Bathroom Renovation

I've mentioned several times over the past few months that we were/did renovate our kitchen but I've only briefly mentioned the fact that we also had our small half bathroom on the main floor also renovated.

Since it's such a small bathroom it didn't take very long to renovate, in fact we already had some of the main items, including a new toilet we bought almost two years ago when we first moved in and has been sitting in the basement ever since, a new pedastal sink we bought for $30 off Craig's List a year ago and the floor tile we got for free from when Kristian was working for a pool company two years ago. The only other things we had to buy were a new faucet, mirror, lights, towel rack and storage cabinet; all of which we got either at Lowe's or Home Depot. With everything including labor we spent less than $1000.

Since our contractor had the guys tear out the bathroom earlier than we expected I didn't get a chance to take any before pictures, however I have a photo of our bathroom that I took last year when I was pregnant. You can't see the whole thing (mainly our ugly cabinets under the sink) but it will give you some idea of where we started.

As you can sort of see, it's a very tiny, very boring little bathroom.

Here are the pictures I took after they tore everything out.

The wall where the toilet was.

The wall where the sink was.

Below are the AFTER photos. As I had mentioned our contractor took it upon himself to pick out the paint color which annoyed me. I like it well enough and think it looks good in the bathroom though I had wanted more of a light grey color instead of baby blue.

Our new toilet now has the button on the top that you push for flushing, I'm still trying to get used to this.  We hung the cabinet above the toilet so that we now have a place to put toilet paper, magazines, towels etc. With our new pedastal sink we no longer have the under the sink storage.

I just love our new sink, mirror and lights. It's much more up-to-date and clean look than before. Kristian hung the mirror and the wall cabinet by himself so there was some DIY to it. We are still trying to figure out what we want to hang on the wall artwise.

Here is the new floor with the tile that we got for free. According to Kristian who used to sell this tile, it's pretty pricey. I do like how there are so many colors that reflect off of it.

Now for some detail shots:

Kristian decided he wanted a beachy feel hence the shells.

This big shell on the floor we actually got when we were in St. Lucia on our honeymoon.

Overall, I'm very happy with the new bathroom and I'm no longer embarrassed when we have guests over that need to use it. Between this and our new kitchen I think we've also added quite a bit of value to our house as well.

Hey That's Pin-tastic...Decorated Christmas Letters

I'm linking up again this week with AP for another round of: 

I have to admit that Kristian helped me this week with my craft. To be honest I kinda suck when it comes to crafts. I can think up and find good ideas but most of the time I get Kristian to help me actually bring the projects to fruition. I'm married to a Renaissance man. I must thank my Mother-in-law for passing down that gene to him.

So I didn't specifically find this idea on Pinterest though I'm sure there are similar ideas floating around on there. 

I went to Michaels and bought 3 plain white letters spelling out JOY. I forgot to take a before picture but here is a picture of the backsides that show the white.

We then took some silver, glitter spray paint (I couldn't get blogger to turn this the right way) and Kristian spray painted each of the letters using 3 coats to get it nice and thick and even. *I had Kristian spray paint because he's better at it than I am*

New glitter letters.

I then took some ribbon to hang the letters. I used a different color for each letter. 

I then hung each letter from a hook that you normally use to hold stockings. We currently have these hanging from one of the floating shelves in our living room. 

Here are the letters hung. I just wrapped the ribbon around the top of the letter, tied the ends together at the top and hung them from the hook. The "Y" was the hardest to do because it doesn't hang straight.  Now that they are hung I think we will spray paint the backsides as well since the letters have a tendency to spin around.

Here it is finished. The whole project cost about $10 and didn't take very (other than the drying time between coats)

I'm doing another similar project for our mantle which I'll post once it's all finished. 

11 Months Old- 11/30/12

Dear Hunter-

 

In just one month you will turn one year old and I know this last month of your first year is going to go by just as fast as the past eleven have. You are at such a fun (and exhausting) age right now. You always want to be moving and exploring and everyday you are learning new things. You are still the sweetest, funniest, cutest little baby I've ever met and I'm still not sure how we got so lucky to get you.

Love,
Mommy

 

Weight/Length- No official checkup this month. I tried weighing you on our home scale and it says you are 26 pounds! That seems high but with the way you eat I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I don't know how long you are but I would guess around 30 inches.

 

Eating- You are a champion eater, I think it's definitely your favorite activity. You are still nursing in the mornings (and before naptime on the weekends) and getting three 5oz bottles of breastmilk at daycare and an 8oz bottle of formula before bed. You have very little interest in your bottles, you much prefer drinking water out of your sippy cup. You get three full meals a day and no longer get jar baby food (unless we're in a bind). You also get multiple snacks throughout the day which can include graham crackers, goldfish, Cheerios and puffs. As for food, you still seem to like everything we give you and deer meat seems to be a favorite (which makes your father incredibly happy). You ate everything we had to offer at Thanksgiving including diving into a piece of pumpkin pie. You also still "talk" while you eat which makes us laugh.
 

Sleep- We had a rough week right after the time change for Daylight Savings when you were getting up at what had been your normal time but was now an hour earlier. Other than that you've been sleeping great typically from 8pm-6am (give or take 30 minutes) straight. On the weekends you usually take two naps, a long one in the morning and a shorter afternoon nap. At daycare you usually only nap once because you are too busy playing.

Clothes- You are still in 12 and 18 month clothes and size 5 baby shoes. Most of your pants are still really long on you so I'm always having to roll them up.  
 

Diapers- Finally moved you up to Size 4 which fit much better.
 

Appearance- We got your haircut for the first time this month because it was getting too long and falling in your eyes. I love your new haircut even though it makes you look much older. It's still a very light brown/dark blonde and getting quite thick. Your eyes are still a pretty blue/grey with hints of green. You now have 7 teeth, 3 on top and 4 on the bottom!

 

Personality- You continue to be a very happy and sweet baby and people are always commenting on what a good boy you are. However, this past month we have noticed that you will throw a tantrum if we take away something that you want or if we keep you from getting into something. Lord help us when the terrible two's hit. You are also at the stage where you don't like being left alone and are getting to be more weary around people you aren't familiar with. But so long as you are getting attention, able to explore and being played with you are very happy. You also laugh a lot more and not just when being tickled but when you see something you think is funny (you saw the cat sneeze and you cracked up). You are definitely a curious little boy and are always getting into things (usually things you shouldn't be getting into). You are also incredibly smart and once you do something once you have it memorized and can do it again everytime afterwards. You are just such a fun little kid.

 

Likes-

-Looking at the smoke detector both at home and daycare. You just stare up at it and smile. Something about it fascinates you.
-Mommy's hairbrush. Letting you play with it is the only way I'm able to get dressed in the morning.
-Climbing up and down the stairs.
-Opening and closing cabinet doors and really any kind of door
-Crawling backwards (which we refer to as moonwalking)
-Pulling up on the furniture and cruising
-Being outside
-Your sippy cup and eating table food
-"Petting" Moxie and Halpert (it's more like smacking though)

Dislikes-
-Having your clothes and diaper changed
-Being locked out of rooms and babygates in general
-Getting out of the bathtub
-Bottles
-Being in your highchair if you're not eating

Milestones-
-Celebrated first Halloween
-Celebrated first Thanksgiving
-Got your first Haircut
-Cut your 7th tooth
-Can now walk down the stairs sideways while holding onto the rail
-Started crawling backwards
-Can walk the perimeter of a room so long as you have furniture or a wall to hold onto
-Eating all table food

Photos from this Month

You love going for stroller walks in the woods.

You are a true mama's boy and I LOVE it.

Wearing one of daddy's sweaters that he wore as a baby. Your Great Aunt Nancy made this for daddy when he was little.

Hoping you'll be able to cook mama dinner soon.

*here's a sneak peek at our new kitchen*

Looking handsome after your first haircut.

You discovered brooms and played with one for a good 30 minutes. I now know what one of your chores will be when you're older.

Wearing your mustache shirt in honor of Ms. Kristen's birthday.

Your version of helping mommy with the laundry is to take all the clean and folded clothes OUT of the basket.

This is the face of pure happiness. You just loved being in the tree outside the house. In fact, you just love being outside just like your daddy.

 

We love you little man.

 

SWW

Well it's Hump Day yet again.

 I'm not really feeling this full work week thing.

 

This week I'm saying So What if:

 

-I'm so excited my cleaning lady is coming for the first time in two months. We didn't have her come during the kitchen and bathroom renovations and even though I cleaned some during that time I don't do nearly as good of a job as she does.

 

-I'm fully expecting to win the Powerball jackpot tonight. Can you even imagine $500 million?? Guess I better buy some tickets though.

 

-Every Christmas present I've bought so far (and plan on buying) has been bought online. I only plan to go to the mall to take Hunter to see Santa.

 

-Kristian has asked me twice in the past few days if I'm pregnant (I'm not) because he claims I'm "glowing". Yeah that's what happens when I actually take the time to curl my hair and put on some eyeliner.

 

-After spending 4 1/2 days last weekend as basically a SAHM I was a little excited to come back to work on Monday, which is relaxing in comparison to chasing around a very active (almost) toddler.

 

-The thought of my baby turning 1 in a month makes me want to cry a little (or a lot).

 

-I've been listening to Christmas music constantly since Friday. It's FINALLY Christmas season! #respecttheturkey

 

 



Hunters First Thanksgiving

I know everyone is sick of reading Thanksgiving recaps but I'm writing this mainly for my personal memory and keepsake since it was Hunters First Thanksgiving.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving last week. For the first time my mother came with us to my in-laws house to celebrate and to watch Hunter stuff his face with yummy food. It was great having my mom stay with us for two days, the extra set of hands to help with the Hunter is always welcome.

Hunter took a great nap in the morning but Thanksgiving dinner fell during the time he typically takes his afternoon nap so he was a bit fussy. He was also overwhelmed by all the people that were there (about 20), most of whom he doesn't remember having met. He was having a bit of stranger danger anxiety and really only wanted me, Kristian or one of his grandmothers holding him.

When it came to eating he was a champ and ate everything he was given. Not that I doubted he would. He LOVES to eat. We even got a preview of what it will be like on his birthday with the smash cake, when he got his hands on some pumpkin pie.

Finally after dinner, the only way we could get him to fall asleep (despite the fact that he was incredibly tired) was for Kristian to literally drive him around the block so he would fall asleep in his car seat and then brought him inside and let him continue to nap in his carseat.

We spent the rest of the weekend, decorating for Christmas, shopping online, cleaning the house and even went to see Breaking Dawn Part 2 while my mother-in-law babysat. Not a bad way to spend 4 days off.

My preppy little man. 

Three Generations

 

Hunters Great Aunts and Great Uncle.

Chocolate, Apple and Pumpkin pies.

Post dinner watching the Redskins beat the Cowboys! Almost better than the Super Bowl.

Digging into the pumpkin pie. And yes I put my Redskins jersey on for the game.

The next day Hunter enjoyed checking out the lights on the Christmas tree.

 

This Thanksgiving was very different than last year when I was technically on bedrest and having to take it very easy. I was also so huge and uncomfortably pregnant last year. This year I spent the whole time holding or chasing after a very active, almost 11 month old. Time sure does fly.

Hey That's Pin-tastic:Taking a Christmas photo using just an iPhone and a Dollar Store Wreath

I, like most women, absolutely love Pinterest, despite the feelings of inadequency that I get looking at all those homemade crafts and meals and gorgeous houses. Yet I continue to look and pin and every now and then I will even attempt something that I found on there. After I did two little projects this past weekend I decided I would link up for the first time with AP for

 

 I'm sure many of you have seen one or both of the two pictures below floating around Pinterest.

 

 

 

 

 

 Well I tried recreating these photos with my little Christmas baby this weekend and I must say that despite not having a fancy DSLR camera or great photography skills I think my photo turned out pretty good. I've gotten a lot of compliments on both Facebook and Instagram so I guess it turned out okay.

 

Basically all I used was:

A decorated Christmas Tree

Extra Christmas lights

A cute baby wearing a Santa Hat

My iPhone

Instagram

 

I decided to use my iPhone because it's the easiest for me to edit using Instagram and also the easiest for me to upload. I barely ever use my point and shoot and don't even really know how to use all the settings. If I did I'm sure I could have gotten an even better photo but I'm not that patient.

 

After decorating the tree, I stripped Hunter down to his diaper, placed a Santa hat on him and let him play with the lights (Yes I know, not very baby friendly but I was watching him closely and it only took a couple minutes to get some good shots). I also turned off the rest of the lights in the room. Then I uploaded to Instagram and used the Hudson filter and also made the background a bit blurry using the blurry filter (not sure the real name for it). And below is the final look.

 

 

I also played around with the different Bokeh filters on Picfx but didn't like how it looked.  Even though I don't think mine turned out as good as the ones on Pinterest I'm pretty pleased with it. The only problem is I already ordered all my Christmas Cards, otherwise I would have used this photo.

 

Here are a couple other cute shots I got but decided not to use. None of these have been edited.

Chewing on the lights doesn't look very safe. Didn't want CPS called on me.

This one came out a bit blurry.

 

There is too much of a shadow on his face and you can't see the Santa hat as much.

 

Also, I decided to make my own wreath this year. I didn't find this on Pinterest but came up with the idea using items I bought at the Dollar Store. This wreath took me about 10 minutes and cost about $5.

 

Since Hunter was napping and I was in a rush I didn't take any before or during photos. But I just used a wire wreath base and wrapped some sparkly, green garland around it (tucking the ends in to the wire). Then added some bows by twisting the ties that already came on the bows around the garland. No staples or glue. It's not the fanciest thing ever but it was easy, cheap and I like how it looks on our red front door.

Thankful

This year and every year I am incredibly thankful for my family and friends, our health, our jobs, our homes and so much more.

However, this year I'm extra thankful for one thing in particular.

That I get to be this little guys mommy. And that we get to celebrate his first Thanksgiving together.

I am so blessed to have him and today and everyday I give thanks that I get to call him mine. 

Happy Thanksgiving!