Livvie's Room

Liv got this new Pottery Barn Kids big girl bed once she proved she wouldn't roll right off.

I made it up nicely, but it didn't stay that way for long. Little Miss Pack Rat insists on 30 stuffed animals and 20 blankets piled on her bed.

Then we got her a new dresser because the antique hand-me-down Mom gave us, while cute, has drawers that are really hard to open. Liv was always frustrated with them, as she is really a "me do" girl and doesn't want any help.

I stalked a beautiful dresser on Pottery Ban Teen for a few months, but even with sales and coupons it was 1k, and I just couldn't pull the trigger on spending that much. I still long for it a bit, but after seeing this much more affordable ($250 including tax during a sale) Ikea Hemnes dresser assembled (thanks Mike) and in her room, I'm good with our decision.

She chose what would go where and helped me move all of her clothes into the dresser. Liv really likes being a helper these days.

She picked the bottom drawer for her nighttime pull-ups. I'm happy to report that she is basically potty trained (except nighttime). According to her teacher, she is doing perfectly at daycare--not even wearing pull-ups at nap anymore. She has the occasional accident at home, but by and large she is trained. Yay!

The top drawers of the dresser are just a touch too tall for her, but she doesn't mind getting on her tip toes or pulling up her stool to check things out.

We still need to hang her ceiling fan and swap out some art work to bring in her beloved purple, but other than that her room is set for a while. Now, on to my million other projects...

Lazy Weekend

This weekend we finally had some decent weather, so we spent our days at the park, playing in the new kiddie pool, riding bikes, and hanging out around the house. Here are a few videos.

White Trim--Baby Steps

I'm scared to commit to painting all our trim white, as we have A LOT of wood everywhere in this house. But I've been painting white the small things I can without committing to the baseboards and such...yet.

I did the fireplace mantel and dining room chair rail last year. Over the holidays (you can see the Christmas tree in the background), I started tackling the stairs (which need a total makeover but that's a big project) and the divider wall between the kitchen and family room.

Here are some before and during photos as I taped and applied the primer.

And the after. Ah, much better!!!

Here you can see both done in one photo:

One day our ugly stairway will look like this... one day. :-)

Baby steps.

Birthday Parties

I didn't get many pictures of the kids' birthday celebrations, which is weird because there were a ton. But here are a few that I did get.

Celebration #1 - Dinner of his choice, cake, and presents at home on his actual birthday, since it was a weeknight.

Celebration #2 - Ben's friends party at Bouncetown that weekend.

Celebration #3: Family party for both kids at our house.

Celebration #4: Liv's actual birthday with dinner, cake and presents.

We hung up streamers the night before their bdays so that they woke up to this when they opened the door. I did it for Ben too but forgot to get a picture. Big hit with the kiddos!

Ben helped her put together her Duplo Lego set. She was thrilled!

Phew, that was a lot of partying. I'm glad we've got a year to recover. 

Liv at 3

Here is a glimpse at what this crazy, sweet girl is like at 3 years old. She has a strong penchant for mischief. But she is so cute that you can't help but laugh. She is definitely a fearless, wild child. Always on the go, never sitting still, endless energy...

LOVES: (odd how these almost all start with the letter B)
- Bags. She is a totally bag lady, toting a million things with her everywhere.
- Blankets. Again, she likes to bring several of them everywhere we go.
- Binkies. We have her down to just using them at bedtime, but she is still really needy with them. We need to be done with these completely soon.
- Babies. She loves her baby dolls. She likes to fold blankets up as pillows for them and make them beds. She hugs them to her and makes a crying noise and tells me "baby sad; me make baby better" and then rocks her baby.
- Brushing my hair. And making me a "pony."
- Big girl bed. Which is still a mattress on the floor that she rolls out of often.
- Foods: Starburst, Chicken in a Biscuit crackers, juice, berries, watermelon. She's not a big eater though.
- Favorite Color: Purple

HATES:
- Spaghetti-Os. Ben loves these. I made them one night for dinner and gave her a bowl. She threw them up in the sink. No joke.
- Being told no. But doesn't every 3 year old hate this. :-)

STATS:
- Size 8 shoes
- Size 3T tops
- Size 2T or 3T bottoms
- 29 pounds (I think--her well visit is in a few weeks.)
- Almost potty trained! She asks to go or just goes and uses the potty herself 90% of the time. But if she is not in the mood or busy, she will go in her pull-up. She wears undies over her pull-up every day and loves her undies so much. We need a weekend where we have no plans to just take off the pull-ups and give it a serious go. I think she is ready and would do well.

Ben at 6

Here is a glimpse of Ben at 6 years old. He is silly and smart, kind and strong. He remembers everything and loves to learn. He is ahead of the curve in school, reading since before Kindergarten started, in the special advanced math group, and earning all Ms for Mastery on his progress report. But he is also the class clown, struggling a bit with focusing and following directions.

LOVES:

- Legos. Oh, how he loves the legos.
- Star Wars. He resisted for a while but now he's joined the dark side.
- Stuffed animals. Still. Especially lions and dogs.
- Paw Patrol. He requests this show daily.
- Sports. Any... It tends to shift with each season.
- Shorts. They are all he wants to wear. We fought about this often before school in the winter.
- Gum, Starburst, Fruit by the Foot, Popsicles, turkey/chicken, strawberries, pancakes, bacon.
- Favorite Color: Red

HATES:
- Bed time. Though the dramatics have reduced dramatically.
- Brushing his teeth. I don't know why.

STATS:
- Size 12 shoes
- Size 6 tops
- Size 5 bottoms
- 47 pounds (last I checked)