Mommy Moments — A Mom's Impression

Family Travels

July 18, 2010 By Mom 14 Comments

I am so excited to be writing this while staying with family for a wedding. My husband, TJ and I are in northern Indiana to attend the wedding of my husband’s cousin. After weeks of searching I finally found TJ a suit in a 12 month size and I wanted to share a picture with you.

Isn’t he the most handsome little guy? I was a little frustrated trying to find dress clothes for infant/toddler boys. Everywhere you turn are adorable little girl outfits, but the only store I could find a suit for TJ in was Macy’s. I even checked infant/toddler speciality stores. I hope someone out there reads this and realizes that boys need to look special on special occasions too!

Driving up here made me realize that we are leaving on our family vacation in just one week! We are headed to North West Michigan with my husbands family. It is a tradition that steams back several decades in his family. We make the trip every other summer. This will be TJ’s first time. I have had many opportunities to review some items that will be brought with us up to Lake Michigan and I can’t wait to share them all with you. In fact, GM is sending us a 2010 Buick Enclave to use for the trip! I can’t wait to share the experience with all of you!

I am a little nervous about driving over 8 hours with a 15 month old. If anyone out there has some advice for a first time mom and her first time long road trip I would really love to hear it!

Filed Under: Mommy Moments, Travel Tagged With: Mommy Moments, Travel

We’re Back!

July 7, 2010 By Mom 4 Comments

We are back home safely from our family vacation. I am so glad to be in my (albeit hot) house. We had a great time with a lot of interesting events (including a trip to the ER). I just put TJ to bed hoping that he will magically be back on schedule. I am currently answering emails and getting articles ready to publish. If you sent me an email be assured that I will get to it tonight or tomorrow.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Filed Under: Mommy Moments Tagged With: Mommy Moments

Happy Father’s Day

June 20, 2010 By Mom 1 Comment

To all the father’s out there, Happy Father’s Day. I hope you have a wonderful day with your families! I also want to say Happy Birthday to my Dad! I love you!

TJ and Daddy on Daddy’s first day on the job!

Filed Under: Mommy Moments Tagged With: Mommy Moments

The Baby Is No Longer A Baby

June 11, 2010 By Mom 9 Comments

So a couple of monumental milestones happened today. TJ decided at about 2:00 that he can walk. He has taken a couple of steps here and there, but he would rather crawl. It was like a light came on this afternoon and he decided he was no longer going to crawl but to walk. I can’t believe it. He is walking everywhere! Here is a short video clip I made today. (Don’t you love how the dog sees me with the camera and comes right on over. I think he thinks he is Lassie or something. Most of the time he could care less what I am doing with TJ, but if you pull out a camera…)

Another big milestone is that TJ went to bed tonight without a bottle. We have managed to take all of his bottles away during the day, but for the past couple of weeks he still has had his night bottle. Well today he decide that a cup of sippy milk a half an hour before bed was good enough. I am so proud of him growing up, but a little part of me is sad that he no longer needs his mommy to get to sleep like before. They do grow up so quickly.

On a side note, I have signed up for a cake decorated class at my local craft store. I have been to one class (out of 4) so far and I am loving it! I promise to post some pictures and update my progress as the next Duff!

Filed Under: Mommy Moments Tagged With: Mommy Moments

Summer Fun!

June 3, 2010 By Mom 8 Comments

It’s official… I am on my Summer Break! I am very excited to spend some quality time with TJ. He was born toward the end of the school year last summer and we had a wonderful few months together before I had to enroll him into daycare. He has changed so much and I am sure we will have a ton of fun this summer together. I have a lot of activities planned for our summer. We are heading to Michigan and Idaho for family vacations where TJ will get into a pool for the first time. I have swim diapers in the closet and we are going to practice in a kiddie pool whenever the weather cooperates.

I have enrolled myself into a cake decorating class that I am super excited about. It is a four week course designed to teach me the basics. I caught the cake decorating bug when I planed TJ’s birthday. I had a lot of fun making his special cupcakes. I will be sure to post some pictures of some of my creations along the way.

TJ is doing great. We are battling over the bottle, but I have it down to only one at night. He is also starting to eat more table food and I have decided that I will no longer buy “baby food” for him. I am having a great time planing his meals so that I ensure he gets all the nutrition he needs. I also found out that he loves avocados! Here are some current pictures of our little guy. If you are curious about his grin… he has a “camera” face. Every Time I get out the camera and point it at him to take his picture he scrunches up his eyes and opens his mouth into a huge smile. I chuckle every time. My goodness how I love him!

Camera FaceHe found the tissue box

Handsome Man

Camera Face

Mommy’s Dancing Face (Look familiar… now you know where he got it)

I hope you all enjoy your summer even if you don’t have a couple of months off like I do. I would love to hear about your summer plans.

Filed Under: Mommy Moments Tagged With: Mommy Moments

Five Fun Family Vacation Activities Your Kids Will Love

May 18, 2010 By Mom 6 Comments

I love taking my family on vacations. With a little one it can get complicated when planning your summer vacations. After all, my little guy is only a year old and traveling with him can get a little scary. Luckily, TJ seems to love to travel. Here are some of our fun family vacations activities we take every year. Twitter Mom’s is asking mom bloggers everywhere to post about their family vacation activities. You can learn more here.

We travel to Idaho every winter and summer to be with our family. If you plan on taking a long trip like this one be sure to pack some baby friendly activities for the plane ride. We try to fly during TJ’s normal sleeping time to make it easier on our fellow travelers. We also take a lot of snacks!
We go to the “beach”. Well really it is Lake Michigan, but the water is what keeps kids entertained for hours at a time. Get some sunscreen and enjoy yourself.
We take weekend trips to the amusement parks. We are fortunate enough to have several family friendly parks here in Indiana and close surrounding states. I haven’t taken our little guy there yet, but my family has taken my nieces and nephews and had a blast.
My family likes to camp. When I was a kid we would take a weekend and hike up into a camping spot and pitch our tents and spend the night. This is a great family activity that doesn’t require a lot cash (once you have the camping supplies).
I love to go on family picnics. It may not be as flashy as an amusement park, or as adventurous as camping, but packing a light lunch and heading out to the park with my family is one of my highlights of the summer. A day trip is a great way to get out and about and stay active.

Here is TJ in his Porta Crib (A must when you travel with an infant or toddler). We were visiting our family out in Idaho. He loved to travel and he loved his little bed.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the Williamsburg Tourism and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Fun Family Vacation Activities

Visit Williamsburg

Filed Under: Blogging, Mommy Moments Tagged With: Blogging, Mommy Moments

A Mom’s Impression News and Updates

May 9, 2010 By Mom 2 Comments

Don’t forget to enter our Giveaways ending at midnight May 10:

Sodastream Review and Giveaway

The Juppy Baby Walker Review and Giveaway

Ouchies Jr. Review and Giveaway

I hope you all enjoyed your Mother’s Day, I know I did. We went out to our annual brunch and ate a lot of food. BJ loved feeding his cousins his cheerios (they playfully obliged). We came home and relaxed and then I took BJ on a wagon ride up and down our street while daddy mowed the yard. It was a perfect day!

BJ is doing wonderfully. He just had his first year doctor’s appointment and he is a very healthy boy. He is now completely off of formula and we are working on eating more table food so that he is no longer on baby food. This process is difficult and frustrating for mommy because BJ doesn’t like to eat table food (unless you are giving him cheerios). He apparently hates cheese which is baffling me because I love cheese. He picks up the food and throws it on the floor. Our dog, Eli, is loving this new chapter in BJ’s life, he is the ultimate clean up crew!

BJ is taking steps. He is slow and steady often just standing for a few minutes and then deciding he would rather crawl. With all his movement I have realized that BJ is no longer a baby, he is a toddler. With this realization come a name change here on A Mom’s Impression. BJ (Baby J)’s name is going to be updated to TJ (Toddler J). From now on I will be referring to my son as TJ.

A Mom’s Impression has enjoyed a huge growth in readers last month. I am very honored that so many people are visiting my site and leaving comments. We have some awsome reviews and giveaways coming this month including products from Guidecraft, Little Tikes, Pediped, The First Years, and many more. Thank you for visiting and please check back often.

Filed Under: Blogging, Mommy Moments Tagged With: Blogging, Mommy Moments

BJ’s 1st Birthday

May 2, 2010 By Mom 11 Comments

Last weekend we celebrated BJ’s first birthday with a monkey themed party with close family members. BJ’s grandparents flew in from Idaho just like they did a year ago to spend some quality time with BJ. Here are a few pictures from the big day.
BJ and his “Camera Face”. It is adorable how he gets a big grin on his face when you are taking his picture.

BJ didn’t eat any of his cake. He didn’t like the frosting on his fingers and wouldn’t even taste it. Maybe next year.

Here is BJ’s “cake.” I actually made 2 different kinds of cupcakes instead of a traditional cake.

This is the first kind of cupcake I made. It is a peanut butter cupcake with chocolate frosting decorated like monkeys. The other kind were banana cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting with birthday picks in them.

Here is BJ in his adorable birthday shirt we got from Stitcheroos. He had so much fun crawling in and out of the screen door. Luckily the rain held off and we were able to enjoy being outside.

Here is BJ and his cousin sitting in the wagon.

All the cousins couldn’t resist taking a ride in the wagon up and down the street being pulled by PopPop.

Taking a break with Grammy and Gramps on the couch. It was a long, exciting, and perfect day!

Filed Under: Birthday, Mommy Moments Tagged With: Birthday, Mommy Moments

A Year Ago Today…

April 24, 2010 By Mom 13 Comments

My little man was born!

I can’t believe you turn a year old today. People have always told me that they grow up fast, but I had no idea what they truly meant until I became your mom. I wanted a child for a long, long time. There was a point in my life that I wasn’t sure if I would be able to have kids, but I am so happy that I was able to.

Your arrival was scheduled. We had an appointment for my cesarean section and we made it to that date. Of course everything doesn’t always go according to plan and they had to take you a little early because your little heart rate plummeted about an hour before my scheduled surgery. We were nervous, but I can’t explain the feeling that went through me when I heard your little cry for the very first time. Daddy made sure you were okay and then brought you over to me so I could give you my first kiss. I haven’t been that happy in my entire life.

You have been relatively healthy this year. We have had a rough road with your eczema and allergies, but every day your skin is looking a little better. You have a strawberry hemangioma on your forehead that I don’t even notice anymore and should disappear before you even are able to ask what it is. You are perfect!

From what I understand about babies, you have been an easy one. You are happy. Your favorite thing to do right now is to take off crawling across the floor and look back at us chasing you and laugh. You love the camera and smile most of the time when I take your picture. Your a little daredevil that is going to give your mom a stroke one of these days if it continues. You love sweet potatoes.

Your best friend has been your puppy Eli. You two love each other so much. I am amazed at how much patience Eli has with you when you poke him in the eyes all the time. I can tell you from experience that Eli doesn’t have that kind of patience with everyone, just his little brother.

I love you more than words can possible say, and I hope one day you have a child of your own so that you can truly understand how much you mean to me. Happy Birthday, Mommy and daddy love you!

Filed Under: Birthday, Mommy Moments Tagged With: Birthday, Mommy Moments

2010 Ultimate Blog Party

April 11, 2010 By Mom 6 Comments

I am participating in 5 Minutes For Mom’s 2010 Ultimate Blog Party. Click on the banner above to learn more about the Ultimate Blog Party.

Welcome to A Mom’s Impression! My name is Kathy and I am the founder of AMI. I am a first time mom to a beautiful baby boy about to turn 1 on the 24th. I am the wife of an amazing man who I have been happily married to for 5 years (in June). I write about my life as a new mom and about amazing products for the family. We have a lot of giveaways and I recently have been blogging about family recipes that I have tried out on my husbands (I call them Kathy surprises). I created this blog to keep in touch with my family members who live across the country. I have met amazing men and women while blogging and would love to get to know you as well. Thank you for taking the time to visit A Mom’s Impression, take a look around and enter some of my giveaways.

BJ and I on his first Halloween. He wore his costume for exactly 10 minutes and then he wanted it off!