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!

Quotes on a relaxing saturday

We all love Saturday.. Especially when it's beautiful outside like today.

I'm getting a baby break right now so it's a very relaxing day. I'm also catching up on episodes of "Being Mary Jane" which just so happens to have a lot of thought provoking quotes throughout the season. The quotes I posted are quotes made by black women-I found these quotes on a wonderful blog: Happy Black Woman - It's a very uplifting site, visit for more quotes and inspiration.


Which quote is your favorite from this list?

#BLACKOUTDAY

By the way today is #Blackoutday
Which is basically a day to celebrate out blackness & our beauty. Being black comes with so many negative stereotypes and obviously we as a people have been through many trials and tribulations. It was nice to go on twitter and see so many beautiful black people participating in something positive that LIFTS US UP. I'm only twenty-two years old, but as a child I remember being bullied a lot for being black (depending on where I was in the states) and I always wanted to change things that was the most black about me like my hair and nose for example. It feels so good to know that in just the last 15 years we have made a lot of strides for our people & I know it is real because I see us embracing our beauty more. I see us coming together for what we believe in.. Even if the topic of conversation does not always seem serious, we still come together on twitter & other social media platforms and we share our views. I'm so proud of us.
#blackoutday #blackfriday

Reflecting on past resolutions+ Writing letters to myself

Happy new year!
2014 is gone forever so I thought it would be cool to take a look back at my 2014 goals/resolutions and see if I actually completed any of those goals and of course I am making new goals for the year 2015.
 But first, let me tell you all about something I love doing even more than making new years resolutions. I write letters to myself.
 I open up my diary and basically I just write about the things I've been through and where I'd like to see myself at the end of the next year. I share my deepest feelings and thoughts with that piece of paper and then I fold it up and tuck it in the back of my diary. I always make sure to write " OPEN: [INSERT DATE]" on the outside of the letter. It's an amazing way to reflect on your past year and your life in general.

2014 has been a good year. I have experienced sadness and anger at a few points during those 365 days but I feel like I came out on top and definitely progressed and learned from everything that fueled my anger and sadness.

[Here is a snippet of the goals I made to make my life more organized last year]:

• Become a better cook. I want to cook at least 4-5 days a week.
• I want every aspect of my new home organized.
• Devote more time and effort to blogging, designing.
• Devote more time to doing  new,different, random things in life

 I think I did an okay job of completing this list but only because I did not pick goals that were damn near impossible. So many people are quick to say "new year, new me" but it's much more realistic to try and build a FEW good habits. If I went by that "new year new me" saying I would fail every time.

• I do cook 4-6 times a week.
• Not every aspect of my home is organized but it's getting there. It has it's moments.
• I have not been blogging as much as I'd like to.
• I have learned more about web development but I could be a lot better than I am right now.
• I feel like I have not been as adventurous as I'd like.

For 2015 I just want to continue to build on what I tried to accomplish last year. I'd love to be able to build websites without sweating so much ;).. and it would be awesome to take my blog to a new level.

Thanks for rocking with me this year!

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

Spontaneous beach trip

One day we were sitting outside talking to my husbands family- this is all post flu-attack.

We randomly decided to go to the beach! We never really do anything spontaneous so this was really fun for us. We got on the road not long after. I live in Florida so the beach ain't far!

Here are a few pictures of our trip to the beach. 

+ Addie's first day at the beach.

 She hated the water- it was way too cold & way to fast for her.

It was so much fun to see her play in the sand!

Park day with family last weekend