Park Rd. house update

I had intentions of posting more regular updates, but didn't quite get it done.  That's what happens when you take on a major house renovation with a 15 month old!  Here is the original post if you need a refresher of what we were working with.

Here is the kitchen from the dining room.  We installed all of the cabinets and crown molding and then the granite was installed last week.  The kitchen was kind of my baby and I'm loving how it turned out. 

I'm totally in love with the squared sink and faucet.

Another angle from the dining room lookin out into the family room.

And from the family room looking towards the kitchen and dining room.

Family room with new gas fireplace insert.  This also doubles as miter saw central!

Our flooring up close.  We have this installed throughout the entire upstairs.  I still haven't seen exactly how it's going to look as it's mostly covered with cardboard to keep it protected.

Upper bathroom tile and floating vanity (it's hard to tell in this picture, but it's about 8" off the ground.  There will be two sinks and a granite countertop added.  (pardon the dust)

There will be a framed out large sliding medicine cabinet above.

Lower level bath (with a nice view of the woods behind the house- just today we saw deer, a red fox with babies, and a badger)

And here is the white subway tile that my mom and I installed this past weekend.  We installed it all of the way up to the ceiling.  We're very happy with how it turned out!  Andy will install a glass door on it this week.  (and white cabinet doors go on the built-ins) 

Lower level tile.

Lower level family room aka sweat shop!  My mom happens to be the best painter ever so inbetween loving on Jack, she offered up lots and lots of hours of priming and painting.  Andy and I are pretty burnt out on painting so we were so appreciative to have her help.  Aren't these doors cool?  They were the original doors.  They weigh about 150 lbs each and have this cool squared off molding.  I can't wait to put them back up!

We still have a nice little list of projects that need to be completed (including a stair and deck railing!), but we're feeling re energized after such a productive weekend (and a little bit sore).

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to my two loves!

Andy is my valentine and Jack in my mini valentine!

Andy got Jack dressed today and put a red shirt on him because he knew that's what I'd want.

He went to New Pioneer and picked out a nice bottle of wine and a piece of turtle cheesecake, just like we used to get when we were dating and also what we served at our wedding.

I decided to do some tiling over at the Park Rd. house this afternoon and when I came home Andy was dressed up, hair spiked, Jack was bathed and in red jammies (and also had his hair done!), and had candles lit.

He also made a wonderful dinner of grilled vegetables (first time using his new grill pan!) and ribeye steaks. 

It was so good!

And here is a picture of the valentines that Jack gave out to his friends.  I got the idea last year from a bog called 24-7-365.  It was kind of hard to get a 14 month old to look and smile at the camera while making a fist.  And yes, that's a pancake in his hand, but it worked!  I just took the picture, added the picture in picnik.com, and then threaded the sucker through his fist.  Cute, huh?

We try to be very lovin gto each other every day in our family, but it is fun to have a day to really focus on each other and show them how special they are to you.

xoxo





Passport, please!

I'm ready to go!

So I thought these were going to be more like the tight, James Bond style trunks, but apparently not on my baby.  They are still pretty cute!



12.5 Months

(I have more pictures I will add soon- the uploader is SLOW)

Jack has mastered going up and down the stairs.

Hanging out in his stroller with his bud Enrique.

Eating German potato salad all by himself.  PS- he loves it!

Waiting for me to get home one day.  I love how excited he gets when he sees his mama!

Jack is a great imitator.  He loves to stir things in my saucepan with my wooden spoon and has started fussing every time I'm cooking because he wants me to pick him up and let him stir whatever I'm making.  If he sees a hair brush, he will automatically start brushing his practically bald head.  He tries to put shoes on his feet.  If he finds a pen or pencil, he'll pretend to draw on paper (or actually draw if the caps off).  Lets hope he sticks to paper and not on furniture or walls!

He just started clapping his hands this past month too.  I know many babies do this much earlier, but he was more of a hands up in the air excited kind of a guy.  Now he's a clapper.  He keeps one hand stationary and moves the other one to clap.  Totally cute.  And because maybe he's a little late for this milestone, I have to brag that he can pick up the computer cord and plug the tiny little end into the lap top all in one swift move.  Very impressive!

Auntie Desiree gave him some new toddler silverware for Christmas and he is getting great at feeding himself with a spoon and fork.  He can pierce food and get it in his mouth and he can get things like yogurt or applesauce with the spoon. 

Jack is obsessed with tooth brushes and has been for a few months.  I carry one with me in my purse and if he gets fussy when we're out, it turns into the golden ticket!  Often times he will have two in his mouth at once.  I think they feel good on his teething gums.  Andy is often times trying to track down his own toothbrush.  It's a good think we're all family and that I keep many extras in the linen closet!

Jack also now has 6 teeth.  Two on top and four on the bottom. 
The morning of Jack's birthday he started taking more than just a step or two.  He'd walk up to 8-9 steps between two people and was really proud of himself.  I thought he'd just take off from there, but he's smart and realizes that crawling is faster.  Also, since we live in a small house he can cruise around from room to room hanging on to furniture so it makes it easy to not have to walk.  I'm sure it won't be long!

He likes to crawl and sit in things.  Like the recycle box by the front door, Andy's new little roasting pan that I gave him for Christmas, the drawer of the coffee table, etc.  Andy said that he even crawled up on the coffee table from the drawer this morning.   

Jack is in to everything!  I was making two quiches the other night and when I stopped and looked around the kitchen it looked like a bomb exploded!  After all, his favorite game is emptying/clearing things (including cabinets).  I used to think that parents need to just teach kids that some things they can play with and some they can't.  I told Andy the other day that I'm locking up EVERY cabinet in the house and hopefully he'll get bored and play with all of his toys instead.  This mama is tired of cleaning up!

Jack really has a love for his family.  He will reach for his grandparents from across the room and loves going back and forth between them.  He loves his Auntie Desiree so much.  At church on Christmas Eve, he just wanted her to hold him.  I think he can tell how loved he is and likes to give it back through open mouth smooches and snuggles. 

Jack's 1st Birthday Party!

We celebrated Jack's 1st birthday last Sunday, right on his birthday.  We were lucky to have lots of friends and family help us celebrate.  Especially Aunt Desiree who is turning into a cake master!  Can you believe these are only the second cakes she's ever made?  We had the party at our friends house and were planning to do sleigh rides with their Clydesdale horses, but because it was SO cold, they had the genius idea to bring them in the garage for the kids to see and to feed carrots to.  

And here is the party in pictures!

(Can you tell we went a little "Giddy Up" theme crazy!?) 

Jack's newborn picture and a current headshot.

Jack getting a look at Bubba.

Still keeping his eyes on that awesome horse!

Some of Jack's friends getting a look.

The birthday boy in his cowboy gear and birthday hat that I made him.

First taste...

A little confused why everyone was looking at him...

And yes, there was red frosting everywhere!  He managed to dig into quite a bit of the cake, but all using one finger. 

Jack, you are the sweetest, most handsome, best humored baby.  We have enjoyed you everyday the past year and can't wait to continue to experience life together with you.  We are so lucky to be your parents.

11 Months

Just a month away from this baby's first birthday.  I asked Andy yesterday if he was sad or excited about Jack's birthday and he said excited.  I think I'm a little sad too. 

Here's Jack in the cart with me at JoAnn Fabrics.  About 90% of the time he's a good shopper:)

 We even got to be at cousin Nico's the first night he slept in his toddler bed.  Jack really just wants to be stripped down and in undies jumping on the bed with his cousin!

 Here we are at our playgroup's baby halloween party.  I was holding Jack up on the couch so it wasn't as dangerous as it looks.  It cracked me up that the kids didn't even look twice at there friends in costume.  They just dug right into the toys and played away. 

 Jack is a good helped over at the Park Rd. house.  Sometimes he likes to crawl around and find sticks, but usually he is pretty content hanging out in his stroller.  Here he is without pants on...hence the big smile.

And here's Jack on Halloween.  He really liked being a tree frog and if you ask me, he's the cutest tree frog ever!  We didn't quite get pumpkins carved this year, but we can save that for next year.

Jack's first turkey leg.  Desiree is super grossed out by all meat on a bone so we made sure we texted her this picture.  Jack ate two large BBQ chicken legs this night.  Looks like he's going to have to fight his dad for the turkey legs on Thanksgiving!

Just looking handsome in his vest before a walk. 

Poor Jack was really sick with the flu last week.  He got sick probably about 20 times over the course of two days and continued to get sick each day for the next three days.  Thank goodness for hardwood floors and Baby Bjorn bibs which helped make clean-up much easier.  There were lots of baths, snuggles, and naps.  Thankfully he's feeling better now.

Here's Jack reaching up for his Dada.  Sweet boy.  Although he's feeling better, he has been a little more clingy than normal.

Yesterday Andy's mom brought over Panera for my birthday breakfast and also these cowboy boots that Andy had gotten from his grandparents when he was little.  They are a little big on him, but so cute.  And perfect for a little boy who is having a cowboy birthday party!



Other updates:

• Jack dances to the beat of all music.  He looks at me with a look that says "I don't know why my body is moving like this, but I just can't help it!". 
• He likes cereal bars, yogurt, apple sauce, grilled cheese, and other things you'd expect a baby his age to eat.  He also surprises us at times like when he ate an entire pulled pork sandwich, bun and all.  Or when he ate a giant piece of eggplan parmesan all by himself.  We're thankful that he's a good eater!
• Jack really likes to be upright.  He'll let go and stand by himself for a short while.  He especially likes practicing in the bathtub where he'll pull himself up, look at me, let go, stand with a proud smile on his face, and then drop down on his bottom making a big splash!  He will take a few steps towards you on his own but just kind of lunges forward in excitement. 
• I always look at him and say "Kiss your Mama!" and he'll kind of just sit back and smile and then all of the sudden dives in and give me the biggest, wet kiss!
• One word that Jack seems to say often is "yeah".  For instance I'll walk in after his nap and ask him if he had a nice rest and he'll respond "yeah".  Most questions that you ask him he'll respond the same way.  I hope it's awhile before he learns the word "no"! 

I'm really going to enjoy the next few weeks with my baby (before he's a big one year old!) and have fun planning his party.  Does anyone have good first birthday party tips?  I want to make sure it's a fun day for him as we celebrate his first year!