Oh No! I Blinked! (and Babyproofing Tips)

I've always heard that kids grow up fast, but it's easy for me to remember back to my own childhood and remember how desperately I craved to be a grownup. The time between events like holidays, seasons, and birthdays seemed to drag on forever, and the concept of a year was as huge to me as a billion dollars is today - a concept I just couldn't fathom.

Now that I am on on the other end, I know exactly what everyone was always talking about...

Several months ago, I sent a box of clothes to our nanny's sister. In the box, I included a set of my favorite onesies -  blue/white striped with a bug and a surfboard on top,  solid green with a rocket ship,  orange and white stripes one a shark, light blue solid with a fire truck and a red one with baseballs...

Last week her baby arrived and this is the first picture she sent to all her friends....

Welcome Baby H - Born 7/21/12

F in the red one...his chin covering up the decal

Even though this picture was taken in December, I can barely remember him being this small! His head was still floppy and he had no idea what those things were at the ends of his arms and legs. My, how far we've come.

For the past two weeks, F has been training to be a marine. He's been doing near-perfect planks...

 He seems to think he can crawl on tippy-toes without his knees touching the ground. Even though he frequently falls into a face plant, he gets back up and tries again and now gets to where he wants to go. 

So, I wouldn't be at all surprised if, by his 11 update, he's in full crawling mode. It's only a matter of time.

What's a parent to do? Call the baby proofer...of course!

Yesterday, we had an appointment with a professional who (at least according to him) is only one of six guys in the country who is certified as a "Master Baby Proofer." He spent THREE HOURS in our home going from top-to-bottom making recommendations.

Most of what he suggested were things I would have guessed...put childproof locks on all drawers and cabinets, gates at the bottom and top of all staircases and other areas that should be off-limits, secure any furniture they can use as a "ladder."

There are some things he said that rang very true with us:

1. He's been doing this a long time and know what works and what doesn't. Many times parents will try to do it themselves, then call him when items don't perform as they should or the kids figure them out in 15 seconds.

2. The right time to babyproof is NOW. If you wait too long and the kids are mobile already, they will figure things out rather quickly.

3. Skip the "outlet plugs" and replace them with outlet covers like this one:

http://www.totsafe.com/proddetail.asp?prod=205

4. Think about where you place food in the fridge (yes, he opened our fridge...and I just happened to have cleaned it out yesterday morning because today was our "cooking day" - we've been doing two-week menu planning to avoid the "What do you want for dinner?" question at the end of a long workday. More on that in another post). For the time being, you'll be cutting up food for them. But, if they go into the kitchen by themselves, they may open the fridge and see cherries (yes, I had bought cherries yesterday) and eat one whole.

The solution - a gate is going up between the kitchen and the living room, and the kids won't be allowed in there without an adult (which also solves two other problems: 1) I hope it will cut down on my trips to the kitchen too; 2) our dog door and dog feeding area is in the kitchen - so the dogs can be let into the kitchen to eat / get out and the kids will stay out of their way. This doesn't mean that we still won't babyproof in the kitchen - just that it will be an "off limit" area at most times.

5. Babies and offices do not mix. Since our house has an open floor plan and I work in our loft, I have decided to put up a gate so that the entire loft is "off limits." Our guest room on the main level will become the play room, they will have access to the living and dining rooms. Eventually, if we stay in this home, we will build an office and extra bedroom in the loft...but we're not sure at this point because the schools are so/so.

Here is what I found not to be true:

1. Many of the products are items that are only available to professional baby proofers. Yes - this may be true for a few items. But for many, when I did a quick search of the Internet,  I found the same pictures he used in his presentation.

2. He wanted to put a custom gate around our fireplace that he quoted us around $450. There is really only one company that makes this gate - Kid Co. - and when we priced it ourselves, it was closer to $200. So, needless to say he won't be doing that. Yes, maybe we won't install it as "pretty" as he would have, but if it protects the kids, it's done it's purpose. Also, we'd never burn a fire in our wood stove without us being in the same room - so the gate will give us peace-of-mind if a child falls or one pushes the other. I think we can put up the gate ourselves to accomplish this task.


Here's some things that he said that surprised me and recommended that I might not have thought about...

1. (And this one SHOCKED me...) 90% of the homes he visit don't have fire extinguishers! If you have a small child in your home (and even if you don't)...buy ABC fire extinguishers, please!

2. Since we live within 3 miles of a fire station, don't waste money buying a ladder. Do go out on the deck, though.  In the time it would take for the fire trucks to arrive and bring a "safer" ladder, it's not worth trying to climb down one with a wriggling child.

3. For their bath, purchase:

Skip Hop Bath Faucet Cover

http://www.amazon.com/Skip-Hop-Spout-Cover-Whale/dp/B001WAJVZM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343611416&sr=8-1&keywords=skip+hop+whale

Tub Side Guard

http://www.safebeginnings.com/WebComponents/Catalog/Public/showproduct.asp?id=247&cat=Childproofing

Extra Long Bath Mat

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=536513&cmSource=Search

4. For bi-fold doors, purchase these:

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=7771&cmSource=Search

5. For our "regular doors," he wanted us to purchase these $90 contraptions:

http://fingersafe.com/

But, after being at my sister's house last week with a 2 1/2 year old and a baby who is just a couple months older than the Twinks, I am confident that a combination of Door Monkeys:

http://www.amazon.com/Door-Monkey-Childproof-Pinch-Guard/dp/B004ECJWK4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343612404&sr=8-1&keywords=door+monkey

and Safety 1st Finger Pinch Protectors:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202698041/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=safety+1st+door&storeId=10051

will do the trick (trusting that EVERYONE who enters our home will use them).

So, in the end I think it's going to make the most sense to do some of the stuff ourselves (like purchase some items) and have him do the things that we:

1. Don't have time to do, like replace all our outlet covers and install drawer/cabinet locks (at $4.50 per cabinet lock and $4.00 per outlet cover, I found his prices to be very reasonable).

2. We want "done right" like installing gates at the top / bottom of the stairs, and tying down furniture.

So, there you have it...within the next couple weeks, we will try to make our home as safe as we can for two toddlers.

If you have any feedback or ideas about how you baby proofed your home, I'd love to hear them!

Now, what do we do when they're teenagers? Anyone? Anyone?

Random Thoughts

Just got back from visiting family and friends on the East Coast, so I thought I'd do a brief "brain dump" and catch up with a more detailed post later this week...

1. For those of you who have been following our embryo adoption, last Friday was a big day! Be sure to click the link at the top left  to Jen's blog and send her lots and lots and lots of baby dust!

2. Thank you for all the warm notes many of you sent regarding the tragic event in Aurora last Thursday night. Between drought, fires and now this, it's been a difficult summer for us in Colorado. They say some events come in 3's...so hope this was the last one.

3. Maybe it's just me, but does anyone else find belly stickers like the ones on http://www.stickybellies.com/ for pregnant women and / or kids for their first year ridiculous? I never would have thought of that...and now  wonder what the market is like for this product. I suppose it's what you can buy for the mom / kid who has everything...

4. Yeserday, so that the Twinks could meet family and friends, my Dad hosted a beatuiful brunch in New Jersey at a restaurant overlooking Manhattan. My close friend was there with his wife and their two daughters - one adopted from China and the other from Russia. It didn't occur to me until I saw this picture that my friend posted last night, but his 14-year-old daughter looks like she could be F's sister...possibly even more than G!

5. My DH took our labs to the vet this weekend because our old boy is starting to show pain in his hips. While he was at it, we did their annual checkup since it was about due.

Our poor baby is down in around 50 lbs. and our "new dog" (who just celebrated her one year adopt-a-versary with us and we think is around 6 years old) is 87 lbs! So, one dog is now allowed to eat ice cream and cake...and our other dog is officially on a diet with me.

Happy Monday!

Eating, Teeth, Baths and a New 'Do

Fun weekend celebrating DH's birthday.

Friday night, we hired a babysitter and went to see Buddy "Cake Boss" Valestro's road show. At least once a week, we gather round the TV to watch Buddy and La Famigila make amazing creations and bring smiles to his adoring fans.

To memorialize the occasion, I decided to cut my hair in a bob...just like Grace, Buddy's sister...

Morning hair

Afternoon hair - it's shorter in back

OK...I didn't really cut it for seeing Buddy.

I had planned to cut it off for awhile...especially since it's been so stinkin' hot this summer and F&G are now at a point where they compete to see who could grab a larger chunk of Mommy's hair and pull it harder. G likes to grab one piece on each side and pull me toward her face so she can give me kisses (which is more of a tongue bath).
Yesterday, during the day, we made our weekly Costco run. Since it was around lunchtime, we decided to have lunch at the Costco Cafe. As soon as we sat down, G started screaming like someone told her unicorns weren't real...so even though she had just eaten two hours before, I knew it was time to eat again...and NOW! So, while my DH sat with the babies and started lunch, I went to the car to retrieve bottles. On my way back, I passed a cart with an adorable little boy sitting in the front of his Mom's cart. He couldn't have been much older than the Twinks. He had baby-fine, bleach-blond curly hair and it looked like he either just woke up from a nap or stuck his fingers in a socket.

As he saw me pass with the two bottles, he pointed his finger and said "Ba! Ba!, Ba! Ba!" I don't think his parents heard him, but I did...and I felt like the Wicked Witch of the West. My heart just broke in two.

Last night, we hired a sitter again and went out for a nice steak dinner. About an hour before the sitter arrived, both babies got crabby. So, I just added water.

Nothing says "weekend" like a sink full of babies!

It calmed them right down. In fact, they fell asleep when the sitter arrived at 6:30 pm and she said they didn't even wake up for their 8 pm bottle! I was concerned they might wake up during the night, but nope...they both slept right through until 6:30 am like usual. Superstars!

Today, I gave each of them a pouch of fruit smoothie. F kept grabbing at his, so know what? I decided "What the heck...let him have it and squirt it all over himself. No big deal."

Guess what? He got a couple drops on his face, but 99% of that smoothie ended up in his tummy. 

Just to please Mommy and give her a good picture, I did squirt a little on my forehead and chin, but I didn't have to...really.


He even figured out that when he squeezed all the fruit from the top, he had to squeeze it up from the bottom. I swear that little boy is scary smart and we're in BIG, BIG trouble.

In other news, F's right front top tooth poked through his gums on Friday. I don't think G's is far behind. I can almost feel it cutting through.

Hope you all had a great weekend! Enjoy the week!

We're Eight Months - A Post by F

These are the best of times...these are the best of times...

Seven months was so much fun! It was time to focus more on "being" and less on "doing." What do I mean? Well, between June and July we took time to grow, and laugh, and play...but didn't worry about impressing Mom and Dad with too many new skills or tricks.

For starters, we both got mostly new wardrobes. We grew out of many of our 6-month clothes and and are now wearing our 9-month clothes.

G finally understands why I love my jumperoo so much. Now, Mom and Dad will put us each in one, and we'll have a jumperoo challenge! First, I'll jump flat footed as high as I can, then G will show off her Irish step dances / entrechats. Between you and me, with her strawberry-blond hair and fancy footwork, she sometimes reminds me of a leprechaun.

As for me, I now know how turn the pages of my book and read to myself.



L-A-M-B...Lambee!

Speaking of reading, Mom and Dad took us to the library. We like to go out, and listen to stories, so you'd think it would have been the perfect combination. However, the stories that night must have been boring because we both fell asleep.

That's us, upstage right, in our car seats.

We have been talking much, much more. I've mastered my B's and D's and am working on my M's. G likes to practice her Oooooooo's and Ohhhhhh's.

Coffee talk on the sofa

Mmmmmmmmmme!

Oooooooooo!

Ohhhhhhhhhh!

With talking, also comes singing - and I am a great singer!

You know the game "Separated at Birth?" Let's Play! Guess who I am...

In the midnight hour, she cried more, more more!

With a rebel yell, I cried more, more, more!

Let's play again! Try to guess this one...

And I ran...

...I ran so far awaaaaaay!

G has a fantastic imagination and likes to create her own games...

In this game, each time she eats me, she wins a point! Not sure if I like this one...

...and in this one she has to catch my toes and pull of my socks!

Got one! Now working on the other!



We are both learning to crawl. When we are on our bellies, we push and push and push with our legs. I've figured out that if I can get roll into just the right position and put my feet against something like a wall or my nanny, I can push off and go farther. My sister likes to lift her torso way, way, way up off the floor and use her hands to spin in circles. She doesn't mind being on her stomach, but sill doesn't like to roll over. A few nights ago, she rolled from her tummy to her back for the very first time (and it looked like she did it intentionally), but Mom is convinced crawling will come before rolling for her.

Although I've been standing (with Mom or Dad holding me) since about two months old, I am still learning my balance and can't sit up. G likes to be upright and look around...

I have a secret to share....shhhh...don't tell....

Late at night, G has been climbing out of her crib and sneaking down to the basement to read Dad's comic books. Know how I know? Well, because this month, she decided that she'd like to learn...



How to fly like a superhero!

 (never mind how I figured that out...just look out the window...right grandma?)

Eating is still one of our favorite activities. Baby guac (i.e. - avocado) is still my very, very favorite. However, this month I finally got to try...

PEACHES!!!!

And our nanny boiled some blueberries for us so they wouldn't be bitter.

Oh that made me thirsty...time for a drink.

Last month I told you we can hold our own bottles...well that got boring, so I taught myself how to palm my bottle! Grampa M, aren't you proud of me? Someday you can watch me in the NBA playoffs!

F Jordan!

Remember this picture?

Well, we now both graduated to the kitchen sink...

Once again...my own personal hot tub!

Making G brew!

Between writing, eating, changing costumes and getting a bath, I'm just about worn out...

Phewwwwww....

Until next month...peas out!

~ F