Love is...

Trucks obsession

Santino loves trucks. Loves them. He knows many of them by name, like excavator (he can't pronounce that, but he is trying), big rig (one of his favorite words), fire truck, pickup, bus, ambulance, airplanes and helicopters. Oh, and how could I forget garbage trucks! He calls them "gunk". All these boring sedans and mini vans don't interest him that much.

Today he got his dream come true! Big rig delivered some shingles to us, as the roofers will start working this weekend on our roof. The driver let Santino sit first in his fork lift, and then in the big rig cab! Wow... Needless to say, that it was nearly impossible to take Santino out.

This is a man's world

Pipidinko loves watching cartoons in the morning.

This is a short post, I just wanted to share this snapshot of my little man.

A Colorful Playdate

Today Pipidinko had his girlfriend over for a play date. I cooked up some finger paint for them and let them have fun.

Sleep struggle. Mom 1 - 0 Santino

Continued from Part 1 here

So yes. I won. I struggled for 3 months. Sometimes I thought that I just should let him be and let him sleep when he can without my schedule. But then I kept going, motivating myself, that I'm the master, not my toddler. I tell HIM what to do, and if I give in now, he'll have no structure and will spin out of control. So I decided I didn't want to be managed by a toddler and insisted on standing my grounds and go by the rules.

Twinkle twinkle fall asleep

Part 1. Sleeping is an on-going issue with all parents. If there is anything all mothers love in their day, its when babies go to bed and sleep. Preferably through the night.

Sleeping through the night doesn't always happen in our house, and for the first three months of Santino's life, there was not much sleeping at all. First, when he was a month-old baby, he couldn't fall asleep and stay asleep, would cry and wake up constantly. I found "The happiest baby on the block" and the 5 S's, including swaddling and white noise, really really helped me out. Santino slept, and was a rested and a happy baby. Then he grew too big for swaddle, wasn't calm anymore, and in order to help him stay asleep I started practicing co-sleeping. That worked wonders. I got my rest, Santino got his rest and his, or should I say "mine", breast. I breast-fed him exclusively for 6 months, and after introducing solids continued with the breastfeeding until he was 13 months.

Soup for Santino

When I was growing up back in Ukraine, I was always told by teachers and parents and grandparents that soup is very healthy food and I should eat soup every day.

And I did. And I loved it. Chicken soup, red borshch (with beets and tomatoes), green borshch (with spinach), solyanka, meatball soup and all kinds of other soups. Soup was one of the first dishes I learned to make by myself. It is full of nutrients from the meat, the bones, and the vegetables that detoxify, nourish, boost immune system and help hydrating the body.

Big day!

Today was a big day. I saw how Pipidinko put on his shoes. By himself. They weren't boots or sneakers yet, just open back and toe Crocs, but he did it!

Yay, sweetie. I am so proud of you