The next birthday that we celebrate in our family will be Jack's birthday and the girls are excited to help me begin planning it. It will have a Curious George theme (lots of yellow and red) to it, as Jack seems to love that little monkey so much. And it seems so fitting because Jack is one curious little man.
Raising a boy is so much different than raising a girl, at least it has been for me. Jack doesn't mean to be malicious, but he manages to keep me on my toes and test my patience on a regular basis. He will climb on anything, he will throw anything that he has in his hands and he will push limits to the maximum. But in between all of that, he will also cuddle with his momma and give hugs and kisses to anyone that asks. And his smile? I melt every time.
Jack loves the outdoors. He would spent every minute of every day out there if he could. And if he discovers that someone went outside and left him behind, he cries and screams at the backdoor. The cold weather doesn't bother him one bit, and I suspect that the hotter temperatures this summer will not be problem either.
Even though the ambient temperatures are still cold here, we are trying to coax Spring to come by spending more time in the driveway doing "Spring-like" activities. We brought out the bubbles and let the kids blow them into the blustery wind. Jack, with his ever inquisitive mind, preferred to play with the jug instead. That boy is always trying to figure out how something works.
Covered in mud and dirt ... All boy.
The biggest milestone this month has been the transition of Jack out of the crib and into a "big boy bed." We did this about 4 nights ago and opted to set him up on a mattress on the floor for right now. This is what we did with Sophia (mostly because the beds that we ordered for the girls became back-ordered and we had already disassembled her crib). The transition with Sophia went smoothly and we figured, even though we have a frame and a headboard for Jack, that we would start with the mattress on the floor first. This would limit any falls out of his bed (and let's be honest -- he would be the type to climb out of bed regularly).
I took Jack to the store and let him pick out his own sheets ... he chose trucks (of course!). He was so excited to be able to hold them on the way home!
Then, I washed them and put them on the mattress last Friday night. We were planning to do it over the weekend, but Jack didn't have a good nap on Friday afternoon (read: no nap at all!) and we figured that he would be really tired and less likely to get up as many times in the night.
Tucking Jack in bed:
He really wasn't sure what to think of the pillow, as he had never slept on one before:
That first night was rough because he got up at least four times and Sophia got up three additional times (complaining about her legs hurting -- growing pains). Needless to say, I was one tired momma the next morning. But, over the next few days (naptime and bedtime), I worked on adjusting a few variables such as the nightlights, door, pillow, blankets and verbal instructions to stay in bed, and I think that we have improved the situation quite a bit. We have also made a point to emphasize his "big boy bed" whenever we can.
He still isn't too sure about the sheets and the extra blankets on his bed, but as long as he stays in there and sleeps, I am content with that.
I snapped this picture during his naptime one day:
Then, hopefully this summer, we can set up his bed and work on turning his bedroom into a "big boy room" for him. It's going to be a BIG summer with potty-training and a bedroom makeover. I can't wait!
Up from his nap, rested and happy to see his momma:
(He was actually standing in the doorway of the girls' room, as he likes to run in there right away when he gets up to see if they are still resting).
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