A Good Night's Sleep

DH and I have been talking for the past several months about getting a new mattress. Our current one was purchased in March 1998, so you can imagine that it is pretty much on its last legs. Anyhow, while I was napping today, he took the mini to Costco and got a new mattress set - $499 for a queen-size plush! You just can't beat that deal. We just put it in our room....and it is freakin' huge! Our bed must be at least 6-8 inches taller than it was before. Not that I'm complaining because that mattress is darn comfy. But it's going to take some getting used to. Now to figure out how to dispose of the other one....

My Little Song Bird

So I'm looking at my facebook page when the mini starts playing by herself outside the office door with a microphone and a plastic fish. Don't ask. But then she starts singing, mostly in-key, "My God is So Great." The lyrics are:

My God is so great
So strong and so mighty.
There's nothing my God cannot do.

I'm sitting here thoroughly loving this! I've never even heard this song before and am not sure where she learned it - either at Sunday School or in her nursery school (which is also in a church), but I'm thrilled that she knows it!

Wet 'N Wild

Of course, she has to be the leader! And she absolutely MUST have the pink tube!





Learning to freestyle.





It's always better to blow air out than breathe water in!





So the mini has begun swimming lessons. She's in a class with three little boys. Just the four of them, so they're each getting a large amount of time one-on-one in the water with their instructor, which is great. Not that she's never been in the water before, but we figure at this point she needs some formal training. She's learning to float on her back while kicking her legs, blow bubbles, use tubes and stick her face in the water without being too freaked out. By the time her lessons end, hopefully she'll be actually swimming both back stroke and freestyle (at least as much as a 4-year-old can, and will be able to doggie-paddle or tread water with enough skill to keep herself from drowning. Of course, in a pool, either DH or I will be with her, and at the lake this summer, she won't be anywhere near the water without a life jacket, but swimming is a great skill and we're thrilled that she's enjoying it.

Gearing Up For Baby?

I've been thinking a lot about the things we need to re-use versus the things we need to buy in order to get baby's room ready. The big items (crib, changing table, bouncy seat, etc.) are in the attic and simply need to be moved down here to the second floor. We even have boxes and sacks of toys, books and stuffed animals that we saved from when the mini was a baby. Of course, I have to go and buy things like a new diaper bag, a new baby book and various and sundry other small items. They don't seem like much thought should go into them, or much money, but when I list everything out, I get a sick feeling in my stomach. We need to spend how much? And, of course, we still haven't cleaned out the room or repainted it. Not to mention that I'm planning to refurbish an armoir that we already have in order to update it for a boy - there's no closet in his room, so we have to "make" hanging space. I know I'm only in my sixth month, but considering that we delivered the mini almost 2 months early I think maybe I need to get moving on this since I'm more than likely working on a relatively short time frame right now. And even though I haven't been doing more than thinking about it lately and still haven't felt any real urgency to act, I'm hoping to get it done by the end of February. I think I might be feeling a little bit overwhelmed and therefore putting it off hoping it gets done by itself. Yeah, that'll happen. Anyway, we're supposed to go and pick up our new nursery chair at the baby furniture store tomorrow. Maybe that will give us the push we need in order to get baby boy's room in order. Wish us luck!

Puzzle Mania

The mini just completed her first solo 100-piece puzzle. In 35 minutes! I'm so proud of her! She has done a couple of other puzzles this size with help from an adult or an older child, but this is the first one she has done from start to finish on her own. I should have taken pictures of the process, I know, but I was just so amazed watching her that I didn't think to grab the camera until it was complete. At least I got a cute "after" shot!

Creative Memories Success....Kind of, Anyway!

Woo Hoo! I just finished up my family CM album (don't ask about the status of our travel album), including pictures, journaling and decorating....for 2007! Now I'm only a year behind. I'm going to have to get moving on that soon. But at least I'm only a year late. That's progress, right?

Show Stopper

The mini had a fabulous dance recital this morning. All of the little girls in her class were very cute, and very pink! For a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds, they actually did a smashing job. Yes, there was a lot of "bunching" together rather than everyone having enough space, but for the most part, they followed the coreography and performed beautifully! I'm so proud of my little tapper/ballerina!