Favorite Firsts

How does one decide on a favorite first? For Toddle Along Tuesday, I'm anxious to hear which "firsts" top the cake for fellow bloggers. For me, I couldn't choose just one.

First breath. First cry. First time seeing my precious baby boy.

First smile. First coo. First laugh. First tooth. First word.

First roll. First crawl. First step.

First vacation. First haircut. First birthday.

All the firsts are truly the best as they make a new milestone for baby and new memory for parent. I look forward to many more firsts for Easton including recognizing his first color and his first letter, his first day of school, his first lost tooth, first sporting event and yes, even his first date!!!

Never Say Never!

Before I was a mom, I always said, "When I have kids, I'll never do that", when referring to many situations. For Toddle Along Tuesday, moms all over are linking up, sharing their "I'll Never..." stories. Here are just a few of mine, along with my success/failure results:

Me and Easton - Mother's Day 2012

• Drive a van - Growing up, I always said that I wouldn't be caught dead driving a van. And while I only have one kid and don't really have the need for a van, I have to admit that I wouldn't be disappointed if the need for a van arose. I think vans have come a long way over the past decade and are super practical for a family with kids and pets. Just a few of the features that are highly attractive to me as a mom are the power sliding doors, the seats folding into the floor, the entertainment system including multi-disc dvd and the extensive cargo space. But for now, my Edge will do.
• Listen to kid music in the car - While I have yet to listen to kid music in the car, I am guilty of singing kid song to Easton while trying to calm him when he's upset in the car or put him to sleep. "Hush Little Baby", "You are my Sunshine" and "How Much is That Doggy in the Window?" are a few of his favorites.
• Co-sleep - Not only did I say I wouldn't co-sleep for the sake of my child's safety, but also because our bed is the only place and time that Bryan and I have to ourselves everyday. It's the one place we can go to spend uninterrupted time together and I'd like to keep it that way. Now, if only I could figure out a way to kick the dog out!
• Sing cartoon theme songs - I used to make fun of my sister who would sing along with the "Yo Gabba Gabba" and "Wow Wow Wubbzy" theme songs, only to find myself now singing "Little Einsteins" and "Chuggington" while in the absense of my child!
• Swear in front of my kids - Easier said than done....but my justification is that he doesn't understand. However, at the age of 1, he's learning new sounds and mimicking everything we say, so it's time we really try and nix this habit!

What are some things you said you'd never do as a parent??

Friday's Letters

So, I'm trying out this new little concept I saw on some fellow blogs where you write little letters to whoever/whatever you want to express your thoughts/feelings. Let's give it a whirl!

Dear Skittles, I can't get enough of you. Why must you taste so good? Dear Bachelorette, I cannot wait for you to start on Monday! Looking forward to the return of my Monday Night Guilty Pleasure. Dear Hubby, Have fun at yet another bachelor party this weekend and enjoy sleeping in - you're on morning duty next weekend! Love and miss you. Dear Easton, this is an ideal weekend to learn to get yourself breakfast, change your own diaper and make me breakfast in bed. It is Mother's Day on Sunday after all! Dear Mom, speaking of Mother's Day, you deserve a little recognition. Kudos to you! You have done a fabulous job raising the 3 of us girls and helping shape us to become amazing women, sisters, friends and moms (well, besides Clare on the mom part but she's an awesome aunt!) You, yourself, are an amazing woman, sister, friend, mom, and wife, so I'd say you've been a prime example. Oh, you are a pretty amazing grandma to 4 handsome little fellas, too!! P.S. thanks for cleaning my house today. Oh, and watching Easton, too. You really are Super-Mom! Dear Cooper, I wish you listened better. I hate having to 'zap' you and hope you catch on quickly to our new training mechanism. Dear Tonight, please hurry up and get here, I could use a glass of wine, or 6.

I'm linkin' up with Ashley for Friday's Letters

Toddle Along Tuesday: Free Fun!

Kids aren't cheap. As a matter of fact, they're quite expensive! According to BabyCenter, the average cost of a child is over $10,000 per year. Between clothes, diapers, food, toys, daycare and healthcare, the dollars really add up quickly.

That being said, it's important to have cheap ways to entertain kids. And thanks to my mom, I'm pretty frugal  when it comes to shopping, rarely paying full price for anything. She taught me many important things about being a mom, and when it comes to spoiling your children, I've learned you can spoil them for less -- garage sales, mom2mom sales, and garbage picking - yes, that's what folks, I said garbage picking! My mom is always thinking of others -- especially when she nabs a good find on the side of the road.

Bring in: Little Tikes playhouse and climbing structure (both FREE!!!) A little dish soap and water and they are as good as new. And we share the wealth - the neighborhood kids are loving them too!

And what better way to burn a little energy than running around outside (as free as it gets!)

Don't forget to vote!!

Night, Night!

I'm linking up with fellow bloggers for Toddle Along Tuesday!

On a typical night, the bedtime routine begins around 7:30pm. This is a recent change, as Easton used to be passed out by 7:30, but lately, he's been more of a night owl.  We spend the first several minutes on the stairs as Easton climbs up to the landing, giggles and laughs, and then wants to go back down rather than proceed up. He eventually makes his way all the way up and plays in his room, while we get the bath started, assuming it's bath night. Easton gets undressed and in the tub he goes.

7:45pm: Splish, splash - we spend the next 10-15 minutes in the bath! Most of this time consists of drinking the bath water, throwing the toys out of the tub, and repeatedly telling Easton to sit down, in which he mimics me by saying 'sit', then proceeds to sit down, only to stand right back up and throw more toys out of the tub. He thinks it's hilarious. We do a quick scrub down, wash his hair and then he plays while the water drains out.

8:00pm: The next several minutes are spent fighting Easton to get dressed. He is going through a phase where he hates having his diaper changed and hates laying on the changing table. Every toy in sight is used to distract him, singing 'wheels on the bus' and 'old mcdonald' and finally, after about ten minutes, we have successful applied lotion, a night diaper and jamies (speaking of, he is desperately in need of some 18 month footies). Easton spends the next couple minutes playing while I clean up from bathtime and put laundry away.

8:15pm: We pick out a couple books and read to Easton while he drinks his milk. "Reading" consists mostly of Easton turning the pages before we can finish reading that page. When the books are done, the lights go out, the music goes on and we rock Easton until his bottle is gone.

Good night pumpkin!

8:30pm: In his crib he goes with his paci, lovey and mr. monkey, or 'kiki' as he calls him. On most nights (like tonight), Easton rolls over, curls up on his knees and closes his sweet little eyes. Other nights, he does the same and just when we think he's out, we turn on the video monitor to find him jumping up and down in his bed. When this happens, he usually entertains himself in his crib until he passes out and we seldomly have to go in and lay him back down.

Sweet dreams sugar!

DIY Growth Chart

Every time I go to my sister's house, I'm envious of this little spot she has in her mudroom where she marks the boys' heights. It's so cute and original, written in whatever writing utensil she had available at the moment, with the names and dates for each measurement. It's a great tool to be able to see how the kids compare at a particular age, and my 5 year old nephew, Cash, gets so excited to see how much he's grown since he was 1, 2, 3, etc and to see how he compared to his little peanut of a brother, Briggs, at that same age. I wanted something like this...but I'm lacking a practical spot in my home that would accommodate such a thing.

I began searching personalized growth charts for Easton for his birthday - thinking I would get him one for himself that I could hang in his room, perhaps on the back of his door, etc. and loved the idea that it was portable, so it could move with him as he changed rooms, and if we ever move. A personlized growth chart is not ideal for using as a comparison with other kids, and heck, that means I'd need another when baby #2 rolls around.

Pinterest to the rescue! I came across this marvelous idea of a DIY growth chart and I was sold! Off to Lowe's I went to pick up a 1x8x6, some wood stain and a paint pen. I started by lightly sanding the wood, and wiping it down with a damn cloth to get off any of the sand particles. I applied two coats of dark walnut stain, letting it dry between coats. I brushed the stain on with a foam brush, and wiped most of it off with a rag to give it a vintage look.

Sorry it's not Sherwin Williams, Lia. :)

After letting it dry, (I gave it several days due to lack of time), it was time to make this piece of wood look like a ruler. Using a pencil and a ruler, I made 1 inch marks along the entire length of the board. In order to mimic the look of an actual ruler, I made the "quarter" lines (1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1 inch marks) all 2 inches long, and the other lines (1/12, 2/12, 4/12, 5/12, 7/12, 8/12, 10/12, 11/12 inch marks) all 1 inch long. When this was done, I went over the lines with my paint pen. Also, I started my ruler at 6 inches, because I wanted to hang it on the wall so decided to start by ruler at 6 inches and hang it 6 inches off the ground. Depending on how you plan to display the growth chart, you may or may not need to do this.

As for the numbers, this was the tricky part for me. I tried printing the numbers off the computer, and tracing over them to make a small indent in the board, but it just wasn't working. So, I pulled out the handy dandy Cricut and some vinyl. After many trial runs, I landed on a font and size I was happy with (which I don't remember what they were), and cut it out on the vinyl. I took the shadow of the number, and laid it on the board, then colored inside the number with the paint pen. Note that when working with the shadow, you need to include the interior cuts of the number on 4 and 6, so that you don't just have one blob of a number.

There we have it. $17 dollars later, and I have myself a growth chart! And I found the perfect little spot for it in the entryway from the garage. I love it! And we just added Easton's 1 year measurements. I can't wait to see how he grows!

Wordless Wednesday: It's Official!

After lots and lots of practice, it is safe to say that we have a WALKER!!! My baby boy is officially a toddler!