Happy Valentine's Day!

This year I went all out with the lead up to Valentine's Day.  I made homemade decorations, stitched a little gift for Alan, hosted a dessert decorating party, and ate a whole lot of treats.  Now that Valentines Day is here, I feel a sense of been there done that, due to all the hoopla before the 14th.

I am particularly proud of all the decorations I made.  I used the old 1930s dictionary that I found at an estate sale and went to town making hearts. 

Here's my heart "mobile" in the dining room.  Andrew really loves to stare up at this cutie.  I love how it casts fun shadows on the walls!



I also repurposed a wreath I made at Sarah's craft night in the fall.  I just pinned a ton of hearts to it!

  

I also tried to jazz up our still sad fireplace by giving it a festive garland.  It was fun sewing this one together and trying to make it a random sequence.

 

I have a few other little hearts hanging around but that was the bulk of my handiwork.  I also chalked up a little message on the blackboard in the dining room.  It is a good reminder for me to remember the power of God's love and to strive to live that out as I deal with crying and messes.

For Alan, I made a little piece of sentimental art to put in our bedroom.  Sarah showed me the ways of hand-stitching on paper and I ambitiously took on this guy as my first project.  In case you're wondering the Chinese characters say "China."  I love the fact that I had the opportunity to travel the world with my sweetie before we became 3. 

And of course it wouldn't be Valentines without some sugar.  Andrew stole his first taste of chocolate from the beater when I was making a chocolate pie last week.  He enjoyed it a lot...

Finally some shots from last week's dessert decorating party.  We had 5 mommas and 5 baby boys.  The kids had fun climbing over each other and playing with Andrew's toys.  The moms enjoyed getting to know each other more!  I'm so thankful for our amazing kitchen island.  It makes for an awesome cooking party workspace.

With love,

Rachel

Go Lincoln!

Today I was off school, in honor of Lincoln's birthday......even though I also have Feb 20 off for Presidents Day, which also happens to honor Lincoln....  But I am not complaining.  Monday is the best day to have off from work, in my opinion.  The week will go by that much faster when you start on a Tuesday!
 
The long weekend afforded us some good family time.  A few home projects, hosting some old friends, and a night out to celebrate Valentine's Day with a babysitter at home watching Andrew. 

Andrew is giving us fits during diaper changes, but his mood about baths have changed considerably.  We abandoned the bathtub entirely, because he never liked lying down in his baby tub.  Instead, he sits up and splashes around in the kitchen sink, while Rachel has fun dressing him up in bubbles.

On Saturday, I successfully leveled and installed the second run of cabinets and countertop in the basement.  Next up - clean out the cabinets, seal the counter, and move on to the upper cabinets.  Lingering questions - do I need to do any patching of the brick on the wall before I put up pegboard?  How will I rearrange the lighting in the basement?

-alan

Workshop progress

I spent some time in the basement this weekend, for I had a relatively easy week and did not have much school work.  Rachel went to visit her sister on Saturday so I had plenty of free time.

Having previously attached support anchors to the flooring, I could now begin to install the first row of cabinets.  The were formerly wall cabinets, so I had to build a support base underneath them to lift them up off the ground and away from the wall.  Once leveled out, I then attached 3/4" particleboard to the top to complete the run of workbench along the wall.

Up next, I will install a base cabinet along the foundation wall, forming an L-shaped workstation.  Then I will add pegboard and some wall cabinets....and finally get around to organizing my tools!

And Andrew, be warned - I will be spending more time in the basement if you keep giving me these dirty looks!


-alan

Hey! Look what I can do!

Andrew turned 9 months yesterday and seems to be adding to his skill list daily.  Check out his progress in some videos below:


The first one features Andrew's newfound ability to pull himself up on the couch.

This one shows you how Andrew gets down after pulling himself into a stand.

Yesterday, Andrew was cruising like a big boy.  For those of you who don't know, cruising means walking while holding onto furniture.  He was motivated to move when he spotted the Kansas Day trophy his daddy earned.

 

Finally, I last night I was getting Andrew ready for bed as we watched the NU game.  He seemed really interested and I had to catch a little video of his cheering.  Too bad he wasn't wearing his purple diaper!

We have been enjoying the balmy weather and taking a lot of walks in the neighborhood.  Andrew loves seeing the dogs.  A lot of owners are kind enough to stop so he can get a better look.  One yesterday asked his age and I said he just turned nine months.  She replied saying he's now been on the outside as long as he was on the inside.  Wow.  My little guy is growing up.

-rachel