Happy Birthday Greyson!

11:42 AM Amanda Greathouse 0 Comments

This weekend we celebrated Greyson's 2nd Birthday! And Valentines Day, sort of!

Even though our Valentines Days are for birthday fun now, we still had a little fun leading up to the weekend. I pulled put some random art supplies and cut out a few paper hearts. He was kind of interested, though the biggest thing he did was rub the paint brush with red paint on his head, which turned his bright blonde hair pink!

Spoiler alert: these never got sent! Oops! I had them sitting ready to mail & they got lost in the mix & just packed up!

I love any reason to celebrate things, so for Greyson's birthday Eve, I was feeling festive & made him some yummy sprinkle pancakes! He devoured like 2 of them & easily could've eaten more! And of course needed some pictures of his last day as a one year old!

I saw a fun idea on Pinterest last year to take a picture of your little one sleeping the night before their birthday every year & so far I've managed to keep it up!

And birthday morning was all kinds of exciting! He loved checking out his gift bags we had set out!

And I made homemade sprinkle donuts! Of course no birthday is complete without a cake so I stacked up the donuts to make a cake & topped it with two candles for our birthday boy!

The donuts were so tasty & Greyson couldn't wait for us to finish singing "Happy Birthday" to him before digging in! I made a balloon & streamer doorway decoration like last year, which Greyson liked, but our make dog feared! He would not go through them, it was actually pretty funny!

We decided to meet up with some friends & their boys to go bowling in the afternoon! Greyson loved getting to bowl with the little ramp thing. Every time he'd excitedly say "one, two, three, go!"

And I tried to make cake pops/balls for a treat to share! They tasted good, but by golly they looked like a 4 year old made them! Greyson just wanted to sit & eat them all.

He had so much fun that he was exhausted by the time we left to head home!

We spent the rest of the day opening gifts & enjoying a small Valentines dinner at home, just the three of us.

Can't believe we have a two year old! Crazy stuff right there! But it's definitely a day we won't forget!

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Moving With A Toddler// The Flight

4:48 AM Amanda Greathouse 0 Comments

Moving can be a challenge for anyone, regardless of age. But I have found myself the most anxious during this move because of Greyson. He isn't old enough to understand that we are moving from Germany to the states and what that means for us. The first step in our move was for Greyson & I to fly back earlier than daddy and the dogs to help Grey's transition and set us up to make it easier handling our dogs when they arrive here.

So I thought I'd share some of the things that have made our move a little easier & less stressful this far!

Our household goods were packed up & the military allows us 2- 70lb bags each plus a personal item & carry on for the flight. We were also able to send ahead some unaccompanied baggage of some things too big for our luggage that we want sooner, like small appliances and Grey's bed. So we had to pick out the things we need most and along the way.

I packed a small suitcase of just Greyson's favorite toys, that of course are small enough to fit. I kept a pile of his books, some puzzles, magnadoodle, alphabet magnets and animal matching toy. These are the toys he uses most often and I knew they'd be a piece of home.

For his birthday, we got Greyson this little shark backpack! Toddlers with backpacks are one of the cutest things. But I digress! I gathered up a few new, small goodies for him to carry in his backpack himself. Once he realized he had toys in it & saw mommy & daddy with our backpacks, he was excited to wear it.

We have an extra iPad that we've loaded with a bunch of Grey's favorite movies & some new apps. We ended up getting a new, foam, kid-friendly case for the iPad. The handle makes it easy for him to carry & it made it so easy to prop it up during our flight.

Since Greyson is day time potty trained, I had to consider what would make our trip the easiest. I ended up buying a foldable travel potty seat which saves so much space in my bag & helps keep him from touching gross public toilets. I had a few extra pairs of undies & pants in case of accidents & a couple of pull ups, which he usually only wears at bedtime. I decided to give him a chance & kept him in undies. Frequent plane potty trips & he made it the whole time without any accidents!

Our trip back consisted of an almost 9 hour flight - thanks bad weather - and a 7 hour car ride immediately following our landing, with some fun getting through customs & gathering our luggage in the middle. Since I was traveling alone with Greyson, I made sure to take my Beco carrier along to wear him on my back. It made getting on & off the plane with all the carry on stuff, including our car seat, so much more manageable. Another helpful item that's paid for itself in usefulness - car seat bag with wheels!

The next leg of our journey will be a multi-day drive out to Colorado in a few weeks, followed by living in a temporary facility & finding a new house!

What have you found was most effective in helping your toddler adjust to a new home?

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Our Days Are Numbered

8:05 AM Amanda Greathouse 0 Comments

Oh man are things about to get really hectic around here!

We finally got our orders and all of the dates figured out related to our move. We have 11 days left with our stuff that we won't get to see for months & 16 days with our car. We have to live in our empty house with a toddler for a week before Grey & I head back stateside. And then my husband has to live here for another week with the dogs before he gets to stay in temporary housing.

This should be interesting to say the least!

I have a thousand things on my mind and a mile long ToDo list that never seems like it will end.

In the midst of the craziness, I am starting to see how close we are actually getting to our days as a stay-at-home mom & toddler duo coming to an end.

Lunch won't be the same without this silly boy insisting he sits on my lap to eat his grilled cheese. Or how my days won't be filled with Dr Suess & alphabet toys. Going to the park will become an evening or weekend affair, instead of during the day to burn off energy.

I honestly never imagined I'd have the opportunity in my life to be a stay at home mom. It's been a crazy, exhausting, rewarding 2 years that I would never trade for anything. I'm going to miss all of those little things we do every day that I know I won't be there for when I start working & my Masters program. I do hope to manage to make my schedule open enough that I can spend as much of my time with him & continue to cherish every moment!

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5 Signs You're A Toddler Mom

8:02 AM Amanda Greathouse 0 Comments

Ah the life of a toddler! They rule the world, or so they think, and have a unique way of keeping everyone around them on their toes!

As I was looking around our house & watching Greyson play, I realized some silly signs that tell the world you're a mom to a toddler without having to tell them!

{One}

You could singlehandedly keep Pepperidge Farm's Goldfish crackers in business. A toddler can be seen eating them at any time of the day, occasionally straight from the bag. And the telltale orange crumbs can be found in the most random of places, ever! Oh & eating can easily warrant several bath times a day & there is constant need to protect your stuff from the gooiest food on the planet.

{Two}

You can recite the entirety of every children's book you own at any given time from memory, because you've read it that many times! One fish, two fish, green eggs, the cat in the hat. Oh Dr. Seuss..

{Three}

Your kid wants you to do random things over & over & over.. Like those sunglasses he wanted on? 4 seconds later he takes them off for you to put back on. Same with his socks. Or covering him with his blanket. Or, you get the point.

{Four}

Anything in your house can be made into a toy & be used in ways you never imagined your toddler could imagine! In our house, scooters go in laundry baskets & everything is a phone.

{Five}

Your every move will be copied, down to the tee. If you say it, expect it to be repeated. And somehow toddlers just know the funniest things to copy & repeat! Favorites from Greyson include: "Greg bring down some socks!" and "Balls.. Baby balls!" when he was warned to watch them climbing out of the tub.

{Six}

And extra one! No matter how many crazy days you have, you know you wouldn't change a single thing! Having a toddler is the most fun, exhausting, frustrating, loving, rewarding thing I've ever experienced.

So those are my random thoughts of today!

What's your favorite thing about having a toddler?!

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It's the Little Things// Adventures With Grey

3:48 AM Amanda Greathouse 0 Comments

With not being able to drive here in Germany recently, I can't easily head back home after our errands and running around on base. Grey and I end up having to hang out and kill time between things we need to do.

Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot on base to do for fun that's entertaining to a toddler and not outside when it's freezing cold. So we frequently end up wandering around the BX, looking at things! sometimes before the stores inside even open.

The nice thing about being there so early is that there's really not many people there. A few people here and there grabbing Cinnabon or coffee at the Starbucks. But for the most part, a couple employees walk around preparing for the stores to open. So we take advantage of it and I can let Grey roam free without really worrying about him getting lost in the tons of people.

Since Cinnabon is one of the few things open early, we always take a trip inside to smell the deliciousness & fighting hard to resist the ooey gooey yummy cinnamon rolls. I'm dying to try their center of the roll, especially the one with salted caramel on it. I will try it before we leave here, mark my words!

And of course no trip to wander around is complete without playing on the huge staircase & knocking on the glass! And yes, he insisted on wearing his hat while he ran around. He has this adorable attachment to it & has to wear it allll the time.

Stop, drop & roll! Every time...

He looks so freaking big sitting in the booth with his juice! He refuses to sit in a high chair or even a booster seat these days. He's determined to be a big boy.

I will miss these random "adventures" of killing time in our mornings until it's late enough to start our crazy busy days. Running around, wild & free, is totally his forte. He is just so curious & could explore the world all day long!