When blogger Sarah Goer and her husband purchased their home, they noted a small storage room connected to the bedroom they intended to use for their two-year-old son. Formed by a steep roof pitch next to the bedroom, the storage room was 7' by 12'. A tiny 2' by 4' door led to the small space. The couple hid the existence of the room from their son for two years, opting to place a dresser in front of the door.

The Goers decided to surprise the boy with his very own "secret treasure room" for his fourth birthday. They hired a contractor to work on the space while their son was in school. Once the contractor refinished the linoleum floor, wood paneling and exposed insulation of the storage room, Sarah Goer decorated it in a style she thought befitting of a child's secret treasure room. A treasure hunt on their son's birthday led him to the exciting discovery. Read more about his reaction and see additional pictures in this i09 article. 

Images Credit: Sarah Goer/Things I Make 


The storage room before being refinished

One view of the secret treasure room (see referring article for more)

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Believe it or not, this child made it past the 8-second mark! Way to go, kid! Oh, and please watch the video before you get upset about putting a child in a dangerous sport. He’s got the skills he needs for this admittedly extreme activity, even at the age of four. And he's got a helmet. -via Tastefully Offensive

At first it's horror, then it's delight. This little boy wants to help his insect friend fly away and be free. The butterfly says goodbye with a kiss on his nose before flitting away.

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-via Tastefully Offensive

Charlie and Andy of How to Be a Dad have designed the ultimate parental multi-tool.

There are multi-tools and pocket knives for different purposes and lifestyles, such as outdoor survival, electrical work, bicycling, traveling--everything. It's an industry that increasingly provides specialized sets of pocket tools.

Now we have one that is perfect for parents. I'm a fan of the Daddy Juice opener. But I'm not sure of the dried food chisel. Sometimes you need explosives to blast that stuff off the table.

-via 22 Words

When she was 8 years old, Kylie Simonds of Naugatuck, Connecticut was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the connective tissues. She is now in remission and recovering from the ordeal. Kylie is also putting her hard experience to good use:

“I used to have to use the I-V poles and I always tripped over all the wires,” she said. “It was hard to walk around, and I always had to have someone push it for me because I was kind a weak when I was in chemo.”

Her response to this problem was to design a backpack that would carry the equipment necessary to deliver chemotherapy. She calls it the I-Pack.

Kylie's design won a prize at the Connecticut Invention Convention. She has secured a patent and is trying to raise money to put the backpack into production.

(Photos: Courage for Kylie)

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-via Huffington Post

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The daughter of Aaron Engler found a new friend--her own reflection! Watch this cute little girl pop up and down, catching herself in the window.

-via Huffington Post

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It's really too bad for Dr. Spock that Katy Perry (and possibly her mom) were just sparkles in the eyes of their ancestors when he wrote his legendary baby book. Now is the golden age, with the magical knowledge that Katy Perry is the apparent answer to baby tears. Life with children will now be a relative breeze (except for people like me, who have a strict Katy Perry ban on all stereo equipment). Via Viral Viral Videos.

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Reporter Sofia Ojeda talked to people at the Wayne County Fair in Pennsylvania for TV station WNEP. Apparently, she talked to 5-year-old Noah Ritter about his fair experiences. Apparently, he’s having a good time, even though he apparently has never been on the news before. -via Bits and Pieces

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Six month old Nolan gets his first spoonfuls of solid food. He doesn’t know how to eat yet, but he’s willing to learn! This is an everyday slice of life, but Nolan is so darn cute and the whole family is so happy about a bite of sweet potato that it will surely make you smile. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

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It's like the tots in their first judo or taekwondo matches, except now they have swords and armor. Place your bets, please.

Honestly, I was skeptical of Tyrion's choice of a champion, but I see that it's working out better than I feared.

-via Fashionably Geek

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Henriette Jonassen has twin toddler boys. That in itself is a circus, and getting them to bed is a farce of Benny Hill proportions. In the Norwegian summer, the sun stays out late at night, and what kid wants to go to bed when it’s daylight? Jonassen says she’s tried different methods, and managed to capture video evidence of the worst one so far.

At first, I laughed, remembering how it was putting two toddlers to bed myself years ago, and then I cringed, remembering that I am babysitting grandchildren next week. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

(Photo: Connoisseur 4 the Cure)

257 were male and 5 were female. That makes it only the 827th most popular baby name, far behind the endless hordes of Noahs and Emmas. And I suppose that if you're going to name a kid after a bitter vegetable, you could do worse than Kale. For example, Asparagus and Turnip would be even worse.

But if you are determined to name your child after a food product, then Modern Farmer has a few suggestions. Oddly, Modern Farmer does not include Ice Cream Sandwich, a term that now represents resilience in the face of hardship.

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If you recall, Jeff Highsmith built a Mission Control Desk for his older son that had all kinds of space buttons, knobs, and sound effects. What could he possibly do to follow that up? Build a spaceship, of course! Highsmith built a spacecraft in his younger son’s room that connects to the Mission Control Desk in his brother’s room.

The ship has controls that make all kinds of sounds, from Apollo mission clips to a toilet flush. The dashboard panel can even replicate sequences from Apollo missions! But that’s just the beginning: the payload bay has a robotic arm that is remotely controlled from the panel, and monitored by camera. Since they are hooked up, the spacecraft and Mission Control in the other room can experience adventures together. There’s more on the building process at Make. -Thanks, Daniel Kim!

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Sadie just learned that her little brother will eventually grow up, and won’t always be the baby he is now. That’s an overwhelming concept for her, and she’s not taking it well. I can’t say that I blame her; he’s got an adorable smile. She also doesn’t want to die, no matter how far away that is. Some things are just hard to deal with. -via Buzzfeed

Maternity photo shoots are a thing now. The results are often funny or sweet photos of expectant mothers showing off their baby bumps. But the pregnant wife of redditor DruishPrincess69 (Funny--he doesn't look Druish) didn't want to have a photo shoot. So he hired a photographer and did it himself. You can view the entire set here.

It looks like he's about 6 months along. That's when the back pain tends to set in. Be careful, DruishPrincess69. Don't push yourself too hard.