The BIG 2 and Music Monday

Well it's official: Matty is 2!

The big day was on Saturday and we started Matty's birthday off by introducing him to his Thomas big boy bed. He loved the Thomas face, but was not impressed when Dada started assembling the rest of the pieces to it. I think he thought he was just gonna have a gigantic Thomas head to carry around. He did get used to the idea and even slept in it all night, but only after a lot of carrying on. We tried the bed: he wanted to play.  We tried the crib: he wanted to climb out.  So we resorted to leaving him in his bedroom, closing the door and putting up a gate. This resulted in a screaming toddler.  Eventually he found his way to the bed and when we checked in on him a little while later, he was all cozy in it. I was not quite prepared for Matty to reject his crib so quickly after getting the bed. Another one of those bittersweet moments, but I'm really happy he likes it!

UPDATE: I've been working on this post for a few days and Matty has slept in his bed since Saturday night, including naps, but tonight for whatever reason, he wanted his crib, so that's where he is.  Guess we'll be leaving it in his room a little bit longer.  Yes, the part of me that wants to keep the "baby" in my baby is happy about this!

After showing Matty his bed, we came downstairs to the living room where Matty found a Thomas train table; needless to say, this pretty much occupied the rest of his morning.  This first pic pretty much sums up Matty's feelings about it:

{hooray!}

 {peek-a-boo}

{which of my boys loves it more?!}

Now with all of this train talk, you would think that would be the natural theme choice for Matty's party. Nope. Matty's first love used to be Curious George, but now George has taken a backseat to Thomas. That's not to say that Matty doesn't still love George. So mama made an executive decision and decided to have a Curious George themed banana split party. I figure the train stage will last a lot longer, so there will be plenty of opportunity for a Thomas and Friends party in the years to come.

We woke Matty up extra early so that he would nap early and be ready to party at 2 p.m. Our master plan failed and Matty went napless.  {He was a trooper, but eventually it did catch up with him...}

Gift opening began as soon as guests started to arrive. Try and tell a two-year-old that he has to wait!

The banana splits were fun, but we have way too much leftover, so if you're in the mood for one, you know where to come! We ordered the cake from Wegmans and as usual, it was excellent!  If you have a Wegmans in your area, I highly recommend their cake.  Ours was half vanilla cake, half chocolate with chocolate pudding filling throughout and whipped cream icing. Scrumptious!  And it looked awesome too!

When we began to sing "Happy Birthday," Matty got shy for a second.  He stuck his fingers in his mouth and buried his head in my shoulder.  It was such an "awwwww" moment!

It was a fun, happy time.  Matty had a blast and we are so thankful to our family and friends for making it a spectacular day. We look forward to what year number 3 will bring for our family!

In sticking with the "Curious George" theme from Matty's party, I chose yet another song off of the soundtrack {can you tell I love me some Jack Johnson?!}  It's a beautiful song, that to me, shows us that our curiosity just may lead us right back to where we were. Where we were always supposed to be.

Wordless Wednesday

Only two more days!

Music Monday

Jem's "Just a Ride" conveys an attitude we all need to adopt. It's an upbeat, fun tune about the highs and lows we all experience and that we should take it all in stride whenever possible. Minor mishaps should not sour our entire day; laugh, adjust, move on! 

Matty and I had our own little dance party tonight while watching this numerous times. In fact, he started crying when it was time to go to bed and kept yelling, "again, again, dance." He really enjoyed the music and when he's old enough to "get it," I will definitely be playing it for him in the hopes that it will help him not sweat the small stuff. Listen to it and during your day tomorrow, remember Jem's advice:

Out With the Old

One week from today, Matty will turn two. TWO. Not two days. Not two weeks. Not two months. Nope. Been there, done that.

Two years.

How did we get here ALREADY?! Of course it is bittersweet and I've come to terms with the fact that probably every birthday will be for some time. A child's birthday is an entrance that leads to new milestones and memories, but also acts as an exit for the previous year and its firsts that will all too quickly turn to lasts, the new that will soon turn to old. It's a reminder that this sweet little child will grow faster than you'd like and you'll wish you could just stop time. It's a little sad, a little scary, but a lot exciting.  It's definitely a reminder that not one single second can be taken for granted.

Speaking of new turning old, it seems like just yesterday that we were preparing for Matty's arrival by painting his nursery.  Well today, hubby began giving Matty's room a makeover. The transformation of nursery into big boy bedroom has commenced. Jungle green walls will give way to Thomas the Tank Engine blue.  Stay tuned for more pics of the complete makeover, but here's a peek at the color. We bought two cans of it months ago because they were $5.00 each, not knowing where we would use it, but couldn't pass it up. Hubby remembered it while he was at Lowe's this afternoon to buy the paint for Matty's room.  He called, told me to grab Thomas and compare to see if the paint we had would work. It is perfect!

As emotional as it is to see Matty's nursery go, I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees his room's new do! 

Wordless Wednesday

Music Monday

"Without you I was broken, but I'd rather be broke down with you by my side."

The lyrics above are from tonight's song, Jack Johnson's "Broken."  It's from the Curious George soundtrack and is on my mind after watching the movie this evening.  It's a mellow, happy song as is most of Jack's music and it makes me think of my Matty. And hubby too, of course!  

Curious George is such a fun, touching movie, full of great tunes.  George and  Matty are a lot a like: little explorers that often get in trouble, but their cuteness usually prevails ;)

Enjoy!

Our Organist

Matty is loving our newly acquired Baldwin organ:

sweet dreams

On the weekdays, I hardly ever see Matty in the a.m., which his a major reason why bedtime has become such a special time for us.  A few times this past week, I let him fall asleep in our bed and then transferred him in the middle of the night.  There is just something indescribable about these moments!  We play for a bit and as he gets sleepier he gets sillier.  When he gets a bit out of hand, I say to him, "ok, we're going to Matty's bed" and he immediately lies down and says "go night night."  A few seconds later he is back at it again, I tell him we're going to his room and we do the same routine a few times. After he finally settles down, he'll turn to me, grab me and says "hold you, hold you." Complete mush is the only way to describe my heart at this point. I love the sleepy smiles I get as he drifts into slumber, and I can only guess it's because his heart is so happy! I know mine is!

This past Tuesday was a rare occasion, but I was gone before he woke and came home after he was already asleep! It was really hard on me. That said, I made sure that we had mommy and Matty time before work on Wednesday. Here are a few shots from our morning. I'm really smitten with this sweater I thrifted a few weeks ago...he looks like such a big kid in it!

And yes, I am fully aware that he is in major need of a haircut!

Music Monday and A Mother's Gift

With Matty's 2nd birthday a little less than three weeks away, there is a lot of thought going into presents and party prep, but I also often reflect on the gifts I want to give him that he will keep for a lifetime. The kind he can't play with, but the kind that will make him smile anyway. The kind that will comfort him. The kind that he will turn to when faced with a dilemma. The kind he will teach his children...

I strive to be a person he can be proud of and look up to; one who instills morals, strong family values and traditions and optimism to name just a few. God willing, I will be around for 60+ more years, but when the day comes that I am no longer physically with him, I pray I'll know that I have done a good job and that Matty will hold close to his heart the many gifts I will have given him. The ones that do not have a price tag attached.

My friend, Joy, lost her mother two years ago and she recently shared a post about their last Christmas together. You can read it here. It is a beautiful display of what every mother wants for her children: to leave footprints on their hearts. Her mom was obviously a lovely lady, as is evident in Joy!

And her mom was very wise, especially when it comes to the Miami Dolphins. Hehe.

In keeping with the mother/child theme, for tonight's song I chose Carole King's, "Child of Mine."

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Happy birthday {yesterday} Dr. Seuss! Matty doesn't appreciate your books yet, but I'm sure he will in the future. This past Saturday, we took him to the Dr. Seuss story time at Target. The setup was cute: a colorful rug and Pillow Pets were placed on the floor for the kids to get comfy. There were goodie bags with snacks, juice, crayons and coloring books and bags of popcorn. Employees took turns reading.

Matty sat in the cart for a while. He didn't pay too much attention to the stories and when the newness of the goodie bag wore off, he wanted out. I stalled and walked him around the store for awhile because once Matty gets out of the cart, it's all over. On our stroll, we picked up a new Thomas the Tank Engine movie. Eventually, we made our way back to the story time area and I finally caved and let him out of the cart. He walked around showing all of the other kids his Thomas movie and saying "James" {the name of the engine on the cover}. It was too cute. I nearly started crying because he looked like such a big boy; all of the children were older and were amused by Matty. He did sit a few times, but only for a few seconds. It was as though he was trying hard to be a big kid, but he is still in that very busy toddler stage and just couldn't keep still.

Now, this trip to Target was all about not spending money. These days, I get really excited about having fun for very little or better yet, free!

I had my ten dollar Starbucks gift card that I received from Swagbucks.com, which I promptly used as soon as we arrived. I got a grande skinny peppermint mocha latte, a blueberry muffin and an organic vanilla milk for Matty and there is still $3 + dollars left. I also had a coupon for free Coffee-Mate Liquid Creamer and a coupon for Nice'n Easy Color Blend Foam hair color. I picked up my Coffee-Mate, but when it came time to check out, Matty was in tantrum mode, so as I wrestled to put his coat on him, hubby checked out and I forgot to give him the coupon. I don't normally even use cream in my coffee, so I was ticked because I was only getting it because it was FREE. And I completely forgot about the hair dye, which I guess ended up being a good thing, because if I would have had it in the cart, hubby wouldn't have had the coupon anyway. At least my coupons don't expire until May.

The highlight of my weekend took place on Sunday when I'm pretty sure Matty told me he loves me!

I missed Music Monday, so today I bring you a truly beautiful, classic tune with a timeless message.

It goes a little something like this:

You may say that I'm a dreamer.
But I'm not.

If you just laughed out loud, then you've seen Dinner for Schmucks. If you're like "huh?", you should definitely see it soon! It is funny, yet heartwarming.