Surprise visit

Last week my younger sister and I surprised our older sister Lindsay who lives way too far away from us. Her youngest child is a sweet baby girl-only 7 weeks at the time. Did I mention she also has two very energetic boys ages 2 and 4?

I was able to leave Diva with her Grandma (thanks SO MUCH again Mom!) but brought Lil' Sis' with me. It was an awesome albeit slightly exhausting trip.

The Breakfast Club

This girl never once SAT in that highchair. Evidently showing off her legs was more fun.

These boys are early...early risers. 6 am most mornings. I am not and never will be a morning person.

We visited a mini amusement park. The kids had a blast.

A word about Cindy-my younger sister. She is a wonderful person to have around. She loves her nieces and nephews and never hesitates to lend a helping hand. I know how much teenagers love their sleep but she was also up with those boys every morning, reading stories, getting them dressed, cleaning up their messes. She jokes that once her own children arrive, she'll be too burned out from all the "mothering" she has already done. You'll be a great mother some day Cindy! I really appreciate all that you do. REALLY.



And now pics of my sister's newest addition. Don't let this cuteness fool you. She gives her mommy a run for her money.

And of course:

Everybody be jealous with me K? Third baby....7 weeks old...see where I'm going with this?

Thanks Lindz for letting us crash at your place!

Good thing I had my running shoes on

Let me paint you all a little scene here:

It's almost 9am and I am taking Diva to her day camp. It's only 3 hours two days a week. The entire way over she is screaming.bloody.murder. "I DON'T WANNA GO!!"

Cute right?

We arrive at our destination and I take Lil' Sis' out of the car, go around the other side and let Diva get out on her own. She walks somewhat willingly to the building (but all the while screaming screaming screaming). I let go of her hand for two seconds to open the door and she bolts.

Now this place is on a very busy street. She takes off, first running in circles like a chicken with its head cut off and then down the sidewalk. And trust me when I say, SHE IS FAST. At first I'm kind of bewildered but then I get my whits about me and I run after her (with a 15 month old and a backpack in my arms!!) She sees me running after her and runs faster. Oh my gosh.

And then I realize how smart I was to don my gym clothes before I brought her over.

I'm still running after her and I start laughing because I'm sure this whole scene is absolutely hilarious when you're not participating in it.

Finally I catch her. I pick her up with my free arm, dump her with Tamra (who is awesome) and see that Lil' Sis's shoes fell off in the whole process. Sigh. I pick up her shoes and am walking back to the car when another mother walks out of the building and says, "Your daughter already stopped crying and she's perfectly fine."

In ten years I'll ask Diva why she did the things she does now and hopefully I'll receive a good answer.

Because I like to be informative...

1 year and 20 lbs has been the minimum age and weight requirement before turning your child's carseat around. MINIMUM. Things are changing though and finally the news sources are getting on board and informing parents that children are indeed safer when rear-facing as long as possible.

The American Academy of Pediatrics just recently changed their recommendation to rear-face your kids until the age of 2. Some of you might think it's silly or outrageous but there are facts you need to know:

• Rear-facing is safest for both adults and children, but especially for babies, who would face a greater risk of spinal cord injury in a front-facing carseat during a frontal crash.
  
  
• Rear-facing car seats spread frontal crash forces over the whole area of a baby's back, head and neck; they also prevent the head from snapping relative to the body in a frontal crash.
  
  
• Rear-facing carseats may not be quite as effective in a rear end crash, but severe frontal and frontal offset crashes are far more frequent and far more severe than severe rear end crashes.
  
  
• Rear-facing carseats are NOT a safety risk just because a baby's legs are bent at the knees or because they can touch/kick the vehicle seat.
  
  
• Rear-facing as long as possible is the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatricians, and can reduce injuries and deaths. Motor Vehicle Crashes are the #1 overall cause of death for children 14 and under. http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
  

Read this article posted today on MSNBC for further information.

Now I know rear-facing your kids until age 2 (let alone 4) poses a lot of questions and/or concerns. "My kid weighs 35 lbs at 15 months old and outgrew the rear-facing car seat weight limits!" or "My son's legs are scrunched up so much it looks uncomfortable."

Both are legitimate concerns and the first statement will not be solved until manufacturers get on board and produce car seats with higher rear-facing weight limits. The second statement is easily disputed: It is better for your baby to have a broken leg than a broken neck.

However the statement, "But it's much more convenient for me and my child to forward face," bugs the crap out of me. Safety should always trump convenience.

My now 3 year-old was turned at 17 months because that is when she finally hit 20 lbs. Had I known this information back then I would not have turned her and she would likely still be rear-facing. She is only 29 lbs. My Britax Marathons have a rear-facing weight limit of 35 lbs.

My almost 15 month old is still only about 18.5 lbs but will absolutely remain rear-facing until at least 2 years old. Honestly it's not about the weight. It's the age of the child that is most important. The bones in a baby's (1 year olds are included in the "baby" category") neck are not strong enough to hold their heads back from the force of inertia and can cause internal decapitation. Yeah, it's as bad as it sounds.

Basically children are FIVE TIMES safer rear-facing than forward-facing. Like I said earlier, things are changing and most likely so will the laws.

You don't need to spend a pretty penny to purchase a pretty carseat. All carseats are safe when installed properly. So buy a cheap convertible with a high rear-facing weight limit and make sure it's installed properly. Britax Marathons are pricey but I got good deals off Amazon.com with free shipping. I can suggest many cheaper convertibles if you'd like. Just ask.

Even many pediatricians are not aware of these new recommendations and will give a parent the go ahead to turn their child around once they hit one year AND 20 lbs. It is outdated information.

If all this information still doesn't convince you then hopefully these videos will:





Thanks for reading. It's long but it's a subject I feel passionate about. We can't control everything in life and bad things are bound to happen but many things can easily be prevented if you have the correct information.

Talents

The "Climber"

The "Almost Walker"

The "I'm so cute you could squeeze my guts out"

And the "Actress"

*She told me to take a picture of her sad and then take one of her happy*

Gotta love these crazy girls!

First Official Post

Apparently I'm worthy to actually post on my family's blog now. My wife gave me access to the blog just last week. I feel like I walked into a room where a party has been going on for a while and I'm late on all the topics of conversation. So people stare at you weird when you ask what they are talking about.

Anyway, to bring you up to speed, I will give you a little run down on myself (so you can know the last 1/4 of the bonanza). First, if I could meet any three people, it would be:

1. GOB Bluth
2. Obama
3. My abandoned son

I guess people like to say which 5 people they would like to slap, I only need one, a giant slap to Tyra Banks' face.

Blogging is for venting right? I need to vent for a second.

I guess I'm getting old because I see high school guys in tighter jeans than the girls all the time and I really just don't get it.

To anyone, stop comparing your pets as if they are children. I had a cat when I was in kindergarten, would you trust a 4 yr. old to watch your baby?

I'm doing pretty good with my road rage until I see people texting while driving, then I want to pull a PIT maneuver on them.

Right now my favorite online clips are these two (it changes daily). If you have a spare few moments I think you will enjoy:

SNL Digital Short

Clark and Michael

Thanks for reading. I feel hip.

Comedienne

This morning I was sitting in Diva's bedroom calling her name and trying to get her to get dressed. Honestly sometimes I wish it were socially acceptable to let her walk around naked because clothes are a battle. That's besides the point.

So today I'm sitting there, "Honey please come get dressed. I need you to come get dressed. We need to go soon."

Finally she walks in leans down and puts her hands on her knees like she's about to scold a small child and says,

"Do you need attention?"

It was so out of left field that I just laughed and laughed. Moments like that make the difficult ones much more bearable.

Boobaholic

Lil' Sis is 14 months old today! Time flies!

She is still nursing too and while I don't think 14 months is too old (AT ALL) to still be nursing I decided that *I* would like to be done.

It's a problem though. I think she's addicted. Just when I think I've weaned her down to once in the mornings she gets all whiny on me and wants more. I admit that sometimes I think it's cute and/or amusing when she tries to lift my shirt up and find the goods. Most of the time I can distract her with something else but if she's extra whiny or she hurts herself then nursing is the perfect remedy. It's so easy! *Sigh* I'm just in a vicious cycle I suppose.

Oh and nursing a 14 month old is not so calming and quiet as say nursing a 2 month old is. It turns into an acrobatic session. "Hey mommy look I can stand on my head while holding my toes AND nurse at the same time-aren't I so talented?" uhh....no.

I'm not too worked up about it. I'll be going on a trip without her in August and she MUST be weaned by then. I guess I have some time.