Losing a fight to a 15 month old...

It may seem trivial, but I want Katelyn to use different sippy cups. The ones she has been using, have a soft spout and spill when she throws them. I bought new playtex cups from Babies R Us last Monday. Last week she seemed to take to them well so I bought several. However, as time has gone on she rejected them. Today she showed signs of dehydration so I finally gave in and handed her the old sippy cup.

So why does this matter?

It may seem trivial, but how do you get through to a 15 month old who is more stubborn than you are? I am pretty good at holding my ground. In fact, even when its not in my best interest, I will often be stubborn based on principle. With Katelyn only being 15 months old, its difficult to rationalize with her. It also leads to awful days filled with lots of yelling. I couldn't get the idea through to her that the new cups were here to stay. Being the Mom, I don't like to back down on my decisions with her, but today...she won.
Hopefully, with the sippy cup issue, I can try again in a couple of weeks. What do you do to combat the stubborn ways of your children?

Every child needs a pet. Right?

Last week we welcomed Patches into our family. The person who we got her from said she is 8 weeks old. She currently ways 1lb 7ozs and is full of energy. Now that she has proven herself to use the litter box, she is free to roam the house.

Getting a kitten is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Previous living situations would not support the idea of getting a cat. However, now I'm the only one with a vote, and I voted "yes". I was a little unsure of how Kate would respond, but she LOVES Patches.

The day we got the kitten Kate seemed a little freaked out. After watching from afar, she is now in full play mode. She shares her toys with Patches, chases her, "hugs" aka squeezes her, etc. Best of all, this morning, she put Patches in a headlock. Now that's true love ;)

I can't wait to watch them grow up together!

One little jumping bean, jumping on the bed...

This video was taken last week after nap time. Kate doesn't wake up crying like lots of kids do. Most of the time I'm unsure she's a wake for the first 15 minutes. Sometimes she just plays and then will make noise so I know she's there. When I went to get her on this day, she was a jumping bean...

Moments

Working full-time and being a single mom keeps me extremely busy. Sometimes I don't notice the special moments as they happen. Today, I was lucky enough to spend the entire day with Katelyn. We played with blocks, cleaned the house, danced, and did laundry. This afternoon she was abnormally clingy. After a little while this can be frustrating as I'm trying to do things. Then we laid on my bed. It was just supposed to be for a second. Then the best moment of the day happened, Katelyn layed on my chest and hugged me as we layed there. These are the moments I need to try to stop and enjoy as they're happening. They pass by too quickly, but the geniune love that she gives is amazing. I hope that we continue to have little moments like this forever.

Meeting New People

As you know, life has changed dramatically for Kate & I in the last 8 months. This leads me to my new goal. I want to branch out and meet new people. Not just friends for me, but friends for Katelyn as well. This has led to my joining the Fluvanna-Louisa Moms group and the Cville Moms Group that is organized online through Meetup.com. If you're looking to meet people who share a general interest with you and are in your geographic location, this website is great. I've been to one event and really liked it. Now I just need to keep going so I don't feel like the new person to the group. It's nice to talk to other adults while Kate is enjoying herself too. So here's to the new adventure!