Big Boy Bed

Minne-Mama is on Facebook! 'Like' us to stay updated on our fun crafts and activities! 
Thank you for stopping by! 

I just tucked (and so far once re-tucked) my baby into his "big boy bed" for the first time. Of all the big changes that have happened since Skyler grew into the toddler stage, this one stung harder than most! I think it has been a challenging move, for me especially, because he was still sleeping so great in the crib. But, with baby brother arriving in just over three months, I want Skyler to feel like he has his own space and that the baby isn't going to be suddenly taking over his old bed. 

We have been talking about Skyler's new bed for weeks. He knew when daddy got home from a work trip that we were going to go get his bed and set it up, so he has been very excited. I didn't show him the bedding ahead of time because I wanted it to be a surprise, but we have made a big enough deal about the bed that he knew it was a fun change!

Excited boy watching daddy set up his old crib in our room!

Last night, we took apart the crib in Skyler's room and set it back up in our room, where the baby will be until he is sleeping through the night. Then back into big brother's room the crib will go, and a shared room it will become (at least until we move to a bigger home, or longer if they like their shared bedroom sleeping arrangement). For the "before" pictures of our rooms, check out this post and this post.

Skyler "sleeping" in his old bed! The crib will eventually move against
the other wall and will be decorated as a small nursery nook.

After Skyler went to bed in the new crib zone, we got to work setting up his new twin bed with super special vehicle bedding. I thought about staying with the colors/theme of his current room, but knew that my little guy, who loves anything that moves, would flip over this great bedding.

I thought it was pretty gross that I could still see the slats after the crib was moved,
and quickly washed the walls. Toddlers are so dirty ;)

This morning, the first thing we did was go see the new bed, and Skyler was so happy. He excitedly crawled up onto his bed and touched all the vehicles, exclaiming each new find with a big "Oh!!" His current faves are the tractors and cement mixers. It was the sweetest thing to see! We are still waiting on the side rail after a very delayed cancelled order (which almost made me want to wait the week until we can get it from the new store) and I am planning on decorating the high headboard, but for now, I am just happy to have my very excited toddler in his new big boy space. The toy bins that were at the foot of his crib are now to the side of the headboard, and the toy car storage I made still fit perfectly under his new bed!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Next up will be moving the crib to the other wall in our room, and starting to decorate the small space that will be shared with baby E in just a few months!

And in other exciting news, I think Skyler is asleep! Woo!! Now hopefully we will be able to get through midday nap tomorrow!

Splash Pads and my Quiet Observer

Minne-Mama is on Facebook! 'Like' us to stay updated on our fun crafts and activities! 
Thank you for stopping by! 

We loved playing at this splash pad with friends last year, and finally made it back with one of Skyler's little buddies this morning. Last summer Skyler wasn't walking yet, and spent his time at the small bubbling water features, splashing around with a bucket he filled up. Not interested in playing at the bigger fountains, but watching everything going on around him. Skyler would sit and fill, dump, fill and splash in his bucket the entire time we spent at the splash pad, and he would be completely content just hanging out the hour plus that we would stay!

Skyler and his bucket at our favorite splash pad, Summer 2013

I was excited to see how this summer would differ from one-year-old to two-year-old, especially now that he is on the move. I was fully prepared to chase my little dude around, but also brought his buckets and shovels along, knowing that he might not be ready to run through all the spraying water features, and remembering how he enjoyed having is last year.

Skyler started following his buddy, happily carrying his blue bucket, and stopped on the side when his friend started playing in the water. It took my quiet observer several minutes before he was ready to play in the water. He left the bigger fountains, and walked to the small bubbling spouts that he enjoyed last summer. I was somewhat surprised how little he wanted to touch the water. He would stand away from the spray and try to fill his shovel to dump into the bucket.

Sweet boy was happiest standing with the mamas in the shade. He just stood with us for a long time, and when asked if he wanted to go play in the water he quietly said "no." His buddy was so sweet, filling his bucket up and then dumping it into Skyler's bucket. Skyler loved it and splashed with the water, and then his little friend would bring more for him. It was adorable. 

Eventually, he went back out to the small fountains, and actually got pretty wet in the end. These two are so sweet and absolutely love playing together. It was perfect in this very exciting and closed off park how close they would play next to each other, so I got to talk to my beautiful mama friend and stare at her sweet babe the entire time. Score!

When I would ask Skyler if he was having fun playing in the water, he would enthusiastically say "Yep!" Even when he is just standing to the side and watching kids play, watching the water shoot up around him, and just observing everything in general, he has such a good time. This mellow little observer of mine is such a joy. That serious concentration face of Skyler's stuck around most of the time, but when he would get wet I always got a big smile!

In the end, his play wasn't much different than last summer, but I think it was great that he was able to walk around to where he wanted to be, even if that meant he was standing on the side and not actually getting wet. It is interesting having a sensitive observer and realizing that he may not want to just jump in and play in every situation. I like being able to take these moments to really understand what Skyler is comfortable doing and watch him have fun in his own way.

We are excited to go back as much as possible before the amazing Minnesota summer ends!