By Order of the Management

My mom and dad tell me what to do all day long.  Thank goodness for naptime.  Perhaps they should just get some of these and teach me to read them instead.

Playing

Building a circle for the train, just like at Paul's house.

Building lots of tunnels...actually, it's a caterpillar.


"I'm being the ground for Chico to walk on."


"Chico is giving me tummy bonks."

Daniel's Party

Happy birthday, Daniel!  Good job opening your gifts...


and thanks for the blue cupcake!

The Playroom in Progress-from Mommy

Our playroom is always in progress, and since so many of our friends and family have never seen it, I thought I'd share some pictures of the project. We're trying to make our playroom fun for kids and comfy for adults-something we can all enjoy but not ourgrow. We're thankful to have this room, and we love to share it with our guests!


We made a trip to Ikea awhile back (yes, we're so thankful to be within a reasonable drive of an Ikea!) and found two Lack bookcases to put under the windows.
I found some canvas baskets to fit the cubbies and added a little ribbon to them. (I looked pretty much everywhere to find the right size basket for a decent price!) I bought two big sheets of foam at the craft store to make seat pads, and Jeff helped me cut them to fit. Here's Jonathan driving on the foam.

I found some Waverly fabric on super clearance that was a pretty good match with the valances. With the help of this book and some advice from my mom, I made two cushions for the bookcases to turn them into window seats. It was my first try at an upholstery project this big. (And I love that the cubbies are just the right size for board games!)

Here's an up-close look. Many of the baskets are empty, which is nice!

Jonathan finds the cushions useful for parking.

We also got an Expedit bookcase and added some baskets to it. It was even harder to find canvas baskets for this one! (But, we found all the baskets at the same place...Wal-Mart. Thanks to Amanda for helping us find enough of the same color!) The baskets are small enough to have small books behind baskets of toys, and that works well for us right now. The grownup things are up high, and the kid things are down low. The cubbies are 13" square, big enough for scrapbooks!

Here's how that corner of the room looks with everything together. Eventually, I might use this idea and put some coordinating fabric or wallpaper behind the shelf.

I decided I wanted to add some words (probably inspired by Jennie!) I bought some letters at the craft store, painted them, and mapped out their positions on waxed paper.

Here's how they turned out.

This is how that corner of the room looks right now. I'll probably add throw pillows to match the window seats.


There's a little book nook behind the couch.


My next project...recovering these chairs that Grandma picked up for us at a yard sale. I may use more of the Waverly fabric, or I might pick up a remnant of something else. There's always another project! :)

Update: To see the photo collage I put on the far wall, click here. To see the recovered playroom chair, click here.

More Signs of Spring


Drilling

If you need a laugh today, click on this link on Graham's blog.  

Put This On the List...


of things I can only do with Daddy.

More About Paul

Here are some more pictures of my fun day with Paul.

Here we are building our "Ficka."  We liked taking turns saying that fun word.  Our other favorite word for the day was "Pabreeka!"

I loved seeing the animals at the zoo.  Each time we looked at an animal for awhile, I'd say, "May I please see more animals!"

I got to feed leaves to a giraffe, thanks to Paul's mommy!  The giraffe had a looooong tongue that came to get the leaves.

Here we are trying to touch the rays.


Here's Mommy.

Time to slow down a bit.

Being goofy!


Here's my buddy, Paul, being a chef so that he could make his own sandwich.  Thanks for the fun day, Paul!

Just for My Little Buddies

This post is just for my little buddies who read my blog. Mommy and I took pictures of animals just for you so you'd have something fun to look at today. This post is especially for my buddy, Paul, who took me to the zoo. Thanks for the wonderful visit, Paul!

Elephants

Orangutan

Tiger

Giraffes

Sea lion

Flamingos

Zebras

Kangaroos (resting)

Emu

Anteater

Swans


Camel (resting)

Our "Ficka..."

Today's Quote

"I need help!  I need help being in the house and not in the car!"


Today, we went to Paul's house, and he took us to the ZOO!  More on that later...

Tractor Love




Thanks for the tractor package, Lou and Lionel!

Time with Great Grandma



WFMW-A Post by Mommy


Hi all, it's Jonathan's mom again, and I'm giving Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer another try.  This time, I'd like to recommend an alternative to Pull-Ups.  We have loved using Gerber's All-in-One Waterproof Trainers.  (My apologies to friends and family who came here for a picture of Jonathan but got a big picture of underwear.  Jonathan will have a new post soon!)


They are cotton on the inside with an absorbent core and vinyl on the outside.  Those of you who are in the potty training stage know that Pull-Ups are expensive, they create a lot of trash, and they also seem a lot like disposable diapers.  These Gerber training pants can be washed and reused easily, and they also give your little boy or girl the immediate sensation of wetness, if an accident should happen.  When we were new at potty training I'd often have our son put them on over his underwear before an outing.  He still got to be a "big boy" in his underwear, but I was able to relax a bit, knowing that if we didn't make it to the bathroom quite in time, his clothes would still be dry.  We have used them over his underwear at naptime and nighttime, too.  I think they have helped him learn to be dry at night more quickly than Pull-Ups.  (He is actually wet more often while sleeping if he wears a Pull-Up!)

I should mention that if your child is still completely soaked after a nap or night, these don't hold quite as much as you'll need.  For a soaking, I still recommend a Pull-Up over underwear.  (Then your child still feels wet, at least, but you don't have to change the sheets.)  But, for daytime training and a little extra nighttime peace of mind, we've loved the Gerber trainers!
I have found them in person at Babies R Us and also Wal-Mart, but I was not able to find them on either website today.  If I remember correctly, they cost $5-$6 for two.  Happy training!  And don't forget to check out the amazing list of tips at Works for Me Wednesday!

**UPDATED**  I agree with the commenter who says that Pull-Ups can hinder potty training.  They're just too much like dry, comfortable disposable diapers!

Today's Quote

"We're going to be penguins with goggles on."


(And a note from Mommy:  Our electricity has gone out two afternoons in a row...so we're behind on all things electronic.  Thanks for your patience!!!)

Long, Long, Long...Caterpillar

I played this game over and over and over yesterday!

Yesterday...

was a busy day. We stayed home almost all day after our busy Easter.

I read a story to Chico so that he could take a nap.

I read a story to my cars who were going to their birthday party at the MOPS tower.


and I cooked for Mommy!