new paint and potty

Just in case you needed a refresher as to what our house looked like before, here it is.

The color was a purple and green. It was chipping because there was not any primer and it looked pretty dull. There were also these window awnings on the side which Will took off last weekend. I think that the point of them was to add something to the house to make it look less like a box, but there is no denying our house is a box with a flat roof. 

And here is the after... 

 It is very much a mint colored home. It is pretty bright and glowing and stands out a bit from the rest of the homes, but we love it. It makes the house seem much fresher and clean. It was probably the last little touch the home needed to fully feel like ours.

 

Oh, and I know I am getting a head of myself on this, but I bought Madison an infant potty. I am just really over changing the trillion diapers she goes through a day. She at least seems to be enjoying herself, wouldn't you say??

home projects

This weekend was spent doing most of the home projects we have not been able to do. Of course we did not get them all finished, but what else would we have to do if we finished them all?? 

Much to my delight there was an estate sale going on across the street and I scored some great stuff. I had been wanting a full length mirror in our bedroom for some time, but did not want to spend the  $50 most stores charge. So I found one at the estate sale that just needed some paint. I went gray crazy in our bedroom. I painted the mirror, the nightstand, a painting for over the bed, and the chair (i found in an alley way), all gray.

We have never had a real master bedroom. A room that fully felt like ours, so I had been putting alot of thought into how to make a little nest for us. I think that having such neutral colors in our room is great for my mind. It is calming and simple. I still have more fine touches, but I really like the way it is coming together. 

 

 

 I also found an old gold mirror and painted that yellow to compliment our kitchen. 

We bought a few more items from the estate sale, like old pirex bowels, wine glasses, and some old fence posts I hope to use for a project soon. 

Another project in the works is an old china cabinet I picked up for free off of Craigslist. I have to paint it, but hopefully that will be finished soon. We desperately need more cabinet space for our dishes.

outtakes

So the pictures from the previous post were literally the only three that turned out. I thought this would be a simple photo shoot. Once again, Madison kept me on my toes. We were both ready for a nap after this effort.

from son, to husband, to father

I know that sometimes my head is still spinning with all the changes that have taken place since Will and I met four years ago. So I know that it must sometimes be hard for Will to wonder how the heck he got here.

Our titles and roles have switched quite a bit these past few years, though some of them unexpected, I feel incredibly blessed I get to experience all these changes with Will. 

It has been really neat to see the transformation take place in him. I had a good hunch he would be an excellent father and luckily I was right. I know that he carries around a huge weight of responsibility on his shoulders trying to make sure he provides for his ladies. I know that he often feels like he is torn in every direction and there is constantly something that needs his attention. I also know he has made a lot of sacrifices to become this family man, like not living in a cabin chasing wolves. But, I am so grateful he chooses us everyday. I can not definitively speak for Madison, but the stream of hugs and kisses she gave him this morning speak for themselves (or maybe that was to apologize for waking up at 4:30 am again...)

So Will, if you get around to reading this, we love you!

eleven months

Madison turned eleven months old yesterday. She is just a couple weeks away from being a one year old. I have already sent out invitations for a little outdoor party we will have for her to celebrate.

At Eleven Months:

* She is sleeping about ten hour stretches at night, but that means she is waking quite early. Sometimes she surprises us and goes back to sleep until 7am, but that is rare these days. 

* She is my house helper. She has fully taken note of what I do around the house. She closes all doors behind us when we leave a room, she puts things back into cabinets when she gets them out, she helps me put potting soil in the ground when I plant. It is amazing to see the things she attempts to do herself after watching me do them. 

* She eats pretty much the same amount of food as I do during the day. Well, maybe not the exact same amount, but at least the same items. She still only has two teeth but she can scarf down anything we give her.

* She has become very affectionate. Giving hugs to almost anyone and anything.  I will see her holding aspen's paw and kissing it. She squeezes all her baby dolls super tight. And gives us ample amounts of love, we are loving it. 

* Still no signs of walking. She is not a fan of trying to stand on her own and does not like us to help her walk either. She is still fiercely independent. 

* She hardly plays with her toys anymore. She mostly spends her days following me around and playing with whatever she can get into. 

It is still hard for me to believe a year has almost passed. I find myself remembering where I was a year ago. I had about four weeks left and I thought I would be pregnant forever. I look at pictures of from the past year and they all seem so recent, its hard to believe some of them were months ago. But at the same time, I have really grown to thoroughly enjoy being around her. I love being able to sit down and share a meal with her. I love being able to show her how to do things and watch her attempt them. I love to watch her explore and I can just sit and let her be. 

This time next month we will be watching her smash a cake all over her body and celebrate one year of parenthood. Crazy stuff.

home-made goodies

Two of our closest friends got married this past weekend (but not to each other). Because I sometimes like to give things with a bit of thought behind them, I decided to make their wedding gifts. Not to mention, home-made gifts also work well with our just-bought-a-house-everything-keeps-breaking budget.

I will probably never sell any of the items I make because I mostly just steal other people's ideas. I can replicate a lot of things, which I am thankful for, but coming up with stuff purely on my own is a bit difficult for me. Personalized embroidery hoops have been floating around Etsy a lot and I decided to make them myself. 

I hope they appreciate the home-made gifts, I know its no dish set, but at least it has some significance to their relationship.

My mom also made beautiful quilts for each couple as a wedding gift. I do not have pictures of them, but they are great. I know that Will and I have really loved having a ton of blankets around our house, especially when we were living in Montana. 

So if you have a special occasion coming up, you just might receive something similar.

treasures in the darkness

I have been pretty open about my daughter's sleep habits. 

It seems that when one area improves (like how quickly she falls asleep) another digresses (like how often she wakes). Her new theme since we came back from Hawaii has been waking up for the day anywhere between 4:30 am to 5:30 am. We have now gotten to the point that if she sleeps until 6:30 am, we rejoice. 

Today she decided 4:30 was her wake up time. This was magnified by the fact that Will is out of town. I have never dealt with Madison completely on my own before. Even though Will only really assists in about two hours of the day, those two hours go along way. Especially when they are in morning and I can sleep just a wee bit longer. 

Anyway, there was no one to help this morning. I thought I had mentally prepared for the possibility of her waking this early, but I still got incredibly frustrated. 

My immediate reaction is what the heck is wrong with our child? Why must she be such a difficult sleeper? What are we doing that is causing her to refuse sleep?

I let my frustration get the best of me more times than not. I get so caught up in feeling tired, worn-out, alone, etc, that I forget she has been a live a mere 11 months. 

Because I believe that God desires us to turn to him for everything and he gives me the strength and sanity when I have none. I have spent a good chunk of her morning nap reading about Him. 

" I will give you the treasures of darkness, 

riches stored in secret places, 

so that you may know that I am the Lord,

 the God of Israel, who summons you by name."
Isaiah 45: 3

I do not think it is a coincidence that my biggest struggle in parenthood happens in the darkness. But, apparently, there are treasures in that darkness I have been overlooking.

I know I will still ask God to give me those treasures when I am sound asleep dreaming at 4:30 in the morning, but hopefully, I will try to remember that God is still at work through the sleeplessness. 

well, we finally did it...

we camped with our baby. 

We headed to Estes Park around 6:30 on Friday. We ate dinner before hand and planned on eating breakfast in town, so we did not have to bring too much supplies. I always get overwhelmed with how much stuff is involved in packing for camping trips. 

The plan was for Madison to sleep on the way over there and we would just go to bed when we set up camp. Madison decided not to sleep, but cry all the way over there, and then refused to sleep until 10:30 pm. (it might have been due to the tea William let her drink at lunch)

I thought that she would have a hard time sleeping because we all know our baby does not even sleep well in her own crib. So I thought we could just let her crawl all over the tent while we played "dead," and she would eventually pass out. She apparently thought we were actually dead and was determined to bring us back to life by banging as hard as she could on our faces and giving us kisses on our noses. I finally resorted to holding her firmly down and saying we are going to sleep now, it magically worked. Then she was up every hour pissed that we were in her space. We rose with the sun and packed up camp by 7 am.

We were exhausted, but I think overall it was worth it. It is really tempting to just be hermits with a baby, especially with  a baby that still does not sleep. After almost 11 months of dealing with sleep deprivation, I think I am finally at a place that has re-evaluated the way I view sleep. Yes, I can turn down opportunities to get out in exchange for a nap, but then I would not have these memories. 

I am sure we will camp again, but probably not more than one night at a time. Maybe renting a cabin will be our next adventure, so Madison's middle of the night shrieks don't disturb the childless campers nearby.