Child Labor

Mr. Gebely and I are keeping a secret from Lena. We don't want her to know that she already pulls her weight around the 'Dorf as our little tax deduction.

We like putting her to work on a daily basis doing chores around the house. She helps feed her puppies, uses the broom and dust pan to clean the kitchen, throws dirty laundry into the hamper, and the newest skill to add to her repertoire is raking leaves and sticks together in the back yard.

 

What a good helper!! Now if only she'd have her own rake set and trash can....

The Easter Bunny Came Early!

There has been much debate in our house recently about what to give Lena for Easter. Originally we had planned on getting her a Cozy Coupe, but recently changed plans and bought her a Joovy Tricycoo Trike. We hope it will be a better investment in the long run because she will get more use out of it.

I ordered it from Amazon and it arrived yesterday. It would have been easy to stash it away until April if the temperature was still cool, but with the warm weather we are going to be having all week Mr. Gebely and I just couldn't wait! If the temps drop next week we will probably pack it away and bring it back out for Easter. Mr. Gebely came home yesterday and immediately opened the box to get the trike assembled while Lena and I played outside and I fed her dinner. Then we both took her outside and we introduced her to her new toy!

So far we really like it...it is extremely easy to push and steer, the pedals can be disengaged so there is no risk of the rider getting their feet caught and injured, there is a guard rail that will be removed later and also a foot rest to use until Lena can pedal on her own, AND there is a BELL! And no more sore back from crouching down to push (this is the best part)!!

We've taken quite a few spins around the block since yesterday.

 

There were four different colors to choose from. It really came down between green and pink. I felt like it made more sense to get the green so it could be gender neutral, but Mr. Gebely said "we are buying it for Lena get her pink!" And so I did.

"Ok, enough pictures. Onward ho!!"

Lena's Newest Imitation...

DUCK FACE!

The facial imitations (and sounds for that matter) this kid can do are hilarious. I am going to try to start capturing more of them on camera. She cracks me up!

Transitions

A few months ago Lena's teachers briefly brought up the subject of her transitioning to the next room. They told me that although she was developmentally and emotionally ready, the earliest a transition occurs from the Infant Room to the Young Toddler Room is 15 months and most children will move sometime between 15 and 18 months.

This coming Saturday Lena will hit that magic month 15 so she can finally start her transition on Monday! She is so ready for this and I really feel bad that she has had to wait so long. I know her teachers feel for her too because they have been taking her to participate with the young toddlers' activities every day recently.

When she got home this evening I asked her about playing with the 'Big Kids' and she was so excited. I named each child in the other room and she danced in placed, smiled, nodded, and clapped. Some parents have told me that this is the hardest transition and maybe next week will prove me wrong, but I think it will actually go very smoothly. Yesterday I was told Lena threw a fit that she had to return to the infant room when all the other kids went back to the YT room upon returning from the gym.

The bittersweet part of the transition is leaving her teachers. Although one of them helps out mornings in the YT room, her favorite (and my favorite) will still be in the Infant Room. Lena has definitely become her baby over the last year. She has told Mr. Gebely and I both on separate occasions that she is so, so sad (especially this week) and is hoping to work in the YT room some days to get some time with Lena. I love that Lena is loved so much at school.

Stay tuned to hear how her official transition goes - if all goes according to plan Thursday of next week will be the last day she spends any time in the Infant Room!

More Indoor Fun

Every evening Lena and I wait anxiously for her Daddy to come home. Usually by the time Mr. Gebely gets home Lena is either in the process of eating dinner or has already finished eating. That gives her plenty of time to play with Daddy until it is time to head upstairs for a bath. When Mr. Gebely first comes through the door she welcomes him with a hug...and then lets him know what she'd like him to do for her.

Besides the slide and teeter-totter routine, a current favorite is playing with the little ride-on toy that Uncle Michael gave Lena for her birthday. She will drag it to Mr. Gebely and plead with him to push her on it.

Obviously it doesn't take much coercing.

They race through our downstairs making quick turns and chasing c&k.

Lena points out where she'd like to go.

 Just look at that mouthful of teeth! And I'd just like to say that WOW does it hurt your back and make you tired to crouch down and run around pushing that toy!

I love them!

Indoor Playground

Another reason that I am anxious for spring? I can't wait to get all of the large plastic play equipment out of my house and either on the deck or in the grass. Our living and dining room look like a toddler playground on some days.

We don't keep it out all of the time, but one of Lena's favorite things is to go down the slide. She has gotten very good at going down the big slides at the playground by herself and can also climb the little slide without any assistance and go down alone.

I can't help but be amazed every time she climbs up and goes down all by herself. Twelve months ago she was almost three months old and just starting to roll from tummy to back and now look at her. Wow!

And totally unrelated to our indoor playground, I just had to include this picture because it is so sweet. Lena loves imitating us and anytime my mom puts on or both hands on her face Lena mimics it. Love her!

Well, I did it.

I deactivated my facebook account on Friday morning. Over the last few weeks I have been mulling over taking a break from facebook. More and more I find myself opening it on my phone or going to it on our laptop as a time filler. I hate that.

I hate that I feel somewhat addicted to my phone and I hate that Lena sees me "wasting time" on my phone or on the computer while she is awake. I feel the same way regarding Pinterest and any other sites I may visit to fill a self-imagined void.

Now there are things I love about facebook. I like seeing {most} updates and pictures from friends and family. I love when people post research or news articles that interest me. For example, a friend of ours recently posted an in-depth article about where he works. I already find what he does fascinating so getting to read more about it was like giving me candy. Without fb I probably would have never had that opportunity. I love keeping in touch with my cousins who are away at college but doing some awesome things. I love getting a heads-up from companies that I 'like' on sales and new items. And finally, I love that it can be a great place to ask for advice from friends on a multitude of topics (although the answers may not always be the best).

Then there are the things I dislike. I loathe the political posts. I hate the play-by-play updates some give on a daily basis. I don't like reading advice people give regarding care for babies/kids that sometimes leaves me cringing or giving a side-eye. I roll my eyes when people post on a spouse/significant other's wall about how great they are. And then there are the whiners who cry out every day for attention or people who constantly AW everything.

Before you say it, yes I realize that I can block certain updates or people. But since my problem is not just that fb annoys the heck out of me, but also that I find myself checking it out of habit it will be better to do away with it all together, at least temporarily. After all, there was a point in my life where I lived without it quite well so I am sure the same can be true now.

Judging from the blog's site statistics, a majority of the readers link here from either myself or Mr. Gebely's fb profiles. If you don't want to forget the link you'll either have to subscribe via an online reader, bookmark the link, or search through google each time. Sorry if this is an inconvenience to you!

Although I have been staying away from the computer in the evening, I do not have any plans to stop blogging. I love reading old posts, especially from a few years ago and know I will appreciate this online journal more and more as Lena grows up. Plus it is the only way many of our far away family and friends see pictures.

So tell me, have any of you ever taken a break from Facebook or another website you frequented? How did it go?