kitchen update

I wanted to add some pics to this blog to show how our kitchen remodel is going.  It's still a long way from done, but it's coming together piece by piece!

 our kitchen before demo

 cabinets & countertops are out!

 goodbye walls & ceiling!

 hello new walls & ceiling!

microwave installed

north park

After our walking class at North Park, I usually take Charli over to the playground so that she can swing.  Today, I let her walk around and play on the playground.  She had a blast being about to move around & actually play with something other than just the swing!  We did swing before we went home, though.  I'm excited that Charli's finally starting to walk!

my chair

We're going to be redoing our kitchen soon, and we're adding a desk space in our kitchen layout.  I needed a chair that wouldn't take up too much space to put there.  Instead of buying a new chair, I decided to refinish a chair we already had.  Here's the chair:

I took off the cushion to take it apart so I could reupholster it.  After that, I did three rounds of stripping the chair, sanded it with rough, medium, fine and then extra fine sandpaper, then wiped it with denatured alcohol & tack cloth.  This is what it looked like after that:

After that, I spray painted it with a black satin spray paint.

I reupholstered the cushion with a soft, tan upholstery fabric.  Here's the final result:

I'm pretty happy with my "new" chair!

charli's stats

Charli had her 12 month check up.  Here are her stats:

weight: 23.2 pounds (78%)
length: 30 3/4 inches (90%)

She's a big girl!

mommy knows best

I had heard of mother's intuition, but only recently have been able to say that I understand what it is.  I had posted a month or so ago about my concerns & discouragement about Charli not moving around like she should be.  She was finally able to be evaluated today, and just as I had expected, her gross motor skills are way below where they should be.  She does qualify for services and will be seeing a physical therapist once a week.  I feel relieved to know that I wasn't crazy.  Everybody kept telling me that she was fine, but I knew she wasn't.  Now I feel like with the help of the pt, she will be fine.  I feel very encouraged.  On a more positive note, they did find her personal-social score to be very high!  This is not a surprise at all!  This sweet little girl is such a social butterfly! 

charli's 1st birthday party!

After spending the last six months preparing and creating, the day finally came for Charli's first birthday party!  The day could not have gone any better.  We woke up, had breakfast, did some yard-saling to keep Charli awake, she took a nap while we set up, she woke up at 1:30, we got her fed & dressed, & her party started at 2!  She was a pleasant little girl considering the amount of people that were in our backyard!  Thank you everyone who helped to make her day so special!

 charli's one-year photos displayed in my spray-painted frames!

 butterfly crayons

 build-your-own-butterflies for the kids

 tissue paper poms

 yummy cupcakes

 cake

 charli's high chair

 monthly photos with her bear

 our family

 yum!

playing in the sand with opa

bert's windigo lake trip

If you'd like to see some pics & vids of Bert's fishing trip, click here.