Chasing Laela

Holy moly am I beat.  Kyle's been traveling a lot, and as much as I love Laela walking, sometimes it was easier when I could throw her in the baby carrier and get things done.  Now when I clean, I've got this cute little tornado following me, tossing things out of containers and drawers, giggling all the way.  When I bake, I have to give her dough to play with- and then dunk her in the tub promptly after.  The most hilarious thing is that she's totally convinced that she wants to jump out of the stroller and run through the mall, but the second she's two feet away, she turns around, yelps "Mommy!" and runs back to me to hold my leg/arm/pinky because as much as she wants to try new things, she wants that reassurance that I'm there.  So that's where I've been lately- chasing Laela, and being chased by Laela.

What have we been eating, might you ask?  Toddler food.  Edamame and peas as snacks.  Sliced up oranges and grapes.  Sun butter on whole wheat crackers.  Cinnamon toast, turkey and cheese sandwiches, vegetarian lasagne, tacos, roasted chicken, meatballs, or her absolute favorite, hummus and whole wheat pita.  When you're on the run all the time, you want to munch on the go!  I've had to learn to adjust my program.  We sit down for our meals (breakfast and dinner are the constants- that's family time and I won't allow it to change), but on days that we go to the park, or to somewhere super fun like the museum or the playhouse, we snack or have special packed lunches that we eat picnic style either on benches, or tables set up at the museum.  I think it's helping my little girl learn that healthy eating and snacking is important, regardless of where we are.  On top of that, I think it's helping her learn to ease into different situations.  Eating in different places may seem like something small to a grown up, but to a little person, it's a regular introduction to an entirely different atmosphere, thus making the eating experience totally new!

No matter what parenting style you may have, you don't want to get stuck in a situation where you can't go anywhere because your little one can't adjust to a change of scenery or a disruption of his/her schedule.  We have a difficult time getting Laela to sleep in strange places, so we've had to learn what works for her when we travel.  How did we learn this?  By having a terrible traveling experience and going to our friends' wedding feeling like miserable zombies!!  The point is, you can be a good parent and still do fun things.  If you want to go to the park, or meet up with girlfriends, do it.  The worst that could happen is that your kid flips out and your friends look at you like you're nuts (which hey, they're your friends, they probably think this anyway), and you drag your cute little demon home- where he or she will probably be a little angel the second you walk through the door and you'll want to cry.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.