Having a Colorful Time Outside

Calleigh loves coloring. 

She loves coloring in her books, on the tables, on the floor and on herself. 

We use Crayola crayons and pens because they are really easy to wash off skin and furniture for when her book isn't a good enough landscape for her. 

Whilst out shopping the other day I came across some Crayola Sidewalk Chalk and thought that that's the one place Calleigh has not colored in before and also the one place I wouldn't have to worry about any damage to the leather sofas (that aren't mine!). 

It was a lovely sunny day so I decided to try them out straight away and took Calleigh out on the drive. 

When I first told her to draw on the pavement she looked at me confused as if to say "you always tell me not to draw on things" but nevertheless took some chalk in her hand and began drawing her masterpiece of scribbles. 

We had lots of fun drawing up some interesting designs on the front and it washed off really easy, even after leaving it a couple of days (no idea what passers by must of thought of my giant cat drawing). 

You can get them in a 12 pack or 24 pack depending on how many different colors you want. I went with the 24 pack as with Calleigh nothing lasts very long so I have plenty of back ups. 

Crayola have a great range of outdoor products to make playing outdoors more fun, I think next time I'm going for the colored bubbles! How fun! 

The Myths of Having a Baby: Part 1

Speaking to a friend the other day about having a baby (not me, them, Calleigh is plenty enough for me to handle) I suddenly got inspired to write about the myths surrounding the topic. 

Before I begin please be aware that these are my thoughts and may not always be the same for everyone. 

Myth 1

Having a baby is expensive

My verdict: Myth

Of course having a baby will cost you extra money, I mean you didn't have to buy nappies and powder before you were pregnant. But I don't think I noticed a dramatic affect on our wallet. 

I think the expense will come when she is older and can ask for things. Right now shes happy with anything, I brought her a Disney bucket for $1 yesterday and she is very happy with that and it didn't break the bank.

Myth 2

You will be okay with poo and sick when it's your baby.

My verdict: Myth

I will never be okay with poo and sick. It's gross and it smells bad, nothing will change that and nothing will make me okay with having to deal with it. The fact of the matter is, that if I don't do it no one else will, so I man up and deal with it. 

I'm not ashamed to admit, before Calleigh was born our nappy changing station was filled with disposable gloves and dust masks. 

Myth 3

You will never be able to do any the things you did before.

My verdict: Myth

Okay, so you can't do everything you did before all of the time, but in some way you won't want to. And when you do want to there is always help available. I'm talking grandparents, aunties, uncles, friends and babysitters. A baby takes up a lot of your time and it's normal to want some time off every now and then to feel like yourself for an hour or two. It doesn't make you a bad parent to leave your kid with a sitter while you let off some steam, it makes you human. 

Myth 4

You will lose all your friends.

My verdict: Myth

This is complete nonsense. Your friends are happy for you, you just had a baby. Don't take it the wrong way if you don't get invited to every get together, they understand you have other responsibilities now and respect that. When you do get invited but can't make it, they will be sad you can't come but won't think bad of you for it. And if you do lose friends because of this, maybe they weren't really the kind of friends you wanted around anyway. 

Myth 5

You will think everything your baby does is cute.

My verdict: Truth!

Everything, I mean everything is cute when it's your baby doing it. 

Calleigh gives me a cuddle- it's cute, Calleigh farts- it's cute, Calleigh pulls a face whilst doing a poo which resembles that of a bulldog licking a thistle- it's cute, Calleigh say's "shit"- it's cute (this is a new problem we have encountered, I don't know where she has picked it up from, we are careful with our language around her, but alas this is her new favourite word). 

More Myths to come soon but for now I will leave you with this little picture of Calleigh saying "cheeeese". 

Fun at the Fair?

There's always loads of things to do out here, It's just if you can find them. I always feel that there are loads of things we are missing out on, especially when our weekends so far have mostly been filled with shopping and sorting out the house.  

So when we stumbled across a little fair last weekend I decided we should go a have a bit of fun at the fair. 

 It was a hot day so Calleigh wasn't in the best of moods (the heat makes her quite grumpy) but we took her on a couple of rides anyway. Neither of which she particularly enjoyed. But we did win her a little princess crown on hook a duck so the day wasn't a complete waste. 

We are now looking forward to the Missouri State Fair in August. 

Also coming up soon, I have signed myself up to be a zombie at the St Louis Zombie Run event. I am beyond excited about this. As well as getting to scare the living daylights out of innocent runners I get a movie style zombie makeover and we will all be invited to the Quarantine Party after the event. 

I just hope I don't scare Calleigh when she sees me.

First Haircut

Today, Calleigh has been for her first haircut. No more hair in the eyes for this one. 

We went to a place called Sweet and Sassy as they do a special Baby's First Haircut package. 

She sat in the chair and didn't move the whole time! Even when she got the blow dryer out it didn't phase her. At home, I'm lucky if I can get her to sit still just brushing her hair and the blow dryer has always been a no no with Calleigh. 

After the cut was finished she was sprayed with glitter and got a little flower put in her hair, awh! 

And we got a little certificate with a photo and a lock of Calleigh's hair. 

She obviously didn't want to smile on the photo :-) 

A Little Update

I thought it was about time I do a little update to let you all know how Calleigh is getting along and share a few of her current likes and dislikes in CV format of course. 

Basic Stats

Height: 2 foot 7 inches

Weight: 21 lbs 

Progress

Learning to Speak: Calleigh can now say a whole host of new words, the main one being Mummy. 

She can also say:

• cook cook (cookie)
• Bubbles 
• La La (Auntie Lana)
• Mee Mee (Mee-Maw)
• Milk 
• Car 
• Ball
• Pat
• Hi
• And Bye

Learning about herself: Calleigh is now able to point to certain parts of her body when I say them. 

So far she knows; 

• Head
• Toes
• Hands 
• Knees 
• And Boobies (yes boobies). 

Learning about the world: She can recognize certain animals and the sound they make: 

• Cow
• Duck
• Cat
• Sheep 

She also knows when I say night night to give kisses and cuddles and then walks to the stairs. 

Her interactions have come on wonderfully too. She greets people with "Hi" and "Bye", say's "Ta" when you pass her something, joins in with the Little Einsteins when they blast off on a new adventure, sings whilst playing the piano and dances like a maniac to music. 

Things she knows that she shouldn't: 

• How to open the safety latches on the cupboards.
• How to make you do anything she wants

Favourite Food: Peas

Favourite Toy: Tea set

Favourite Book: That's Not My Kitten

Favourite Programme: Little Einsteins

Favourite thing to do: Pull a funny face, pass wind and then laugh about it or walk around in Mummy and Daddy's shoes. 

Dislikes: Thunder, dirt on the floor and hairy legs. 

Just for the fun of it because I have no idea how this happened since on my phone this is just a still photo but Google appears to have made it move, here is a photo of princess Calleigh herself. 

I find this hilarious! 

Breaking News!

Finally, finally, finally!

I am no longer Daddy anymore.

Calleigh has finally started calling me Mummy.

It's a breakthrough at the very least.

Here is a little picture I drew for her which she loves (I admit I would never have made it as an artist).
Somehow she knows that it is Mummy and Daddy.
Although she did point to the one with the bow and say Daddy.
I can assure you, Daddy does not wear bows in his hair. 

Poorly Again

Poor little Calleigh is really not having a good time at the moment. After just getting over a cold a couple of weeks ago she has now been struck down by a suspected throat infection. 

It all started last night, about midnight she just burst out crying and screaming. Nothing we tried seemed to comfort her and although she tried, she just wouldn't go back to sleep. We brought her into our bed and took her temperature. At the time it wasn't high even though it felt like you could fry and egg on her forehead. We stripped off her clothes to provide some relief but it didn't seem to make a difference as she kept wincing and looking around the room in fear. 

As a last resort we contacted the emergency helpline who seemed to think it could of been an ear infection and we were told to take her to the emergency room as this had been going on for a couple of hours. 

As we searched for the nearest one to us she fell asleep so we decided to leave her to sleep and see if she was any better in the morning. 

She slept through until about 8am but when she woke not much had changed, she still had a temperature and did not look very well at all. 

I booked into the doctors and an hour later we were sat in the doctors room whilst he did some tests to see if he could find our what was wrong. 

It wasn't an ear infection, or a strep infection but from the look of her throat he told us it was definitely some infection of the throat and prescribed her some antibiotics to fight the infection and ibuprofen to relieve the fever. 

The only place she would have a nap

She has perked up a bit now and is looking much better but the real test will be at bedtime. Here's hoping she has a good night, for her sake and ours. 

Whilst at the surgery I found a leaflet about a handy little app for keeping track of your little ones health and well-being. It called Kid's Wellness and is free to download in the App Store. 

I have used it track what immunisations she has had and also to note what symptoms she is having and what medication she is currently taking. 

You can also use it to track height, weight and bmi and it shows a chart so you can make sure they are on the right track. 

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Daddies out there. 

I hope everyone had a brilliant day!

The Daddy in this house was a bit under the weather today but that didn't stop him enjoying his presents and his brinner (breakfast dinner). 

Calleigh enjoyed eating the cakes I made for Daddy, she even performed a little happy dance. 

I would also like to wish a Happy Father's Day to my own Daddy, Calleigh's Grandpops. I miss you and really hope to see you soon. 

Last Weekend by the Lake

Last weekend we took Calleigh to another nearby State Park. 

The August Busch State Park which has loads of lakes perfect for fishing or just to check out some of the wildlife. 

While we were there we saw a birds nest tucked neatly under a sign with cute baby birds in, loads of fish, ducks and dragonflies. 

Later that day we attempted to have a picnic next to a small lake nearby our home but unfortunately things did not go to plan. Calleigh put her foot in the bowl of pasta salad I had prepared and it seemed all she was interested in doing was scaring the life out of me and Daddy by running towards the water. 

And yes that is a Christmas tablecloth I used as a picnic blanket, I must invest in a new one if we ever attempt to try this again. 

Mundane Midweek

The day was Friday.

 I awoke a bit later than usual due to a late night keeping the rents on their toes. After my usual morning chat with Minnie Daddy turned up to get me changed and ready for breakfast. I had high hopes that Mummy had prepared me a feast of pancakes and bananas again like last Friday but was utterly disappointed when a bowl of less than exciting porridge turned up in its place. 

I should have known at the moment that this would turn out to be a day I wish I had just stayed in bed. 

Daddy didn't leave for work that morning which led me to believe they had something good planned for me, after all, everything they do revolves around me, right? 

Wrong. 

We got into the car, ready to set about for a day of fun. 

Unfortunately I must have blacked out in the car as when I awoke again I was being led into some brick building and an hour had just passed by unnoticed. 

My excitement at this great building of rick soon melted away as we walked through the door into a tiny room with two chair and a desk. 

Can you believe it, they took me to an insurance company! 

Luckily I managed to entertain myself slightly (and also annoy the parents) by pulling all the leaflets out of their holder and arranging them neatly on the floor instead. 

For dinner, they took me to a restaurant near our home. 

Now this was surprising since I think Daddy had just about given up trying to take me out to restaurants (I like to make sure everyone knows I have arrived and absolutely hate sitting in those things they call highchairs. Cages if you ask me!).

I got to see and talk to Mee-Maw, Lana and Great Nanna over dinner which was nice. I do miss those people. 

I wonder why they aren't here with us? 

Back home we spent the rest of the afternoon building my Peppa Pig Trike. Well, that's what Daddy did. I tried to entertain myself by rearranging his tool box and trying endlessly to see what each item tasted of. Mummy thwarted each attempt shouting "dirty" and removing the object from my grasp. 

Damn. 

I spent the rest of the night pottering around the house, mainly following Mummy and Daddy around to punish them for the most uninteresting day ever. 

I think I got my message across as I was put to bed quite early that night. I contemplated playing up a bit longer but the call of the pillow was too strong and I soon gave in to the land of nod. 

Hearing Loss: How to Help a Child Cope

Today I have my first guest post for you.  

John got in touch with me back in May, which I was unaware was Better Hearing and Speech Month, and asked if I would help him in his cause to spread awareness on this issue. 

Hi my name is John O'Connor, I am a father, outdoors man, 

sports enthusiast and passionate about living a healthy lifestyle.  Check out my new blog at bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com!

What comes to mind when you hear the terms “hearing loss,” “hearing aid” or 

“deafness”? For many, these terms conjure pictures of elderly people, but in reality

many children and young people struggle with hearing impairment. Some babies 

are born with hearing loss. Other children develop it early in life. Of Americans with 

severe to profound hearing loss, a rough eight percent are youngsters under 18. 

Children with hearing loss often experience difficulties learning to speak or 

pronounce new words. They also frequently have academic difficulties with 

grammar, vocabulary and word choice, among other things. Many times other 

children tease and bully those with hearing loss because they “sound funny” or can’t 

pronounce certain words.

For some individuals with hearing loss, hearing aids can be effective. Each device

contains a tiny microphone that amplifies sound. The sound is then transported to 

the wearer’s inner ear where it can be heard. Most wearers require some time to 

adjust to the new sensory input, but usually the device is effective.

Some hearing impaired individuals must rely on non-verbal communication. Sign 

language is one way in which many children with hearing loss and their families 

communicate. It makes use of a complex system of hand gestures to create an 

entire language based on non-verbal communication.

Despite the difficulties of hearing impairment, many hearing-impaired individuals 

have led successful lives. Tamika Catchings, a six-time WNBA all star, experienced 

hearing loss at a young age. As she grew up, many of the other children laughed at 

her because of the bulky hearing aids she wore. Instead of becoming discouraged, 

she focused on improving her skills as an athlete. Today, her accomplishments 

include three Olympic gold medals.

Nick Hamilton of the Cleveland Indians experienced tremendous hearing loss after 

a diagnosis of a rare hearing disorder at the age of three. Although he was able to 

undergo surgery to halt his hearing loss, Hamilton now wears hearing aids and reads 

lips and communicates with gestures while on the baseball field.

Hearing aid provider EarQ promotes a campaign called HearStrong to help 

eliminate the stigma of hearing loss in our society. Their HearStrong Champions are 

individuals who have overcome the adversity of hearing loss to become powerful 

forces in our world.

When a child experiences hearing loss, the challenges can be overcome. If you have 

a child with this difficulty, nurture him or her to be strong and face challenges head 

on.  With a little education, love and knowledge anything is possible.

Outfit of the Month: June

London Dress: Buy Buy Baby 

Shoes: Next 

I absolutely love this dress. 

As soon as I saw it in the shop I fell in love with it and it doesn't disappoint. Calleigh looks so beautiful and it fits perfectly. 

Summer Cash Giveaway with OhsoAmelia!

Welcome to the $550 Summer Cash Giveaway. How would you like to win some free cash to perhaps brighten up your wardrobe, treat the kids, or even pay those dreaded bills! I've teamed up with some lovely bloggers to give you the chance to win $550 in Paypal cash!! Simply complete the tasks below to earn entries for this giveaway. 

Rules:

-Giveaway starts June 1st at 12:01 am GMT – June 15th at 12:00 am GMT 

-Open to everyone worldwide 

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-You must be at least 18 years to enter 

-All entries will be verified, so please don’t cheat.

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