Thank You: For the Rain

Dear God,


Thank you for the rain and the soggy grass and the clean air smell. And thank you for my late Grandma Jody whose birthday is today.


Amen.


(rain.)

Hensley Ruth: 17 Months + Potty Training

Dear Hensley,

You are actually 16 months and 4 weeks, which I do want to make note of for information's sake.  I'd heard of this woman (Julie Fellom) who wrote a book about potty training your toddler between 15 and 28 months.  Then I read several other sources that had similar information. I have a few friends that did something along these lines with their young daughters. As we both know, you are less and less interested in being in a dirty or wet diaper (usually cloth) these days, you've become quite interested in watching the rest of the family go potty, you sometimes let me know when you were going, etc. We also both know that your baby brother is on his way, we have one set of cloth diapers, and I'm becoming more and more pregnant by the day, so I thought we may as well try out Fellom's potty training tips and see what you think!

You spent all of yesterday and today with no "bubby" (diaper) or clothes...just naked as a jay bird (minus nap/sleep time). When you woke up Friday morning, we waved "bye-bye" to the "bubbys" and had a removal ceremony. After that we either hung out by the potty upstairs or downstairs with lots of special drinks, salty snacks, fruits, special reward candy, towels on the floor and a few toys and books. Oh, and most importantly a dolly that peed and got rewarded and did the potty dance. (Several sources I read suggested the doll that actually wets herself, but I just poured a little juice in when doll went pee.) We used a little timer that went off every 15 minutes, which is when I encouraged you to sit on the potty and give it a try. You sat on the potty a ton. You peed on the floor/towels a ton. You only peed in the potty twice because I caught you going and you continued to go when I sat you down. 

Then tonight you pooped in the thing. I was so surprised and happy. We celebrated big time and your potty dance and facial expression was so awesome! You were really proud. 

It's been a great two days with you, and you have loved the special mommy-and-me-non-stop-floor-time. I'm thinking that you're not quite ready to be diaper-free 100%, because you always seemed caught off guard when you did start going and never actually told me...you just said "Uh-oh" or "No-no" right after you went! We will continue to sit you on the potty and try to go cold-turkey again in a few months. 

Thanks for being willing to learn, Hens. I'm proud of you and love you so much.

XOXO,

Mommy 

This is your expression.  

You look so big here!

We fare-welled the boys and you cried so hard!

You love these two so much!

Today we gave "big girl" underwear a try. Notice the blue ones flying through the air!

You wanted them all on at once. So you wore two pair and your dolls wore the rest. 

Summertime: Ukuleles and Concrete

Twas a good night with Amy serenading us the 'ol Hawaiian way, and Michael working hard on our fire pit. So I documented it.


Love,


Kristyn

Happy Froddy: On The Poddy

Happy Friday!


Our weekend will consist of a whole lot of this. I've been thinking about it and decided to give it a try. The boys packed up and went to Big Sky while Hensley and I are staying home with one mission. Drink lots of fluids, and use the potty! It's a potty party!  (Sorry you weren't invited.)


I'll check back in after the weekend to let you know what we learned through the process. Here are the links I read on the topic...


Potty Training in 3 Days or Less
How To Potty Train in 3 Days or Less
Potty Training in a Day


(cartoon.)

Sweet Dreams: Kids Bedding Concept 3

I love the pom pom blanket, and they made that themselves from a white Ikea blanket. And of course the sweet floral layers with inspiration from The Princess and the Pea! 

(asterisk pillow, pink pig, pinterest)

Dear Owen: The Good Life

Dear Owen (Owey Boy),

It's been a couple of weeks now since your move to Big Sky Ranch (aka Grandpa Ben and Gramma Debbys). We miss you, but know that you are so happy. And you have a companion. And 80 acres of land, two ponds, "table scraps", a sweet dog house, and two dear folks that take you on many more walks than this mama did. Oh, the good life. We are so excited to come visit in a week and a half!

Here are the reports we've gotten so far:

"Lady hasn't whined once since Owen got here!" (Lady is my parents sweet yellow lab who was quite lonely after their two other dogs recently passed away. She whined a lot.)

"Owen runs to the pond, swims, then runs back to the front porch, and back to the pond, then the porch again..."

"The Amish are here cutting up our tree (which was partially in the pond) and Owen is down hanging out with them in the pond while they work!"

"I got up in the middle of the night and looked out and Owen was sprawled out in the middle of the front yard sound asleep."

Keep that tail a waggin' big boy! We'll see ya soon! 

Backyard: Summertime Smores

Summertime smores is what we will be enjoying as soon as the concrete cures on our new fire pit. Michael and I often collaborate on design projects, but he totally surprised me with this one. (He was inspired by the photos above via the Cooper Residence at Dwell.) I'm especially excited for our fiery fall nights when we will really be homeward bound with Baby Fields here with us. 


And really, what guy does not like to be entertained with fire? Michael really just wanted an excuse to collect firewood again. Chopping wood was his favorite pastime when we lived in our sweet little bungalow with the wood-burning stove. Happy chopping, honey! Thanks for lighting up my life and our back yard.


(dwell. cooper residence.)

Sweet Dreams: Kids Bedding Concepts 2

Can I just say that I love Monty the Fox from Folksy? Little guy is SOLD OUT. We all know why...he's so foxy and cute. So whattle-ya-say, Gramma Debby or Grandma Ileen...think you could make a few cousin foxes for Monty named Nan, Willy, and Harlo Roo for my kids beds?

xoxo.

Kristyn

(pinterest, svpply, folksy, JA)

Sweet Dreams: Kids Bedding Concepts

As we think about Fields joining the crew, Hensley will move up to the "yellow bed" and Tegegne will stay in his black iron bed (which was Ababayeh's as a boy). We had thought about building bunk beds for Hens and Tegegne, but we have two cute beds that will work fine and there room is plenty big for both. So, I started brainstorming bedding ideas. Here's the first. Bold color, texture, pattern..."around the world concept"...they already have a large world map in their room. I have many ideas for their room, and lately have been up all night thinking about design ideas. We'll see how it comes together. Design on a dime, think resourcefully, gather all of my fabric, quilts, blankets, and see what I can use!

(via pinterest, JA)

Fall: On Your Feet!

Hey Kids,

I'm just thinkin' ahead here.  We may have some prospects for your feet this fall. What do you think?

Tegegne, some sweet kicks to go with your movin' feet:

$19.99

Hensley (you get 2 since you love shoes already):

$15.99

$19.99

Fields, something teeny tiny and soft:

$21.50

(Sneakers, Moccasins, Shiny Shoes, Teeny Moccasins)

Design: Old School Baby

Hello Old School Industrial Lovely Pieces of Furniture and Decor,

How are you? Would you like to make your home my home? That would be nice. I really like your style.

Love,

Kristyn

(Factory20.)

Sweet Summer: This Sums It Up

Back deck dining.
Hammock lounging. 
Our Hawaiian music. Of course.
A cool breeze. 


This is as close that we'll get to a tropical vacation this summer. Making the most of our own back yard.

You Must: See This Movie

The Intouchables. Have you seen it? Did you see it once, or twice? It's so good. 

Local showing at The Rio until Thursday the 12th. Enjoy.

A Look: For The Mama

Some sneakers. Slim rosy jeans. And a sweet gray tank.

(Tank. Jeans. Shoes.)

(Those jeans would not go in my pregnancy wardrobe and the outfit's not in my budget, but it's daydream Friday, right?)

Furniture: What Suits You?

Should furniture be painted?

(this is the best "chalkboard look" I've seen...love this.)

Or kept tried and true?

What suits you?

Love,

Kristyn

(credenza & dresser, dresser, dresser & table, dresser)