House Projects

I never post much about the projects I do around the house, because I feel like people might not care. But then I realized that I love seeing what my family and friends have been up to around their houses, so I thought why not? Here are a few projects I did over the summer and early fall.

1. Mom bought this cute little shelf at a garage sale when she was visiting to help with Livvie's arrival. I told her I didn't want it, but it wouldn't fit in her overloaded car when she headed home, so it sat in our garage. I was cleaning out the garage and thought it might look good in the playroom.

I can't find the "before" photo, but it was basically very old-fashioned dark wood, with some wear and tear. I spray painted it with some leftover blue spray paint it and put it up high, where I can keep art supplies and bubbles away from little hands. It also now houses our fish food and such, so Ben can't feed the fish whenever the mood strikes him. It isn't decorated super cute here, but it is a nice functional little piece. Thanks Mom!

2. I finally got the maps hung up above Ben's bed. His room is 99% done. His bed is 0% made. *Typical.*

3. Mom and I spotted this set at a garage sale. We have a set from Ikea, but it is made of cheap plastic and Mike has broken a chair or two trying to sit in them. These are taller (good for Ben, not so much when Liv is ready to sit) and very sturdy. For $15, it was a steal. Except she could only find 3 chairs. I figure I like mix-and-match anyway, so I'll scoop up another chair or two if I see something cute. The Before:

And After. Ben chose the colors for the chairs. I already had the green spray paint from another project, and the white paint, so it was a cheap update.

4. Lesli had these cute "hello" letters and didn't need them, so she gave them to me. The mustard yellow looks nice against the slate blue door.

5. I've had this little shelf in our office forever. Since my first apartment right out of college, I believe. Just your standard Target dark stained shelf. But I wanted my office to be happy, and the color scheme is blue/green, so I slapped on some paint and it is SO much better.

6. I bought this new rug for the entry way a while ago. The navy goes much better with the blue/gray paint we've been adding. And I love navy. And this pattern. It was a super cheap rug at rugsusa.com during one of their 50% off sales.

7. One of my works-in-progress is the fireplace wall. The previous owners had a ragroll type look going on, which I've always hated. But the ceilings are high so I never got around to painting it. I decided to throw up some test colors about a month ago. It still looks like this. The lighter color is the same as the one in Ben's room (BM's Coventry Gray) and the darker one is the same as the kitchen. I'm leaning toward the one in the kitchen for cohesion downstairs (plus Mike says he HATES the lighter one). But I go back and forth. Thoughts? I know it is really hard to tell much from this crappy picture.

I moved Liv's swing down to the basement at least a month ago, so you know this paint job needs to get moved up on the priority list!

Distinct Personalities, Even as Babies

Before Liv came along, I just assumed that she would be a lot like Ben was as a baby. I sort of thought all babies pretty much did the same things at the same times. I assumed Olivia's temperment and personality would be a lot like Ben's. Fast forward 8 months later, and I couldn't have been more wrong.

These two are like night and day, except bad hair and extreme cuteness -- they have both those things in common.

The differences were obvious right away. Ben had a gradual wind up to being hungry, his cries starting slowly and building. Olivia goes from 0 to 60 in 5 seconds flat. She is smiling one second and screaming/crying for her bottle the next. Ben napped for 3 hour stretches right from the beginning. Olivia would not nap more than 20-30 minutes at a time, sometimes only a few times a day, even as a tiny baby of a month old. (I'm happy to report that she now naps decently at home in her crib on weekends, though not at school where there is too much going on; she's not going to miss the party!)

Liv is smiley and happy almost all the time. She just wants to be in on the party, but she is very content to sit and take it all in. She is clearly in no hurry to crawl or walk. As long as she has something to shove in her mouth, she's good to go.

Unlike Ben, who was more your text book baby, but who was army crawling at 5 months, full on crawling at 6 months, and walking with the assistance of furniture by 8 months. He is a mover. He must always be in motion. Even to this day, it is rare that he slows down for 5 minutes.

Ben crawling at 5 months.

Ben crawls to the laundry basket and tries to climb in at 5 months.

When I compare pictures of Ben at Olivia's age, it constantly surprises me. They are 3 years, 3 weeks apart. So when I see pictures of Ben holding on to the ottoman to walk around on his first Halloween (only 3 weeks older than Liv was at Halloween), and then see her just happily sitting on a blanket with her toys, grinning at me, it is sort of a shock.

Ben walking with the help of the ottoman on Halloween - 8 months.

Ben standing with help of furniture - 8 months.

Ben standing and trying to lift a pumpkin on Halloween - 8 months.

The funny thing is, I think she could certainly crawl if she wanted to. She is strong and healthy. She just doesn't have that need for motion and mischief that Ben has. I wonder if it will always be this way?

Don't get me wrong, I'm in no rush for Liv to crawl. Ben has a million tiny toys all over the house, and it will be a whole new challenge when I'm baby proofing all that.

It will be a fun ride seeing what Olivia has in store for us in the next few years!

Finger Foods

A little while ago we put Liv in her high chair, but she was not a fan, so we stuck with the bumbo.

She is eating finger foods these days. You know, the baby puffs and yogurt melts and teething biscuits that dissolve quickly. Big fan. She loves to shove stuff in her mouth. The fact that it tastes good is quite a bonus.

She loves her fruits and veggies too. But she is a HUGE mess when we feed her in the bumbo. She requires a bath every time. Such a hassle!

But then I thought I'd try the high chair again, and lo and behold--much better! She loves to sit in it and eat her finger foods. Yay!

She's pretty good at picking them up. Getting them to her mouth, not so much. I find about half of them stuck to her pants or high chair.

And if she can't find cereal, she's happy to eat a book.

But she eats MUCH neater in here. I'm not forced to give her a bath after every meal, which is so nice. My baby is such a BIG girl!

Pumpkin Carving with Our Little Pumpkins

The Sunday before Halloween, we did our annual pumpkin carving. Pumpkin carving was...interesting this year. Ben was old enough to help, but Livvie was a disaster!

Mike is our carving guru. Ben and I kept busy scooping out the guts and recommending the faces.

Olivia kept busy eating her pumpkin. I'm not joking when I say EVERYTHING goes right into her mouth.

I thought I'd let Livvie finger paint her pumpkin, but of course the paint just went right into her mouth like everything else. I tried to writer her name in glitter glue, but she swatted it off. This one is crazy, I tell ya.

It was getting late for Livvie, so we gave up on her pumpkin decorating and put her in her jammies. Of course, her beloved Minnie rattle kept her company.

Here is the finished product.