Family Night Activity Hit

I made some blue play-doh yesterday.  I can barely believe it, but this was Grant's first time playing with play-doh.  He loved it!  He could have sat there all night long playing with it.  It was a hit, and we will be doing it again soon I'm sure.

I found this recipe online and made a half batch:

Basic ingredient ratios:
2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)

food coloring (liquid, powder, or unsweetened drink mix)
scented oils (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients together, and stir over low heat. The dough will begin to thicken until it resembles mashed potatoes.

When the dough pulls away from the sides and clumps in the center, remove the pan from heat and allow the dough to cool enough to handle.

IMPORTANT NOTE: if your playdough is still sticky, you simply need to cook it longer! 

Keith's "house"

I built Grant this train.  That's a caribou in front of it. (Like on The Polar Express......Caribou?!)
Oh ya, Keith built the train track.

So far so good

I would say that this new bed thing is going way better than I thought it would (knock on wood!).  His first nap ended up with him sleeping on the floor.  No big deal.  He played for a while, but didn't ever try getting out of his room.

Bed time was pretty good too.  He got up to get more books a few times, but would get right back in bed.  He slept all night long and didn't fall off.  

Today he napped in his bed after playing for a while.  I only had to tell him a couple times to get back in bed, and he does get right back in bed.

Tonight I was gone and Keith put him to bed.  He came out of his room, but it was because he needed a drink and his bear.  

He really likes his bed.  I think he feels more grown up with this new found freedom.  I was expecting him to come running into our bedroom this morning, but he stayed in his room and played.  I wonder how long that will last.  

Nap time yesterday.
Notice the little stack of books next to his bed.  He's such an orderly kid.

Bed time yesterday.  He preferred to have his dog as his pillow.

The big boy bed

Today is the day where Grant's life will change forever.  No more crib.  Oh boy!

After a long search for a good mattress at the price we wanted, we found a great mattress at Costco last night, and my dad came over and helped me put the bed together today.  

I'd also been looking and looking for just the right bedding and nothing was to be found.  Well, actually, I found this bedding at Serena & Lily, but I just couldn't justify the price for a kids bedding set.  I really like all of their boys bedding.  Very cute.  I even thought about making a quilt with the big green and white stripes and the cute orange trim, but who am I kidding?  I still have other things to finish before baby boy #2 comes.  The clock is ticking!

So after looking some more and buying a couple things that we ended up taking back, we went to Burlington Coat Factory and found the quilt, sham, and square pillow.  We'd been to Home Goods over the weekend and found these cute shark sheets, but didn't get them.  They only had one set left.  We went last night and they still had them.  Hooray!  They are so cute!  I love 'em, and so does Grant.  I'm so relieved that it's all done and that we really like the finished product!

All set up before Grant came into his room.

Smiling with Grandpa.  Sort of caught Grandpa with a goofy smile.
Oh well, it just looks like more fun.

Nap time.

It's nap time right now.  I don't think Grant has fallen asleep yet, but he's really quiet and hasn't tried coming out of his room.  I went in there a little bit ago and he was bringing a couple more books into his bed.  Wish us luck!

Oh, the bed!  I almost forgot.  $50 on Craig's List.  That was something I was particular about finding too.  I wanted something unique.  It's an Ethan Allen bed from the 70's or 80's.  It was already painted that great blue and it looks like we can keep it that way.  :)

He finally did it

Grant finally tried to get out of his crib.  He made it.  But he banged the inside of his thigh and got a tiny little rug burn on his forehead.  He was supposed to be napping.  I heard a loud bang and then a louder cry.  I had a feeling that he'd fallen out.  There he was holding his stuffed dog and crying on the floor.  He was so sad, and I think a little surprised, at what had happened.  

So he came out and played with his cars.  He was so excited to show me how he'd lined all the cars up.  What a little organizer!

Good thing we have a cool bed waiting for him in the garage.  Looks like we'll be setting it up soon.  Pictures of that to come.

To Celebrate

So on my actual birthday I took Grant and my parents to the zoo.  We visited the animals for a little while and then let Grant loose on the splash pad.  That cool water felt so good.  It's get'n hot here!  Then Keith and Grant and I went out to lunch and to pick up my free birthday Krispy Kreme donuts.  Yum!  That evening Grant had swimming lessons and then we picked up Keith from school around 9 and went for some Yodipity Yogurt.  Yum, again!  It was a lovely day.

For my weekend celebration we went to see Les Miserable.  We didn't read our playbills before it started so we were pretty lost on what was happening in the story, but it was well done.  Have you ever seen it? We won't be seeing it again.  Even though it was well done, we just say "it was interesting, and not what we expected."  But we had fun going to dinner before the show and then we went to this nice hotel in Scottsdale.  We thought we were going to a different hotel in the area, but we were very pleased with this hotel and will definitely be going back, hopefully soon.  :)  I highly recommend it if you live here and want a close getaway.  We enjoyed relaxing, having a leisurely breakfast on our patio, swimming and soaking up some sun, and doing some shopping.  My sweet sis-in-law had Grant over for the night.  He had so much fun being around some cousins for a couple days and then he crashed hard when we got home.

Tonight we had Keith's parents and his sister over for dinner.  So I decided that I needed a birthday cake.  I made one of my favorites and we all had a nice time.  Grant has a fascination with birthday cakes.  He was so excited when Keith came out with the candles all lit.

Probably the best part of this birthday week was that my youngest sister had her BEAUTIFUL baby girl the day before my birthday.  I can't wait to meet her in a couple months!

So far 30 isn't so bad.  The thought of it is still crazy to me though.

So excited for the cake

Smile!

Grant with "Michael," the orangutan, at the zoo

White Hat

Now that I'm getting older (ha) I'm noticing my skin changing, especially my face.  Ugh!  So, I got this adorable white hat to wear while I'm out at the pool.  I love it!  I like that it has a brim, but it's not huge.  I also got a face sunscreen that's been working great.  I've got to preserve my youth!  :)

Birthday Week

This week's a big one for me.  I will be the big 3-0!  I really can't believe 30 years have gone by so fast, especially the past 10.  Doesn't life just get faster and faster the older you get?

Keith decorated the kitchen late Saturday night so that I could enjoy a whole week of birthday celebrating.  He even had me go on a clue scavenger hunt to find my super birthday surprise.  Let's just say we should be having a great weekend!  I'll post the special surprise after I enjoy it.  

Speaking of birthdays, I don't think I ever showed you Grant's 2 year old birthday shirt that I made for him this year.  We had him walk into Keith's parents house on his birthday, wearing this shirt, when all of his family was gathered for dinner.  It didn't take too long before the surprise on the back was noticed.  Grant didn't really understand why everyone was so excited about his shirt.  

Memorial Day Weekend

We took a long weekend and went up to Keith's parents cabin.  It was so nice to be in cool weather.  Grant had the time of his life playing with Keith, and having all the attention he could ever dream of from Grandma & Grandpa.  He golfed, played ladder ball, played with his cute cousin Zoe, played with a stomp rocket, played with the Connect Four game, made s'mores, went on some hikes, played with the sounds on the bird clock, and more.  He was so excited that he would barely sit still long enough to eat while we were there.  Thank you G&G Jackson!