Guest bedroom before and after and new mantel

Before we moved in we had every room in the house painted builder white. This was a vast improvement in every single room. We are (very) slowly getting around to painting colors. Thinking I wanted to do horizontal stripes, I looked for inspiration via an image search on google. Found the most amazing picture.

 So here's the before (little Luca is laying on the bed because he wouldn't nap when I was took these months ago).

A laser level, lots of placing and replacing frog tape, and a couple coats later...

 

I made pillows and recovered the head board and am so very pleased with how it turned out!

While I was making over the house, I thought the mantel needed a little extra love. Of course, I had a couple of little helpers...

No before picture, so you'll have to imagine that there's nothing on the wall, just the stuff on  the shelf. And now I'm rethinking the stuff on the shelf, so it'll probably change again. But, I really really like how it looks. Since I got the frames at Goodwill (with some just absolutely beautiful art) it cost a grand total of $11. Plus one of the paintings actually was pretty, so I'm looking for something to do with it.

Walking(ish)

Finally Luca agreed to be video taped while he walked! This is about as far as he goes, and he is more apt to do it when he's slap happy. He still prefers scooting, but is also seeming to enjoy walking more and will frequently ask us for a finger so he can walk. Won't be too much longer before we have a full time walker!

First (Professional) Hair Cut

I love the longer hair on the little guy, but it was getting too close to mullet for my taste. I've trimmed his hair a handful of times, but he has a giant cowlick in the back and I just couldn't figure out what to do with it. The length wasn't giving it weight to chill it out, but I was afraid cutting it short would turn him into Alfalfa. So it was time to call in a professional. He is a terrible, terrible picture taker, and I was expecting the same melt down for the hair cutter lady (her official title, I'm pretty sure). Except now there would be scissors involved, very close to his handsome little face. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. Luckily there was another little boy just finishing up his cut in the car next to Luca, so he was a temporary distraction. When he left, the tears started. Blowing bubbles provided another short distraction. See how he's holding on to the side of the taxi and putting on a brave face? Also see the giant crocodile tears that are stuck on his cheeks?

One more melt down when she got out the trimmer to get around his ears, and we were done. Wipe off the tears and you'd never know how awful it was. He looks very handsome, but my baby boy is definitely gone and has been replaced with a little man.

Playing in his kitchen, of course.

17 months old

I say it again and again, but I can't believe how fast time flies. One more month and he is officially 1 and a half, and if I remember my child development classes, that starts the terrible two's. Guess I better really soak up this next month!

Today he decided to climb into Jude's kennel, and brought a toy with. And continued to climb in and out and in and out for probably 20 minutes. Open the kennel door, close the door, open the door, close the door. Jude would think about going in and Luca would shut the door on him. 




He has 6(ish) teeth, two in the front on the top and bottom, and the two on either side of the top are about half through. The ones on either side of the bottom are just starting to poke through, and you can feel his bottom molars under his gums.
He takes 4 or 5 steps by himself, and I'm pretty sure he could do more. He much prefers to walk holding on to one hand, or to scoot around.
He likes to give Jude kisses, which is unfortunate since he's allergic to him. And I'm not sure how much Jude likes being all wet...
He forgot how to say "up" for a while because I tried to teach him to say "up mama." But he's back to it now, and even get's the "p" sound pretty good. He says mama and da consistently. He also I swear says "ah-x" for Alex, and a sort of a "gram" for Grandma and Grandpa.
He says "arf" for puppy sounds. He doesn't bark, he says the word "arf" He also makes fishy faces, sort of sucks in his breath for a monkey, and roars (very quietly) for just about every other animal.
He gets very, very excited when he sees animals, including bunnies in the back yard, or youtube videos of puppies. This one is his current favorite.
He has recently decided he doesn't need an afternoon nap, but unfortunately has also decided that he doesn't need to lengthen his morning nap to make up for it. So starting at about 5pm we have one cranky kid. Generally, though, he has the sweetest attitude and flirts with everyone.
He is not so much of a climber (thank goodness) but he opens everything he possibly can. If it has a knob, he opens it. And plays with the stuff inside.
When I weighed him a couple days ago, he tipped the scales at 20.9 lbs. Which I think leaves him squarely in the <5% range. He still wears 9 mo pants. My little guy really is little. 

It's my home now, Jude!

Meanest Mom

We've been trying hard to get Luca to eat vegetables, and he's usually pretty good at eating what is on his plate. Today, he decided he wasn't eating either the peas or corn. So I offered them again at snack (strike one). Of course, I also wanted a snack (because living with a little one means your eating habits revert back too, it seems). But I ate all my lunch, so I had ice cream (strike two). Which he can't have because he's allergic (strike three). And I sat next to him on the floor to eat it (I'm out!). Luckily, he wasn't too upset about it... But I'm pretty sure I earned at least the Meanest Mom of the Day award!

A Duet

A video in which Luca plays the harmonica while Jude sings. This is just a snippet, they really seemed to enjoy themselves and the performance went on for a while. Notice how they're at the front door. The screen was down. They were quite literally performing for the neighbors.

A Luca sized kitchen

Luca likes to be in the kitchen with me, but the tupperware is only fun for so long. So we decided that Luca needed his own little kitchen.

Family trip to IKEA and we brought back a pretty sweet new toy, complete with pots and pans and spoons. We let him check it out at the store, and he cried when we left it. Needless to say we felt pretty confident it was going to be a winner. When we got home it was bedtime, so Josh and I put it together that night (in between watching the Olympics, of course). He saw it the next morning, and wouldn't come eat breakfast because he didn't want to leave it!












I've been making some felt food, so he's got some stuff to play with. And now I get to work in the kitchen without someone pulling on my legs saying "up up up up up up up up," which is pretty awesome.


He likes to pour the food from one pot into another and then back again. He also figured out the he can take the sink out and when he drops stuff in the hole he can get it out of the cabinet under it. So much fun to be had.

Taste this Momma!