Bathroom Re-Do

In July and August we spent every moment that Parker was asleep....redoing our upstairs bathroom!  When we moved in a year ago, the bathroom was decent but dated.  Another motivating factor was that we noticed a lot of chipped-away grout between the tiles nearest the shower head, and we could only imagine what moldy nightmares may rest behind there.  Because of our little guy, we were limited to evenings and naptimes when he was asleep, but after several weeks of dedicated time, we slowly made progress until the work was finished.  We love the results!  Some before's and after's...

Before: blue-gray paint on the walls, oak doors, 80's tile in the tub, and ceramic towel rack (not to mention the toilet paper holder several feet out in front of the toilet...can you imagine a toddler trying to REACH out to grab some tp in the middle of a bathroom break??)

During: lots of tile removal, and the discovery that cement backer-board wasn't used in the shower...combined with the fact that the grout between the shower tiles had chipped away over nearly 30 years of use, it was pretty soggy back there!  The sheet rock and insulation were completely replaced in the shower area to eliminate all concerns for mold.

After: new tile and design, fresh paint on the walls and doors, white trim along the floor (this is a house-wide update that's been in the works), new shower fixtures, and properly-placed shower rack and toilet paper dispenser

Future work: someday we'd love to put updated floor tile and a new vanity and light fixture in here...but it wasn't our priority this time around, and with other more important house projects in the very near future, these remaining items will just have to wait!



8 months old

We are staying busy busy busy.  I don't think that Derek or I (or Parker, for that matter) know how to sit still.  We've got lots of projects going on throughout the house, and Parker keeps us on our toes, but we love it.  He's getting to that really fun age where you can play and laugh with him - we are loving our time with him more than ever these days.  And he's FAST - we'll be chasing that little bugger someday soon.  He learned to crawl at 7 1/2 months, even before he knew how to sit up on his own.  The day after he started to crawl, he started attempting to pull himself up onto things, which he mastered in a week or two.  He wants so badly to be able to walk - you can see it in the way that he slowly tries to let go of whatever it is that's keeping him stable.  Pretty much, once he figures out how to balance, he'll be off and running...quite literally.  And then there will be Derek and me bringing up the rear, chasing after him :)

Some pictures of Parks for the month...

This little guy loves climbing into the laundry basket - and he thinks he's so funny in doing so!  Just look at that proud "look at me!" smile :)  Can't you just tell that he's thrilled with himself?

Um, yeah, so this was the last time Parker got to fall asleep in his swing...it was folded up and put into storage after we found him curled up in a ball like this!

Parker has figured out that the chair makes a great sound when you slap on it

Anxious to say 'hello' to some of the local wildlife

Taking a snoozle with dad on the couch

P loves his finger puppets...but not as puppets.  Instead, he has figured out that they are the perfect size to stuff in his mouth while he continues to play with his hands.  His favorite puppet to tote around is the shark.  Gotta love $1 finds at Ikea!

One-on-one parenting right here, folks :)

Picking out some light reading material

Off to find something to get into...

...And he found it!

Practicing his ability to pull up on furniture to a stand...love that little pot-belly! 

Olmsted County Fair

This week we went to the annual Olmsted County Fair - just a small, simple fair, but it is complete with animals, rides, and of course anything-you-can-imagine-fried-on-a-stick (we tried to fried cookie dough this year...not my favorite, but now I can say I've had it I guess!).

 

Parker keeping himself entertained by making funny faces

 

 

 

Five Years

This July marks Derek's and my five-year wedding anniversary!  We celebrated by dropping Parker off and daycare, taking some PTO, and driving to the nearby town of Lanesboro, Minnesota.  It's a quaint biking-canoeing-tubing town, with lots of family-owned eateries, world famous pies, bike trails, and a river running through it for the back-country water-enthusiasts.  We had a great day, and we can't wait to go back again sometime soon!

Starting off with some Spud Boy for a breakfast omelot - just a small trolley car of a diner squeezed between two other buildings, and a husband-and-wife team running the quaint operation.  One of the best breakfasts we've had in a long time!

Biking along the river to nearby Whalan for some pie...

 

 

...but when we got there, it was closed!  Aparently we shouldn't have tried to go on a Tuesday.  Next time!

 

 

 

Enjoying a canoe ride down the lazy Deep River

 

Some wildlife along the river - a river otter and some deer

 

 

Capping off the day with some refreshing ice cream back in Lanesboro

Seven Months

Just a few pics of our growing boy to cap off the month of June!  He is still squirmy, still drooly (and no teeth yet...), and somehow gets sweeter and sweeter everyday.  He's got the army-crawl down pat, and now we are waiting for him to figure out how to put one knee in front of the other.

Parker is AWESOME at helping with the laundry.  We have a great thing going: I fold it, and then he unfolds it

 Lately, Parker has taken up the annoying habit of squirming a lot while being changed.  This has been heightened with his awareness of the wipes case, which is made of a crinkly plastic, which he LOVES to touch and try to play with

  

Parker gave his first kiss this month...a nice, wet lick to Derek's cheek! (don't ask me how we got it on camera - pure luck)  It followed a shower of kisses Derek had been planting on Parker's creamy-smooth skin, and apparently P wanted to return the sentiment

Sleeping sideways in his crib

 Parker always loves a good book...

 Parker's favorite way to play is when you get down on the ground with him, so that he can proceed to crawl all over you.  He's not very aware of the concept of "personal space" yet :)

Our happy seven-month-old!