PJ Park Day

When you're an early riser, you get up when the world is still quiet.  People are still sleeping, pets are still sleeping, animals are still sleeping, and the outside is silent.  There are no cars driving by, no people taking walks, no children riding bicycles, no planes flying over - just quiet.  This is my happy time - when I can get up early enough.  I am totally an early bird as opposed to a night owl.  Brian is totally a night owl!

After all, "The early worm gets the...worm,"  as Michael Scott from The Office would say!

This morning Kate got up SUPER early.  Like, way earlier than normal for her.  So after we had breakfast and played for a bit, we decided to walk to the park in our pajamas and play for a bit more.  We got there just around 8 am and had the entire playground to ourselves!  Minus some people who met up with their dogs for a little dog social out in the field!

We had a blast!  It was a little chilly and a little windy, but we dressed appropriately and got some fresh air!  Plus, I captured the cutest video ever!  Want to know what the park looks like to a two-year old?!  Watch this:

The swings are typically our first stop!

Swinging in our bone jammies!

Checking out the dog social!

Be still my heart!

This one makes me smile!

Even Baby gets a turn!

Getting up early makes me feel like I get so much more accomplished during the day.  When I've been up for a few hours and it's only 8 am I feel like I've got the whole rest of the day ahead!  I wonder if Kate will be an early bird like her Mommy or a night owl like her Daddy!  She seems to have moments of both!  If today is any precursor, then she is totally an early bird!

And that is perfectly fine by me!  #earlybirdsunite

Thanksgiving 2014

This Thanksgiving found us in Ohio celebrating with Brian's Dad's family and Brian's Mom's family.  We rotate our holidays each year so we get to see our Ohio families and our Maryland families.  Wherever we are for Thanksgiving, we are at the opposite place for Christmas, and then we swap holidays the next year.  This has worked out pretty well for us.  I'm not sure it'll stay like this forever, but this is what it is now!

We spent the day enjoying our time with our families and eating lots of Thanksgiving food.  After all, that's what Thanksgiving is all about, right?!

Sadly enough, I didn't take any photos.  The only ones I have are the ones that other people sent me, and even that only amounts to three...  Enjoy the photo below, compliments of our guest photographer - Aunt Katy!

Happy Turkey Day to all our fellow turkeys!!!

Cousins - Gina, Courtney, Wyatt & Kate!

Big Girl Bed

If you recall, Kate just recently started climbing out of her crib consistently.  And by 'recently' I mean this past week and by 'consistently' I mean every time she wakes up she climbs out.  It doesn't matter what time it is.  If she wakes up, she climbs out, and promptly makes her way into our room.  

Therefore, we hightailed it over to Ikea and selected a new bed!  And by 'we' I mean Brian and Tom and by 'new bed' I mean Ikea's Hemnes Daybed.  Brian and I had contemplated the toddler bed for maybe one second when we bought the crib before we even had Kate.  Our decision was always "hopefully we will be using that crib for another baby by the time Kate needs a bed".  So we bought a crib that is only a crib and does not convert into any sort of toddler bed or full size bed.  We also didn't have much interest in transitioning from a crib to a toddler bed and then again from a toddler bed to a big girl bed, so this daybed was our perfect solution!

Three of the four sides are enclosed and it also pulls out to fit another twin size mattress.  This makes it even more awesome!  I can envision many-a-sleepovers in the not so distant future where Kate and her friends will fit and sleep in this same bed!  This bed is also grown-up enough that we can decorate her room now and ten years from now using the same furniture (if we want to) and not have it look too childish.  This bed is awesome!  And by 'awesome' I mean perfect for many different scenarios so go buy one!

Our plans were not to head to Ikea this weekend, or spend the whole weekend putting together Ikea furniture, but, like I mentioned, Kate started climbing out of her crib and that is not a safe choice in our household, so we moved our trip up to accommodate our local monkey.

Brian and Tom drove down and back to Ikea on Friday night.  It's just under two hours from us, right outside of Cincinnati, OH.  They loaded up on lots of boxes while Mary, Kate, Jack and I hung out at the homestead.  (Totally my kind of Friday!)

Tom - yes, Gangsta Tom - and the loot from Ikea!

We bought this bed in the white color and chose to buy the matching dresser and nightstand and a white bookshelf as well since the rest of Kate's furniture in her room was about to be looted and moved to our spare room.

Mary and Tom returned on Saturday to help us build our new furniture.  Brian and Tom spent ALL DAY working on the bed and dresser.  And by 'ALL DAY' I mean they started in the morning when they arrived aroun 10 am and didn't stop until nearly 9 pm when they finished.  I don't think Brian or Tom have any interest in ever building an Ikea bed again.  Oh, and also, that bed won't fit through the doorway, so it's in that room for good now!

Kate and I played on the Ikea boxes before the building started
while Daddy caught up on some zzz's!

Love that little leg!

The builders...realizing their undertaking.

Once they were finally done building, Kate tested the new bed out!

It looks so comfy, right?!  She even said so herself and that totally
made us laugh!!!  Love!

Kate thought so too!

She looks so little in this big bed!!!

Our big girl in her big girl bed!

The mattresses that we bought from Ikea have a bit of a chemical smell to them, and this really freaks me out, so they are airing out in the garage.  I'm not entirely sure what that smell is, but I refuse to let them in our house or let Kate sleep on them with the way that they smell, so she's still sleeping in our bed for the time being, but at least when we are ready to put them on the bed it will be good to go.  And, yes, I said mattresses as a plural because we did buy two for when we need to pull out the bottom half of the bed and use it!

Later on Sunday, Kate helped Daddy build her nightstand!  Such a good helper!

I heart her!

Such a dainty way to use a screw driver, right?!

We spent all weekend, literally, going to Ikea and building furniture for Kate's big girl room.  I am so excited to decorate again and pick out some fun things for her new room!  I'm thinking a canopy with twinkle lights of some sort and lots of color!

Stay tuned!  I will try to post updates as we get to them!

UPDATE:

We ended up buying completely new and a different brand of mattresses because that chemical smell never faded from the Ikea ones.  I was too afraid to use them for my baby.  But we have brand new ones that don't have an odor and are perfectly comfy!

Cabinet Play

There are just some cabinets in our kitchen that are way more fun to play in than others.  There's this one cabinet in particular that has always been a favorite.  I'm not sure if it's because there's not much stuff in it, so it's easy to remove the stuff and play in it, or if it's because it's the quickest to get to from the family room.  It's the closest one to the table.  Regardless of the reason, this is Kate's favorite cabinet, and Girlfriend plays in it...A LOT!

Just her size!

This is it.  The infamous cabinet!

And, yes, someone IS hiding in there!

Gently closing the door...

Being very careful of fingers!

Anyone there now?!

Why, yes, of course!

I adore those tiny fingers!

My heart...in a cabinet!

H is for Hendricks

A is for AMAZING because this is no small feat.
B is for BUSTED because we've watched this feat repeat.
C is for CRIB that Kate continues to climb out of.
D is for DOG who is unsure of this new love.
E is for EXCITING because this new chapter will start.
F is for FRIGHTENING because our little Kate is smart.
G is for GOODNESS because we didn't expect this so soon.
H is for HENDRICKS which is how we sleep in our room.
I is for IKEA - a sooner trip than planned.
J is for JUMP which clearly won't be banned.
K is for KATE who is the culprit of the crime.
L is for LITTLE because she is still so this time.
M is for MOMENTS because these things keep us on our toes.
N is for NIGHTTIME when this situation first arose.
O is for OPPOSITION because Kate knows what she would like.
P is for PERSISTENT because she's a persistent little tyke.
Q is for QUIET which we are missing come midnight.
R is for REALLY?! We've lost our bed outright.
S is for SILLY because that is what Kate thinks.
T is for TOTALLY GIRL because her only request was pinks.
U is for UPSTAIRS because it is the location of this concern.
V is for VICTIMS for Brian and I toss and turn.
W is for WONDER how long this will take undoing.
X is for e-XTREME we imagine the amount of times we'll be pursuing.
Y is for YAWN which we all do the next day.
Z is for ZOO which describes our bed today.

Need a further explanation?!

Last Saturday Kate decided to climb out of her crib.  She does so very cautiously and elegantly.  This we did not expect at all and while we had talked about getting a big girl bed soon, it was just that - soon.  On our radar...but not this coming weekend.  Plans have quickly changed.

We sit with Kate until she falls asleep, place her in her crib, and wait with baited breath.  Every night since Saturday she has woken up in the middle of the night and climbed into bed with Brian, Jack, and me.  If Brian and I are sleeping vertically, she tends to complete our 'H' for Hendricks by sleeping horizontally in between us.  This has led to some less than stellar sleeping conditions and while it is wonderful to wake up cuddling next to your little girl, I am terrified of the difficulties we are going to face trying to undo allowing this to happen.

At the same time we don't want Kate climbing out of her crib in the middle of the night, even though she does possess very solid climbing skills.  (Our teachers at Kate's school have also told us this based on how many times she climbs up the pile of cots...)

We have scheduled a trip to Ikea on Firday.  Brian will be leaving work early to pick up a new bedroom set and we'll get it put together on Saturday.  We've talked to Kate about getting a new bed and told her it would be white.  Her only request thus far has been, "pink".  Bless her dear little heart.  We will make her bed pink.

C is for CURVEBALLS.  P is for PARENTING.  H is for HAND-IN-HAND.

E is for ENOUGH SAID.

Bundled Bunch

I am determined to keep us able to play outside this winter.  It is so much fun, so nice to get fresh air, and so good for our bodies.  My parents have just spent the last three years in Ottawa, Canada, and there are kids that walk to school every single day throughout the entire year.  This is what my brother, James, did.  He walked to school in negative temperatures.  So, I figure with the right gear, we can do it too!  Especially since we won't be in negative temperatures anytime soon!

We attempted this for the first time today.  We bundled up and headed to the park.  It was a quiet day.  We had the park to ourselves.  But we got outside and moved our bodies.  It was fun!  Plus we got nice and cozy when we got back home which totally made it all worth it!

It's not as easy to crawl through tunnels when
you're all bundled up!

But is sure does keep us warm!

Taking a chilly motorcycle ride!

"Rolling down the street..."  Thanks, Snoop.

We are a bundled bunch!

Locked Out

We live in a pretty old house, and while we have done a lot of wonderful updating, we have not necessarily updated the physical doors inside of our house.  After all, Brian and I have a hard time justifying replacing perfectly fine, working doors for no good reason at all.  In our minds, it's usually just an added cost to whatever project we are taking on.  In addition to this, we love our old doors.  For the most part, they are solid wood, have 8 panels, and have glass door handles.  While this may not be for everyone, these little details our the types of things that give our house that charm that we fell in love with four years ago.

The doors inside of our house are so old, in fact, that some of the bedroom doors have a key hole lock that you can peek into.  We don't have a key for the locks, so doors being shut and locked is not going to be an option in our house.  (I imagine Kate will love this during her teenage years.  I know I will!)

But there is one door - one single door - in our house that is different in terms of locking.  It is our first floor bathroom door.  There is a lock on this door that is not a key hole but a physical lock that you turn to the right.  A little lock comes from the door and sticks into the door jamb.  And NO ONE SHALL PASS if you are in there alone because there is absolutely no way of unlocking this lock from the outside of the bathroom without causing damage to the door.  Unfortunately, the bathroom is literally 4' x 5', if that, and the one window has been painted shut since we moved in.  We've never been able to open it.

This is said lock UNLOCKED.

And here it is LOCKED.  Do you see that metal
bar that would essentially lock into the door jamb?!

Miss Kate Madeline decided she needed some quality alone time in this bathroom this weekend...with the door locked.  It happened in a second.  She ran in, closed the door, and CLICK!

That's what we heard as we stood in the kitchen.

Brian and I both looked at each other.  Brian went into instant panic mode and I stayed calm.  We walked over to the door and it was as locked as it could ever be.  We tried coaxing Kate to unlock the door.  "Turn the lock the other way," we said.  We tried and tried and tried to explain this to Kate who knows how to lock doors but not unlock them.  After five or so minutes, Kate started getting a little upset.  She wanted to get out of the bathroom and she wasn't able to unlock the door herself.

The little upset turned to full blown crying in a matter of seconds when she started calling for me but I explained I couldn't come in until the door was unlocked.  This didn't get us anywhere.

Our little girl was locked in the bathroom, crying her little eyes out, and we had no way to get in.  This broke my heart.  I felt so bad for Kate.  She was so upset.

Brian and I contemplated calling the fire department but then decided the only way in was to bust down the door.

Ok, if you recall, I just told you how tiny that bathroom is.  I mean, if you open the door, the door nearly touches the toilet.  It is THAT small.  The door also opens INTO the bathroom.  So busting down the door meant pushing a heavy, wooden door into a small bathroom that my daughter was locked in.  But this was our only option.  These old wooden doors don't have any sneaky "you can unlock them with a credit card" tricks.

It was bust down the door or leave Kate in a locked bathroom, crying.  Clearly we chose option one.

I went outside to get Kate to stand on top of the toilet seat and face me outside.  I didn't want any wood pieces to hit her or the door to hit her or anything like that and figured this would be the safest way to bust the door in.  When I told Brian that Kate was "in position" he made his first attempt at throwing his entire body weight against the door.  I didn't have a chance to explain to Kate what was going to happen, so this extremely loud BANG on the door sent her into instant hysterics.  And that made me upset too.  She was scared, I was sad, Brian was concerned, and Jack didn't know what the hell was going on.

Three loud BANGS later and the door jamb gave way and the door swung open.  Kate was a hot mess.  I ran in and scooped her up.  Brian was shaking.

We got everybody calmed down, explained as best as we could to her what had happened and that she was not in trouble or anything like that, and took a look at the damage...

Just a bit of trim work needed...

...and perhaps a new metal cover for the lock...

...doesn't seem too bad...

...we could just glue that piece back on...

...and add a bit of paint?

Perhaps a bit of sanding?

All in all, the damage could've be a lot worse.  I don't think this is that bad in the grand scheme of things.  Yeah, it's something else to add to the to-do list, but our baby is safe and back in our arms, and, as of late, this lock is no longer working so we should be in the clear should anybody decide they need more time in the bathroom...

...Then again, should anybody need to use the bathroom they won't be able to close the door either.

It's give and take in our house.  Come to visit, but forego your privacy.

We'll get it fixed.  Soon.  But neither Brian or I are in any sort of rush!  We're just happy that Kate is no longer locked in the bathroom and is safe and sound with us.

These are the types of adventures that come when you have kids, right?!  Remember when we went bass fishing?!

Kate Convos

Convo #1
[We had just stopped at Jeni's Ice Cream after our dinner at Haiku.  I normally share my scoop with Kate.  We had just placed our single cup order and sat down to enjoy.]
Kate: No, Mommy.
Mommy: You don't want me to have any of your ice cream?
Kate: No, Mommy.

Convo #2
[While driving home from school/work.]
Kate: Oh, man!
Mommy: What happened, Sweetie?
Kate: All leaves fall down.
[Apparently Kate witnessed a lot of fall leaves falling from the trees onto the road.]

Convo #3
[While walking down the steps.]
Kate: No, Mommy.  No hands.
Mommy: You don't want me to hold you hand down the steps?
Kate: I do it.
Mommy: Ok.

Convo #4
[A Saturday morning.]
Daddy: Daddy's going to shave.  Actually, it's Saturday.  I don't think I'm going to shave today.  I'm good to go right?
Kate: Nope.
(I died laughing!)

Convo #5
[Kate had several toys in the tub that she was playing with while I was giving her a bath.  I had placed the small wash bowl that I use to pour water on her to bathe her on the edge of the tub.]
Kate: Excuse me, bowl.