Boys clothing on a Gap budget

Dressing little boys has gotten SO much easier in the last couple of years. I've pulled ten items from gap.com that you can mix and match to make lots of different outfits. Please note that you can find a LOT of similar pieces in Target. They have great gingham button ups, striped tees and jeans. I hesitate to make a Target board (even though I LOVE their little kid clothes---but not their big girl clothes, seriously?!) just because they have so many things on their website to sift through.

Boys clothing on a Gap budget by thepaperchick featuring a puff vest

1. This is my favorite piece of the entire board, I just think it's so versatile. Jack would wear this to church with the cords or even better, on a weekday I would layer it under the graphic tee and pair with the jeans and desert boots
2. These other shirts are all basic, comfy, every day shirts. Jack has this orange striped tee, actually he's wearing it today with some navy, knit cargo pants. You can layer any of them under the hoodie.
3. My little guy plays hard so I tend to put him in dark colored pants, he has no reservations over plopping down in the middle of a dirt pile to play. Dark jeans and a darker shade of corduroys does the trick.
4. I love how these dark knit cargos are super cozy and comfortable but still cute. 
5. We have this orange vest, it's VERY plush and looks cute with a lot of different shirts. I would wear it with any one of the shirts on this page.
6. Mock neck? Elbow patches?! Yes, please.
7. Desert boots on little guys are seriously cute. The thin sole on this boot makes it flexible so it's easier to walk in. Between these boots and a pair of Navy TOMS or tennis shoes you pretty much have your shoe needs met.

I remember when my oldest daughter was born (seven years ago) I would look through the children's clothing racks and be so thankful that she was a girl. Now it's so easy to find cute little boy clothes!

It's All Routine to Me

So after a yummy dinner, and some outside playing, it's time for bedtime routine. My kids go to bed prettttty early. We've tried later bedtimes but they wake up early anyway so we stick to what works. On weekends and during the summer we will sometimes stay out later to play but for the most part my kids are in bed by 7:00. The girls are allowed to read until 8 but they always opt to go straight to sleep!

I've blogged similar pictures before. I love these bedtime routine pictures. 

He is always so happy to throw away his old diaper.

More pouring water back and forth

I love this picture, the way he's smiling up at me. I know there will be a day that he doesn't look at me quite the same!

Both of my girls have snugglies that are stuffed animals, Jack prefers his blanket.

Daddy always comes in to kiss him while we read a story, say a prayer and sing a couple songs.

See that brown dot on his foot? That's not a bruise, it's a tan line from his pool shoes :) Jack has never been much of a cryer at bedtime. He goes to bed at 7 then sleeps until 7 or 8. We took his pacifier about a month ago and now he'll talk in his bed for awhile, sometimes he yells for me but he doesn't really cry. Honestly I don't mind going in there when it's quiet and dark. He snuggles me in his chair and we talk for about five minutes then he goes down without a peep. He always asks in his sweet little voice, "Sissy night night? Daddy night night??" over and over until he is completely convinced that he isn't missing out on anything.

He

He turned two this week.

He is quite possibly the yummiest thing on this planet. Every day I ask him, "I need to eat you up, where should I start?" He'll point to his neck, after I've gobbled there a bit he'll point out another spot.

He is fairly social. Any time I'm on the phone or someone comes to our house Jack will look at me, point at the phone or guest and ask, "I hi?" He's asking to go say hi to them. After I give permission he'll walk over and say hi or just walk over and wave to them.

He is SO easy. My easiest kid by far. At the pool I can sit on the lounge chair and he'll sit and pour water back and forth the entire time, or roam around outside the pool looking for treasures (rocks). I finally took his pacifier away, he had been using it for naps and bedtimes. The first night of its absence I anticipated a loooong night, I didn't hear a peep out of him. Why did I wait so long?

He seriously has one of the greatest smiles. I can't handle his little teeth. Can.Not.Handle them.

He was reeeealy slow to talk but it's all coming to him now. His standard answer to any question though is "Sissy." This is really funny when we ask questions like, "Who made this mess? or "Who pooped your pants?"

I love to see him run. I get the opportunity a lot. His legs, they're just so short, so his steps are ridiculously small. It's amazing how fast he can get them going though. They spin, like the road runner did in those old cartoons and his tiny little arms flail around to keep his body upright. I laugh every time. We laugh a lot.

He's our last baby, our last toddler. I have SUCH mixed emotions about this. I rejoice over getting rid of a ton of baby gear, I cringe at the thought of my arms being empty of little baby legs and smelly toddler feet. I can't think about it, instead I just inhale the scent of sunscreen and sweat from his hair any time he's anywhere near me. I take snapshots of him running and imbed the image in my brain. I make a deposit in the savings account of memories and thank God for each day second.

This Boy

This is my boy. I love this boy and all his boyness.

poor quality phone picture

Growing up when I thought of having kids I wanted boys. Little men in their puffy vests and plaid shirts, their short hair cuts and little man shoes. Then I got pregnant the first time and I did a 180, suddenly I started thinking about my mom and my four sisters and the relationships that we have and then I very much wanted a girl. Insert Kendall here. About 22 months later I was about to have our second baby and all I could think about was that I REALLY wanted Kendall to have a sister. Insert Kate here. Then we decided we were through. I sold all my maternity clothes and baby gear and settled in for our life with girls. Then I got the baby itch. It's partially Jennie's fault (Sprouts Spot). We had both of our other babies at the same time and she was putting ideas in my head. We decided to go for it (Brian and I as well as the Sprout Spot family) and this time it really didn't matter to me. I could easily see Brian surrounded by "his girls" and I loved the idea of a bunch of sisters growing up together (think of all the bickering over clothes!) but I was also thinking back to my old dream of a little man in a plaid shirt and a puffy vest. Insert Jack here. Suddenly our pink princess infested house has trucks and little red wagons, plaid shirts and puffy vests.

This boy is the sweetest boy there is. I love how he randomly pats my arm, love those open mouth baby kisses. I love how his sisters can do the most RANDOM things (throwing Cheerios) and he dissolves into a fit of giggles. I love how, like his sisters, he is in no hurry to walk. He'll stand in the middle of the floor, unsupported for as long as he wants but if you get close enough to him and try to encourage him to walk he'll either fall like a log into your arms or slooooooooowly lower himself down to the floor and crawl to you...the stinker. Not that I'm in a hurry for him to walk. He has enough boy qualities that I know things will get significantly harder once he's on two wheels. When Aunt Lorie watched the kids for our trip she texted me saying, "Jack is like a tornado with four limbs." He is into everything. Turn your back for two seconds and he will have pulled everything out of any drawer that doesn't have a child lock, pulled all the books off the bookcase, yanked your dishtowels off the counters, thrown your toothbrush in the toilet and produced an amazingly stinky diaper.

Checking out the work that's happening on the deck. Jack thinks he's the foreman of the job.

My most favorite thing that he does right now involves how he gets into the mudroom. See that door back there? It leads to the mudroom and there is a step down from the carpeted family room onto the hard tile of the mudroom. He knows that he has to back down the step in order to avoid injury (and this little man is no stranger to self induced, exploration caused injuries). He has taken a tumble down that step and is willing to avoid that pain at all costs. So he crawls towards that door but once he gets about SIX feet from it, he'll crawl in a circle like a little dog making a bed. Around, then around again until he's in the right position. Finally he'll stop and start to back that thing up...from six feet away. Crawling backwards is not one of his best skills so he'll often have to stop and realign after bumping into a wall or door. He'll sliiiiide down the step on his belly, be down no longer then .3 seconds when he's back into the living room to find something else to get into or to just try it all again. Love him.

12 Months

At one he...

...waves bye bye

...plays patty cake

...likes to carry around his wooden hammer

...loves to brush his hair

...raises his hands in the air when you ask, "How big are you?"

...says DA DA DA all the live long day.

...likes to pull things out or put things in boxes and drawers. Nice when he is cleaning up toys, not so much when he is pulling stuff out of kitchen drawers.

...eats everything, non stop

...rests his head on your shoulder, gives wet kisses, or crawls very quickly to snuggle when you lay on the floor.

...has made us all fall in love with him.

...is so unbelievably squishy that none of us can leave him alone. The poor boy always has one girl or another all over him.

Yesterday the girls were playing at an indoor playground. I stood up to leave and Jack started looking at the play area and yelling very loudly, "DAA!"  "DEE DEE!" over and over.  When I called for Kendall and Kate to get their shoes on he stopped yelling. I'm convinced he was calling for his girls.

Wishin and Hopin

We have a big birthday coming up! After a lot of nagging by me, Jack finally made a wish list. He has just been too busy trying to climb the stairs, learning to wave, play patty cake and saying "All gone" (which actually sounds more like "ahhh gah"). Anyway, I was able to pin him down and bribe him with pieces of my breakfast, lunch and dinner long enough to gather a few suggestions from him, phew.

This Radio Flyer Walker Wagon great for the toddler on the move. He pictures himself pushing trucks around and maybe terrorizing his sisters with this.

This Car Box Set because a boy can never have too many cars, especially ones he can tote around.

Car Carrier. I'm beginning to see a theme here.

Jack would really love a Tee from Honey Bee Tees, he thinks their stuff is cool (and the girls that make these shirts are pretty cute too). I think his favorite is the long sleeve bird dog shirt in size 2.

 for the record Kendall and Kate's favorite is the Just Crusin pink shirt (size 4 & 5).

He has been giving some thought to his fall and winter wardrobe lately, you know these Paper Chick boys they're into looking snazzy. Jack has declared that Gap is his current clothing line of choice and he is really disappointed that Crewcuts isn't making clothes in his size right now. That doesn't stop him from wearing his "Jack of all trades" Crewcuts shirt though.

At this point of the wish list idea exchange I ran out of food and Jack went silent. The boy sure does love to eat, no amount of snuggle promises or attacks kisses from his sisters could get him to offer any more suggestions. Pity, he seems to have good taste for an almost one year old!

Best Days

As I went about my day today birthday planning, cleaning, running errands... the words of this blog post swirled through my head. It was a good post in my head but now that I sit down to write it the words just wont come.

I realized today that there is a phrase that is repeated often in our house, "Stop growing" (almost as often as "leave your sister alone"). Why is it that I want to freeze this stage so badly? I think it's out of fear, I fear that these are my best days, life can't really get any better can it? I fear that as my kids grow I'll look back on these days with longing, wishing I could go back.
I don't want to forget how the words "Peek-a-boo" can send this kid into such a fit of giggles.

And how if you hand him anything the first thing he does is shake shake shake it.

As much I would like to sleep in I also am afraid of the day when the little snugglers crawl into my bed and demand that I lift my arm up so that they can get right against me.

Even though I love this stage and want so much to savor each memory and live in each moment, I also rejoice in every accomplishment and look so forward to them learning something new. I can't wait until Jack can experience sitting on his own, or sitting at the dinner table with us and picking up little pieces of whatever we're eating.

I can't wait for Kendall to start Kindergarten and have a school/teacher/friends of her very own, or to get up enough courage to ride that bike without training wheels. 

The girls love to cut coupons out of the paper and make their own grocery lists.

I love seeing Kate's expression when she learns to do something on her own. She always watches Kendall do things and her coordination is not where her older sister's is. When she finally gets to the point that she can do a roll or hop on one foot (or whatever) like her older sister she is just so proud of herself!

So even though I do LOVE this stage of our lives I also realize that there are so many things to look forward in the years to come. We will have school dances, team sports, sleepovers, and endless other memories to make. We will have new "best days."

Life is Good with Jack

Somehow I managed to get the best baby in the entire world. Seriously, he rarely cries, he sleeps well, he eats well...

Kendall and Kate can't keep their hands off of him, or their lips off of him. Ok, I can't either.

Another admission, I don't mind the night time feedings. Sure, I'm exhausted and look forward to a full night's sleep but I love that quiet uninterrupted snuggle time. I love the baby grunts and squeaks and smells. I like to put him on my chest to burp him, he pulls his knees up so that his little bottom rests in my hand and he is this tiny ball of yumminess. I like to rub his sweet little peach fuzzy head and bury my nose in his soft neck to take all the kisses I want. I love how after eating and burping and changing I wrap him all up and lay him in the bassinet and he just peeks at me and then closes his eyes and goes off to sleep. Three to four hours later we do it all over again.

I'm having a hard time sharing him. Of course not with Brian, I LOVE to see him snuggling our sweet baby boy, but with other people. I can't walk away, my arms feel empty, something is missing and I can't relax until he's back against me and I can get my fill of his sweet baby smell. Three is our stopping point.  Every day I am one day closer to being out of this newborn stage, out of this baby stage, it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. I know as soon as the next stage comes I'll love it but saying goodbye to each day is still hard, maybe that is why I'm cherishing those middle of the night hours.

But for now we are just staying close to home, close to him and wrapping ourselves in this blanket of babiness that has come into our house.

Three in One Day?!

Good baby toys are hard to find. They just don't make em like they used to. You know I've been browsing the toy aisles of Target and Babies R Us since I found out I was pregnant and I have yet to find one quality, well made baby toy (not battery operated and plastic). I've turned to the internet and here is my baby toy wish list:

Pacifier Chain: practical, entertaining and well made

Moby rattle:

Patience Blocks: blocks, rattles, puzzles

Stroller/Car Seat Toy: easily attaches, lots of colors

Fabric Ball: lots to grab on to or chew on

Natural Wood Teether:

Just Beachy

OK, here is our nursery plan, we're going with a beachy theme without getting too "themey". I'm going to order the material to start on the bedding soon. Let me know what you think! Also, let me know if you see old shovels like these anywhere.
P.S. Click on the photo to see it much bigger.