A Hiatus...

I rocked RF a little longer tonight than I usually do. I just wanted to stare at him. I have been feeling a roller-coaster of emotions the last few days as I know my summer with him is winding down. This week is our last full week together. I go back to work and he starts school on August 5th. I've been trying to focus on getting things organized and prepared so that the transition will be as smooth as possible. But tonight, I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about my baby boy and how big he has gotten and how much fun he is and how much I just want to freeze time and drink in every breath, every smile, every laugh, and every look of wonder. 

So this week, I'm taking a hiatus. 

I'm spending the week focusing completely on RF. Just he and I doing whatever we want to do each and every day. Spending time playing, smiling, snuggling, napping, and reading. My plans for this week include not having any plans. :-)

Aunt Haydn, RF and I drove down to Gulf Shores today to spend some time with Meme. The highlight of RF's day was splish-splashing in Meme's pool. 

He L-O-V-E-S the water...

Streams of water mesmerize him...he does the same thing when the water is running into his bathtub...

A happy baby and a happy mama... :-)

Out = In

RF is 9 months old today. Wow.

As we were taking our monthly photo this morning I noticed how much harder it is getting to take his picture - he wants to move all. the. time.

Just not quite close enough...

Well I'll just walk around the trunk, then...

Standing still long enough for mama to snap a photo...

We spent this morning doing some shopping at a local consignment sale. 28 shirts, 10 pairs of shorts/pants, three pairs of shoes, one magnetic train set (he loves the one at the Daphne Library), and one Thomas the Train = $70. 

RF is ready for school...

RF noticed the Thomas the Train sitting on the table at the consignment sale and when I picked it up grinned from ear to ear. How could mama say no to that? 

At home playing with his new toys...they have wheels - he's happy. :-)

And have I mentioned RF's love of boxes?

Even during playtime at StoryTime he managed to find a box to push around. 

Notice how blurry it is? I feel like all of my photos of him right now are blurry - he loves to go-go-go. 

He climbed on top of these boxes and decided to lay down on them and read his book.

Lola made him a tunnel at the office - fun, fun, fun for a little boy. 

Man, I love this little guy...

Kitchen

It is finally finished. It only took three weeks, but it is finally complete. 

I remember posting on the blog back in December 2010 while we were working on the major renovations after moving in, that I said our biggest project for 2011 would be an overhaul of the kitchen. 

Ha. 

It's seven months into 2013 and we're just getting around to it. 

I guess life (and other more pressing and important house projects) have kept us busy. 

The changes included a new paint color (the Historical Preservation Society's 'Churchill Hotel Maple'), painting the cabinets and drawers white (they were a beige color), up-cycled hardware on all of the cabinets and new electrical coverings. 

BEFORE 

AFTER 

When I was trying to figure out the hardware situation and started looking at Lowe's I realized cabinetry hardware (at least the one's I liked) were pretty expensive. I needed 20 drawer/cabinet pulls and 30 hinges. At $3 each, I was looking at $150 just in hardware. Since it's not something that was a big deal for me, I started brainstorming ways to get around that expense. I have seen so many people post things on Pinterest where they have taken something that was quite ugly (an old vase, picture frame, etc.) and spray paint it. Huh. That's an idea. I checked at Lowe's and found a brushed nickel spray paint that adhered to metal. I lightly sanded the hardware, put two coats of spray paint on them and presto, new cabinetry hardware. 

From this...

To this..

Instead of having walls that are three different colors, now they are all one color --- :-)

From this...                                                                            

 To this...

We do still have to get our window treatments and wall art hung back up, but other than that we're done. And one day I would like to replace the countertops and re-do the floors back to the original hardwood (which is underneath the flooring that is down now), but it's not something that I feel like I have to do right now. Just painting and changing the cabinetry hardware makes it feel like it is a new kitchen to me. 

Our hoosier cabinet. It's one of the very first antique pieces RA and I purchased. While it is not nearly as old as some of our other pieces, it is one of my favorites. My grandparents had one just like it in their house. I can still remember (and smell) the warm, hot cinnamon rolls sitting on a plate on the cool, white, porcelain top.

A Busy Board for A Busy Boy

One of my two projects is complete...drumroll, please.

RF's Busy Board --- :-)

It includes things that he can manipulate and things that he can touch to feel different textures. 

The old electrical face plate is from one of our renovation projects. 

The "5" and "6" were found in a drawer when we moved in to the house. 

The hook latch, door latch and carpet sample I got at Lowe's. 

The wheel is an old caster from an antique chair that we replaced. 

Three different chains and a door stop from Lowe's. 

I found the hook for him to hang things on in our "House Supplies" cabinet. 

Another carpet sample and a light switch, both from Lowe's. 

RF LOVES this thing...He is really enjoying exploring it and although some of the things are a little advanced for him right now, I know he will enjoy playing with it as he grows. I intend on adding things that are even more advanced as he masters these items. 

                                         
                                                                       Little hands exploring...

Another little project that I found on one of my mommy blogs was a homemade book using ziploc bags. I picked up some paint chips at Lowe's, wrote the color on the paint chip, put them in the ziploc bags and then secured the bags together using packing tape. RF enjoys looking at the colors and the noise that the bags make when he touches them. I'm working on making a few more that show RF different shapes and animals. 

What else have we been up to this week? 

He loves to spin the wheels on his stroller. When I say, "Robert Franklin, where are the wheels?" He crawls over to his stroller and starts spinning them. 

Splashing in a bowl of water...

Pushing his shape sorter on the hardwood floor. 

Ignore all the dog hair on the floor...we were busy playing and didn't have time to clean. :-)

Playing with Gracie. She is so sweet. She lets him pet her, play with her ears (his favorite thing to do) and poke her feet. 

Even with the best of intentions...

plans don't always get followed and the tasks on to-do lists don't always get checked off in a timely manner.

Enter --- the last two weeks.

My intentions last week and this week were pretty simple - complete two projects.

One project --- re-doing my kitchen was a bit more major than the other project --- making RF's busy board.

Needless to say, two weeks later and I am still working on both. The paint on the next section of my kitchen cabinets is drying as we speak. Let's hope I can at least get the kitchen finished this weekend - it (and my dining room) is a complete disaster.

My kitchen as it has been since we moved in in October 2010. Sad, huh? We have found all sorts of colors as we have worked on it - yellow, green, red, black, off-white and white. 

 Last week, Robert's parents came in town to spend some time with us and help us work on the kitchen. But, unfortunately with bad weather and a 110-year old house (anytime we undertake one project we find three other things that need to be done, too), things weren't able to be completed as quickly as we had wanted. I think over the course of five days we made five trips to Lowe's for supplies...and I'm still working on it.

Mrs. Margie had a great idea to get a window with as many panes as she has grandchildren and to let each grandchild paint a pane - so cute! RF did a great job painting his pane last weekend.

What is this, mama? 

Ok, I see how this works, mama...

Oh yea, this is fun, mama!

Did I do a good job, mama? 

Swinging with Nana and Babu

We did celebrate RF's first Fourth of July, though. We made ribs, mashed potatoes and corn and spent the evening watching a cinema classic (see photo below). We aren't big fireworks people (mainly because of our dogs - they do not like loud noises) and since the weather wasn't ideal we certainly weren't going to make a trip to the water to see them.

RF on the Fourth of July wearing a red, white and blue John-John that RA wore when he was a little boy...

Our movie on the Fourth of July...anyone know what movie it is just by this photo? And yes, my child is laying on a cardboard box... :-)

Vacuuming up all the sheetrock dust in the house...RF isn't scared of the vacuum cleaner, he just wants to have his eyes on it at all times when it is on. 

This week started off quite well, but took a nasty turn on Tuesday afternoon. RF and I spent Monday hanging at home, slowly working on the kitchen and cleaning up the house as the day went  on. Tuesday I had a meeting at the school, so RF hung with Lola until my meeting was over. After picking RF up, we were heading home when we were in a car accident. Luckily, RF's carseat is in the middle of the back seat as the impact was on the passenger side of my car. My airbag deployed, RF was quite upset and to make the situation worse, the driver of the other vehicle fled the scene. Luckily a Good Samaritan was able to get the vehicle's license plate number. After a trip to the pediatrician for RF and the urgent care for me we made it back home and have spent the last two days resting. RF was given the all clear and I have a few minor scrapes and bruises, a banged up thumb and some intense soreness, but we are super thankful that since we were close to home, RA and my dad (his office is just a block from where the accident happened) were able to get to us quickly.

Not fun at all...especially with an 8-month old in the car...

RF checking out the giraffe at the pediatrician's office...

So today is the first day that I have felt like getting anything done and I am working on painting another section of my cabinets while RF spends some time with Lola. As soon as the kitchen is done, I'll post photos. For those of you who have seen my kitchen in person, it's a drastic change and I cannot wait to show you the finished product.