Snaps of Memorial Day and the playroom

What a beautiful Memorial Day we had on Monday!

It was sunny {85*} and gorgeous.

A perfect day for the parade downtown.

The marching bands are always Kensie's favorite.

And when we got home, the kiddie pool finally made it's debut for the season....

It was a hit, to say the least.

***

And if you have time this week, make sure to stop by Hobby Lobby! Lots of fun clearance items.

Like these cute butterflies I snagged for the playroom {$1.99 each}--sorry I cleaned out the rest of 'em on the shelf! But, there are lots of other fun summer(y) things like umbrellas, pinwheels, chinese lanterns. If you are looking to have an outdoor party this summer, then go. Right.now.

Makes you want to giggle huh?



Kensie {read: Shannon} has been pointing at them all week in excitement.

Shabby finds, gardening, and a visitor...

Look what I brought home this week....

I have mason jars ALL over my house. But, whoever thought of making one into a soap dispenser just became my new best friend. I found this cutie at our local "Not So Shabby" store.

And this moss covered "M" fits perfectly into my decor as well. Also found at the same store. I know, I know. I could have totally made one myself. But, time for hobbies is decreasing at an increasing rate, so all you DIY crafters can sue me, ok?

And since I'm a below-average gardener....these pics are for my mother--"Mom! Look at the clematis {above} you gave me a few years ago! It's blooming and gorgeous and I love it. And remember that climbing rose {below} that I declared a 'non-blooming dud'?? Well I can't even count the number of buds on it!! Thank you for having faith in my lack-of-a-green-thumb skills".

Oh and as for our visitor this weekend...

Well, this pic pretty much sums it up.

Hope you are having a great Memorial weekend!

We sure are...



Mason's mullet

This boy was born with a ton of hair. And I love it. He instantly looks like a mini Greg: dark brown in color. Stick-straight ends. Complete with sideburns.

see the matchy sideburns?

How cute are these two boys? Tall, dark and handsome. That's how I roll...

It's been 7 weeks since he's showcased his manly dark locks, and BOY has it grown! So much, in fact, he was starting to sport a mullet.

But, after a quick snip...

He's back to his ruggedly handsome good looks (I mean locks...tee-hee).

Ok, that was lame. But, that's all I had for material today, ok?

I'm so blessed to have a son. Especially one that reminds me of my hard-working husband every day.

The great sleep debate...

There are lots of opinions out there on sleeping (in regards to your baby). You may have heard some of them:

Rock your baby to sleep.

Let your baby cry it out.

Keep your baby up as long as possible so they will sleep longer.

Never wake a sleeping baby.

Etc...etc...

The purpose of this post is not to debate which opinions I disagree with (even though I do disagree with some). I will, however, tell you what works. Really works. People have been recently asking about how Kensie is such a great sleeper. I wish I could take all the credit, but really it's because I'm a firm believer in this book...

Before I get into the details of the book, here is our testimonial:

Kensie is currently 19 months old. She goes to bed between 7-7:30pm and sleeps until 8:30-9am. We have never had a bedtime battle. Not once. Even when she's in the middle of playing, or visiting with friends. When I say it's time for "night night"...she willingly walks down the hallway and into her room. We get into her P.J.'s and grab her blankie. After a quick kiss goodnight, I lay her in the crib, flip off the light and shut the door. She might babble for a while, but then quietly puts herself to sleep. Nap times are the same. She will sleep from 1pm until 3-3:30pm without a fight.  Sure, there are times when she gets fussy and irritable because she is tired, teething, or sick. But, as soon as she is in her crib the fussiness stops immediately. It's as though she is relieved to be going to bed. There are also occasional shifts in the schedule with holidays and vacations, but she easily adjusts back to her normal routine. All in all, she expects to sleep and accepts it.



(Kensie at 5 months--after a full night's sleep)

"If you start early with sleep training, you will be well along the path to preventing sleep problems." --Dr. Weissbluth

The first half of the book seeks to educate the reader on sleep using studies, charts, and testimonials. The second half is divided into Chapters for different age groups. Once you "buy into" the philosophy of creating healthy sleep habits for your child, you are given some tools to use depending on your child's age.

So, what does this look like? Here are some concrete examples of what we are implenting with Mason right now.

Five to Eight weeks old:

{1} Try to meet your baby's need. If he's hungry, feed him. If he's tired, sleep him. Mason started smiling last week (which indicates he is more socially aware), and also means he would rather enjoy our company instead of sleep! It takes some practice but, we try to "read" his tendancies--taking note of when he becomes fussy. Did he just eat? Does he need his diaper changed? This sounds like common sense. But, really staying in tune with your baby's rythyms is a great start. You will soon notice which cry means, "I need to sleep!".

{2} Let him stay awake for no more than 2 hours.  That's about the max that most babies can endure without becoming overtired. We try to soothe him to sleep before he becomes overtired--before he becomes slightly crabby, seems irritable, pulls his hair, or bats his ears. This does not mean he should be up for 2 hours and then down for 2 hours. Rather, 2 hours is the time interval during which we expect to put him to sleep.

{3} When we decide he is showing signs that he is tired, we lay him down--even if he does not want to sleep. Sometimes, he falls asleep and sometimes he won't. When he doesn't, we pick him up (after 5, 10 or 20 min.) and soothe him. We may try again after several minutes to see if he will fall asleep on his own. Or, we might try again another day. "But, remember that if your baby cries hard for three minutes, quietly for three minutes, and then sleeps for an hour, he/she would have lost that hour long nap if you had not let him/her alone for six minutes."- Dr. Weissbluth

{4} Keep a log or diary to see if there's any improvement. When we see success, no matter how small, it is motivating to persist despite some crying and inconvenience we have to endure.

"At those times when your baby needs to sleep but wants to play with you, your playing with him is robbing him of sleep. "- Dr. Weissbluth

I return to this book time and time again. I'm already looking ahead to when Kensie is ready to switch to a big girl bed. There's lots of good advice for that too! Other methods may work great. But, this is the one we chose and it has worked amazing for us! I think the key to anything is consistency.

If there is a lot of feedback, maybe I'll do another post in a couple months on Mason's next phase...

New flooring and a room switcheroo...

After 4 {lonnnnnng} weeks, our floors are done! Thanks to my hard-working, staying-up-til-midnight, learn-as-you-go, persevering husband....it is finished!

I cannot tell you how rewarding a project like this feels once it's done. Ohhhhh, so good.

And since I'm a sucker for BEFORE and AFTER photos, I thought I would sneak a few in...

BEFORE



AFTER

I also did some redecorating....surprise surprise. I have always wondered what the fireplace room would look like as a dining room, and vice versa. Once the floors were finished and cleaned, it was a good opportunity to try it out.

I'm pretty sure I broke some cardinal decorating rule by putting the hutch in front of a window...but honestly, it was the best spot. Now, if I can only convince my hubby to move the chandelier into there for more lighting, all will be well. If not, then I'm going to need to find some wall sconces or something.

And, I absolutely LOVE this space now. A sitting area in the kitchen....where we spend a lot of our time. Coffee chats with friends, a play area for the kids, and free traffic flow to the mudroom/ garage. {The space under the painting on the right will soon be the perfect spot for Kensie's new kids size table I found on craigslist.}

I'm thinking a slim sized coffee table would be nice in front of the couch. Or even a weathered looking bench that can double as a coffee table. We'll see. It just needs a little something extra.

I will leave you with a sneak peek into the mudroom....more on that later.

Time to go run laps with Kensie on the new floors! Peace out!

Two and a half weeks later....

Mason:

{1} Growing like a weed!{barely fits his 0-3 month sized wardrobe}.....and is gaining weight like it's his job.

How cute are those booties??

My dear friend Jenny sent them in the mail, and I absolutely love them! What a sweet homemade gift :)

{2} Has decided that his biological clock is set for the European time zone {which would be great....except we live in the U.S.} Bummer. So that means we have been doing a lot of this during the day....

..and a lot of this at night...

MUST EXPLAIN:: This photo shoot were taken after a 3am feeding. We were joking about how much Mason and Greg look alike....and in an attempt to snap a pic of the same "expression" we nearly peed our pants after taking the photo below. Greg looking humorous but tired, and Mason looking like a troubled one-eyed bandit. We were laughing for a half an hour.....oh what sleeplessness will do to a person...::



{3} Peeing ALL over the place! Ugh. This kid is like a ticking time bomb attached to a 360* rotating sprinkler. I think I change him like 5-6 times a day and wash every blanket he owns within a 24 hour period. So much different than a girl. I just hope he gets some control over that thing in the next month or so. It's getting old.

Kensie:

{1} Has had a few more time-outs these days. I was aware of this transition, but wasn't sure exactly how it would come out. Some "firsts" we've experienced lately include: splashing around with her hands in the toilet, pulling out every diaper from her closet and spreading them all over the room, finding the tissue box and emptying every last tissue out of the box, and deliberately touching things after you've said "no". None of them surprise me....just hard to keep up with the kid!

{2} Sleeping like a champ! This kid will sleep up to 14 or 15 hours sometimes! Lately, she will wake up around 8, but then play in her crib until I come get her (I've left her up to an hour and a half sometimes!) As long as she's happy, why rush it right?? Seriously LOVES her crib. She'll sing, roll around, and bounce like a trampoline until the cows come home. Same thing after naps. She'll sleep 2-2.5 hours, and then play for an hour, if I let her. Thank goodness! Now, let's hope Mason is just as cooperative in the future.

{3} Getting more personality every day. It's so fun to watch her play more independently these days. She totes around her stuffed animals, stacks blocks, reads books, and re-arranges pillows and rugs all day. Her vocabulary is growing each day, and she shows a real interest in recognizing letters and numbers in everyday life. And she loves to challenge herself by balancing on random objects. Here's a little clip from today's playtime....

I've made a couple trips with both kids by myself {still crammed in my little Focus btw}, but still haven't tried a public outing yet....let alone a trip to the grocery store. Just doctor appointments and visits with friends. But, I'm totally ok with that. I'm happy to sit here in my robe as I type this and not step foot out of the house all day. We'll see how I feel by week 6, but for now I'm soaking up the time with my two munchkins.

And don't worry, flooring pics are on the way!! Half of the room is done....yippee!

Flooring as of late...

We enjoy doing our biggest, most labor-intensive, time-consuming house projects during life's biggest transitions. Namely, having a baby. I don't know what it is, but my husband THRIVES working under pressure.

What do I mean???

When we brought Kensie home from the hospital a year and a half ago we didn't even have our front door attached to the house. Yeah. I wish I would have taken a picture but, let me describe to you the madness we welcomed Kensie into when we got home---Greg was in the middle of painting our new front door and back door to the house (he gets the nesting instinct even worse than I do). With only one coat of paint left on each door, they were resting against the side of the house waiting to be finished. As in, off. O-F-F, off.

I went into labor the next morning and we had no choice but to leave everything as it was. The gaping entrance to our oh so vulnerable home was creatively covered with drop cloths. Complete with duct tape (like that's going to keep any thief or varmint out). The inside was not much better. Furniture pulled away from the walls as baseboards were half ripped off, and walls were left to be painted. All in all, it was a disaster!

But, like I said....Greg works the best this way. And, we end up getting more done in a short amount of time.

So, when we came home from the hospital a week ago....here's what we have been up to. Well, Greg anyway.

See the carpet??

Well now you don't!

Cleaning the grime and dirt from the beautiful black glue that was found under the linoleum flooring.

This is what we have been living in for a week. Lovely.

But, the good news is....it won't be long! The prep work is what takes the longest. Once he gets started on laying the wood laminate (which is gorgeous!) it should go pretty quick. Stay tuned! I can't wait to see the transformation.

So, does your husband work under pressure like mine?