This is the only way I can explain how it is that Maya has turned Lorne’s calculator into a smart phone (not sure if she prefers blackberries or iphones yet!).

The other day Maya walked into the living room holding a pen, a piece of paper and Lorne’s calculator.  She walked up to her toy box, set the pen and paper down and held the calculator while saying “email, Maya email.” and pressing the buttons with her thumbs.  Later that day she did the same thing, except part way through “checking her email” she apparently was getting a call on her iPhone and she said, “oh, phone.” and put the calculator to her ear and said “Hello.”  The was the cutest, funniest thing.  I couldn’t stop laughing and telling her how adorable she was. (I got her to reenact it this morning so you could see just how flippin’ cute it is).

You see, neither Lorne or I have a smart phone, we both just use regular cell phones and never text with them (I mean never).  No one Maya sees with any regularity has a Blackberry or an iPhone that she would have learned how to imitate the actions.  We just can’t figure it out.  The only explanation I can come up with is that she was just born knowing what a Blackberry and an iPhone are, and how to use it

You would have been two years old today.  I can’t believe you aren’t here to celebrate.  It breaks my heart that your mom and dad won’t be able to shower you with love, hugs, presents and cream puffs today.   It breaks my heart that you won’t get to blow out your candles.  It breaks my heart that your mom and dad have to struggle though this day without you.  But today is your birthday and should be about celebration.  So, today I’m wearing purple to honor you and to show my support to your mom and dad.  And today I’ll be telling everyone I meet about you so they too can know how amazing you were and can celebrate you.

Though it is hard not to focus on the crappy things about this day I’m trying to think about good things too.  Trying to imagine what you would be like now as a bubbly little toddler.  I’m trying to imagine the things you would be up to nowadays.  You’d be talking up a storm I’m sure, wowing everyone with your witty humor and infectious giggles.  You’d be dancing and singing every chance you got.  You’d be cuddling with everyone.  You’d be getting all excited about the arrival of your new little sister (probably kissing your mommy’s tummy every chance you got).  Every time I read the stories on your mom’s blog I would always think to myself how much like my own daughter you were.  You would often do the same silly things, seemed to love a lot of the same things.  So, as I watch her grew up I can easily imagine what you would have been like too.  I wish you two had had the opportunity to meet, you would have loved playing together.

I know you are up there somewhere giggling and smiling and being showered with the love, hugs, kisses and birthday wishes we are all sending you’re way today.  I want you to know that there are a lot of people down here doing our best to support your mom and dad through this really crappy, really tough time.  We will stand behind them, support them and love them for you.

So, happy birthday Maddie, I hope you are having one heck of a party up there in heaven.  We miss you, we love you, we wish you were here.

Photo lovingly borrowed from The Spohr’s Flickr Album.

We had an awesome little celebration for her.  We invited a couple of her very best friends over for a trip to the zoo and some delicious cake.   We had the perfect day for our planned festivities.  The weather here in St. Louis was unseasonably warm (I think we hit close to 80 degrees yesterday).

We started the day out by meeting up with some friends at the zoo.  Maya was so happy to celebrate her special day with her favorite people.

We wandered around the zoo for a few hours, enjoyed some lunch and had an all around good time.  As you can see everyone had a blast.

Then it was back to our place to open presents and eat cake (everyone’s favorite part of a birthday party!!)  Maya was a little slow at open her presents, she didn’t quite get the hang of it right away, so her good buddy Logan had to help her out.  After the presents were all opened we brought out the cake and everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to Maya, she even blew out her candle all by herself.

After our friends headed home and we had cleaned up a bit we decided to take Maya outside to try out her brand new bike.  So we ended the day with a little bike ride around the neighborhood.  She loved it.

My sweet little girl is two, already.  I’m glad she had such a great time on her birthday and do so many of her favorite things, visit the zoo, hang out with her best friends, eat cake and play with balloons (lots of balloons).  Happy Birthday baby girl

May you always be as happy, carefree and free-spirited as you are right now.  And may all your hopes, dreams and wishes in life come true.

I love you bunches and bunches pumpkin pie

My sweet little baby (not really such a baby anymore) will celebrate her 2nd birthday on Sunday.  The party preparations are under way.

The celebration has been planned.

Great friends have been invited to spend the day with us.

The birthday cake has been ordered.

Party decorations have been purchased and are waiting to be put up.

Presents have been purchased and wrapped just waiting in the closet for little hands to unwrap them.

Sunday’s festivities will be so much fun.  Maya will have such a wonderful time (I can’t wait to see how excited she gets over her cake, her presents and having her friends here to share her special day with her).  The weather is supposed to be amazing here, just perfect for the day we have planned for our sweet little girl.  I can’t believe she will be two already.  Time flies…

For most women it will be perfectly safe to continue working during your pregnancy with no changes.  However, there are some jobs out there that are just not safe for pregnant women.  The job itself, or other environmental factors surrounding the job could be damaging to the baby growing inside of you.  Women in these unsafe jobs will need to request a change in position for the duration of their pregnancy or determine what can be done to make their job safe during their pregnancy.  It is important to remember that an employer cannot discriminate against you because of your pregnancy, meaning they cannot fire you or lower your pay simply because you are pregnant and asking for a temporary change in position.

Before you talk to your employer about your need to change jobs be sure to educate yourself on your rights and how you are protected under the law.  Do some research of your own and then talk to your human resources department.  Your employer may not be happy about your request to change jobs during your pregnancy but you need to do what is right and safe for you and your growing baby.

Jobs that are unsafe for pregnant women include:

• Any job where you are working with hazardous chemicals such as pesticides, toxic cleaning solutions, lead, second hand smoke, etc.
• Any position where you are doing heavy lifting.
• Any position where you are exposed to radiation.
• Any position where you are at risk of falling or being struck by heavy objects.
• Any position that has you climbing a ladder or some other similar device.
• Any position where you are exposed to large amount of germs that could cause serious illnesses.

Here are a few of the specific jobs that are unsafe for pregnant women:

• Farming
• Dry Cleaners
• Factory work where there is chemical exposure, too much heavy lifting, or a risk for falls.
• Print Shops
• Craft shops that expose you to drying chemicals, paints, etc.
• Highway worker
• Toll Booth operators.
• Construction
• Certain Healthcare fields

Your employer is required to disclose all dangerous contaminants  in the workplace and to protect pregnant women from being exposed to dangerous contaminants.  If you feel your job is putting your pregnancy at risk talk to your employer, your human resources department, your doctor and anyone else you may be able to help you get into a temporary position in your company that is safe for you and your pregnancy.

For more information on workplace safety during pregnancy, what your rights as a pregnant employee are and what you can do to protect yourself during your pregnancy visit the follow government websites.

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration
• U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau

The Butterfly House here in St. Louis, MO is a great activity to do with your kids either on a cold day in the middle of winter when you just need to feel some warmth, or on a yucky, rainy day any time of the year.

The Butterfly House is operated by the Missouri Botanical Gardens and is located within Faust Park  in Chesterfield (a western suburb of St. Louis).  The Butterfly House is open year round and offers people an opportunity to see and experience almost 50 different variates of butterfly.  It consists of a walk through a butterfly garden that allows you a chance to get up close and personal with the butterflies (they are known to land on you!), several different bug exhibits in the main lobby, a movie that teaches child (and adults) about the life of a butterfly starting out when it hatches as a caterpillar to when it takes flight as a butterfly.  They also have a cute little gift shop.

The cost for the butterfly house is $6 per adult and $4 per child 3-12 years old (under 3 is free).  This is the only down side to the Butterfly House.  Although I think the facility is amazing and love that it offers you an opportunity to get so close with so many butterflies I think the cost is a bit high for what you get.  I’ve been several times and just suck it up and pay the admission because both myself and Maya just love it there, but I think a fee of a couple dollars less would be more reasonable.

For the most part you can expect to spend about 1-1.5 hours at the Butterfly house.  The little educational movie they show is about 15 mins long and you can spend as much time as you want walking through the butterfly garden.  It is really hot and humid in there so usually 30-45 minutes is tops for us.

Maya just loves seeing all the butterflies, especially when they land on either us or our stuff (one landed on our camera last time we were there!).  I would definitely recommend the Butterfly House to families looking for something a little different to do with their kids when the weather gets bad.

For first time moms bringing home their brand new little baby presents a lot of challenges.  Figuring out what your baby needs based on their different cries, learning how to breastfeed, finding the right balance of sleep.  It is all new and it takes time for you to get to know the ins and outs of motherhood; the ins and outs of your baby.  One of the big challenges is figuring out what works to calm your baby when all their needs have been met.  Sometimes babies just cry, every baby has their fuss time.  Over the first days and weeks of being home with your baby you will slowly figure out when your baby’s fuss time is and what works best to calm them.  It will feel so good that first time you are able to calm your crying baby and they lay resting peacefully.

Here are a few calming tricks you can try when your baby is fussy:

• Lay your baby on your chest and let him or her hear your heartbeat.
• Play soft music as you rock your baby.
• Talk or sing to your baby in a soothing voice.  They are used to hearing your voice from inside the womb and it is very calming to them.
• Babies love a rocking or swinging motion.  Try using a rocking chair or a baby swing to sooth your fussy little one.
• Take the baby for a walk in the stroller, in a sling, or for a drive in the car.  Movement is very soothing to babies.

Don’t worry, you’ll figure out the tricks that work best with your baby and you’ll be an old pro at calming him or her down before you know it.  It can be frustrating, tiring, upsetting to have a baby crying for no reason.  If it becomes too much for you to handle take a break, get your spouse to take a turn at trying to calm him or her.  This phase does pass.

If you are worried about your baby’s crying or worried about your reactions to the crying be sure to talk to your child’s pediatrician or your doctor.

Have you joined the Million Baby Crawl?  Maya joined today.

So, what is the Million Baby Crawl you might ask.  Well…

The Million Baby Crawl is being organized by Seventh Generation, creators of household products that are environmentally friendly and free of dangerous toxins, to support the Toxic Chemical Reform Act, a bill before Congress.  This bill will take quick action on eliminating the most dangerous chemicals from household products, require full disclosure of the health and environmental impact of all chemicals and support science to ensure products are safe for those most vulnerable, our babies.

By becoming part of the Million Baby Crawl you can help tell congress that you support this bill and want to see major changes in the household products market to ensure that the products we use everyday, those that our children are exposed to are safe.

Join the crawl today, make your voice heard.

This past week we have done a bunch of fun fall activities with Maya.  She has loved it.

We went apple and pumpkin picking this past weekend which was so much fun.

We went to the St. Louis Zoo for Boo at the Zoo and for their Spooktacular Trick-or-Treating event.  Maya loved getting all dressed up in her kitty costume!

We carved our pumpkin.  At first Maya didn’t want to help, but ended up having a blast playing with the gross insides of the pumpkin.  She was very pleased with the end product.

The only thing we haven’t done yet is rake leaves and let Maya jump in them.  We don’t have quite enough fallen leaves in our yard yet.  Maybe later this week or next we’ll have enough (and they’ll be dry) and we’ll be able to check another fun fall activity off our list.