Our Summer To Do List

Our Summer To Do List

o   Make a friendship bracelet

o   Play card games

o   Picnic day

o   Park day

o   Library day, pick a subject and find a book about it

o   Swim

o   Sock puppets

o   Go on a hike

o   Board games

o   Craft day, lay materials out and see what you can make

o   Paint in a ziplock

o   Practice writing your name, maybe in shaving cream

o   Paint a picture

o   Decorate a canvas bag

o   Play kitchen,  make cupcakes and have a pretend birthday party

o   Make a treasure map and see if you can find some “treasure”

o   Visit a museum, and draw a picture about what you saw

o   Dot art

o   Make a list of outside items (a stick, a leaf, etc), collect and put in a jar to study.

o   Pick a relative and draw them a picture. Mail it to them and talk more about the post office.

o   Playdough

o   Go to the zoo

o   Play red light, green light

o   Go exploring in your neighborhood, take a magnifying glass

o   Parking lot with a cardboard box and cars

o   Pool noodles with cars to race

o   Have a dance party

o   Bake cookies and decorate them

o   Put googly eyes on a piece of paper and let your child draw the rest

o   Make a coloring book

o   Whiteboard and dry erase markers

o   Practice counting with buttons or beads

o   Dig in the mud

o   Make up a song and preform for someone

o   Read and keep a list of what you read

Flying with a Baby

FLYING WITH A BABY

 

 

 

I am not a flying expert. I still lose my cool. I yell at my husband because there is no one else to yell at. Lord help us all if I ever fly alone with my babies. I would probably complain to the flight attendant or to the person next to me. They would be in for a real treat.

All this to say, I am not an expert. But we have flown quite a few times with babies and children. We have done short flights and long flights. Twice we have flown internationally (13+ hours one way). We’ve flown with babies, toddlers and preschoolers. We’ve flown in sickness and in health. And somehow, we survived.

As I said, I am not an expert. But here are a few tips on flying with babies/toddlers/kids.

 

1.   Attitude

This is definitely the most important. As I write this section on attitude I have probably made at least 5 sassy comments in the last 10 minutes. Some of them under my breath.

Regardless, to fly with children and/or babies, you have to be unflappable. Decide that you will not be rattled. Nothing will break you. You are unbreakable. The TSA agent may be on a major power trip? Who cares. Car seat lost? You got this. You will make it through this. You can handle anything this airline or child throws at you. And if you freak out, take a deep breath and promise yourself a treat later. Or maybe then. Mine is starburst. I get a starburst anytime something goes wrong. Can’t be mad eating a starburst. You can’t unwrap it if your fingers are shaking.

Babies and children sense tension. When I cry or get upset, my three year old starts wailing. If I get upset, my body is so tense. Babies sense that, too.

 

2.   Baby wearing.

I absolutely love baby wearing. And when traveling it is a MUST. It makes things so much easier. Hands are free, and baby gets to see if you have a great carrier that they can face out in. Or they can sleep facing in. My carrier pick is the Beco Gemini. But do your research and wear what works for you!

 

3. Plan, plan and then stop planning.

Depending on what age you are traveling with, you will need an assortment of gear and activities. Think what your child loves. For my daughter, she loves to color and play with stickers. Go on amazon and find books about airplanes and traveling. Make sure you have a paci clip if you are the paci type. My son needs some sort of rattle and he’ll drop it a bazillion times and he is happy. Do some google and pinterest searches for airplane toys/activities. Have a few surprises up your sleeve.

 

THEN, you stop planning. You just hope. You pray if you are the praying type. You hope that you have packed enough goodies. And when all else fails, let them draw on you.

 

4. Emergency Bribery

Have an emergency stash of suckers and candy. You are not a bad parent. For me, when traveling, all bets are off. I refuse to let my daughter have unlimited sugar, because if I completely change her diet, then we will be in the airplane bathroom all day. But I do have a sucker stashed in my bag.

 

5. Make Friends

Make friends with your other captives, I mean, co travelers. Don’t be afraid to walk the aisles.

I have found that MOST people don’t care you have a baby there. Most people don’t mind and most people just want to talk about their grandson/granddaughter/neighbor’s kid/dog-walker’s third cousin. I have heard some pretty random stories. Almost everyone has a baby in their life somewhere. Some want to talk about said baby. I indulge them.

 

Now, about the others that DO care. You know, the stink eyes. The people glaring at you as you try to try to calm your kid down or struggle to nurse your baby. For me, my policy has always been I don’t care. I am going to do my best to keep my baby/toddler/kid quiet, but I make no guarantees. I am not going to apologize for my baby acting like a baby. I am sorry they are screaming. Trust me, it is harder on me than you. I have to DEAL with it. It is ON ME. I promise to do my best, just like everyone else is doing their best. And if you don’t have kids, and you think that you’ll never bring them on a plane, you are straight delusional. You never know why kids/babies are on that plane. They could be going to a funeral. Let’s all be nice.

 

Well, there you go. Those are my thoughts. Take them or leave them. Love them or hate them. Share then or hide them from your newsfeed.

 

Safe travels!

 

 

Andrew Ryan Harms-- Birth Story

Our sweet Andrew Ryan came into the world ON HIS DUE DATE. We were induced, sure, but it was still his due date. I love the punctuality. And I was very ready. The anticipation was killing me.

We got to the hospital at about 7am and met Alicia and Nicole, my nurses. They started my IV and started getting all the paperwork done. They moved me to a cooler room after about an hour, and I was so thankful. I was the only one "in labor" at the hospital. That was kinda nice. I was ready to get the show on the road but apprehensive about the how and how long it would take. I watched New Girl on Netflix and tried to relax. Ryan even got a nap. Haha.

They gave me pitocin and my contractions took a long time to get regular. Also, they had trouble tracking them with the machine. So it took a long time. Dr. Karns came and broke my water after they got more regular and I was dilated 7-8. Pretty soon after that I had my epidural, which was more painful than last time. For some reason. But it was glorious after. Sigh.

After 5-6 hours, I finally dilated to a 10. It was getting so late! My nurses that I LOVED were nearing the end of their shifts, and I hated thinking they might leave. They kept assuring me they would stay, but I knew that offer woudn't last all night. They said if they left it was like seeing a movie and missing the ending! The night nurse came in, so I had three amazing nurses. I mean, wow. Makes me tear up thinking how wonderful they were.

I pushed for 2 or so hours, with a pause in between because the machine didn't track my contractions for a little bit in between. Pushing with an epidural is so difficult because you really cannot feel what you are doing. I knew my family was waiting to meet Andrew, and I knew my nurses had families to get home to.  I did my absolute best. And after about two hours, Andrew emerged! Screaming in perfect rhythm, a little blue and just precious. He was bigger than Lylah, at 8 lbs 2 oz. They laid him on my chest and I just remember Ryan saying "You did so good, baby!" and kissing me over and over. Tears were in his eyes and the euphoria set in. I held A and nursed him and it was absolutely wonderful.

After some skin to skin, breastfeeding, and loving, lots of family came in to see him. Lylah came first, and she was so excited. She kept giggling. She got right in bed with me and gave Andrew pat pats and kisses. Sweet, sweet moments I will never forget. Then she got to have a cupcake. She just sat over on the couch and ate it in peace. Everyone was ohing and awing over Andrew, and I was getting so loopy. I am not sure I made any sense or if I was talking too much. I looked rough, too. I am not sure why I didn't ask for a mirror, or just run a brush through my hair.

Our family left so we could get some rest. I actually was able to sleep, for a about an hour at a time, that first night. We had a great hospital stay, and Andrew is/was such a good eater right away. Everything felt different, but familiar.

Andrew's birth was a fantastic experience. I know that sounds weird, but it was wonderful. Every person at the hospital was kind and helpful, and I could not have had a better experience there. I can't believe we have two kids, and how much we love this little man already. We thank God for giving us another beautiful child. He is already such a tremendous blessing!

Lylah-- 2 year old pictures

Newsletter-- 24 months

Dear Lylah,

You are 25 months today, so I guess it's time to write your 24 month blog. Oops. I kept meaning to write it, honest. We had a crazy two months filled with visitors, parties, church events, school, and lots of other stuff. Time really does fly!

Showing off your dance moves when we were trying to take a picture! :) 

You are just growing and changing constantly. You are so tall, and your hair is getting so long. You are in the 97% for height at 95% for weight. You are just starting to look more and more like a kid and not a baby! This gives me such a rush of conflicting emotions! I miss my little baby, but I love watching you learn and grow into your own little person. You give me moments of sweet snuggles and you are so loving. But then other times you just want to do everything YOURSELF. You are definitely teaching me to be patient.

Right now you are very into your baby doll. You love to "mother" her. It's so cute. You say exactly what I say to you, to her. I'll hear you say "You want a snack, baby? Ok. How about cheerios? Ok. Sit down and you can have cheerios." Or you'll say "First we'll change your diaper. Change your diaper baby. Lay down. Then we'll take a nap, baby. Ok?" It's just so funny.

here's a video of you after you put your baby down for a nap:

Last month you started school. You are at the Presbyterian Preschool two days a week, and you love it. I love it, too! You have brought home so much art work. I need to get a big cork board to hang all of it. You go to school with your friend Elizabeth, and you love your teachers!

Your favorite places to go are school, church, the library and the park. You really like to go anywhere if I make it sound exciting. You are an okay shopper. If you have a snack. But hey, me too!

 Trying to kiss the gorilla at the zoo. 

 Finally liking bubbles in the bath. Which is fun! 

 "Can I get some service over here?" 

 You love to be outside!

 We had a great visit with your cousin, Olivia. You were pretty sweet with her. You loved to give her "pat-pats". You didn't really like it when she played with your baby toys. We were constantly on guard because you would try to get on the play mat, especially if Olivia was playing on it. Olivia is so sweet and it was so fun to see you together. Can't wait to see you grow up together!

Lylah, we love you so much. You have enriched our lives so much and brought us so much joy. It's crazy. I feel like my heart has grown...doubled! Tripled! these past two years. I can't imagine not having my peanut. Thank you for being you!

Love,
Mom and Dad