New York Nanny Center » chicago

Don’t Eat the Crayon!

Lindsay Bell — Wed, 21 May 2014 16:57:08 +0000

“Don’t eat the crayon!”

“That’s HOT! Don’t touch!”

“Henry, don’t share all your dinner with the dog!”

“Put the iPad DOWN!”

“No, you can’t have the knife!”

“Stop licking the floor”

“Please keep your diaper on!”

Welcome to Toddlerville! That pretty much sums up my recent conversations with my 19 month old. I should have seen it coming when we went to the doctor and they labeled their milestone sheet as “Mr. No.”—On the one hand the days are busier, crazier, messier, and keep you on your toes, but on the other hand seeing your kid “get it” and explore on their own and navigate their way (with supervision, of course) is pretty awesome. Having a baby is great and there are certainly amazing milestones they hit, but I wasn’t prepared for how fantastic it would be to hear your kid speaking to you (I didn’t say I could understand it all!), learn their animal sounds, sort their toys by color (rare, but it happened!), or run up to you with a huge smile and say, “Mama!” I can’t get enough of the hugs, funny faces, or dance parties.

What I notice the most about this age is Henry’s need for independence. He will walk into his bedroom, sit down on the floor, and read a book or zoom his cars. If an adult walks in there, he will get up and walk away! What a stinker! Luckily we live in a small condo in Chicago, so we can easily watch him on the monitor so he doesn’t end up climbing his bookshelf (also a favorite activity!). I love this side of him. I love watching as he tries to “read” a book aloud in his classic Henry gibberish. You can see the wheels inside his head turning and his desire to figure it all out on his own. It hit me the other day that I have a little boy, not a baby. Caring for an infant is challenging because they are completely dependent on you for almost all of their needs. Having a toddler brings its own challenges. You can’t reason with a child who isn’t old enough to get the dangers that surround them. How can I explain to Henry that a fireplace lighter is not a safe toy. Well, you can’t. I have to weather the tantrums that are sprouting up far more often lately, and try to redirect him. Somehow the blocks aren’t as fun as the knife I just used to cut his sandwich. Add in the fact that he can move and stack furniture to get on the counters! I’m half horrified and half proud that he figured that out!

Sure, I miss having a little baby to snuggle with, who naps frequently during the day, and that baby smell–I’ll get enough. However, my Henry is a pretty cool kid now and he wants to be my friend. What is better than that?

-Maureen is a Sitter2Mom, our Chicago City Coordinator, and mother of Henry!

Spring: A Season of Change

Lindsay Bell — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 17:04:32 +0000

With the changing of the seasons in Chicago comes many new milestones in our lives. Henry has hit the year and a half mark and with that comes many changes to his appearance, personality, physical abilities, and his language skills. He has sprouted like the flowers in the ground and now all his pants look like he’s ready to endure a massive flood at any moment. My baby has disappeared and in his place comes an independent, opinionated, goofball toddler.

We were never worried about Henry’s mobility, as he walked at 8 1/2 months, but for the longest time he just babbled to himself and didn’t say any “real” words. I wasn’t worried, per say, but I yearned for him to say, “mama.” Well….he hasn’t mastered that word yet, unless he’s crying, but all of the sudden he is throwing out new words, animal sounds, and phrases like, “Uh-oh!” This is by far the best age because he’s very curious, responsive, and adventurous. He can stay up for longer periods of time and is engaged in music, zooming cars and airplanes around the house, and enjoys free time at the park. He loves to explore, finds himself to be very, very funny, and loves giving hugs to his family and the dog. It’s amazing how you can give him directions or show him how to do something and he immediately mimics you. With that, however, comes the urgency to watch what we say and do so we don’t have a kid running around repeating all the “grown up” words we use! We are loving life with our little boy.

The other big change in our life is….a new address! (Nope, not a baby!!!!)—As our child grew bigger, our condo started to shrink! Our super chic, urban condo in the sky has been replaced by a bigger, kid-friendly condo in a much more family friendly neighborhood. While we are beyond excited for this change, surviving a move with a toddler was a tad chaotic (that’s putting it nicely!). My husband and I spent hours packing up all our belongings only to turn around and see that Henry had unpacked two boxes while we weren’t looking! Henry just loved climbing all over the boxes marked, “Fragile–crystal wine glasses”—Luckily both sets of grandparents helped entertain him while we packed without interruption.

We already love our new neighborhood! The North Center area is full of activities for kids! Change is good!

-Maureen is a sitter2mom, our Chicago City Coordinator, and proud mother of Henry!

Living in a Snow Globe

Lindsay Bell — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 19:44:48 +0000

I’ve really tried to not complain about the weather this winter, but it’s getting harder and harder as winter stretches on and on. I’m from the midwest, I grew up in the harsh winters, but this has to be the worst one I’ve ever experienced. It literally feels like I’m living in a snow globe that someone keeps shaking up. It’s especially difficult when you have an anxious baby-toddler who is stuck inside! The sub-zero temperatures, icy sidewalks, and lack of human life (or so it seems) has made this winter seem never-ending. By mid-January I thought my brain was going to melt and I’d commit myself to the looney-bin because I was so bored. What do you do with a 15 month old when you can’t go outside because it’s negative 20 outside?

Henry sporting his winter hat

I sent out an S.O.S. on Facebook and asked all my mom friends, near and far, what they were doing to survive the winter. Finger painting with pudding, building forts, dance parties, arts and crafts, and day trips to museums topped the list. The next few weeks I was determined to try any or all of these things. Henry’s a little young for most of the stuff, but I thought MAYBE he’d be interested.

Our first attempt was finger painting with pudding—it turns out that my child would rather lick it off the tray than paint with it—oh well! Next, I attempted to have Henry use glitter glue (not sure how I thought that was a good idea!)–he was going to make Valentine’s for his grandparents. I mean it had to work—Pinterest made it look SO EASY! First he tried to eat the glue, then he rubbed it all in his hair, then he threw the paper with glitter glue on the carpet…I was the one who ended up doing the project and passing it off as his masterpiece —needless to say, arts and crafts are not Henry’s passion (yet!)

Henry and the glitter glue craft

It turns out that he was fine just playing with the 1,000 small toys he has in the house and thought hiding the small pieces in every shoe in the house was plenty of entertainment—it was MOM who was bored. Only a few more weeks of winter and we’ll finally get the spring thaw—I can’t wait!!!!

Henry being silly with household objects

-Maureen is a sitter2mom, our Chicago City Coordinator, and proud mother of Henry!

You’ve Never Heard of a Cornbox?!

Lindsay Bell — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 18:44:59 +0000

Fall is a great time of year. The trees are beautiful, the temperature is just right, and there are a lot of great outdoor activities to do. Having a child who is old enough to participate in the activities, is awesome. There are so many things that the city and surrounding areas have to offer that I never even knew about!

This year was especially great because we were able to take Henry to a pumpkin patch! We visited Kuiper’s Family Farm, which was quite a hike to get to, but worked because Henry got to nap on the way there and the way back. My only criteria for visiting a pumpkin patch was being able to take Henry on a hayride out to an ACTUAL pumpkin patch. There are so many places now where they pick the pumpkins for you and hand you one on the way out—I did not want that!

Kuiper’s was FANTASTIC! They had a ton of activities for kids of all ages. Henry loved the “corn box” a better version of a sandbox He also got to run through a corn maze tunnel, navigate through a straw maze, and got to pet a llama! It wasn’t super crowded and there were an abundance of pumpkins.

We had a great time on our first family trip to the pumpkin patch. I’m looking forward to all the “firsts” and “seconds” to come! Henry had a great time and so did his parents!

-Maureen is the Chicago City Coordinator and mom of Henry

Windy City Families what are your plans for the weekend?

Lindsay Bell — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:50:00 +0000

One of our Chicagositters did some digging, and here is what she found going on in Chicago forthe weekend:

There are always greatactivities for kids/families at the touristy-type locations such as The Shedd Aquarium, AdlerPlanetarium, Museum ofScience and Industry, ChicagoChildren’s Museum, and the Field Museumof Natural History!
Try visiting the InternationalKennel Club Dog Show happening at the McCormick Place this weekend! Theyactually put on demonstrations outside of the dogs being judged and it issupposed to be fun for all ages!
Another great event that they brought back is Skatingin the Sky at the John Hancock Observatory. How about some ice-skatingwhile looking over the city of Chicago?? Beautiful right!

Have a great weekend to all our LLD families!