Dear Max

Dear Max, or Bumble Bee, or Horse, or Dog,

You are very into imaginative play and I love it. For several months you were Bumble Bee but recently you have switched over to be "Horse" or "Dog". When you are 'Horse' you like to carry a rider on your head and you gallop around the house yelling "Yee Haw!" You like to run races with your riders and will often come up to Dad and myself asking us to pick a color and a number and that is how you determine your rider. Recently you have started the "Dog" phase of play. You will crawl around on all fours and bark and pant like a dog. It's funny and Dad and I are constantly laughing and amazed at your imagination. 

Mario Kart for the Wii is currently your favorite video game. You ask to play pretty much every day and you are getting really good at it. Dad and I have to laugh at your skill (or luck) when playing the game. The hardest race tracks are your favorite, Rainbow Road in particular. What makes Dad and I laugh even more is that no matter how many times you fall off the road or what place you come in after the race is over, you are still excited. When you win you get even more excited. 

Lately you have also really been into playing with you "iPad phone" or your iPod that we bought you for Christmas. You like to record your voice on the voice memo option on your iPod and watch and listen to the playback. Dad and I look at each other puzzled but it entertains you so we are happy. 

Getting you to eat anything new still challenging but I have started making pancakes and waffles on the weekend and as long as I put some chocolate chips in them you'll eat them. I'm calling it a win.

I know I say this ALL. THE. TIME. but I'm still having a hard time with how fast you are growing up. I can't believe you are 5. Keep surprising us. I love you Maximus! (Bumble Bee, Horse, Dog).

Love Always,
Mom

DIY Headboard

Small Back Story

Last year before Tim deployed we got Max a bed. He had been sleeping in the crib that converted into a toddler bed for way to long. Literally about a week before Tim left we bought a bed. Originally we were going for a twin sized frame made out of wood. Of course the BX did not have what we wanted in stock and it had to be shipped from another store. When it finally came in, the frame was broken and had to be returned. At this point I didn't care, he had a mattress and a box spring and they were sitting on a cheap $50 metal frame. Good enough for now.

Fast forward to present day and Max is still sleeping on the metal frame and it is starting to bother me. So like every other person around the world I turned to Pinterest. I typed in "DIY Headboards" and of course there are hundreds to look through. I finally decided that this tutorial looked easy enough but still grown up enough to be okay for Max. There was only one problem, this tutorial is for a full size bed, Max is only a twin so my measurements are totally different from hers. 

So here is how I made my headboard for a TWIN SIZE bed frame.

Step 1: 41 inches wide - I measured the width of the frame. It was 38 1/2 inches wide so I rounded up to 39 and added 2 inches. That means there is going to be about 1 1/4 inches extra on each side. 

Step 2: 44 inches high - I measured about how high I wanted the headboard from the floor, which was 48 inches high. The headboard is going to be bolted to the frame so I just subtracted the inches from the floor to the where the bolts would be place and that was about 4 inches. So 48" - 4" = 44 inches. 

Step 3: 26 inches total height of headboard - I measured just below the mattress and went up to the height of where the headboard would sit on the wall. 

Supply List + Cost

- 1 box of 1 1/2 dry wall screws = $4.37

- 1 small container of stain (black walnut was my color) = $4.78

- (3) 1x6x6 pieces of white wood = $20.43

- (1) 1x6x8 piece of white wood (posts) = $7.90

- (3) 1x4x8 pieces of pine = 5.97

- (4) 5/16 hex nuts = $.44

- (4) 5/16 hex bolts = $.80

- (4) 5/16 x 1 1/2 fender washer = $1.18

- scrap piece of 1x1 = FREE (leftover from another project)

TOTAL COST = $45.87

The original person that did this tutorial did it for cheaper but I had to buy white wood because my Home Depot did not have the cheaper "uglier" wood for me to use. It worked out because I didn't have to do as much sanding as I thought I was going to, so I was happy. 

Step 4: Cut the posts and headboard pieces. Using a chop saw I took one of the 1x6x8 and measure 44" from each side. There will be a small piece left over from the middle. Then measure out the rest of the 1x4 and 1x6 pieces to 41" wide. Take and extra piece from one the 1x6x6 pieces to use as the brace in the middle. 

As I as cutting I looked at each piece of wood and labeled each piece with an 'F' so I knew which side I wanted to put on the front of the head board. 

Step 5: Laying the boards out. Lay all the 'F' sides faced down on the ground while alternating 1x6s and 1x4s. (see example below). Once they are all laid out take one of the post pieces and lay it on top of the head board pieces. 

Make sure that everything is lined up as straight as can be and I predrilled all of my holes before putting my screws in. My husband has 2 drills so this went pretty fast for me. After all posts were attached I added the shorter piece of 1x6 to the middle of the board for the brace. Once I had both posts attached and the brace it looked "unfinished" to me. I asked Tim what he thought and he agreed. He made the suggestion to add a top to the headboard. So we went looking around for a piece of wood to attach the top.

Step 6: Attaching the top. Tim went looking and came back out with a piece of 1x1 that we had left over from another project. So I screwed the 1x1 into the brace in the middle and attached to top to the 1x4 by screwing it in from the bottom. This was the hardest part. 

 

Step 7: Sanding the headboard. Once everything is screwed together get your electric hand sander out and grab your nearest helper to help him take part in making his own headboard. Love my boy!

Step 8: Staining I used Minwax Black Walnut, the small can. It was more than enough to do both the front and the back. I only used one coat on each side, but I really let it sit before I wiped it off. Another good tip WEAR GLOVES! Stain is very sticky. I used an old t-shirt to wipe the stain off. I let the front dry over night and the next morning put a coat on the back. I let that dry in the sun and before I went to bed I brought it in the house to dry in the air conditioning for another day.

Here is the finished head board after it has dried for 2 days. Now we just have to drill the holes and mount it to the bed.

Step 9: Mounting to the bed.  I had Tim help me with this one as I was unsure how to get the bed on the frame. We took a few pieces of scrap wood and put it under each post until it was at the height of where the bolts would attach to the frame. Then put a washer on each side of the wood and tighten down the nuts. That's it! Pretty easy.

The entire headboard was built in about 2 hours. This could easily be a weekend project due to the amount of time you will need to let the stain dry. Now I just need to do a little more decorating in Max's room, but the headboard was a good start and SUPER CHEAP!! Good luck!

Max's First Dentist Appointment

 Max had his first dentist appointment yesterday. I was a little worried because he's not a big fan of new stuff. This past Christmas was the first Christmas that he didn't cry when we went to see Santa so I was hoping for a positive experience today as well.

 The dentist and the hygienist were very patient with him and explained everything that they were doing both before and while they were doing it. Max is in good dental health which I could not be more thrilled about.

 This dentist's office has ducks on the ceiling for everyone to look it. Max really enjoyed the ducks and he was given one to hold during his appointment.

He was even more excited to be able to take it home with him at the end of the appointment (this is uncommon). I'm so proud of my boy for doing so well at the dentist office! Yeah Max!!

Max: Right Now

He is into everything, include the toy box. He'll empty all the toys out of it except for a few and then sit in there an move the toys around so they make lots of noise.

He is finally finding his voice. He speech has really come along these past few weeks accompanied with lots of pointing.

He got stuck in the chair :-)

 He gives kisses. He does this by curling up his upper lip and showing his front teeth and sucking to make the kissing sound. If you kiss him, most times he will wipe it off.

 Being outside and dirty are probably his favorite things. He has dug many holes in my front flower bed.

 He wants to help I let him help me make the cake for Tim's co-workers by dumping the ingredients into the bowl. He loved it!

 He likes all of Tim's RC car stuff, especially the tires. He lined these up himself. Another favorite is to roll the tires down the driveway and have some one (typically Tim) catch them and bring them back up for Max to roll down again.

 If we go on walks with the puppies he will walk himself. The stroller gets used very rarely these days.

He likes to walk Dakoda, but he also likes to drop the leash a lot. Tim and I think he is doing it on purpose.

 His cars are still his favorite. He likes to run them through the dirt that he has dug up. He throws them up in the air and recently likes to play with them on the window sills.

His favorite movie right now is Finding Nemo. It is watched a few times each week and he will sit through most of it.

 He is wearing a size 5 diaper and wearing 3T bottoms (shorts/pants) and 3T-4T tops, depending on the brand. He has no waist so most of the 3T bottoms fit him in the length but not the waist. I usually have to roll them up.

Max is still not really eating what we are eating. He pretty much lives on PB&J, chicken nuggets, pizza, hot dogs and fruits and some veggies.

He is drinking out a cup now, no lid. We supervise him when he doesn't this as some days he just wants to be a pain and dump the juice all over himself. Most days he does really well. He will often steal my cup and drink my crystal lite.

 He is very good at working his iPad. He knows were all the apps are and moves them around from time to time. Yes he knows how to do that. He had discovered You Tube and there have been many days where we hear something that isn't English only to find the Max is watching Mickey Mouse in German or Russian. He was watching Transformers in Spanish or another favorite is Trans-Thomas. Its Thomas the Train in Transformers. Currently he is watching a lot of Tom and Jerry and he likes watching Mario Brothers that people have recorded and posted on You Tube. The kid is funny.

 The park is also still one of his favorites. He likes to go down all the slides, big and small and he swings on the big kid swings Superman style (on his stomach). He is also a big fan of playing with the wood chips on the ground, mostly he likes to throw them in the air.

Max right now is pretty awesome.

Right Now

Drinking lots of hot drinks. There was a lot of tea and hot coco drinking this weekend. Love Fall!

Decorating the house for Halloween. Fall has always been my favorite season because I love the cooler weather, it always gets me in the mood to read a book and snuggle in for the winter. 

Wearing my hoodies again. I have a nice collection of them from the years past. I think it might be time to retire some of them, the pockets/front pouches are starting to come off or have holes in them. I guess it is only fair, I have had some of them since college and one I've had since high school. They all hold a special place though.

Taking lots of pictures with Instagram. Below is a picture that I took yesterday and used several different filters to alter it. I love it. Can't decide which one is going to go into my Project Life album...maybe all of them. 

LOVING my new iPhone 5. It is just so much faster then my 3GS and the camera on it is just awesome.  I'm so glad I did the upgrade. My husband is the one that set it all up. Thanks Tim!

Thankful for an awesome husband who took care of pretty much everything this weekend so I could get some scrapbooking, sewing, "me time". Seriously, he cleaned the house, took care of Max, and when I came home from running a few errands (without Max) he was putting up my Halloween decorations.

Cooking lots of warm meals. We had chicken soup and chili this weekend and tonight I think we are going to have taco soup.

Super Excited for Christmas this year. I'm almost done with my shopping and just need to make a few more things and just get them in the mail. My sister and brother in-law are done, seriously, their gifts are already wrapped.

Still finding it unreal how much Max has grown. I was watching him yesterday when we were outside and I still can't believe how big he's gotten. He'll be 3 in January. THREE!!

Listening to Max's speech finally coming along. He is really really trying to talk more now and I'm thankful. It has come with a lot of worrying on whether something was wrong with him and why he wasn't talking. But patience, relaxing, and non displayed stress have paid off. Keep up the good work Max.

Anticipating new things. There are a few things are are coming up (not quite ready to share yet) that I'm mentally and financially preparing for. They are good for us as a family and hope that everything will work out the way I plan on, but preparing for all options, just in case.

Enjoying life right now.

Thomas the Train Blanket for Max

 I have been sewing a lot lately, mostly because we are poor and I'm making most of my Christmas presents to give away this year. Every time the sewing machine makes it appearance on the kitchen table Tim will ask what I'm making and who for. Then he asks when am I going to make something for us, our little family of the three of us. The answer is usually later and then later never comes and I'm making something for someone else.

Well Max has gotten bigger, obviously, and all those blankets that people give you when your child is a infant/baby have all gotten to small for him. We have about 2 blankets that will totally cover Max up at night and he has been peeing through his diaper most nights so we are constantly washing them. So it was time for another blanket to add to the rotation.

The front

 So we were out at Hobby Lobby getting fabric for another project for an Xmas present and Tim was with me. He saw the Thomas fabric on sale and the Thomas fleece and he just looked at me and smiled. I had 2 yards cut of each and said I would make a rag blanket for Max. Super easy and fairly quick to make. The worst part for making any blanket, for me anyways, is the cutting.

So after all the cutting and about 2 solid afternoons/nap times working on it, its finished. It has been on Max's bed for about 2 weeks now and I have probably washed it half a dozen times. Max has this thing about wanting to play with his diaper at night and he pulls the tab off/up and when he pees it has no where to go but on the sheets, clothes, and the blanket.

The Back

 I have another pattern that I want to do for Max but I'm trying to get Christmas done and then I'll work on this other quilt for him. It's an airplane quilt. I love it! I have been collecting fabric for a while to make it so we'll see when I get around to it.

So I have a few other sewing projects to post but I have to wait till after Christmas when everyone receives their gifts. Super excited for Christmas this year!

Right Now: Max

Its been a while since I did one of these posts so I thought what the hell.

Right now Max really likes to be outside.

Right now he loves the water and wants to be in it all the time.

Right now he is still wearing a size 4 diaper

Right now Matchbox cars and cars from the movie Car (and Cars 2) are his favorite.

Right now his bedtime is between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (depends on the day).

Right now we struggle to feed him what we eat for dinner.

Right now I have to buy new shoes again (2nd time this year) because he feet are growing.

Right now he is sleeping with a bed rail up and that's it.

Right now he can operate his iPad without anyone helping him.

Right now Tim has been working with him on drinking out of a regular cup (no top)

Right now the first thing he runs to at the park are the Big Kid swings.

Right now he is really into pushing things around the house.

Right now Max really needs a hair cut.

Right now Max really enjoys feeding the dogs their food. He brings their bowls to them at dinner.

Right now Max has figured out how to lock and unlock the doors leading to the outside.

Right now life is good and I love it!