-
Advice I’d Share With Myself As A New Mom
I came across a note from a year ago on my phone. It had a list of things I had written down that I wanted to remember if I had the opportunity to have another child. I read through it and thought it may really help a new Mom, so I wanted to share. I called it “Notes To Myself.” SLEEPNo matter how hard you try to conquer baby and toddler sleep, there will be phases that are hard. Relax and follow your gut instead of google. Stop stressing so much and go to bed early instead of staying up. I know “you time” is tempting, but sleep is vital.…
-
15 Most Played With Toys For 1-2 Year Olds
1-2 year olds are generally a little easier to buy toys for because they probably don’t have too many yet (but just wait, all the toys are coming lol). This was a fun age to buy toys. I felt like I was just as excited as my son was when he got something new! Here are our top 15 most played with toys for the 1-2 year old age. Again, he had many more favorites, these are just the things he played with over and over again. I hope this helps you with some toy ideas for those 1-2 year olds in your life! -Nicole
-
20 Most Played With Toys For 2-3 Year Olds
Sometimes it’s hard to know what gifts will get a lot of use with kids. I’m going to share our favorite gift ideas for 2-3 year olds that are tried and true! I now have a 3 year old son and these were his most played with toys over the past year. Disclaimer: Make sure to read the ages on toys. Things like kinetic sand and magna tiles say 3 and up, but my son loved playing with them around 2.5. We just played with him. He also didn’t put a ton of things in his mouth at that age. So you just have to know your child. There are…
-
10 Toddler Hacks Every First Time Parent Needs To Hear
Some days I’ll think to myself, wow, I’m doing pretty good at this parenting thing and other days I’m running for the door as soon as my husband gets off of work. I know most Mom’s understand this feeling–especially if you have toddlers that have started throwing tantrums. My son is almost 3 and around 2.5 he started going through those developmental changes of wanting to “test Mom and Dad.” I’ve learned that as you go through different stages, there are different tips and hacks that can help make your life so much easier. Here are some of my favorite parenting hacks for the toddler stage. As you read through these,…
-
Overcoming The Tough Stuff: Burnout/Anxiety/Sickness/Etc.
Yikes. The last month has been tough. Actually Fall through Christmas was tough and during Christmas my body literally just said enough. I experienced some total mom burnout, anxiety, some family losses, a major job change for my husband (a great one, but still a big change), and we were dealing with getting random weird little bugs all Fall and then covid. My son, Luke, also turned 2.5 during this time, and let me tell you what, that is no joke lol. The 2’s started lovely and then bam, threw me for a major loop with learning how to navigate the tantrums and how to discipline and all the other…
-
Stay-At-Home Mom Schedule With a Toddler
Wondering what a SAHM (stay-at-home Mom) does all day? Before I became one, I wondered the same thing. I was really looking forward to slow, relaxing days, sipping coffee and baby snuggles, but reality set in quick and I realized it was a lot more challenging than I thought. At first, to be honest, I really struggled. I was dealing with some postpartum anxiety from lack of sleep and just in general the major change that motherhood brings, and was having a really hard time being alone everyday. When you leave a career to stay home, it is almost like your whole life as you know it completely flips upside…
-
5 Simple Tips To Make A Road Trip With A Toddler Easier
We took a long road trip with our 2 year old last week. I was not super excited to drive a long distance because past trips have not been fun–lots of whining and crying. During this trip, we had a very short crying spell on the way there because he only napped for 10 minutes, but other than that, he did wayyy better than past trips. On the way home, there was almost zero whining or crying (and still no nap). I chalk this all up to lots of activities and snacks. Before this most recent trip, I wouldn’t have called him a great traveler, but we took lots of…