What we've been up to...

I will be starting my new job in a little less than 2 weeks from now so we are just preparing for that change right now. Lizzy is going to school like usual and this week she is also going to her grandma Tita's so she can get use to spending longer time there. We have actually been preparing for this change for a while now so Lizzy is doing great and I can see this transition going smoothly.

Grandma Tita will be doing most the the usual activities Lizzy and I do now like taking her to the store for errands, taking her to open gymnastics, taking her to the park, and continuing to do all the activities we have been doing. The great thing is grandma Tita is very familiar with what we do because she has always come along and been around since Lizzy has been born.

Now I just have to teach grandma Tita how to use a camera! With Lizzy being way from me during the day this week I don't have much to post. While she has been away I have been doing errands and things I've needed to do. I've also been working on crafts for Lizzy's birthday. I want to get as much of what I need to do now that I have free time to do so.

That being said I can see that I will be posting a lot less now. I think I will post only when we do something special that I want to share rather than posting something everyday. We have some special things planned soon and I will post anything special we do to share with friends and family so continue to check back we'll still be here.

Beach Baby!

Our first time back at the beach this year was great! Mild sun, nice breeze, soft sand, seagulls, and my little girl having fun.

Strawberry Picking at Froberg Farm

Spring is definitely here and it's time to do all those fun things we do every year here in Texas. I was very excited to take Lizzy strawberry picking this year because last year she had fun but had no concept of what a strawberry was or what it meant to pick something. Lizzy loves strawberries and she enjoys picking flowers so I knew she would have fun picking those bright red strawberries and she did! Lizzy thought it was fun to get big juicy strawberries and squeeze the juice out of them onto her cute little strawberry outfit, even her shoes had little strawberries on them...now they have strawberry juice stains on them.

Froberg Farm is a great local place that grows it's own vegetables, fruits, and also has an array of homemade items like pies, candy, sauces, and sausage to name a few. After strawberry picking we picked up some food for dinner at their little market then headed home. We had strawberry shortcakes for dessert.

A video of Lizzy picking strawberries

Little Yoga

Lizzy loves this book so much she gets so excited when I bring the Little Yoga Book out. I have to hide it because she won't stop doing yoga if I don't. She's obsessed with doing all the different poses.
I was going to wait until her Lizzy's birthday to get her the yoga kids DVD but she loves doing these poses so much now that I went ahead and ordered it. It's a DVD with all the yoga poses done by 3 to 6 years old in a fun way.

At the Gym

Lizzy had lots of fun at the open gym this week. She ran wild, trying everything that was out for her to get into and she's getting very good at jumping longer on the trampoline. The teacher also blew bubbles and she was in heaven just swatting and poking all the bubbles. It's amazing how much kids love bubbles.

Changes in our Rhythm

Life is beginning to change gradually for us. I will be starting a new position as a counselor, counseling parents on positive parenting techniques. This means I will have to be away from Lizzy during the daytime. I worry for Lizzy and myself because I have stayed home with her all of her life and we have a set rhythm we follow daily. I wonder how these changes will affect her.

I am beyond thrilled to start a career doing what originally inspired me to go into the helping profession. A part of me is grieving having to leave Lizzy with someone else while I work. It's a hard decision but it is something I have thought a lot about and will ultimately benefit our little family. I am lucky to have found a job that will allow me to do what I love, with a very flexible schedule near our home.

Lizzy will be able to attend a fantastic Montessori school 2 days a week, the other days she will spend with grandma who she already loves staying with. After training I will be able to adjust my schedule to work from home and only have to leave the home when I have to see a family who needs counseling.

Lizzy on her 1st day of school

I can remember when Lizzy was 3 months old I was offered a flexible position with the mental health association of Texas but the position required I train full time for 3 weeks, m-f, 9-5 after training it would be on a very part time basis. I had practically already accepted the position when I was holding Lizzy I looked in the mirror that was in front of me and she looked so tiny in my arms, she was so helpless in every way, she needed me. It was the wrong time and it felt wrong to leave her for any amount of time. I didn't take the job. I was however blessed with an opportunity to work part time at night while Mike is home and Lizzy is sleeping and that worked for us until now. I feel now is a time for personal growth for Both Lizzy and I.

Lizzy at 3 months

Now when I think about leaving Lizzy to go to work I know she loves staying with grandma, I know she loves the Montessori method and we are lucky to live literally next door to a fantastic Montessori school, I also feel she has learned to communicate her needs very well for her age. All of these things will ease the transition but most importantly it doesn't feel "wrong" for me to leave her to go to work. I just remember how I felt when I thought of leaving her when she was 3 months old and how I feel now it's completely different. It is the start of something new that will benefit everyone in our little family..

Happy 1st Day of Spring

We planted some bluebonnet, lavender, and chive seeds to grow on our patio this year and Lizzy helps water them every morning. She helps with so many tasks on a daily basis I'm thinking of making a sort of chore chart with rewards for everything she helps with during the day. About a month ago I though she was too young for something like that but now I see how many things she helps with and I know she loves stickers so that may be a good reward to encourage her helping and good behavior.

Cookie and Milk

Lizzy didn't have school this past week because she's on Spring break but these are a couple pictures of Lizzy after school last week. She had yummy chocolate chip cookies and milk waiting for her at home. I love to surprise Lizzy with something after she comes home from school and after her naps. Lizzy is always extra cute and happy when she comes home from school or wakes up from a nap.

Quincenera

We didn't take very many picture at the quincenera last night just these at the fountain outside. Everything was beautifully decorated almost like a wedding. Lizzy did great she would freak out when the DJ would speak on the loud speaker and for some reason she got scared of the camera man. We stayed for a while but left in time to get Lizzy to sleep on her usual routine.

Birthdays!

Today is Lizzy's grandma Walworth's birthday! Happy Birthday!!! Lizzy hopes to see grandma Walworth in a couple months for her 2nd birthday. With Lizzy's birthday being a couple months away I have started making some of the birthday decorations for Lizzy's Birthday Luau. This is what I have been working on:

It's a reusable felt birthday banner. I cut out the felt letters, squares, and made the flowers out of felt. I wanted to sew it but with a toddler always around it's very hard because she wants to press the sewing pedal any chance she gets so I opted to glue gun the whole thing together as fast as I could. We'll see how long the banner lasts. I intended it to be reusable so maybe once I get a chance I can go back and sew it.

Tonight we went to a quincenera party (15th birthday) for a girl I use to babysit. It almost doesn't feel real how time flies. The last time I babysat this girl she was 3 years old, and today she is 15! In my mind it feels like yesterday that I was babysitting and playing with this little girl who was 3 at the time and only about a year or a little older than Lizzy is now. I hope time doesn't fly that fast with Lizzy. I want to enjoy and remember every year with her.

That being said, enjoy every day/year you have to the fullest!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We're not Irish that I know of but celebrating St. Patrick's Day is just fun for us. Today we had lots of activities planned to celebrate. First we decorated a tablecloth with shamrock prints using a sliced bell pepper, a white table cloth, and some green fabric paint. We are using this tablecloth for our corned beef St. Patrick's Day dinner later.

After that we went to the park to pick clovers and play.

After Lizzy's nap I had a counting activity waiting for her. Each shamrock has a number and the corresponding number of dots. Lizzy had to get the right number of trix cereal ball on the dots then she could eat the trix as a treat.

Bella would sneak in and take the trix

Hope everyone wore green and had a fun St. Patrick's Day!

Homemade Chalk Paint

As I've probably shared before, Lizzy really enjoys painting and she asks to paint everyday and everyday we paint. I think it's great for children to paint or do some creative activity everyday so I want to make that available to her whenever she feels like painting in different mediums. I made some homemade chalk paint for our patio area.
I made the chalk paint with water, cornstarch, and food coloring all mixed together. I didn't use any specific recipe but about 1 cup water, 1/2 cup corn starch and 5 or so drops of food coloring. `
Lizzy enjoyed painting on the patio area. I keep things she can play with when she's out in the patio area in this basket pictured. Things she has in the basket are bubbles, different bubble wands, sand and water toys, a watering can, some clean up rags, chalk, and now chalk paint and brushes.
After any activity we do Lizzy helps clean up. This chalk paint comes right off and doesn't stain hands or clothing.

Lizzy in the Kitchen

Lizzy LOVES helping in the kitchen. Today Lizzy made a St. Patty's day lunch for herself. It was a shamrock cheese pizza and a green colored rice krispie treat. The shamrock pizza was cheese and a sliced bell pepper on a pita bread baked in the oven.

Lizzy ate all her lunch but of course she ate the rice krispie treat first.

Yum!