Here are some before and after photos for the Dining Room, Living Room, and Entrance to the house.  The Dining Room and Living Room are really just one big area.

Basically new paint (walls and ceiling), hardwood floors, and new light fixtures/fans.  We did keep the curtains from the before pictures – they just weren’t up during the after shots.  We also got rid of the little swinging gate that was attached to the banister going down the stairs.

I’m second guessing that decision now that somebody decided today would be a good day to teach Adam how to go down stairs.  Thanks Dave.

I think we might need to invest in a second baby gate.

Dear New Neighbors,

You can thank my father-in-law for installing the mini-blinds.  Sorry if you had your retinas burned because you accidentally caught a glimpse of anything before that happened.

Love,

Sandy

PS:

(Because Dave complained that the last post didn’t include a picture)

The restaurant we had dinner at tonight had live music – a piano player and a lady that sang.  Adam was so funny.  He loved every minute of it.  He danced to some songs, sat quietly on my (or Grandma Cathy’s) lap and just stared at the singer for others, and clapped at the end of them all.  It was adorable.  As we were leaving we stopped to thank the singer and she commented that it was easy to see Adam really loved music.  She’s 100% right on that count.

He has a little “CD player” he got for his birthday and he will push the buttons until it plays his favorite songs (currently the ABC song and 1-2, Buckle Your Shoe).  It’s funny because if any other song comes on he’ll press the buttons again until it plays one he wants to hear.

I hope his love for music continues as he gets older.

I also hope he doesn’t want to be a drummer.

Apparently somebaby thinks that “laptop” means his lap should be on top of the computer.  He crawled over to my computer, closed it, and then climbed on up.  I guess that extra inch of height is just perfect for watching his dinosaur cartoon.

In an unrelated note, this picture makes me want to gnaw on his belly.

In another unrelated note, his curls are out of control.  Dave claims he needs a haircut.  I disagree.

Earlier today my awesome father-in-law painted our three bathrooms.  Yesterday he hung up the blinds and curtains in our living and dining room and painted the ceilings in those three bathrooms.  Out of all of the most recent home improvements though, this is easily my favorite.

Adam is not as impressed by it.

I was reading another website the other day and the author made the following comment about her son, “He messes with outlets and power cords like an uninsured electrician”.  That pretty much sums up Adam.  If it has a cord he wants to pull on it.  If he does manage to get something out of an outlet he wants to plug it back in.  The word “handful” doesn’t even begin to describe him.

And I have the sinking feeling that things are about to get even worse for those that attempt to wrangle our two foot terror.  Last night he starting walking.

We were in the living room and Adam was standing next to the couch, he turned (and with no prompting) took about four steps to get to where Dave was sitting on the floor.  He was so pleased with himself that he turned around (with the help of the footstool) and walked back to me (this continued for probably 10 minutes – mommy, daddy, and Grandpa Kurt provided the necessary positive reinforcement for him to think it was a really fun game).

We’re all in trouble now.

Adam had his 12-month checkup today.  Our little peanut weighs 20 pounds 10 ounces and is 28.5 inches tall.  He’s a bit on the low end for height and weight – but he’s meeting all his milestones, eats like a champ, and is an extremely active baby.  The way I figure, he’s Adam-sized and will grow according to his own schedule.

The poor kid got two shots today too.  He’s having a bit of a rough day.

The doctor does want me to increase his bottle size (again) so that he’ll have more “energy”.

I’m not sure I can handle Adam with more energy.

I’ve got to give Aunt Stacy credit for taking Adam and Bruzer for a walk (Bruzer is my brother and sister-in-law’s 12 week old puppy).  I’m not sure I would have attempted it.  However, she not only survived the walk, but brought back a sleeping baby.  What can I say?  Aunt Stacy is awesome.

Bruzer is an adorable dog and he was really good with Adam too.  The little dude loved watching him and petting him.  Adam was less impressed when Bruzer repeatedly licked his face (I’m guessing he was just cleaning up some leftover lunch).

For those of you wondering at home, yes we’ve talked about adding a pooch to our family.   After discussing the matter at length we’ve decided that every boy should grow up with a dog, and so we will be getting a pup of our very own…..in about 4 years.

Before we started looking for our new home we came up with a wishlist of features that our dream home would have.  The list had two columns: Wants and Needs.  One of the really important things to us was a nice big area where we could spend time as a family.  A room where we could all hang out and be together (even if we were each doing our own thing) without being too crowded.  For us, this was categorized as a “need”.

At the end of our week of house-hunting we had it narrowed down to two choices (both had huge family rooms).  One was a gorgeous ranch home that had recently been renovated and had all of the bells and whistles.  The kitchen in that house looked like it belonged in a magazine.  I’m not sure what I would have done with it.  I’d have had to get a fancier crock-pot.

The other house (the one we ended up getting) was a bit outdated but had so much potential and when you listed each homes’ attributes (and ignored anything cosmetic) it came out ahead each time.  In the end we made the right choice for our family (and our savings account).  Plus, by purchasing the house that needed a little TLC, we were able to really make sure it reflected our tastes and style.  There is no denying that the ranch house, our 2nd choice, was a stunning property – but it wasn’t really “us”.  It’s not just the crock-pot, we’re not that fancy either.

Here are some before and after pictures of our current family room.

A huge difference right?  Gone is the outdated bookshelf with its saggy shelves.  It’s been replaced with a cool half-wall that mimics the shelving around the room and really opens the space up.  We also added some trim to create a faux-shelf on the adjoining wall.  This allowed us to continue our two-tone paint scheme.  It’s tough to tell in the “before” picture, but the ceiling was actually a light green color.  It’s white now and the carpet has been replaced as well.  The recessed lights were cleaned and given the proper wattage bulbs.  In the back corner (it’s hidden by the fan) is a new dehumidifier.  Kurt had the fantastic idea to get a self-draining one (we were emptying the one the old homeowners left twice a day).

Here’s another before and after comparison.  I didn’t take the photos from the same angle, but you can get a nice idea of the size of the room from the two of them.

I know we will spend a lot of time as a family in this room.  I can picture us on a Sunday afternoon this fall – Dave watching football on TV, Adam playing with his toys, me scrapbooking.  I can see the three of us snuggled up on the couch on a Friday night watching movies or reading stories.  It’s going to be awesome.

One of the adventures that comes with moving is getting used to a whole new grocery store.  Earlier this week, we stopped in at Price Chopper to sign up for their rewards program and pick up some groceries.  Who knew a quick trip to the store could be so entertaining.

Diet Foods and Candy in the same aisle – someone has a sense of humor.

Perky Jerky.  The first performance enhancing meat snack.  It’s caffeinated beef jerky and contains the same amount of caffeine as two energy drinks.  No, we did not purchase the Perky Jerky – we just took its picture and moved on down the aisle to where we found these gems.

Dave was powerless to resist.