Monday, June 29, 2009

It's a Sunshine Day!


I'd have to say, although this Summer's started out rediculously hot, it's just made our family VERY grateful for pools :) Father's Day weekend we took Chandani in the pool for the first time, at Grandma & Grandpa's house (Ravi's parents) and I'm happy to report...SHE LOVED IT! Then the following Thursday we had a little get-together back at Ravi's parents and tried out her little canopy float for the first time. Besides the fact that daddy forgot to blow it up and Mommy put her in backwards to start, our "little kicker" swam herself around the pool all by herself...although Mommy, Daddy and Aunt Sarah were always close by.
Summer has officially begun in the Armogan house and we can't wait to take our little, tan baby girl to the Beach, the Lake and every Pool we can find :)

Friday, June 26, 2009

Mmmmm Mmmmm Bbbbbbpst!

Our little Chandani has become quite the little talker...and often times screamer :) Was there really any doubt though? With me as her mother this little girl was destined to have some pipes! (LOL) Check out one of our little convos...

Sunday, June 21, 2009

My GURU Wife Has Now Made Me A "TEAM MEMBER"

I am totally excited that my wife has now made me a team member of our family blog. This is so cool and I am so proud of what she has done with this site and how great it looks. I have always been the GEEK to build an actual website but thanks to Nathan and Katheryn's suggestion life is on cruise control with our BLOGSPOT!!! I will be adding more blogs soon...

Friday, June 19, 2009

Preparing for Baby :)

First of all...this is not a way to tell all of you that I'm expecting!!! My baby is 5 months old for goodness sakes (LOL!) So many people are pregnant and expecting their first babies right now. Such a wonderful time that it makes me reflect on my own baby preparation. A good friend of mine just posted a blog asking for advice on what we had that made our lives easier with our new little bundles. Another good friend of mine posted a blog a while back that I believe was titled "What we could not live without the first year". Well, my little bundle's only 5 months...so here's my list of:

What We Could Not Live Without the First 5 Months :)

1) Baby gowns (even for little newborn boys)
I'll agree with my cousin Katheryn...trying to snap a million snaps on a tiny, little newborn in the middle of the night is a nightmare! Baby gowns were wonderful for us to keep our little one warm and cozy and the newborn ones always had fold-over hand mits.

2) Pacifiers (Nuk)
Since we started out nursing the Nuk Pacifiers were the ONLY ones Chandani would take. Now I know "the paci" can be a subject debated down to the ground for some moms but they were a lifesavor for us and a HUGE comfort for Chandani. She only takes them now at bedtime or naptime, but they help lull her to sleep and then she spits thems out :)

3) Receiving blankets
After being swaddled in the hospital for three days the receiving blankets we got were a lifesavor for swaddling at home! Chandani loved to be swaddled up and snug and warm so we definitely got a lot of use out of them.

4) Baby Furniture (Crib, Dresser, Changing table & Co-Sleeper)
Again this could be debated by some moms but ALL of the furniture we got we use almost everyday if not everyday. We've always used her crib for naps and now nighttime too. We love her tall dresser (or I guess it's called a Chest-of-drawers) for all her clothes, her Changing Table is her FAVORITE place...it's where we change diapers, get ready for bathtime, and just coo and PLAY), the Co-Sleeper is a wonderful bassinette that hooks on to the side of the bed for easy access and she still uses it at 5 months when she's having a rough night and we bring her in with us.

5) Exersaucer
This piece of baby furniture is SO wonderful it gets its own description. What can I "not" say about the Exersaucer?! Chandani's used her since 3 & 1/2 months old and she LOVES IT! It helps strengthen her back, stomach and legs and gives her a place to exercise, explore and burn off energy while mommy eats, uses the potty and takes a much needed break :) This little item was DEFINITELY a must for us.

6) Boppy Bouncer
We don't quite use this anymore at 5 months now that she LOVES to sit up, but it was practically her bassinette from birth to 2 & 1/2 months. She WOULD NOT sleep in the co-sleeper or her crib. So if I didn't want to sleep with a baby on me every night the Boppy Bouncer was my saving grace. Because it was a Boppy product it really craddled her and made her feeling cozy enough to sleep really sound...when she slept that is :(
b) Baby Positioner
Once she started sleeping in the bassinette the Baby Positioner made the transition REALLY smooth. It helps craddle them and support them during sleep.

7) Graco Swing
After the bouncer, next came the Swing!!! For a whole month, the swing was the only place she'd nap during the day. I'd put a soft blanket in it, strap her in and give her her Pooh Bear Snuggly and Paci and she'd be out before you could say Pooh :)
b) Soft blankets
These were and are a must now that she's getting older. She loves the way they feel, cuddles them and uses them as teethers when she's cranky going down

8) Pooh Bear Snuggly
Speaking of Pooh Bear Snuggly, Chandani has pretty much used this since birth. A snuggly is basically a little soft, silky blanet with an animal head attached...sounds a little creepy but it truly is quite the wonderful invention. We take it everywhere we go as a little travel companion. She just loves to feel it with her hands, chew on its nose and I always put in her arm so if she falls asleep (which she usually always does) she has something soft to fall asleep against.

9) Graco Travel System
This comes with a Carseat Carrier, base and Stroller :) This has been the biggest help when it comes to getting out of the house, giving mommy and baby a break. After being pinned up in the house all day long, sometimes the best medicine is a little trip out and about. I hook her in to her carrier, slip Pooh in her arms and head out the door. Next we lock the carrier into the base and we're off. Finally, when I get to my destination I just unhook the carrier from the base pop it into the stroller and I'm set for a day of shopping, walking and getting out and about.

10) Bathtub and Bath Products
When Chandani was a teeny, tiny newborn she'd SCREAM bloodly murder through her bathtime. Finally at about 2 & 1/2 months when my piggy-mama finally got some fat she LOVED her bathtime and still does to this very day. So the infant bathtub with sling was a GREAT help. She used the sling to cradle her until about 4 months. Then she'd lay back in the tub without it until 5 months. Now, she wants to sit up in the tub during bathtime. I especially loved the Bedtime Bath Set that came with the lullabye CD!!! Chandani LOVES the songs and we play them in the van over and OVER when we go on car rides :)

***As far as diapers go...we've used them all so here's our take on it...
Luvs - Fine but don't hold as much so they have to be changed A LOT more frequently
Nature's Best Organic - Ok, but kind of stiff feeling and hold a little more than Luvs
Huggies - Fit nice, hold pretty good but tended to be more narrow and leak more often with our Miss Chub, Chub
Pampers - by far seem to be our best Diapering experience...they do cost a little more but coupons help cut cost and they're worth every penny
(The newborn swaddlers gave her a little rash, but the "Baby Dry" and "Cruisers" have been great)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Trying to Crawl or Swim?

Are little Chandani is growing up so fast! She is officially 5 months and we just don't know where the time went :( She's sits by herself now and stands with help, but her newest trick is "trying" to crawl...it's hysterical!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

ELMO, who?!

Happy to report that Chandani has a new friend!
Ok, it wasn't all good feelings from the get go...

First we brought them face to face. You know how important first impressions can be in any good relationship, but Chandani had other ideas as she said...


..."Are you kidding me with this puffy, red guy??? I would like him to go away now, please! He's kind of creeping me out."



Then we decided that maybe they should get to know each other a little better, so we got him to talk to her. You know, strike up a little convo about letters, numbers, what's going down on the Sesame Street. However, Chandani didn't feel so social as she said...

..."Mommy, I'm not playing around here. His red fur is kind of burning out my retinas and he just keeps rambling on and on about 'HI, I'm Elmo', it's so lame. I would like him to go away now, Please!"


We tried to explain to Elmo that this probably wasn't gonna work out, but he was so insistent that he could win her over. He said that no one can resist trying to tickle him. So he began asking her, saying 'Tickle me', but Chandani wasn't having it. She finally had enough and said...


..."Arrrrgh, if you want something done you just have to do it yourself! Listen Eljo, I don't want to tickle you, I don't want to hug you...GET OFF!"


I'm not gonna lie, it was hard not to laugh...but a Mother's job is to teach what is right. So after a long, deep talk Chandani about respecting other people's feelings no matter how different they may be she decided to "bite her lip" and give Elmo a chance!

And I'm happy to report they're playing very nice together now :)

Monday, June 1, 2009

Mall Diva!


So, I recently went Mall Walkin' with Big Jee and Lil' B (LOL)! It was SO nice to get out and about and window shop. There was quite a bit of stroller pushin' going on and we even took the kids to the Mall's playplace (arrrgggh!) Ohhhhhhhh, so this is where it all went downhill! :( Where are the manners?

It "should" be fun to take your little ones to the local playplace, right? However, in OP this is apparently not possible because "some" mommas apparently don't teach their children manners. Here we have a four month old (who obviously wasn't down running around, but wanted to stand and spectate) and a one year old who wanted to play. However, you've also got these older kids running...no speeding...around almost trying to knock down these little ones. Meanwhile, the parents (a.k.a. the local 12 year old moms and dads...LOL!) watching and not saying a word. There was no "honey be careful around those little babies" or "hey, play over here"...I mean this playplace isn't tiny, they had a whole other section.

Finally, we formed a battle plan! :) We went over to a small corner where there were some mirrored, rotating blocks and blocked it off with our strollers...ha! LOL :) Let's just say we took one for the tiny baby team. And when one of these older, out-of-control kids tried climbing over the bench (flinging her legs near Lil' B's head) to get into our "tiny" little space for our kids...Big Jee had to give them the "burning stare" (ha ha ha) Needless to say...we staked our claim :)