Trunk-or-Treat (or Halloween Round 1)

I know, I know, it's almost Thanksgiving and I'm just now getting these pictures up. In my defense, school has been keeping me busy....ish. Actually, being honest, I blame The Walking Dead for my lack of posting. Can't. stop. watching. 

Halloween was really fun this year, probably one of my favorites because Henry was really into everything. He really got it this year! In fact, he's still talking about Halloween costume ideas and nights when he's going to go trick-or-treating again. Sorry that you can't understand time, kid. A year is a long time away. We did a ton of Halloween related activities this year, including the local Trunk-or-Treat at the YMCA and we're still eating our way through all of the candy our cute little puppy brought home. We're at that stage where all of the Reeses and Crunch Bars are gone and all that's left is the gross stuff like DumDums and Smarties. Maybe Pinterest has some craft you can make out of Starbursts or a way to clean your dirty pans with Sweet Tarts?!

Hullabalu Review

I was pretty stoked when Hullabalu contacted me about reviewing one of their stuffed animals. Henry is kind of a freakazoid when it comes to stuffed animals. Like, make them talk/carry them around and tell everyone he's the "mama" kind of freak. With that being said, he's still pretty picky about the ones that get to stick around. Not everyone makes the cut (sorry Bat Beanie Baby circa 1999, I guess I was the only one who thought you ruled). 

If you haven't seen the Hullablu cuteness yet, you should! Their animals are awesome, with big eyes and super soft fur. There's a ton of creatures to choose from so obviously there's something for every kid (Henry fell in love with a dragon before choosing a bushy tailed fox). If anything, go to their site just to ohhhh and awww over the layout. CUTE. 

Hullabalu sent us a fox named Nigel and for Henry it was love at first sight. I'm being totally honest with y'all, seriously if a product sucked or didn't go well over here, I would tell you. BUT HENRY DOESN'T LET THIS FOX OUT OF HIS SIGHT. Lucky for Nigel he's seen every part of Savannah. Not so lucky for Nigel? He has to sleep with a sweaty kid who drools/pees all over him every night. But he's loved. So loved. So I'm sure he doesn't care.

Hullabalu is a new company. They're working on an interactive iPad app that will feature your child's animal in an animated story. I think that's pretty cool. They've given me a personal referral link so that you can check them out too. Here's the code:  hullabalu.com/invite/7GCPH4VSWG.

You can access their website by clicking the button on the right side of my blog or visit their Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/hullabalu.

And now....Henry and Nigel:

Nigel slides, Daddy bikes!

Thanks for the new friend, Hullabalu! 

Sad Day

Photo by Lindsey Hall

Help, My Kid is a Brat!

You guys, I am at a complete loss. Henry has always been a super strong-willed child and although it drives me crazy sometimes, I have always loved that part of his personality. These days that fiery personality of his seems to be taking over the entire house. All hail King Henry! Up until now, the occasional timeouts, "take a deep breath"-s, and taking away toys/movies/iPad/whateveryounameit have been an effective form of discipline (but I admit we weren't on top of it as much as we could have been). Lately? Not so much. BOOOOO!

When we tell Henry he has to go to time out, he smiles and says, "Okay!" and then walks himself right on over like NBD mom. When we give him the choice to either follow directions or go to timeout, what do you think he chooses? Timeout. Duh. It's like every technique we've used in the past is quickly loosing its value. And to make it all even more tricky, his behavior is just as rapidly getting more out of control.

Henry is a totally sweet boy, such a lover. He definitely goes through phases of good and bad like all toddlers. I'm just worried that while he's busy testing us, we're missing the chance to teach him an important lesson that will help him learn how to control his temper and act out of love and kindness.

We're so not okay with spanking and we can't afford to hire a super nanny so I'm turning the question over to you, my readers. I know Henry's behavior is common for this age and I'm curious about how other moms are handling it all. What positive discipline techniques work for you and your child? What books, websites, video series, etc. would you suggest? What do you do when timeout stops working? In other words: OMG HELP ME! 

An Oldie

Oh my lord, was Henry really this small at one point? Sheeeesh.

At Least He's Honest...

Henry just said, "I pooped mama. I pooped and my poop is diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis BIIIIG!"

Oatland Island Wildlife Center

I love taking Henry to the wildlife center because he can be a crazy kid and nobody cares. It's awesome that he can run through the woods, collect handfulls of pinecones, and chase squirrels up the trees. It's just fun watching him be a little boy with no social restraints. Savannah doesn't offer many activities for young families but this place is pretty alright. I only took pictures of dumb old farm animals but I swear they have cooler things like eagles, wolfs, and baby bobcats. Bonus: Henry leaves exhausted so he takes a super long nap! 

On Baby Hair

Ooooooh, these little curls of his! Henry was born completely bald, like no fuzz or anything, and we waited so patiently for his hair to grow. Once it got longer, these ringlets started forming and I was in love. These curls represent his toddlerhood. I love watching them bounce as he runs across the playground and wrapping them around my fingers as he snuggles me before bed. 

Now that his hair is getting longer, Henry is mistaken for a girl 95% of the time. Adults smile at him and say, "Awww, you have such a gorgeous little girl!" or, "Look at her curls!" And one time a kid on the playground said, "Oh...heee-sa boy?!" I've even had complete strangers tell me that I should cut his hair! OKTHANKS. Since when is it ever totally awesome to tell another parent what they should or should not do? And seriously? Did you even look at what my kid is wearing?

 It obviously doesn't bother Henry and I'm getting used to people assuming he's a "she" but it's frustrating to me when people think they know better than I do when it comes to my own kid. I understand people make mistakes. I can think of a couple times I have incorrectly guessed the gender of a stranger's baby. The only difference is, I would never suggest to a stranger that they should dress their kid more girl-ish or give their toddler a haircut. Henry will get a haircut eventually, but until then, I see nothing wrong with keeping these precious curls around for a little bit longer. I don't want to be so quick to rush past these years, time already pushes me faster than I'd like. 

Hey Fall.

It's actually cold today! Like, it's actually fall. Thanks Savannah for finally catching up with every other city. I had to really dig to find some pants and a sweater for Henry because he really only wears them 2 months out of the year down here. He was all excited to get bundled up this morning and told everyone at the coffee shop, "My name's Henwee and I'm wearin' a JACKET!" 

I love this weather but we try not to get too excited the second the temperature drops. I guarantee you next week it will be back in the 80s and the pants and sweaters will disappear into the abyss of never ending summer clothes. 

Practicing

Halloween is only 24 days away! This age is so much fun, Henry is getting really into everything and I love watching him get all excited about costumes, fall crafts, and spooky stuff (or "pookie tuff" as Henry calls it). The weather is still crazy hot but I can feel the summer season slowly coming to an end. I'm really looking forward to colder temperatures and taking Henry to the fair in two weeks. Also, we just bought our winter break tickets home and we'll be in Washington for an entire month (thanks Garrisonbesthusbandever). I miss family so much!