Make a Balance Bike

Have you heard about balance bikes? I first heard about them last year. They're short, two-wheel bikes with no pedals. Kids push off on them and learn to balance on the bikes. By learning to balance first, kids learn how to ride bikes at a young age.

I really wanted to get one for Oliver. I checked them out at Timbuk Toys in Highlands Ranch. They were beautiful and perfect... and $100. Even on Craig's List, I only found them in the $50-$75 range. So, I wrote them off as just a good idea.

Until a few weeks ago, that is! One of the moms in MOMS Club, Erica, sent us a tip: make your own balance bike by removing the pedals, chain, and gears from a regular bike. It was such a simple idea. I couldn't help but think, "Duh, why didn't I think of that?"

Yesterday, I went to a church/preschool down in Littleton that was having a big consignment sale (actually, another mom in MOMS Club told us about it!). It's going on through Saturday, so if you're in the area, be sure to check it out. I went with one goal: to find a bike! I got there right at 9:30am when they opened and, after paying the $1 entrance fee, I bee-lined it for the bikes. Oliver was at work with Andrew for Take Your Child to Work Day, so it was just Jo and me. I spotted a short, green bike with no training wheels. It was priced at $5!

I bought the bike, and, as soon as Jo went down for her nap, I started scraping away at all the stickers and decals.

I wasn't strong enough to get the pedals off the bike. Actually, I wasn't even strong enough to loosen the bolt to lower the seat! Andrew got a little "honey do" list when he came home. He got to work on the bike, and I ran back to the sale to look for a bike helmet for Oliver. I had my ticket to get back into the sale for no extra charge, and I got the helmet for $2. Here's Oliver looking out the window at Andrew, who was working on severing the bike chain.

Here's our finished product! Not bad for $5, ey?

The verdict? It looks great. Oliver loves his new bike. He wants to keep trying to ride it. Unfortunately, he hasn't quite figured out the concept yet. He wants to lift up his feet and have us push him around. It's OK; he'll figure it out eventually. In the meantime, I'm just happy he's excited to do something active!

Disassembling the bike was a one-way street. After busting up the chain, we just didn't see the point in keeping the pedals. I figure, it'll work as a balance bike for Oliver this summer and next, and then it can be a balance bike for Joanna for a couple years. If I'm feel crafty, I can even spray paint it for her when the time comes.

Church "Garage Sale" in Arvada

A former coworker of mine posted a bulletin on Facebook about her church's "garage sale." She said the Arvada Church of Christ on Simms would be selling clothes 0-18 months for 25 cents each and clothes 2T through size 12 for 50 cents each. Jeans are $1. The sale is running today and tomorrow from 8am to 4pm. With prices like that, I had to check it out!

The clothes ranged from like-new to pretty worn. A spotted an occasional item that was dirty (I'm not sure if that was the condition the church go them in, or if shoppers were just careless). At first glance, I was a little disappointed. Once I started digging through the clothes, I got excited. We ended up spending exactly $4, and check out the loot!

For Oliver, I picked out four shirts in size 4T. They will be good for him this fall and winter. I didn't see any pants I liked, but I spotted those cute, plaid shorts for him. They might not fit until next summer, but I don't mind storing them. I mean, for 50 cents, how could I pass it up? I spent $2.50 on these five items for Oliver:

I spent $1.50 on clothes for Jo. Check out this cute little yellow outfit (25 cents!):

Here are a couple of simple summer tops and a little sun suit. These should fit Jo all summer:

I found a sun dress and a long-sleeved dress for chilly spring and fall days this year:

They are also letting kids pick out 1 toy for free, while supplies last. Oliver chose this really cute, red vacuum. It fell over in the car ride home, and the handle snapped. Andrew's going to superglue it when he gets home. Then, Oliver and I will vacuum upstairs!

Can you believe I got all that for $4? If you're in the Denver area and looking for a bargain to stock up on kid's clothes, be sure to check it out! Everything was hit-or-miss, but for 25 to 50 cents a pop, it's worth digging around. They also were selling bassinets that appeared to be in really good condition for $5.

8 Months Old

Joanna Banana is 8 months old today. She's modeling an adorable little dress that I found at a garage sale for just 50 cents!

I'm in awe that we're 8 months into her first year, and we only have 4 more months to go until her first birthday.

Our little Jo has learned to wave.  She likes to wave at people from her seat in the grocery store shopping cart.  Actually, it's difficult to get very far in the grocery store.  People gravitate to her.  They love to coo and her and play with her feet.  She hams it up for people, too, by laughing and babbling at them with her big smile.  She loves to smile, and she occasionally acts bashful and hides her face from view of strangers.  She'll touch her finger tip to yours, and she bangs toys together.

Jo's working hard at learning to crawl, but hasn't had much success with it yet.  She kicks her feet and pulls with her arms.  Sometimes, she inches forward a bit.  Sometimes, she pushes herself backwards.  Most often, she just moves her body in a circle.  Joanna stands very well when I support her with her hands.  She has done this for months now, but I try not to practice it too much.  I really want her to crawl before she walks!

She is very vocal.  Her favorite sounds to make are still "B" and "M" sounds.  She still makes lots of grunting noises, and she likes to try to yell over anything loud.

Jo's warmed up a lot to her brother.  When she sees him, she smiles, and she usually laughs when he hugs her.  Oliver loves it when he can make her laugh and announces, "She's laughing!"

I'm already working hard at weaning Jo.  She's currently down to 5 nursings a day, and I hope to cut out her night time feeding this month to bring her down to 4 nursings a day.  Jo eats mostly jars of baby food, as that's what we get from WIC, and I can usually get her to eat a whole jar in a feeding these days.  Jo usually eats two jars of food a day, and then I give her a meal of finger foods, like Cheerios.  We've given Jo small amounts of peanut butter now, and she's done well with it.  I simply toast a piece of bread, and then I scrape a scant amount of peanut butter over the surface.  I dice the toast up into teeny pieces, and I give them to Jo a couple pieces at a time.  Jo loves finger foods, and she would shove them all into her mouth at once if allowed.

Sleep is going OK.  Jo naps one to two times a day.  Usually, she gets one good nap in, which lasts about 45 minutes long.  Sometimes, she surprises us by napping for an hour and a half.  She sleeps from about 8pm to 6am, getting up once to nurse.  I put her back to bed awake, which causes her to cry.  We now let her cry in her Pack 'N Play, and Andrew and I alternate going to her to soothe her every 10 to 15 minutes with soothing words and pats.  It takes about 45 minutes for her to go back to sleep on her own like that.

At 8 months old, these are Joanna's likes and dislikes:

Likes:
*Examining toys
*Banging toys together
*Opening and closing the oven door in Oliver's play kitchen set
*Eating finger foods, especially Gerber sweet potato puffs
*Air conditioning at the grocery store
*Being held
*Grabbing people's faces
*Pulling out grass and shoving it into her mouth for Mom to fish out
*Water (this includes splashing at the sink faucet, taking a bath, "swimming," or just drinking sips of tap water)

Dislikes:
*Long car rides
*Seeing someone walk away from her (especially Mommy)
*The heat

(Flashback to Oliver's 8 Month Post)