My Little Dancing King (Videos!)

Ok, I am about to crazy video bomb you, should I be sorry about that? But how else do you show people just how much your baby dances without a little motion picture?? I could take all these videos and merge them into one to make it a little less overwhelming but seriously ladies (and gents) who has the time for that? However before we get the entertainment goodness, I am going to share a little bit of a dancing. . . . let's call it back story.

What is it about music that makes my son so happy? Alex has always liked music, when he was a newborn he would relax when their was a lullaby on and then as he got a little older he would tend to lean towards the toys that made noise, Baby Einstein toys are his favorites. Anything will get him going, the radio, a commercial on TV, a fire truck outside, the sweeper, and on one instant, the sound of the microwave. Now at almost 16 months old, he still loves music, but I think what he really loves is to dance to music, specifically Hey Ya!

In a previous post, I've mentioned that when Alex is mad and screaming, there are 2 things we use to calm him down, one being taking him out in the great outdoors. The other is the Wii. Yes, my husband and I have exposed our very young toddler to the joy of video games, don't judge. When the crocodile tears start flowing and the face is red, red, red, we turn the Wii on to Just Dance and all is good in the Schmelzer household. As soon as he hears the music he starts to sway back and forth and the "tears" go away. He is always really focused on the screen like he wants to dance just like "that guy" and he does it gripping the Wii remote the whole time, the kid cracks me up.

Lately, he's added a few new dance moves to the mix. One being what we've dubbed "the Polaroid" where he in fact, shakes it like a Polaroid picture, lol. Did I mention his favorite song is Hey Ya! by Outkast? I think if Kris and I wouldn't lose our minds, we would just put that song on repeat and let him dance it out all. day. long. He will dance just about anywhere, in the living room, at church, in the bath tub, and at the dinner table to name a few. At Vacation Bible School this month, he really got into the openings where there is always lots of great music. Alex was entertaining everybody as he danced around waving his arms front and center.

Any way, I have some really great and super cute video's to share of Alex's mad dancing skills. Enjoy, and please comment, what mom doesn't like to hear about how adorable their kids are???!!!

First up is Alex playing with his "tablet", he's trying to sing a little in this one too. :) 

Alex dancing at the opening of Vacation Bible School. He looks like he's worshiping, it's adorable!

Playing "Just Dance" on the Wii, Hey Ya is his favorite song. Bear with me on this one, it gets a little slow in the middle but has a pretty darn cute "shake it" ending. 

We were on vacation in Myrtle Beach in this one, walking around Broadway at the Beach after playing in the  splash park, We Will Rock You by Queen came on and he started jammin'

Hope you enjoyed:)

Wordless Wednesday : I Love My Nephew

Happy Heart on Etsy 15% Off Code

Happy Heart on Etsy is going to be taking a break in August and September to get ready for our very first craft show. From now until August 10, check out the shop and use the code HAPPYHEART15 to get 15% off your order! 

Some items are already made and custom orders will be available until August 10th. Happy Heart is a shop I've started with my mom who taught me how to sew when I was little girl. We have always made items for ourselves and family and friends, items from handbags to quilts to clothes. We've been told by family and friends for years that we needed to sell our projects. We make everything from handbags to baby toys. I sew and my mom crochets, knits and sews as well. All items are prepared and made in a smoke-free environment. 


Take a look at what Happy Heart has to offer: Happy Heart on Etsy

Happy Heart on Etsy

Playing Outside and Calming the Waters

Alex is a good kid (<----I use to call him baby but now that he's growing up, I suppose it doesn't apply anymore) He doesn't create too much noise, well mad noise that is. He's taken to screaming these days but in an "I'm really excited, OMG do you see that, that's the coolest thing ever!" kind of way. But one thing is for sure, when the kid is mad, he. is. mad. He turns bright red, and screams at the top of his lungs and it seems at times that he will never stop, that rest of our lives is going to be foreshadowed by a red screaming toddler. But, through many trials and even more tribulations, we have found that 1 of 2 things almost always works. One of those being Just Dance on the Wii, Alex goes nuts over that game, specifically Hey Ya, with the remote in hand he dances every time. This is a whole other post with the most adorable videos to boot.
This post, is about number two (not that one you grossies.) The second thing that we use as a go-to to calm the beast, is the great outdoors.

It doesn't really matter what we do outside, as long as it's something outdoors Alex is content. There is something about it that just makes him relax. I think it's the freedom. We have a fenced in yard so Alex gets a little room to roam and explore. Even though we have a little yard, to him I am sure it's huge. With how warm this summer seems to be with a record number of days in the upper 90's and 100's, we've been forced to spend a lot of time inside which has completely defeated the whole calming factor but lately we've had a little bit of a break in the heat so going outside to play has been bearable. So as a result we've had a lot of fun, swimming in our Alex sized pool :) . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . and then when we are all wet and wild, we move on to the sandbox . . . . . . .

 . . . . .and then just when we are covered in enough sand, we take a little stroll around the yard, sometimes we mow the grass, and sometimes just pick our noses by the air conditioner ;)

Please ignore the podunk fence, it's the neighbors and needs a serious makeover, do they know nothing about curb appeal?????

Lately, we've had some pretty fun family outings in the mornings on the weekend. We don't really get much time with Alex during the week, which breaks my heart. I take him to the sitters house at 7am in the morning and then we aren't home until 6pm and then daddy gets home between 6:30 and 7. Then as a family we have dinner, then it's Alex's bath time and then before we even have time to stack a few blocks it's time for bed so the weekends are special to us. It's on the weekends we get to have good family time. So we started taking Alex to a local park after breakfast when we seem to have the whole park to ourselves which lets Alex have a little more freedom because we're not competing for space with other kids. This park also happens to have a "mountain" which is really a big rock in the middle of town but it has a great view of the city and provides a pretty decent hike to the top. So we climb up to the top and show Alex what Lancaster looks like from high above :) 

As the pictures show, Alex has a great time outside so we try to go out as much as possible. What tricks do you have for "calming the waters" with your little one???

Before you know it. . . . . .

Everybody told me it would happen. I guess I should have paid attention. Some call it denial, others may call it naiveness, I call it ridiculous. But whether I was ready for it or not, or willing to accept it or not, my son is growing up. He's quickly grown from the baby we could lay on the floor on a blanket without worrying about what he might be able to get into to the boy who is running through the house, climbing on everything and giggling up a storm. Last summer, Alex turned 3 months old on the 4th of July and was just beginning to eat solids. This summer, he's beginning to use silverware to feed himself.

This is Alex last summer. Cute little smirk, little arms and legs just waving around as he was trying to figure them out.

This is Alex this summer. His smile is still quite cute, but runs a little more on the ornery side and his arms and legs have developed a little more rhythm as the boy never seems to stop dancing. He's become a little show off and is rotten, right down to his core and I love him more and more with every passing moment.

Lately, it's come to my attention that Alex is no longer a baby, but a full blown toddler. A crazy, sometimes fussy but always funny toddler. It's a little bittersweet. I'm really happy to see my son thriving, growing, learning, but at the same time I'm sad that it is all happening so fast. It's true what they say, enjoy them while they are young because before you know it, they're all grown up. I can't stop taking pictures of my son, I just can't seem to get enough of him. I'm afraid I'm going to miss something and wake up tomorrow and my baby is all grown up. I've compiled a list of things that have recently made me realize how big my little guy is getting and how quickly it's happening. 

How I know my son is growing up:

He can get up on the couch on his own, and down too.

He can now feed himself with a fork, but a spoon is still a work in progress. 

He can successfully use a shape sorter toy.

He has started calling me by my name, "mom."

He gives hugs AND kisses.

He has a mouth FULL of teeth and we brush his teeth daily.

He is a dancing machine and lately he can't seem to get enough "Hey Ya" by Outkast,

He understands that people come and go through the door so he will walk over to it, waving and saying "bye bye"

Wordless Wednesday : Ornery

The Bye-Bye Bink Game

Oh the bink, is it friend or foe? Foe or friend? In our house, sometimes it's an angel sometimes it's mommy's major annoyance for the day. I've done the whole pacifier post before, see The Bink here. It's no secret that I haven't always been the biggest fan of it but as my kid seems to make his own choices and around 7 months old, the same time he started teething, he decided that the bink was the way to go so we joined the "Bink League" of parents that are always fumbling around in their diaper bags, purses, pockets looking for one when their little angel started showing their horns, at home or in public. Especially in public. The problem with that is he seems to almost always have the darn thing in his mouth, I still stand firm in my belief that the darn thing is a picture hater, it shows up in so many memories it irks my soul but sometimes it's impossible to get it out of the kids mouth, he clamps down on it with his teeth and shakes his head no. I know better than to upset a good mood so I just leave it against my own will.

See, it even came to the beach with us :( 

I've had this ongoing fear of breaking Alex of the bink. When trying to decide on the appropriate time, my husband and I have gone back and forth. Initially, we thought we would wait until all of Alex's teeth come in, he really does seem to use it as a soother and he seems to chew on it more than anything. But then I started taking the chewing thing as he really didn't need it, he was just using it because he was bored, certainly I could come up with something else for him to do other than chew on a pacifier. The other option we gave ourselves was AFTER vacation. Alex (okay, maybe mommy and daddy) relies so much on having the bink to maintain the peace we couldn't imagine a 12 hour drive without it, honestly, we didn't think we could survive. We were probably right but this year we will never know because we weren't brave enough to attempt it. That's why we decided after vacation would be best.

So here was our plan (keep in mind we have absolutely no idea what we are doing) and I would love to hear your feedback on this. We just kind of pulled this plan out of the air.

At first, Alex can have the bink in the car, a lot of the time he gets worked up when he has to be restrained in his car seat for more than 10 minutes <-- This one is more for my own sanity. We also decided that while we are in our own home, Alex can pretty much have the bink anytime he wants but as soon as we leave, the bink stays there (expect for the car)

Sometimes the bink can be cute, like when it's used to soothe a not so happy baby into a sleeping baby in the car. 

Then we change it up and the bink may be used at the following times:

1. When sleeping, either nap times or night night
2. In the evenings between bath-time and night night (this is typically only about a 30-60minute period at most)
3. In the car

Then we thought we would cut out evenings so:

1. When sleeping
2. In the car

Next in the car has to go, so:

1. When sleeping

And then our hope is that the bink becomes non-existent in our lives.

How does this sound? Any suggestion on how long each "phase" should last before we move on to the next?


How did you or how do you plan on saying bye bye to the bink?

We found a Splash Park

One day on our vacation, the boys took off on a chartered boat and went deep sea fishing. As a result we got to have shark for dinner (taste like chicken, no really it does) and my mom, my sister, and myself got to have a girls day of shopping :) Well, sorta girl's day, Alex and my 5 month old nephew were there too. Anyway, we spent the day shopping and spending money that we really didn't have, we met up with my grandparents and my aunt and cousins and had a fabulous lunch then we headed off to another mallish type place. This place is extermely colorful and tends to be a little loud, so what better place is there for a toddler to stay entrigued?? This place just so happened to have a splash park and I was so excited for Alex to experience it. We of course had the stroller with us but Alex, little Mr Independent, wanted to walk on his own so when we came around the corner and he saw all the water he ran, not walked straight to it. He stopped just on the outside but it didn't take him long to walk right in. He had a ball playing in the water and it was absolutely a blast to watch him scream and giggle with joy. It was fantastic and I can't wait to take him to another splash park, I just need to look it up and see where the closest one is :)

Here are some pics to enjoy :) Oh, and a video too

We're Surviving the Ohio Blackout

Let me tell you about the week we've had.

Friday, June 29 at around 5:30pm we were hit with a terrible, horrible no good storm. It wasn't classified as a tornado but winds hit between 80 and 85mph so it was as close to a tornado than I want to ring true. I live and hour away from where I work. I saw the storm clouds starting to appear as I was leaving work to head home but was confident that I left at the right time and I would beat the storm, this would have been correct had I not been stopped at a light near home that had traffic backed up a mile or so. Unfortunately, the storm caught up with me and I was stuck in my car when the storm hit. The wind, oh my Lord, the wind! Debris and trash along the highway were being stirred up and blowing everywhere, whirling around as if in a funnel cloud. I had trash all over the hood of my car and the traffic lights were hanging parallel with the road from the wind. When my car started rocking back and forth from the wind I called my husband in a panic, I was sure my car was just seconds away from being lifted off the ground. He calmed me down, reminded me to breathe deep. Then the rain hit and was coming down in sheets, hard sideways sheets. As I came into town, after the winds had let up it was clear to me just how damaging this storm had been. Our poor town was in bad shape and it turned out that most of the town was without power.

The aftermath left trees down, completely uprooted. Trees had come down on cars, houses, pools and snapped powerlines leaving live wires across the alleys and streets, crossing yards and fences making it dangerous to even be outside of our own homes. I was nervous to see what lied in store for me when I got home, was out tree still standing, what about the powerlines? The tree stood strong and fortunately our property didn't have any damage other than a few small twig branches that came out of the tree out front. But the alley that runs along our home and across the street was littered with large trees that toppled over and downed powerlines. The whole city looked a little bit like a bomb had gone off, it just looked so sad and broken. But we're strong, all of us.

In the beginning it was sort of like camping. It wasn't so bad, it was a little uncomfortable but it was bearable. Neighbors were getting to know each other, being forced outside because of the heat inside their homes, they were talking to each other and even planning neighborhood barbeque's to help keep everybody happy and fed. But as the days went by people were finding place to stay away from home until the power returned. By the end of the week we were all in need of a little relief.

Almost a week later, we're still hanging on without power. It's been tough and tempers are getting short and the crankiness has set in full force. No matter how hot you are, a cold shower is rough to do, I actually had steam come off my body when attempting to tolerate it. Temps have been every bit of 95 degrees since before the storm so it goes without saying, our homes are getting pretty toasty, a bit like a brick oven if you ask me. Kris and I have taken up sleeping on the living room floor on a mattress pad so that Alex could sleep in our room because it happens to be the "coolest" room in the house. My body has taken a toll, at this point I feel like I can barely move. We have an aero-bed but without power we, well you know, the obvious. My parent's power returned early Saturday morning and for this we are extremely grateful because we were able to use their generator to keep the fridge running so we won't have to replace everything.

Kris and I, Alex too toughed out the heat and miserableness for 5 nights, but last night we had to give in. We couldn't get the house to cool down, it was a whopping 85 degrees and we were all, Alex included getting to near breaking points so we packed up and moved for the night with the dog to my parent's house. It was wonderful to sit in an air conditioned house and take a hot shower. For the first time in nearly a week I was able to dry my hair and not put it in braids to help tame the mop. It was a little bit like heaven.

For now, we are going to wait out the blackout in the comfort of my parent's air conditioned home. Alex is happier and we're comfortable, finally. Was anybody else effected by the storms that moved through last week?

Here are some photos from around town and some of the damage: