Milestones

On Tuesday Ryder-Roo turned 8 weeks old. This week his brother started calling him Ryder-Roo after he heard me use the nickname. It's really adorable when he says it, but his daddy thinks it's a silly name.

Sweet little Ryder-Roo is growing super duper fast! He's getting really close to growing out of his 3 month clothes already. Wyatt didn't do that till he was about 4 months, so he's definitely more of a chunk. We keep telling Wyatt to watch out because his brother will take him on soon!

He started smiling and talking to us last week. LOVE that! And he also started sleeping 6 1/2 hours at night this week. Love that too! He's such a good, content little guy. He's on a schedule (flexible but a schedule) and I feel like we're ready to settle in and enjoy this time, busy as it is.

I went back to work a couple weeks ago, and adding a couple hours of work from home has been a little harder than I thought. Our day goes something like this: feed a child, change a diaper, feed a child, change a diaper, somehow get us all dressed for the day, maybe get something done around the house, feed a child, change a diaper, repeat, nap time (hallelujah!), feed a child, change a diaper, repeat, make dinner, feed a child, change a diaper, repeat, baths, bedtime, crash! Oh yeah, and do laundry and work.

Here's Ryder hanging out on his new quilt from Grammie. So soft and cute.

Wyatt also had a milestone last week. He turned 1 3/4 years old - 21 months already.

He's talking talking talking. I stopped to think about what he talks about, and it made me wonder what it says about him.

"People" is a new favorite word. He loves to go to "church" and he repeats his friends names a lot. He's also concerned with the locations of his loved ones. For a long time he stuck to grandparents and daddy. It sounded something like this:

Wyatt: "Daddy? Work?"

Me: "yep, Daddy's at work today."

Wyatt: "Mimi? House? Papa house? Mimi's house?"

Me: "yes, Papa and Mimi are at their house today."

Wyatt: "Mama? house? Papa work?"

Me: "yes, Papa is at work and Grandma is at her house today."

We went through that multiple times a day. Now he's added cousins to that conversation - "Emmy? Tyler? Tock (Scott)? Macie? KK?" and then all his church friends. But it always has to do with their location. I think the real goal is that maybe just maybe I might say that one of his loved ones is coming to our house today or that he might see them. One thing I know, Wyatt loooovvvesss people!

And a pic of the whole family for the church directory that we took a couple weeks ago. Wyatt only had a half cheese and Ryder's eyes were open. Two victories!

A Journey in Fabric

It's Wednesday and naptime. I should be cleaning bathrooms. I'll make this quick.

So way back in May or June I decided I needed to have my living room curtains completed and hung by August. And I went on a hunt for fabric that was finally concluded last week. Here's my trip...

Our living room walls are orange and khaki, so at first I thought about something like this. The orange matches perfectly, but when I brought this 1/4 yard home and held it up, it just looked too bland.

Then I brought home these two from the same line. I was pretty sure it was a no-go, but wanted to check. Randy confirmed it was definitely a no-go.

Then I decided that blue would be the accent color. I have a robin's egg blue teapot from a garage sale, and a smoky blue suitcase (part of a stacked suitcase end table) also from a garage sale. But it's really hard to find the right orange and blue fabric. Most of it is far too modern or retro. I want something classic enough that it will work with our funky vintage finds (as in the large trunk I want for a coffee table but haven't found in my budget).

For awhile I was convinced Kate Spain's new Moda line would be perfect. But this was the closest thing in her line I could find in both blue and orange, and it was all wrong. That was in late August.

By then I thought that maybe it would be best just to have blue curtains and make the room less monochromatic.

One day I was sorting through my growing fabric stash and found two fat quarters of this.

Perfect! The darker blue matches the suitcase and the background matches the teapot, perfectly blending everything. It's modern enough to be interesting, but funky enough to work with vintage garage sale finds. Only one problem. Hancock Fabrics didn't have yardage of it, just fat quarters. And there was absolutely no selvage with information on it. A search of Hancock's website revealed nothing.

I tried these two to see if they could work.

Neither did. Both were far too aqua. Although the picture doesn't show much difference from the other fabric there really is a big one.

A couple months later I was working on a Christmas gift and saw this piece I had sewn into a bag last year.

Love it! It was the same blue as the background of the Hancock Fabric. The swirl made it a little more formal to fit a living room but not too stuffy. And it was at Hobby Lobby, so I could get it pretty cheap. That was a few weeks before Ryder was born, so even though the thought ran through my mind that I should really go get it before they discontinued it or something, I was more focused on the pending large change in our household.

After Christmas I stopped by the fabric department to check it out only to find ONE yard remaining on the bolt. Discontinued. I bought the yard because I loved the fabric. But I need 5 1/2 yards. Calls to two other Hobby Lobbys only found me 3 more yards, so I gave up that one.

Two weeks ago I was again wandering through the fabric department at Hobby Lobby (sanity, please?) when I found this one.

I liked the blue background. The orange dot was perfect, and the other colors would allow for changing my accent colors. But polka dots? In my living room? No thanks.

The coordinating fabric in the line, on the other hand, was just right.

The paisley pattern makes it formal enough for a living room, but the colors are bright, so it's definitely not stuffy or formal. The blues and oranges were right, AND there was plenty of fabric on the bolt. I snatched it up. FINALLY.

I've decided on the following combo. The swirl fabric will be the rod pocket. It just needed a little something to offset all the paisley.

And that, folks, is my next Friday project. The fabric is washed, ironed, and waiting for naptime on Friday....if I ever get my bathrooms cleaned, that is.

Home Tour: Before and After

We have lived in this house for 9 months, and I'm still working on getting things up on the walls. A chalkboard and two canvases finally went up in the dining room last weekend. Our laundry room/pantry is complete with doors on the cabinets now, and I finally, finally chose fabric for our living room curtains. So here's a little before and after of the main living areas...minus the laundry room, which is currently covered in clean laundry. You'll have to wait on that one and the bedrooms. They're still in process.

Welcome to our house!

I actually decorated for Valentine's Day this year and had a lot of fun wrapping ribbon yesterday. Wyatt rewarded me this morning when we left the house for church. "Pretty!" he said. He's a boy and he noticed!

This is what the house looked like before. Well, sort of before. I forgot to take one before we started scraping and priming, but you get the idea.

And after. Although I can't say the winter-brown grass is all that flattering to the color. It was really hard to choose a color because the roof is such a light gray. We're so glad we painted the brick, and removed the 1950's wrought iron post. I'm hoping to replace it next summer.

Entry buffet. There was really nothing here when we first looked at the house.

The dining room looking from the front door - before.

And after. By the way, the door next to the table in the before picture used to open as a second entrance to Wyatt's room. Randy converted it to a utility closet, and it's one of my favorite, simple changes we've made!

The front living room before...as Randy pulled down all of the window treatments.

And after. This is the room I've been trying to choose curtain fabric for over the past 9 months...that post coming soon.

The family room is an addition on the back of the house. We love this room except for the fact that it's really cold in here in the winter. We have plans for that useless wood fireplace!

After we painted, replaced carpet and tile, and pulled down rickety shelves. Those shelves will be replaced with a storage/desk unit eventually. And the steps need to be replaced one day.

Kitchen pantry before, complete with small appliances for all to see.

And after. We really haven't done much to the kitchen. We have major plans for it down the road, so we haven't felt like sinking any money or work into it now. Let's just say that those plans include Randy's first kitchen cabinet building job, moving doors and plumbing and completely refiguring the room.

Until then, it's still in all its gold glory, minus the awful curtains and the ridiculously small sink. (Sorry, I'm too lazy to make it presentable for a picture today.)

We really are so thankful for this house! There are definitely days I wish we had a basement (can you say nerf guns?) and Randy wishes we had a two-car garage for his shop (he's building me a sewing cabinet right now). But this house is home and we're truly thankful for the way God has provided for us!

As Ye Sew...

...so shall ye rip.

And I think I ripped more orange thread than I sewed on Wyatt's new diaper bag today. That's what happens when I try to adapt a pattern I don't like. Lesson learned. I'm half tempted to rip the entire thing completely apart and take it to my mom for help putting it back together in a way I like. But only half tempted. Let's be honest, before long there will be new fabric that I'll "need" to use on a project. Until then, this one will work just fine. I do love the fabric though - Riley Blake Wheels. And I have 3 more very fun 1/2 yards from the collection.

From the mouth of babes...

Just wanted to tell you that last night Wyatt said his first clear sentence with a subject, verb, and direct object.

"I want cake."

Yep. He's our son.

Multiple Posts in One

So I've had at least 3 posts running through my mind for the last couple weeks. It just hasn't been priority to get them out. So here they are.

4 Weeks

Last Tuesday Ryder turned 4 weeks old...already! I'm borrowing a couple ideas from my sil and a friend. We'll see how the owl (thanks, Aunt Lindsay!) shrinks next to Ryder over the next 12 months.

He looks like Wyatt's twin, except when he opens his eyes. Then I see Ryder very clearly even though they're blue just like Wyatt's. There's just something about those beautiful eyes!

He's a great sleeper! If I feed him around 10, he makes it till 2 or 3 and then through the rest of the night. YAY! That just happened this week, and I'm very thankful for it. There's something about that 2nd nighttime feeding that just wipes me out. Oh and he can sleep through his brother's yelling and the vacuum cleaner. Must be my child.

He's also a good eater on a 3 hour (roughly) schedule.

He's a content baby. But when he wants something, he wants it NOW and he has serious lungs to let us know.

He's not a big fan of tummy time. He does move his head from side to side (started at week 2), but it takes convincing.

Wyatt still loves his brother, and Ryder doesn't mind Wyatt. A couple days ago I found Ryder wearing Wyatt's toy hard hat. Apparently he must have been gentle putting it on because Ryder didn't seem to mind for the 30 seconds he had it on.

I'm posting this pic so that you can fully appreciate the incredible cuteness of this outfit, complete with matching striped socks.

And this one just turned out better. See those beautiful blues?

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Spoiled

Last week I was incredibly spoiled and blessed by a few special people.

- My mom came over one afternoon to cuddle Ryder and play with Wyatt, and I got to clean the kitchen in peace (and have a conversation with an adult!). Thanks, Mom!

- Ryder only got me up once at night for the first time. Thanks, Ryder!

- My mother-in-law picked up Wyatt one morning and kept him all day. I got a day practically to myself and a date with my hubby. And Wyatt had so much fun with Mimi and Papa that he cried when we walked through the door that night. Thanks, Mimi and Papa!

- I got a massage. Thanks, Hubby!

Huge blessings, every one.

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Snow!

Or "No" as Wyatt calls it. "No outside. Brrr!" he says. Monday we got 3-5" of the stuff.

I've decided that I like the first day it snows. Especially when it's fluffy and there's no wind - a rare day around here! But it needs to melt and warm up to 50 or 60 degrees by the next day. Yep, I'm a weenie. I'll freely admit it.

Right after breakfast I took Wyatt outside. He was all excited to get bundled up for the snow Kansas-style (two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, and tennies). I'm too cheap to buy snowpants and boots for as much snow as we get here.

We need a sled, but we don't have one, so he played with summer toys - a dump truck and a garden shovel. He loves those two things!
Oops! This romp in the snow was definitely not on purpose, and I almost expected tears, but he was tough.

After a little while in the backyard, we headed up to the front where Randy was shoveling the driveway. As we got there, our neighbor from across the park was out for his morning walk with his 11 year old German shorthair,Kris, and his 6 month old German shorthair, Abby. It was Abby's first snow and she loved it - whipping across the park and all through our yard. Even Kris joined in the fun. Wyatt had so much fun watching them play, and when we came in, he ran up and down our family room, spinning and falling. "Doggie! Doggie" Yep, Wyatt, that's what the doggies did. Silly kid.

One thing we know for sure is that we need to convert our wood fireplace in the family room to a gas fireplace that puts out significant heat. The family room is an addition, so it's the hottest room in the summer and the coldest in the winter. And it's a few steps lower than the rest of the house, so in the morning as you walk into the room you can feel the temperature drop. Brr! Did I mention we're weenies who really dislike being cold? It's been so cold in there that for the last two days I have brought the toys into the living room where it's warmer.

Wyatt got to watch a little "Cat in the Hat" while I made his breakfast on Wednesday morning. He sat bundled up like that for about 15 minutes till his eggs were ready.

Okay, I think that's it. I've had a request for pictures of the house since we made changes, but I've got a few projects that are almost done. Then I'll get working on that one.

I Wub My Wubbanub

Grandma Y gave Ryder a WubbaNub for Christmas. It's a binki attached to an animal - in this case, a monkey. It helps the binki not pop out quite so quickly. Our pediatrician recommended it,and so far it's a hit.

Ryder leaped over his birthweight this last week. He lost 11% by the time he left the hospital, so he had a good bit to make up. He gained an ounce per day for the first week-right on track. From week two to week three he gained 1 2/3 ounces per day, reaching 8 lbs, 6 oz. by last Monday. His stick thighs now have rolls and his chin has doubled. so pinchably sweet! He's also the noisiest, smelliest tooter in the house.