Tribute to a Treasure

After transitioning Ivy to her big bed, my sentimental heart is aching to say goodbye to our sweet little crib which valiantly served our family for nearly six years. It cradled our babies well and corralled them safely as toddlers. It was a gift from my mom and dad and my memories of it will always hold a sacred place in my heart. This post is a little tribute to a treasure.

Brand new and all ready for the arrival of baby Kip.

And here he is! The first photos I have of him in his crib.

As I was looking through photos for this post, I found SO many of Kip in this crib, thanks to Dan and all of his Night Night Mommy photos he used to send me while I was at work and he was putting Kip to bed. Here are some highlights.

After we transitioned Kip to his big bed, we got the crib ready for the arrival of Ivy.

Here is about the only photo I have of baby Ivy in the crib while in Brooklyn.

And then the crib came with us when we moved to New Jersey.

And here is Kip again, trying to reclaim the crib and his place as the baby of the house.

Unfortunately, I do not have nearly as many photos of Ivy in the crib as I do of Kip. We made her bedroom as dark as possible to try and get her to sleep better so middle of the night photos were not possible. And then since I was working from home for her first year of life, there was no reason to send me Night Night Mommy photos. I am sad about that, but I was able to find a few of snuggly toddler Ivy.

And here is the crib serving as an entertainment ball pit.

I tried to snag a few photos from Ivy's last few naps in the crib.

Now, the crib is in our room and I am trying to figure out what to do with the crib and how to find another life for it beyond our home.

Ivy's Big Girl Bed

We've been talking with Ivy about getting a big bed for months. I bought the bed frame back in January and we've been slowly accumulating the mattresses and bedding awaiting the right time to transition Ivy to a bed. More recently, Ivy has been asking for her bed so once we finished hosting all our spring visitors, we decided it was time.

A few more pictures and one last goodbye.

And then it was gone.

Mandy and I put the bed together while Dan had the kids at Kip's swimming lessons. When they came back home, Ivy was elated to see her bed for the first time. She jumped right in and snuggled.

Unlike Kip when we moved him from the crib, Ivy transitioned seamlessly. She went right to sleep the first night, stayed in bed the whole night, and woke up with her OK to Wake clock the next morning. She napped no problem and that was it! 

The bed is a sweet white metal frame daybed with a trundle below. I've been sleeping on the trundle to support Ivy's transition and it has worked wonderfully! Very comfortable!

She does have a bed rail to keep her from falling out.

Happy little big girl.

Weekending it

Some fun firsts this weekend!

On Saturday, Kip went to swim lessons and Ivy tagged along so that Mandy and I could put together her new big girl bed!!! Here she is in her crib for the last time.

I'm sobbing, my baby is a big girl. Detailed posted on that transition will be later this week.

In the afternoon on Saturday, we decided to take the kids to see the Super Mario Bros. movie at the theater! This was Ivy's first time seeing a movie in the theater and only Kip's second. Us adults haven't been to a theater since 2019!

Look at us coming out of our pandemic shells! 

Dude, ticket prices in the suburbs for a matinee were a steal compared to what we used to pay in the city. The seats were huge leather recliners too! Kip loved the movie and was engaged the whole time. Ivy got restless but sat through without much complaint and ate all the popcorn and treats she could get her hands on. Overall, a good time. The adults enjoyed the movie as well.

On Sunday we went to church. The kids are enjoying Sunday School.

In the afternoon Mandy and I went shopping and Dan pumped up the bikes (with Kip's help) and took the kids to the park.

Happy Monday to a busy week ahead.

Seaside Heights

Today I'm recapping our Jersey shore day-venture last Friday with Grandma and Aunt Judy! It was a blast.

Dan and I needed to run an errand last week to pick-up our discontinued flooring at a shop in Toms River, New Jersey. It was a bit of a trek so we looked into what else was around there to do in order to make the trip a bit more of destination. Fortunately, Seaside Heights on the Jersey shore was only like 15 minutes away. 

Beach...boardwalk...perfect! We lucked out with nearly summer weather too!

First stop was to get cheesesteaks for lunch.

Then we spent the rest of the day at the amusement park on the boardwalk and bounced back and forth between the rides and arcade. 

Kip was literally in heaven, he loved every second of the rides and arcade. Ivy enjoyed it too but was bummed the smaller kiddie rides weren't open as she had her heart set on riding an elephant ride. Hopefully next time!

After the rides and a break for ice cream, we headed to the beach. It was a bit chilly by the water but we enjoyed playing in the sand and collecting shells.

It turns out, Ivy doesn't mind sand in her toes this year!!!

We headed home mid-afternoon and both kids slept in the car on the way home.

When we got back, Kip had the idea to take our souvenir bucket of sand and shells and make a mini beach in a tray. 

It was a fantastic memory-filled day that I'm sure we will all remember. Yay for trying some place new and now we're excited to go back again and explore more!