Cute in hats

Big boy bed!

Last weekend, we decided it was time to introduce Theo to a big boy bed. We had inherited this blue race car bed from friends, and we set it up sneakily in his rom while he ate Sunday afternoon. We brought him upstairs, and it was like love at first site. He literally walked around it and ran his hand across it like a guy considering buying a sports car. Blue cars are his favorites, too, and the phrase was repeated over and over again in all the excitement. I did not expect Theo to be ready to give up on his crib, but when posed with the question of where he wanted to sleep that night, it was immediate. Blue car! Much to my surprise, there was no adjustment period. He fell asleep quickly and stayed asleep all night. Nap time the next day, same thing. I guess he was ready. The next day, I asked Theo if he was ready for us to take the crib out of his room, and he said yeah! So Theo got to help me take apart his old crib; doing projects with Mama with tools is one of his favorite things. I asked, since he didn't need his crib anymore, if it was ok if we let the new baby use it, and should we move it into the new baby's room? He was all for it. Thus, step one accomplished of getting Theo's buy in on new stuff for him and giving the old stuff to the baby!

Big brother in training

I have been a little remiss on the blog lately, and I have a lot of updating to do. Theo has kept us very busy lately, and the fatigue that comes with pregnancy has played a part, as well. We told Theo two weekends ago that he is going to be a big brother. We weren't sure what to expect, but we managed to elicit a very positive response by suggesting that he could practice being a big brother with a baby doll. He got extremely excited at this prospect and off we went to Target to pick out a baby doll. Theo chose this girl doll, and proudly brought her home. He held her and sat with her and "snuggled" with her. He showed her the flickers in the yard and the numbers and letters in the newspaper, and he always made sure that we kept her hat on her head to keep her warm. We were thrilled with the natural nurturing and teaching spirit he showed, and much to my surprise he was not confused or surprised at all to be told I was growing this new baby in my tummy!

A great day

Today, being Saturday, is the one day we all get to spend together as a family with no one having to go to work, and today we had one of the best family days we've had in a long time. Theo has been difficult over the last few days, and the day started out with the excessive no's, crying over everything, etc. that we've been dealing with of late. So, we decided we needed to get out of the house. We took ourselves to OMSI, went out for brunch, then this afternoon, after Theo's nap, he decided he wanted to put on his helmet and go for a ride on his new bike. Theo had refused to put on his helmet since the first time he wore it a few weeks ago, so we just haven't talked about it since. Then, this afternoon he said he wanted to wear his helmet and go out on his bike. Matt had taken him out the first time and I wasn't home, so this was my first time. We got him fixed up and I even got him to put on gloves, which is good since we've been having an unusually cold few days in Portland. Walking down the street with my boy on his bike, I was SO PROUD and he looked so CUTE I could hardly stand it. He hasn't learned to pedal yet, but since this bike has a parent-handle that steers, we can just cruise and he can learn over time. We walked down the street and saw a cool construction truck parked down the way. Theo had SO MUCH FUN and so did I. Between that and the super fun time we had as a family at OMSI this morning, and the wonderfully relaxing brunch out (last meal out had been a disaster), Matt and I are in our happy parenting place again...yeah! We'll see how long it lasts. :)