No More Crib!!

After having a crib up for 3 1/2 years, it is now a toddler bed! We vowed to keep Bailey in her crib as long as we could, but last weekend, she startled us in the morning because she came out of her room on her own. She's been working on it for awhile, but she finally did it. Shortly after, Dan had her crib converted to a toddler bed.

Jacob went straight to a twin bed and into another bedroom all at once, so this transition has been much easier. The first night we found her sleeping in a kneeling position from her floor (her head and arms were resting on her bed). She must have partially rolled off her bed and remained asleep! She woke up before I could get a picture, but it was cute!!

I'm working on changing her room from the animal safari theme we had set for the nursery to a girly theme. I'm looking forward to purchasing pink and purple decor!!

Wall Art

The kids come home with a lot of art they do while at school and it's a dilemna on what to do with it all. Some goes on the fridge, holiday-themed art gets packed in boxes with our other decorations, but there is a lot that I cannot throw way, yet don't want to store. I found a solution on my friend's blog (thanks Leigh!) on a creative way to display art projects. She hung a string or rope along the wall and then used clothing pins to hang the projects. Genius! I created one for each of the kids and put it on one of their walls. I love walking in there and seeing a personal touch that they created and I think they have a sense of pride as well. It's also a great way to help decorate their rooms!! I rotate the art in and out to keep it updated and also to correspond to whatever season or holiday is near.

Love Me a Good Sale

I love finding a good sale, especially on kids things which is pretty much all I buy anymore. Over the course of a few days Dan and I made a couple of trips to Kohls and took advantage of its clearance sale. We got the kids so many clothing items, including winter coats for next year, everday clothes, dresses, pajamas, etc... It's a guessing game on sizes, but I think we'll be okay :)

The picture below illustrates our last trip. The best part is that it only cost us a little over $20 (with the help of a 20% off, $40 Kohls cash, and a merchandise credit). How can you beat that!!!

First Haircut

Well, the mullet is gone! You're welcome, Sharla. I took Bailey in last week to get what I thought was a small trim to get rid of her dead ends. My hairdresser asked what I wanted and I decided to defer to her judgment on what would be best. She recommended a bob to help even her hair out. I immediately burst into tears. It took her TWO years to get any length in hair! Bailey fought during the whole five minutes it took to cut her hair, which is what I expected.

It actually turned out good and her hair is much fuller looking and healthy. I managed to get a few pictures taken during the process along with some before and after shots. Her hair should now grow out quicker and more even now.

Now cross your fingers for a bow in the near future :)

Before pictures








During haircut






After pictures

Potty Trained!!!

Jacob is potty trained!!! This actually happened at the end of January. We finally stumbled upon a reward system that worked. Jacob has a deep love for Toy Story, so we bought him a set of characters that he could earn when he pooped on the potty. We set them on top of the fridge so they were out of reach, yet in his line of sight. He pooped on the potty immediately!! In the course of two weeks, he had a few accidents during which one would be put back on the fridge. He earned it back when he went on the potty again. I don't want to jinx it, but he hasn't had an accident in a month.

We also no longer have to ask him, more like force him, to go at regular intervals. He goes on his own and we are so proud of him! He also is now waking up dry on most mornings. He still wears a pull-up just in case, but truthfully, I don't care. I'm sure that his nighttime accidents will fade completely away in the near future.

I never really stressed too much about his training, but honestly, I was getting a little worried towards the end that he would never figure it out. Lots of people said that something would click in his brain and he would get it and that is what happened.

Bailey is showing signs of getting close to being ready to train, but I just don't want to go there yet! The other day, she asked us desperately to help her on the potty and I just didn't have the energy for it. I gave in and she actually really went! I guess here we go again :) That's the thing about having two really close together is that it is a lot of work upfront and then life gets easier later, right?!!

Pigtail Fail

I'm absolutely dying to put Bailey's hair up in a ponytail, pigtails, or just clipped with a bow. Bailey has other ideas! She acts like she is getting tortured. I figure that I'll just keep trying with different approaches with the hopes of one working!!

My hairdresser talked me into getting her hair trimmed to help even it out and cut off the dead ends. I'm taking her next week, so we'll see how that goes!

Here is proof of her dislike of anything in her hair!

Running off Energy

The video below is a result of what being couped up inside too long leads to. One night after dinner the kids had soooo much energy to burn and since bedtime was rapidly approaching, I created this impromptu activity to help them wear down. It is now a frequent request by the kids!!