Ax man

We had a tree in the backyard that was basically a nuisance. No good could come from it, and Jay couldn't take it anymore, so he spent three days cutting it down with a chainsaw. One of my least favorite noises, the end of this project could not come fast enough for me. Hayden loved it, and so did the dogs. Even Lila didn't mind, snoozing outside in the nice weather while Jay cut and cut and cut some more.

Because of the fences, the deck and the proximity of the tree to our neighbor's yard, Jay had to take the smaller branches first, then the bigger branches and then finally the trunk.

Luckily for Hayden and the dogs, he left the trunk in a few big pieces in the yard for two days, which proved to be hours of entertainment! Literally hours. One night Hayden was out there until almost 9pm, and I had to serve his dinner on the deck because he refused to come in. You're only young once!

The kids' rooms...the "during"

So both of the kids' rooms are a work in progress. Hayden upgraded to a full size bed shortly after Lila was born, but we hadn't decided on paint colors until just last weekend. His old room was a Toy Story room which he loved, but we wanted a little more grown up bedding for his big bed so we went with a sports theme. It's coming together slowly, but he doesn't seem to mind!

Lila's room has been a bit more work since I had a very specific vision for her room (and since she's too small to contribute an opinion!). Jay finished up the paint, wainscot and chair rail awhile back, and we had the crib in just before she was born. I picked the black and white bedding because I loved it against the green, and the contrast is good for babies (who by default have terrible vision).

We also need one more curtain for the window, and are still getting her dresser. Eventually. But I have a place to sit, she has a place to sleep, and all is well!

I love the green and white photo that we picked to go with her hand and footprints, the wall really brings it out! There's something about little girls that just makes it so much fun to decorate.

Their bathroom was easy to do, because we just transferred everything we had from the apartment. Maybe when Lila is a little older we'll change it up a bit but for now it works just fine!

I took a few ideas from Pinterest and added them along the walls on the way up to their rooms. I shadowboxed both of the hats they wore home from the hospital, and will do the same "L" project I did with Hayden's pictures and "H" when she has a few more months (and pictures) under her belt.

The water gun is there just in case bad guys make it to the third floor. The mind of a three year old...

A finished room: The dining room

Well. Slowly we finish up small projects in the new house. I think I can safely say that the dining room is COMPLETE. It's the one room we had all the furniture for when we moved out of the apartment, and the one I had a complete vision for. Before Lila, it was the one room that stayed clean all the time. Now the fourth seat is where we dump mail, books, bags, etc. But luckily I cleaned it this weekend and snapped a few pics.

Eventually we'll set up Lila's high chair but that's a ways off. For now, when we eat dinner she's in her bouncy seat just inches off the floor, with me using my foot to give her a little rocking motion.

Remember the gold light fixture? Thanks to Monique, we no longer have to look at "the ugly one" (Hayden's words. Even he knew.). I love looking at our travel pictures while we eat; it's a fun reminder of where we've been, but that home is where we want to be.

I LOVE the red in this room, and love how my blue plates look on the wall against it. I also love that the valances I adored in a warm brown were on sale the day I went to buy them. This room has so much light when the sun is streaming in, so it's hard to get good pictures in the early evening (which is when I always think to take them).

I also love the way the dark furniture gives this room its character. Who knew being a homeowner was so much fun? And expensive. In case you forgot what it looked like when we moved in...

Not bad!

Progress

We are slowly getting our house together, but things like holidays and babies keep slowing us down! We aren't undergoing any major renovations this year but we are all about some paint and organization. The only room that's completely finished is the dining room, and I LOVE it.

Hayden got a new big boy bed just after Lila was born. We upgraded him to the full size bed that would fit the headboard from his crib/toddler bed, deciding to skip the middle man of the twin size. He's a big kid, and with the new bed I can lay in it with him to read and snuggle before bedtime.

We're still in that process of figuring out what to keep, what to toss, what we need vs. what we want, where to put what, all that jazz. Lila's room is about the only one we have a clear picture on what we want, but that takes both time and money. This weekend we managed to finally get up her window treatments, and it's easy to see why this is my favorite room in the house.

We have one more piece of furniture to procure, lots to do in the way of decor and I decided on a project for her closet so this is definitely a work in progress!

Happy Halloween!

We were SO excited for Halloween in our new house! We couldn't wait to take Hayden out trick or treating in our new, giant, overly-popular-for-Halloween neighborhood. We were also excited because our cul-de-sac has parties for every holiday, even if it has to be a short one because of work and school the next day. Hayden wore his costume at school for his last day there, and was excited about Halloween! I came home, tossed dinner in the oven, freshened up my own costume (ladybug) and Hayden and I waited impatiently for Jay to eat (we were too excited to eat).

He was the cutest little Woody!

We headed out to our neighborhood and saw tons and TONS of kids. People come from all over Greensboro because Adams Farm is such a concentrated location, so we got to see tons of fun costumes! Hayden got really excited every time he saw another Woody, and I was surprised how few Buzz Lightyears we saw!

After awhile he was tired of the hat so I carried it. At every house that had pumpkins, he made sure to tell me which ones were big, which ones were babies, and that they were our neighbors' pumpkins. He did really well with "thank you" after the candy but "trick or treat" was pretty quiet. I'm always surprised how shy he can be around strangers.

Oscar also loves Halloween because he gets to go with us! One of the neighbors had their dog (and treats) alongside their Halloween candy, and Hayden got really excited to give a treat to Oscar. The good thing about an almost-three-year-old on Halloween is the attention span. After a good 30 minutes, he was ready to go home. Perfect! We checked out his candy, let him have a few pieces and then it was bath and bedtime for our little trick or treater.

Happy Halloween!