Tastefully Simple...

Is it bad that I let my 2 year old daughter sleep with my Tastefully Simple Watermelon Margarita Mix in her bed? (AKA her "picnic basket")




Good news is the alcohol is not included. The worst we're looking at is a significant sugar high.





Aidan is so horrified he can't even look.

Oh wait, that's just how he sleeps...with a woobie on his head!

And here's how Maddie sleeps; with a blanket, a pillow and a pig on her back!

It seems like alot of my posts have been sleep related these past few weeks. And when we're potty training, I'm sure alot of my photos will be toilet related. Well, maybe not...I have to draw the line somewhere!

Some Firsts...

First Outdoor Meal of the Season:

First Big Boy/Girl Apple:

I'm sure there are plenty more to come!!!

Easter

I'm a bit behind, but here is an update on Maddie & Aidan's first Easter they kind of may remember...maybe. It was a fabulous Easter weekend. We had an out of town visit from Aunt Janet & Pierre, the weather couldn't have been better, and we had a grand total of THREE Easter egg hunts. Too bad M&A don't really seem to be fans of candy...

Here are photos from the day before Easter egg hunt at Auntie Kristin's parents' place in Marshfield:


Aidan leading the pack in a game of run around the chair...




Ready...set...go! (Maddie dead center ready to hunt - Aidan far left in the bushes looking for acorns)




Maddie & Meghan...





Tandem hunting, while more fun, isn't always as productive...





Her booty...

Post hunt "on the wall" shot...

Wait, these have FOOD in them???

Hope your holiday was as great as ours was!

Let the Games Begin!

Perhaps I spoke too soon when I said we'd had an easy transition to the toddler beds. Maddie & Aidan have clearly realized that they now have "options" during the sleeping hours. This past week has been an interesting study in human nature. Here are some of the things we've found the last few mornings...


Apparently Aidan decided to have a midnight read-a-thon and piled half of the bookshelf into his bed:




Not sure how he squished himself in there, but he did!

Oh Maddie...Where are you??

Hmmmm...Aidan's there:

Oh, THERE she is!

And yes, those are shoes she's wearing whilst sleeping on the floor at the foot of Aidan's bed. Most girls become obsessed with princess shoes - Maddie became obssessed with her crocs. Of course they ARE cotton candy pink crocs!

We've (and by we I mean Kurt since he so kindly lets me sleep in a bit) also found Aidan in Maddie's bed with her one morning. A few times we found Aidan in Maddie's bed and Maddie laying on the floor beneath her bed - apparently she got fed up with him and decided to let him have her bed!

I must say, throughout all of these night time shenanigans, they haven't once cried, screamed, tried to get out of their room, or otherwise disturbed my and Kurt's sleep. So all in all I'd say we really have been pretty lucky. Now we just need to figure out why Maddie seems to prefer to sleep on the floor (found her there again this morning)...

Perfect Afternoon

I can't believe it hit 74 degrees here today - in New England - in MARCH! Can't remember the last time that happened. So we took full advantage and planned an "off-season" visit to the beach. We drove down to Scusset Beach in lovely Sandwich on the cape (it is on the cape cod canal just before you go over the Sagamore bridge, so I'm not certain if that technically counts as part of the cape).

Maddie & Aidan hit the ground running and were so excited to build sand castles. And I found that a springtime visit to the beach was actually more pleasant than a summer one. No traffic and no sticky, sweaty, salty mess to deal with. Just a lovely breeze, the sun shining and a very relaxing time (doesn't hurt that M&A were in a FABULOUS mood the entire time and never once attempted to run off on us).

The second we arrived, Aidan took right off for the water. Poor Kurt had to endure the frigid temperatures with him. I put my feet in for less than a minute and nearly frooze them off. But Aidan didn't seem to notice one bit! Maddie immediately began digging and pretty much never stopped (except at snacktime). We had what I would call a perfect afternoon...

Chillin' in Mommy's PURPLE sunglasses:

Doesn't he look like he was just born to be at the beach??

AHHH...smell that sea air:

Burying himself:

I swear, someday I WILL get a photo of these two where they are looking in the same direction!

She's VERY serious about her work:

The freezing your feet off part:

Snacktime:

Nothing like YoMelts and sand for a hearty meal!

It will be rainy and in the 50s early next week, but we're holding out hope for a very warm spring and lots of future visits to the beach!

Ahhhh...Freedom

My initial instinct was to keep Maddie & Aidan in cribs as long as possible. Why mess with something that works so well, right? Then we thought twice about it and figured we have to do this at some point and since we plan (hope...please) to potty train them this summer, we better make the big move. So yesterday we (Kurt really) took the rails off of their cribs and turned them into toddler beds.

I had heard a few horror stories about kids going wild at bedtime - tearing their rooms apart and refusing to go to sleep. But we bit the bullet and it couldn't have turned out any better! They both went immediately to sleep and stayed in their beds no problem. They really seem to enjoy the freedom that comes with being able to get in and out of their own and each other's beds. Let's just hope we are blessed with MANY more nights like this one! I really don't like anyone to monkey with my sleep schedule :)

So Simple...

Maddie and Aidan's favorite activity at their weekly Early Intervention (EI) playgroup is, hands down, the sensory table. What's a sensory table? A big vat the EI people fill up with a new item each week that is intended to challenge the kids sense of touch, etc.

We figured it was worth it to try and recreate this at home. Who knew that a couple of $.99 bags of Wheat Puffs, dish buckets & my old measuring scoops would provide 30 plus minutes of completely focused enjoyment. Next up...Lentils!!!

It's always the simple things that have the most impact!