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Katie’s Fifteen Month Update

I say it every time I sit down to reflect, but I can’t believe that Katie has grown so quickly. The fifteen months we’ve enjoyed with Katie have been such a joy! She is a curious, happy, spunky fifteen-month old and we are in awe at how quickly she’s growing in front of our eyes.  It’s hard to believe that this time last year, she was just starting to evolve out of the fourth trimester phase. Now, at fifteen months, the only time she is still is when she’s sleeping.  Last week, when I asked for post requests, multiple people requested more detailed monthly updates. So, here is my attempt at delivering on that and, I, like you, hope to share these on a more consistent basis.

Katie is wearing 18-month clothes and even has two jackets that are 2T, since they didn’t come in a smaller size. Most days, she wears basics from Carters and then we have a few other items from L.L. Bean, Patagonia and Vineyard Vines. Over the past year we’ve had a hard time finding clothing that can beat the quality we get from Carters for the very inexpensive price point. I will say, that we only purchase things at their outlet or during their online sales, which seem to happen once a month. If you have a child, I recommend subscribing to the Carter’s mailing list.  The two changes that we made this month in regards to her attire were shoes and hair accessories. Since she’s constantly on the go, we bought another pair of See Kai Run shoes. A few people recommended ordering favorite shoes in a few sizes when you find one that works well for your child. Therefore, we currently have this style in a few different colors and sizes in her closet. I was able to find them on sale during the Nordstrom Anniversary sale!  While Bo nor I are quite ready to take Katie for her first haircut, we knew that we had to find a way to keep her hair out of her face. It has grown so quickly and overnight it went from being cute to being a moppy mess, almost covering her eyes. After Julia raved about these tiny rubber bands, we ordered a pack and have been thrilled with how well they stay in Katie’s fine hair. The good news is that she seems to have less interest in pulling them out than the bows we were trying to use previously.

As Katie is now eating a lot more, we changed a few things in our diaper bag and changing table. After every change, we use A+D ointment as this has helped her stay comfortable and rash free. If she ever gets diaper rash, we swear by Triple Paste. It is more expensive but works very quickly on even though most painful diaper rash. We are still loving Pampers diapers and she is wearing size 4 in both Swaddlers and Swaddlers Overnight. The overnight diapers have worked very well for us as she is able to make it through the night without having a wet or dirty diaper wake her.

Transitioning Katie to solid foods has been really easy for us as she loves every food.  I still dedicate an hour or so each Sunday to prepping her food for the week so that Monday morning I’m able to send two lunch boxes of food for her to have at the nanny share. Here is an example of her meals this week:

  • Breakfast (enjoyed at home in her high chair) : fruit, scrambled eggs, avocado, homemade pumpkin spice Kodiak Cakes or 1/2 an english muffin with some peanut butter
  • Snacks: Bananas, Stonyfield Baby yogurt, apples, strawberries, Cabot cheddar cheese
  • Lunch & Dinner:
    • Spaghetti Squash/Rao’s Sauce/homemade chicken meatballs/broccoli
    • Leftover grilled chicken, corn cut off the cob, roasted green beans
    • Turkey sausage, steamed carrots, hummus
    • Banza pasta, homemade pesto, homemade chicken meatballs

Katie has access to a straw cup filled with water throughout the day and during lunch and dinner she has both water and whole milk.

During the day, Katie loves spending time at our neighborhood park. Just a month ago, our play was limited to the swings but now she is able to walk, climb and run to each of the areas in the smaller kid area, including the slide and ramp.  She is confident in her ability to play on her own, but we always have a close eye on her to ensure that she is safe around other kids. It took us a few park visits to teach her how to go down the slide on her own, but now she approaches the slide, cautiously looks around, and then sits down on her bottom before pushing herself down. It’s adorable to watch and her caution, when dealing with heights, is so similar to her parents, neither of whom love heights.  Over time we’ve become friendly with a few other local families who are often in the park at the same time, which makes it an enjoyable social time for both the kids and parents.  When she’s at home, she loves playing with her toy kitchen, “reading” books, blocks and her Little People toys. Our friend Amanda gave Katie this adorable stroller last two weeks ago and since then, she’s enjoyed pushing her puppy dogs all over the house. The stroller tends to be something she enjoys pushing around in the morning, upstairs, while we are getting dressed and ready for the day. Her other favorite past time is opening drawers and cupboards, doing her best to take everything out and then put it away again. Hopefully we can soon transfer this skill to her toy area.

Her schedule hasn’t evolved yet since she is still taking two solid naps per day.  Even though we have traveled a number of times in the past few months, we do our best to maintain this schedule, while knowing it won’t always be perfect. If we are traveling, she tends to fall asleep in her car seat if we’re in the car during her nap time, but on a plane she has yet to fall asleep in our lap at this older age.

  • 7:15 AM Wake and milk in straw cup
  • 7:30-8:00 Playtime
  • 8:00-8:15 Breakfast
  • 8:30 Nanny Share drop off
  • 9:15 -11:15 Morning Nap
  • 11:15 Morning Snack
  • 11:30 – 12:15 Playtime
  • 12:15 Lunch
  • 1:15 – 3:00 pm Nap
  • 3:-0-2:15 Playtime
  • 2:15 – 4 Afternoon Nap
  • 4:00 Afternoon snack (fruit, cheese, vegetable or carb)
  • 4:15-5:15 Playtime
  • 5:15 Dinner
  • 5:45 Pick up from nanny share
  • 5:55 – 6:30 Playtime at park or home depending on weather
  • 6:30-6:45 Calm playtime with books
  • 6:45 Bath time
  • 7:00 Milk in straw cup + reading/rocking
  • 7:15 Bed

While she still isn’t taking any stuffed animals into her crib, she sleeps with a pacifier and a few loveys. In fact, she has 3 Wubbanub pacifiers (giraffe, bear and elephant) in her crib at night as she randomly cuddled these when she was sick, more than eight months ago, and it became a habit. She seems to cuddle two of them and then use one when she is going to sleep. Most nights, according to her Nest camera, the pacifier drops out of her mouth once she falls asleep. Bo and I have talked about when we want or need to drop the pacifier but at this point, since our pediatrician said it isn’t an issue, we see no need to take it away yet.

Last but not least, we are making progress on the verbal front. We constantly talk to Katie, sharing details about our activities with her and asking her questions which she could easily answer. She surprises us with new words each day, but right now she is confidently saying 15-20 words including puppy, yes, no, mommy, up, dad, bath, hi, bye bye,  and words that sound like banana, bed, teddy, and toy.

I’m sure I forgot to mention a few things so if you have any questions, as always please feel free to email or leave a comment. In addition, if you want more frequent updates, I’m sharing lots on InstaStories and Instagram.

 

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Brooklyn Adventures: Prospect Park Zoo

Over the past few months, I’ve started to receive more and more Brooklyn requests. Locals and tourists alike want to know our favorite spots to workout, run, sip, shop, eat and explore with Katie. While I have a few ideas in the works, today’s post highlights the most wonderful Brooklyn adventure we had with Katie this weekend – Prospect Park Zoo. \

One of New York City’s four zoos, the Prospect Park Zoo is located on the eastern side of Prospect Park. It’s a small, 12-acre zoo perfect for a short visit. We spent 1.5 hours exploring the grounds with Katie on Saturday and really enjoyed our experience. Even on a hot, Summer Saturday the zoo was busy but not packed, allowing us to easily navigate with the stroller and even allow Katie to practice walking. There is a mix of indoor and outdoor exhibits, providing a nice respite from extremely hot or cold weather.

The zoo’s main attraction is the sea lions, which are located at the center of the zoo. There are feeding sessions three times a day – 11:30am, 2pm and 4pm. While I’m sure the sea lions are especially playful at this time, they were engaging with the crowds and chasing each other even when we were there; without the trainers or food. Katie loved squealing and pointing at the sea lions. Beyond the sea lions, the zoo is organized into four different areas: Hall of Animals, Discovery Trail, Animal Lifestyles and the Barn. Throughout these exhibits, there are 25 animals ranging from the alpaca to tamarins. While it was hard for Katie to appreciate or see some of the animals who were further away or hiding in the shade, she was able to appreciate every section except the dark bat section.  If an animal was out of site, we focused and pointed out other things in the area such as birds, flowers, trees or even playful children.  As you would expect, the zoo staff said that the best time to visit is early in the day when the animals are more active. During the summer months, many of the animals will hide in the shade during the hot afternoons. 

The highlight for us was the barn area as Katie was able to safely pet pigs, sheep and alpaca. Next time, we will make sure that we bring spare change or a few dollars so we can buy feed for Katie to give to the animals.

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Hours: The zoo is open 10-5 PM during the Summer and Fall hours but closes at 4:30 during the winter.

Admission: Earlier this year, we purchased the Family Zoo Plus Membership which gives us access to all of the zoos throughout the city as our nanny enjoys taking Katie and the two boys in our nanny share to the different zoos and aquarium on a regular basis. If you don’t have the membership, admission to the zoo is $9.95 for adults, $6.95 for kids and children under 2 are free!

Transportation: Subway (B/Q/S), Bus (B41/B47) or Car (street parking on Flatbush Avenue)

Best For: Young children or people who are exploring Prospect Park and want to squeeze in some animal time

Food: While there were food options, they were a bit underwhelming. I was happy that we chose to bring Katie’s lunch in a stay-cool bag and give it to her while sitting under the shade.

 

You can easily experience the entire zoo in a few hours or even visit for a shorter, more focused trip if you’re short on time or trying to squeeze a visit in between naps. You can access the zoo via car, bus or subway. We found plenty of free parking on Flatbush Avenue, just a few steps from the zoo entrance.

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Katie’s Favorite Books – 14 Months Old

Like her parents, Katie loves to read. Or, I should say that she loves to spend time flipping the pages through her books and having people read to her, especially when she’s sitting in their lap. Some days, she’ll sit and enjoy three or four books at a time while other days she loves flipping the pages before we can get the words out of our mouth. Regardless of her mood or the day, we always read at least a few books together. In fact, each night, as part of our bedtime routine, I read two or three books to Katie while rocking her. These peaceful moments are often my favorite part of the day.

I thought it would be fun to share some of Katie’s favorite books now that she is 14 months old. Some of these have been favorites since the very beginning and others are new additions.

 

Katie’s Favorite Books at 14 Months Old

  • Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes: Bo and I both love reading this book to Katie as part of the bedtime routine. The gentle rhyme seems to calm her and I love counting kissing her nose at the very end. The story is a wonderful one, helping teach children that the world is filled with all different children who still have things in common.
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar:  Somehow Katie didn’t own this book until two weeks ago. While walking through a Walmart store in Arkansas during a work trip, a number of co-workers asked me about Katie’s favorite books when we passed the book aisle. When they realized Katie didn’t own this book, they changed that immediately. It’s such a fun story and the bright colors and holes in the books keep Katie entertained. This weekend she dragged the book over to me no less than five times, hoping to hear about the very hungry caterpillar who ate too much.
  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
  • The Going to Bed Book: We have a number of Sandra Boyton’s bright, vibrant, lyrical books, but this one is my favorite. I read it to Katie every single night before bed. Unlike some “bedtime books” , I like that it is short and an easy-to-read even in a dimly lit room. Katie now enjoys turning the pages once I finish reading them and knows that it is a bed time book. Earlier today Bo lifted it out during reading time and she pushed it away, replacing it with another book.
  • Sniff, Munch & Lick Books: I bought these after seeing no less than five local moms rave about them on their Instagram or Facebook feeds. Katie loves the movement in this book as it is filled with moving animals, flaps and textures. Unfortunately, many of the heads are now taped in the book after Katie ripped them off but, she still enjoys flipping and reading the book with me even though not every animal’s beak, tail or mouth moves anymore.
  • Pat the Bunny: Personally, this book makes me laugh as it is such a classic and very retro. But, whether due to the multiple textures, flaps or fun holes, Katie has gravitated towards this book since she was very young. Ours has been hugged, gnawed, flipped and loved on a daily basis over the past few months.
  • Where’s Spot: We’ve replaced this book twice due to Katie aggressively ripping off the flaps but regardless, it’s still a favorite.
  • First 100 Words: We’ve had this book since Katie was born and originally, she seemed attracted to the bright, small, thick pages. These days we read the book slowly, trying to draw her focus to at least one of the items on each page. Some days, she just wants to quickly turn the pages and other days we almost have her repeating the words – sort of.
  • Elmo at the Zoo: Katie loves turning the pages in this book and the fun animals allow us to practice different animal sounds with her as we read the book. She pulls this off the shelf at least once a day, in hopes that we’ll read it to her and include all the fun Sesame Street and animal sound effects.

 

 

Pictures courtesy of Alexis Damen photography.

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