To Sugar or Not To Sugar

I love dressing my toddler up in all kinds of outfits. So, when it came time for Halloween, there were lots of fun choices for pretend dress up.

The part of Halloween that scares me, though, is the sugar. Especially since toddlers can't really brush their teeth well, I cringe at the thought of my sweet Josh with cavities.

So, I have tried to focus on the costume pretend part of Halloween more than the candy to my toddler. We made a big deal of going to the store and letting him try on the different costumes. And we let him choose what he wanted to be. I tried hard to flash the cute giraffe costume as much as possible (you know, maybe if he saw it more, he'd choose it.)

But, Josh was very clear about his choice: DINOSAUR --- rrrrroooaaarrrr!!

We also didn't want to go door to door trick or treating with Josh because there are so many potential concerns about the candy and about questionable characters passing out the candy. It's really unfortunate that it has to be this way, but it's the reality of our times.

Fortunately, my husband's company has a Halloween Party, where kids can come in costume, and have lots of fun activities, like story time, decorating cookies, face painting, and painting (sticking stickers) jack o' lanterns.

It was perfect for our little one because he could run around being a dinosaur and enjoy seeing others in costume.

Oh, as for the candy, I did manage to grab some gummy worms when Josh was looking the other way :) ..

It's a Wrap! Peachy Bagel Wrap

There are a few things that never fail to get me up in the morning. Freshly toasted bagels with almost-melting cream cheese ranks at the top of the list. Of course, almost-two J is also on this short list. Toddler J loves eating bagels, but when his little fingers can't quite hold them without touching the cream cheese, he yells, "MOMMMEEE! Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!" and it's Mom to wipe-up duty.

To keep his little world from coming to an end, I wrap half of the bagel with paper towel (torn in half and tucked in the back) and that way, J can hold it without getting his fingers sticky and stay happy. When he's done with the half, I take the bagel out and wrap a quarter of it and he continues munching on.

I got the idea as I was chomping on my In-n-Out Burger the other day. I noticed one reason J loves eating cheeseburgers (other than they are CHEESEBURGERS) is that he is very good at eating them with hands-off supervision from Mommy & Daddy. The burgers are wrapped and cradled together for him to eat easily.

So, back at home at breakfast, I handed J his bagel, a la wrapped. As he stared at it, I told him, "Now, just hold it like a cheeseburger and go,'rrraaarrhhh! Eat it like a dinosaur!" And voila! It worked perfectly. So, while Mommy and Daddy are eating our bagels grown-up style, J is able to munch on it all on his own! Just peachy!

There's Something About Pumpkins

Well, I don't know what it is. But, there's something about pumpkins that kids get crazy happy about! Josh came home from his 2 year preschool class that he goes to M&W and said, "Look, Mommy.. I made for you!" and proudly presented a cute little pumpkin made with playdoh. What a GREAT idea?! I thought. Now, why did I think of that?

A simple little activity, just peachy for toddler hands and recognizable in their own little toddler world. And perfect to solicit ooo's and aaaahh's from mommy and daddy.

That afternoon, we dug into our playdoh and had a fun playdoh party of our own making veges and fruits. It's funny how we got in a "playdoh" rut, making cars, happy faces, and little balls of all sizes.. but, now we've broken free and are back to enjoying playdoh time again (at least for this week!) ;)

Pumpkin Patch Pilgrimage

It was obvious that a trip to a local pumpkin patch in Half Moon Bay, CA was something of an annual pilgrimage for many families. Since I had grown up in a first generation American Chinese family, our idea of visiting a "pumpkin patch" was passing by a plot of land down the street, where there pumpkins were laid out on the ground, surrounded by plastic black and orange flags, flapping in the wind.

Now that I've grown up and a Mom, I wanted my baby boy to have a fun, old-fashioned family pumpkin patch trip - complete with pony rides, train rides, hay rides, and petting zoo at a Pumpkin Patch *Farm*. Since I was a novice, I picked up a peachy baby tip or two from friends and having gone there the 1st time:

1. GO EARLY, as close to opening hours and before noon. Critical mass hits the farms around noon, even at 11am and there would be long lines waiting for us, to go on the rides.

2. GET THE DAY PASS for the rides. It beats standing in line to buy tickets again each time baby or toddler wants to go for a second ride.

3. PONY RIDE may not be as kodak moment-esque at first. Your toddler may be apprehensive and even cry, until the pony starts moving and he'll realize, this is fun!

3. PRIORITIZE which rides you want to go on & abandon the mission if you sense little Johnny is having too much fun and about to fizzle out.

4. EXCHANGE GUARD DUTY waiting in line with Daddy & Mommy, so that one is standing in line and the other parent is letting baby/toddler run around and explore.

5. PACK A LIGHT lunch for baby or toddler, in case there isn't food at the Pumpkin Patch or the food there isn't baby or toddler friendly (they were selling BBQ chicken sandwiches, nachos, and popcorn).

FREE Giveaway! Just Peachy Baby

Happy Friday - I have a Free Giveaway!!! Just Peachy Baby is giving away beautiful shopping cart cover on "THIS WEEK FOR DINNER", a blog for sharing meals and recipes. The winner can select their favorite cover from eight modern prints - from gender-neutral funky dots and stripes, hip girl florals or cool boy patterns!

To enter the giveaway, submit any comment on THIS WEEK FOR DINNER before Midnight PT, Thursday, 10/25. The winner will be announced next Friday, 10/26!

I hope JPB friends will win the cover, so please go to the site to enter! This is perfect for you moms-of-babies out there. And if you don't have a baby, it's the perfect shower gift! Good luck!

Peachy Tip: Rock-a-Bye Baby

So, Josh is now 23 months and we've reached a crossroad in the land of naptime. I've always rocked him as a part of his nap routine, and then placed him into his crib, while drowsy and half asleep. It's been tender times as a baby. But now that he's a toddler, weighing in at 30+ lbs, I can no longer keep this up. Plus, he can actually crawl out of his crib, so he's been getting out, opening the door and saying, "Peeekabooo!" on good days & screaming on bad days. I need him to fall asleep on his own and place him in the crib awake. Yikes! I thought to myself.

First, I tried the reward system. You can only watch Blues Clues if you take your nap, I told him. After 2 weeks of no naps, I found out from a pedi that consequences that are not immediate cannot work for a two year old. Okay, so she recommended a crib tent. I outfitted the crib with Cozy Crib Tent, with hubby cringing, who thought the idea was too cruel. I didn't like it either, but I was desperate. After a day of using the crib tent, Josh took his first nap and I thought all was fine. But, after a week of napping, Josh has retaken his nap-free position.

Then, I turned to my trusty "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" book and found a Peachy Tip to help me stick with re-establishing the disappearing nap for 2 year olds. The sleep doctor, Marc Weissbluth, said "when you think you have finally solved a problem, it will resurface sooner or later. This is called a "response burst", either because your child is testing to see if the rules still apply or because you have slipped a little regarding consistency in enforcing the rules. Don't be dismayed. Stick to what worked and usually the problem will subside for good."

Okay, I'm sticking with my nap routine at 1pm, even though it seems like it's totally not working: 2 stories, rocking for 1 lullabye and putting him (crying) in the crib. This nap standoff is not for the faint heated. My heart breaks for the little guy, cuz trust me, I'd rock my little guy forever if I could.

Website Launch

Well, today is a big day for Just Peachy Baby! My new line of designer seat covers for shopping carts and restaurant high chairs are finally available on the net. The shopping cart seat cover collection is available for viewing online and the online boutique doors are open for business. We first started working on Just Peachy Baby in February 2007, and it's basically taken 9 months to get to the point of concept, design, development and now launch.

9 months. Wow. That's the same time it took for Josh to get here almost two years ago. Pretty crazy. Time to break out the champagne!