Thursday, June 26, 2014

Swimming Up An Appetite

We had a tiny break from the humidity today.  It was still hot and humid but just not as bad as it has been.  The quiet before the storm I hear since next week will be in the upper 90's.  It's hard to believe that two years ago around this time we were having such a bad draught and heatwave that nobody could have fireworks for the 4th of July!  Even though it's not the best for house progress, we've been really lucky with intermittent, generous rains.  Farmers at the farmer's market have been saying it has been a perfect season as far as crops go.  Such an awesome thing to hear!

Ayden has a hard time in the mornings during my morning routine sometimes.  He just wants to hit the ground running with playing and naturally wants company (I think a brother will be just the ticket!).  I used to just follow his lead but came to find out that I am able to focus so much better on him and enjoy him so much more when I get those tasks done and out of the way first thing.  They are what keep our household running smoothly and are important.  I started getting down on his level and saying, "It's time for Mommy to do her work and time for Ayden to do his work" and then listing out some possibilities.  It took a while but he is finally catching on. This morning he played with Maverick for a while:

"Take a picture of us, Mommy!"
Mav is a good sport...

And he listened to some audio books.

These are my new best friend.
They give me quiet breaks several times a day.
I ran the vacuum, and then we were off to story time!  We were at the library for about an hour and a half and then walked to a nearby hardware store that carries some of my favorite cloth diaper/baby clothing safe laundry detergent.  Time to wash some baby stuff!  Then we stopped by the grocery store to stock up on fruit before going home for lunch.
During Ayden's nap I relaxed a little (I am almost into territory where I need to nap again which is bumming me out) and then I crossed a couple of things off of my "complete before Baby comes" to do list.

Every six months?
I'm pretty sure I haven't cleaned our Dyson for 2 years...
It was nasty.
Ayden slept for about an hour and a half and woke up in a great mood.

Avocado pudding for an after nap snack!

I threw dinner on the grill and...

Ran through the sprinkler with my little love while we waited for Daddy to get home.
While David went to build after dinner, Ayden and I went to my parents house for a swim.


My sister and her kids came too.  It was a great visit!  Ayden must have swam up an appetite because he ate THREE more chicken legs before going to bed tonight.

Chowing down!
It was a day jam packed with awesomeness.  I'm pretty sure this is shaping up to be the best Summer ever. Logan is going to be the cherry on top!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Keeping Up"
And two years ago today: "Every Age and Every Stage"



Thank you for stopping by Life With the Ladniers!
Please take a second to:
 Subscribe via email, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter so you'll know as soon as a new post is up!
Miss seeing what Ayden is up to everyday?  Follow us on Instagram!
You can find all of the links in the sidebar.

10 comments:

  1. Reading your blog can be so refreshing and sometimes discouraging at the same time. Seeing your child eat is so great!! My child will NOT eat anything. She is extremely picky. I am a perfectionist when it comes to eating well and feeding my family healthy stuff, but the only thing she eats or wants is cheering. I have tried giving her everything I eat thats healthy such as all different meats, veggies, fruits, etc. I am a Paleo eater too but my child wont eat anything healthy....unless you call cheerios healthy. Count your blessings that your child eats what you give him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do appreciate when he eats well! He is a good eater but has his favorites and phases. He hardly eats anything when we have pork chops or steak. BBQ chicken legs on the other hand are one of those favorites! I documented that last night because he never eats that much in one sitting and it was cracking me up! And this is proteins we are talking. There are a lot of veggies that he won't always eat. Someone told me once that if you keep offering a food to a toddler they will eventually try it again, especially if it is a food they previously enjoyed. They had a specific number (20 or something times). Not sure how true it is but keep trying, I bet she'll grow into being a better eater!

      Delete
  2. I also feel discouraged reading this blog. Their life just seems too perfect :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please don't compare your behind the scenes to my highlight reel! I was tired last night and wanted a quick post so I just uploaded all of the photos I took and covered the fun highlights of our day. It was great day but that doesn't mean we didn't have some bad stuff in there too (how transitioning from the sprinkler to dinner ended in a decent sized toddler meltdown for instance...). One of my tools for being a happy person is focusing on the positive. No family has a perfect life but if you choose to focus on the positives at the end of the day it can show you that the good stuff almost always outweighs the bad! I am so sorry that you felt discouraged after reading this post. That was not my intent.

      Delete
    2. I am also nesting big time right now which is making me uncharacteristically productive.

      Delete
  3. I like how you were having an issue with Ayden in the mornings and found a way to resolve it. Good work!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! He is keeping me on my toes...

      Delete
  4. I appreciate your blog because I know how hard it is to eat paleo, especially during pregnancy when cravings are strong. Eating paleo takes hard work, a lot of time and planning and discipline. I am glad Ayden is little enough to appreciate what you serve him and not make a huge fuss about it. I know as a toddler child I did okay eating paleo, but in elementary school, it became hell for me. My parents did paleo for 18 months and I hated dinnertime. I was a very active kid and coming in to the house for what I knew would be some meat and veggie dinner did not thrill me. I began to resent my parents for it because I didnt understand or reason with them about the benefits of paleo. I just knew I was a hungry kid and didn't want to eat like a caveman or look like one for that matter. After 18 months, my mother took me off the diet and I did become happier. I looked forward to dinnertime every night. I knew veggies was always in our meals, but the idea of having whole wheat pizza or speghetti with actual noodles instead of zuchinni noodles was enough to rock my world at the time. I hope Ayden always appreciates his meals and never changes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Do you get the audio books at the library or buy them at a store? I think my little guy would enjoy those too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Both! I had a lot from teaching. I sat with him when I first introduced them and once he put two and two together about the page turn signals and tuning the page he was able to make it an independent activity.

      Delete