Big Boy Bed

Our boys are so lucky to have a Noni that works so beautifully with wood.  He has made every one of them their own "big boy beds" as well as matching dressers.  Hunter even got his own matching night stand.  He has filled our home with beautiful furniture and we are so blessed for it.  Greyson got his big boy bed this past Sunday and he is so excited about it.  He has been asking when he could have it and telling us that he doesn't like his crib anymore.  Dean has had the bed made for months but we hadn't ordered the mattress yet and I'll admit it was mostly because I wasn't emotionally ready for that step.  The crib was the last "baby" item still in use in our house.  Gone were the bottles, the sippy cups, the changing table, the diapers, the teethers, the baby food...everything but the crib.  Given the choice I don't think I'd ever be ready to willingly allow my babies to grow up so fast, especially my last.  But he was ready so I had to be ready to.  He loves his new bed so much.  He tells me so every day.  "I like my new big boy bed!"  I asked if he thought I could fit on there to snuggle him for his nap but he told me, "no."  I guess I was too big.  Maybe he'll change his mind one of these days.  On the way out of his room I looked at him as I always do when I close his door and I saw the rocker.  I think that qualifies as a baby item and we still snuggle there for story time so it's all good for a while.

Lasts

I just tucked my "baby" into his crib for nap time for the very last time and immediately broke into tears as I left the room.  I know he is already 3 and a half years old and most parents move their children out of their cribs at a much younger age but I never have liked to.  I have such a hard time with "lasts."  The last time I nursed, the last time I fed them baby food, the last diaper...ok now let's not get carried away.  I wasn't too crushed about that one!  But in all seriousness I am pretty broken up about this.  My last baby is getting too big too fast.  I want to hold on to him yet I know how excited he will be to get his new bed.  He has been telling me lately in a very gruff 3 year old way that, "I don't like my crib.  I'm a big boy and I want my big boy bed!"  It will be exciting and I will love seeing the joy in his face but it's so hard for me to think that I will have to wait to be a grandmother before I lay another child down in that crib.  I'm not ready but it doesn't matter.  He is and I'm sad.

April Fool's!

My April Fool's joke didn't go over so well on Brody but his twin brother was ready to play along. I told them that it was underwear day at school today. Brody was really sad and said that he didn't want to go to school in his underwear so I told him that "they" said that if your child didn't want to participate that they could wear their underwear on their head. Then he started to tear up a little and Hunter came to me (he was in on the joke) and said, "Mom, I think it's time to tell him...he's starting to cry."  Tyler however (not hearing Hunter) came over and said, "I have an idea. I'll wear my regular clothes until I get to school and when I see everyone else in their underwear I'll take my clothes off and just wear mine." I love messing with five year olds. That was fun!

Staycation with Uncle Mark

John and I took a short vacation last week and went skiing in Colorado.  This was the first vacation we have taken just the two of us in 10 years.  The last one we took was in Belize where Hunter was conceived.  Let's hope that no babies are on the way.  HA HA!  That would be next to impossible.  Anyway, we had a fabulous time talking for days and days without interruption.  A little odd but something I got used to pretty quickly.  We went to Crested Butte, CO. 

A friend of ours owns a condo there and it was awesome!  We skied only two days but that's all our tired muscles would allow anyway (in a row).  It snowed three inches right before we arrived so we had fresh powder to ski on.  We also had fun shopping and eating out at some of the many hipster joints Crested Butte has to offer.  Our favorite was Ginger, a pseudo Thai place with The Secret Stash (pizza joint)

a close second.  They are famous for their "Notorious F.I.G." pizza which won the World Champion Pizza Challenge and of which I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was amazeballs!

Uncle Mark answered the call to our desperate plea to watch our small army while we were away.  He held it together GREAT and all of our kids LOVE Unc Unc!  I threw him for a loop when I planned chicken nuggets for one of their meals and we were out of ranch dressing but he managed to take Greyson to the store to get some.  It was particularly good for Greyson and my brother to bond a little bit because we moved away right before he was born.  Mark used to babysit for Hunter, Tyler and Brody very regularly so they all know him well but little Greyson never had that experience with us being a bit farther away now.  And during the day the other three boys were in school so Greyson got Uncle Mark all to himself.  I heard that they played Monopoly but Mark was hiding pieces so that the game would go more quickly.  Ha ha!  He mentioned on a few occasions when I called from CO that he was tired but all went better than I could have hoped for.  The boys all got to school on time each day, homework was done and the boys were well fed.  Speaking of which Mark couldn't believe how much they all ate.  But when I asked the boys how the week went with Uncle Mark in charge Hunter said he was "starving" and that Uncle Mark didn't give them enough food.  HA HA HA!!!  I don't buy it.  When we got home on Sunday night the boys had all been tucked in for the night but they heard us come in and raced downstairs to greet us with big smiles and lots of hugs.  Brody asked us, "Did you have a nice field trip?"  He makes my heart so happy.  All in all it was a great success and we can't wait to plan our next getaway.  Hopefully Uncle Mark will agree to do this

again!