Toddler Must-Haves!

As I walked through the recently beloved Target Baby aisles, I realized how much of the "must haves" I used to search for aren't needed in our house anymore. However, a new collection of go-to items have surfaced into our oversized diaper bag.

Sippy Cups: Jack loves his milk and his ice-cold water. Wherever we go, a sippy cup or two is always in hand. In fact, we bought him a new carseat tonight {in hopes of a happier camper in the car?!!??!!} and it has two...count them, two cup holders! We did figure out tonight, however, that Jack's mastered the skill of sucking through a straw. Now, he can share my water {that is, if I don't mind drinking his goldfish crumbs he leaves behind in the straw...gross!}

Cardboard books: Jack can toss them, chew on them, stack them, and stand on them...and they stay in great shape! No matter when or where, he'll crawl into our lap for a good book. It's definitely a staple in every room in the Krieger house.

Applesauce cups: AAAAAAAAAAAApppplle is usually the first thing Jack says after waking up. Honestly, I believe Jack would eat applesauce for every. single. meal. Swear! Applesauce cups are our friend. We have strawberry/banana, peach, regular, cinnamon, and more stocked in our fridge and in our lazy susan. I usually have a cup or two tucked into our diaper bag, too! Jack. Loves. Applesauce.

Puma velcro shoes: These things are to-die-for! They are velcro, really, really easy to get on, and Jack literally holds them by his feet when he doesn't have them on in attempts to get them on himself. Jack has fat little feet and these little shoes fit perfectly.

Pampers Baby Wipes and Target Diapers have never failed us. I just love the fresh baby scent and sturdiness (is that a word? I'm making it one...) of pampers wipes. Buy them by the case and they last a lifetime...or a month or two. Target diapers are the best invention of all times! They are pretty much leakproof, cheap, and adorably adorned with blue and green polka dots. Highly recommended for ANY baby/toddler out there.

Baby Gap Jeans {or everything}: these things are irreplaceable! Enough said :)

Pillow Pets: it's a pillow, it's a pet, it's a pillow pet! Jack snuggles his little pillow pet and sleeps with it all night long. These could win the most annoying commercial contest, but they could also win the get-my-baby-to-sleep-fast award, too.

Johnson's Baby Wash: tried and true. Not often mentioned or thanked, but this bottle of joy makes our bathtime special. It is gentle on our little guy's eyes, makes him smell like a clean little man, and disintegrates all the spaghetti, applesauce, and boogers that may be left on him when he hops in the tub. Just a squirt or two and he's all clean! Thanks for an amazingly simple but wonderful body wash.

As our little dude gets older, he needs a whole heck of a lot less. Now, a sippy cup, a single diaper, and stack of wipes and we're out the door! It's fun to watch him grow and change. We're working on the word no, animal names and sounds, and of course patty-cake. Oh the adventures of mommyhood :)

Vrooooom!

...is the sound Jack makes the instant he spots a matchbox car anywhere. It's the cutest. little. noise.

I know I've always said this, but this HAS to be my favorite Mommy stage so far. Jack is predictable. Here's a little glimpse into our family routine...

We splish and splash in the bath tub around 6:45. He falls asleep at the flip of a dime at 7 o'clock no matter when or why. He wakes back up right around 7 a.m. to a tiny bowl of cereal and a sippy cup of milk. He plops into my lap and makes towers with my hairspray bottles. We kiss goodbye and I'm off for work. I head to the gym for a quick 30 min workout - drive as fast as I can to pick him up for daycare, and cook and play until Daddy gets home. Then, we trample around the messes that Jack makes EVERYWHERE. He bites into toilet paper rolls, smears his hands all over my stainless steel appliances, and drops every other bite of his food onto the floor for our little doggie. What a good sharer! We have crazy little dance parties to I'm Sexy and I Know It, I know...family friendly song, right?!

I wouldn't trade a day in the life for ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING!

Jack's milestones change everyday. Here's a little update:

Jack can say: Mama, Dada, Vroooom, Apple (about 100 times a day), Yuckkkk, nana (who has any idea what that means), pa ca (patty cake), and much, much more. He is such a chatter! He's usually wandering around the house speaking jibberish and we just shake our heads and say "Oh yeah. Sounds great little dude!"

Jack LOVES to put things in and out of bowls, baskets, tubs, garbages, anything really. His favorite toy of the time is his little piggy bank. He puts bright coins in one-by-one and does it all over again. This is the one toy that may entertain him for awhile. :)

Jack absolutely is NOT into T.V., movies, or anything of that nature...this is sure to change, right?!

Jack HATES, no let's say he DESPISES riding in the car. UGH! He is such a mover and groover that sticking him in a carseat and making him stay there is utter baby torture - you'd think by his cries anyway. We've taken away pacifiers since he was 12 months old -- and I know they'd save us the trouble in the car. But, I'm trying to keep to our no paci rules. We've tried cars, food, portable dvd players, sunglasses, baby music, everything. So far, a Parent's magazine nursery rhymes cd will do the trick for a little while. Otherwise, it's ear plugs for us, and a good clearing out of Jack's lungs for our toddler.

Jack has become quite the momma's boy {no complaining, here!} Eric has always been very hands-on, so it makes us both sad to see Jack absolutely love me more...for now anyway. He always wants me to hold him, pick him up, and he snuggles into my lap all. the. time. It's a melt-my-heart situation that I hope never changes. Oh, and he's also a huge snuggler still. At daycare, other kiddos moms pick Jack up after they drop their kiddos off and snuggle -- just because they love that he's such a huggy dude. He clutches on and would literally stay in your arms all day long.

We love our cool little dude.

Followers?

Hey, you!

Yes...you.

I need your help.

I've been writing my little life story on this blog for months now...and I'm up to a whopping 12 followers. :)

IF:

You read my blog.
Have a google account (or any email).
Can see the little "join this site" button at the top of this page.

YOU:
Should become a follower! Click on "join this site" and in a few quick steps you'll be a follower.

I'd also LOVE to follow your blog if you write one, too!

Follow....follow! Give me some inspiration to keep snapping pictures, pouring my heart onto this little website, and more. I'm hoping for I don't know...maybe 30 followers? You definitely don't have to have a blog yourself. All you need is an email, really.

Sincerely yours,

Jenni :) AKA - The Krieger family blogger

UPDATE! 13 followers :) Keep it coming, readers!!!

I feel like a big kid now...

We have a REAL office. Not an office with a teeny desk and piles of unorganized and brightly colored kids toys, but an office with a corner desk and a bookshelf.

We've lived in this house almost a full year {gasp, time goes fast}! Our last priority? The den/I'm not sure how I plan to use this space/office. However, it does happen to be the first thing anyone sees as they enter our house. We hand selected bedroom furniture, hung artwork and set family pictures in the many empty spaces. Finally, our efforts turned to our empty, cluttered, and lifeless room.

We ventured to Homemakers last Saturday in hopes of getting some inspiration for Jack's 'big kid' room. I know...that sounds crazy...but he's growing out of his crib faster than we can lower it. (Moms out there you know how that is)! I've got an idea of what I want for his room -- and I think a little trip to IKEA will do the trick.

So...we wandered around to the office furniture section. We found this cute corner desk. For the first time in nearly 11 years, we both agreed it was the one. Maybe it was the squirmy one-year-old dying to move and groove, or maybe it was our uncanny ability to move quickly now that we're parents-on-the-go, or maybe it was the steal of a deal Homemakers was offering? Either way, we stuffed a new antique black hutch, corner desk, and library shelf into the Venza and were off.

After seven {yes, I said seven} hours of putting each and every piece in the right spot...our office was complete. Did you know Homemakers also has amazing accessories, too? Take a look!

My favorite part...

What office isn't complete without a stocked wine fridge? =)

It was fun to browse through old textbooks like Literature and the Child and Strategic Management -- clearly Eric and my interests are so very different.

I've always dreamed of having shelves for our college textbooks to be displayed on. I've always wanted the perfect spot for our wedding album. And, I've never had so many places to cram baby toys in without being able to see them. :)

Big kids have real offices, right? If so, I'm a big kid now!

First BIG owie!

So...

We have an amazing gas fireplace in our living room that turns on by the click of a switch. Phenomenal, right? Well, it was...until Jack bumped into it when it was running!

We splished and splashed during bathtime, dried off, and were getting ready for Jamma-time! I decided to put Jack's pjs on near the fireplace to keep him warm. He wriggled and jiggled away from me and bonked his little head! He didn't make a peep...but I had a feeling we'd find something.

Sure enough, the next morning we found this:
OUCH! I felt terrible. My poor little guy.

It's already scabbed over (which I've read is a good thing) and is already starting to heal.

When we're out and about we get lots of looks and questions. Yes, people, he has an owie. He ran into our fireplace and sizzled the tip of his nose and his forehead. No biggie.

He doesn't seem to mind :)





He CHEESES for the camera now-a-days...so it's hard to choose which pictures I like. I love them all!

Here's to many more bumps and bruises. Everyone said "get ready, he's a boy". Boy, were they right!

Jack's First Girlfriend

Is Pam. Yep. Pam.

I know, I know, he's only one, right?

{By the way, now that Jack's one...I refuse to count his age in months. So, he's one for a long, long time. Then, after a long, long time, he'll be two =) }

Jack LOVES to open cupboards. He's discovered our lazy susan, and it's his newest favorite place -- for this week I'm sure.

Everyday, and I mean everyday, we find Jack with our spray can of Pam. He snuggles it, chomps on it, and drops it, picks it up, and starts all over again.

We've decided it's his first girlfriend.

Dear Sally Hansen...

Whoever invented Insta-dry is an absolute genius.

Seriously, you paint on the color {with a rounded bristle brush, so you don't smear nail polish all over your skin instead of your fingernail} and it's dry in seconds! Literally seconds.

If you're a busy mom, a full-time student, a strung-out-on-caffeine because you're so busy kind of a gal - you MUST, and I mean MUST invest in this nail polish. It's an absolute must-have!

So, thank you Sally Hansen. You made my nail-polishing-with-a-toddler-attempting-to-eat-it experience quick, easy, and spill-free.

I. must. buy. more.

The color I bought was called Slick Slate. It's slick alright.

I just realized...

...that I love to learn.

I know, cliche. I am a teacher, after all.

Today, I mentioned to Eric that 'The Batchelor' is trying to look like a modern day Romeo. Eric replied with "Where for art thou, Romeo"? I repeated it, said it out loud again, and then chunked it out. I figured out, after many years of hearing it, that it took a LONG time to say something way back when. So many extra words. Why do we not talk like that anymore? Who decided "thou" will now be "you"?

I'm such a thinker. I didn't just chuckle and move on. I had to think about it! It's a blessing and an annoyance all at the same time.

I obsessively 'Google'. It's my absolute crutch. When I drive past a co-op and have no idea what it is -- Google. {It's a storage/distribution for grains} When I can't remember how to spell coincidence -- Google.

Last weekend, we watched the movie "The Help"...a wonderfully disturbing movie. In the middle I made Eric stop, rewind, play again and again...all so I could figure out what "taking a pencil to the toilet paper" was. {it's when white people would put pencil marks on the toilet paper to make sure the helpers weren't using their bathroom}

I. Love. Learning.

Kudos to Google for being my one-stop shop for answers. Thanks to Eric for thinking along with me. And, we've got a mini-thinker on our hands. I hope, through our adventures of continually figuring out this life, we instill a love for learning in our little.

"You learn something everyday IF you pay attention."

- Ray LeBond

It's the little things...

The trees are neatly packed away. The snowmen are nestled into their home away from home: a rubbermaid tote tucked into our basement. The lights are wrapped up and stacked underneath the stockings and ornaments.

After putting away all of our Christmas decor I realized something: my walls, shelves, and tables are BARE!

A spur-of-the-moment text brought Autumn to Des Moines...and we were on a DIY mission. As a new found addict to Pinterest, my to-do house list is filled to the brim. I was dying to finish up my scrapbook paper canvases to add color to my living room. Instead of painting, I decided I'd fill it with colorful accents. {only because I'm too scared and have never found the perfect teal for a living room}

So, after a day filled with shopping, lunch, and lots and lots of Mod Podge, here's the finished, much more 'homey' house.

The middle one is scrapbook paper! :)

It's the little things that make a house a home. I definitely feels good to be home.

A countdown of 2011

January...

was filled with a new mommy getting used to being a full-time working mom! I struggled through transitioning back to teaching and balancing Eric, Jack, work, and time for everyone else. I went out for the first time without my little guy and was spoiled by my students decorating my entire classroom with birthday surprises!

February...

house construction time! We drove past our house almost everyday. Once a week, or so, we'd trudge through the house with a tiny baby in his carseat, a flashlight, and a video camera. We captured every little step of our house being built. It's surreal to look back and realize our home wasn't even here this time last year!

March...

was move-in month! We closed on our house that we built. We unpacked, decorated, and cozied into our brand new home. I transitioned from breastfeeding to formula feeding, and I settled more and more into my role as a 'working mom'.

April/May...

included lots of baby milestones including sitting up, baby food concoctions, and detailing every little minute of Jack on this blog. I'm SO glad I did this...it's fun to go back and read. I already forgot some of the things I wrote about on here...

June...

grad school started. Who knew what I was getting myself into? I am so glad that I took one of the harder classes in a condensed summer version. Our five year wedding anniversary! Time flies when you're having fun :)

July...

SUMMERTIME! Jack and I spent the WHOLE summer under the sun. We splashed around at several different pools, went on at least one walk a day, and swung in the little park across the street from our house all the time. Summer was also filled with lots of interior decorating and little projects here-and-there.

August...

included a little getaway to Chicago and then it was back-to-school! This year has been fabulous. The kids are outstanding and it's a nice relief to not be taking a large chunk of school off this year. It was hard to give up all of my time with Jack, but I definitely LOVE my job.

September...

will forever be remembered as the month I got my NEW CAMERA. Exciting I know :) It's almost hard to look back at tiny baby Jack pictures without my new camera. I wish I had it before he was born!

October...

our first Halloween as a family, our first trip to a pumpkin farm, and our first holiday in our new neighborhood. We had a blast!

November: Jack turned ONE! We celebrated with a small little birthday party with our very closest family and friends.

December: A whole lotta toys filled our house after another great year of holiday gatherings. We bounced around from place to place parading our little munchkin. We filled our house with not one, not two, but three Christmas trees.

It's so fun to look back at what the last year has brought. It's crazy how much changes in a short 12 months.

This year we look forward to:

1. More adventures with are almost-toddler. Man we love you, Jack!

2. A spring break trip somewhere tropical -- since Eric's never been on a plane! ;)

3. Landscaping adventures this summer.

4. Being half-way through my grad. program.

5. Our SIXTH wedding anniversary, my 26 {Gasp, old!} and Eric's 27th birthdays.

Cheers to a wonderful 2012!