Stick Person!

Okay, this may seem like an unusual entry... but this really caught me off guard.

Ian has rarely sat down to draw in his almost 3-1/2 yrs. of life. I often bring out crayons, markers & paper... but what we're usually left with is a tower of markers connected together, broken crayons & lots of folded "paper airplanes." He has, however, proven to be highly creative with play-doh & Lego's. He blows us away with his intricate creations...

So today Ian decided to draw a person (he says it's me). It was the first time I've ever seen him do it & I was mesmerized watching his concentration - I didn't breath, didn't talk & I definitely didn't help which is what he usually wants. If you look close you'll see a body, arms & legs that he carefully drew one at a time. Eyes, nose & smile - all in the right place!? Is that my hairstyle around the head? Who knows. Anyway, I had to preserve his first stick figure - go Ian!

Incidentally he's been spelling his name for a while but now is trying to write it. So we're working on it... thankfully it's a short, easy name!

Audrey started walking last week - right on her birthday she became officially vertical! I'll try to grab some footage to post soon!

Audrey's 1st Birthday pics!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Birthday Girl

3 mos.

6 mos.
9 mos.

1 year

Happy Birthday to our beautiful Audrey Amelia!

The past year has been such a joyful adventure getting to know you ~ our sweet, sensitive, cuddly girl. You fill our days with smiles... our lives are complete with you in it!

Pensive

"Take some pictures mommy!" Ian exclaimed as he ran around the kitchen. I thought this was so sweet - he's looking out our window for deer (we did see one once!) He'll be upstaged in a couple days with Audrey's 1st Birthday so I thought it was fitting to appease his desire for a photo shoot!

Puddin' Pie

Okay.. it's just yogurt but she enjoyed getting messy!

More proof that Ian & Audrey are polar opposites in many ways. This child will eat almost anything... besides baby food. She loves fruit, veggies, bold flavor, texture, feeding herself, CHEESE, and begs for whatever we're eating. Ian preferred smooth variety foods until age 2 and even now wants only plain, plain, plain :)

About the Remodel...

A few people have asked about the color in the photos... the bathroom fixtures are all white but look tan in these pics. This confused some people because initially they did install a tan toilet! Thankfully they switched it out. Also, the walls are not pea green in the bathroom - it's the same gray-green we have in our kitchen. Main room is Behr frozen pond - awesome color :)

New Year = New Living Space!

We are soooo excited about our recent expansion... as many of you know, we finished off the lower level with the big windows that had been "begging" to be seen. I'm happy to say the project is finally complete - on a budget - with much of our own hard work to show for it.

My favorite room is the new bathroom so I'll start there:

Scott helped me pick out & haul the vanity & (heavy!) quartz counter top - love it!
I laid the faux wood vinyl plank flooring which surprised me - looks & feels like real wood!

Thank you for the design inspiration here Karen & Mike!

we borrowed their board & hooks idea after seeing their bathroom

The Guest Room:

It's actually quite spacious so PLEASE come one, come all!

The "big play downstairs room" as Ian always says:

It sure does feel like a lot more room!

Wonderful Winter

Here are the boys playing outside! Thankfully Brian is always happy to bring Ian outside & haul him up & down the hills.

We girls prefer to be inside in the winter.

Balls were an early favorite toy for Audrey but recently she's shown us she has quite the throwing arm! Aim, force & even catches once in a while! She's definitely proving to have daddy's athletic genes - as we've been told that he, too, could launch a ball across the room before age 1 :)

"Let me show you how it's done, mommy. Here's the ball"

"Kiss it for good luck"
"the throw..."