Well my daughter turned 3 this last week and it was a little upsetting. Of course I want her to grow up, have experiences, live a life that is full and beautiful…but there’s a selfish part of me that wants her to stay exactly as she is.

Of course the natural progression for most toddlers is to go from a crib to a big kid bed. No one ever tells you all the problems that come with this lack of confinement.

The older my daughter gets, the more she loves having friends to play with. It’s always great when she plays with someone just a little older because they act as a leader on how playtime goes.

I remember reading an article when I was pregnant that told a glorious tale about a woman who had potty trained her child by 8 months. In my ignorant state I thought to myself “I too will take this path and have a potty-trained child before age 1.”

I recently put my daughter in a dance class, which I enjoy watching immensely. It is a little like herding kittens.

A girly girl I am not. Yet somehow my daughter has turned out to be the most Princess-obsessed little girl I’ve ever met.

Every time I let go of my need for order and neatness I find that my daughter and I have such a blast!

I absolutely love Christmas. I love the family, the friends, the dinners, the treats, the laughs and the togetherness. And yes, if I can be honest, sometimes I love the gifts as well.

Holy crazy 2s have set in and boy is my daughter bossy! I know it’s just a phase and I’m just going to have to find the humor in it. But boy is it frustrating.

Sometimes I look around at the moms I admire and think, “Wow, they really have it all figured out. How do they do it all?”

It’s dark at 7pm, there’s a nip in the air in the morning and we don’t use the A/C anymore. It’s a done deal; summer is over.

This summer we planted a garden full of vegetables and all of the sudden I found my veggie-hating toddler experimenting with raw, fresh greens!

It’s official, we have entered the age of “MINE”. Everything belongs to my daughter; it doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s a bag of cookies or bag of dirty laundry.

I couldn’t wait till the day my daughter could do things all by herself. I never wanted a child that clung to me, constantly asking me do everything for her. Well I have certainly got my wish.

Weather is the greatest excuse to be lazy, such as “it’s too hot to go on a hike” or “it’s too cold to go outside”. I’ve used these excuses many times to sit on my couch in lieu of doing anything outdoorsy.

Finally, after almost two years of figuring each other out, we have developed a family routine. Now that two years old is just around the corner, we’ve been talking a lot about a little brother or sister.

In my search for the perfect cupcake inspiration I found my birthday theme: farm animals. My daughter loves animals, especially pigs.

I know I’m not alone when I say it’s not easy to get kids to eat vegetables. It’s not easy to get me to eat veggies, so I can’t say I blame them.

Weather in Reno has been crazy lately. One day we are at the park in a t-shirt and the next day we’re in a snowsuit sledding down our driveway. But one thing is consistent in our weekly routine regardless of the weather: Fantastic Fridays at Jump Man Jump!

At two years old, my daughter is finally starting to understand about holidays. I’ve been trying to clue her in on how fabulous they are, but she’s just now cluing in. Not only are they fun, filled with family and good food, but holidays usually bring presents!

If you are into the idea of recycling kids clothes, toys and furniture, then Just Between Friends is the event for you.

My husband and I love going to restaurants but since having our daughter we don’t venture out as often.

There is an amazing new indoor place of awesomeness for kids. And I mean a real place of awesomeness.

As a first time mom, everyday is a learning experience for me and my daughter. She's about a year and a half, which is odd cause I swear it was yesterday that I was walking around my block carrying this big baby-filled belly.