At 14 months, Amaya loves the pancakes that Daddy makes for a indulgent weekend breakfast. I put some on her plate and surprisingly she ate everything before tossing the plate onto the ground. Here are some pics of her chowing down.
* She has 4 teeth
* Weighs about 18 pounds
* Knows the signs for "eat, sit down, milk, drink & please"
* Can get off and on her ride toy by herself
* Runs full speed without falling
1. Today Amaya was playing, stopped and held out her hands for me to pick her up. Once in my arms she kept pointing to the wall and when we walked over she pointed to a wedding picture of Paul and I and said "Dadeee."
2. She gives kisses almost all the time I ask for them. She leans in sometimes with her mouth wide open! I can't overdo the asking though, then she gets super annoyed. LOL!
3. The best thing is still cuddling with her early in the morning before we both go back to sleep after Paul leaves for work. I'm trying to enjoy this before she gets too old or wiggly to be in out bed!
As you all know I try to limit the amount of plastic toys in my home because of BPA seepage and all of that yucky stuff. I've been investing in wooden toys for Amaya but recently found Healthytoys.org and was shocked when one of her toys came up with a Medium rating on the hazard chemical list. Here's my review of the yous that I submitted to epinions. As always research toys and website before to make the determination for your family.
PS I purchased this gift for Amaya myself so don't worry if you bought her toys. I just thought my research was interesting....
I purchased this toy for my daughter and she played with it off and on for a few months. She liked to push the beads together to hear them click and I often put the suction on our floor so she had better control of the toy. She also liked to spin the beads although the yellow square bead would often stick since it was a tad bit too large to smoothly slide between the wires. At this point she likes to drag her dollies and teddies around more than a bead maze so it has been sporadically used since it is very easy to suction the bottom to the floor. I should also say that the suction is very strong and my kid can't remove it once it's stuck to a surface.
My problem with this toy is that it was tested by Healthytoys.org and scored a Medium on the level of chemical expsoure rating score. I did some more research and found that this product has a 51 parts per million of Aresenic in the the red wire. Now I know that toys have to go through vigorous testing before they make it to market but toys with aresenic are not allowed in my home, and especially not in my child's mouth.
I want to note that Healthytoys.org is a non profit organization and does not test to see if any chemicals will seep out of the toy nor do they test to see what kinds of reactions children will have if they play with this toy. The Toy Industry Association claims that Healthytoys.org is misleading because "The mere presence of inaccessible substances in trace amounts does not mean a product is harmful." However just knowing the arsenic was there was enough for me and I removed the toy from her room and replaced with a different kind of toy. I personally believe that it's important to do your own research on the issue and then determine what is right for your family.
So much has happened in the last four weeks, that I've been neglecting this blog. But I'm back with an update and some thoughts on being a working mom. I earned my graduate degree always with the thought that I would go back to work sometime in the fall. I figured I'd never find a job with the way the economy is and prepared myself for a long hot summer with the baby. Instead the job gods smiled down on me and through a good friend I was put in touch with a consulting company who was looking for a part time planner. A whirlwind interview process later, I am employed and commuting twice a week from San Jose to the Peninsula.
I keep myself busy as to not worry and miss Amaya too much. I know she is in capable and loving hands with her Auntie Crystal but it was very rough the first day. I called to hear her in the background and immediately tried not to cry. It was hard to let go and not have total control over her life anymore, but I know that she needs to socialize with other kids and that getting out of the house is good for her.
One great thing is that I didn't realize how much I would feed my own soul going back to work. I've worked since I was 15, I always had a job and was always self sufficient. Not working for nearly two years to finish school was tough, although I transitioned to a stay at home mom smoother than I thought I would. I've missed my old self since having a baby. I realize motherhood changes EVERYTHING but not always in a bad way, in fact I think I'm much more mellow and easy going now. I also think my career goals have changed too. I still want to start my own consulting firm but I think that maybe all that can wait for a few years. In the meantime I've been trying to balance as best as I can.
Work has been therapuetic. I realized that I truly missed that hot Starbucks in the morning, pulling my chair up to my seat to check email, the quiet of the office at 7am. The Tiffany that answers the phone is polite but in a no nonsense way when pushed. She eats almost always at her desk to finish up to leave the office promptly at 4.
The difference is now that I'm a mom. I have a little person who runs toward me with arms outstretched when I step through the door. And picking her up and giving her a huge hug is the perfect way to start my second job at home. 
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