Keeping a toddler entertained.

I have been blessed with the opprtunity to have a full time job that allows me to be with my baby from 2pm on. I pick her up from school everyday and then, we go on adventures! Some days are better than others, depending on the weather. It's the end of January and I'm not sure if winter already came or if we are waiting for it. We have lots of days in the 60s and most in the 50s so we get out as much as we can. Here are a few of our after school adventures. 

Sandbox-ing. Which sometimes includes her baby doll.

 Swinging. Which sometimes involves baby doll. Ha.

 We visit the museum at least once a week.

 

 

Playing sports.

 indoor and outdoor tea parties and picnics.

 We are working on a backyard play area. ANYTHING I add has been a hit. We have a house, a balance beam, an abdacus, and sometimes take the baby doll on stroller and wagon rides to see the horse.

 Wow! now that I'm saying all that out loud, that sounds awesome! 

21 months.

This month Reyna is 21 months old and she is growing into herself in the most beautiful ways!

Things I want to remember about Reyna at 21 months:

she asks Papa to sing Frozen in the car - she has shown interest in potty training - she names her shoes - she wants to know "what doing?" all day - she pretends to be scared when we come down the stairs - she knows all her colors - she can count to 10 - she recognizes 13 letters of the alphabet - she likes the book Baby Sister - She loves pizza and quesadillas - wants to know everyone's name - loves pockets!

 

Weekend updates.

Here is what happened this weekend:

- my phone stopped working.

- the weather was in the 60s

- we went to a tennis match

- I went running.

- baby went in the big potty 4 times 

- I sewed up two blankets

- We played lots of "matching"
- out waterline broke

pictures coming soon.once 

2016 Reading Challenge.

It is still January so its not to late to start the 2016 Reading Challenge. 

I found this on a blog called Modern Mrs. Darcy. Isn't that the cutest blog name ever? She talks about books! She has lots of good recommendations and even a podcast where she interviews people and then suggests books for them based on what she learned. I think its adorable. 

Anyways, here is the challenge. 12 books in 12 months. Easy enough? no? Well, she structures it a little bit more so it becomes easier to make decisions on what books to read. I think that is my problem. There are so many!!

I already read a book chosen by my spouse. - WONDER.

11 more to go!

People Parent Differently.

Parenting is hard. It's even harder when we pretend that it's not.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned about parenting (and I think has kept our marriage strong) is that everyone parents differently. I remind myself of this often. We change diapers differently. We play differently. We feed her differently. We use the stroller differently. We drive her around in the car differently. BUT. the diapers get changed. She is well played with. She eats. She gets to school. And she is loved every step of the way.

I would never do this.

 Me: "Why are walking around with that doll on your shoulder?"

Neil: "She (Reyna) asked me to."

I would never do that.

 I would never THINK to do this. LoL.

 I don't read with her like this.

... but I'm glad he does. 

 She loves him for who he is. They have inside jokes, Private conversations, and their own ritual because they have their own relationship! I am so thankful for it. 

I'm sure that there are tons of things that he would 'never do' that I do, but we won't talk about those ;)

Day Dates.

Through the Holidays while we had lots of extra hands, we decided that we would plan a couple of "Day Dates". I would plan for San Antonio, and he would plan for Iowa.

San Antonio has made big improvements to walking/biking trails.

There is a paved trail that takes you to all 5 Missions. I have been wanting to try it for awhile and the temperatures were in the 70s so we went.

It is at least 20 miles.

I followed the map. We started downtown. This is where we went wrong.

 The city has bike kiosks that you can rent and check -in along the path. We bought a day pass for $10 but you could use your own bikes!

The road to the first mission was a LONG one! 

But, it was "our" mission so we had to do it!

 Married under these lights!

Then we headed to one more that we hadn't been to before.

This one was more like a fort or compound so there was lots to see.

We didn't quite make it to the other two,or three if you include the Alamo, but it was a unique date and quite the workout and a cultural experience as well. 

In Iowa, Neil planned. 

When he told me what it was, I was not disappointed but no really excited either. 

Looking back, I would say this was the more cultural experience of the dates. 

We went to hear Chris Christie give a speech and take questions at a restaurant in Marshalltown.

If you are in Iowa or New Jersey, this is a regular but in Texas! that seems so bizzare!

Why would (many) presidential candidates sit in a room in a small town, and do that?

It really still boggles my mind. I KNOW why, but we just don't get those experiences in Texas.

His grandparents go to many of these events and to be honest, I can see why!

It is so interesting and I would love to compare candidates from both parties in that way! Also, some attendees were characters.

Anyways, we were the youngest in the room and we sat front and center.

We made it into the paper a few days after.

 This was one of the better dates of all time.

 Not really exciting or adventurous but it has been awhile since I have done something completely NEW!

Christmas pt. 4. Iowa.

Iowa is always a great time.  

The girl was loved on 24/7!

She spent lots of time playing with her new toys, and some old ones. She went on adventures to the Y for a swim, an indoor playground, and the mall without me (so there are no pictures).

 She met and fell in love with all the pups!

AND named her fish - Emma.

 We also had a snow day! Skeptical at first.

 

Iowa never disappoints.

Christmas pt.3. The Journey.

We opened Santa gifts and stocking on Christmas morning.

Then. We headed to Iowa. in the car. with a 1.5 year old.

I guess we were feeling adventurous when we made that decision. 

 I joke. 

She actually did pretty well. We drove 12 hours the first day! We kept busy with a movie (Frozen), sticker books, snacks, naps, coloring.

 snack time

movie time

First stop

nap time

We stayed in Liberty, KS which meant only 3 hours the next day!

We made it home by noon just in time to open presents!

Christmas pt. 2. Gingerbread houses.

We usually host a game to help pass the time. We have done White Elephant, Minute to Win it, and Bingo in the past. This year we hosted a gingerbread house contest. They had 30 minutes and were judged on form, creativity, and beauty. The judges were my cousin art teacher, my uncle designer, and an uncle teacher known for his style/flair.

           We broke of into three teams. Cousins of all ages were included. Most just watched.

We opened the boxes and realized that two of them were ALREADY put together!

This team's was not. They did awesome!

 It is a competitive bunch, I tell you!

This was the third place winners.

 Second place winners.

 I thought this one was the most creative. See that little Yoda?! Cute.

Second place with a sorry winner in the background.

 and the winners!

 It was a lot of fun. Of course we would buy un assembled ones next year but overall a good time!