1/2 Birthdays and more

Both of my boys celebrated their 1/2 birthdays recently. This is a fun tradition that we started with Payton a few years ago and we look forward to continuing it with Parker as well. 
Payton went away for the weekend to "Camp Grandma & Grandpa" in Bradenton so Brian and I had plenty of time to get some secret surprises going.

We headed to Ikea on Saturday (love that place - we spent 3 hours there!) to do some shopping. I've been wanting to put up a tent-like structure around Payton's bed for a long time now. I saw it in a Parenting magazine last year and have been dying to try it out ever since. So we bought the necessary hardware at Ikea and got to work. Surprisingly enough, it was very easy to install and we just clipped sheets to the wire line and "Voila! Tent-bed ready!" Then we installed a little reading lamp above his bed as well. He loves reading before bedtime and now he has a little light that he can turn on/off without getting out of bed. It may be a little tough to tell from the pictures, but basically it's a steel wire attached to 3 brackets that are hanging from the ceiling. The sheets slide across the wires on little clips, so it's easy for Payton to slide the "tent" open and shut.

We also got an easel at Ikea. It's so great - it has a chalkboard side, a dry-erase side, and then a roll of paper underneath if you want to color on paper. All this for only $15!
When Payton came home he was so excited to see his fun surprises. Unfortunately, I was a little too excited myself and forgot to take any pictures of him exploring in his bed for the first time. Sorry!
But I did get some cute pics of the grandparents and the kids when they came to drop off Payton. Needless to say, Payton had a ball hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa, and Brian and I had fun putting together some little surprises for his 1/2 birthday. However, instead of a homemade cake this year, the boys opted for Dairy Queen Blizzards. Who can blame them? (P.S. Have you tried the new Nutter Butter Blizzard?!? It's INSANELY GOOD!!!)


In other news, Parker has graduated from the baby bathtub, to the sink. He's much happier bathing where he can sit up and play with his toys. Check out these cute pics (sorry there are so many, I just couldn't decide which ones to not include, so I just put them all in)...

Couldn't you just eat him up?!? He's so cute, it kills me! And I don't know how well you can see it, but he has 2 bottom teeth already! He is a good eater and those teeth have opened up a whole new world for him. He loves Cheerios, Puffs, bread, waffles, bananas, peaches, and anything else mom is willing to cut up into microscopic pieces. :)

And finally, here are a couple pics of Payton and I using his new easel. Who loves it more... me, or Payton? (please excuse the no-make-up picture):

Only one more week until school starts. I'm kinda happy, kinda sad... very mixed emotions this year. More to come on that later...