Do you enjoy watching sad movies? Lately, I’ve been avoiding three-hankie tearjerkers like The Fault in Our Stars out of fear that I’ll leave the theater feeling more depressed than entertained. Where’s the enjoyment in that?
Kitchen hacks: The fastest way to pit cherries
I’ve never been crazy about cherries. It’s not that I don’t like the sweet taste of summer’s favorite fruit. The process of cleaning off the fruit from the pit makes my teeth feel funny, and I’m not a fan of cherry pit spitting.
(Incidentally, I don’t eat a lot of watermelon because of its pesky seeds. I’m even turned off by the small white ones in “seedless” watermelons.)
Lucky for Levi, JB does not share my strange aversion to cherries (although he does have strong feelings about corn), and the two of them have been snacking on them all summer — and making quite a mess. Sticky red fingers are unavoidable when you have to cut your toddler’s cherries in half to remove the pits before serving them.… READ MORE!
Scenes from our weekend: In the backyard
So far, we’ve been to the pool just one time this summer. It was over 4th of July weekend, which feels like forever ago, doesn’t it?
With nothing besides a couple of errands on our schedule this past Saturday, we talked over breakfast about making a trip to the pool. As soon as the words “pool” and “swimming” came out of my mouth, however, I knew we weren’t really going to go — especially when we decided to go after Levi’s nap. Nothing ever gets done after nap time.
I suffer from mommy guilt over not taking my boys swimming, but the truth is that it’s a huge pain in the ass to get a toddler and a baby ready to for the pool. We spend more time getting ready — going potty, putting on sunscreen, packing snacks — than we do in the water.
Plus, the kiddie pool at the JCC where we belong isn’t that much fun. I wish it were one of those fancy zero-entry pools with fountains and play areas, but it’s literally a large circle filled with shallow water. And when we went in July, we didn’t think to bring pool noodles, buckets, or toys. Boring!
Instead of going to the pool on Saturday, we spent an hour in the backyard with the hose, Levi’s water table, and some bubbles. And you know what? Levi had a blast. He didn’t care that we weren’t swimming. In fact, he didn’t even want to get wet! “Feeding the grass” with water and hosing down his dirty toys were plenty of fun. Plus, he got to chase the dog around for a little bit.
When I see photos on Facebook or Instagram of families with young kids at the beach or pool (especially backyard pools — jealous!), it’s hard not to feel guilty that we haven’t been doing those things this summer with Levi and Asa.
I guess the lesson here is that kids — at least, my kids — don’t necessarily care. They’re just as happy with a garden hose in the backyard.
PS – Have you heard of the backyard game called cornhole? Plus, summer shoes for toddlers.
Asa’s monthly baby photo (five months old)
Dear Asa,
You are adorable. Seriously adorable. And I’m not just saying that because I’m your mother and all mothers think their children are adorable. You possess facial features like big, expressive blue eyes and a wide, happy grin that are objectively adorable.
And thank goodness. Because if you weren’t as adorable as you are, you’d have a much harder time worming your way into our affections night after sleepless night. You don’t sleep through the night yet — not even close — and your father and I are miserably tired.
When your big brother was five months old, he went to bed at 7:30pm and woke up to eat at 3am. Part of your problem, I’m sure, is that we haven’t established a strict bedtime. It’s a classic case of second child syndrome: we’ve expected you to be on our schedule and Levi’s since day one. The times we’ve tried putting you in your crib to sleep before 8pm, you’ve stayed awake screaming until moved into your swing.
We put you back in your crib after your 10:30pm feeding, and you usually give us one three-hour chunk of sleep. Then you’re up about once an hour. Since we want to keep you on your three-hour (at minimum) feeding schedule, daddy does most of the nighttime soothing; I don’t want you to mistakenly think the milk bar is open when I’m simply trying to rock you to sleep.
He and I thought maybe you just wanted out of your swaddle (you seem interested in sleeping on your side), but using a sleep sack instead hasn’t helped. We also thought that putting you in your crib for naps might help, but you’ll only stay asleep for about 30 minutes in there.
However, we were happy to learn that you’re now content to be carried in the Ergobaby
When we were in Cleveland, you sat in a Bumbo for the first time. It was an exciting milestone! However, your deliciously chubby legs barely fit in the chair, so we’ve been using this baby seat
Everything goes in your mouth. As a result, you’re a slobbering mess. Thankfully, you’re not drooling on your clothing, so you don’t need to wear a bib all day like Levi did. When you don’t have a toy or your fingers (or my fingers) in your mouth, you’re blowing raspberries and bubbles. By the way, your little fingernails, which grow maddeningly quickly, are always so sharp that they leave tiny red scratches all over my chest when I’m nursing you .
Sometimes I wonder if you’ll grow up to be a soccer player or a swimmer, since you’re constantly kicking your legs, even when you’re on your tummy. You aren’t really interested in rolling over from either your back or your front (you’ve done it just a handful of times), but you’ve mastered tummy time and have advanced to cobra pose. (Future yogi?)
Diaper blowouts are still an issue even though you’re now wearing size 3 diapers. You’re in size 3-6 month clothing but could probably fit into some size 6-9 pieces. You’re such a big baby, and it’s starting to get harder to remember what you were like as a newborn despite you only being five months old. I don’t take as many photos of you with my DSLR as I did with Levi (second child syndrome!), but your infancy has been well documented on Instagram. It’s just so much easier to take pictures with my iPhone since I always have it with me.
Your feeding schedule is nearly identical to last month’s — you nurse every three to four hours. You also nap at approximately the same times as last month, too: 10:30am, 2pm, 6pm, and, briefly, 9pm. Our goals this month are to start feeding you cereal and to get you on stricter sleeping schedule.
I love you, my sweet peanut. But please, Go the F**k to Sleep
Love,
Mommy
***
Asa turned five months old on July 26, 2014. I’ll be taking a monthly baby photo of him next to his Blabla doll on his birthday to document his growth the first year.
PS – All of Levi’s and Asa’s monthly baby photos.
Weekend reading: link roundup
Happy August! July was an absurdly busy month, so my goal this weekend is to start playing catch-up…on everything. Work. Sleep. Orphan Black season 1. You know, the important things in life.
By the way, I’m totally hooked on Orphan Black and eager to start season 2. Do you watch it?
Here are some interesting links worth checking out this weekend:
An app (and well-designed neck pillow) to help you sleep anywhere.
There’s a scientific reason why you prefer tomato juice on an airplane. (h/t @alliepal)
Has anybody read this parenting book
Five new products for styling curly hair.
Looking for a shortcut to stress relief? You may also want to consider these mindfulness resources.
Turn yourself into an emoji.
How to be more photogenic in selfies.
Proof that basics can be beautiful.
Our Instagram life vs. reality.
What’s your opinion on minimalist fashion for kids?
Have a great weekend! I’m sure I’ll be procrastinating on Instagram and Twitter, so look for me there!
(image via Elle)
