A look back: Christmas

Since I posted nothing about Christmas 2012, let's step back and relive some of the magic.

My kids are at the age where Christmas really is magic.  We had some friends over for drinks and appetizers on Christmas Eve, which was a fun way to capture some of that Christmas spirit and burn off some of that anticipatory energy.  The kids went to bed a little late, and Aaron took quite a while to fall asleep.  Luckily, he konked out just before Santa arrived.

Christmas morning, Hannah was first out of bed.  (It had nothing to do with Christmas - she's the first one up at our house everyday.)  She played with her gifts from Santa while we waited for Aaron to get up. (Sleeping in on Christmas morning has been a reoccurring theme for Aaron.  I'm sure someday, I'll miss it. But for the past few years, it's Paul and I waiting downstairs all antsy for him to get up and open presents.)

When Aaron came downstairs, he was awestruck - yes! - and fun was had by all.  Hannah was the most enthusiastic, ripping open everything, including some of Aaron's gifts. She got so excited that she tired herself out and was back in bed for a nap before 10 a.m.

The rest of the day was spent eating, relaxing, playing and talking to family afar - a really perfect way to spend such a special day.

Growing up

This morning, I hear Hannah chanting "Maaaama" from her crib and went in to get her.  As I lifted her up and laid her on the changing table, it suddenly dawned on me that she's not a baby anymore. She's officially a little girl.




This little girl-ness comes with some new developments.  She's learned to say "no."  (It was only a matter of time, right?)  And suddenly she has preferences about what she wants to wear.  No kidding.  You'll notice below the latest number is a tutu from Nana.  And she loves.  (And so do I, but, shhhh, don't tell.)

Aaron is having a great summer.  Today is the last day of camp at a little nature center up the road.  He LOVES it - making new friends, hiking everyday, and always coming home wet.  I don't hear much about what he does - it's like kids have a secret code to keep camp to themselves.  But I had to go back today because I forgot to drop off his snack, and he was yucking it up with some new friends.  As I was leaving, I could hear him say, "Hey guys, my mom forgot my snack!  Isn't that silly!" 

His sense of humor is blossoming, and it reminds me so much of Paul.  He loves the road runner and super heros.  And racing.  Every chance he can get - bikes, running, you name it.


Standing in front of the fan


Hanging out on our front porch is currently my favorite way to pass that witching hour between dinner and bed. The kids seem to appreciate the fresh air and shade as much as I do. Right now, I can't imagine winter and snow and darkness at 6 p.m. Yikes!

Ready


Set


Go

New inhabitants

An unidentified number of baby birds have taken up residence above the porch light at 3 Sunset. They're a bit squaky, but super cute. Mama and Papa bird have stayed close-by, showing up frequently with fresh catches for the babies. The kids are loving it, and have learned to keep a good distance for the nest to give the babies plenty of space to grow.

Moseying along

It's been a long time since I've made it to this space. With both kids on the move and busy, I have some time of my own, but it's definitely a matter of choosing how I spend it. And the blog hasn't made the list lately.
But things are moving along just as you would expect - preschool, swing sets, teething, a great impromptu birthday party for Hannah. You get the picture.

Hannah is walking with ease now, even over terrain outside. She's adding new words to her list everyday. The favorite is "Waaaa" for water, or anything to drink, really.  "Baa" is book. She knows exactly which one she wants and will let you know if you choose the wrong one. She's a very sweet kid, bestowing kisses on everything and everyone - books, dolls, and her big brother (to his dismay). Her baby dolls must have a blanket at all times, so I'm finding kitchen towels and face cloths in the living room regularly.

Aaron is growing leaps and bounds as well, and asking lots of big boy questions like why can't we see our bones and what would happen if the moon fell down. I always try to answer with as much honesty as possible, although I do have a little fib going about how a leprechaun has been turning our breakfast smoothies green.  A little spinach in the morning is a good thing.  :)

Here's a few more recent shots.  I'll be back soon, promise.


An Easter dandy  

Sibs (Note my new craigslist chair waiting for re-upholstery.)

Hannah's M.O. - Big brother's hat, Hello Kitty, blankie

Birthday cupcake, complete with learning-to-walk forehead bruise  

Big kid table  

Parents keeping it real

Mudroom progress!

We have a fairly large room between our kitchen and garage that - until recently - has served entirely as a staging area for other projects. The past month has been devoted to making it a more useable space. We hired a local carpenter to build some custom shelves, then painted and organized, and painted some more.

Before


Before - entry into kitchen area



After




We LOVE the new set-up. It's easy for Aaron to put away his own stuff, and everything has its place.

The previous entry to the kitchen is in the process of becoming my office nook, which provides room for a proper guest room upstairs - an exciting addition with some fun guests expected this year!

Christmas wrap-up

Okay, it's time to wrap-up the Christmas stuff. See below.



Christmas was a complete joy. We had a house full of friends on Christmas Eve, much good food to share, and a band of kids running around high on holiday glee. (See Aaron in his pirate costume.) We hope to do it again next year.

Christmas morning, Hannah was up first, a good hour or so before her brother. when Aaron finally woke up, he wasn't too sure what this Santa business was all about. He came downstairs and asked for his ritual warm milk before touching a gift. But once he got into it, it was all very exciting. Hannah loved the paper and boxes (of course!) and actually got into unloading her own stocking. BTW, I think one of Aaron's favorite gifts were the M&Ms in his stocking. This guy has his father's sweet tooth, to be sure.

On December 26, my mom and I loaded the kids into the car and headed for Michigan while Paul pulled out the nail gun and got to work laying wood floors on the upper level of our house.

It was fun to see Aaron really interact with all of our relatives this year. We got to spend loads of time with Grandma Great, including racing Aaron's new remote control car all around the assisted living home where she lives. And Aaron spent lots of time playing with cousins - swimming, bowling, air hockey. You name it.

Paul (with the help of a good friend) did an amazing job on the floors and literally finished up as we pulled into the driveway at 10:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve with kids sleeping in the back of the car. We shuttled the kids up to bed and shared a glass of wine on the couch before calling it a night. I think we're both glad that stage of house renovations is over. Whew.

P.S. - The abandoned looking building above is the swim club where I was a lifeguard through high school and college. It's been vacant for a few years, and seems to be another sign of the strife that's riddled Michigan over the past several years. Sad.

P.P.S. - Notice in the Christmas photos that Aaron left Santa cookies, a beer and carrot for the reindeer.

Living room peek

Shall we shift gears to take a peek at the house? I'm kicking myself for not taking better before photos. I'll try to find some this week.

Anyhow we've made the most progres in the living room.







It's feeling much more like our home these days, which is nice.

We hired someone to take out the wall between the former dining room (with the green rug)and the kitchen. You can see the new archway in the last photo. Paul laid all new floors, put up new trim and installed a new light in the old dining room. We've painted the walls and got new rugs. Now we just need the finishing touches - some more seating and storage, photos on the walls, some lamps, etc. My plan is to drag the kids around to antique stores all winter to inject a bit of old character into this place.

Next up is mudroom lockers, which is going to have me feeling SO much more organized. After that we can paint the kitchen, then take a little break. Whew.

Prolific

Well, I'm finally getting around to downloading the many photos from the month of December.  So...get ready...we're going to relive all of the holiday wonder and magic right here, for posterity's sake.

Let's start with the tree.  We met some good friends at the tree farm where we've gotten a tree every year since we moved to Ithaca.  It was a balmy day, with green grass and a beautiful sunset. The kids had a great time running around in the field of trees. When we met the guy who points you in the right direction for the type of tree you want, he showed us some samples and asked what kind of tree we wanted.  Immediatly, I got the idea that we should get a really sharp tree, so that Hannah wouldn't want to touch it.  Sure enough, it worked. The day we brought it home, I pricked her hand on one of the branches, and that did it.  She didn't once touch the tree.  Of course, Paul and I cursed the whole decorating and de-decorating process - that thing was painful!  We even had a light outage that I had to fix among all of those prickly needles.  Next year, we're back to our regular Fraser Fir.

Anyhow, take a look:














PS - You'll notice more photos of Paul and I.  A certain little someone in our house has picked up a love of taking photos.  (I do need to get him his own camera.)  It's fun to see his perspective on life. Sometimes it's fun to see myself in more photos.  Sometimes not.

finally

You may know - especially if you've visited for any long period of time - that A has not liked our new house.  The first few weeks, I thought he was just taking some time to adjust.  The house is larger, and the upstairs bedrooms threw him for a bit of a loop.  But for months after we moved, even this past week, he kept asking to go back to our old house. A lot of times, he brings it up from out of the blue. We'll be driving home and all of a sudden he'll say, "I don't want to go to our new house.  I want to go to our old house."  He remembers details that surprise me: the garage under the house, the pull-down ladder to the attic, the woods in the backyard.  It's been a bit heart-breaking for Paul and I.  A big reason that we moved, after all, was to give the kids more space to grow and play.

Fast forward to today: the kids and I took my mountain bike and the bike trailer to the library.  Taking the trailer was Aaron's choice.  It may seem like a silly one - the library is only a quarter-mile away, so we spend nearly as much time buckling in and out of the trailer as we do riding. But it feels oh-so-good to pedal my legs, and I think it's some of the best bonding time the kids get.  While I'm strapping them in, there's always a lot of whining and crying. But as soon as we start moving, I hear silence punctuated by the occasional giggle and squeal.  It's nice.

Anyhow, we were riding the "back way" to the library today, which involves riding past the park and over about 10 yards of grass to avoid the busy road. Halfway there, A exclaims, "Mama, there are two ways to get to our library.  You can go around that way. (Insert long explanation of the other route.)  Or this way. (Insert long explanation of our current route.)  There are two ways!  Two!"

He paused briefly, and then said, "I like our house.  I don't want to move anymore. I want to stay here."

I was happily shocked, but just smiled to myself.  Progress is good.

Still standing

Did you think we deserted you?  I'll bet you did.  We're still here - post-move and post-surgery - ready to get back to a bit more of a normal schedule - and a bit more blogging.   There's so much to catch up on!

Let's start with a little tour Paul did of the new house.  (Please ignore the weeds, junk and boxes.)   It's a bit long, but we wanted to document our starting point so we could look back at the progress we're making. 

More soon with cute (growing!) kiddos. 

On our way

...to a new home. Fingers crossed it works out!

We're still here

Our house is on its way to being sold, we're in the hunt for a new one, and the wee ones are growing like weeds. All is good. Back soon.

Back...with curtains and a nursery tour!

Okay, we are happily back and functioning again - for the time being, at least.  And just the time to have you check out these swell curtains hanging in the nursery.  Although this was completely my idea, it ended up being a joint effort with my mom and Paul pitching in a bunch.  (Taking on a project that requires a lot of time on hands and knees is not real bright when you're eight months pregnant.)  But I'm really happy with how they turned out!







Since we are hoping to move in the next year, I wanted to inject some color into the room without painting the walls.  Hence the fun dandlion fabric (scored on a sweet sale.)

I sewed the panels for the closet first. (Our closet doors are like guillotines for little fingers.)  If you looked closely, you would see lot of mistakes, as I am certainly not a great seamstress. 

For the window curtains, we needed something well-insulated and were hoping to block out a fair bit of light.  This room gets a bright southern exposure, which is great, except at nap time.  We decided to go with two panels - an inner curtain (from Target) and then the decorative ones with blackout lining.  The lining was much tricker.  But by this point, Paul had figured out all of the settings I had wrong on the sewing machine, so they actually turned out better than the closets.  Yea!

You can read all about baby girl's nursery on my P&N blog.

And see more photos here:

Nearly ready and a little tour

Paul and I have spent a lot of time over the past few months getting the house ready for our new little person (who is due in just five weeks!)

Since we decided to stay in our little three-bedroom ranch, there were more projects than just setting up a nursery.  We had to move my office out of the third bedroom, sell and donate a bunch of items we didn't use much, and find a lot of new storage.  I'm happy to say we're almost there!  Just one more weekend, and the nursery should be complete.  (Cue sigh of relief from nesting mother.)  So I thought it'd be fun to take the next few weeks and share some of the projects we've done, and show you what our living space looks like these days.

One of my top priorities was to create spaces where A could be more independent and find interesting things to do while I'm busy with the new little one.  One place is his new craft corner.  I'm a huge fan some of the Montessori philosphies of creating independence, even in toddlers.  I notice A is so much happier if he can decide what he wants to do, then execute (mostly) by himself. 



The table we've had for at least a year.  I got it on craigslist and Paul cut the legs to kid-height.  It's a little shorter than most kid tables, but I love the fact that younger kids can use it too.  The chair is Ikea (again with the legs cut).  And the cabinet is the Ikea Helmer cabinet.  I did a bunch of research, and this was the most affordable, small-space, kid-friendly solution I could find. 

Right now, the craft corner is in the corner of our dining room, but it may slide down closer to my desk by the time we finish furniture-arranging.  (Please ignore the one leftover Christmas decoration!  I'm still trying to find something new for that space.  :)




So far, it's been a huge hit.  A has access to crayons and washable markers, paper and coloring books, some stickers and stamps and play-doh.  Our watercolor paints are also in his craft cabinet, but since he can't get the water yet, I don't worry about those.  The other paints are stored on top of my armoire, and he has to ask to use them.

Here are a few shots of the artist at work:

New "office"

Things have been humming along around here, with a few bumps in the road.  (Hence the lack of recent posts.)  Paul and I spent an amazing weekend in Boston to celebrate a dear friend's birthday.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.  But suffice to say that it was amazing.  And if you're ever in Boston for fun, you have to check out this hotel.  It's the bomb!

The day after we retruned home, I came down with the flu - as in the kind that the flu shot should protect you against if you get it.  Lesson learned.  Needless to say, the flu is a bit more complicated when you're 32 weeks pregnant.  But I'm on the mend now. 

Onto something more exciting than the flu:  My super handy husband put together this sweet new "office" for me so that my old office could become the new nursery. 





I'll admit, I had some major hesitations about working from such a small space, and in the major living area of our house.  But so far, I LOVE it. In a smaller space, I feel much more organzied. When I'm working in the evenings, I feel less isolated.  We listen to more music and the such from our computer now. And we've even hooked up the computer to the TV, so we can watch streaming video on the big screen.  Boo-ya!

Check out this shelf he built above our TV as well.  More kids = need for more storage.  :)

Hibernating

A slew of illnesses have been working their way through our house, slowing everyone down a little bit.  (Which is, honestly, probably exactly what we needed.)  So we're spending a lot of days like this:

I'll leave you with a new zinger from our little one.

Paul, A and I are dancing around the dining room to some Christmas music.  Paul and I are snapping our fingers. A: "My fingers don't make noise!"

Spring snow

I'm feeling like I've woefully neglected this blog. (Apologies for that.) It somehow got away from me as life got busy. 

I'm officially self-employed now. (If you know of anyone who needs a writer, send them my way).  A and I have been on lots of little adventures: in the pool, with Grandpa Hall, to farms, in the rain, in the snow today!, playing with slime and paint and chalk.  It's delightful!  And it's a good thing I'm around more, because the little guy is growing right before my eyes. He strung together his first little sentence this week - "Big jet all gone" - after a larger-than-usual plane flew over our house and he's been repeating it for three days now. He repeats a lot of what he hears these days, so we're trying to be extra careful about what we say. He also learned to say "hyena" and "spaghetti," which thrills him to bits.

I've got lots of little house projects in various stages - a cloth book shelf for A's room, reupholstering our kitchen chairs, painting A's dresser, making a vegetable garden. Stay tuned for updates on those.  Until then, I hope your spring is less snowy than ours today!

PS - I've added some new categories at the right.  Whatcha think?

My afternoon

My afternoon, originally uploaded by sherhall.

I live with a bunch of laundy-creators! Luckily, this is all clean.

The last snow of February

You may have heard we got a huge dumping of snow last week. It was maybe the most I've ever seen in a 24-hour period. Once the driveway was shoveled, it was fun!

Happy

Here's what our Saturday morning looks like.


Story about my new mug - isn't it cute! - coming soon.