The beauty, love, happiness, and sadness these pictures make me feel all at once!
Watching you both grow before my eyes and becoming the beautiful girls you are. The overload of smiles your little sassy and sweet personalities bring. It simply melts my heart.
But do you both really have to grow? If only you girls could stay little forever! 🥺
At least little enough so I can still pick you both up and squeeze you.
Little enough, so I can kiss the mess out of those chunky cheeks.
Little enough, for your little hands to grab my finger to come pull me to play.
Little enough, to always want all the Mommy snuggies.
*big sigh* If only though.
Mommy can only wish, but do know…no matter how big you both may grow. You will always be my little girls. ❤️
Man oh, man. I can’t even express all the emotions that consumed me when it hit that this is the year I would have to enroll my baby girl into K4 and 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 enrollment began, aye yai yai, I was everywhere.
And to think the thought of ever putting my girls in daycare was scary. Knowing that they, well at least Zoe right now, will be going to school definitely tops that. Then all that comes with researching and decision making on which school…The stress and fear I felt!
All the thoughts about the teachers and kids she will be surrounded by or will she even be in school or virtual? I literally had to pause, pray, and ask God to calm my soul. I know it’ll get better. Maybe 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 the first day of school or maybe never. Lol. I’ve been told one too many times I’ll be crying like a baby. Trust me, I already know and I am 𝗡𝗢𝗧 ready!
I can say though, I felt some peace and excitement when I got the email Zoe was eligible for an Art School I applied for. Which would be 𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗭𝗜𝗡𝗚! But Parents of school kids, I need to know I’m not alone. How did you feel about your first school enrollment? What were some thoughts/emotions you felt? How did you cope?
I’m sure many of you have been counting the days until 2021 and now that December is finally here. We are that much closer to putting the year 2020 behind us. This has definitely been one crazy year to say the least, a pandemic to forever remember that had affected so many of us in different ways. So today I wanted to talk about how did Covid affect your little ones?
Although my girls are three and one and I have had the blessing to say I didn’t have to worry about schools shutting down and virtual classes. Covid still took a big impact on my three year old. The isolation and distance that took place in not seeing her favorite loved ones and friends, took an emotional toll on her and it was hard.
She was used to having play dates and seeing family throughout the week/weekends. That she eventually caught on to the unusual routine. Yes we had FaceTime, but that wasn’t enough. Zoe needed that physical quality time. To hug, play with, and talk to. So hearing her ask her grandpa (Belo), grandma (Bela), and Aunt (Titi Maria) every time over the phone, “Are you going to come with me Zoe?” and seeing her sad little face, because she couldn’t. SUCKED!
Fast forward a few months in. The joy and sparkle in her eyes when she could finally see her Belo, Bela, and Titi. She was ecstatic! BIG hugs. Check. Play time. Check. Overall quality time was great and fun as always…until it was time to say goodbye. The meltdown this girl had was none that I have ever seen. Her cries were as if someone was literally ripping her away from the ones she loved and was never going to see them again. At first I got upset. I didn’t get it. She never acted that way before. This was something new and I felt confused and frustrated trying to calm her down.
Then it happened again. Then again. Then on her birthday she had two friends come over at separate times and at each goodbye she freaked out. At this point I was like okay she never gets like this with her friends and that’s when it clicked. Separation Anxiety and at this point the goodbye cries turned into hyperventilation where throwing up followed. It literally killed me inside to see her that way. To know that she really thought and felt like she will never see them again and her telling ‘so&so’ don’t leave me! Yelling “NOOOO!” as she watches from the window. It was Pure Heartbreak!
Things have finally calmed as we are now months into this pandemic and overtime with breathing technics, allowing her to voice her feelings, and using calm words to comfort her has really helped her a lot. I continuously pray that her soul remains calm and she remains strong, because even though things have gotten back to some form of normalcy in our home and family routines. The future is still unknown, but one thing I know if the world were to shut down again. We’ll be more mentally and emotionally prepared.
We made it! 16 hours complete and exhausted is an overstatement!! Now I know some of you are probably thinking you drove 16hrs with two kids? You’re crazy! 𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟…yes and yes! Lol I actually prefer road tripping over flying unless it’s necessary to do so.
So the real question is, “how do you keep two little ones content and entertained during the drive?” Well to sum it up. Snacks. Snacks. 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 snacks and all the entertainment to keep them occupied!
So let’s first talk entertainment.
Well for starters, if you don’t have TVs in your vehicle. I definitely recommend getting an Amazon kids tablet! We had got Zoe one two years ago for our trip to Puerto Rico and it was such a 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗥! You can install all your favorite streaming apps and download the kids favorite movies. That way they will have access to watch stuff on offline mode! We used Disney Plus and downloaded 12 different movies for the girls to choose from. Added bonus the tablet also has a few offline games to play too! For other entertainment goodies; We had coloring pads, crayons, stickers, books, a few favorite toys, and of course Disney Pandora to jam out too!
Next on the list for road trip survival. All the Snacks and Dranks! It’s a 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗧 to make sure our littles stay well nurtured during the drive, because trust me. You don’t want hungry crabby babies sitting behind you feeling, as they say… 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗬! So load up on all their favorite treats and don’t hold back! It’s better to be safe than sorry! Plus it’ll save money not having to buy happy meals and overpriced gas station food!
Lastly, make sure your littles are dressed comfy as possible! Its already restricting enough having to sit in a car seat for so long! So the less clothes…the less fussy. So take that coat or jacket off, kick off the shoes, and give the breathing room they need to stay sane and comfortable. Happy Babies = Happy Mommy! ♡︎
Happy Mom Monday! Let’s talk about this little babe right here. She’s adorable right? As are all of our littles UNTIL they start teething! So don’t let this little cute face fool you, because this past week she has been the crankiest little beaver ever!
If you don’t know, the teething stage of a child is not always the most lovable moment in motherhood. Especially when there are multiple teeth coming in at once. Which currently, Ms. Sofia has not just one or two, but all FOUR molars coming in! All at the same dang time. Sounds like a a sweet celebration right? For…no one. Lol
Its funny how motherhood works though. We adore all the milestones and little changes, like teeth coming in. We get so caught up in the ‘AWE’ moment, that we forget the consequences Mommy will have to pay for all that cuteness. Here’s just some of the fun things Mom has to deal with; Biting, Crankiness, Stage 4 Clinger, Sleepless Nights, and don’t forget those Sloppy Joe’s of a diaper! Yep! 💩
So between the irritable gnawing child and the zombie of a mother, sounds pretty fun right?! Haha All in all that’s just one of many stepping stones in motherhood and despite how exhausted mommy may be. She will always go above and beyond to make sure her little babe feels as comfortable as possible, because can you imagine the pain she’s in?!
So a few things that has helped; Young Living Oils, Lavender and Gentle Baby, frozen teethers, even her pacifiers, frozen yogurt, and her favorite baby flick, Cocomelon. Seriously that show is a LIFESAVER! 😆
So any other Mamas have fun teething stories to share?! I definitely would love to hear!
Blissful Burgos 