Ian

Ian

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Transitions

Dear Ian,

There have been some big changes in this house, little man.  Because now, instead of being my baby boy (although you'll always be my baby), you are my big boy, complete with a big boy room and a big boy bed.  That's right!  This past weekend we emptied your baby nursery and moved all of your things and toys upstairs.  And WOW do you have a lot of stuff!  Of course we knew this, but trying to move all of it in one day was a challenge. 

This event wasn't really a one-day thing, either.  A lot of work went into your room.  First there was the organization of all of Daddy's stuff that had accumulated in what would soon be your room.  And if I thought YOU had a lot of stuff, at least now we know where you get it from.  Daddy is a pack-rat.  Anyway.  Once we cleaned out and organized all of that, Mommy got to work taping and painting your new room.  Daddy and I chose a color called "peaceful slumber."  We were hoping the move would go smoothly and you would continue to "peacefully slumber."  I will be honest; with every change or transition we've made with you, I have always had this little sliver of uncertainty.  "Will this go ok?  Will he continue to sleep?  Oh geez, why am I doing this again?"  With everything from pacifier weaning, to stopping the use of swaddles, dream-feeds and morning naps, I got a little anxious about whether it was the right time to make changes in your little world.  But, like with everything in the past, I should have known that you would take this in stride.  But back to the room make-over. 

Your new bedroom used to be Daddy's workout room.  It housed a weight bench and an Eliptical treadmill.  It also was full of computer equipment, D&D supplies and pieces and his paintball and M1 stuff.  Daddy worked hard to get all of his stuff out and organized to make room for yours.  It took the help of Uncle Gary and some Fitness Pro professionals help move the weight bench and Eliptical.  Uncle Gary also helped move all of your new furniture up to your room.  And then we put it all together. 

To decorate your room, we went with a space theme, but in reality, there's not a whole lot of space stuff up there, but just enough to have a theme.  I wanted a room that you could grow up with without me having to change the decor eight times.  The colors are navy, slate blue (almost gray) and red.  And it looks really good.  But telling you about it isn't as good as showing you, so here it is! 
 We started off this whole big-boy-bed-thing with changing your crib over to a toddler bed.  I was so worried about "all that freedom," but I set up a couple of rules for you: 1.  Bed time is a time for sleep, not for play and 2. Wait in your bed for Mommy or Daddy to come get you.  Even though your room is baby proofed and we had a baby gate at the door, I didn't want to develop the habit of you getting up whenever you wanted to play.  Ever the rule follower, you have done exactly what I told you, and you still sleep like a pro.  And you wait in your bed until I come in every morning. 
 The painting process begins...  Because the weight bench and eliptical couldn't be moved until your actual moving day (we kinda had to go 1-2-3, switch) Mommy had to paint around all kinds of obstacles.  It was interesting to say the least.
 Moving day!  Here's your nursery all emptied out, save for a few art projects still hanging from hooks in the ceiling and on the door.  Sniff. 
 But here's your big boy room!  All decorated and finished and ready for you to move in!  The afghan blanket at the foot of the bed is actually Daddy's blanket from when he was little.  It matched perfectly.  The nightstand to the left of your bed was Uncle Brian's and works well in the room, too.
 This picture is taken from the doorway.  Your dresser used to belong to your Great Grandpa Brooks and was the first piece of furniture we acquired for your new room.  The big Budweiser beer bottle in the corner was Daddy's contribution.  He said it would make you one of the "cool kids."  I told him it better not...
 Here's a view from your bed.  Your books are tucked away into a little corner in the room.  The shelves fit perfectly!
 I love the picture I picked up for your room.  It's of our solar system, and Mommy got it for free thanks to a Hobby Lobby gift card.  In fact, most of the new decorations for your room were purchased with gift cards.  That was pretty awesome.  Your space scene bookends are also a favorite.
 From your window, here's your book nook and your closet.  And here's proof that your closet was clean at one point in time. 
Your bed, one of your bulletin boards and your nightstand with lamp.  I LOVE your nightlight.  It was such a frivolous addition, but I couldn't help myself.  I also got little wooden space pieces and added them to your bulletin boards.

You really seem to love your new room, and you're getting really good at getting up and down the stairs.  I have to stop every time I hear you going up or thumping around in your room from hollering "what are you doing up there?" since it wasn't that long ago that you weren't supposed to go up the stairs.  But we're all adjusting.  And I'm getting used to the stares I get from the Eliptical as I pass it to go into the kitchen.  I've even succumbed and used it a time or two since it's moved downstairs...

I love you big boy,
Mommy

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Toddler Life #19

You know you are the parent of a toddler when...

...buffet style restaurants become your favorite because you can get in, eat and get the hell out before your toddler loses his freakin' mind.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Smarty Pants

Dear Ian,

This past Wednesday was a big day for us in your budding academic career.  It was our very first Parent/Teacher Conference.  (playing some ominous music here would be appropriate.)  On this day, Daddy and I went and met with Miss Laura, and you got your very first report card. 

And you made the honor roll (if there was a such thing in preschool-land).

Miss Laura went over your conference checklist with us, and we were so proud to see that you seem to be thriving and learning.  In fact, you seem to be pretty much rockin' it up, Little Man.  The conference check list (or report card, as I call it) covered your two-year-old developmental milestones as well as social interaction line items and what you know and what you've learned.  And I have to take a second to brag a bit, because while you are "mastering" what's on this check list, you are the YOUNGEST in your class.  We're just busting our buttons over here. 

It was so reassuring to know that things are going so well for you at school.  Remember those first few weeks?  No?  I sure do, son, and thankfully you've passed all that and now you're on your way to becoming an erudite young man.  Yes, I can glean all this from your very first report card.  Stop rolling your eyes; I'm a teacher, and it's a gift I have.  Anyhoo.  Miss Laura put to rest some of my concerns like, "Is he sitting still in Circle Time?" and "Does he play well with the other kids in the class."  And she helped us brainstorm ways to help bridge the gap from school to home.  We're so lucky to have Miss Laura and Miss Jordan and now Miss Jamie as part of our life.

It was a great conference, and not just because your "report card" practically glowed, but because we got to sit with your teacher and get a glimpse into your daily classroom routine.  Even though I work about 75 yards away from your classroom, I don't really get to see what you all are up to in that adorable little room.  This really helped put our minds at ease, knowing that you are learning, growing and loving your class.

And of course I have attached photos of your report card.  I mean, come on: I am your Mommy after all, and I will forever do stuff like this to document your life and embarrass the mess out of you.




Love you so much!
Mommy
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Friday, January 6, 2012

Works of Art #29

This should be the last of the Christmas Art, I promise.
 Here's a beautiful hand-print angel wall hanging that you made at school!  Special thanks to your teachers for doing this for us; I know that getting little kids to NEATLY make hand-print art can be a challenge.  It turned out so pretty, though! 
 You even made your own wrapping paper for the angel.  Pretty sure you made this in art with Miss Lynn.
Your finished product: the wrapped gift in your special wrapping paper.  Thank you, Baby Bear! Daddy and I love it!

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Christmas Memories

Dear Ian,

I know that in last year's Christmas post I mentioned how much fun the holiday was since you were more interactive with the world, but I had no idea that this year would trump that by leaps and bounds.  I mean, I guess I should have expected it, and I should continue to expect that each and every event as you get older will have a different appeal with different enthusiasms, but alas, I was blown away with how much you understood and how much fun it was. 

Like last Christmas, we started the countdown with the chocolate Advent calendar.  Every day, you and Daddy would open a new numbered door to reveal a tasty chocolate treat.  Daddy, being the smarty pants he is, incorporated number recognition into the task, so not only did you get a sweet, but you also learned, too.  You can now recognize a few numbers, but that's not the point of this post; we're discussing the fun stuff we did over the holidays.  I also had a countdown chart going with you, but it was adding cotton balls on Santa's beard.  I've already posted about that, though.

As Christmas got closer, we continued to do fun and festive things like the annual cookie baking, where you did an entire batch of sprinkling, and you even helped me roll out and cut shapes into the dough!  We also drove all over town looking at lights.  We made reindeer food to put out in the yard on Christmas Eve, and you helped me wrap a few presents this year, too. 

This Christmas was one of memorable gifts for you, too.  You got your very first tricycle!  You had been asking for one for months, and you were all set to tell Santa that the trike was what you wanted.  But then about two weeks before Christmas, you started asking for a "big, red firetruck" instead.  Lucky for you, Santa thought you had been an extra good boy this year, so you ended up getting both. 

Our holiday was spent having fun with our friends and family, and it was great to be able to do this.  We're so lucky to have both sets of you grandparents AND your aunts and uncles and cousins AND great-grandparents close by.  It was great to spend this special time of year with them.  We went to Grandma and Grandpa Brooks' house for their Christmas Eve party, and then we spent the night at Grandpa and Papa Davis' house, and that's where Santa delivered all of our presents.  After opening gifts and having a tasty, traditional lasagne lunch with all of your Davis family relatives, we went back to Grandma and Grandpa Brooks' house to open more gifts and eat even more yummy holiday food.  Like I said, even though it was busy, and our car was LOADED DOWN with all of our gifts and treats, we're so blessed to be able to visit all of our family on special days. 

So here's a few photos of our Christmas 2011.  We're off to a good start for 2012, and I cant wait to see what the year brings for our little family.

 Riding your new trike!  Santa actually brought this to you on Christmas Eve.
 Playing trains with Daddy on Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Brooks' house.
 Opening presents on Christmas morning with Grandma Davis!  (See your big, red firetruck in this picture?)
 You and cousin Payton running around on Christmas Morning.  We got you these cute shirts from my friend, Miss Karen.
Our sweet big boy, Christmas morning 2011. 

Daddy and I love you lots and lots!
Mommy

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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Toddler Life #18

You know you are the parent of a toddler when...

... every room in your house, even your personal, private and sacred bathroom, has toys littering the floor. 

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Works of Art #28

I was a little premature with your last art post, as the day after I posted it, more art came home.  But now I'm behind, since the art I'm posting now is from Christmas.  But hey, we've been a little busy...

 Here we have an ornament that you made in your class.  I absolutely love the fact that it has a picture of you in it, so that way we can remember what you looked like at Christmas 2011.
 Above and below are a couple of paper ornaments that you made in art with oil pastels.  They are really pretty!

Ooooh.  A stained class Christmas tree ornament!  These look so great on the little tree in the front hallway.
And finally, a fun noodle Christmas tree.  Super cute, Buddy!