…I still don’t have any pictures of Ava’s new bed for you!  Aren’t you impressed?  I promise I’ll have some to post next week, though.  We don’t have any company coming, so I should have plenty of time.

But because I know you’re dying for an update…both of the kids are now settled into their new beds!  It took a long time to get them to sleep that first day, but now they’ve adjusted and they love them (even more than they’d love a myrtle beach hotel room! LOL).  And I love finally being able to use Kelvin’s crib bedding that I’ve had for a year and a half!  I also love that Ava has more of a “big-girl” room now.

Stay tuned for pictures next week!!  I know you’re just on the edge of your seat, right?

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…like a two-year-old who has to turn the TV off!

We got home a little late last night, so I told Ava we probably wouldn’t have time to watch a movie before bed.  She really wanted to and I still needed to put Kelvin to bed, so I told her she could watch a short one.  Of course, she didn’t want to watch a short one…she wanted to watch Toy Story.  I put it in, but told her she could only watch part of it since it was already past bedtime.

So after a few warnings, I finally told her it was time to turn it off.  Being over-tired already, she threw a nice little fit before I finally got her into bed.  Much to my relief, she fell asleep pretty quickly.

And then the fun started…for the next 3 hours, she woke up crying every 30 minutes or so.  At first I thought maybe her legs ached from being so tired, but she told me nothing hurt.  So I assumed she was having bad dreams about copper kitchen sinks or something and tried to wake her up enough to get her out of her dream.  Nothing worked, though.  Finally, at midnight, Chad went in to try to calm her down.  When he asked her what was wrong, she told him “Mommy…Toy Story…OFF!”

Seriously??  All this misery was because I made her turn Toy Story off before it was over?  She’s watched it about a million times and I’m sure she’ll watch it a million more!  I had no idea my sweet little two-year-old had it in her to hold a grudge, but I sure found out last night!

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I have to admit, I’m loving this new phase that Ava is getting into.  She’s becoming a lot more imaginative and loves playing pretend.  It’s so neat to see the things that she picks up on and how she implements it into her play.

Her latest favorite movie is Marley & Me and tonight, she picked up Chad’s flash light and started shining it all over the room yelling “Marley!”  We couldn’t figure out exactly what she was doing, until I remembered that there’s a part in the movie where John and Jenny are running around in the dark with flash lights looking for Marley.  But Ava didn’t stop there…she pretended to pick up something in her hand and talk to it like it was Marley.  Then she kept handing it to us to hold and then taking it back (even though it was just air).

Then at bedtime, I had forgotten that I was the last person to hold Marley.  After I left Ava’s room, she started fussing and called me back in and kept pointing and saying “Marley”.  I couldn’t figure out what she wanted, but then she said, “In your hands!”  LOL  So I gave Marley back, but before I left the room, she decided she didn’t want to hold him so I “put” him on the dresser.  A few minutes later, I heard her get out of bed and when I went to check on her, she told me that she had to get Marley (this girl won’t ever need a single diet pill if she keeps up all the non-stop activity she does now!).

I warned my grandparents (who are here visiting for a few days) that they’d better be careful not to bring Marley with them when they leave or they might have to make an unplanned return visit!  LOL

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My two little people are moving into new beds tomorrow!

I think I just might be even more excited than they are.  Well, more excited than Ava is, I mean.  Kelvin has no clue what’s coming, of course.  But Ava has been waiting for quite awhile for that truck that’s bringing her bed…and tonight she told me that it was her last night in her “baby bed” (crib converted into a toddler bed).

A few months ago, we went shopping for preschool furniture and ordered Ava a twin-over-full bunk bed and it’s finally being delivered tomorrow!  She picked out her sheets today (a solid pink set and a pink and purple polka dot set) and we were going to buy her a Disney Princess comforter, but Walmart didn’t have it in stock in the full size.  So we’re hoping we’ll get lucky at Target tomorrow.

And Kelvin will finally get to use the crib bedding that my mom bought him before he was born.  We’ve used what we can (he’s been in the pack n play since we stopped co-sleeping about 4 months ago), but a lot of it is still in his closet waiting for the crib.

Hopefully these big changes for them will go smoothly and I’ll have some great pictures to share with you in a few days!

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You just never know what answer you’ll get when you ask a two-year-old what they want for breakfast!!  I guess I should know better by now, but this conversation sure was good for a laugh!

Me: Ava, what do you want to eat for breakfast?
Ava: (without hesitation) Baby Pie

I have no idea where she even got an idea like that!  And maybe I don’t even want to know….at least she didn’t ask for something like furnace filters! 

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Road trips with kids can be pretty stressful.  Most kids don’t like being strapped into a car seat and they’re even less fond of staying there for hours!  Combine that with their parents’ exhaustion and you have a recipe for a pretty unpleasant drive!

But this last week, we had our least-stressful road trip ever!  Ava’s usually pretty easy-going in the car but it can be a nightmare to travel with Kelvin.  Here’s what helped us on this trip:

1. We used a DVD player…with a screen for each child!  Chad and I both agree that our portable DVD player is one of the best investments we ever made for our mental health.  And it’s even better now that Kelvin is a little bit interested in watching TV, even though it’s just for short periods of time right now.  If your kids are old enough to be entertained by TV, get a portable DVD player with a couple of screens, a few mounts, and you’ll be set!
2. We turned Kelvin’s car seat around.  Even though he was a couple days shy of one year old, he was definitely over the weight requirement and it made the trip so much more pleasant for everyone.  He didn’t even need to be entertained every second of the trip like he normally does, because he was so thrilled to be able to see everything that was going on.
3. We made several fairly long stops.  Two of the stops were to eat and one was at an Old Navy outlet.  At each stop, we made sure to let the kids move around and stretch their legs, which made it much easier to get them back into their car seats later!
4. We had a few new toys for each of the kids.  It’s amazing how long something new can keep their attention!  Plus, the new toys keep them entertained at the hotel, too!
5. We brought along blankets, pillows, and teddy bears to make it easier for them to sleep.  Napping in the car isn’t always easy, even for little ones, so this tip always helps!
6. And as always, we packed lots of snacks!

What tricks do you have up your sleeve for having stress-free (or at least low-stress) road trips?

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My baby man turned a year old yesterday!!  I’m still kind of wondering how this last year flew by so fast.  How is it possible that it’s been a year already since I became the Mommy to the most handsome little boy in the world?  This year has been so full of love, laughing, and growing.  I can’t imagine our life without him!

We had a small party for him last night (just a casual gathering…no tuxedo needed!).  We had family and some friends over and I made ziti (his very favorite food in the world), garlic bread, salad and cupcakes.  He made a total mess of himself with his cupcake, but it was such an adorable mess!  Everyone needs those cake-covered 1-year-birthday pictures!  I got plenty, but can’t upload them here so I’ll have to post them when we get home.

I think he’s a little confused about what age he turned, though.  This morning, he seems to have started his terrible two’s.  He woke up at 5:30 am (even though he was up late celebrating) and has been disagreeable and totally high-maintenance all day.  Someone needs to tell this child that he can’t start that for another year!!

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