Little Boys Christmas List

Can't decide what to get the little one in your life for Christmas? Here is a list of our top picks!

1. Thomas and Friends Fisher Price Play Sets.

A more toddler friendly version of the many wooden Thomas play sets out there. These are for toddlers as young as 18months of age!

2. Books!

Can't get an idea about a good book for a little one? Get on Amazon.com and read some reviews until you find the best ones! We like books by Sandra Boynton 

3. Bath time toys

Our bath tub toys always seem to need to be replaced. They either get nasty, tristan gets tired of them, or the dog eats them.  If you have a baby or know a baby who loves bath time then try some new bath time toys for a thoughtful gift!

4. Nice Straw Sippy Cups

You can never have enough nice straw sippy cups when you have a toddler. The Foogo Thermos ones are worth the investment!

5. Puzzles

Encourage mental development with age appropriate puzzles. Wooden puzzles are perfect for little hands. Go for a puzzle with a theme you know your little one likes.

6. Trike or Ride on Toy

Toddlers have lots of energy and it is always a good idea to have a toy around that lets them get the wiggles out! 

7. Crayons, Coloring books and stickers

My son loves to scribble and put stickers all over the place. It doesn't keep him occupied for a long time but it makes him super happy for a little while! Try triangular crayons and large coloring books for young children in a theme they like such as sesame street etc. 

8. Puffy Vest

A very versatile piece you will get lots of use out of! Layer it over short sleeves in spring and over long sleeves in fall/winter. They don't restrict movement as much as bulky coats but it will keep your little guy warm while going in and out. 

9. Chinstrap fleece hats from old navy

Tristan has had his fleece hat from old navy for over a year and he is so in love with it! I love it because it keeps his ears warm and is super cute and affordable at the same time. 

Best Baby lotion

Tristan has never had a bad problem with dry skin but he does tend to get small patches of dry, rough skin that will sometimes become irritated. He doesn't have these all the time but maybe once a month I will notice a patch on his arm or back. I know there are some great natural moisturizers but as a full time working mommy I hardly have the time to remember to go buy groceries and always forget to pick up things such as baby lotion or hop over to whole foods to get something natural. Luckily someone gifted us with Burts Bees Baby Bee Calming Lotion. I have used it twice and Tristan's rough patches went away after the first night! We had been using Johnsons night time lotion and it did not seem to calm Tristan at all and it was such a thin lotion that it seemed to not give any moisture after a few minutes. I loved the smell of Johnsons night time lotion but it was almost overpowering at times. The Burts Bees lotion is a thicker lotion and Tristan was noticeably calmer after using it the first night. Its nice to know it is a more natural option than what we were using and when we run out we will certainly be buying more! If you have been looking for a more natural option of baby lotion I would highly recommend Burts Bees! 

http://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/baby-mom-moisturizers/baby-bee-nourishing-lotion-calming.html 

Tristans Favorite Books 18month addition

Well, It has been months since I blogged so I thought I would kick off with a new list of Tristan's favorite books.I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to read with your kids and having some favorites to read with Tristan every evening is one of the best parts of my day. We recently bought him his own book shelf and it has really helped his love of reading grow. He knows where his books go at the end of the night and he will go pick out his favorites and bring them to us to read. What mom wouldn't want their child to bring them a book and snuggle down on their lap to read? Now that Tristan is older he is fascinated with learning words and has ditched some of his older books for new ones. Most of the touch and feel books have been replaced with word books. However, he still loves his "pajama time" book and his "Biscuit is Thankful" book. I hope this list inspires you to read with your little ones :) 1. Tristan is in love with this book which is categorized by animals, foods, shapes, colors, transportation etc.

2. This book has tabs which makes it easy for baby to find the page they want and the bright colorful pictures are large and clear. They are categorized into pages of insects, pets, farm animals etc.

3. It has sesame street characters, it rhymes, and its about bath time...whats not to love?

4. The wonderful pictures in this book is what Tristan loves most. They are bright and raised off the page which he loves. The story is kind of long for a toddler so we usually just point out the flowers and animals in the pictures and make our own stories up that are shorter.

Favorite Baby products 12months and up!

It has been awhile since my last list of favorite baby products so I thought I would share another one. Here are a few things that make my life easier, keep Tristan happy, and keep him occupied. The list is pretty short because I didn't include toys and have tried not to duplicate items on my previous lists. Enjoy!

1. Burts Bees Apricot baby oil- This stuff is amazing. I love putting just a little bit in his bath, it makes him smell so good and it clears up the rough patches he gets on his skin, plus it makes my hands soft in the process!

2. Perdue whole grain chicken breast nuggets- out of all the chicken nuggets out there Tristan loves these the most. It makes me feel better about giving him chicken nuggets because the breading is whole grain and it is breast meat. He is usually super picky about his meat but he loves these!


3. Old Navy baby socks- These are the best socks I have found! They stay on Tristans feet and are not too tight around his little legs,plus they are thick enough that he can run around in just socks and not get cold toes!

4. Plastic colander- Seriously the best bath time toy ever.

5. Fruties squeeze baby food- There are a lot of different brands of squeeze baby food but I like these the best because they are always a great price and they have more in them than the Target brand. The only down side is that they are fruit and no vegi flavors but if you are willing to spend a little more you can buy different brands that have vegi flavors. Tristan eats one of these every morning on the way to day care. It keeps him happy in the car :)


6. Huggies Slip on diapers- Honestly I could take or leave the fact that these are slip on. What I like the most about these diapers is the way they fit around the waist and legs. They are more elastic like and keep in the mess!

The rash

Tuesday morning I woke up to a scary sight.At 7am Tristan woke up and his ears were swollen, the back of his neck was swollen and he was covered in red bumps. At first I thought it might be chicken pox because the bumps were small.....and then the bumps started to grow and join together. I knew something was wrong so we were at the pediatrician first thing and found out that he had developed an allergy to penicillin. Tristan still had an ear infection so the nurse practitioner gave him another antibiotic and sent us home with benadryl. I was thinking this was more serious than that but since the nurse wasn't too worried I assumed I was just being a normal mom and freaking out. Boy was I wrong.(At this point I should just say that all moms should just trust their instincts. If you think something is seriously wrong don't let other people pat you on the back and make you feel better when your gut is telling you it is something more serious!) The medicine the nurse had given to Tristan only aggravated the allergic reaction and by the next day we were rushing to urgent care. I can't believe I took Tristan to day care that morning, but the nurse told me it was ok and he was fine! I rushed to get him as soon as they called me at work and Tristan was shaking and his hives had turned hot and red. His whole back was just a blanket of swollen red skin. I called the pediatrician on the way to the daycare and after explaining the situation I was told "the nurse will call you right back". I was already mad that they had sent us away the day before when it was obviously more serious than they made it out to be, so I made up my mind that if the nurse did not call me back by the time I had Tristan in the car we were going straight to urgent care. It was a good choice to go to urgent care because the dr saw us right away, told us the medicine the nurse had given us was a mistake and that children allergic to penicillin are prone to be allergic to that too and gave Tristan a shot right away to kill the allergic reaction. The urgent care dr did not tell us to go back to our pediatrician, he told us to follow up with him as soon as they opened the next morning. On the way home (an HOUR later)the nurse called me back and asked me how Tristan was doing. I told her I had explained the situation on the phone already and we rushed him to urgent care because it was a serious reaction. After I told her this I asked if we should bring Tristan up there to be seen by his dr and she said "no, if you've decided to listen to the urgent care dr you should just do that since he is the one you decided to go to. You could have come here though and we would have fit you in between appointments you do have that option you know. Your message wasn't marked as urgent in my box so I didn't call you back right away, if it was marked as urgent I would have called you sooner." It wasn't so much what she said but how she said it all snotty and like I had done something wrong by quickly getting my child helped...and HOW is "child has fever, is shaking, turning red and covered in hives" not a serious message?!?! I couldn't resist at this moment and I snapped back "Yesterday we came in and his face was swollen and it was obviously serious and we had to wait over an hour to be seen by a nurse. Thats why I took him to urgent care because we couldn't wait" Then I said we would see them at his follow up at the end of the month and hung up the phone. Boy was I MAD. I had gone through my child being traumatized and the nurse had the audacity to question my parenting skills because I didn't go to THEIR dr. Goodbye Parkside Pediatrics. First you gave my son an antibiotic he was allergic to, then you gave him another antibiotic he was prone to be allergic to because you have lack of communciation between your nurses and dr.'s then you were rude to me over the phone and didn't treat my son's condition as serious. I will not be going back to your office or be calling to ask your advice.

out of the loop

I have been terrible about blogging lately, I find myself lacking motivation after a long day at work and then playing with Tristan, getting dinner ready, bath time, story time, bed time...WHeW. I am one worn out mama. I will be beyond glad when Jake is done with academy and is home with me to help out a little bit. There really hasn't been too much going on since the holidays. Tristan is still a total boy and is always wanting to wrestle or climb on something. The sweet cuddly moments are few and far between but I relish them when I get them. I got the nasty flu bug this past weekend and felt like doing nothing at all. My house looks like I haven't cleaned it in a month with toys everywhere and laundry everywhere. The only thing that is clean is the bathroom and the kitchen. I managed to get half my clothes hung up today before Tristan stole my sweet tea and reminded me he is getting to the toddler stage as he laid in the floor and screamed after I took it away from him. Of course there are exciting things happening as well as Tristan grows. This month Tristan has learned "bye bye" and also how to blow kisses and brush his teeth. He no longer cries when I drop him off at day care and he is trying his best to say "duck" since that is his favorite bath toy and he thinks pictures of ducks are funny...go figure.