I have a 2 year old!

My baby turned two last month. She had a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese that she thoroughly enjoyed. She was all over Chuck E.
My baby looks like she's almost 3 years old, she's a tall girl for her age. As far as behavior goes she's a bit worse in some ways. Keeping things on a positive note: At least she knows what "time out" means. She's just your typical toddler. She loves to make a mess all day everyday. She likes to talk back to me and try my patience and of course she requires my attention and cuddle time.

My baby is wonderful.
She has surprised me so much this month with the stuff that comes out of her mouth!

We went on a staycation this weekend for my sisters birthday the weekend after Addison's birthday. The place was only about an hour away on the beach and it was so amazing to be out in the warm weather.

For the moms out there..I'm done nursingdone nursing

Wednesday, 3/25/15

I really don't feel like talking about this..
I don't think it'd be right to not talk about it,

After 23 months I finally found the nerve to stop nursing my baby.
I've tried, long ago to stop nursing but I was always better off nursing.. I could not deal with the tantrum that "No boobie" meant.


This is how I went about it:
She is such a big girl now. I felt that nursing was holding her back into this baby stage.
So I made a plan: I cut back on nursing over the course of 2 weeks. Some days I nursed more than others, but by the last week she was nursing once a day.Then eventually I said
   "Today you're not nursing at all. No more. Ever."
 It felt so final and I hated it! Knowing in my head that I'll never nurse my little angel again was sad for me because it's such a bonding experience. The key is to say "No" and show the toddler you mean it. Eventually it will get easier as you develop new ways to bond and comfort them.


I quickly realized I made the right decision:

• By the 2nd night she was falling asleep by herself. Normally she has to have the boob to fall asleep, now (night 10) she has learned to comfort herself and she falls asleep really fast.
• She has been sleeping through the night. She used to wake up for a late night snack or in the early morning to nurse back to sleep. We're getting more sleep ova here honey!
• Less distraction. She's not asking for it at awkward moments (While at the playground).

She still asks for it once a day but she quickly understands when I say "no"

The downfall for me is that I have felt a tad depressed on and off, and that is most likely due to hormonal changes. Overall, I thank GOD for a relatively easy nursing experience. I've never had anything like clogged ducts, no nipple pain-ever. It's just been a smooth ride. I'm grateful because I was able to do this for my child for 2 years. Now, on to the new chapter of toddlerhood.

Tell me your nursing/weaning experience if you have one.
If you have any questions about weaning a toddler just leave them in the comments or email me!

Let her hair be wild and carefree

Ever since my baby was 7 months old, people have been pressing me about how I do (or don't do) her hair. At such a very young age I did not see the point of putting 20 barrettes and rubber bands in my child's thick head of hair. I know if it is uncomfortable for me, then it must be uncomfortable for a baby to have to deal with tight braids and ponytails.

Now that she is 1 years old I try to make an effort to do her hair when we are going out of the house. 2 pig tails, big twists in the front with a bow to pin her curls out of her face. Majority of the time her hair is in an afro and I see absolutely nothing wrong with this, yet I can't step out of the door with out some older person making slick comments about how she looks like a boy. Or how she's a girl and should have a thousand and one ponytails on her head at once. I think that I am going to snap on one of these people eventually.

I can actually kind of see why Beyonce never really seemed to do Blue Ivy's hair. Everyone sounded off about how the little girl's hair was unkempt and wild... Which it was (& probably still is) but what's the big deal? It's a freakin baby for Gods sake! My child won't even allow me to do her hair unless she's distracted by candy. That is why I totally understand when I see a baby with wild hair, there is nothing wrong with it because this is the hair that we were born with and there is no way in hell that I am going to hold my child down to the bed every single day just so she looks presentable in the public's eyes.

Honestly I think it's a problem with older people. Those are the only people that seem to have a problem with my daughters hair not being styled every single day. I don't even style my own hair everyday! Anyway, I feel a lot better after writing this. I feel like I am indeed doing the write thing with my child, it just sucks because people always have so much input on every little thing that I chose to do with my child. From hair to breastfeeding to the types of clothes she wears.

Miya

Addie's 1st birthday !!!

Addie's first birthday was a lot of work for me. It was the first party I ever planned completely on my own so I felt the need to impress my family and friends, but most of all I wanted to prove to my family that I could succeed with out their help.

   

  I love my family dearly, but I am twenty-one years old.. I feel like it's time for me to take responsibility for things in my life and my daughters first birthday is one of those things.

A friend of mine told me that maybe I should include them in some of the decorating or planning but I did not agree. I just wanted something to take complete control of. When I got married, the main reason I chose to just drop all of the wedding plans and go to the courthouse was because my family was stressing me out. They are so helpful and tried to pull the wedding together but everyone knows that multiple people planning one party can cause drama at one point or another.

Planning Addie's birthday by myself allowed me to be free with planning and not have to consider another persons opinion (hubby does not really care what I do when it comes to decorations) & when  the party came on April 13th, everyone seemed to like what I did with the place. 

I can't believe my baby is 1 ! It's amazing how time flies by.. Some days I reminisce about when she was very little and how this journey is playing out. I started off changing her every 1-3 hours, breastfeeding almost constantly and always keeping her warm and putting her down for naps. Now she is a ball of energy, so close to walking and being more independent everyday.

twitter.com/miyaloves

Park day with family last weekend

DIY Photoshoot for the little one.

Hello! A few days ago I caught the urge to go out and take pictures of my baby... Decent pictures. Something I could be proud of. I came up with a pretty simple concept: Put baby in her pink laundry basket, outside in the backyard. I've been meaning to do this for a while now but as many of you know it takes time and patience when you're shooting babies! My baby A was an awesome model. She didn't cry at all, she laughed and enjoyed her time looking at our animals walk around in the backyard, staring up at the sky and laughing at her crazy parents.

My husband was the assistant, a great assistant I might add. He made her crack huge grins and captured pictures of her with his own phone. Honestly, taking pictures of the baby with him was more fun than I thought it would be. We took turns making her laugh and pointing out all of the absolutely adorable things she does.

 Professional photography can be pretty expensive and if you would just like to capture a milestone, all you'd need is good lighting and a decent camera! I definitely encourage parents to at least try to do it yourself. It's fun and with a little research and good lighting you could have a decent picture that captured a milestone!

Hello! A few days ago I caught the urge to go out and take pictures of my baby... Decent pictures. Something I could be proud of. I came up with a pretty simple concept: Put baby in her pink laundry basket, outside in the backyard. I've been meaning to do this for a while now but as many of you know it takes time and patience when you're shooting babies! My baby A was an awesome model. She didn't cry at all, she laughed and enjoyed her time looking at our animals walk around in the backyard, staring up at the sky and laughing at her crazy parents

My husband was the assistant, a great assistant I might add. He made her crack huge grins and captured pictures of her with his own phone. Honestly, taking pictures of the baby with him was more fun than I thought it would be. We took turns making her laugh and pointing out all of the absolutely adorable things she does.

 Professional photography can be pretty expensive and if you would just like to capture a milestone, all you'd need is good lighting and a decent camera! I definitely encourage parents to at least try to do it yourself. It's fun and with a little research and good lighting you could have a decent picture that captured a milestone!

By the way, I'm planning on making a website for photography and I've finally made the step to ask friends on my facebook if they would like pictures taken for free (just so I can build my portfolio) 

It's a great hobby and I look foward to doing it more often! So far I have 2 people who asked me to take pictures of their little ones.

xo

My perfect little light.

7 weeks