Painting

While I have been home on maternity leave with Little Peanut, I have tried to come up with some fun things for him to do. I decided to see if he would like painting Mother's Day cards for the grandmas. He LOVED painting and was content doing it for 45 minutes. That is quite a long time for a little boy with a very short attention span. He thought it was quite funny to paint on himself as well! He painted until daddy came home from work. Daddy spent the next ten minutes bathing LP while mommy spent the next ten minutes cleaning up the highchair and floor:)!

Tulip Time 2010

We didn't get a chance to do a whole lot for Tulip Time this year as I was quite pregnant, Brad was working a ton of hours, and the weather wasn't that nice. We did, however, make it out to the annual tradition of the Kids Tulip Time parade with my mom and Bethany, and Julie and her family. LP was VERY busy during the parade, but he really seemed to enjoy watching all the kids and the bands. He was definitely one of the cutest little Dutch boys around as well!

First Trip to the Dentist

Little Peanut went to the dentist for the first time on April 21. I called the pediatric dentists in Holland (the same office I went to as a child) to see what they recommended as far as dental hygiene for an 18 month-old. They said they recommended that a child have their first dentist appointment between one and two years old. They schedule this kind of appointment about once every other month and it is a sort of "group" visit that is done after working hours. Dr. Bolt was the dentist who looked at Little Peanut's teeth. He said that he was a bit behind on the amount of teeth he has, but he said this is less important than the order in which the teeth come in. He also said that he has a lot of extra gum tissue on the upper lip/teeth area. My brother and I had this same issue and needed to have surgery when we were older. Dr. Bolt said that LP would most likely need this surgery in the future as well. So...Brad and I have started a braces fund:)!

LP did excellent during the visit. He let the dentist look at his teeth and place fluoride on them. The dentist said his teeth looked good and there were no signs of decay. I guess his love of brushing his teeth is paying off!

Easter 2010

We had a wonderful Easter this year! We started the day off giving LP his Easter basket and then went to church to celebrate the resurrection. After church, we headed over to Brad's parents for lunch. Brad's parents, Brenda and Jason and Eli, and Grandma and Grandpa Zuverink were there. We had great food (as always) and then the boys had their Easter egg "hunt." Once LP figured out that the eggs were full of things like M&Ms, dried cherries, and Smarties, he was pretty excited about the whole idea. He also received a basket of goodies from the Easter Bunny (aka Grandma:)).

Toddler Bed

After much debating on what to do as far as the bed situation goes when the baby arrives, we decided to get LP a toddler bed. I talked with many people and got many different opinions as to whether or not to buy LP a toddler bed, another crib, or a big bed. We decided to get a toddler bed for now because we can keep him in the same room as the baby (which is right across the hall from our room). We didn't want to spend the money on another crib but we really felt as though LP would be too little to be in a twin or queen sized bed.

We were going to wait to make the transition to the toddler bed when the baby was a few weeks old. We thought that would give us plenty of time to transition LP. But, after talking with some people, we decided it might be best to give it a shot before the baby is born.

The first night, Thursday, April 1, went ok. We showed LP his new bed and he climbed right into it. We went through his normal bedtime routine of singing songs, saying a prayer, and reading a few books. We laid him down and walked out of the room. He cried for a few minutes and we went back in there to calm him down. Once he was almost asleep, we left the room again. He cried and cried again. So...we decided to let him sleep in his crib and try again the next day.

The next night, Friday, April 2, we decided to try again. He crawled right into bed this time and we did the normal bedtime routine again. Brad stayed by him a few extra minutes and then let him fall asleep on his own. He slept through the night!! I woke up around 4:00am and looked at the monitor and he was on the floor:). I went back in there to put him back in bed and then Brad checked on him again around 6:00am and he was on the floor again! He has always been a very squirmy sleeper, so I am not surprised that he ended up on the floor twice! We will try again tonight and hopefully this is the beginning of him sleeping through the night in his new bed!



Checking out your new bed




This is how we found you your first night sleeping in your bed. Crazy boy!

Sleeping like an angel

First Icecream Cone

We have had some absolutely beautiful weather around here lately. On April 1, our local icecream shop opened and we took advantage of the beautiful weather and got our first icecream of the season. LP got his first icecream cone and he thought it was pretty cool. He dropped it in the grass a few times and kept signing, "more." When the icecream was gone, he signed, "all done." Apparently he didn't want to eat the cone:). He got quite messy, but he enjoyed himself so much that it was worth it. I am sure this is only the first of many icecream stops this season. Maybe next time we will get him a cup to keep it a little less messy!

Toothbrushes

Lp has a newfound obsession with toothbrushes. His favorite drawer to get into is the drawer that contains three of our toothbrushes. If one of us leaves the bathroom door open, he literally runs right in there and opens the drawer to try and find the toothbrushes. If he finds one in there, he runs around the house with it hanging out of his mouth. Obviously this is not very safe and we have, much to his dismay, removed the toothbrushes. So...he gets overjoyed when it is time to brush his teeth at night. He literally throws a tantrum when we are done. Hopefully his love of toothbrushes and oral hygiene continues as he grows:)!