If only I could think like a toddler...

Today has been one of those days that Ian has me rolling my eyes and laughing...I mean, what on earth goes through a 21-month-old's mind?? I would pay good money to be able to know not only what they're thinking, but also what they're saying. I can catch a decent amount of what Ian says, but when he really gets going, not much is intelligible except for the stuff about cars, balls, grandparents, shoes (why the obsession with shoes, I don't know), turtles, etc. He is such a chatty little kid - he can go on for five minutes without taking a breath. Case in point - today the kid woke up and the first thing we heard through the monitor was "golf". Seriously? It was quickly seconded by another "golf" and then "papa, golf". Not that this is out of the norm. Most mornings he wakes up and is talking about "cars", or "Papa and Gaga", or "balls", or "Su-Papa's car". He must have some really sweet dreams...

I decided to go to Sam's today with both of the kiddos (success, by the way!). When we got home I was getting Blythe out of her carseat and I asked Ian to take off his shoes and put them in the laundry room. After I helped him get them off, I saw him take off for the laundry room. I turned around and this is what I saw...

Umm...ok. I guess I asked for that one. They are technically in the laundry room, and he did make sure he put them down nicely, too...

Next, after getting everyone and everything unloaded from the car, I fed Blythe, put her in her bouncer seat and proceeded to the kitchen to fix Ian's lunch. I looked up after what could not have been more than two minutes and found Blythe was not where I put her. She had moved from being next to the couch to here...

Apparently big brother wanted sissy right in the middle of his toys so that they could both play. He is quite the navigator to be able to get her through all those toys and chairs. Oh, and please ignore the messiness...if you can.

What can I say? Life is always an adventure with an active 21-month-old boy and I wouldn't have it any other way (as long as we can keep Blythe alive)!

Searching for some indoor fun

Summer seems to have invaded Oklahoma early this year and with a newborn, I have been on the search for some fun activities for Ian to do indoors at home. I just don't have the time, or energy, to get out and do something, or to spend long periods of time outdoors (despite Ian's desperate pleas for "ball ball").  So, with that in mind I turned to the ever wonderful Pinterest and this is what I came up with. Sensory bins.

I had never really heard of sensory bins - maybe because I was homeschooled - but came across the idea on this fun blog for toddlers. I thought I'd give it a try and see how Ian liked it. I started with her idea of an ocean aquarium. Everything I used either came from Wal-Mart (plastic bin, blue rocks, plants, and coral), or I had at the house (turtle, whale, sea shells, and boat).

At first he wasn't too impressed, other than the fact that it had a sea turtle in it. But then, I added this..

Don't shovels just make everything better?

He liked it so much once I added the shovel that we had a hard time getting him to leave it alone to come eat dinner (and it was one of his favorite meals!). He ran right to it after dinner, too, and played with for another 30 minutes. Success.

And I haven't even added water to it yet...but, we'll save that for another day.

Next I think we'll try a construction themed bin...

Cars, cars, and more cars...

So last fall I started throwing around ideas for Ian's "big boy" room. When Blythe moves out of our room, she will be taking the room Ian is currently in. Mostly because I'm too lazy to move the crib...again. Ian will be transitioning to a big boy bed so I wanted to make the transition fun for him and hopefully easy for us.

I originally wanted to do some sort of baseball theme (daddy's request), but the only bedding I could find was from Pottery Barn Kids and it was more than what I paid for the quilt on my own king sized bed, so I refused. What I found instead was this cute construction themed quilt from Overstock.com. Ian received it as his Christmas present from Grandma, Papa, and the Super Grandparents.

I had planned on just painting his room a soft shade of green to go with the quilt, but I happened upon a paint-by-number mural on Zulily.com that I couldn't resist. It was like it was made for Ian's room! I really thought I had bit off more than I could handle, but thanks to Steve and Patty Cotten, and my wonderful husband, we were able to finally get the mural complete two weeks before Blythe made her arrival. Nothing like waiting till the last minute...

This is the wall directly across from Ian's bed - now he'll be able to wake up to his cars and trucks!

I found all the accessories at Target (dump truck pillow and painting above the train table) or at the Tulsa JBF sale (nightlight and table lamp).

I made his name myself...and as you can see, still needs to be put up on the wall above his bed. It was done by using modge podge to adhere scrapbook paper to blank canvases I bought at Hobby Lobby. I bought wooden letters and painted them and then glued them to the paper.

All in all, I think it turned out pretty well. The mural could have been slightly better - I didn't realize how difficult it was to paint on textured walls!

Hopefully Ian will love it for many years to come!

Life's busy...but not too busy for the simple things

I have been absent from my blog for so long that I can't even remember the last thing I posted...yes, I know I have plenty of reasons. Most of them named Blythe :). I have a ton of catching up to do, but this post is really the reason I started blogging in the first place - a place for me to record moments in time that I want to remember forever. For me, one of those moments happened last week while I was home with both kids by myself for the first time.

Blythe was laying down for a nap and Ian and were playing outside. All the sudden my sweet little boy ran up to me and said "hug, mommy?". As he climbed in my lap and threw his arms around my neck, I thought to myself - this is what life is all about. I wouldn't trade one minute of my mommy life for anything I previously had before children. A simple act and simple words from a 20-month old completely melted my heart.

Who wouldn't want hugs from this little guy?? He might be the sweetest thing there ever was...sissy sure does think so!