Breaking News

Operation Big Boy Bed Breaking News Story:

He's asleep! Only took him 10 minutes and he's out like a light! This is exactly why we decided to introduce the bed at naptime - we knew that if he didn't sleep then, he'd be so exhausted he'd go right to sleep at night. Praise God that part of the plan worked! Now we'll just see if he STAYS asleep... Updates will follow as events take place.

Operation Big Boy Bed - Day 1

We made the big switch this morning! Justin and I disassembled the crib, did as much as we could think of to make the room safe for an unsupervised Elias, and brought in the Big Boy Bed! Here's Elias' first encounter with it:
I was fairly encouraged by the things he was doing in this video, since he clearly understood the bed was for sleeping and he kept laying down and saying "Night night." This, however, was NOT an indication of what his first nap attempt would look like! No nap on Day 1. I think he was just so excited at being able to explore the room on his own that he would lay down, but just be so excited and have to get back up again. So although he didn't nap, he was content to stay in his room alone for the entire nap time AND roomtime (what used to be crib playtime now has to be roomtime since there is no crib!). So I call it a success.

I must confess that I was a BASKETCASE this morning worrying about how it was going to go and just imagining all the ways he was going to seriously injure himself being able to wander the room alone. My fears were, of course, blown way out of proportion. He did knock over his table once and break the stand of a picture frame, but there were no opportunities for serious injury, and he did a good job just playing nicely on his own. So I'm much calmer now after having survived four hours of solitary play. I had the video monitor on and kept an eye on him the whole time, and I'm encouraged at how well he did.

Soooooo, I'm hoping that tonight he's so tired he'll just sleep in the bed without much ado. I'll keep you posted! And you keep praying for us!

Major Transitions

My big boy is growing up, and we've got three major transitions ahead of us! Today we finished collecting everything we need for the first one:

Twin bed - check
Safety rails - check
Pillow - check
Waterproof mattress pad - check
Thomas & Friends sheets - check
Thomas & Friends blanket - check

So Operation Big Boy Bed is set to begin this weekend! I'll post pics and updates once we get it in motion. When we got home with the sheets and blanket today, I pulled the blanket out right away so Elias could see it and get excited about it. He seemed to enjoy the wrapper more...My goofy boy! Once I got the blanket spread out on the floor, though, he REALLY enjoyed laying on it and rolling around on it, so hopefully that's a good sign he'll want to lay on it in his bed, too!

Once Operation Big Boy Bed is accomplished, we'll begin No-More-Paci Boot Camp followed by Mission Potty Training. Wow, what a summer we have in store! Pray for us!

2+2=4

So my child seems to already be grasping math concepts. Well, not really. But one day he just randomly started saying "Two plus two is four!" I guess he picked it up from a toy or a show, but I don't know where! But Justin and I both just about fell over the first time he said it!

Playing in the Backyard

I have been looking forward to warm weather because I just knew that we would have so much fun playing outside with Elias. And we do! I snapped a few pics and videos of Elias and Daddy playing in the backyard last week. He likes to kick and throw his ball, point out the "flowers" (dandelions), run around, and look at clouds in the sky!
This picture is from another day when we were playing outside. I just wanted to show off his yellow crocs that we got in Kentucky! I think they're so cute! They're still a little big, so they weren't good for running around in the yard, but Elias loves wearing them. We're so thankful for the nice weather and the ability to play outside! One of these days I'll take a camera to the playground to see if I can capture us playing there.

Raising Him Right

This weekend I went together with a friend and we did a yard sale at her house. It was awesome to get rid of so much stuff, and we made about $150 in the process, so that's definitely a win-win! Since I was there all day, Justin had Elias for the day, and so he thought he would be a cool dad and do something fun and special with Elias. They went yard sale shopping themselves, and Dad got Elias some really cool toys! He hit a home run with a big helicopter that makes noise. (Elias calls it Harold like the one in Thomas and Friends, although it's actually The King's helicopter from Cars the movie.) Then after they finished buying the coolest toys in the neighborhood, Dad thought he'd take him to McDonald's for lunch - how cool is that? Well, Elias wasn't so sure. Here's what Justin wrote about it on his blog under the title "I guess we're raising him right...":

Today I had the care of our almost 2 year old while my wife did a co-garage sale with some friends from church as part of Bolivar's annual city-wide garage sale celebration.

For lunch, I decided we'd do a father-son outing to McDonald's. It's a weird idea because Elias has probably never eaten at McDonald's and we almost never eat fast food as a family. But I know McDonald's has a power similar to Elmo's-- I knew a 2 year old in a third world country whose first words were practically from the McDonald's menu, something she saw maybe once a month. I sort of wanted to test this power. The main appeal of our McD's is that it has 45 cent ice cream cones and I thought it'd be fun to share that treat.

I got Elias a Happy Meal and myself a grilled chicken club, and 2 small cones. Elias is always a huge lunch eater, so I expected him to do well with the chopped up burger, bun, and fries.

He literally turned his nose up at the burger, bun, and fries. He ate most of the cheese off the burger, and a few bites of the bun. He wouldn't believe me that it was bread. He spit out the french fries, he clearly didn't like them. And the only thing he would eat off of my sandwich was the tomato, he ate most of it.

He ate most of his ice cream, although he didn't seem to like it as much as the sugar-free stuff I give him at home. He didn't know it was ice cream until I told him.

So, feeling guilty about this idea, we went home. The fact that he likes his Happy Meal toy is little consolation-- we could have bought plenty of similar toys today at garage sales for a much lower price. At home, I heated up his leftover green beans, ham, and rice from last night along with some sliced strawberries. "Mmmmm!" he exclaimed as he began chowing down.

Elias is right, of course, McDonald's food is fake processed crud and no one should eat it. So, I feel guilty about taking him to McDonald's. It might be the last time.

I love it! I'm proud of Justin for trying to be a cool dad and make the day special for Elias, and I'm also proud of Elias for not knowing that McDonald's is "cool!"

Straw Sippy

We didn't have much trouble when we moved from bottles to sippies with Elias a long time ago. However, we seem to be stuck there, and we're having trouble trying to move on to anything else. We had a major victory last week, though, with a straw sippy cup that Uncle Emmitt and Aunt Linda gave him when we were in Kentucky. (Thank you, Uncle Emmitt and Aunt Linda!) He FINALLY learned how to drink from a straw! We haven't perfected the technique yet, but I'm glad to just be making any kind of progress at all! Don't get me started on trying to just drink from an open cup. Disaster so far - all he wants to do is shake the cup and splash his water everywhere. If anybody has any ideas or suggestions that could help us get there, that'd be great!

Don't Throw!

Elias has a set of picture flash cards that he likes to look at and play with. I took this video because we're trying to teach him not to throw them, so we say "Don't throw" whenever he does. So now he just throws one and then says "Don't throw." The goober. He also identifies the "bugs" flash card and the "rabbit" flash card. What a big boy!

Banana All Gone!

Elias eats a whole banana every morning for breakfast. He loves them! He calls them "ma-na." We usually cut them up in bite-sized pieces for him, but one morning a couple weeks ago, I thought I'd see what he did if I just gave him a half a banana. He did pretty well taking bites at first, but then he just stuffed the rest in his mouth - about 1/4 of a banana at once! He managed to get it all chewed and swallowed, and then he said "Ma-na all gone!" Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that! Here's a video of it for your viewing pleasure:

Couldn't Resist

My sister posted her family's Easter adventures yesterday, and they are SO PRECIOUS I couldn't resist stealing this photo and showing it off here.Look at my handsome nephews in those hats!!!! I sure do love those guys! Go here to see all their Easter madness.

Happy Easter!

He is risen! I am truly filled with joy at Easter this year. God has been doing some major work in my heart the past couple of months (Well, it's probably been years in the making, but the major stuff is going on right now.) to show me lots of wrong attitudes I've had and ways I've been deceived through past experiences into believing that His promises aren't true for me. But praise God they ARE true, and His death and resurrection bought my freedom and eternal life! Today I just want to jump and shout at His goodness and power and grace and love for me and for all mankind! So happy Easter to all - He is risen indeed!

Elias wore a new outfit to church today in celebration of the occasion, but it was pretty hard getting him to hold still for a picture! We resorted to blowing bubbles, and that let us catch a couple good ones.We also tried him sitting on Daddy's lap, which didn't really work to show off the outfit, but they're cute nonetheless!I am so thankful for these two men in my life!!!

Note: That t-shirt and sweater vest are a size 4T! Yes, that says FOUR. My child is huge! Also note his new summer haircut. My big boy with the short hair!

Spring Break, Part 5 - Going Home

So after a lovely week, it was time to head back to Missouri. Here's Elias blowing kisses and saying bye-bye to Nana & Granddad as we drove away.

We are so thankful that Elias is such a good traveler! He doesn't sleep much in the car, but he is very content to play with his toys and books. He actually did sleep for an hour or two on the way home, which I think is a record for him! I had to capture it:
Before we headed home, we stopped in Jefferson City, which is the capital of Missouri. Justin had a school event, and so Elias and I hit the town together. I didn't realize it until I got home and was uploading pictures, but I didn't take a single picture of us in Jeff City. Ah well. We didn't do anything really scenic anyways... But we did have fun! We visited a nature center, played at the mall, and enjoyed the hotel, including swimming in the pool, watching TV, and wandering the hallways! You can't accuse the Tapps of not finding a way to have a good time!

We are so thankful for the blessing of family to relax with! Thanks to all who helped us have such a nice Spring Break!

Spring Break, Part 4 - Loving the Family

We were blessed to see quite a bit of Justin's family while we were in the state. His Uncle Leighton & Aunt Kay drove in from Bowling Green to visit us, which was a LOT of fun! I'm kicking myself because I forgot to take a picture with them. Well, I didn't exactly forget... I had intended to take one after Elias woke up from his nap, but he woke up extremely grumpy and there was no picture taking going on at that point.

But I remembered the next day when Justin's Uncle Emmitt and Aunt Linda visited from Madisonville! Elias was at least pleasant then.We went out to eat at a restaurant, and Elias cracked everybody up by picking up the menu and reading it like he was trying to decide what to order!You can't fool us, buddy. We all know you already want the mac & cheese.

We also had great times with Nana & Granddad, although I didn't take many pictures. Elias and Granddad were the two earliest risers in the house, so they often got to spend time together in the mornings. Here they are reading the paper together. (This week, Elias learned a new word: newspaper.)You'll notice through the window behind them that it's still dark out! Sheesh. Thankfully, Daddy was the one who was awake to take this picture. Mommy was snoozing!

And Granddad was extra special in the fact that Elias gave him high-fives! High-fives are a coveted thing from Elias - he doesn't favor just anybody with them. I missed the actual five in this picture, but you can see the aftermath - Elias' hand is still up.

We tried to get a picture with Nana & Granddad, but Elias wasn't cooperating again. This is the best we got.Sheesh. Granddad had already fled the scene at this point. What really cracks me up about this picture is the HUGE smile on my face while Elias is melting down in my arms. Ya know, a toddler mama just does the best she can sometimes.

Spring Break, Part 3 - Eddyville Playground

We had a few days of really beautiful weather while we were in Kentucky, so one day Nana and I took Elias to the little playground they have in the town near their house. It's a really great playground that has the soft rubber on the ground instead of wood chips or gravel, so it was easy to let Elias just run and play because I knew he probably wasn't going to fall and hurt himself. He loved it!! He's finally started to get old enough to really enjoy playing on a playground, and this child is fearless!

Saying "Can we slide some more??"Here's a short video of him swinging. He says "Swiiiiiiing! Wheee!"

Rocking in the racecarAnd on the rocking train.He called the train Thomas (the Tank Engine), who is his newest obsession. Here's a video of him rocking on "Thomas."

They also had a tic-tac-toe board and he loved spinning the pieces! He would run back and forth from the slide to the tic-tac-toe board saying "Slide! Spin! Slide! Spin!" It made Mommy a little dizzy, but E had fun.Even sitting on a bench is fun when it's at the playground!