#dearlittlekian

[alsklingadventures]

Blog Name Change!

As my blog’s TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY approaches, it is with a heavy heart that I’ve decided to retire the original blog name, Dear Little Kian. 

Times change and life changes; Kian is now no longer an only child therefore it is only fitting that the new blog name and new blog layout accommodates both this and the other big changes in our lives!

D e a r  L i t t l e  K i a n    is now   Ä l s k l i n g  A d v e n t u r e s !

We hope that you enjoy the blog’s new theme; regular posting will recommence soon!

— Daphne

[narusasu-simblr]

CHRISTMAS DECORATING // 12.12.15

Here are some random pictures I took during Micah’s playdate today. It's really nice to see these two together. You can tell they're going to grow to be very close to each other. Kian, or Keen as Micah calls him, is just the sweetest little boy. We love how curious he is about most everything and Micah seems to love showing him around.

When Daphne first dropped Kian off we could tell that he was intrigued by Micah's teeter totter. He continued to gesture towards it. Being that the weather was a bit forgiving, we allowed them to play outside for a while. They both seemed to really enjoy the toy. The smiles and giggles were just too heart warming. I almost wished that we could stay in the moment forever. Sadly, the weather had other plans and as the late afternoon approached it began to become much more chilly. We resorted to going inside and sitting near the fireplace in the living room. 

A few moments before Kian's arrival we had just finished putting up our Christmas tree and it was waiting to get decorated. This is Micah's second Christmas and we really wanted to have him be a part of the decorating. It isn't something he will remember later on but regardless it's good family bonding. 

Knowing we have a one year old, his safety is our priority so we decided to go with plastic ornaments this year, which can be dropped and thrown and not broken. Luckily, they look just as nice as glass ones. 

 Kian wanted to join in the fun too, well kind of. While Micah was helping put up his first ever ornament Kian decided that stealing the ornaments and trying to eat them would be much more fun. He wasn't really interested in putting them on the tree but instead taking them off. We picked him up so he could place some ornaments too. He would place it on the tree then pick it back up again. The green shimmery ones seemed to be his favorite. 

 At one point Micah accidentally dropped one and it fell on to the floor with a loud clunk. Being plastic it didn't break though but it did scare Micah a little bit. Kian on the other hand burst out into giggles. We couldn't help but laugh too. He immediately threw his little green ornament onto the floor as well and waited for the clunk then the belly laughs began again. Micah even joined along in the giggles this time around. We haven't yet learned how to decorate a tree but we've found that plastic ornaments can be lots of fun to drop.

[mamabele-old]

Hi there! I've always wondered how mothers of lots of young kids manage to get them all ready to go out anywhere? Is it ever difficult? Who's the trickiest to get ready? Who's the most cooperative?

Hello there!Well, Mark and I have sort of gotten all the kids into a routine that they are used to. Getting them all ready is quite a task for both me and Mark because there’s always that one that doesn’t cooperate! The trickiest to get ready would probably be Kaía, she’s a right diva and she’s super sassy, often refusing to go to her closet to pick an outfit or just shouting “NO!” when we ask her to choose clothes.The most cooperative is a tie between Lorenzo and Álvarez, they’re both very laid back lil’ lads and are a dream to get them dressed because they don’t refuse like Kaía does, haha!

[harlowkenc]

Hi there! My son is almost 5 months so (hopefully) should be crawling soon! Do you have any tips on child proofing your home? I love your family and your blog, by the way!

Ah! Thank you so much! Our home is pretty much adult proof as well... considering even Levi and myself have trouble opening those pesky cabinet and toilet locks and can’t undo the gate sometimes... It all comes down to knowing your family and having to find a balance. 

A few quick things I would suggest:  

If you can’t baby proof and lock all of your cabinet and drawers in the kitchen/bathrooms, make sure that you at least lock the ones that contain any cleaning supplies, small objects, or anything that could be harmful to a child. If your exploring baby gets into a drawer full of pots and pans, that’s much better than them getting into the drawer with the ajax and the bleach! 

Install safety gates near rooms you don’t want baby in and at any staircase, at both the tops and the bottoms. A lot of people forget about baby proofing the bottom of their stairs. They’re just concerned about their lil bugger toppling down from the top; but they’re adventuring! They’re crawling! They very well could crawl up a few stairs and eventually fall and hurt themselves! It’s something commonly overlooked! 

Install outlet covers and hide any plugs if possible. They love to pull on things, which could be hazardous. 

Install a lock on your toilet seat, or any other area where water tends to build up. Babies can drown in just a few inches of water. 

Last but not least, make sure there's no sharp edges on anything your baby will be around. We had a gorgeous glass coffee table before we adopted Peter and have had our fair share of injuries from it. We made sure to put it in storage right away when we got a child because if it caused us pain, it would most definitely cause a little baby more.