Projects and Projected Projects

In the early part of Spring I was knee deep in mud and soil completing some of the goals I set last year for our backyard.  It may not sound like much but planting 3 hydrangea bushes and two giant planters was quite the feat.  I also planted a vine in our frontyard to grow up our mailbox (it's doing fairly well) and about 7 grow-it-yourself plants (hostas and a honeysuckle tree) that never actually broke surface.  Little bummed about that but maybe they will show up next year?

The new flower bed with 3 hydrangea bushes:

Hydrangeas in bloom:

Large planters:

Last year I begged Tony to walk down to a neighbor's house and steal this chair from their trash pile.  He was not too happy but did it in the still of the night when no one was looking.  A few fresh coats of turquoise paint and Voila!

Before:

After:

All of the backyard beautification makes for wonderful afternoons filled with this:

and this:

and lots of this (with new outdoor toys from Mimi and Grandpa)

And because I'm all about setting goals.  Here are some things I would like to get done next Spring:

1. Vegetable / Herb Garden - two raised boxes to go under Sophia's window.  I'm quite inspired by this garden from a friend in San Antonio.
2.  Flower Garden - between our side patio and our lawn.  Right now it's just a mud pit.  Maybe additional hydrangeas or something more fragrant like the gardenia bush we have on the other end of the patio?
3.  Border - We need some sort of border between the patio Tony built and the lawn.  I think it will define the space a little better.
4.  Front curb flowers - Right next to where I planted this growing vine, I would like to plant a few more flowers to brighten up our curb.

So there you have it.  We'll see how much I get done next year.  I'm thinking I may have a few helpers by then in the forms of a 2 year old and a 3 1/2 year old. Maybe by then Vincent won't eat the dirt and Sophia won't pick all the flowers?

Finished Just in Time for Baby Vincent's Arrival:

The retaining wall in the front of the house. We also re-sodded the grass connected to the wall:

The completed backyard. New grass with drainage system built underground and the completed patio:

Next spring I would like to plant 3 hydrangea bushes against the back of the house and plant a small vegetable garden outside the fenced area. I think the kiddos would enjoy picking vegetables out of our garden. We'll see....

Vincent and House Updates

Two more weeks, Two more weeks, Two more weeks! This is what I am telling myself so that I won't be disappointed when Vincent does not make his entrance into the world today. All in God's timing. My doctor's appointment two weeks ago confirmed what I already knew - (due to the regular contractions I was having) that I was pretty far along in the process. So I'm a little surprised he's not here yet and I think my doctor is too. Last week he could sense my disappointment when there was nothing new to report. As I headed out the door he said, "Don't worry this baby will definitely be here by July 4th." I informed him that he was a cruel, cruel person. All joking aside, I really like my doctor and the experience so far at our new hospital. Tony knows the doctors and residents pretty well and which nurses to avoid / seek out so this should be helpful on delivery day. I have my next doctor's appointment on Wednesday afternoon.

Things are progressing here at the house. We finished up the nursery, washed all the newborn clothes, set up the bassinet, and stacked up the itty bitty diapers in little rows. I mean they are itty bitty - are babies really that small?!? Here are a few pictures of the nursery:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Vincent's blue half of the room

Vincent's crib all set up and ready - Notice the polka-dot blanket - Mama Jean's impressive work


A few of the nursery from the entrance - not pictured to the right is the large green rocker and a small white bookshelf

And finally, Sophia watching the progress on the backyard - pictures of completed outdoor projects to come...

House Updates

So many things going on in this little cottage. After much debate, we decided not to turn the study/guest room into another nursery. Tony is still in school and uses the study a lot for reading/school work. Also, because we live so far from our families and Texas friends, we want to still have a room where they can come stay and hopefully unwind. Even though we decided the study/guest room would continue to serve it's main purpose we wanted to update it a little and make room for more storage. More specifically, book storage. Tony is a bibliophile, constantly acquiring new books. Unfortunately I cannot find a before shot of the study anywhere. But here are a few after shots:

We moved the futon and desk from opposing walls to an "L" shape and added the floor to ceiling bookshelves.

We are almost finished with the nursery. I'm hoping to buy a few more "blue" things and then post some pictures later this week. Basically, Sophia and Vincent will be sharing a room. In my mind, they are like twins. Half the room pink, half the room blue. Until he is 6 months or so, he will probably be in our room or the study in the bassinet. After that we will look at transitioning him into the nursery. We'll see... I'm a little concerned with safety. I'm not sure that Sophia is old enough to understand that she can't cover baby Vincent up with blankets and force feed him grapes like she does her baby dolls. Any thoughts?

The patio is on hold for now. All that is left is the trimming. It's a very solid patio that has withstood torrential downpours over the last few months. It drains well (no standing water) and the stones have remained sturdy and in place. Unfortunately, by placing the patio where we did we created a huge drainage problem for the rest of our backyard. There were drainage problems before but now it's pretty significant. So we are working on fixing that problem, re-sodding the backyard, etc. Will post pictures of completed project sometime this summer. We also have a retaining wall in the works for our front yard. If you have yet to visit us then you haven't seen the large hill that our little abode sits on top of. And there's an even larger hill behind us. All these factors equal erosion, big time. On the positive side, we have a great view out our front window and we are safe if the creek across the street ever floods. Glass half full, my friends. Here are a few pictures:

Playing on the almost completed patio during nicer weather.

Front hill covered with snow

Back hill covered with snow.

In summary, Tony and I are enjoying our cottage and all the little re-does. The neighborhood is amazing and I can't wait for the day when our two little ones can play in the backyard for hours, exploring our little personal hill. Hide and seek, a must!

Nesting, Cravings, and All Things Random

Let's start with nesting. I truly believe in this much disputed phenomenon of pregnancy. And for some reason, this little mommy bird goes into overdrive during the last trimester. That inexplicable urge to set up the crib, put the linens on the bed, purchase the necessities, rearrange the furniture - all before the baby arrives and while carrying around 25 pounds of precious cargo - makes little sense. Could you do it after the baby arrives? Sure and the little bird would be none the wiser but something in me just can't find rest until it's all complete. Poor Tony, he is extending me much grace. The goal is to have all things finished before the baby arrives so that we can just sit and stare at his sweet face. Oh wait! And chase Sophia too!

Cravings. With Sophia it was a McDonalds soft serve ice cream cone practically everyday during the last few months. Not really that bizarre. And until recently nothing too out of the ordinary with our little man. But in the last month I've started craving yet again McDonalds soft serve (cheap taste, I know) except served like this:

topped with hot fudge (the 99 cent sundae) with a side of french fries. It's all I can do not to dip the french fries in the sundae. I just alternate bites - completely acceptable - while in my car - before I walk in the house - so that, selfishly, I will not have to share with the little 17 month old - how sad is that? True confessions from an ever growing expectant mommy. But the good news is that I passed the glucose screening at my last doctor visit - the sundaes must not be doing too much damage!


All things random. Last weekend we traveled to Atlanta for the sole purpose of visiting IKEA. IKEA. IKEA. IKEA. I truly love it, I must say. From the European, Tim Allen, blow your hands completely off, hand dryers in the bathroom to all the unique, inexpensive children's toys - IKEA is truly an experience. We purchased 4, floor to ceiling bookshelves, a children's table with chairs, and a beautiful crib and still managed to fit it all in my mom's Highlander for the trip home. Did I mention nesting overdrive? Along with setting up the nursery (Sophia and the new baby will be sharing a room) we are redoing the study. Not to mention the ongoing patio project and the retaining wall out front. All in an effort to make a little more room in our tiny cottage for this next tiny bundle of joy. I will have to post pictures when everything is complete.

Mama Jean joined us on the IKEA adventure and we couldn't have done it without her. She watched Sophia in the children's area while we made decisions on the bookshelves. And later, pushed her around in the stroller while we loaded and tied the boxes to the car roof - not quite like this but almost:
Here are some pictures from the day.

Chowing down in the cafe for much needed shopping energy.

Sophia adored the cool pod chair in the children's department.

I just have to post this picture because our little girl looks so grown-up on that rocking horse!

And here are some pictures of the crib assembly the next day. Sophia was intrigued and insisted on putting her Sophie doll and Elmo doll down to sleep in her baby brother's new bed.

Hard working Daddy!

Notice the 7 month baby tummy!

"I'm so excited about having a big brother on the way!"

And no trip to Atlanta would be complete, as our friends the Joneses taught us, without a stop to Trader Joes. Where we bought 2 boxes of this to eat on the way home:
Also on a random note - we enjoyed a visit from Mimi early last week. Mimi's visit was great! She cooked lasagna and roast, traveled to the grocery store, and watched Sophia while I was at work on Monday and Tuesday. Sophia sure does love her Mimi. Her creative games and distractions. Her funny songs. How she crawls into the pretend cardboard house. And mommy and daddy love Mimi too - the late night talks, the food, the encouragement. We can't wait to see you again in June! Aunt Tiffany was in town last week too. A true treat. Sophia now walks around the house saying "Tiffany" and "Mimi."

Mimi brought Sophia a Texas apron complete with pockets to store all kinds of goodies!

"Beep Beep, coming through!"

Pretty Mimi and Pretty Sophia

Well that completes my long posting on nesting, cravings, and all things random. Thanks for hanging in there!

Patio Update

I just wanted to post a few pictures of Tony's latest project: the backyard patio. I cannot say how thankful I am for Tony's work on this project. He's truly the greatest. In between being on call and working weekends he's found the time to make a million Lowe's trips and has spent hours laying paving stone, sand, and rock. All in 30 degree weather! Thanks baby, we love you! I'll post pictures of the completed project in a few weeks.

Valentine's Day

Well, Tony managed to melt my heart on another Valentine's Day. And this time, it was for quite a different reason. On the evening of February 13th he walked in the door with a large bouquet of tulips for me and a small bouquet of pink roses for Sophia, cut down to baby size. And the funny thing is, as much as I loved my flowers it just melted my heart to see Sophia receive her first mini bouquet from her daddy. The fact that he adores and takes such good care of Sophia means more to me than a million flowers.

Thank you, Daddy, for my beautiful roses!

Valentine's Day morning was the usual fare of chocolates and cards during breakfast. It was a beautiful, cool day and Tony used his Saturday off to work on the latest house project, building a new patio for the arrival of baby #2. Sophia loves to be outdoors and although we have a great side porch, she would rather be in the backyard where she can run freely. So instead of sitting on the back steps to watch her, Tony has decided to build a nice patio for a swing and a few lawn chairs. I am so excited! It will be so nice to sit on the swing with our new little boy and watch Sophia run and play in a safe environment. I am so thankful for Tony's labor of love!

Sophia had a great Valentine's Day too. In addition to the beautiful rose bouquet, mommy and daddy bought her a new babydoll that makes lots of baby sounds, a play necklace, bubbles, and a ball for the new patio. She has really taken to the new babydoll - feeding it with the plastic bottle and sticking the pacifier in its mouth when it makes too much noise. Too sweet! I think she is going to be a great big sister.

And for all the grandparents reading this post, look forward to a be-lated but sweet Valentine from Miss Sophia. Her friends Lawson and Mrs. Taryn came over on Friday and we made some pretty cute Valentines - check your mailbox!