Tag Archives: Jax

Changing to a Toddler Bed

When did you switch your little one from a crib to a toddler bed?

We cosleep, but I have been thinking long term and want to establish Jax’s room as a safe, calming place for him to sleep in on his own down the road. Since he can no longer be in his crib unsupervised at all (he launches himself out headfirst without anything in there to help him!), I decided to switch his crib to a toddler bed.

My plan is to have regular “quiet, night-night time” with him in the bad, and if he falls asleep – great! I mainly want to show him this is another place to sleep. Eventually, I’d love for naps to happen here, but I’m focusing on after dark for now.

On his first night with a big boy bed, I laid down in it and we did all our stories and nursing there. He had the wiggles for about 40 minutes and was playing with the slats with his feet (I put the mesh bumper back on so his feet wouldn’t get stuck), then crashed hard.

He ended up sleeping there for 2.5 hours! Go Jax!

He really loves being able to get in and out of the bed now. He room adjoins ours so it will be easy for him to come to us if he needs us.

When did you change your little one from a crib to a bed?

Jax’s 20 Month Painting

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It is so, so pretty outside! The husband is cooking chili (My apple butter can wait till tomorrow. Chili, yum!), sun is shining and the baby finally took off his cranky pants.

We took advantage of the warm fall weather to do Jax’s 20 month painting. This time I added a sea sponge and showed him how to blot with it. He did a couple times, but them switched to using it like a brush with big strokes. We used autumn paint colors (mostly because that is all I have left!)

Learning to Drink From a Cup

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We’ve been practicing drinking from open-top cups in the bathtub where he can spill all he wants. But, silly baby decided it’s easier to drink straight from the tap!

Jax currently uses straw sippy cups. He’s still fond of dumping liquids at the first chance he gets. How did you transition your toddler to regular cups?

Jax’s 19 Month Canvas Painting

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We were delayed in doing Jax’s monthly painting. First there was a hurricane which soaked the ground, then flooding in the area from heavy rains. We had a tiny window of one afternoon where the ground was finally dry (my knees actually still got wet!) before more storms rolled through.

Jax seemed to understand that we were going to paint when I told him he was going to “dip dip and paint!” When I handed him the paintbrush he dunked it in the paint right away and started putting it on the canvas. I let him choose the paint bottles, but I vetoed the burnt umber. I have to keep the colors similar because he blobs them on so thick and smears it around. Brown would just turn it all into a big mess.

When he was all done, he accidentally stuck his hand in a paint plate and laughed. I showed him he could finger paint, so he added a bit more color that way. Once I paint the edges, we’ll add it to his gallery. I need to create a second section and fill all the frames with some of the pictures he’s been coloring lately.

I know we are going to cherish all these canvas paintings as he grows up. Do you have any childhood artwork you cherish?

: Dip! Dip!

: Adding purple

: Ambidextrous!

: Taking a break

: Studing his work

: Is it done?

: Final touches!

: Finished Piece

Jax’s 18 Month Painting

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Two hands? Why not!

We are keeping up with our monthly canvas paintings and I’ve really noticed a difference now that Jax is 18 months old.

He recently mastered dipping his food into sauces and dips. He calls it “di di” (dip dip). I laid out four plates of paint for him (hiding the bottles – he gets very distracted if he sees them), handed him a paint brush and told him to dip dip. And, he did without hesitation. He had a lot of fun dipping then making a few paint strokes before choosing a new color. It really looked like he was starting to understand he could paint a new color when he dipped in one first.

At the end of the painting I helped him make hand a foot prints on it to have a record of how big he was at 18 months old. Then we cleaned up together, with me washing him off and him splashing in the tub of water.

It came out great and he had so much fun! I’ll be hanging it on the wall as soon as I paint over the staples on the edge of the canvas.

: Set up

: Dipping his brush

: Testing the colors

: Adding more blue

: Proud artist

: Concentrating

: Painted knees

: Clean up

Finished painting

Sunday Souvenir

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In April, my aunt and a dear family friend visited for three days from Colorado. They brought a wonderful surprise of boxes from my grandparents old house. Many things were my mother’s. I loved seeing them, as she died when I was very little. I plan to make a shadow box with some of her trinkets. I have a huge stack of drawings and letters I sent my grandparents over the years to go through. Looks like they kept everything!

The biggest surprise was the old kiddie car I remembered as always being at my grandparents house. I knew it was old, but my grandpa said on the phone that it had belonged to my grandma’s mom. Grandma was born in 1916, so that car is old! A metal piece was added to the steering rod by my grandpa at one point, and one of my mom’s cousins added a target sticker to the handle from a model airplane kit. But otherwise, it’s remained the same. I have a photo of myself riding it as a little girl.

It will have a place of honor in our home, and one day Jax can pass it on to his children.

Check out Ronalyn’s Sunday Souvenir: The Adventures of Esa and Zed

Leave a comment if you’d like to be added!

Jax’s July Painting

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I hope everyone had a safe and fabulous fourth of July! Jax and I celebrated by nursing to the sounds of fireworks going off around our neighborhood. The noise didn’t seem to bother him, so maybe next year he’ll be able to stay up and watch them.

This weekend we did his second monthly painting! This time I painted the canvas yellow for him, then we poured paint onto the canvas and he used both brushes and his fingers to make a beautiful mess. It had to dry overnight because he piled on the paint, but it looks great!

He had very little paint on him this time. I think he is figuring out that it goes on the canvas – not his belly button!

He also did a mini painting as part of the prize in our first giveaway. I think it looks adorable…

Finished Paintings

Bye Bye Hair

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Before: Toddler Comb-Over

In Progress

I did it! I finally cut Jax’s hair! There was just no way I could grow it long at this point. He has one strip of hair down the middle that is 4-5″ long, other sections that are about 1″ long and absolutely nothing between his ears and temples. It was that bald spot that made me hesitate to cut it. I knew it would look like I went crazy with the clippers. But, his dada was starting to call it a Trump comb-over, so it was time!

Here’s what I did: I brought his booster seat up to the bathroom and set him up with an episode of Blue’s Clues after showing him the way the clippers vibrated. I have grooming shears from my days in a dog spa (regular and blending). I started with his hair damp and cut the long hair in sections at an angle. Then I came in with the clippers on the longest setting and blended the transition to his shorter hair. For the bottom half, I used decreasing settings on the clippers to fade it out.

He looks so grown up!

After!

Flash Mob Babywearing

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Photo © Charlotte Geary Photography

For a few weeks last month, Jax and I had a secret. We were in rehearsals for a flash mob!

How does one find out about a flash mob? Word of mouth, mostly. I was lucky to have an online friend move into a new house just a few doors down from T, the lady who was organizing the mob. When I jumped at the chance to be a part of something I’ve loved watching online, C gave me the address and time of the next rehearsal. I was a very shy child, but I’ve come a long way since then. I was very proud of myself for showing up at T’s door and introducing myself and Jax. Of course Jax is so cute that he’s always a great ice breaker!

I follow a lot of AP parenting techniques, and babywearing is a big one for me. I have worn Jax since the day he came home from the hospital and we’ve used a number of different carriers. (I will review my current carrier, the Beco Gemini, in an upcoming post.) I did yoga with Jax in a carrier from 2 months till 11 months when our local studio closed. Jax loves music, moving/dancing and happy crowds, so I thought this would be perfect.

I think everyone was surprised to see a baby (toddler, really) strapped to my chest, but as soon as the music came on and we started moving, Jax was laughing and clapping along. He won everyone’s hearts in an instant. The practices we went to were right around naptime, so I often ended up nursing him to sleep in the carrier while dancing. I’m not sure how he could sleep while bouncing, but he was out like a light almost every time once we’d been dancing for a while.

On the day of the mob, Jax was excited when the music started. He knew it well from hearing it so often while I practiced. The mob was a mashup of 8 songs. We came in for the last 3, as the one right before that had to much whipping around for a baby in a carrier. He clapped, smiled and waved his arms as soon as the music started. We both had a great time!

I was really sad when it was all over. I hope another flash mob comes up so we can do it again before Jax is too big for the carrier!

Here is a video clip of us sent to me by an onlooker and another I found:

Starbucks Crafts and Halloween Costume

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1st Starbucks Visit

I love Starbucks! Their soy no-water chai lattes are always delicious! But I get a little something extra out of my visits…

When I had Jax, I switched to working from home full-time. Perfect for taking care of a little one, but suddenly my only adult contact was my husband in the evening. So I started taking Jax out to Starbucks. Our trips have become a beloved routine and we’ve become friends with all the baristas. We both like to people-watch and he adores flirting with the ladies. I get adult conversations and a worn-out baby when we get home.

For Halloween, I created a Starbucks barista costume for Jax that was a huge hit. You can recycle Starbucks cups to create it. I bought some green fabric and sewed a simple apron in a tiny baby size. I cut the logo out of a vente (large) cup and used strong glue to attach it to the chest. For his hat, I painted an old ball cap of his black, then attached another cut-out logo. Because he was so tiny, we used little sample cups as his drink prop. So simple!

Later on, I made a scrapbook page featuring his costume. I re-used some coffee stickers that had decorated the envelope of the birthday card Jax received from all the baristas at our Starbucks. I love how it came out!

More crafts from around the internet:

Starbucks Felt Playset
Make It Lovely has an adorable tutorial for making a felt Starbucks play set with two drinks and two mini donuts. Recycle your Starbucks sleeves and a pastry bag to add the branding. You could use one of their paper shopping bags to store it all!

No-Spill Paint Cups

No-Spill Paint Cups
Muffin Tin Mom came up with a great idea for reusing dome-top cold cups from Starbucks – no-spill paint cups! The straw hole up top is perfect for your paint brush. Jax isn’t quite coordinated enough for this, but it is a great idea for the future. I tested it out with some leftover green paint from our last project. This would also work great with clean water in the cup to clean your brushes between colors.

Starbucks Card Notepads
Onegroovyday on Crafster came up with the cutest way to reuse your old Starbucks cards. She made mini notepads! If you aren’t feeling crafty, you can snag one pre-made off Etsy.

Starbucks Card Jewlery
Okay, there are so many cute things to made with empty Starbucks cards. Maybe some of my favorite baristas can snag some for me that are destined for the trash bin. Knitphomaniac has made some really pretty jewelry by cutting old cards and stringing them with jump rings and other findings. Gift ideas for barista friends!

Bottle Cap Flower Mosaics
I love these mosaics by Shawn DuBois available on Esty! A fun way to reuse any bottle cap.

Babies, Dogs and Allergies

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Did your baby live with pets when they were infants?

Health.com states, in a recent study “children who live with dogs and cats are less likely to develop allergies to those animals later in life, but only if the pet is under the same roof while the child is still an infant.”

Both my husband and I have allergies, so we are concerned that Jackson may develop them too. One interesting point the study found was that boys’ likelihood of developing allergies after living with a dog was reduced by 50%, but the same was not true for girls!

Jax LOVES his golden retriever, Benny, and I am so glad he hasn’t had any trouble playing with him so far!

Living With Pets May Protect Infants From Allergies – Health News – Health.com

Toddler Canvas Painting

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I inherited my love of art from my mom, even though she passed away of breast cancer just before I turned 5. I have a degree in studio art and make a living doing web and graphic design. Art is something I definitely want Jax to grow up surrounded by!

Jax is 16-months-old and I decided we’d start painting on a canvas every month or so. I have extras in my stock pile and craft stores are always giving out 50% off coupons. It was a hot day, so I chose to try painting instead of taking our after-lunch walk.

Here’s what we did:
I laid out an old sheet in the backyard. Beside it I had our clean up supplies ready to go: a plastic bin of water, paper towels and an old towel. I put the canvas down on the sheet with 4 paper plates of non-toxic paints and some kid-friendly brushes. I dressed Jax in nothing but a disposable diaper. He has a major belly button fetish right now, so I knew his tummy would be covered in paint!

To start him off, I handed him a brush dipped in paint and aimed him towards the canvas. He took to it right away and had a blast! I had to remind him not to put the paint brushes in his mouth, but he didn’t try to eat the paint. However, he did hear me say “brush” and tried to brush his hair with green paint. Oops!

At this stage, I’m still offering him the paint and showing him how to make hand prints and spatter marks. I think it will be fun to see how he progresses each month. Eventually he will be choosing his own colors and techniques.

When we were all done, I let him splash his hands and feet in the bin of water while I washed the paint off him with a wet paper towel. The diaper was so paint-covered it was nearly modern art itself, but we tossed it. And headed inside with Jax snuggled in his towel.