Clean vs. Messy

Every husband hates to hear his wife say, "This weekend we're cleaning out the garage!" Well guess what, wives don't like hearing that from their husband's either. We are planning a garage sale with my mom next weekend and we weren't going to have time to do before then, so at 10 am we trooped out there to get started. I thought we were going to be stuck going through box after box the entire day, but it really only took about 2 1/2 hours. We found a lot less things that we were willing to part with than I expected, but in the end the garage is much more organized and if we needed to find something the boxes are labeled.

That was the clean, this is the messy:

We've been working for a little while on getting Brenden to feed himself. He likes to play with a fork or spoon when he's eating, but he's never really been that interested in actually using them. My mom found a really cool plate with a rim that we thought might make the job a little easier, so tonight we cut up some carrots and little mini hot dogs and let him at them. He thought it was funny to move things around, but that was about it. We tried cheering him on when something made it into his mouth, either by utensil or by fingers, but we don't think he grasped that concept completely. He loved clapping and yelling, but didn't understand we wanted him to eat, not just touch the fork or the plate. Maybe he's been a little sheltered when it comes to getting messy and eating. Ok, he's been completely sheltered. Tim and I have always been extremely careful to keep him from getting sticky and nasty when he eats, which seem to have led us to this point. I'm glad that the clothes we have in storage will be in pristine condition when the next child arrives, but it has definitely set him back. We agreed that from now on we are going to be a lot more lenient when it comes to mealtime. We'll see how that goes. Lots of great pictures, I'm sure!

We have an organized garage and a soon to be messy child, but those things are nothing when it comes to the milestone we hit today. NO MORE BOTTLES!!! Brenden drank his bedtime snack in a sippy cup and didn't even flinch. Whoo hoo! Taking away the morning bottle wasn't rough at all, but I thought for sure the nighttime bottle would be a fight. I was so happy to be wrong! We've also started brushing his teeth at night. He's always had a fondness for toothbrushes; he likes to chew on them or mess with the bristles. But we decided it was time to actually use it for it's purpose. When he finally opened his mouth he found getting his teeth brushed quite funny. Maybe his gums are ticklish...who knows! Next stop, getting rid of the pacifier. He only uses it when he sleeps and we usually just leave it in the crib, but that one is going to be difficult. Wish us luck!