Swing Set

One of the many changes we made around here this summer was getting a new swing set. We had been looking for a good wooden one that wouldn’t break the bank. Honestly, I was having no luck. I had been searching craigslist for weeks and just couldn’t find anything. A friend said she would sell hers to us but then we weren’t sure how we would transport it since she lives and hour away.

Finally I was shopping at Meijer one day and we were just browsing the toys. I think we were actually looking at trikes to see if we thought Natalie could ride one yet. I stumbled across the sign for all the swing sets and they had clearance tags on them!! I about jumped up and down I was so happy. I find the one that we had wanted expecting to see a tag for 25% off. I honestly would have been happy with that. Well, it ended up being 50% off!!! It went from $800 to $400. I had to call Hubby and make sure it was ok with him and that he would pick it up on his way home. He was just as happy as I was. I hurried and bought it because it was the last one.

This is picture before anything was started. 

I didn’t really know how much work putting up a swing set would be. We went to pick it up and it came in 3 boxes that fit in our pickup truck. I realized then that Hubby was in for a lot of work. Of course we (by we I mean he) had to dig out a layer of grass and dirt and build a border, then put down weed barrier. After that he had to go get 2 truckloads of wood chips and spread those out. Then he could start building the swing set. I’m not even sure how long it took him to finish the whole project but I know he worked hard on it. I love him for it. I just had to entertain Natalie on the many days and nights it took him to complete the project.

I know he put so much work into but watching her enjoy it is just priceless. Her and her new sibling will enjoy it for years to come.

Here are some pictures of the finished project.

Changes are happening.....

Well one of the changes we have been going through lately is the weather. It has gotten cold! Most days our high temps are in the 50’s to low 60’s. I know that doesn’t sound too bad but when you add in there that it has been windy and/or rainy it makes it seem cold. I have been wanting a lot of soup for dinner and we are bundled when we go outside.

This cold weather doesn’t stop Natalie from wanting to go outside and play. She loves the outdoors. Her love started early this spring when we both had cabin fever and we couldn’t handle being inside anymore! Last winter Natalie got 14 new teeth in 4 months and had 3 ear infections. We were ready for change. So I bundled her up and outside we went. We really didn’t have anything to occupy us so Natalie made her own games. She would collect acorns all day long. She had no idea what the acorns were or why she was collecting them but I guess it made the time pass. Natalie would spend hours outside before I would have to beg, plead and bribe her to go inside because I was cold.

This summer we had so much fun outside. Natalie would say “I go outside” and we would head out, not knowing how much time had passed while we were out there we would go back in when the sun started to set or just in time for dinner. We went to the beach and had picnics. We even had mud baths at the beach provided by Natalie! 

We also found a new park by the marina. In the summer when it’s so hot out and the humidity feels like 100%; it’s the perfect park. The wind from Lake Michigan is a welcome break from the heat. It still gets hot but at least you get a little break here and there when the wind decides to blow. Natalie discovered the slides and the swings. There was even a slide that she would go up and down the stairs just to do over and over again.

I love fall but I’m sad to see the summer go. We created so many new memories and I know it’s a time we will never forget but we will never get back either. I look forward to the many summers we have as a family. I can’t wait to see what we will do next summer, what things we will explore and what adventures we will take.

Backpack, Backpack

I very recently became interested in baby wearing. I have an 18 month old DD. She loves to be independent and see everything but she isn’t old enough to walk on her own. She is too independent to let me hold her hand so everywhere we go it becomes a struggle of me chasing her around. I take the stroller most everywhere we go but she always wants out after about 15 minutes and then I’m stuck pushing the stroller and chasing Natalie. I really needed a solution to our issue because what we were doing just wasn’t working. I started looking into carriers for toddlers. I asked around on twitter (my go to place). And found that when it comes to baby wearing what works for one doesn’t always work for everyone. There were so many different opinions on which carrier was better that I think it confused me more than anything. There were so many carriers that I wanted to try but the price was pretty high. There was no way I could talk Hubby into letting me get one of these carriers when we are going to get more than a few months use out of it (so I thought).

I waited and kept researching, I checked the swap board but they were still too pricey. One day Ergo Carriers came on babysteals.com. I was so stoked! I waited a few hours to order though, I still wasn’t sure if I had convinced Hubby. He said yes so I went ahead an ordered it. I received it within a week and as soon as we got it I tried it on with Nat. We were home alone but I still wanted to try the back carry. It was a little difficult but we got it ok. Snapped a few pics and it was nap time.

That night when Hubby got home from work we went outside and played basketball with Natalie in the Ergo. She had so much and felt like she was right there with us playing. It was so sturdy that I never worried about her falling out or even being uncomfortable. I have used it many times since to make dinner or do the dishes.

Today I decided to push mow the grass with Natalie in the Ergo! It was kind of spur of the moment but this kid loves being outside and the grass needed to be mowed. So I strapped her on in the back carry which we are getting much better at and off we went! We had so much fun. She kept pointing to the animals in the yard and leaning over my shoulder to see what was going on. I will be doing this more often now!

It’s just starting to get warmer out but I can’t wait to use the Ergo more, I am already thinking of all the places I can take it. One thing I really like about it is that if Natalie wants down, the carrier is light enough that I can still wear it and chase her around, so far she doesn’t want down though.

When I want to put her in the carrier I ask her if she wants to go in Mommy’s Backpack because she is a huge Dora fan. She repeats back to me “backpack backpack”. I love that we have a special name for it and she knows exactly what I’m talking about when I say it.

Now I just wish I had looked into baby wearing when she was younger. I feel like wearing her gives us such a special bond, we are sharing things that she will never share with anyone else. I feel like she learns so much more because she has a great view of the world.