We decided to make a sweet day even sweeter by planning a picnic in the park. Graham and I invited my mother, Pattie, to join us for a Mother's Day celebration at our local duck pond. To make our set up, we piled on pretty pillows to create a cozy spot and brought our favorite instrument for some fun music.
The menu doesn't have to be fussy, because HELLO we have a toddler involved here, LOL! We put together a light yet kid friendly lunch of hummus & pita bread, fresh fruits, snap peas, cucumbers, dates and almonds followed by my moms favorite Lemon Bar and accompanied by homemade lemonade. Dessert definitely ramps up any occasion — even a simple picnic like this.
Creative little finger-foods are Graham's favorite, so I put fruit and mini Peanut Butter & Jelly Squares on a kabob.
Now that Graham is transitioning from a baby to a very active toddler it’s time we start tossing out the baby bottles to training cups. We have limited it down to one bottle a day, usually when I am reading him a goodnight book. We've been practicing for a few months now and Graham is now preferring the Munchkin Splash Cup when we are sitting down to eat. He is still learning not to tilt the cup back to the point of pouring water down himself, but sometimes I think he enjoys it because of his sneaky laughter!
Graham started feeding himself a few months after he turned one. He is now at the stage where he insists on feeding himself, he will actually get upset if I want to "baby" him. I guess it helps when I want to get the dishes done or maybe it doesn't... because by the end he is usually wearing his food. But since we started implementing the Munchkin Scooper Spoons Graham has become significantly less messy, making my job WAY easier! I like that the Scooper helps him learn how to self feed and that he can use it with his right or left hand. I haven't been able to notice which one is more dominant... he uses both hands quite often.
Graham honestly takes his Munchkin Snack Catcher everywhere. You have probably seen multiple Instagram Video Stories of him using it in his carseat, while we are out running errands. I love the easy access for his tiny fingers while preventing him from spilling out the entire contents. Graham will stick his whole fist in and only be able to pull out one or two cheerios! I usually toss in cheerios, vegan cheese crackers, veggie sticks, or dried fruit. I absolutely love knowing that he isn't making a gigantic mess in the back of my car.
After lunch we headed over to the pond to say "Hello" to the duckies and work on our Nature Scavenger hunt.
I have always adored the Munchkin brand even before Graham was born. Back when I was registering for my baby showers, over half of my items were Munchkin! I was delighted to meet a few members of their team at a Conference I attended earlier this year. They were incredibly friendly, upbeat, and very genuine. Just another reason for me to love this company.
This post is in collaboration with Munchkin but I want my readers to know that my thoughts and comments are purely my own. We have used Munchkin products since the day Graham came home from the hospital, from the diaper pail, to bottles, and bath accessories.
Munchkins baby lifestyle products are pure genius and have been my saving grace in multiple "Mommy Moments" this past year!
As I have grown up and become a mother of my own, I realized that we view our moms in very different ways, from a child, to teenager, and now adulthood, but no matter the stage, they always remain special to us.
My mother has a resiliency that amazes me! In her life she has encountered, as many of us do, hardships, struggles, painful situations that take strength and determination to rebound from. Just looking at her deal with decisions and sometimes even mistakes, made me realize what a strength in my life she is. The lessons she has taught are things that will stay with me for a lifetime.
There have been times I would never get along with her, but at the same time I have also wondered what I did to deserve such a caring mother. So for all of these things that I can never put into words, I owe her my life and gratitude... Thank you for being my Mom.
