for the rest of the day... I thought this was kind of a bonus, but if you don't enjoy this smell, you should probably toss the remaining dough and take a shower after you are finished! :)

"living in the moment" jason mraz

here is a glimpse at the fun we had with our cloud dough!

Brynn played contently for a solid 30 minutes, until things started getting a little WILD, and she started to venture away from the tub-- and then the backyard was fair game... and so was the dog. So, we decided to put it away for later. :)

 Luckily, Oz thought it was a little bit tasty... 

(no worries, he didn't get very much)

i hope you have as much fun as we did!

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DIY Toddler Adventures: Cloud Dough

Toddler Bed Saga: The First 24{hrs}

Some of you who follow my INSTAGRAMS may have already caught a glimpse of this photo from yesterday.

That's right.

It finally happened.

Mark this day as the first time our convertible crib was converted...

And the day we totally transform it into a full bed, I think I might cry.

The truth is, I've been playing around with the idea in my head for over a month now.

I saw that Lauren's B (who was born the same week as our B) accomplished this feat months ago.
Truth be known, I was hoping to hold off until we had a place of our own... But that just isn't going to happen anytime soon. REASONS BEING for another time and another post. (aka our "leasee" can't get it together, so we are debating whether or not to put the house back on the market. UGH.)

So, Sunday afternoon, I tossed out the idea to make the switch... and Allen was 100% up for the challenge! (and let's face it, I couldn't do it without him!)

Night #1:

PERFECTION.

Seriously, it couldn't have gone any better if we had been planning it for days.

There were a few times when she took advantage of her newly-founded independence, 

but overall, she dealt with it like any other bedtime.

Nap #1:

TOTAL FAIL.

I had fully anticipated that naps were going to be our big challenge.

B is one of those, "there has to be no hope of escape before I surrender," kinda gals!
- like, in the carseat, in her crib, and most recently, in her stroller (strapped in, of course) -

And, being blissfully and dutifully sleep-trained for the last 22 months... She took that little slice of independence and RAN with it-- just like Momma knew she would. ;)

I tried everything I could possibly think of to keep her in bed... No dice.
So, after all hope was lost, I finally just let her play in her semi-dark room.

I think she enjoyed it even more knowing that she wasn't supposed to be doing it ;)
I wouldn't know where she gets that from.

This photo was taken a full two hours past our usual down time.

And the following video shows a glimpse of the delirium that ensued.

The Infamous Sleepytime "Achoo"

Night #2

We did our usual bedtime routine (starting a LOT earlier than usual). Mommy put all of her books and toys away, covered them up with a blanket- so that she couldn't physically see them, and then.... this.

KO'd at 5:30pm.

She literally passed out on my shoulder when I picked her up to take her into bed.

Goodnight, B!

Mommy will see you bright and early in the morning for ROUND #2.

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Toddler Bed Saga: The First 24{hrs}