Swim Photos

Ok, here are some photos of Mireya and me swimming. Mireya may not look happy, but I swear she enjoys swimming.

That's her "boyfriend," Landon. He is such a doll!

SpongeBob

Thanks for the guest post by Rafael Barnes

One of the most hilarious children's shows on television is SpongeBob SquarePants. This hilarious show has captured the hearts of kids everywhere. As a nanny, I tend to watch all sorts of kids of all different ages. But, there is one thing that binds all of these kids together and that is a love for Spongebob. These kids can not get enough of this yellow little sponge character. They truly love this sort of funny character and all of the crazy things that he says in a given episode.

I love watching this show on satellite tv, that I got after seeing these directstartv.com, with the kids I watch. I find myself just as amused by this show as the kids that watch this show. I love to see all of the little jokes that characters make on this show. There are so many little fiascos presented in every episode of this show, and I simply can not get enough of them. I would do anything to watch this program with all of the kids I watch. I think I could sit for hours and hours watching this program if I truly wanted.

This is truly one of the best shows for any person to watch. It is such an adorable show and has so much to offer kids in the way of humor that is safe and fun. It is truly a cute show.

 

Baby Lovies!! (and an article I disagree with)

Mireya has been so loving and sweet lately! I love how she comes up and gives your leg a big bear hug. You can squat down, hold your arms out and she'll run into them and give you a hug. If I stretch out on the loveseat, she comes over and stretches out with me. If I sit on the ground, she often grabs a book and then crawls up into my lap to read it. I LOVE IT! She never used to slow down long enough to get or receive lovies. It is so nice to finally be able to give her all the snuggies I want. Maybe she finally realized how huggable she is. I am really loving this stage! Of course it comes with more of the crying when I won't pick her up, but it's more than worth it for those random squeezes she gives me throughout the day. She is truly the best baby ever. I know I say that a lot, but how can I not? Hello!? Have you met Mireya?

Chillin' with Mommy (Hey Dad!)

Mireya is playing some funny new games. She loves it when I crawl around on the floor with her and growl. She giggles nonstop, especially when I "get her." The little stinkpot loves to be chased and tickled. It's so cute! She also invented a silly game where she crawls between my legs and then her Daddy's and while she's crawling through her Daddy's, I run and get ready for her to crawl between mine again, and then her Daddy does, and so on. I have no idea what the appeal is, but she really enjoys it. It makes me and Daddy laugh like crazy. She has also learned to tackle. When I get down on the floor to stretch, she rushes over and jumps onto my back or belly, or whatever she can. She crawls all over me the whole time. What a silly goose!

 

Mireya brings so much joy to my life. Yes, there will always be the frustration too, when she's having a bad day or I am. Heaven knows that some days I want to run away for a couple of hours without a baby or a husband in tow. It's hard when Mireya won't cooperate with anything or if she is grumpy. The fact of the matter is though, that there are so many more good times and amazing moments when she makes me smile so big that my cheeks ache. She makes me laugh more than anyone ever has and she gives me this warm, fuzzy, about to cry lots of happy tears feeling when I hold her. Sometimes I just stare at her little face and marvel at how much love I feel for this tiny little person. Those are just a very few of the reasons I disagree with an article I recently read on my CNN app. Here's an excerpt that couldn't be more wrong, in my opinion:

Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert's book "Stumbling on Happiness" looked at several studies and found that children give adults many things, but an "increase in daily happiness is probably not among them."

He says that psychologists have found parents are less happy interacting with their kids than doing activities such as eating, watching television or even exercising.

"It's such a counterintuitive finding, because we have these cultural beliefs that children are the key to happiness and a healthy life, and they're not," said Simon.

"From the outside you see the detrimental effects of what our cultural beliefs cause, yet there is this group of people telling you children are the best thing that will ever happen to you," said Copeland.

I don't think that everybody should have children, nor that everyone who does will find the happiness from it that they perhaps expected. However, I know that I have found more happiness in raising Mireya than I personally could have imagined. She undoubtedly increases my daily happiness level. The simple pleasure of showing her something new or reading her a story is definitely better than anything else I do all day. I don't think that if you don't have kids you should be pitied or that you will never be truly happy. (It was mentioned in the article.) That's ridiculous. Everyone finds their true happiness in life through different things. Part of mine comes from my husband, part of it from my daughter, and part of it from me and my personal passions, like animals.

Here's another excerpt:

"I always find it interesting how parents complain about their kids, yet follow it with a statement pertaining to how fulfilling their life is," she said. "I have yet to meet a parent that does not have an almost daily story of how their child has stressed them in some way."

It is true that in one paragraph you can say as a parent how frustrating and stressful it is and yet how you wouldn't change it for the world. I've said as much in several paragraphs just in this post. I could also say the same thing about being married. Jason is wonderful and amazing and I love him so much. At the same time, he makes me angrier than anyone I've ever met and sometimes I just want to scream at the top of my lungs and chase him around the house. I could also express the same duality with work, college, best friends, mothers and siblings, just about anything. It is not something that's unique to having children.

Another excerpt:

Simon says there are other challenges for parents, too. The sociology professor said marital satisfaction decreases after the birth of the first child and continually decreases over time.

This is absolute nonsense for me personally. Watching Jason be an amazing father to Mireya has done nothing but INCREASE my marital happiness. To see the smiles on his face and Mireya's when they play, or the patience when Mireya won't do what she's supposed to, or a million other expressions when he's interacting with her not only increases the amount of respect I have for him, but the love I feel too. I am more emotionally and physically attracted to Jason now, than the day we got married. Even more than the day I gave birth. Jason also has changed in the way he perceives me. I have noticed that he gives me more respect after watching me as a mother. He expresses more love on a daily basis. If you asked him, I have no doubt that he would say that his love for me is growing, not diminishing as the article claims.

I realize everyone has their own opinions, and while I appreciate everyone's right to share them, I sometimes disagree so much that I really wonder what kind of an impact an article like this has on our country. Will college students who planned on having children in five years after they graduate suddenly doubt that choice? Will couples who don't have children yet, but are considering it, let this be the final bit of 'research' that decides for them? Who knows? Probably not, but I wonder if an article like this does have a detrimental effect on even just one person or couple, was it worth it? It would be a shame. I hope this article doesn't give those parents who really aren't enjoying it, a reason or proof that they don't have to. Sometimes I see parents who don't have a problem telling their children that they don't want to be a parent. I hope this doesn't give them an excuse.

Having children is not for everyone, but for those of us who have them and love it, this article is aggravating.  I go to bed and Mireya is one of the last things I think about before falling asleep and the first thing I think of each morning. Just because every single minute isn't perfect and yes, having a child increased my stress level in many ways, that doesn't mean that I would trade a minute of it or that I ever regret it. Who's to say that some people don't actually live longer, happier lives because of their kids? I made a conscious, well thought out choice to have Mireya and every day I'm grateful that I did. I knew that it would be a lot of hard work and stress, but the joy I get each day from being a mommy to my little girl is so far beyond anything negative that it's incredible.

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Mireya, I LOVE being your mommy each and every day. If you choose to be a mommy one day too, great, if not, great. As for me, thank you for coming into my life and INCREASING MY DAILY HAPPINESS. You are a marvelous little girl. xoxo

Yahoo Mireya!

Mireya has been hiding behind the furniture whenever she has to poop lately, so I decided that it was time to slowly introduce her to her froggy potty. Well, I had introduced her to it off and on for the last couple of weeks, but I only taught her how to sit on it. Today however, when she ran over and hid behind the coffee table, I was like "Aha! I see you and I know what you're doing!" I ran over, scooped her up and rushed her in to sit on the froggy potty. Guess what? She pooped in the potty! Yahoo Mireya! Good job baby girl! I praised her and she was clearly confused as to why pooping was suddenly exciting. She always does anything she can to get that much praise though and considering how smart she is, I'm sure she'll catch on soon enough. I can't wait until the day when we no longer have to change diapers. It's a long way off probably, but it will be awesome!

YAHOO FOR POOPING IN THE POTTY!!!!

Mireya Went Swimming!

Mireya went swimming this afternoon for the first time! It was great! She looked so cute in her little swimsuit and she had so much fun! She was a little hesitant and nervous at first, but once she realized that it was like a giant bathtub and it was safe, she relaxed and we swam for about an hour. She splashed and giggled and it was totally awesome. We even went in the hot tub, because it wasn't too hot.

We were swimming with my friend and her son. Afterwards, we popped both babies in the tub to get all clean. It was so cute! Landon shared all his bath toys and as long as he didn't try to touch her, she was fine with bathing together. (He is such a little lover and he always wants to touch her face and hair.)

I didn't get any pictures of her swimming. I'll take some next time. I did get pictures of the two of them in the tub, but I'm saving those to embarrass her when she's older. :)

The Great Binky Ban of 2011

 

 

We are on day three of The Great Binky Ban of 2011. Mireya is nearly 15 months old now, so it's time to get her OFF the binkies! Honestly, they are way more of a crutch to me and Jason than they ever were for Mireya. I originally didn't want to ever even give her a binky, but at some point in like the second or third week after she was born, in the middle of the night, when she was upset and I hadn't slept in who-knows-how-long, Jason begged me to let him go out and buy some. I agreed and while Mireya slept peacefully in her bassinet, I became a binky believer. Oh, those binkies have been a fabulous addition to our family! We have aquired numerous different types of binkies over the last 14+ months, but it's time to let them all go. I will have fond memories of them, but our farewell is long overdue.

Jason and I have come up with so many excuses as to why we shouldn't try to get rid of them: Mireya is sick, we have to go out of town next week, other people let their kids have them way past now, she only uses them to sleep, etc. etc. Yes, if I took the time to think about it, I am quite sure that I could remember at least 20 different excuses that either I or Jason came up with to prolong their use.

Well, I finally pulled the plug three days ago, starting with naps and progressing to bedtime. Surprisingly, it's not been too bad. There have been tears, both Mireya's and ours, but I think we are almost there. If we can maintain our willpower, Mireya will hopefully have forgotten about them by the end of the week. Wish us luck!

Mireya is a Skinny Monkey

By 12 months, Mireya weighed 18 pounds. Now, at 14 months, Mireya still weighs 18 pounds. She has grown quite a bit taller and her head circumference has increased the way it's supposed too, but she just hasn't gained weight like I was really hoping she would. Her pediatrician said to just wait and be patient at her 12 month, but because she hasn't gained in 2 months, I thought it was time for a second opinion.

Last week we had an appointment with another pediatrician and about an hour before her appointment, she fell into the coffee table and split her lip. It was horrible and it was the first time she's bled from an injury. We got it stopped and had it checked out by the pediatrician and it's going to heal just fine. In fact, it's already looking pretty good by today. It was convenient that we had an appointment the day she decided to try and stand on her upside down xylophone next to the edge of the coffee table, while reading a book. Maybe she plans on trying out for the circus when she's older...

Anyway, the pediatrician decided that it was time to run some blood work and do a urine test just to be sure something else wasn't underlying that was causing Mireya to not gain weight. They needed enough blood that they had to draw it from her arm. It was so sad. Jason, a nurse and I had to hold her down, while another nurse drew the blood. It was pretty quick and Mireya was so brave for such a tiny girl. Then we were sent home with the task of collecting urine for testing. Since Mireya always pee-pees when she naked outside of the tub after a bath, I used that to my advantage for once. Normally it's an "Oh no!" moment. This time it was perfect and Jason ran the sample in the next day. It came back totally normal.

I've been anxiously awaiting the results from the blood work and I got a call from the pediatrician this morning. She said that all of the labs came back normal and nothing was amiss. Whew. That's a sigh of relief. We are going to follow up in about a month for her 15 month checkup and see if she's gained any weight. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The pediatrician said we "aren't out of the woods yet," but "maybe she'll make her own growing curve and just be a skinny girl." I hope that's all it is. I was underweight most of my life and maybe she's simply going to be the same way. I guess we'll see.

On a different note--Mireya has been seeing the chiropractor I go to. She's a miracle worker; truly. I had noticed Mireya holding her head like it hurt and when I went to dry her hair or style it, she would cry. She did not want it touched and even though the pediatrician said nothing was wrong, I was growing increasingly concerned. The chiropractor examined her head and discovered that all of the plates were in the wrong positions. She worked on it and it was amazing to watch, Mireya started out crying and then she was suddenly happy and smiling. I've noticed an even bigger change at home. Mireya no longer screams when I dry her hair, I am able to style it in pony tail holders (if she holds still long enough) and she has stopped holding her head. She has been back several times and the difference from the way she was before and the way she is now is quite significant.

It makes me so mad that I've been mentioning these problems with her head to the pediatrician for MONTHS and he has told me over and over how nothing is wrong. I knew her head hurt, but I finally convinced myself that I must be imagining it, because the medical doctor couldn't find anything wrong. I'm just thrilled that she is getting help now, even if it's months later than it should've been. Oh, the chiropractor fixed a spot that was jammed in her back and one in her neck as well. The things this woman does are profoundly amazing.

Mireya is the BEST BABY EVER!!

Mireya Chillin' watching Baby First TV

Daddy and Mireya

Isn't that the best picture of the two of them!? I caught them right after they were playing a silly game and they both had the best smiles. I LOVE MY FAMILY!

Mireya is just too cute! She is such a wonderful girl. The other night she let me snuggle her before she went to bed and it was AWESOME! I hardly get to snuggle her anymore, because she wants to go, go, go! I sure soak it up when I can. She does cling to me like crazy when anybody gets close. She is going through a stranger anxiety phase or something. It's not the same thing though. I love it when she runs over to me and gives me a big baby hug and kiss. That has to be the best feeling. On the rare occasion she will let me rock her I just want to cry I love her so much. She is my little Mookie Pants and I adore her!

New Stage

Mireya is the cutest, most wonderful girl in the world. I'm so glad that she's amazing, because she's going through a frustrating stage right now. She's definitely testing her boundaries with us. It used to be that if either one of us told her no about something, she would mind right away. If it was the dishwasher it never worked. She has always completely ignored us about that. Now though, she ignores us about nearly everything. To add to it, she can now open all the drawers in the house. Anything that she sees that looks interesting, regardless of where it is, she is all over it. She has played with the printer so much (yes, she seems to have lost her fear of it) that we finally banned her from the office. She even yanked so hard on a cord yesterday, that she pulled Jason's hard drive off of the top of the filing cabinet. She knew that was bad, because before we could even say anything, she cried and started wapping at the air like she does when she gets in trouble. Yesterday she actually hit me in the face a couple of times, when I told her no! I was in shock!

Even though I know it isn't true, sometimes it feels like she is just seeing how mad she can make me. If I tell her not to throw her food, she chucks it. If I tell her not to hit the cat, she does it. If I tell her to give me whatever she's holding that she is not supposed to have, she runs from me! She looks back to see if I'm catching up and I can hardly believe I'm having to chase her! I really don't want it to be a power struggle. She needs to learn that I'm the boss, but that's hard when she's too young for time outs and I can't have a real conversation with her about the rules. Whew. I am so exhausted these days and it's not surprising!

The interesting thing is that she still understands her naps and bedtime. Thankfully, knock on wood, she doesn't put up a fight about those at all. If I tell her it's nap time, she goes straight into her nursery and waits by her crib. Occasionally, if she gets tired enough, she will come take me by the hand and lead me to her crib. It's so cute! If I had to pick one thing that is more important than anything else, it would be naptime and bedtime. I'm really relieved that they are both still going well.

The other frustrating part of this stage is the fact that Mireya seems to get hurt a lot. I have no other children to compare it too, so I don't know if it is any more often than other kids her age. It is awful though, because I feel so bad! Most of the time, one of us is right there to witness it. She runs everywhere and sometimes she'll biff it out of the blue. (That's great genes from her graceful mother and father. lol) There isn't time to catch her and it's like it happens in slow motion. She has also learned to walk backwards. She thinks it's hilarious until she backs up into something and gets hurt. (No, I did not teach her that.) Other times, she will be looking at something else and simply not watching where she's going.

The worst accidents are when she comes out of nowhere and one of us accidentally causes one. I accidentally tripped her with the vacuum today and Jason pinched her finger the other day when he was closing the patio door. Those times are when I feel like a horrible parent, because I was involved. The problem is that even when you are keeping a close eye out for her, she manages to come just when you think it's safe. Certain things I have told her over and over and over that she needs to not do or she's going to get hurt and guess what? She does them anyway. *sigh* I can remember my mom telling me not to run and not to do this or that or I'm going to get hurt and I was just like Mireya. I did it anyway. Now here I am saying the same things and I have very little doubt that she isn't going to believe me until she's got her own little munchkin running around the house. (No mom, you can't call and say that you told me so. I know already.)

I know that every other mother goes through the same stuff, but sometimes it feels like it's just me who wants to scream and pull my hair out. I love Mireya more than anything in the world. She is my favorite little person and I adore her so much. She makes me laugh and I can't get enough of her little baby kisses. I just can't wait until she's old enough for time outs for the other stuff...

These are photos of the time I caught Mireya in the middle of pulling everything out of her dresser drawers, toy box and bookcase. I have given up on folding her clothes, because it's just going to end up in a pile in the middle of her room anyway. She's looking at me like, "What? Is something wrong?"

Mireya's Morning Rampage

Good Morning everyone! I woke up to cat barf in the nursery and two kitties that were running around going bananas. Apparently the chaos was contagious, because Mireya spent the morning running, screaming, and making trouble with her cute "how could you ever be mad at me?" face. Here's just a taste of the way my day started as Mommy:

Yep. That's milk. It's was milk in Mireya's sippy and now it's milk in Mommy's books and Daddy's shredder.