Home Tour: Kitchen

I have slowly been adding our kitchen updates on here as we have gone along. We are now finished (I say that with my fingers crossed, lying a bit). We eventually will add hardwoods in here, to match the rest of the downstairs hardwoods and will replace the ceramic sink with a drop-in, stainless one.

List of upgrades we (Ryan) has completed:
-added molding to the top of the cabinets
-took out 3 cabinets and added open shelving
-added a subway tile backsplash
-new stainless appliances
-new electrical outlets (were cream, now white)
-added a chalkboard wall with framing
-added bead-board to the ends of our cabinets
-painted the kitchen table from a aqua to a neutral white

I am so thankful Ryan was able to do all of this work on his own, and willing to do it after long days of work at the office and using his weekends to complete these upgrades! Thankful is an understatement. Beyond appreciative. He never complains and works so hard, actually seeming to enjoy it. I am so proud of him.

I have tried to budget in my head how much it would have cost to have this work done. I would GUESStimate somewhere in the 3-4000 range. Thankfully I think we have spent less than 1000 (not including new appliances) So thankful to save some money, but also have the look that I want, for less!

We have a list of contractors coming to our house tomorrow to give us estimates and quotes for totally gutting our bathroom. I am more than excited and cant wait to get the ball rolling. It was one of the things we said we would do immediately when we moved in, but smaller projects have just gotten in the way! Stay tuned for a before and after on that one! Plus, more of the home tour!

18 Months

Baby girl will be 18 months on Monday. 1.5 years. 547.5 days. 84 weeks. I just can not even breathe thinking about how quick it went. The other day I thought 17 more of these years and she will be off to college. Talk about needing a Xanax and a brown paper bag! ugh. On top of that I am exactly 30 1/2 today. Vomit.

Life has been nothing but a fun ride with this cute little girl. She is hilarious, fun, all over the place, sweet, feisty, cute, spunky, and makes every day better. Here are some milestones since she turned 1 along with our recent photography session.

-She is a wonderful sleeper. She goes to bed around 7:30, used to be 7. She sleeps until 8 or a little after. She naps around 1:00 for at least 2 hours, sometimes more. She goes to sleep wide awake, as she has always done, and never fights sleep. She loves her crib. She sleeps with her silky pillow and blanket and is good to go.

-She started walking the week of her 1st birthday and has been running ever since. Scrapes and bruises are a plenty. She also gets ATTACKED by mosquito's. They love how sweet she is! Me, too.

-She can pretty much repeat anything we say. We are working super hard and sound like broken records with "Yes/no Ma'am, Yes/no Sir, thank you, and please". She can sign "more, all done, and help"

-She is obsessed with baby dolls. She has 2 baby doll strollers that are pushed all day long. She has a million baby dolls that she kisses, puts night night, changes clothes, plays with, etc. She lifts my shirt and says baby. Ryan taught her that. Anytime she sees a baby on TV, a magazine, her diaper box, etc she says 'baby'.

-She loves the water. Baths, showers, pool, ocean, hose, you name it.

-Mae loves loves loves her Daddy, K-Paw, and Bup. There is nothing more important than a strong daddy/daughter relationship and it is the cherry on the cake that she has 2 more father-like figures that love her just as much. It is the sweetest thing I have ever witnessed.

-Mae will eat pretty much anything as long as she is in the mood or super hungry. Her favorite is any fruit.

-She weighs approx. 23 lbs. She is as tall as all of her 2 year old friends here. Taking after her uncle TJ.

-Mae loves to be outside. I sit in a tailgate chair almost daily and she plays in the cul-de-sac, driveway, or yard. Our neighbor Saylor and her are best buddies. Saylor is in 3rd grade and loves to pretend she is her child. Reminds me of myself when I was her age. Mae loves Saylor.

-Mae still has a big love for our dog Eli. She loves to watch him eat in the morning, run around the yard, and be around him at any time. If she is upset, going to see Eli always makes things better.

-Mae drinks whole milk and water. I am that weird mom that has not introduced juice and dont plan to for as long as I can stand it. Hoping when she does have it for the first time that it is only for special occasions. Do not see the need for it while I can control it.

-Mae HATES having her teeth brushed. She never liked me feeling for teeth when she was a baby and fights us brushing her teeth each night. She loves to do it herself, but it is WWIII when we do it. Hoping this will change soon.

-She still has the stork bite on her head from when she was born but it is smoothing out and lightening already. She has 3 birthmarks. One on her ankle, one on her shin like Ryan, and one to the bottom right of her chest like mommy.

-She is wearing a size 4 diaper and size 4 shoes. Her head is huge, like mama (Ryan says...ugh)

-She loves to get dressed each day and loves putting on shoes. Thanks to her grandmothers, she is always dressed so cute and never has gone a day without getting a compliment on her outfits. They spoil her rotten.

-Being a teacher's child, I am beyond proud that she LOVES books. She likes to pretend to read them but also to be read to by anyone.

-Mae loves to dance, clap, spin and shake her head. I see her enjoying band parties in the future like her mama!

-Thankfully, we have met lots of friends for Mae in our new city. We have play groups all the time and she loves being around other kids. She gives hugs, kisses, and gets so excited to be with other friends. She loves going to the church nursery and the nursery at the gym and does not cry when I leave her. My favorite is going to pick her up, she acts like she has not seen us in years. It is the highlight of our day!

-Mae starts her first mother's day out, or Wee School, in 10 shorts days. I am very excited for her because I know she will learn so much and it will be so good for her. I am sick to my stomach about leaving her for "school" and never thought I would be this way. However, ready to roam the aisles at Target sans baby, and eat a meal without sharing!

-Mae can climb into her high chair all by herself, work an ipad/iphone better than I can, and loves to facetime. It is like she is 15.

-The best way to get me to smile is when Mae sees we are pulling up to the playground, or a food she is about to eat that she loves, or I ask her if she wants something that excites her, she says "ooooohhhhh" and it melts my heart. It is the cutest thing on the planet.

-She says No or shakes her head, and she means it. So cute, but makes us have to turn out head because we dont want her to think its funny. Still working on 'No Ma'am' but hard to reiterate when you have tears from laughing! :)

I could go on and on and I bet no one cares about all of these little quirks about our girl. Just glad I can document for the years to come! By the time Mae turns two she will be a big sister! Time stand still! Trying to soak it all in! Be still my heart!

Kiawah, again!

We just came back from a wonderful trip in Kiawah, for our 2nd time this summer. We miss the Gulf beaches, but are loving having beaches close to us here that are just as great! We invited my in-laws, BB and Bup, to come with us! Mae loved having them there, as did we! I will just let our trip be described via pictures! Let's just say our trip was full of fun, relaxation, food, the beach, wagon rides, bike rides, fun restaurants, and family time!

Thankful for my cousins who own the beautiful home on the island! 

We had a great time and look forward to next year!