Finally!! Here is the tour of our newly redone kitchen. I had such a hard time imagining it and have gone through so many "do I really like this?" moments. In the end, I LOVE IT (especially when I think of the all white it was before)! Take a look at some of the before pictures and "in-progress". I am enjoying really cooking and using my kitchen now, instead of re-doing it!
BEFORE IN PROGRESS (10 months long)
AFTER
Our kitchen has done more than a physical re-model. We eat almost 100% homemade food now (goodbye processed food)! Amy & Cadence are often busy in the kitchen during the day, but we are healthier, feel better, and eat some delicious food! To see some of the foods we have now incorporated and other healthy ideas, check out Amy's blog here.
Cadence has a close cousin who he absolutely loves to play with - Atley Sorensen. Atley is only 2 months older and they have a great time playing together! Today, Cadence also became a "Holly fan" (Holly is Atley's younger sister - not quite a year younger than Cade, she's still pretty close in age). We watched a video of our sweet little 11 month old Holly walking and Cadence asked for "More..baby...please" about 20 times in a row (I indulged him - it's a seriously cute video). He's waiting patiently as we speak to watch the baby again :) Here is a video of him on the 16th time (I think... I was losing count), watching Holly walk.
The only unfortunate part is I didn't catch him imitating her...
I find myself wondering lately what is going on inside his cute little head. Cadence is in a creative mode! Maybe you won't see it, but something about this pictures and videos is fascinating to me. I love to watch him learn!
Adventurous snack time! I'm always trying something new to get him to eat healthy. It's fun experimenting. Today's choice (and a total winner) - PB & carrots. Sounds gross, but I tried it myself - not too bad! Especially if you love PB like Cade & I!
The box - good for pushing him across the floor, drawing, climbing - you name it! This particular day it's a chair and an art desk! (and the wipes container actually has crayons in it).
He actually got one of his play nails into the bunk bed w/ his little hammer. I love watching him do this (though I confess the constant noise also drives me nuts at times).
Thankfully this time, it's not our blog - it's OUR HOUSE! Things have been so crazy that I haven't taken many pictures. Expect them soon, but also expect delays. (Sorry to have distracted you by this appealing message).
After too many busy weeks of not making $7 haircuts on Wednesday, we decided I should have a go at cutting Austin's hair. He wasn't exactly thrilled I wanted to take a picture, but I think it turned out pretty good (especially considering I've only cut a 1 year old's hair in the past 4 years).
My sister Erin decided she was going to come for a visit a couple of weeks ago. We had a great weekend! She brought lots of fun toys for the kids (making up for past birthdays and holidays) and they really enjoyed playing with her. Cristina and Ian also brought their family from Idaho. With 5 (Eddie stopped by too but his son was sick so we didn't get their pictures) out of the 8 siblings here, it felt like a mini-reunion.
(Cade & Erin in the morning. Snuggling & watching Monsters, Inc. on her IPhone 4.)
(Coloring on a box with Aunt Maria - much better than paper and not my furniture) (Bubbles are a hit!)
(Ian, Cristina, Holly, Atley, & Cadence) (Atley's dinosaur - a favorite toy -becomes scary when turned on)
One of the best parts of the weekend (for me) was getting some quality time doing projects with my sisters. Cristina has been dying to reupholster something and has done a bunch of research, so we decided as part of my "new kitchen" we'd reupholster the kitchen chairs, with the leftover fabric from hemming the curtains. (Can you see how dirty the chair fabric was? Gross.)
It's actually pretty simple. I'll post more about how to do it on my personal blog if you're curious. This is the after and before (maybe I should have switched them...)
Satisfied Cristina's creative desire and made my kitchen look even better! We're starting to more regularly work on projects together when we get together and it makes me wish she lived a little closer. As we worked on the chairs, my sister Maria and I made granola. She made me a big fan this year of Alton Brown's show on the Food Network, "Good Eats". It's about a 20 minute long show I watch when I get a minute or am folding laundry on Youtube. I love it because he teaches you about the science of food. It's clever, quick, and satisfies my craving to know more about food yet doesn't take too much time away from being a mom. I loved the recipe, but I think we'll be trying some others before we settle (and knowing me we'll end up combining them to make our own health concoction).
I loved having my sisters here! Family is such a great blessing in our lives.
