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Apples on a Tree

A Lifestyle Blog By Stephanie Anderson

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She takes her job as sunscreen applicator very ser

She takes her job as sunscreen applicator very seriously. This girl is loving the fact that it is finally warm outside. She wakes up and her first words are always, “wanna go outside?”. When we get downstairs, she runs to put on her hat and sunglasses, grabs the sunscreen (which we keep by the door) and just waits until it’s finally time to go outside. She is definitely an outdoor personality! I’m just glad she can’t open our door yet🙈

Do you ever get “touched out” as a parent? I

Do you ever get “touched out” as a parent?

I have a small touch tank. Michael has a small touch tank. Tim has a small touch tank. But Charlotte has the biggest touch tank ever.

I do my absolute best to fill her tank with snuggles, hand holding, hugs, kisses, high fives, props, etc etc. But honestly, it’s exhausting. My time is basically spent between filling her tank, trying to figure out when Michael needs some filling, and running around with my head cut off to get anything done before either of them need their tanks filled more.

By the time Tim gets home from work, I am completely drained, both my mood and my patience, just from being so touched out. And it can make me feel so guilty. For so long, I would see it as, “who doesn’t like affection from their kids? What is wrong with me?”. For the longest time, I thought it wasn’t normal to be touched out.

But after talking with other moms, I’ve realized it is completely normal. It is something nearly every parent experiences at some point or another. Some, like myself, may experience it more regularly if their own tank is pretty small.

And it doesn’t mean anything is wrong with me for experiencing feelings of being touched out.

Personally, I’ve been working really hard on setting limits. Not to take away from my daughter but to allow me to re-charge. I want to keep my daughter’s (and my son’s) tank filled, but I also need to monitor my own as to not get overloaded. Because parents are important too, and this parent needs some alone time here and there.

So if you’re feeling touched out, especially if you experience it frequently like me, just know that it’s normal. You’re still a good parent. There is nothing wrong with you, and it doesn’t make you love your kids any less. Take care of yourself too, parents!

Perfection has been something I’ve strived for l

Perfection has been something I’ve strived for long before I became a parent. The search has only caused issues for me, including a hospital stay in high school and a couple years of therapy.

But right when I had Charlotte, my need for perfection tripled.

I started having anxiety attacks up to five times a day because I couldn’t measure up to what I had in mind as the “perfect parent”. I didn’t enjoy breastfeeding, I didn’t like my post-partum body, I had the hardest time getting my child to sleep through the night before a year, let alone by the time she was 12 weeks, and I always felt like I was failing.

It’s been a long, challenging, and super reflective last two years, but if I could go back to pre-baby me, I would tell her that the perfect parent doesn’t exist.

There is no parent who “does it all” day after day without help.

There is no parent who doesn’t run into challenges.

There is no parent who never questions themselves and their parenting.

There is no such thing as a perfect parent.

There is only parents who try.

Try to be better.

Try to be patient.

Try to be who their children need them to be.

And that is more than enough.

Children don’t need perfection. They just need you.

I’ve got one child who speaks in full sentences

I’ve got one child who speaks in full sentences and tells jokes and one child who speaks primarily in roars, or at least I assume that’s what they are from the face🙈 However, yesterday evening, Michael turned one of his roars into a word!! Tim and I were sitting with Michael in a little competition of “who’s name will he say first?”. I sat there saying ‘mom’ over and over while Tim repeated ‘dad’. Michael found it hilarious but refused to make a sound! Right after we lost hope, he blurted out “Mom! Mom!” so loud!!! It was music to my ears (and a clear defeat for Tim;)). I’ve been trying ever since to get Michael to repeat it again so I can get it recorded but he seems to be camera shy and has turned back to roaring😂❤️

E I G H T M O N T H S 🌟 This has been a real m

E I G H T M O N T H S 🌟 This has been a real month of learning for Michael. He is now crawling, and is trying his best to pull himself up to stand! (Which has honestly shocked us all considering he has not been interested in standing ever before.) He is stretching those vocal cords and making new sounds everyday!! He is also dancing to music now and giggling when a song he likes comes on❤️ He is still not sleeping through the night though so I’ve been giving him some subliminal messages for him to focus month 8 on learning that awesome skill😉 I say it every month but I really don’t like how fast time flies!

I’ve got to say - the thing I am loving the most

I’ve got to say - the thing I am loving the most about doing BLW with Michael is just watching him explore his food! It is fascinating to watch him try to eat chicken and broccoli and peppers and all the other foods my picky toddler refuses to touch😂 Michael gets so happy every time we place food in front of him as he knows it’s time to explore and play, and while I had the normal anxieties about doing BLW at first, watching him love it has definitely made this path worth it to us!! Are you a BLW or purée feeder? (No wrong answer, it’s all about what works for each fam!!)

I’ve always wanted to be a Mom. Ever since I was

I’ve always wanted to be a Mom. Ever since I was four years old, I’d answer every “what do you want to be when you’re older?” question with the answer, “a mom”. This is my third Mother’s Day (although my 2yo did not want to join the picture so it’s hard to tell) and while being a mom is no easy job, it is definitely the best one I have ever had by far. It has made me into a better person who is constantly searching on ways to improve. It has allowed me to grow in ways that I never knew was possible. And it has brought an amount of love into my life that I didn’t know existed.

Not only am I their world right now, but they are my world for the rest of my life. And I am humbled and grateful beyond belief for that.

Happy Mother’s Day to all Momma’s out there - whether that be by blood, by adoptions, by fostering, or by coincidence, earthside, or angel - today’s your day❤️

It’s been nearly a week since we converted Charl

It’s been nearly a week since we converted Charlotte’s crib into a toddler bed and it’s actually been going way better than I thought it would! She’s still sleeping through the night and hasn’t started trying to party at bedtime like I thought she might. And instead of crying for us in the morning, she just comes to our room and ask to join our bed for some snuggles!

Best of all though, this bed has now become her favourite place in the house. She loves bringing her books and her toys into it and just enjoying time by herself💖

2019 ApplesOnATree

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