True Life: I Have a Toddler

It's official. I no longer have a baby. I have a toddler.

I truly hoped that since my parents always said what an angel I was as a child, that I wouldn't have to "pay for my raising" with Charlotte. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

My sweet, feminine, baby girl has somehow transformed into a stinky, dirty, loud, fast creature that I have no idea what to do with. Seriously, I feel like my child is a gremlin. In fact, I tell her at least 10 times a day that I am fairly certain that is what she is.

So here is what life is like lately:

Charlotte's new favorite thing is barking. The funny part is that our dog doesn't even bark and we definitely didn't teach her how to do it. She just began barking at the neighbor's dog one day and never stopped. It was cute/funny at first. But now she sits in the yard and barks at cars. And barks at strangers while we are out. Actually, she growled at a man that tried to talk to her in Wal-Mart the other day. That was fun....

Also, now that she can walk, she has is far more capable of getting into things. And she is strong, so she can lift things easily. Bad combo. Case in point, I caught her eating handfuls of sugar that she apparently got out of the pantry (silently). I don't think I need to tell you that she didn't nap that day...

I anticipated that she would have lots of bumps and bruises once she started walking, but I didn't anticipate how many I would have. As I was laying on the bed today, she dive bombed me like a kamikaze pilot with her forehead and busted my lip open. And this is a regular occurrence. Why did no one tell me how dangerous having children would be?! **This is me giving you your fair warning if you don't have kids yet. **

She also discovered new decibels of her voice. Decibels I did not know existed. It sounds like I have a pterodactyl in my house most of the time. And when she is in time out (which is about 10 times a day), I fear my neighbors are going to call the cops because it sounds like she is DYING. I think I may be experiencing mild hearing loss....

And last, but certainly not least, she has learned to throw fits. Apparently fits are just a natural thing children know how to do because she had never seen a child throw a tantrum before she threw her first. She cried, took three steps, threw herself in the floor, and rolled around until she felt the position was best for getting my attention. I ignore her, but she is persistent! Yesterday she had an on and off again fit for an hour because she was out of Easter candy. She would walk over to her Easter basket. sign "more", I would tell her there was no more, she would throw a fit like I just described, I would ignore it, she would stop, and then we would repeat the process every 5-10 minutes. It was awesome (not).

So to all of you out there who think she is a perfect princess, think again. I would like to hope my sweet angel will make a return in the near future, but I'm not holding my breath! *Sigh.... in the meantime, I will enjoy the many hilarious things she does and try to maintain my sanity. 

Our Week in Photos {April 7-13}

Playtime and Parfaits.

Well it has been a big week for Charlotte! After 13 long months she finally learned to walk! And let's just say she is basically already running. "Slow" is not a speed she likes to operate in. She is loving having a whole new perspective of the world from standing on her own 2 tiny feet. Check out this video from her first day of walking. She is very proud of herself!

In addition to walking, she is becoming quite the chatterbox! She's been saying "mama" and "dada" for a while now, but she now says the names of our pets Bella ("Beba") and Scout ("Cow"), banana ("nana"), and all done ("a-da"). She is also working on her sign language and has been signing "more" and "all done". She has definitely left the baby stage and is officially turning into a toddler/little adult.

Hope you all enjoy the newest pictures of our little life!

Enjoying the mud and leaves on a pretty day.

Apparently the mud here is really delicious!

Celebrating our 2nd anniversary!

She decided Bella needed a playmate in her crate ;)

Last but not least, I just had to share our new favorite sweet treat, courtesy of the Pioneer Woman. Man, I sure love her recipes! You definitely have to try these parfaits.. fruit, yogurt, vanilla, cream (or milk!), and brown sugar. Yum yum! Check out here recipes HERE!

384 Days.

There are a lot of goals I set aside or don't follow through with.... but one goal I am proud to say I accomplished was breastfeeding my baby for a year! In fact, we successfully breastfed for 384 days.

384 days of giving my child the milk God made for her.

384 days of knowing my body could provide all my child needed.

384 days of watching my child grow and develop primarily from the nutrients I created for her.

I'm not going to tell you it was easy. It wasn't! My doctor told me to quit when she had severe jaundice (I ignored them...) My doctor told me to quit when she wasn't growing as fast as the doctor would have liked (I ignored them again.) I've been frustrated. I've been impatient. I've been bit. I've been in pain. I've been so tired I wanted more than anything to just give her bottle of formula. But I didn't. I stuck to my goal and I succeeded. 

And guess what? My daughter is healthy. She is strong. She is just the right size. She is smart. It is so amazing to know I did the best I could for her. I encourage all of my friends to breastfeed if they can! Even if it is just for a little while. I am so proud of myself for meeting my goal and doing what was best for our family for our child, and I pray that all of you mommies do what is best for your families, whatever that my be!

If any of you ever need a go-to person for breastfeeding, I am always glad to lend my support! Feel free to ask me any advice, vent, or just get informed! 

Sunshine

Thank GOD winter is almost over! Charlotte and I are both so ready to be outside more! We got a little taste of spring at the beginning of the week with highs in the 70s. Charlotte got to wear her new shorts and play on her new swing set! She was a very happy little girl.

Charlotte's New Room

We decided to switch Charlotte to a big girl bed a little earlier than most. Due to lack of space, it only made sense for our full sized bed to go into her room instead of the tiny spare room we had it in. So we decided to make the leap and transition her now. Thankfully, the bed we had is made to not need a box spring, which means that the full height from floor to top of the mattress is only around 20" so we weren't too worried about her injuring herself even if she were to fall.

After her 1st birthday last month, I got inspired by her party decorations. Polka dots, stripes, and lots of color! I decided to keep the decor as a basis for her new "big girl" room. We lucked out and found a great comforter set that went well with the decorations.

My main project was changing the headboard on the bed. The headboard that was on the bed was very hard wood with metal bars. It also had big spaces in it large enough for her to fall through, so I definitely wasn't comfortable with it the way it was! I decided to pad and cover a sheet of plywood and attach it to the frame. I am so pleased with how it turned out!

My other little project was recovering and painting some canvases that matched her old room. Using quilting squares, I recovered them and then decided to paint a sun with "You are my Sunshine" on them. It was my favorite song as a child and I sing it to her often!

Anyways, here is her new room! She loves it and so do I!

Key Lime Cupcakes

Hey friends! Just wanted to share a recipe that I made today! With St. Patty's Day coming up, I wanted to try out a nice, green dessert. I LOVE Key Lime Pie and I also love cupcakes. So I decided to combine the 2 with this Key Lime cupcake! This lime flavored cupcake is topped with a cream cheese frosting to create a perfect dessert when you want something different than your standard chocolate or vanilla.

Sorry for the not so great picture... I used my phone instead of my camera. In real life, the cupcake is more green and the frosting is more cream colored. Anyways... as much as I like making things from scratch, I also like "semi-homemade" things. This is a great example of that! Taking a box mix and turning it into something new. So here is the recipe! Enjoy!

Key Lime Cupcakes:
1 box white cake mix
1 three ounce box of lime Jello
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
Juice from 2 limes

Mix all ingredients and pour into cupcake pan (put liners in first of course!). Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before icing. 

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 box cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
Half stick (1/4 cup) butter (softened to room temperature)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Use mixer to blend cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and continue to mix. Then, slowly incorporate powdered sugar until smooth! Easy and delicious!

*Note: If you want a thicker icing, add more powdered sugar. If you want it thinner, add a milk 1 Tbsp. at a time until you reach your desired consistency*