Dear Bella,

A year and a half has passed since you were yanked out of me holding your head high and your eyes open wide, and you continue to run unabashedly ahead of the pack. (Not that I’m biased or anything – and I’d love you no less if you were…anything else.)

At eighteen months, you know your entire alphabet (except D, which about half the time you call “ABC”), most of your numbers to ten and are reading a few words (a, I, the, by…) on the “Meet The Sight Words” DVD’s before the voice on there says them. You love to sing, and your favourite songs are Twinkle Twinkle, Row Row Row Your Boat (to which you sing “Mewiwee, Mewiwee!” and melt the hearts of everyone around you) and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. You also love when we do “This Little Piggy” and any other rhyme or song that involves your body. Often when we touch you or reach for you, you giggle and say “No tickle Bella!” and at other times you point to your armpit and ask “Tickle Bella?” followed by “Tickle Wah Wah!”

“Wah Wah” happens to be your favourite person on the planet and the two of you are the best of friends. You won’t even take a snack or toy without ensuring “Wah Wah too?” The two of you blame each other for everything, which is completely normal but I think you’re getting started early. You are together from the moment you wake up until the moment you head off to your bedrooms at night, and if one of you is out of the line of sight of the other, it’s mere seconds before you’re looking or asking for each other. One of my favourite moments of the day is when you first see each other in the morning and run with open arms for a hug. You should “HI WAH WAH!” and he says “Hi Bella!” as you hug and he kisses your head. Just typing those words makes me tear up. You two are the best thing that ever happened to your Daddy and I, and you’re just a perfect fit for our family.

You’ve reached the lovely stage of diaper change acrobatics, which is not very entertaining. It’s particularly not entertaining when you kick poop around the room and roll away laughing. Really, really not entertaining, but normal so we’ll just hope the stage ends soon.

Whenever we’re outside, you love to run away giggling and have someone chase you and grab you in a big hug. Always toward the road, of course. It’s a great game to play as long as I’m not holding the leashes of two dogs.

You still have the biggest & brightest smile I’ve ever seen, and you don’t hesitate to share it with those you love. You literally smile all day long. Except when you’re crying. Your crying is fake about 80% of the time – you’ve inherited a dramatic gene from somewhere – and is over when you either get what you want or get distracted and start laughing. If it weren’t so cute it would surely be annoying, but we’re not there yet. It’s so darn cute. You’ve also got the “furrowed brow” thing going on and use it whenever someone talks to you and you don’t feel like answering. It reminds Daddy of the pictures of me when I was a little girl, so I guess you come by it honestly!

You are following in your brother’s footsteps and already talk like you’re a year older than you are. There’s no way I can list the words you say anymore because you’re up to four word sentences. Things like “More mango please, Mommy” and “Go see Daddy doing?” are usual for you. You pick up the phone any time you see it and say “Hi Damma! Hi Damma Betty! Go Damma house?” You adore Grandma and when we’re with her, you aren’t really very concerned with me at all. You love all of your grandparents and also your aunts & uncle & cousins, and are a very lucky little girl to have so many people who love you right back.

I love you from the bottom of the ocean to the top of the sky, and all the way around the world!
Mommy
xoxo

A few pics from the three months since her last letter:

Chi Chis and good food
Even better company
Hot sun and cold drinks

Holiday or not
What a way to spend a day
Finally relaxed

Back story: Primo’s friend is heard crying from the living room, and then they both come running to the kitchen, where I’m preparing a snack as Bella sleeps in her room.

Me: What happened?
Primo: Bella bit Toby.
Me: Bella bit him?
Primo: Yes.
Me: While she was sleeping?
Primo: Yes?
Me: She bit him while she was sleeping with her door closed and you guys were in the living room?
Primo: Yah.
Me: Did you actually bite Toby?
Primo: No, I didn’t.
Me: Did you do it by accident?
Primo: Yes.
Me: Tell him that you’re sorry, and give him a hug.
They give each other a big hug, and Toby thanks him.
Me: Now please go have a little time out until you’re feeling better and can be a nice friend.
Primo: Okay.

A few minutes later, he comes out and tells me he’s feeling better, gives me a hug, and heads off to play. Within the next hour, Toby has bitten him and we start all over again. Oy vey.

It’s not just him that blames her, though. He can be in a different house and if she gets an owie, she’ll respond to “What happened?” with “WahWah!” (which is her name for him – she’s totally throwing him under the bus!)

“Is Great Grandma in the floor now?” (he asks as he’s carefully studying the kitchen linoleum.)

“It’s okay if I put this money in my mouth, because if I choke and die I’ll go see Grandpa Jack.”

Oy. Heaven help me.

My last living grandparent, Grandma C., (this one – wasn’t she gorgeous?) passed away this week at the tender age of ninety eight and a half. She lived through the depression, the early death of her husband, raising four successful children, farming alone, and so incredibly much more. I’ve written a little something to read at her funeral, and wanted to share it here, slightly edited. I’ll be reading it from my PEI cousins, my brother and myself, who collaborated on the memories. And I’ll be saying “we” rather than “I.”

When I think of Grandma, I think of:

Kindness. Grandma never said a bad word about anyone. Even when they deserved it.

Campfires. I have great memories of roasting marshmallows in the firepit behind the house at the farm with my cousins each summer.

Eating. If it wasn’t breakfast, lunch or supper time, it was coffee time…which meant more food. There was barely time to clean up one meal before she and Auntie Dot were preparing the next one. I often make recipes that have been handed down from Grandma to my mom & now to me, and good food always reminds me of Grandma. We live near some famous corn producers and my Dad used to say that “That corn is good, but it doesn’t even come close to “Grandma corn!” Grandma used to let us kids run free through her garden picking at whatever we wanted. Whenever we were at the farm, she always took us out with her when she needed to harvest something or do anything in the garden, knowing full well we’d probably just sit and eat & be more of a hindrance than a help, but she was cool with that. She was great at just letting us be kids, and there was no better place than Grandma’s farm to be a kid.

Grandma loved food her whole life. I remember her always taking half of a sweet saying “I’ll just have half.” It was just a few minutes later when she’d go back for the other half and say “I’ll just have half.” At our house, that’s known as the “Grandma dessert.”

Making doughnuts. Grandma made doughnuts each summer with my PEI cousins and I. She was a patient and kind teacher who never lost her cool no matter how much of a mess we made. For what would have been Grandma’s 99th birthday later this year, my family is going to make doughnuts in her honour.

Shucking peas and corn on her verandah. We’d sit out there for hours and shuck corn for dinner or shuck peas just to eat. No peas in the world can compare to the peas from Grandma’s garden. Grandma was the only person I ever heard say the word “verandah” instead of deck or porch.

Her love for animals. I remember going to feed the cats in the hen house with the hot porridge Grandma used to make for them every day. She had this sound that only she could make…”Heeeeer pussy pussy pussy cat. Heeeeere kittykittykittykitty… and they’d all come out from their hiding places for breakfast. We also have wonderful memories of playing with and riding horses at the farm. My PEI cousin Tara, in particular, has a lifelong love of horses that all started at Grandma’s farm.

Feeling grown up. I remember riding motorbikes and driving the garden tractor around the farmyard long before we were legal to drive anywhere else.

Capturing memories. Grandma was often found behind the lens of a camera and took thousands of pictures over the course of her life. She painstakingly organized & numbered them and printed copies for anyone who wanted them. Several of us are camera obsessed (especially Tara and I) and credit that obsession to Grandma. We loved watching her photo slideshows every summer at the farm.

The C. sneeze. We always sneeze in threes!

The C. giggle fit. Something doesn’t really have to be that funny to set a C. into an uncontrollable laughing fit. Often when it’s least appropriate.
Whenever one of us does something a little “funny,” we always say with a smile “It’s Grandma C’s fault” and I hope we’ll continue to blame all of our idiosyncrasies on her, because there are no genes I’d rather have and no better legacy than love and laughter.

We love you Grandma, and we’ll miss you terribly. Give my Dad a hug for me!

Call me crazy, but I’m taking two kids and two dogs to a hotel for her funeral. She would have loved that.

I’ve used BB & HT products my entire life and I know they’re reliable products that provide great sun protection.

While I wish everyone would use chemical-free products like Jason or California Baby (Cali.Baby in Canada here), I realize that not everyone is educated about the chemicals in mainstream products and their absorption in to the bloodstream, and also that many people feel that natural products are out of their budget (though that’s not necessarily true, but that’s another post). The thing about Banana Boat & Hawaiian Tropic? Everyone knows their name, they’re available everywhere, and they’re relatively affordable. I personally use Jason on my family & myself because it’s available locally. California Baby has some products available in Canada but not their sunscreens at this time, so the customs fees & duties are too risky if they’re not shipped USPS and therefore I haven’t ordered any. (If you can get some locally and want to ship me some, let me know. I’ll pay you.)

Ahem. Anyway…

Onto the products up for review today:

Hawaiian Tropic After Sun Body Butter (for me)
Banana Boat Ultra Defense FACES lotion, SPF 30 (for me)
Hawaiian Tropic Oil Free Sensitive spray, SPF 50 (for me)
Banana Boat Ultra Defense spray, SPF 85 (for me)
Banana Boat Kids spray, SPF 50 (for kids)
Banana Boat tear free Baby spray, SPF 50 (for kids)

Let’s start with the Hawaiian Tropic After Sun Body Butter. It smells like the Hawaiian Tropic of my childhood and brought back great memories. It’s creamy & goes on smooth, feels great and is very moisturizing. It’s like my very favourite body butter ever but with a bunch of chemicals added.

The Banana Boat Ultra Defense FACES lotion, SPF 30 is in a tube (good, because I wouldn’t want to spray my face) and I’ve been using it over my moisturizers and under my makeup for a few weeks. It works great – no burns yet – and has that typical dry & a little tacky feel for a few minutes after you put it on but you don’t notice it for long. I’ve never used a sunscreen that didn’t have that feel – even the natural ones – so it must be the actual sunscreen additives. I like this stuff, but as always I wish it had fewer chemicals in it. That’s standard for anything you can buy at Walmart. I’m going to finish the tube, never using it on my kids, and then research something more natural or perhaps try my Jason stuff on my face.

The final four products listed above are the sunscreen sprays, and I’ll review them all together as there are very few differences between them. The main thing you’re going to notice is that some of them are “no rub” and go on clear, smelling a lot like bug spray because of the amazingly high alcohol content. No wonder my kids were acting drunk in the back yard last week. (Kidding – they are always kind of crazy, but the alcohol is really gross…60% of what you put in the skin is absorbed into the bloodstream, you know.) The others are spray on lotions, which you can spray all over the body but then need to rub in. They smell a little less alcoholic, but alcohol is still the top ingredient. Why? I have no idea. I assume because it’s cheap & takes no research to find something safer that still works in their bottle designs. The dangerous chemicals are the only things (but they’re BIG things) that I don’t like about these products. They work awesome in terms of sun protection. I love love LOVE the continuous spray feature (though I may be killing the ozone layer single handedly in getting through my samples…I didn’t see anything about them being CFC free). The no-rub sprays would be awesome for sandy beaches – no rubbing sand into your skin, they dry quickly so nothing will stick after just a minute or two, and you can spray your own back. Awesome concept!

So there you have it. Great, effective products with way too many chemicals and alcohol that shouldn’t be anywhere near a child’s skin – their largest organ.

My standard good/bad/ugly review format seemed like more work than it was worth for this one. Hopefully this does it for you and gives you a good idea of what these products are all about.

In summary: great marketing, great effectiveness, great packaging concept, great ease of use, some really bad ingredients.

Here are the hazards of using Banana Boat & Hawaiian Tropic products as far as they’ve been researched by EWG at this point. The 2009 products are not listed yet.

I just got back from a lovely walk in the park with our two dogs and Bella. While we were out, I gave her a lesson in puddle stomping. The first time I told her “It’s okay – you have rain boots on. Just stomp it!” she took one step in, looked at me like I was insane and said “No.” At the second puddle, she stomped a couple of times with a smile, and then said “No.” At the third puddle, we stomped for at least ten minuted and giggled the entire time (as the dogs waited rather impatiently to continue their walk.)

Now THAT is what a rainy Saturday should be like.

And the pictures in my memory will have to suffice.

Some of them funny,
Some might be called laughable.
You’ll see. Uh…one day.

A couple coming…
Toys and even furniture
From CSN Stores.

Under a hundred
Is hard to do from these stores.
I wanted Stokke stuff.

The high chair’s so cool.
But it is so overpriced.
This garage will do.

Sunscreens coming too.
Just have to try one more thing.
All honest – I promise.

I need eight hours.
Three just simply will not do.
Many days of that.

A few isn’t bad
But I can’t take another.
Need a reprieve, please.

Stop writing haiku
and get the hell to bed? Huh?
That makes too much sense.

The first June 1 of my life I haven’t been able to either hug or call my Dad for his birthday. I had to stay awake to wish him a happy birthday through my tears before going to sleep. Man, I miss him.

I hope they have ice cream cake in heaven.

We’re making him some sweets today and will sing to him out on the deck. That’s where Primo thinks Grandpa Jack can hear him best; I think because he can see the sky from there.

Happy Birthday, Dad. We all love you & miss you more than you could possibly imagine. Be sure to listen for the really cute little voices singing to you today.

He loved birthdays, he loved parties, and he loved ice cream cake.

Any cake, really.

Funny thing?

He was in his underwear in this picture, and I had to crop it out. If you knew him, you’ll know how typical and funny that is. He was never much for pants at home. That made me smile.

I have no words, but this song does.

They’re babies. They’re children like the rest of them, and they’re in there. Please look.

Personally, I don’t give a hoot if you do reviews on your blog or how you write them. If there’s no giveaway, I’m clicking away immediately before even reading it, and it doesn’t affect me. If there’s a giveaway, I may consider checking that first to see if I want to enter (rarely) before reading the review or choosing to click away (usually). Either way, it’s your blog and I really, REALLY don’t give a flying crap.

However, I do care what you think. I very rarely do reviews and/or giveaways here (because they’re all over here) but occasionally I accept a product sample that either doesn’t fit at T.O.P. or that the company requests be reviewed here instead. (Why? I have no idea. Three daily readers vs. three thousand daily readers. Makes you want to go ‘Hmmmm.’) I wrote a little bit about my policies on reviewing items here, but I’m curious what you (three) think. Do you even care? Should I keep the reviews at The Opinionated Parent), or just keep doing what I’m doing and just go with the flow and do what feels right for each product.

(This post was inspired by a review request for this site specifically from a site that sells kids furniture. I chose a product that my kids can use and that will also be an asset in my classroom once we’re done with it here – stay tuned for that. I know the product from seeing it in my colleagues’ classrooms and I have other awesome things from the same manufacturer so I’m sure it won’t suck and you’ll read about it – here – in the future.)