A Visit and the Park

Dan's sister, Sarah, was able to come visit us for a day last week, on her way to Australia. She hadn't met Alex yet, just seen him on Skype.

Aunt Sarah and Alex.

While she was here, we went to the park.

Alex had his first time in the swing.

I love this one. His little mouth is so cute.

He looks happy here, but for the most part, he was pretty emotionless as he sat in the swing. When we first pushed the swing, very softly, his face was so funny and startled, as he obviously wasn't expecting his seat to move. It was pretty funny.

Anna and Alex on the swings together.

Anna and Daddy at the park.

Even though Sarah's visit was short, Anna had a ton of fun with her. She was so nice to sit and play with Anna. Anna loved it. After Sarah, left, she kept asking where she was. After spending a day with her, she started calling her grandma. It was pretty funny. We're so glad she was able to visit us.

A little update on Alex. He is rolling around all over the place and able to move a ton. Here in this picture, I had originally placed him by the small green carpet and a few minutes later, this is where he ended up. He goes on his tummy all the time now and pushes his arms up. I bet he's going to start crawling in the next month or so. I don't know if I'm quite ready for that, but oh well. :) Just this morning, I was playing the piano and he was about 6 feet away from me. I played for a minute, turned around and he was about 3 feet from me. I played a bit more, then turned to see him and he was right next to the piano bench. It was pretty funny, every time I turned around, he had moved. Kind of like, red light, green light.

Here is a picture that Anna drew. She is getting better and better with her drawings.

Is it too late for Easter?

So I know Easter was a week ago, but here are some pictures of an Easter egg hunt we did for Anna. She LOVED it. We meant to do it the Saturday before Easter and ran out of time, same thing the day of Easter. We finally got it done on Monday. Better late than never. :)

Here is Anna with her ginormous basket. It's actually a sewing basket my mom bought me when I was in high school and did cross-stitching. Let's just say we were being resourceful.

She was so cute finding the eggs. She would see one and say, "oh, there's an egg." Her tone of voice was so precious.

She was pretty good at finding most of them. Every once in a while we would give her a hint.

Anna and her Easter eggs.

I first had filled the eggs with probably 5 pieces of candy. After I let her have an egg before the hunt, I realized that was too much candy for her and later put only one or two pieces in them. So then every morning, she would want some eggs. I finally would give her one or two with candy and them some empty ones. That way, she thought she was getting a lot. You gotta be tricky sometimes with these kids, otherwise she'll end up with a ton of cavities.

She finished all the candy yesterday, so I put the eggs away. This morning, she ran into the kitchen to get her eggs, only to find them gone. Needless to say, she was very upset they were all gone. Poor kid.

A new pillowcase for Anna

Anna's room is still a work in progress. By the time I actually finish everything I want to, we'll either will need to move by then, or Alex will be in her room and we'll have to re-do the decor!

Well, Anna finally started using a pillow on her bed. When she first started using the toddler bed, I didn't give her a pillow, because I thought I would get a smaller one. Well, about a month ago, I decided to use a normal size one. It took her a little while, but she finally started using it and now likes it. It had a purple/bluish pillowcase on it and I decided she should probably have one to match her room.

So I dug out the material that I used on her blanket, plus other scraps of brown and pink material I had and basically just kind of threw this pillowcase together. I didn't follow a pattern, I just kind of made one up. I would have liked for it to be a little different, but since I used what I had, this is the best I could do.

The striped material is actually four pieces sewn together. If you enlarge the picture, you can see one seam, that's pretty obvious, but I think I did well on matching the stripes up.

I only had a little bit of the brown and pink polka dotted material, so the sides are a little short.

I made it into a slipcover style. I messed up on the back and sewed one part on the wrong way. At this point, I just wanted to get it done, and since it was going to be on the back and wouldn't be showing, I didn't feel like redoing it. Also, because I didn't use a pattern, it took me longer than it should have and I had to redo stuff, take out seams, etc, because I wasn't thinking ahead.

But I got it done! I think it looks pretty cute and now she has a matching pillowcase for her bed!

Of course, looking at the back now, I realize that maybe I should have done the polka dots for the front, I think that would have looked cuter. Hmmm...

Also, does anyone local want these shoes? I posted this on Facebook, but I don't know if some of you saw it. They're size 7, I only wore them once for my sister's wedding. They have about a 4 inch heel. They're very cute, but my feet don't do well in heels, so I'm not going to wear them. I would like to give them to someone rather than Goodwill. Let me know if you want them!

(There is another new post after this one about Alex.)

A is for Alex

So much to update on Alex it seems. The best news? He is finally sleeping through the night!!! After 2 months of waking up 3-5 times (I can only remember 2 times where he slept through the night during that time), he is now sleeping like a baby should! The trick? Let him cry!

I guess I should explain a little more. When he first started waking up, after a few nights of that, we got frustrated and just tried letting him cry for a while. He was only 3 months and I thought he was too young to just let him cry, but we were both tired of it. Needless to say, it didn't work. So then, I would just get him. We also didn't want him to cry for too long, because we didn't want him to wake up Anna. For some reason, ever since Christmas, she decided not to stay in her bed and would wake up in the middle of the night and sleep by the door, on the floor, where we had the baby gate. So, if Alex was loud, it would for sure wake her up and she would sleep on the floor.

Well, after 2 months of no sleep, I finally started getting fed up with it all and asking Dan for help. Well, one night last week, Alex woke up after a half hour. I fed him, he fell asleep, and woke up a half hour later. Dan suggested to just let him cry. We gave him 10 minutes, then Dan went and rocked him to sleep. An hour later, he woke up again. We gave him 10 minutes and he fell asleep after 5 minutes! So that night, he woke up 3 times, and I just let him cry for a few minutes and he fell back asleep. That went on a for a few nights and now he pretty much just sleeps through the night. Hallelujah! Who knew it would be such a simple solution?

He is also starting to take longer naps and the last few days has started taking 2 naps a day. Yesterday, he took a 3 hour nap! He hasn't done that since he was a month old. This morning he took a 2 1/2 hour nap. It's just such a relief now. For months, I would be lucky if he took 2 half hour naps, plus he was up all night, so I never really got a break. I'm crossing my fingers, that this new routine will stick!

Alex is developing well. He loves to reach for anything he can get his little hands on. And because he's so big, I have to be careful. He could seriously fall out of my arms, when he exerts all his weight to try and reach for something. He is good at twisting and squirming in my arms. Today we were playing the piano and he was able to put his feet up on the keys. He loves to laugh when I tickle him. He is really starting to smile at other people. He's into bouncing lately. I'll be holding him and stand him up and he just bounces his little legs. He also likes to extend his arms out and just move them up and down and hit whatever he can. I can only imagine the havoc he will cause when he can crawl and walk. :)

So, Alex outgrew his bouncer seat. I got out this walker thing. He doesn't really like it, which is too bad, because it would be so convenient for me, but oh well. He'll usually tolerate it for a few minutes, then he's done.

Just to show the difference in size between him and Anna, here are some pictures.

Anna, 6 months.

Feet, several inches off the ground.

Doesn't she look so cute and dainty?

Alex, 5 months.

Feet already touching the ground.

Yes, he is wearing a santa hat. I bought this for him when he was a newborn and he never really wore it.

I found it the other day and put it on him.

Amazing, isn't it? I think he's almost 20 lbs!!! Anna was barely 20 lbs at one year! He's just a big boy.

But such a cute little boy...

He isn't very happy here, he didn't want to be in his walker.

Anna and Alex in their santa hats.

Singing time with Anna and Alex.

Not as easy at it looks, playing the piano with a baby. :)

Daddy with Anna and Alex.

We watched Logan the other day and they decided to try on some hats. This picture makes me laugh.

I also came in to her room and found her lying on her bed with a blanket on her, and Logan was feeding her a toy bottle. These silly little kids....

From Drab to Fab...A New Bookcase!

I have to explain the title of this post. Whenever I talk about repurposing furniture or other stuff, or show Dan something I saw on a blog, etc. He usually makes some joke and says, from drab to fab! in a mocking, cheesy tone of voice. So, kind of as a joke, I decided to make that my title. Hahaha, I know, I'm just soooo funny.

Anyhoo, back to my post. A while ago, I mentioned that I found a bookcase on the curb. It was actually on my way visiting teaching (blessings from doing VT? I think so!). I stopped and tried to put it in the back of our van, but it wouldn't fit. I went back after Dan got home and it was still there and this time I didn't have the kids with me, and was able to fit it in. That was just about two months ago. I'm been DYING to get it done and finally, after what feels like an eternity, it.is.finished!

I forgot to get a good before picture. This is while I'm priming it.

Before

It was just plain old boring wood. The top of it was actually warped and someone had tried to pull it off. So we (by we, I mean Dan) had to take the top off and replace it with a new board.

I didn't bother sanding it down. It had a light finish on it, and I just primed right over it.

And here is the new and improved bookcase!

In addition to adding a new board on top, we (ahem, Dan) added trim around the top and replaced the backing with bead board.

It seems so simple when I type it out-prime it, paint it, put trim and bead board on and done! But this project really just seemed to drag on. My biggest mistake was not using white primer. I know, you're shaking your head in disbelief at my stupidity. When we went to Lowe's to get spray primer, they were out of white, so we got grey. But then a whole month went by before I even got around to priming it, so I could have just gotten white. But once you have two kids, the less trips you make to the store, the easier your life is, so I figured grey would be okay. I was planning on doing a few coats of paint anyways, and I figured the gray would be covered up. My plan would have worked beautifully, if it weren't for the darn corners and crevices. I used a small roller brush and it wouldn't get the corners, so I had to use a brush, but it just was taking forever to be covered up. It didn't help that I was doing this outside and it was cold, so that seemed to affect the paint.

I originally wanted bead board as the backing, but kept going back and forth if I REALLY wanted it and if I would be okay without it. I finally decided I wanted it, after I had painted the rest of it. But getting the bead board was a hassle in and of itself. I went to the gym and then Dan called me and told me Alex was asleep, so if I wanted to get bead board, now was my chance. I went to Lowe's, got an 8'x4' piece and had them cut the size I needed. I was left with a 5' piece to take home. I thought it would fit in the van, but it wouldn't. So I had to go back in the store and have them cut off 12 inches and then go back out to the car again, pushing the extremely large and bulky cart they have for wood. It finally all fit and I was off, all they while thanking the heavens above that Alex was still asleep and that Dan didn't have to try and deal with a hungry baby while I was gone.

Dan's Spring Break was last week and I painted it over a couple of days.

A shot of it in different lighting.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out. It's obviously not perfect, but I think it cleaned up pretty nicely.

Cost of Materials:

Paint: already had

Trim: already had

Primer: $5 (two cans, didn't use all of the second)

Bead board: $7 (portion of what I used)

Cost: $12 (give or take)

Not too shabby for a "free" bookcase.

We're still deciding where in Anna's room is the best place for it. We may have to move some things around. I think we'll end up putting a lot of her toys from the family room in it.

Pride and Prejudice...

So, I don't know if this will come as a surprise to anyone. Maybe some of you. I finally read, for the first time, Pride and Prejudice. Gasp! I feel a little behind the times. I remember my best friend, Sarah, reading it in junior high. At the time, I wasn't familiar with the story and honestly, it seemed kind of boring to me. I kept that first impression with me for many years.

Then, for Christmas, my brother bought us a Kindle and we got the book for free. I finally decided to start reading it. It only took me, oh, about 3 months to read it! Mostly, because the only time I can read is after the kids go to bed and for a long time, Alex wouldn't fall asleep until 9:30/10:00-ish and honestly, after that, I would get ready for bed. He finally started going to bed earlier and I would spend about 15-20 minutes a night for a few nights a week reading it.

At first, I just thought it was okay, but about halfway through it got more interesting and I really started to get sucked in. To the point, where I would look forward to having some time to myself and be able to read it. One night, it was getting late, but I didn't want to stop reading (I was at the climax!), so I flossed and brushed my teeth while reading it (things you can only do with an e-reader), and as I washed my contacts. Dan came in while I was doing this and said, "Well, someone doesn't want to put her book down!" :)

So, now I can say, along with a million other girls, that I have finally read Pride and Prejudice and I enjoyed it, and overcame my previous inhibitions about it. Am I one of the love-crazed girls? No. Do I think Mr. Darcy is the best thing since sliced bread? Not necessarily. But it was enjoyable.

As I was reading it, I wanted to watch the movie (the new one), which I had seen a couple of times, but it had been a few years. I remember I liked the movie when I first saw it. However, after having read the book and then watching the movie, the movie kind of bugs me. There is so much left out. The plot feels rushed and there are so many small details from the book, but the actors say them so fast, or they're so obscure, that if you hadn't read the books, you miss them completely. So, I'm not really a fan of the movie anymore. I'm kind of curious about the 6 hour version, but at this point in my life, dedicating 6 hours to watching a movie just ain't happening.

So, what are your thoughts on Pride and Prejudice? Love it? Hate it? Don't care?

Has anyone seen the 6 hour version?

A new seat cover!

I bought this little booster seat thing for Anna last summer. I got it off of craigslist for $10 (surprise, surprise). However, the blue polka dot cover for it was pretty ugly. It doesn't look too bad in this picture, but it is. It's old, faded and seriously looked like its prime was in 1985. I've been wanting to recover it for a while and finally got around to doing it. Even though it took me over a week to do it, when normally it should have taken 2 days, 3 at the most. This is what happens when you have two kids, instead of one! :)

I forgot to take a good before picture of it, but believe me, it was pretty ugly. Here is the new cover!

I originally was going to take the seam out between the bottom piece and the top piece, but it was sewn inside and I couldn't get it apart easily, so I took the lazier route and just sewed over the old cover. I took off the original border/edge part. I don't know the real name for it. The border that is now brown.

What I ended up doing was laying the old cover over the new material and just tracing the sizes I needed. I decided to sew it in two pieces, the top and the bottom. I added 1/2 an inch to what I traced, just to make sure I had cut it large enough. I did this for the front and the back. I then sewed the back top piece over the original. Then sewed the bottom piece on. Since I had two pieces, I needed to sew them together, where they met up. I ended up hand sewing them together, since the angle was difficult to get on the sewing machine.

Here is a picture of what I'm talking about.

I just folded each piece over the other and hand stitched them together. This is where the bottom of the top piece and top of the bottom piece meet together. (make sense?)

I had to make holes for where the straps go. All I did was cut slits in the material, then hand stitched the sides to the original slits. It doesn't look very nice, but I figured no one would really be able to see it, since the straps would be there. I wanted to sew a brown border around it, but I didn't want to make it too small, so the straps wouldn't fit in there. It was kind of a tight fit with the original cover and I didn't want to mess it up.

After I sewed the front and back pieces, I attached the back top cover that goes over the back of the chair. I added a green border to that piece, so that it would have a little variety. I then pinned and sewed the brown border around the whole thing. That was the most difficult part because sometimes, depending on the way I had pinned it, it wouldn't sew through the front and back, so I would have to re-do a lot of parts.

The finished product!

In hindsight, I wished I had chosen blue material, so it would match the seat better. I actually found some cute light blue material, but didn't get it because I figured it would get dirty really easily. I didn't see any other blue material that I really liked. I was trying to go for a more gender neutral pattern, so Alex can use it when he gets bigger.