Baby Boy No More

I am still a bit sad as I write this post because I am trying to wrap my mind around the fact that my baby boy is no longer a baby, but a toddler learning to discover his Independence. We reached a big milestone this weekend, moving him from his crib to a twin bed. I wasn't sure he was ready for this transition entirely, but I wanted to get him completely settled in his new room before his little sister comes and changes life as he knows it. This way he isn't dealing with multiple stressors at once and it makes me feel less guilty (although only slightly) as a mommy who is about to split my attention and energy between two children instead of one.

So I took him to the store to pick out the bed rails and was really hyping up the whole thing all day trying to get him super excited. I'm not sure he really understood what I was talking about but he was jumping around anyways because he knew something good was happening.

When John got home from work we prepared to do battle and discussed our plan of action should Eli refuse to stay in bed and the whole thing was a disaster. We did the usual bedtime routine, bath, teeth, stories, singing, prayer, and snuggles, and then I firmly told Eli that he was to stay in his bed and NOT get out. I warned that a spank would be waiting for him should I catch him on the floor. He said "okay" and "night night" so I gave him kisses and shut the door.

John and I were eating pizza downstairs and glued to our video monitor watching him. He cried for maybe 30 seconds, looked around the room, jumped a few times on his bed, shook the headboard, and then eventually lay down and starting sucking his fingers. He didn't get out once! It was magical and we were so relieved. He slept great all night long and woke up at his usual time of 7:45 in the morning.

Nap time today I was alone and a bit worried but he did great. He hopped off the bed once and I was on him like a ninja and gave him a little spank on his leg. He was testing the waters but he got the message and went right to sleep. God is so good. He knows that I am too pregnant and too tired to deal with a screaming, wild toddler refusing to stay in bed. Thank you Lord. And now I can finally fill the nursery with all the pink, girly clothes that I've been so excited to get out.

Baby Eli, just a couple weeks old in his cradle

First night in his new bed

Storytime

Goodnight kisses for daddy

Green Thumb Wannabe

Growing up my mom always kept a beautiful garden with blooming flowers and plants galore. She dabbled a bit in planting some fruits and vegetables and I have fond memories of picking strawberries from our little patch just outside the kitchen window. I also remember being swarmed by bees every time I did this, perhaps a pivotal moment in my lifelong aversion to bugs, insects, and creepy crawlies of any sort. But anyways.....

I have always wanted to grow a huge edible garden and now that we finally have a yard that gets full sunlight and prime east/west exposure I am super excited. 2 of my sister-in-laws Bethany and Rebecca offered to help share the cost and labor of starting and maintaining our little plot. So, I did what I always do when I need to educated myself on something specific and hit up our local library for some reading material.

We decided on a raised bed garden design because these are supposed to maintain the best drainage and growing conditions for vegetables while cutting down on weeding and bug infestation. So with my handy hubby as the foreman and his brothers Chris and Luke as the worker bees, they spent a Sunday afternoon constructing us a planter box that is 10 ft long, 4 ft wide, and 2 ft high. It is beautiful. Since this is our trial year of planting, we decided to start with one box and perhaps add another next year should we be successful.

I've started some of the slower growing warm season vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers inside from seeds and the sprouts are doing lovely so far. Next week our 3 cubic yards of organic soil and compost mix will be delivered so we can fill the box and get the cool season seeds planted outside. Stay tuned for garden updates throughout the next couple of months. I am hopeful for a good crop and that my brown thumb starts to turn a little greener as I figure out what the heck I'm doing.

Twins for a night

This weekend we got to have Eli's cousin Max over to spend the night with us while Sam and Jen enjoyed a much deserved date night out. Eli is to the age where he is able to anticipate (for a short while) and thoroughly enjoy a play date with any of his friends. Since he and Max are a mere 9 days apart they love the same activities and can speak and understand fluent toddler jibberish perfectly. I've noticed that Eli definitely plays the role of the "follower" and allows whoever he is with to dictate the activity choices. He seems eager to please his playmates and stands back to watch carefully what they do before attempting to mimic their actions himself. I find this so funny because it is the opposite of my controlling take charge personality. Brings up the age old nature vs. nurture questions. But anyways....that's another blog post entirely. Eli and Max had a blast screeching and laughing and draining each other entirely of energy. I tried to document their time together in between cleaning up spilled sippys and attempting to instill the value of sharing into their stubborn toddler heads.

Bath time was very splashy and the bathroom was soaked

Our coffee table doubles as Eli's performance stage...

These boys have some raw dancing talent and

can certainly shake what their mother's gave them

Bedtime Bible story reading with Uncle John/Daddy

8am and still a bit sleepy. I love that they have chosen and
stuck with thumb and finger sucking respectively since birth

Breakfast time. Notice Max's obvious displeasure of the CINNAMON ROLLS that I baked for them. What?? Please also notice (Jen) the fresh fruit on their plates. It was totally balanced.

Cell phone chatter with whom I can only assume were business contacts in Tokyo

Thanks for coming to play Max, we look forward to our next sleepover!