Ahoy matey

The only time I've remembered to take a picture of P's new captains bed is when he was at preschool so forgive me that you don't see his cute mug snuggled somewhere inside that transportation bedspread which I snagged at goodwill a few months ago.  I'm starting to feel some guilt about not doing a better job at personalizing the kids' rooms.  M has said for over a year that she wants to paint her room purple (not my favorite but it's also not my room) but we wanted to get new windows in (done) and replace their old carpets (not done) before painting.  Now I'm starting to think it's time to just buy some stinking paint and go to town while it's nice enough to leave the windows open to get rid of the stinky paint smell.  I got crafty with a few pictures in P's room (you can't see them in the photos) and I want to do some more.  I've bookmarked hundreds of inexpensive crafty decor ideas that I want to do for M as well.  I'm sure that I'll get it done...before they turn 18.

Adios crib

We've been really lucky that Parker hadn't yet decided to start climbing out of his crib.  He's been tall enough to do so for almost a year but the urge hadn't hit...until tonight.  I've put him back in bed 3 times and I think I just heard him climb out again.  We have been dreading this day to a certain degree.  For the first two years of his life, Parker was a horrible sleeper.  When he started sleeping through the night consistently a little before Christmas last year, we began to remember what it was like to feel rested.  We suddenly had energy that we thought had escaped us permanently.  We actually started to feel our age instead of 10 years older than we really were.  But this new change was inevitable.  Parker has grasped this idea of change and is running full-force towards the end zone.  He's completely potty trained (all within a few weeks), can ride a bike, goes to preschool, and now wants to be the decider of his own night-time destiny.  I totally get it; I just hope we transition through this phase quickly because sleep and I've become pretty close and I'm not going to give it up without a fight (which probably means I'll end up sleeping in bed with him, whether he's sleeping or not).  I guess I'll add shopping for a twin bed to my errand list for tomorrow.

Update: I snagged an awesome wood captain's bed off Craigslist Friday afternoon for $60!  It not only came with a mattress (which needs to be replaced but will hold for a month or so) but the woman delivered it to the house!  I took the crib apart and put the bed together and P successfully slept in it that night.  Then we went camping Saturday night and he slept in it Sunday night with no problem.  Last night was a different beast (up for over 2 hours leading him back to bed from 10:45pm to 1am) but he's getting the hang of it.  Pictures to come.

Mid-summer

It's hard to believe it's already the middle of summer.  Or at least it's supposed to be.  I've decided to officially include June as one of our months of spring so I won't be disappointed next year when it doesn't get over 60 before the solstice.  Nevertheless, despite the cool and wet spring and summer we've had, the garden is flourishing as is our family.  I can barely make the kids eat breakfast and change out of pajamas before they're running out the door to play outside.  Four outfit changes and three applications of sunscreen and bug spray later, we are usually eating dinner outside, exhausted and sun-kissed (I don't ever let the kids get burned...however, there is that one spot on my back that is really hard to reach...)  We've managed to go camping twice and have a few more outings planned.  Our great friends the Tippens spent 8 days of their summer vacation hanging out with us.  It was a fabulous way for us to have a staycation!  We couldn't imagine a way it could have been better!  My dad was also able to sneak out for a quick mountain getaway.  Besides running the Missoula half-marathon (my dad finished first in his age group...the kids/J/I all slept in and cheered him on in our dreams), we snuck in a kid-paced hike up Waterworks Hill, fishing at Rock Creek, downtown shopping, and lots of great food.  We have about a month break before our next round of guests arrive at the end of August.  I hope to make the most of these next few weeks to help solidify Parker's potty training (he's diaper-free when awake with only the occasional accident) and to get some back-to-school sewing done with the hopes that the kids don't grow too much before school starts in September.  I still haven't downloaded our camera's software yet but plan to do so while Justin's at a work retreat this weekend.  Then you'll have some proof of our unending fun!

Quick update: I can't help but brag that Parker just figured out how to ride a 2-wheel bike this evening!  Tricycles are headed to Craigslist and I've put out a request on Freecycle for another 12" bike because changing the seat height on the one bike we have for each kids has already gotten old :)  My little P is getting so grown up!