Bye Bye Crib!

We knew this day was coming. In fact, we held out longer making this transition than we had with Elliana. After all, Maya is our baby! Our last born! But, we could hold out no longer....we have a trip quickly approaching and Maya simply won't fit into a pack and play any longer. She needed to get ready for a big kid bed!!

In traditional Berndsen family tradition, we took a photo documenting Maya's last night in her crib. We had already given her room a fresh coat of paint changing it from a "nursery" to a "big kid room" with just the removal of brown and the addition of gray. Disassembling the crib and making the move to her new bed was the last step.

The next morning we began taking apart the crib that has been a part of our house the last 6 years! I was determined to not cry, as this was a good thing. But, a bitter sweet reminder of just how quickly the time goes.

Practicing in her new bed...

Comfy and Cozy with her new bedding

Currently we have her bed on the ground to make it as low to the ground as possible, and get her comfortable with her new big kid bed!

Big Kid room in the making, with a few friends to join her!

The first night...Maya went to bed like a champ! She crawled right into bed, fell right asleep! It was hard to believe it was that easy!! Well, it was until 2:00 when a bad dream awoke her and kept her awake most of the night.

Night #2, was MUCH better. Pre-bed time, Daddy removed all "scariness" that Maya was concerned about and tucked her in tight. Just look at those cuties smiling so proudly. Maya slept all night long and even slept in until 8:30 am! Whew! What a big girl!!

And tonight marks night number three. We officially have a big girl on our hands. Maya, we are so very proud of you and all that you have accomplished! 

Happy Birthday Elliana!

Oh, my goodness. Another year older. I was only half joking when I teased Elliana in the weeks leading up to her birthday that I wasn't ready for her to use two hands to show her age. I mean, seriously, two hands! A whole hand no longer was enough to show how hold she is?! Randomly, Elliana would flash up six little fingers and giggle with delight knowing how I felt about adding a hand to the mix.

I am constantly amazed at the beauty and intelligence of this little girl. In fact, here it is 2:00 am following a full day of birthday celebrations, and my mind is racing with gratitude, eager to capture it all before any details slip my mind.

We began our birthday celebrations at Busken Bakery, where they just happened to have pink iced donuts with purple sprinkles! Matching her birthday outfit! What are the chances?! :) Then off to the Disney Store to look around and the girls enjoyed coloring while watching Frozen on the big screen.

Then we ventured to an annual birthday tradition. BOWLING! Maya was into it for about 10 minutes, before she declared she was done, but I was able to snap this cute photo of sisters sharing the love after Maya bowled. This photo tugs at my heart strings, as it truly embodies their love. Elliana, has such a big heart for her little sister and I love when she naturally encourages and cheers Maya on. This photo was one of those moments...pure, unprompted, spontaneous love. Elliana, that is you! 

We took a brief nap (well, the birthday girl rocked out a great nap,  while Maya kept the rest of us awake) and then continued on with another birthday tradition. Shopping at Toys R Us with her birthday coupon. Making a selection took a bit longer than we had thought, and the more I think of it, I'm rather grateful that Elliana took so long to make a selection. She showed discipline, thoughtfulness and responsibility by comparing costs, evaluating options, etc. I'm pretty sure most new six-year olds don't think through such things. :)

 Happy Birthday sweet girl! Today and many more to come!! I am honored and blessed to be your momma!

Secret Sewing Project

Looking back, I still find it amazing we kept this a secret. We realized last winter that we needed to have at least one warm weather vacation each winter to keep our spirits lifted from the cold and dreariness of living in the mid-west.  And so, last March, we began planning for Winter 2015. Originally, we arranged and booked a Disney Cruise out of Miami for February. However, when we began looking at flights to Miami during peak travel season, we were shocked to find flights were close to $400 per person! We began looking into our options, and given we were already excited for Disney, we rearranged some things and booked a trip to Walt Disney World instead.

I am a dork, and I like our photos to be matchy-matchy and themed to our vacation...and so, I began sewing. Sewing with two small kids is a bit tricky in and of itself, but sewing secret clothes for a trip they didn't know about...well, that was even more difficult!

By Christmas morning, I had finished 2.5 outfits. Not the 7 I had planned on, but hey...a girl needs to sleep too! And so, we wrapped up the goodies below along with a few Disney goodies and put it under the tree for Christmas morning.



 And so, at last...Christmas morning came. We saved this gift for last.

And now the countdown begins until we venture down south to meet our favorite Disney friends. I'm hoping to make a few more outfits for our family before then, but if not...that's okay too ;) 

And after all of that prep work, I am 150% okay with using an advent calendar from the clearance Christmas aisle to use as our countdown. Tomorrow...only 24 days until we leave, and there just happens to be exactly 24 days in this countdown. :)

 

Our Day Starter

I've heard stories, urban legends is how I prefer to think of them, of women who wake up early, clean, workout, and accomplish a million things before the kids wake. As much as that sounds amazing, it's not really how we roll. 

My kids are early risers and I am not. I have no trouble having full conversations with my Hubby as he prepares for work in the early morning darkness, and then flipping back into sleep mode moments later. I try to sleep until I hear the little ones stirring. 

Most days, this is how we start our day. Snuggled on my lap, in my arms or across my legs. We wake up together, engaged in one another. 

I cuddle my babies, and sip coffee, careful not to spill it on those cute little heads beneath my chin. Somedays for twenty minutes, other days for much longer. Sometimes I feel pangs of guilt, thinking we "waste" time each morning. Society frequently tells me that this routine is not productive or yields any fruitfulness, and I must ignore such nonsense. This is important stuff we do! 

The reality is, this is one of my most favorite parts of our day. And the girls too. We all sit on one tiny couch cushion leaving the rest of the couch empty. Our arms are intertwined among each other, and we enjoy just being together. 

  I know that these days of relaxing mornings will end all too soon, interrupted by the schedule of school, or perhaps in the further future, the reality that cuddling mom just won't be that cool. So until then, I will keep cuddling my babies, watching animated shows, explaining what we've learned during the show. And kissing their heads, every few minutes. 

This momma is beyond grateful for these mornings, and the little girls I share them with. 

Maya and her bah-bahs

We typically are pretty strict about pacifier usage ("bah-bah" as it

is loving referred to), limiting it to car time, stroller time and bed

time only...until the age of three when we really start discouraging

it all together.

Maya, at just over 2.5 years knows her time with her favorite

"bah-bahs" is quickly dwindling, and she intends to take full

advantage of usage whenever permitted. So, imagine my shock when last

night, Maya requested to go to sleep with NO bah-bahs! Before I

thought about it too much, I quickly ran walked to her crib to remove

the bah-bahs before she changed her mind. I removed 7 from her bed!

Maya politely asked for lipstick (princess chapstick- a treat only for

non-pacifier users).

She puckered her lips, put her hand on her hips, and then twirled to

show off her floor length nightgown and immediately I saw images of my

baby girl preparing for Prom Night. She insisted on going to bed with

no pacifiers and slept 11 straight hours without her most favorite

item for sleep. When she awoke at 6:30 this morning asking for

bah-bah, I happily obliged. Afterall, I'm not THAT eager for my baby

to grow up!! Maya went back to sleep until 7:45, what a pleasant way

to start the day!!

Throughout the day, Maya asked for bah-bah more often than usual. So,

again I was surprised when she went to bed AGAIN tonight with NO

pacifiers and just a beautiful shiny coat of princess chap stick.

We are officially out of diapers, almost done with pacifiers, requests

for a big kid bed have been made. My baby is growing up, and what a

marvelous little girl she is becoming.