Anyone with kids will tell you that the days at home with little ones are long and busy. I often find myself chatting about my time at home with Dessa and Harvey on Facebook and Instagram. There seem to be two types of moms who chime into those discussions: new moms in the … [Read more...]
How We Got Our Baby and Toddler to Share a Bedroom
It took us until Harvey was over a year old, but we have finally gotten our kids to successfully share a room! It's funny because when we started this process last spring, we had a baby and a toddler that we were trying to transition into room sharing. We finally succeeded after … [Read more...]
Hello, Gestational Diabetes: 34 Week Bump Update
My oh my, where has all the time gone during this pregnancy? Chasing around a very active toddler certainly makes the time fly by extra fast. Somehow, I'm already 34 weeks along and although there are so many similarities between my first pregnancy with Dessa and this experience, … [Read more...]
Our Complicated Story in and Out of Food Allergies
If you follow any of our Instagram stories, you may have seen me share a few of the difficulties we've encountered juggling Dessa's food allergies and sensitivities. In the past year and a half, we've faced allergies and sensitivities to dairy, sesame, and tomato. And just when … [Read more...]
What We Are Doing to Raise a Child who Loves to Read
As an early childhood educator, I know the importance of reading to young children. It sounds so simple and, to be honest, a little unbelievable, but reading to a child for 20 minutes every day from the time she is a baby is the simplest, most-effective thing a parent can do to … [Read more...]
A Day in the Life of a Toddler
No two days in the Gavin house are ever exactly the same, but I thought it would be fun to share a typical day in the life of our 19 month old daughter, Dessa. I kept a pen and paper by my side so I could record every snack break, meltdown, doggie snuggle and everything else in … [Read more...]
Why our Toddler Doesn’t Really Need Toys for Christmas
Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is coming up, but there's one major holiday that's already on everyone's mind: Christmas! For those with children, that usually means toys and lots of them. As we prepare for the gift-giving season, Maria and I are doing our best to keep Dessa's … [Read more...]
Who Will Be the “Mean Parent”?
Maria and I were having dinner the other night and were, as we often do, sharing stories from our day. One story got us wondering about our future as parents. Specifically, which one of us will be the "mean parent"? You know, the disciplinarian that keeps the kids in line. The … [Read more...]
