The Photographer's Wife Parenting, Disney, Travel, Reviews & Other Randomness

Wow, I think if I still had the task of doing a monthly post for Trent, I would have missed a few months here and there by now…time just flies by. So here we are at 18 months.

Yesterday, he had his 18 month appointment and everything was good. He’s a little congested and has a tooth coming in, but he’s still a happy little guy for the most part.

 

Here are some fun Trent facts at 18 months:

Disney trips: 4

Words:

He can say:

No (more like NNnnnnoooooo - as an answer to everything. Mickey “Do you want to come inside my Clubhouse?” Trent: “NNNnnnooooo”)

Yes

Quack (“What does a ducky say?”)

Moo (“What does a cow say?”)

Dad

Mom

Nana

Bye

Fish

Hot Dog

Blastoff (Blass blass!)

He also does a pretty good ROAR when we ask him what a dinosaur says.

His favorite things:

Playing games on the iPad/iPhone - he knows how to turn our phones/iPad on and select his games and start playing on his own.

Feeding the dog stuff he’s not supposed to

Putting things in and out of containers

Pushing his wooden duck

Dumping his Lego blocks all over the floor

Taking my hair clip out of my hair

Bubbles

Blowing kisses

His sheep stuffed animal

Feeding us

Favorite things to eat: Fruit (especially strawberries), corn on the cob, chicken nuggets, popcorn shrimp, cookies

 

Things he hates:

Fireworks (he just looks away and even falls asleep)

Strangers (even some family members he hasn’t seen in a while)

Us brushing his teeth (he wants to do it himself)

Santa (we just found this one out the other day)

Being picked up/held when he wants to run around

It’s amazing to look at him and realize he is a little person, with his own personality, has likes and dislikes and the ability to make his own decisions, feed himself, and learn so fast. I’m looking forward to him opening gifts this Christmas (last year we mostly had to do it for him), spending time with family, taking him on his first cruise next month, and all of what 2014 has in store for us…perhaps potty training???

Happy 1/2 birthday my sweet boy. <3

Last month, I told you we ordered our Christmas cards from Simply to Impress and when we returned from our weekend Disney trip, they were waiting for us!

I couldn’t wait to see them and the box they come in is so pretty, it just adds to the excitement.

Of course, we continued with the humorous theme from last year.

We upgraded and got the Fashion Pearl Finish, which puts a pearlescent/shimmery finish on the card. I like how it gave it that little something extra. It also made it impossible to take photos of the cards to show you the finish, but trust me, they looked so purdy.

A little behind-the-scenes info: Brett set up the camera at the edge of our yard on a tripod. He set it to take a photo every 2 seconds, so he didn’t have to worry about a remote and we could just do various poses and let Trent act silly and just go through them all at the end and pick which one we liked. To get Trent to look toward the camera, we put the iPad on the ground by the camera and put Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on. Worked like a charm.

We wanted to show Brett and I relaxing with our drinks while Trent is supposedly doing all the hard work with decorating with lights. I really wanted him to hold his arms up with all the lights, kind of in frustration, but the one time he lifted his arms up, this happened.

Parents of the year, right here. I love how Brett is still just chilling in his seat while I’m the one running up to get Trent.

After we submitted the card to Simply to Impress, we had the idea of putting the outtake on the back of our card, but it was too late as the cards had already started printing.

I am glad I got to work with Simply to Impress for these cards…we really like them and hope everyone else enjoys them and gets a little chuckle from it (or they can come here and look at the outtake).

And for added fun, here is our Christmas card from 2012:

Can we take a moment while I pick my jaw off the floor after seeing how little Trent looks in last year’s card?

Tell me: do you prefer funny cards or traditional cards? I like funny cards, but I hope we can keep coming up with ideas every year!

 

Trent has been drinking from a straw cup for many months now. He took to it quite easily, actually. Now, every morning, he follows us into the kitchen and waits for us to fill his cup with milk and shake the Ovaltine into it so he can shake his arms up and down too. Then for the rest of the day, his cup is never far and sees it’s fair share of sweet tea, juice and water.

You may remember our review of another Nuby straw cup a few months ago. I was excited to try these Clik-It No Spill Flex Straw Cups because the difference is that the lid actually makes a clicking sound to let you know that it’s closed and won’t spill.

Nuby’s new Clik-it™ range of cups offers leak proof technology that you can see and hear so moms and dads won’t have to worry about spills and leaks! Our new and unique FlexStraw™ is engineered specially to fit your child’s small hands. FlexStraw™ features an innovative, ergonomic shape with easy-grips on the bottle that ensures a comfortable, secure grasp. This revolutionary design is made for the parent on the go and is great for day picnics, hikes, and your child’s recreational activities! The soft silicone straw is uniquely designed to prevent drips and spills while being delicate and gentle to gums and teeth. All Nûby™ products are made of safe, durable, materials and exceed all government safety regulations and standards.

• No spill flex straw
• Easy grip cup base
• Fun bright colors
• BPA free

These cups can be turned completely upside down and thrown all around and they won’t spill. This is my favorite cup for Trent when we’re traveling, especially to Disney. I can put it in the outside pouch of my backpack and easily grab it to fill up and hand to Trent. I can trust that it won’t spill, even when I’m moving my bag from ride to ride, to seat, to stroller, etc.

We have noticed that if you have something really cold inside, the difference in temperature may cause some of the liquid to expand out of the straw. We also wish it were a little easier to clean in the valve and straw area, but I think that is an issue you will find with most “no-spill” baby/child cups.

The Clik-It No Spill Flex Straw Cup is meant for children aged 12+ months, but honestly, Trent started using it before then, so just use your judgment to determine what your child is ready for. This is designed to be a transitional cup before reaching sippy cups and then to regular cups.

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If you enjoyed this post, check out my other Nuby reviews here!

I did not receive any compensation for this post, although as part of this program I received items to sample or review. As always, all opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Last year for our town’s Christmas parade, we put LED Christmas lights on Trent’s stroller and he was the talk of the town.

Ok, maybe not the entire town, but so many people told us how awesome it was and asked how we did it. It was so simple…we just bought a few strings of battery-powered LED Christmas lights and wrapped them around the stroller, using velcro strips as needed.

This year, we put those lights back on the stroller, but this time, we added something more…light-up reindeer antlers!

These WOW! Antlers were intended to be used on a vehicle, but they were great on Trent’s stroller instead! After all, isn’t a stroller just a baby’s vehicle anyway?

Included in the package are two antlers that have little LED lights scattered on them that actually light up and a peppermint button, intended to be the nose!

We decorated the stroller for a local Victorian Christmas festival and we had so many people pointing and saying “Look at the stroller!” and telling us how awesome it was. These were so much fun and definitely added to the festiveness of his stroller.

About WOW! Antlers:

The Christmas season is often coined as the “Season of Lights”, and WOW! Antlers is the perfect product to festively decorate any vehicle with holiday lights! Yes, our Car Reindeer Antlers actually LIGHT UP (equipped with bright white LEDs). Family fun and enjoyment for all ages! Installation in 10 seconds…..Easy as 1-2-3!!! This year, take the Christmas spirit with you everywhere your car goes…

 

To buy:

WOW! Antlers was recently featured on Good Morning America, where a 50% off discount was offered…and they want to give you the same amazing discount. To get 50% off your order, just go to their site here.

 

I received this product in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. Thanks for reading!

I confess…sometimes I think about hosting a prom night party just so I can dress up in a nice floor-length dress and feel fancy. Well, that and because I love themed parties, but mostly because I loved the feeling of finding the perfect dress, getting my hair and nails done, and dancing the entire night. Nowadays, I don’t get many opportunities to dress up, but I do consider going all-out for the formal night on our cruises, especially since I saw so many beautiful dresses on our last cruise. Coincidentally, I was happy to be introduced to dressfirst.com, a website full of dresses for almost every occasion you can think of!

I am like a kid in a candy store looking around at all the beautiful dresses they have. This little black dress is perfect for a cocktail party or New Year’s Eve party. It’s sexy, but covered up enough to be appropriate for a work party, too.

But for formal nights, I like looking at the floor-length evening dresses. I love the detail on this lace overlay dress. It’s pink without being too in-your-face-pink…and you can still wear a bra

I also like how this dress is so flowy and simple. I bet it looks amazing while you walk. I like dresses that show your shape, but still allow you to sit and move freely and not feel confined.

You can search by occasion, length, fabric, and more. They have wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, mother of the bride dresses and prom dresses. Man, I wish I had some of these dresses available when I was in high school for my prom! They also offer accessories like wraps, handbags, gloves, etc. to go with your dress.

So the next time you or your daughter, mom or other gal in your life needs a dress for a special occasion and you’re tired of looking at the same things in the mall, start shopping at DressFirst.com!

 

This is a sponsored post written for DressFirst.com. All opinions are my own. Thanks for reading!