Lily's Big Girl Bed Is Set Up!

Tonight we set up Lily's toddler bed. Both kids were ecstatic about this. Poor daddy was in the room trying to put the bed together and both kids were hovering around him. I would kick them out only to have them sneak back in moments later.

Not surprisingly, Logan cut his foot while daddy was busy setting up the toddler bed. Feet kissing and band aids ensued. He was fine after that and continued to interupt the process. Finally I distracted them both by putting on Dora the Explorer and we watched Olympic bobsledding.


Daddy finally got the bed all set up and the kids just had a blast! Lily would crawl up and down, up and down, and then jump off. Logan remembered his toddler bed even though it had been slipcovered. He had a hard time when we told him that it was now Lily's bed. He insisted on going under her quilt and pretended to be "sleeping". He also push his sister off her new bed and hit her when she tried to climb back up. There was a time out, some tears and some explaining that his bed is a true "big boy" bed and Lily's bed is really meant for babies learning to sleep in a bed instead of a crib.

I think he has let go but it could be an interesting week. So far, things have been good. With her newfound freedom she was up playing until 9 pm and Mike and I had to go up several times to "regulate" but she did finally get pooped out and is now sleeping peacefully. I just hope it is for the entire night!


Lily is just so happy to be in a big girl bed! She was so excited that this was her new bed and I'm glad that she is getting so big. Still, sometimes I just can't believe how fast time goes and that my baby is now two. The crib days are now officially over and that is bittersweet to me.

Lily's Big Girl Bed

There are lots of changes going on in the Partridge household. We are taking away Lily's "ga" otherwise known as a nuk after she turns two and tonight we will set up her big girl toddler bed. Bye, Bye crib!

We are doing it this week so that she has time to get used to it. Initially, we were going to surprise her with her room makeover on her birthday, next Friday but since the party is Saturday I thought it would be best to make sure she is well rested. So we've decided to set it up a week early so she has some time to get used to it. I think she is totally ready, I'm just not sure that I am! I can't beleive my baby is out of a crib now.


Since I am a huge frugalista we decided to reuse Logan's toddler bed that I bought at a garage sale. Unfortunately, it was the "moon and stars" theme from his nursery and doesn't go with Lily's fairy room. Therefor, I decided to sew slip covers for her headboard and foot board to cover the blue and white stars.


Sewing slipcovers for headboards is surprisingly easy. Measure the size of your headboard/footboard and then calculate the yardage. 2 yards was plenty for a toddler bed. Next, you trace the frame of the bed on the back of the fabric you plan to use. (I admit that I used a shortcut and just cut around the frame instead of tracing and then cutting.) Make sure that you trace about 1.5 inches out from the actual frame so you have a little give when it is time to fit the slipcover over the headboard.

To create a padded headboard, you need to have three pieces of fabric and batting. The first piece of fabric will be the front, the second piece will be backing that should be white, and the third piece will be the back. The front and back should be the fabric that you want everyone to see.


Face the front piece inside out so that the back of the fabric is what you see. Then pin the form and stitch it, when done turn it right side out and then stuff it with batting. Sew the bottom closed. The next step will be to face both the front and back forms inside out. Pin the pieces together and stitch them. Finally turn the slipcover inside out and place it over the headboard. Wallah, you have a totally different look for your bed!

Lily is going to be so excited to have a pretty big girl bed! I made a matching quilt to go along with it from the old quilt we used to have when our office was a guest room. Overall I spent about $15 to recycle the toddler bed and make it "new" to Lily. :)

First Haircut - My Baby is So Big!

I brought Lily to get her first hair cut ever. She did so great and was such a good girl! I really expected her to be a little scared or to have a hard time sitting still but she was a perfect angel!


The hair stylist explained to her that we were cutting her hair and that she would get a lolli-pop if she sat still and cooperated. We sang some songs while her hair was being trimmed. I just had the back trimmed and layered a bit to bring out her natural curls and bangs cut so her hair isn't always in her eyes. She did a great job while her bangs were getting cut and sat very still. She was born with a full head of hair and it looks like she kept it all! i can't wait for it to get longer so I can braid it and curl it. :) It is like having my very own live cabbage patch doll. :)

The hair stylist did a great job. Lily looks so cute in pig tails, or a half pony tail with her curls. Of course, I got some of her hair to put in my scrapbook and I had to get pictures of her very first hair cut. She is such a big girl now, I can't believe she will be two in a week! It is just goes by so fast. I wonder what she will look like when she is three? Even more adorable!

Our Valentine's Day

We had a fabulous Valentine's Day (and the week leading up to Valentine's Day) at the Partridge residence. Logan got to go to two Valentine's Day parties, one at preschool and the other at New Horizon. He had such a great time passing out his Valentine's to his friends.

I had both kids make a Valentine for Daddy this year. They both colored, painted and pasted. Logan cut out hearts with a only a little help from mommy. He also applied stickers to his Valentine (and himself) which he had so much fun doing. I helped Lily put stickers, a couple of hand prints, and pasted on hearts for her. She helped by coloring on her card.

It was really great to sit down with the kids and do this fun little craft! I know Mike appreciated receiving one from each child and the kids had such a great time making them!

On the actual day, Mike and I got to go see Sherlock Holmes and out to dinner at Maynard's while Grandma Sue watched the kids for us. It was a nice date, we like to keep things low key but it was still a lot of fun. The bonus was we saw the movie for free because we had complimentary tickets from the theater. They had started a movie 20 minutes late the last time we went there so they gave everyone a
complimentary ticket and we decided Valentine's Day would be the perfect day to use them.

After a movie and dinner, we came home to watch the Olympics and play with the kids. It was a pretty perfect Valentine's Day!

No School Day - Maple Maze It Is!

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day I decided to take Logan and Lily to the Maple Maze because Logan had no preschool, the weather was as cold and yucky as it gets, and the kids were going bonkers!

It was really packed with a bunch of wild animals, er, I mean children and as soon as we got in the place Logan was kicking off his boots. I got the kids out of their winter gear as fast as possible and poof, off Logan was running to go play.

Lily and I headed to the toddler area where she went in the ball pit, played on the slide and climbed up and down the mats. She had a blast and Logan came in to join us as well and he played with Lily in the ball pit. He spent most of his time on the "big kid" apparatuses. He absolutely loves going down the highest twisty slide and climbing up all the levels. It was about a half an hour before I figured out where he was in there and got a shot of him playing in the rock climbing room!

We had snacks out in the commons and the kiddos played with the ice cream truck ride. Logan wanted to "make it go" but I told him I didn't have any money. He used his imagination just fine and even sold me some chocolate ice cream. Lily had to get in on that action and there was a little bit of pushing and shoving over control of the steering wheel. Not surprisingly, the brute won. Oh, for those of you that don't know, the brute is Lily.

I like going to Maple Maze because it burns off their energy really quickly and it is nice to have some place where the kids can just run around. However, it does tend to get a little long if you are stuck in the toddler area. I admit it, I like climbing up to the top of the jungle gym and sliding down the slide with Logan. :) He likes going by himself. LOL.

They were both pretty good most of the time. No major issues with other kids or sharing but I say most of the time because after 2 hours there Lily was really tired. She was ready for a nap and Logan was ready for lunch. Of course, this didn't mean they were going to leave without a fight. Oh no. My kids both threw a major meltdown mock three tantrum in tandem. While getting Lily's boots on, Logan ran out of the play area where our jackets were to hide from me. I had to stop getting Lily dressed and carry here (kicking and screaming) to get Logan. I then had to grab Logan and carry him (kicking and screaming) to get his coat on. I managed to get their coats on and I'm sure that all the other moms were awarding me "Mommy of the Year" status being my children are so well behaved!;D


Well, we made it out alive although my nerves were frazzled. Once we got into the van everyone calmly accepted that we were going home for nap time and lunchtime. I think the next trip to Maple Maze will include back up, AKA Daddy.

Food Incorporated - Inspiration for Healthy Eating

Mike and I watched the documentary Food Incorporated and it really struck a chord so I have to blog about it. With Logan needing a special diet we've become very aware of what we consume, we have to because it directly effects his health.

We are strong proponents of eating organic food because it is scary the amount of chemicals and toxins that are used to grow produce. Over time you ingest these toxins and your liver and kidneys have the job of cleaning them out, if they don't do a good enough job you will probably end up with cancer or some other negative health issue.

The stuff they do to our meat and the way they raise our livestock is extremely disturbing. Cows sit ankle deep in their own poop while they are fed corn, which their bodies were not meant to digest. This causes them to be sick, thus needing hormones to help them grow big and fat and antibiotics to keep the infections at bay. You guessed it, every time we consume livestock that isn't grass fed from organic farmers we are eating these antibiotics and hormones. Europe has banned this practice in their countries because they are concerned about the early puberty of girls, the lower sperm count in men, and the rises in cancer such as breast cancer. In America, we have a wait and see approach and with the powerful lobbyists working to keep these corporate farms alive, I'm guessing we won't know the truth until 50 years from now or more. If the city of St. Michael would let me, I would totally put a chicken coop in our yard and grow our own darn chickens!

So, I'm going to get off my soap box now and urge everyone to watch the documentary. Then, I would suggest growing your own garden this summer. We did last summer and neither Mike or I had much experience in this area. With the book "The Square Foot Garden" we had an excellent little garden growing. We plan to add another couple of boxes this year so we can grow our own fresh veggies and we plan on planting a fruit bearing tree and some raspberry bushes too. www.squarefootgardening.org.
Honestly, our kids loved having a garden! They would eat fresh carrots and peas straight off the vine. Logan loved to help water it and pick the veggies. I'm sure he and Lily will have even more fun this year.

If you can't grow your own garden, buy organic as much as your budget allows, or go to farmer's markets and buy locally. You can also create your own fruit and veggies wash from water and vinegar. Here is the recipe: www.greendaily.com. They keep track of our purchases at the grocery store, every time you buy organic meat and produce you are voting for a better food supply for your family. Remember that when you wince at the $6 a bag apples. Eventually, if we all demand organic, the price will come down because corporate farmers will go with the trend and start supporting better farming practices.

Sniffles and Snuggles

The kiddos have had a cold for the past week. It is just runny noses and congested coughs but it has still been a bit of a bummer around here. They are cranky, and I don't blame them colds are just no fun. I keep them as comfortable as I can with cold meds and ibuprofin but it seems like this cold has hunkered down and isn't going anywhere for awhile.

There is this Curious George episode where George comes down with a cold virus and he dreams about going into his own body and meeting Toots the germ. Logan was telling me that Toots is in his body and he won't get out! It was pretty cute so Mike and I have been telling him that he needs to rest and take his medicine so Toots will have to leave his body. Thank goodness for this Curious George episode because now he understands what germs are and that they make you sick.

Lily is just now coming down with it and has been a bit cranky and taking long naps. I admit that this past week we've watched a lot of TV. I usually try and keep them entertained with craft projects and stuff but they are just not interested this week. Instead they just want to snuggle up with each other and watch movies.

Daddy's 31st Birthday

Mike celebrated his golden birthday (31) yesterday. It was a quiet affair held at home. I made a special dinner of jalapeno and cheddar jack stuffed hamburgers and salad. I also made a gluten free/casein free yellow cake with chocolate frosting for a birthday dessert. Thanks Betty Crocker!

The kids really enjoyed singing "Happy Birthday" to Daddy and watching him blow out the candles. Of course, their favorite part was actually eating the yummy birthday cake. I got some great shots of them with their messy, cute little chocolate faces. :)

We didn't make a big fuss this year because Mike and I are going on a snowboarding trip with our friends Chris and Tracy on Feb. 5th-7th. This is going to be his big birthday celebration! It should be fun and we are both very excited to go and have some mommy and daddy time and hang out with friends.

We got an awesome deal on a cabin up at Lutsen so we will be hanging out in the winter wonderland and snowboarding all day and then will come back to chill and watch movies, play games and share some adult beverages with our friends. I can't wait, although I know by the end of day one I will be missing my kiddos. Stay tuned for pics from that upcoming vacation!

Happy Birthday Mike! We love you so much!