Big Boy Bed

I've had my eye on this toddler bed for Jonathan for some time:



The price tag was a bit prohibitive, particularly since his room is currently Shammy Lamby from Pottery Barn Kids, requiring a complete redo. I have been keeping an eye on Craigslist and was thrilled when, last night, I found a posting for the exact right bed at less than a third of the retail cost. I was even more thrilled when, today, I learned it was not sold and that a quick trip across the river to Indiana would make it MINE (well, OK, Jonathan's, but the idea is the same).

We were intending to just put it in the basement until a later time but he was really excited about it, so we are trying it out tonight. Here are some shots of him in it after we got it all put together. It will look A LOT better when Bryan makes a new quilt and I move away from the green sheets, so envision bedding in a race car motif. Also picture it with the crib gone; we did not want to commit to taking it apart and lugging it downstairs until we were sure the toddler bed would work:





In less than an hour, we will be trying to actually put him to bed. Here's hoping it goes well and that he doesn't take advantage of the freedom of the toddler bed!

Coaxing a Smile

Here is Jonathan's typical face when I bust out the camera. I know he is thinking "Great. Here she goes again."



And here he is after I tried to elicit a smile from him by bringing up his impending visit to Grams' and Grandpa's house (we were actually getting ready to leave as I was taking his picture):



Finally, here is Jonathan right after I told him he was not going to Grams if he didn't smile. Some would say this was a cruel tactic, but I'll take what I can get. At the time, I was thinking he was going to be gone for a week and I wanted a cute picture to hold me over:



From all counts, he is having a GREAT time at my parents this week. Bryan had something to do after work today and I was at home for two hours after work by myself. It was WEIRD! I need to remember that on those days when I think about how I would give anything for two seconds to myself!

Having babies is fun, but babies grow up into people

I had a HORRID day at work today. So I was completely looking forward to coming home and enjoying this sweet face...



...which I did for a while this evening until he said "go away, Mommy." He repeated it a couple of times while I was trying to dress him after his bath. It actually hurt my feelings! I can, admittedly, be a bit sensitive at times, but still. What's next, the words all parents dread, "I hate you." I sure hope I don't hear that ever, but at least not any time soon!

Once I actually left him alone and let Daddy take over, I think he really understood what he'd said. I am sure he didn't mean it, but it has given me an unpleasant look into the teenage years. That's not going to be pretty.

It's a bird, it's a plane...

...it's me falling out of the sky!





As some of you already know, my 30th birthday was last week. I decided I needed to do something youthful. I chose skydiving. So this past Saturday, my friend Amber and I did our first tandem skydives. It was INCREDIBLE and I would highly recommend it. It was also, however, really freakin' scary as there is absolutely nothing that can prepare you for jumping out of an airplane at 10,000 feet and free-falling at the rate of 120 miles per hour for approximately 5,000 feet. Once the parachute opened (and boy, was I happy when it did!), I throughly enjoyed the view and found it absolutely amazing to view the world from that level. The adrenaline rush that lasted me the rest of the day was cool, too. :)

This is a bit belated, but I wanted to touch on three incredible things that happened to me in my twenties, for all of which I am truly thankful:

1. Marrying Bryan. I had no idea as a horribly immature 22 year old that I would meet the man of my dreams. Thank God he decided to put up with some of my issues and give me a chance. Thank goodness also that I was smart enough to pull my head out of my you-know-what and realize that I was about to let the most important person in my life slip away. It's been seven years since then and I would not trade a minute of it for anything in the world.

2. Jonathan. The birth of my son and my current side-kick has been more rewarding (and challenging!) than I could ever imagine. It was definitely an interesting way to round out the last third of my twenties!

3. Passing the bar exam and becoming an attorney. I've wanted to be an attorney since I was in third grade. Despite the fact that my job is not always dreamy, I am fulfilled in that I satisfied my goal and am able to derive at least some personal satisfaction from my chosen profession.

I am a bit sad to now be in my thirties, but my twenties turned out to be so great that I can't wait to see what this next stage of my life has in hold for me!

Look What I Can Do!

I was paying some bills this evening when Jonathan wandered into the kitchen. From the living room, I heard him say "Oohhh, look Mommy!" I walked into the kitchen and saw this:



This is notable because, prior to today, he'd never opened the refrigerator on his own. It is not exactly something I'd encouraged; however, I was beginning to wonder when he would do it. After checking out all the contents, he decided to "hide" in there:



Maybe now he'll wander in a bit, eat more and actually break 23 pounds!

Christmas Synposis

Thank goodness a lot of you guys took a Christmas blogging break as I was feeling horribly guilty for not writing for so long! Unlike some of you lucky ducks, I only had three days off over the holidays, so most everything felt like a whirlwind. Things have settled down, though, so I thought I would do a holiday post. Fortunately, my in laws voyaged with us to West Virgina or I would have zero pictures!

Christmas Eve is celebrated at my Mamaw's and Papaw's house. I grew up with this tradition and I am so happy Jonathan gets to continue it with his great grandparents. Here he is looking at a really cool Thomas book Mamaw and Papaw got him:



And here are a couple of him going under the tree to look for his name on presents. Never mind that he can't read--he was insistent that he was looking for his name as he readily picked up on the fact that there were tags on each present identifying its intended recipient. The funny thing about this is, when I was little, we opened presents last thing of the evening and Mamaw told us she would take our gifts back if we touched them. Now that she has a great grandson, he can open presents whenever he wants and she even helps him find his! Next year, we really need to put all his gifts in front or at least wrap them in the same paper...





Unfortunately, Jonathan tends to be whiny and clingy around a bunch of people, at least at first, so this is how I looked for much of the beginning of the party:



Jonathan eventually warmed up to everyone and, after tiring himself out on gifts and sugar, went to bed. I, on the other hand, found myself to be in a much improved mood when my sister Laura, her husband and my parents surprised me with this. I think I am officially old now that a pink stand mixer makes me happy.

Christmas Eve goes pretty late, but once we were done, we went back to my parents. Jonathan set out cookies and milk for Santa and went happily to bed. The next morning there was, of course, more gift opening. Jonathan received this from my dad (the deer version, though, and not the bear!). I can tolerate this one but am truly concerned about how I will react one day when Jonathan wants to hang up a real deer head. Here is a picture of my mom's tree. It is not the best photo, but it is such a gorgeous tree that I am happy my MIL at least took this one:



After a delicious breakfast we came back to Louisville and had dinner Christmas evening with Bryan's family. It was back to work for Bryan and I the next day. With last weekend and then New Year festivities, I hardly feel like we had any time off at all! We are taking down the tree tonight, so hopefully that means a return to normal schedule!

Happy New Year's everyone!