Powder room is complete!

The powder room was the last thing we wanted to remodel and it's finally done! Here is a before picture of the lovely wallpaper, pink marble strip light, and dated vanity.

The finished product. After waiting 8 weeks to get the right vanity, we're happy to have a powder room again. We love the new wallpaper - we had to use paper because the walls were in such bad shape when we took the old layers down. We went for a neutral textured look that should wear well and stand the test of time. It was tempting to go with something bold and trendy but I knew we would get sick of it.

New vanity, mirror, and granite top (tropical brown). We used the faucet and light fixture from the old master bath. We just need to hang a towel bar, toilet paper and some artwork now.

New carpet up the stairs

Before of the stair carpet. It was well worn, stretched out and in need of new padding. We waited to everything else was done to replace it for obvious reasons. We had the stairs done at the same time that we tiled the foyer.

After of the stairs. It's hard to tell what it looks like in the picture but I will tell you it's a huge improvement. We chose a soft multi-tonal neutral plush carpet that won't show much of anything. I feel better about AJ sliding down and crawling up the stairs on this. We had the leftover piece bound into an area rug for our family room.

AJ at 22 months

It's hard to believe that AJ's 2nd birthday is right around the corner. He's at a really fun age. He talks non-stop from morning till night in full sentences. His verbal skills really amaze us. He's also very active, of course. His favorite game is to play chase around the house with Charlotte. They love running laps around the main level. In true boy fashion, everything from his fork to a crayon makes a motorized sound like a truck. He loves all things big and powerful like diggers, cement mixers, firetrucks and trains. He also has a tender side that likes to care for Charlotte's babies as one of his own. He's definitely a momma's boy at this point and doesn't like for me to leave but prefers to play with manly men like Poppy, Papa, Uncle Brian and Daddy as long as I'm around. He eats anything and everything we put in front of him. We're still avoiding eggs until we get him tested again in a few years. His favorite breakfast is oatmeal and will sometimes eat four or five bowl fulls! He's still an avid nursling but usually just at home. The only time we nurse in public is sometimes after Stroller Strides class and always as soon as we sit down at church. I think he associates church with "milk". He can count to 10 but usually skips the nine! He also loves to sing and listen to music. We've been listening to the Christmas music station quite a bit in the car and he surprised me by singing this line last night at bedtime, "We wish you a merry christmas and a happy to you!" So sweet.

A couple randoms

Charlotte loves my "sparkly" rings and wanted to try them on one day. She's discovered at a young age that diamonds are a girls best friend.

AJ fell asleep nursing (yes, he's still nursing at 22 months old and I'm sure none of you are surprised) one morning before church. I didn't feel like carrying his 30lbs upstairs to his crib so I just laid him down on the floor. He slept there soundly for over an hour while we all got ready to leave. I finally had to wake him up and load him in the car.

Thanksgiving Feast at preschool

Before Christmas, let's talk a walk back in time to Thanksgiving 2010! Charlotte's preschool had a Thanksgiving feast the week prior to Thanksgiving. All the "pilgrims" and "indians" did a singing presentation in the chapel and then we gathered for a feast in the family hall.

Nanny and Dave were able to join us that morning.

Charlotte and Gabriella.

Silly turkey head girl. This was the placemat she made. We went home with lots Thanksgiving crafts she had made including a cute styrofoam turkey.

Built-in bookshelves in the family room!

Here's the before picture of our fireplace wall in the family room. It was in desperate need of something. The fireplace just stood alone. Don't you love AJ sprawled on the floor watching Sesame Street?!

Here is the new shelves installed without paint or crown molding at the top.

Our painter is hard at work finishing up just as my family was arriving for Thanksgiving.

The finished product complete with a new plasma TV. We couldn't be happier. You'll notice we painted the brick around the fireplace black which I think was a huge improvement over the boring brown. We love it! I think the item arrangement on the shelves will always be a work in progress.

Charlotte thinks the cabinets are a great play place. She told me the other day that she and her 9 kids were moving. This is their new house!

More house renovation updates

The foyer before.

The foyer after. We love the new tile. It looks and feels so much better than the old vinyl and works perfectly with the rest of our colors. The rest of the main level is the same color hardwood floors so we wanted the foyer to pop. It doesn't show anything which is my favorite part especially in a high traffic area! The powder room is almost finished so I'll post before and after pics of that soon too.

Two car garage, baby!

With the first fall of snow this winter, we're pretty pumped about having the luxury of a two car garage! The weekend of Thanksgiving, Dave and his dad demolished half the "mudroom" that was preventing us from parking Dave's car in the garage. We lost about 6 shelves but gained a parking spot. Sounds like a good trade to me. It's so much easier loading and unloading kids in the garage when the weather is bad.

Christmas is almost here!

Impossible to get a decent picture of the two of them together, but Charlotte is usually willing to give me a sweet smile! This was last Saturday when we got them dressed up for a busy day of Breakfast with Santa, a holiday party, walk in Bethlehem, and the unexpected finale of seeing Santa on a firetruck on our street!

Santa on a firetruck!

My neighbors informed me that one evening during December, Santa comes around riding on top of a firetruck through our neighborhood. I have been hearing sirens close by at night for several nights, but no sign of Santa. Finally on Saturday night, he was here. We had just gotten home from a party and the walk in Bethlehem so the kids were still awake. They were so excited to see Santa and Mrs. Claus up on the firetruck. Since we live on a cul de sac, they got to see him go by twice. He yelled out to Charlotte on his way out, "I know you've been good!" Charlotte couldn't stop bouncing up and down. It was tough to get a picture at night without a tripod so this was the best I could do. Just another reason why we love our new neighborhood!

First snow of the winter!

It snowed yesterday morning while Charlotte was at school. On the way home, all they could talk about was playing in the white stuff. AJ was completely enamored with seeing snow from the car. He kept saying, "What a mess!" It took about 20 minutes to find all our gear and then get the kids dressed. They lasted a whopping 8 minutes because AJ took his mittens off. Within 5 minutes, he was crying because his hands were so cold. I promptly ordered him a pair of snowstopper mittens just like Charlotte's. Otherwise, he would have stayed out there all day.

Our little lamb in the Christmas pageant

Charlotte was the lamb in the nativity Christmas pageant at her school this year. She was excited to have the part as a sheep but super bummed that she wasn't chosen to be Mary. She was excited that her good bud, Jacob, was chosen to be Joseph.

Most of the nativity characters. I didn't get many good pictures because the lighting was awful.

Everyone enjoyed sugar cookies after the performance. Charlotte's fans included mom, dad, AJ, Nanny & Papa!

Walk in Bethlehem

We went to the Walk in Bethlehem at Parkwood Baptist for the second year in a row. Charlotte still talks about it from last year and couldn't wait to see the "real baby Jesus"! This church goes all out and you really feel as if you're walking the streets of Bethlehem. At the end, there is a living nativity complete with animals and the Holy Family. It's truly a wonderful gift to the community and something we'll attend every year if we can.

Breakfast with Santa at WSHS

We went to Breakfast with Santa at W. Springfield on Sat, Dec 11th. It was a totally new show this year and both kids enjoyed it. Charlotte met up with her good buddy from school, Gabriella.


Gabriella, Hannah and Charlotte eating breakfast.

AJ chatting it up with the elves :)

Trying to get a photo of the two of them in their nice outfits but failed.

Our house is the perfect colors for Christmas decorations! Apparently the previous owners did the same thing because one of our neighbors asked if they left the wreaths for us!

August Birthday Cousins

Charlotte has been longing to hold her newest cousin, Mary Ansley (born 8/2/10). Their family came over at the beginning of the month for brunch to see our new house. Charlotte finally got to hold Ansley and couldn't have been happier. She loves babies. They are almost exactly four years apart since Ansley was born Aug 2nd and Charlotte is Aug 5th. They'll always be August birthday buddies!