GogoHoz

Karsten is 4 months old!

2013-10-06T14:49:00.001-07:00

I'm a little late on this post-Life got away from me again. I wrote this a few days before Baby K turned 4 months old and never uploaded the photos so I didn't post.

Karsten turned 4 months old on the 8th. I cannot believe time has flown by so quickly. He has definitely made the shift from newborn to infant with personality.

Karsten is such a happy baby. He loves to kick, punch the air and smile whenever you walk by him. He lights up when you pick him up. This kid loves to be around people and is incredibly social.

He has found his voice and loves to test its limits. He went through this loud screeching phase last week-thankfully it didn't last long.

We went on an RV trip in August. Karsten did great while we travelled. He slept in a portable infant tent up in the front of the RV. Daniel slept right next to him on the pull out sofa. Once we got back home, we moved Karsten out of our bedroom and into Daniel's room (which is now the boys room). Daniel didn't mind the transition to sharing a bedroom and both boys are sleeping really well.

Karsten started sleeping through the night. I put him down for the night somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30. I wake him up at 10 for a bottle and he'll sleep to 6:30 in the morning. Sometimes he starts to stir around 4AM. I can give him his pacifier before he wakes up (if I hear him) and he'll sleep a little extra. Even if I don't wake and give it to him, he's a great sleeper.

The week that Karsten turned 4 months old, I had surgery. My father flew out from NJ to help watch the kids. Daniel and Karsten had a great week with their Grandpa Gogo.

Shortly after he left, Karsten started sitting up on his own very consistently. He also has rolled over a few times. He's not too consistent about it, but he's trying so hard. He has rolled front to back. He flails his body all over the place when trying to roll back to front. He'll get it soon. Most likely by the time I write his 5 month update.

We started experimenting with solids this month as well. You've tried sweet potatoes and apples. You didn't love either. Daniel was having yogurt for breakfast and I gave you a tiny taste. You started smiling, grabbing for the spoon and were obviously wanting more. I went out and bought some of the YoBaby brand yogurt and you gobble it up!

This month was such a big month for change for you, Baby K. I love this time in your life-it's so neat to see all the changes and advances you made each day.

3 months old

2013-08-13T20:16:00.001-07:00

Karsten turned 3 months old last week. It is so hard to believe how quickly time has flown by. Overall, K is an incredibly easy baby. (With the exception of this past Tues, where he cried the entire day long!)

Karsten and Kristylee

Karsten is 12 pounds, 4 ounces.

He is 23' long and has a 15 1/4" head.

Karsten is almost sleeping through the night. He still wakes up once around 4AM, after falling asleep at 8PM. Occasionally I'll wake him up at 10 when I fall asleep to give him a bottle.

(Since writing this post, Karsten has slept through the night 5 times!)

He spit up crazy amounts! I get soaked after every single bottle. And, it takes him an hour to finish spitting up. It's not just a "have a bottle, burp, then spit up" thing. It's a surprise spit up. I never know when it's coming. He always gets the hiccups once he's done spitting up.

Karsten is learning to sit on his own. We do this fun balancing act where I prop him up, he tips over, I prop him up again, then he tips over again. He held himself up for about 45 seconds the other day. I cheered big time! He likes to practice sitting in the Bumbo chair.

He laughed for the first time this week. It was a beautiful sound. I cried. Karsten is always smiling!

Karsten got sick the night before his 3 month birthday. He started coughing really bad and I knew the big ol' croup was coming. (It must run in the family "blood"-Daniel had croup so many times!) I took him to the doctors office the next morning and as I suspected, croup was the diagnosis. Hopefully a round or two of steriods will kick this quickly.

Next weekend we head off on our big RV trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. I was really hoping Karsten would be sleeping through the night. We are close, but not there yet.

Karsten, your smiling personality is starting to show through. You look so much like your Grandpa Gogo.

I love you and seeing more of who you are going to become each day!

2 months old

2013-07-28T21:19:00.004-07:00

Karsten, July 8, 2013

2 months old

You got your shots today-you were a trooper. You did the silent scream for about 5 seconds, then let out a huge wail that lasted 30 seconds. You then calmed down really quickly.

You weigh 10 pounds, 6 ounces. You grew an inch and now are 21 inches long.

You started to smile! It's adorable. You have the cutest little smirk. You track me, your daddy and Daniel with your eyes and turn your head to look at us when we talk.

You are getting into a sleeping routine. You wake around 6AM, stay up until 8 when we typically leave the house for the day. You nap for 2 hours or so while we are out and about. You'll be up for a good part of the mid day, taking a 45 minute catnap. You fall back asleep for a long nap around 4pm and you like to wake up just as I'm sitting down for dinner. You and your big brother read a book with me before bedtime then I'll feed you a bottle and you'll go to sleep.

I'll wake you up at 10 or 10:30 for a bottle. You'll then sleep to 3AM. After another bottle, you'll sleep again until 6 or so.

You are taking 4 ounce bottles of formula throughout the day.

You went swimming for the first time this month. We turned down the temperature in the hot tub a few days ago this month. You loved it. Then, we drove down to Mt. Princeton hot springs with some friends and went into the pool. It was a great day for everyone.

Karsten, we love you so much!

Happy Daniversary!

2013-07-28T21:01:00.002-07:00

July 20th marked the Annual Daniversary, the day Daniel physically joined our family. We intentionally spend the day as a family, doing something fun that Daniel would enjoy.

This year, we rented a motor boat and spent a few hours on Lake Dillon. It was a beautiful sunny, typical Colorado day. Absolutely lovely!

TJ, Kristylee and her boyfriend Tracy joined us for the day.

After the boat and lake festivities, we drove down to Denver to see some wonderful friends for dinner.

It was an absolutely perfect day.

The newest Delahoz

2013-07-23T20:33:00.001-07:00

Since I'm a horrible blogger lately, I'm 2.5 months late in introducing the newest member of our family. Karsten was born on May 8. He took FOREVER to be born (seriously, it felt like the longest labor in the world), but once he arrived, it was all worth it. My recovery from the delivery was fairly brutal-maybe one day if I can keep up on the blogging I'll put it all down into words.

Karsten David

Born at 11:22AM on Wednesday May 8, 2013.

7 pounds, 9 ounces. 19 inches long

Regardless, the same as any mother tells you, once the baby is placed into your arms, every bit of the pregnancy and delivery makes it all worth it. Same with adoption-once that baby is placed in your arms, the long wait begins to fade away and it is so worth it.

3 weeks old

6 weeks old

Big brother Daniel is amazing with his little brother. He is tender and sweet with him. He shows Karsten his cars, toys and books. Daniel is always attempts to calm Karsten down when he is crying. He says, "That's ok, that's ok, Karsten. Mommy's coming". It's the sweetest thing.

Kissing Karsten good night

8 weeks old

It's amazing how our little family feels so complete. Karsten has rocked our world in a pretty big way-but we are managing and learning to adjust to 2 kids. All in all, we are amazingly blessed!

21 Weeks

2013-01-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

I'm past the halfway mark with this pregnancy. We learned a few weeks ago that we are having a baby boy! I'm so excited to have two boys. I always wanted to have two of a kind. Dave and I had talked about if we were to adopt again, that we would want another boy. I love the idea of two boys growing up as playmates, best childhood friends and wrestling partners. Of course, the logical and pragmatic side of myself says another boy is so much easier because of hand-me-down clothes, sleeping arrangements, toys, etc.

When we went to the doctors, it was a few days before my 20 week mark. Everything with the baby was tracking wonderfully. He is an active little fellow, flipping somersaults in my belly, punching me, kicking me. He's a little bigger than what the books and websites say he should be right now. The doctor estimated he was about 13 ounces.

The best part of the doctors appointment was seeing the little guy's face! He has Dave's profile completely. I cannot wait to see my handsome little baby boy next May.

Overall, I'm still feeling really good. I can still see my big toes (just a little bit of my nice pedicure is visible) and will most likely only be able to see them for a few more days. This past weekend I did come down with a wicked cold/flu. I've been down for the count all weekend. Thankfully, Dave is amazing with helping out around the house and with Daniel. I hope I can kick this pretty quickly and start feeling more like myself!

--For some reason, I'm not able to upload any photos, weird!

iPhone Upload

2012-12-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

Wearing Grandma Gogo's eyeglasses

Mashed potatoes

Skiing with Daddy

Showing up in Mommy's bedroom with toys

Handsome boy

Too tired while trick or treating. Needing a break.

J. Crew model

16 Weeks

2012-12-02T16:04:00.000-07:00

Up until about 3 weeks ago, I thought I was having a breeze of a pregnancy. No major cravings (expect for that one weekend craving sour watermelons which resulted in my buying a 10lb bag online), no major issues and almost no nausea. I had one week of extreme tiredness but overall I thought this was a piece of cake.

Once I hit my second trimester, my nose and stomach all decided it was time to "act" pregnant. I am at the point of getting sick every time I open my refrigerator door, walk by Daniel's bathroom or throw something in the trash. Dave is being a great help by doing the dishes, cleaning up the kitchen and putting food away. Thankfully, our house cleaner takes excellent care of my toddlers bathroom. It's not one smell or another that get me, it's just smells in general. Today, I knew I needed to eat so I made myself 2 flautas from the freezer. Once they finished baking, I knew there was no way I could eat them. Thankfully, Dave hadn't eaten lunch yet!

I definitely have a bump going on. I'm not a big fan of posting belly shots of myself. They sort of freak me out. But, I did try on the bump pillow at Pea in the Pod the other day while shopping for maternity jeans. Sorry, folks! That's all the photos you are going to get.

Dave is out of town this week for work, home for the weekend, then gone again the next week. I'm sure some tiredness will creep up on me. I'm just praying the stomach craziness goes away.

Master Suite Remodel

2012-11-30T15:15:00.001-07:00

This past spring we began a major remodelling project of our master bedroom/bathroom and closet area. I'm not going to post all the pictures of the before project, just know we knocked down the wall in between our bedroom and closet, moved a doorway and enlarged the closet significantly. The project took close to 2 months and we lived in the bedroom while we were under construction. If I had to do it over again, I would move out in a heartbeat. The house was constantly dusty and filthy. The noise was manageable, but having to cover our bed with heavy tarps each day was too much.

The reason I'm just getting around to posting pictures of the remodel is it took me FOREVER to get the master suite accessorized and decorated. I just got the photos up on the bedroom wall last week. I'm still not done, I am waiting on a framed photo for above the mantle and once baby #2 arrives, we'll fill the last wall in the room with pictures of him or her.

All the accessorizing credit goes to Lisa Ismert. My sister in law, Crystal, is great friends with her and Lisa styled Crystals house. Crystal raved about how wonderful Lisa is and it turned out Lisa lived fairly close to me in Colorado.

Bedroom Wall Gallery and Mantle Art

Looking into bathroom from bedroom

Cabinetry by Creative Cabinetry, in Breckenridge, CO

Lime green towels on double hung towel rack

Double vanity with Cosmos Granite

I fell in love with this granite a few years ago at a Parade of Homes house.

Linen Closet and pull out hamper

Shower with 2 rain heads, 2 body sprays and a hand wand. All electronic controlled with pre-set temperatures.

Granite shelving

Walk in Closet with 5 sections of hanging clothes, 2 dressers, 1 hutch and tons of shoe storage (every girl's dream!) All of the closet shelving is from More Space Place in Frisco, CO.

The master suite remodel felt like it took forever, but it was so worth it. I am in love with my bedroom and closet and my husband has his dream shower. I love remodeling projects! The master suite remodel was planned over a long time and I'm so glad I was able to put on my "General Contractor" hat once again and oversee all the little details.

Now, I need to get Lisa to come back to Breckenridge and style my living room and kitchen!

#2

2012-11-05T20:40:00.001-07:00

So things have been a little quiet in blog-land. Sorry about that. I've been trying to wrap my mind around some crazy news...

We are having a baby!

This came as quite a shock to us, as we've always been told a biological baby wasn't possible for us. Well, God had different plans for us. Daniel will be a big brother sometime around May 20, 2013.

So far, I'm feeling great. We found out about the baby in the beginning of September. I have had a little nausea, a week of extreme tiredness and some intense cravings. That's about it, so far it's easy-peasy!

My cravings are kind of funny, well at least to me. When I want something, I want it right then and cannot stop thinking about it. Last night, I wanted spaghetti and meatballs. Two weeks ago, I obsessed over sour watermelon candy. When I couldn't find any in the local stores, I ordered a 5lb bag online. Unfortunately, it took 2 weeks to arrive and then the craving had long gone.

Overall, now that the news has set it and we've been able to pick up our jaws off of the ground, we are thrilled about the baby!

PS-thanks for hanging in while I've been silent on this blog. Now that the news is public, I'll try to do a better job in posting.

Bike riding

2012-07-31T13:37:00.001-07:00

Daniel went on an almost 2 mile bike ride yesterday while I went for a jog (GASP!). Once we got home, he was too tired to walk up the stairs.

Model

2012-07-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, my brother texted me the photo below...

My first thought was "What the heck? What is my kid doing in this ad?!?! I didn't allow this!" It took me a few minutes to place the photo and recalled a shoot he was asked to be in early in the fall. A photographer in town was putting together a shoot for a local medical clinic. I ran into her several weeks after the shoot and she expressed she didn't like the way everything came together and her and the practice scrapped the idea and went in a different direction. I guess months later, she sold some of her stock photography to the clinic for some ads and Daniel was the subject.

I got in touch with the photographer and she sent me some of the images from that day many months ago.

Daniversary Camping Trip

2012-07-24T19:56:00.003-07:00

We have made a commitment as a family to be intentional about spending Daniel's Family Day together doing something fun. To celebrate our first Daniversary, we packed up our car and headed south to the Buena Vista area to go camping for the weekend. The car was so packed, Daniel didn't have as much room as he's used to. He wasn't happy about it. (We are in serious need for a new and larger vehicle)

As soon as we arrived, Dave and I started to set up camp and Daniel started riding his bike around the campsite. Dave's favorite camping snack is Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream cookies. So, of course I had to buy a box and introduce them to Little D.

Saturday morning we went for a drive to explore the old mining town of St. Elmo. I love Colorado history and the mining heritage we have here. The town was worked hard to keep the buildings intact for people like me to explore. It was a perfect day to wander around the little street.

After lunch in Salida with our Breck neighbor who owns a gallery there and Daniel's nap, we geared up for a hike to Agnes Valie Falls in Nathrop. It was an easy half mile hike into the falls. Well, it was easy for me. I wasn't carrying a 40 pound 2 year old on my back.

The falls were beautiful and Daniel loved climbing through the river bed. He got soaked, of course. But, that's what little boys do and you just have to roll with it.

We ended the weekend with a trip to Kay's Dairy in BV for ice cream. It wasn't as good as I remembered it to be, but after a weekend camping, we deserved a treat.

Our weekend was great! Daniel was amazing at the campsite and sleeping in a new and strange place. We are looking forward to more weekends in the tent all this summer and in years to come.

Georgetown Train

2012-07-23T20:55:00.001-07:00

Last week, Daniel and I joined our friends from Texas at the Georgetown Train. Daniel is into trains this month so it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I'm not a big fan of characters and I don't feed into character t-shirts, toys, etc. Daniel knows who Thomas the Train is, but we certainly don't focus on Thomas.

The entire time we were on the train he repeated, "choo-choo". At first it was super cute...after the 39th time in 5 minutes, well...what can you say?

He was fascinated with everything going on around him.

While we were waiting to board the train, Daniel tripped and fell onto a wooden barrel. He scraped up his skin around his eye.

While this wasn't our first visit to the Georgetown Train, this was the first time Daniel was really into it. He seemed to "get" trains so much more this time riding. I'm sure we'll make this a regular stop on our drives down to Denver.

Before & After

2012-07-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This isn't a post poking fun of Daniel in poor taste. My son was HUGE when he came home to us one year ago. He was massive in size and reminded me of a bowling ball with hands and feet. I fell in love with his chubb and general squishy-ness but was concerned that we were raising the next contestant for The Biggest Loser.Thankfully, he's slimmed down!

Time lapse of 1 year...

July 20, 2011 vs. July 18, 2012

August 2011 vs. July 2012

August 2011 vs. June 2012

October 2011 vs. May 2012

August 2011 vs. July 2012

Where did the time go?

2012-07-19T20:28:00.002-07:00

One year ago, Dave and I were having our last night together as a family of two. We were praying for Daniel as his Uma was saying her goodbyes and he was boarding an airplane.

364 nights later, my little boy sang, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" as he was falling asleep. My heart jumps every time I hear his sweet voice say my name.

Jeeping

2012-07-02T20:28:00.003-07:00

My dad keeps a Jeep Wrangler out here in Colorado for his love of four wheeling. This weekend, Dave, Daniel, my sister Kristy Lee and I took it off-roading for a few hours here in town.

I'm constantly amazed that I am so fortunate to live in a place as beautiful as Breckenridge. The size of the mountains and ridgelines keep me in awe. And, I am continually floored that I have lived here over 12 years and still have not explored all that is around me.

We found a great little pond, next to an old mining cabin that has long since collapsed. We also found a huge stretch of ground covered in old tin cans. I can image the old miners sitting in the cabin cooking up a dinner of canned beans, then chucking the cans out the door into the snow. Little did they know (or care) that the cans don't biodegrade.

The driving was a little hairy at times. The road was super rocky, rutted and steep. The photos don't do the road justice. The jeep is a newer vehicle to our family and it's not been put through the typical Gogo-family rugged driving style.

Dad, don't worry, the check engine light only went on during the last hour of driving and the oil pressure dropped a few times when we were seriously crocked and almost tipping. :)

Dave and I often talk about how blessed we are that we get to live here.

Raising our family in Summit County, Colorado allows us to instill our love of the mountains, skiing, camping, biking and so much more in Daniel. He's going to grow up exposed to many outdoor activities and hopefully will love it here as much as Dave and I do.

Father's Day on Lake Dillon

2012-06-24T21:16:00.002-07:00

A few weeks ago David's parents came to visit us. They were here for Father's Day weekend and we spent the day doing something I've always wanted to do-we rented a boat on Lake Dillon! It was a beautiful Colorado blue sky day and we loved every second of our day.

I'm so thankful for David and the amazing father he is to Daniel. He is kind, compassionate, loving and attentive. He makes time for Daniel every day after spending a long day at his desk working. He is intentional about his weekend time and having Daddy-Son time each Saturday morning.

Daniel LOVED the boat. In reality, he loves anything with a steering wheel, but he had a great time out on the water.

Dave's dad Joe had a great time having out with his grandson. Daniel loves his grandfather too!

Kristylee spent the afternoon with us on the boat. Being the daredevil that he is, he wanted to get as close to the water as possible. KL and him checked out the outboard motor whenever they had a chance.

I know the glasses are super corny looking. He loses every pair I buy now so I'm not spending more than a buck on each pair. Gotta love the dollar bin at Target!

The three Delahoz

Daniel made good use of the lake!

Look at this view! I love Colorado!

(Hi Handsome!)

Thanks for the great visit, Joe and Shirley!

Isn't my sister pretty?

iPhone download & upload

2012-05-27T20:42:00.001-07:00

Since I haven't been keeping up on blogging as much as I should be, I'll give you an iPhone recap of our spring.

My brother tore his knee again and recouped from surgery at our house for a week. Daniel heped him with his rehap and daily exercises.

Daniel got his head stuck in a boat steering wheel. (He was only stuck for a minute before Dave got him unstuck.) It was really funny.

Daniel has become OBSESSED with heavy machinery.

Our bathroom renovation is moving along smoothly and I'm in love with my new granite countertops.

Tayo the Little Bus (a Korean cartoon) has invaded our house. Daniel has figured out how to use our iPads and whenever I need a little "break", Tayo will be found playing.

We saw our neighborhood moose over Memorial Day Weekend.

Front Yard

2012-05-27T20:13:00.004-07:00

It's always this time of the year that Dave and I start a ton of home renovation projects. This year, it's the master bedroom/bathroom/closet, the front yard and removing a large post from the kitchen area of the house.

The master suite renovations are ongoing and will be still in motion for at least another 3 weeks. The post beam in the kitchen was a huge decorative log that went floor to ceiling. It cut off the kitchen and prevented a more open floor plan that we had desired. I have been BEGGING my husband for almost 3 years to let me take it down. Once our bathroom contractor confirmed the beam wasn't load bearing, I had him break out his tools and saw it down. The end result-I'm in love with how much larger the kitchen looks! I still need to do a little finish work to the ceiling to repair where the beam was mounted, but I'm pleased with the results.

Before

After

Now, on to the yard...When we purchased the house almost 3 years ago, the front yard was an overgrown mess of weeds and wild flowers. Each summer, I have labored over it trying to make it into a beautiful expanse of healthy green grass. I've always loved grass and a well manicured yard. I've blogged about the yard before here. It's been a long work in progress filled with lumpy clumps of grass, tons of weeds and pits from voles. It was the opposite of manicured! Even with all the work I have put into it, it never looked great.

This year we decided to start from scratch. We had the whole yard sprayed with something to kill everything. Then the top layers of dirt were scrapped off.

New soil was brought in, the space leveled and then sod was laid.

We had a new pathway to the gardens put in and a rock wall placed to surround the new lawn.

The end result-a lushous green lawn! I love it!

Bathroom Renovations

2012-05-27T19:06:00.004-07:00

Several months ago the bathtub in our master bedroom cracked and started leaking into the living room downstairs whenever we used the shower. We had always planned on renovating the bathroom, but knew we needed to save up and prepare for a long overhaul of the master suite.

Our bedroom was fairly large and the bathroom was huge, however, our walk in closet was more like a walk sideways and don't stick your elbows out kind of closet. When we were planning our new bathroom renovation, we decided to move a wall, open up the closet and change the way we enter into the space.

My Dad flew out from NJ to help Dave demo the space and to do some framing. We hired contractors to handle the plumbing, drywall, flooring and framing. I love renovations and was thrilled to put my GC hard hat back on to manage the project.

First things first-the bathroom had to come apart.

Then, the bedroom and closet wall needed to come down.

The framers came in and built out the new space. I missed taking a ton of photos and didn't do a good job documenting the progress.

While progress was being made on the bathroom floor, our friend Blake came and helped with the painting.

One month later, the bedroom is finished, the closet is carpeted and waiting for the new closet system and the bathroom tile is done! Later this week, the last of the cabinetry will be installed, the plumber will come and hook up all the fixtures and the shower glass wall will be measured. The end is in sight!

Daniel's Birthday Party

2012-04-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we celebrated Daniel's 2nd birthday. Friends and family all came together to celebrate our zany little boy and enjoy in his love of all things cars. His actual birthday was on Monday and I'll post a separate post on his at home birthday party but for now, here's a photo loaded glimpse of his Friends Party on Sunday afternoon.

Treat table loaded with cupcakes, popcorn and candy.

We loaded up a platter of hot dogs, veggies and chips for dinner.

This cardboard cars were the hit of the party! I took 4 shipping boxes, primed, painted and decorated them as Daniel's favorite toys. I cut holes in the tops and the kids had a blast running around in them.

Bridger was the first kid to start his engines.

Daniel loved eating, of course! And, while the big kids played, Daniel ate. So typical!

The balloons provided tons of entertainment throughout the party.

Friends ate, laughed and had tons of fun. (Hi Erika! My one reader!)

Happy birthday, My sweet two year old!

The races commenced! It was mass chaos and tons of fun!

This is the most decent photo of Daniel and I that was taken all day long. It's obvious he was way more interested in the games and cars then taking photos with Momma.

Then, it was Cupcake time!

Little D loved the icing and ate almost 3 cupcake icing tops. Geez, can you say sugar high?

Then, Daniel was showered with love from his friends and received tons of amazing presents. Each one was so perfect for him and his interests. Thank you so much!

We wound down the party with soon balloon popping. Lots of noise!

After packing up the car, we headed home to unwind, play with all the toys and have a great night sleep.

Daniel had an amazing day and completely enjoyed himself. I'm so glad the Vintage Car theme party was a hit and the cardboard box cars were enjoyed by everyone, big and small.

Daniel thanked his Daddy for such a great day. However, Dave and I are the blessed ones, we get to enjoy life with such an amazing little boy. We love you, Daniel. Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Month!

2012-04-03T19:46:00.002-07:00

Growing up birthdays were a huge deal. We celebrated the entire month. My mom would kick off our birthday month with a special dessert or present on the first day of the month. The celebration continued with days dedicated to fun, presents and lots of love each week. The birthday month ended with a bang on the last day of the month.

It was a fun way to grow up and get older. Even as an adult, I still celebrate my birthday month. I think my husband starts to cringe mid-December because he knows the next month I won't stop talking about my birthday.

April 1st was a special day in our house. It was the start of Daniel's birthday month!

We have been practicing saying "I'm two!" and practicing blowing out candles.

Happy birthday month, Daniel!

iPhone Photo download

2012-02-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a whirlwind of a winter lately. I downloaded my iPhone pictures this afternoon and can give you a glance into our little lives.

A few weeks ago Daniel skipped his nap. We went out for an early dinner and were home before 6pm. Daniel was too tired to take off his jacket and fell asleep on the steps up to his room.

We went to Steamboat for my brothers ski race. His lady friend, Sierra, took this fun photo of Daniel. It completely represents his personality!

We have been taking Daniel skiing on the weekends. He loves the snow and the cold!

While we were in Steamboat, we drove out to Strawberry Park Hot Springs. This is one of my favorite places in the state of Colorado.

This is my sister, Kristy Lee. She is Daniel's best friend! She is an awesome help with Daniel and my official "cheer-er upper" when I'm having a bad day.

Dave and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary earlier this month. We went to out to lunch and then out for dessert. It was a great day!

First Pinterest Project

2012-02-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

My kitchen pantry has been driving me crazy for close to 7 months. (Daniel has been home for 6.5 months-see any correlation?) While I used to have it always neatly organized, I now have an almost 2 year old who loves to go in there and hide, play and look for his snacks.

Since Daniel likes to push the doors to the pantry open, I've been embarrassed by how poorly and unorganized it looked.

I searched Pinterest for some of my favorite pantry organizational designs, all the while staying within a $100 budget and working with the space I already have.

I told my husband I wasn't going to use the kitchen over the weekend (translation-I'm not cooking so we're going out to eat for all meals). I took every single item out of our pantry and spread it out all over the kitchen counter tops.

I ran to Target and picked up these cute plastic, washable, basket weave bins in three different sizes. I put some items back into the pantry, thinking I was almost done with my organizational project and realized I was still unhappy with the way the space looked. It was boring. So, I pulled everything back out and took over the kitchen counters once again.

I wiped down all the pantry shelves, taped up the floor and ceilings. I primed all the raw wood and painted it a white color (Casa Blanca by Sherwin Williams, same as our ceilings).

After a night of drying, I re-taped the shelves and painted the back wall in between the shelves a bright cobalt blue (Loyal Blue by Sherwin Williams).

I finished painting the blue early Sunday morning before we left for church. Once we got home, the paint was dry enough to pull off the tape and start putting the pantry back together again.

I thought about where I placed the pantry items before the re-organization and decided to move a few things around.

Overall, I'm thrilled with the new pantry look. I feel like I have a whole new room in my house and barely spent any money!