Saturday, June 26, 2010
Life is an Endless Surprise
Well since I had my daughter it is! This week was a vacay for us! YAY! It's been 4 years since we've had a holiday! We wanted to pack it full of things for Amelia. Fun family time!
We brought her back to where she was born, where we want to move back to. We went to the endless playgrounds, walks, castles, ponds, beaches, parks, forests and the zoo! I was so surprised with the things Amelia picked up, remembered. She was talking up a storm! She walked everywhere, ate a ton of ice cream and was so well behaved. Said please and thank you to everyone. I'm one proud momma!
We went to the zoo and to my surprise my TOTAL surprise she walked the whole way! This is not a small zoo. We were walking for at least 3 hours and she only sat down to have a snack. I was so impressed. She was making all her animal sounds, doing her penguin dance, playing with a monkey! She touched a sheep for the first time but forgot she hates the feeling of wool....wow that was funny!
We stayed in the hotel we got married in. Lyrath estate. I must admit I was nervous about bringing her because it's a 5* hotel and I was so worried she'd act up because it was somewhere new. Boy was I wrong! She was an angel! At breakfast she sat and munched on a bit of everything from the buffet and at dinner she sat patiently in her seat while we were being served. She was busy exploring everything and was in such a great mood. I think I fell in love with her all over again this week!
I did however learn that she sleeps like her daddy... loudly!! Poor momma!
We brought her back to where she was born, where we want to move back to. We went to the endless playgrounds, walks, castles, ponds, beaches, parks, forests and the zoo! I was so surprised with the things Amelia picked up, remembered. She was talking up a storm! She walked everywhere, ate a ton of ice cream and was so well behaved. Said please and thank you to everyone. I'm one proud momma!
We went to the zoo and to my surprise my TOTAL surprise she walked the whole way! This is not a small zoo. We were walking for at least 3 hours and she only sat down to have a snack. I was so impressed. She was making all her animal sounds, doing her penguin dance, playing with a monkey! She touched a sheep for the first time but forgot she hates the feeling of wool....wow that was funny!
We stayed in the hotel we got married in. Lyrath estate. I must admit I was nervous about bringing her because it's a 5* hotel and I was so worried she'd act up because it was somewhere new. Boy was I wrong! She was an angel! At breakfast she sat and munched on a bit of everything from the buffet and at dinner she sat patiently in her seat while we were being served. She was busy exploring everything and was in such a great mood. I think I fell in love with her all over again this week!
I did however learn that she sleeps like her daddy... loudly!! Poor momma!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
How Clean is TOO Clean
I will hold my hand up and admit I can be a Monica. I enjoy cleaning. I don't go over board and clean everything every day but a few things I will do. I clean the floors everyday. Well lets be honest it's sometimes more than once a day because when we're out in the garden bits and pieces get dragged in and I hate the feeling of grub under my feet in the house. Every evening after Amelia goes down I tidy all her toys away. I do this for 2 reasons, 1 is so she has a fresh start every day but also so night time the downstairs is for my husband and I.
I have tried not to pass on to many "mess hating" vibes to Amelia. I don't want her to not get dirty but she doesn't seem to like it to much anyway. The onyl time she enjoys mess is right after she wakes up and is full of energy other than that she can moan her way through. I've read resently about being "TOO CLEAN" for the health of children. As in, having them avoid germs to the point of having a weak immune system. I honestly do not think I am one of these. YES I like to clean, NO Amelia never really gets sick (personally I think she has got that from my husband) but the in between of these is germs that I miss. I don't make everything germ free BUT my house is nearly always tidy. However I do teach Amelia general cleaning things so she avoids picking up colds everywhere she goes.
Here are some things I personally feel are important.
Encourage Good Hand Washing Habits
I think this is probably the easiest one because toddlers just love splashing about and I know Amelia picked this up after showing her once.
Brushing Teeth
This is a HUGE MUST for me. Dental heigene is so important to me. Amelia is fantastic. I've been brushing her teeth since the day I could see one poking through. The brissles of the brush help soften gums and i'm convinced that's why Amelia has had minimal trouble with teething. She now brushes her teeth herself and does a really good job. She'll do it around 3 times a day but she would do it more if I left her. I use baby toothpaste once a day and the rest of the time she'll use water.
Being Clean in Public
We've all seen that person walking from the toilets without washing their hands. Nice. I don't spritz and wipe Amelia every 5 minutes when she's out but I will wipe her hands if she's going to eat something or if she's going to go for a nap OR if she's grabbed something random. One thing I do hate is people touching young childrens hands because not everyone cleans their hands like me and teething children put their hands in their mouths...are those people touching hands and walking past the sinks in the toilets one and the same??!
Amelia in NO way avoids germs. I've caught her licking the bottom of her shoe on more than one occasion. Yum! She rolls around the garden with the dog and they lick each others faces. Yes you read right, they both do it.
I don't know if it's cleaning, exposure to certain germs, good genes (from Daddy) or all the fersh fruit and veg Amelia eats but I don't think she doesn't get sick because i'm TOO clean. What do you think?
I have tried not to pass on to many "mess hating" vibes to Amelia. I don't want her to not get dirty but she doesn't seem to like it to much anyway. The onyl time she enjoys mess is right after she wakes up and is full of energy other than that she can moan her way through. I've read resently about being "TOO CLEAN" for the health of children. As in, having them avoid germs to the point of having a weak immune system. I honestly do not think I am one of these. YES I like to clean, NO Amelia never really gets sick (personally I think she has got that from my husband) but the in between of these is germs that I miss. I don't make everything germ free BUT my house is nearly always tidy. However I do teach Amelia general cleaning things so she avoids picking up colds everywhere she goes.
Here are some things I personally feel are important.
Encourage Good Hand Washing Habits
I think this is probably the easiest one because toddlers just love splashing about and I know Amelia picked this up after showing her once.
Brushing Teeth
This is a HUGE MUST for me. Dental heigene is so important to me. Amelia is fantastic. I've been brushing her teeth since the day I could see one poking through. The brissles of the brush help soften gums and i'm convinced that's why Amelia has had minimal trouble with teething. She now brushes her teeth herself and does a really good job. She'll do it around 3 times a day but she would do it more if I left her. I use baby toothpaste once a day and the rest of the time she'll use water.
Being Clean in Public
We've all seen that person walking from the toilets without washing their hands. Nice. I don't spritz and wipe Amelia every 5 minutes when she's out but I will wipe her hands if she's going to eat something or if she's going to go for a nap OR if she's grabbed something random. One thing I do hate is people touching young childrens hands because not everyone cleans their hands like me and teething children put their hands in their mouths...are those people touching hands and walking past the sinks in the toilets one and the same??!
Amelia in NO way avoids germs. I've caught her licking the bottom of her shoe on more than one occasion. Yum! She rolls around the garden with the dog and they lick each others faces. Yes you read right, they both do it.
I don't know if it's cleaning, exposure to certain germs, good genes (from Daddy) or all the fersh fruit and veg Amelia eats but I don't think she doesn't get sick because i'm TOO clean. What do you think?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Father's Day!
Well this week is Fathers Day! Amelia and I have some fun things planned this week :)
Letter of the week? F! Flower, Fig (our dog) fruit, fun, face and so on! I do, and have been for some time now, doing a letter of the week with Amelia. We draw pictures for each word, I guide her hand as she writes the letter.
Amelia's story of the week, "My Daddy And Me".
Amelia spends SO much time drawing and paint that we will have a little make and do. I think we'll make a card for Daddy. (Don't worry he never reads this) I'm planning on involving glue...her first experience... This.Will.Be.Messy! :)I think we'll make a little picture card he can keep in his wallet considering he spends so much time away with work.
She's a major Daddy's girl so she'll love this :)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Home Made Baby Food
This is something that is personally close to me. We decided that we were going to introduce Amelia to food very carefully. I believe that from the first day a child eats, we shape them for life. I wanted Amelia to taste everything and to know the taste. I wanted her to LIKE fruits and veg. Which I'm delighted to say she does and she will look to snack on those as opposed to sweets.
We started her on single fruits/veg. I would cook each fruit or veg and blitz it but not into a paste. I didn't want to start her on very smooth foods because I wanted her to know texture from the get go. Obviously it wasn't "lumpy" just textured. We started with pear, carrot, avocado, apple, pumpkin etc.
The main reason for homemade was because if you pick up a jar of "carrot" baby food and actually read the ingredients, there is a list or more than carrot in there! I wanted to know exactly what was going into her. I still do.
Obviously I'm not saying jar food is "bad" for a child but I'm saying I wanted what was better for her. I remember my sister in law threw me a baby shower and played that game where everyone had to taste baby food from a jar. My husband is a chef and a VERY good one at that. What did he taste in each jar? Carrot! Carrot and that funky aftertaste and funky smell.
Why do all jars lead to the same taste? It's because they've been cooked, then put in a can/jar then heated again to a high temp to sterilise it. When it's heated again the sugars caramelise and you get that funky smell and orange colour.
Lets look at an everyday example, if you put broccoli in a pot a heat it, what happens? The water turns green. The heats draws out all the nutrients. The ones you buy in a jar have been cooked and then heated again? What's left? Then some brands will even ADD IN the nutrients lost during this process. WOW thanks! Fake nutrients for my baby!
I can steam food, blitz and store. We would makes Amelia's meals for the week on a Sunday night. It didn't take that long and it meant there was a point to feeding her fruit and veg. Again I'm not saying it's "bad" to feed your child jar food. They are very handy for travel. I just don't see the point in spending the money on food with "nutrients" when I could give her fresh food with nutrients.
We started her on single fruits/veg. I would cook each fruit or veg and blitz it but not into a paste. I didn't want to start her on very smooth foods because I wanted her to know texture from the get go. Obviously it wasn't "lumpy" just textured. We started with pear, carrot, avocado, apple, pumpkin etc.
The main reason for homemade was because if you pick up a jar of "carrot" baby food and actually read the ingredients, there is a list or more than carrot in there! I wanted to know exactly what was going into her. I still do.
Obviously I'm not saying jar food is "bad" for a child but I'm saying I wanted what was better for her. I remember my sister in law threw me a baby shower and played that game where everyone had to taste baby food from a jar. My husband is a chef and a VERY good one at that. What did he taste in each jar? Carrot! Carrot and that funky aftertaste and funky smell.
Why do all jars lead to the same taste? It's because they've been cooked, then put in a can/jar then heated again to a high temp to sterilise it. When it's heated again the sugars caramelise and you get that funky smell and orange colour.
Lets look at an everyday example, if you put broccoli in a pot a heat it, what happens? The water turns green. The heats draws out all the nutrients. The ones you buy in a jar have been cooked and then heated again? What's left? Then some brands will even ADD IN the nutrients lost during this process. WOW thanks! Fake nutrients for my baby!
I can steam food, blitz and store. We would makes Amelia's meals for the week on a Sunday night. It didn't take that long and it meant there was a point to feeding her fruit and veg. Again I'm not saying it's "bad" to feed your child jar food. They are very handy for travel. I just don't see the point in spending the money on food with "nutrients" when I could give her fresh food with nutrients.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Words words words words words!
A few days ago, my husband and I were talking about my concerns over Amelia's LACK of new words. She was doing well but suddenly stopped at maybe 5 or 6 words. We were sitting on the floor with her talking and seeing what words she would repeat. We got a few and then (as usual) she got bored and ran off!
I was only half concerned because she does have some words and know EVERY animal sound. Amelia's motor skills are way ahead. She has amazing balance and I can count on one hand the amount of times she's fallen over. She can walk up and down stairs, turn on and off taps and make phone calls from my mobile to other countries...ahem
So obviously she was listening because later that day, and ever since she is saying everything! Body parts, all her flash cards, letters by pointing at the fridge magnets, it's like she's exploded out of her shell.
Now next thing to work on?
Amelia sweetheart we don't blow kisses to random weirdos in the street!!
I was only half concerned because she does have some words and know EVERY animal sound. Amelia's motor skills are way ahead. She has amazing balance and I can count on one hand the amount of times she's fallen over. She can walk up and down stairs, turn on and off taps and make phone calls from my mobile to other countries...ahem
So obviously she was listening because later that day, and ever since she is saying everything! Body parts, all her flash cards, letters by pointing at the fridge magnets, it's like she's exploded out of her shell.
Now next thing to work on?
Amelia sweetheart we don't blow kisses to random weirdos in the street!!
Had to share
This is a link to what was found in a leaking Kraft brand capri sun
This is why we avoid all processed food!!
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/album.php?aid=62218&id=1344167118
This is why we avoid all processed food!!
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/album.php?aid=62218&id=1344167118
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
She's the WORLD!
Amelia that is. Amelia is our world. She is the centre of everything and everything revolves around her. Don't like it? You don't have to. Don't be involved. I know you're thinking wow that child is spoilt! Yes in some ways, but she has rules, manners and respect and we will continue to teach her these things.
We decided a long time ago that the only people we would have in Amelia's life are those who put her before the bull$hit. Those who bring something to her life. Those who spoil her. I don't mean spend millions on her (though the odd gift is nice) I mean TIME!!! TIME is what children need!! Why do I need to fight for something so simple? I don't think Amelia is more important than other children or anything. She has a beautiful little cousin who I WISH I could spoil rotten but I can't afford too, but I think she should be centre of the world too.
I am so very sick of gossip/bitching and people who I feel are wasting chances with Amelia. If she's not important enough to stop you being an idiot then feel free to stop being involved with her. My daughter deserves the BEST and I don't care how many jobs we have to work she will have it. If we can work 3 jobs (4 if you include a stay at home mom) why can you shut your mouth?
My point in this rant is, where in life, is the point where you say enough is enough and put your childs needs infront of everything. Is it once is too much? 3 strikes you're out? Keep going in the hopes you'll change? Are there rules to say centain people are excluded from this? Can certain people do what ever they want and you have to take it? When is enough, enough?
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