Porcupine's "Lovey"

I might be wrong but...there's probably a lot of DIY in this kid's future.

Porcupine’s First Birthday Party

As we’re coming up on his second birthday party, I thought I’d finally get around to posting a few pictures from Porcupine’s first birthday party. We had a blast and everything turned out just the way I wanted it to! (Except all the snow on the ground, but what can you do when you have a baby in February in Indiana!)

The theme was kind-of Alphabet-y. Everything I do is Alphabet-y (I still have to post baby shower alphabet things! Another thing to add to the to-do list!) I found inspiration for an Alphabet-y invitation from this blog.

 (Fonts are Century Schoolbook and LaurenScript. I used the “Pencil Sketch” feature on Picasa to make Porcupine’s picture seem schoolbook-y. Then I printed them on cardstock – 2 to a page.)

I’d been pinning all kinds of cute desserts forever, so I just made a bunch! Cupcakes with rainbows, goldfish, teddies, “balloons”, and of course As, Bs, and Cs!

My mother-in-law made Porcupine a giant cupcake to smash in to!

I ordered the “one” plates from BirthdayExpress.com, along with some other things. I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t just find blue “one” plates locally! Oh well…I love internet shopping!

I knew I wanted some kind of cool “backdrop” (again, I owe you a baby shower post, because there, we did balloons, kind of like this.) made of balloons or streamers or something. Then, on the same blog where I found the invitation inspiration, I found a cool “Happy Birthday” sign inspiration.

 I cut the letters out on my Cricut using the font from the “A Child’s Year” cartridge.

Our house was full of family and fun, and I couldn’t have asked for a better party.

I think Porcupine had a great time, too…and he loved his cake!

Hopefully, I’ll post pictures from his second birthday in a more timely manner! And I’ll get to work on a baby shower post, pronto!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Kitty Porcupine!

He loves the cats at his grandma’s house so much! Here he is with his costume inspiration:

Ha! Aren’t they cute?
He had an awesome time trick-or-treating for the first time :) (on his second Halloween!)

(He was all about the Dum-Dum suckers!)
Happy Halloween!

Semi-Annual Check-in :)

There is a lot going on over here, and when I get a chance to open my computer without a baby banging on the keys (so…in a few years? Hahaha) I have a lot to say!

We’re in the process of moving back to our hometown, (a pretty unexpected life change for us – but hey, what parts of life aren’t unexpected!), so I’d like to actually post some “finished” pictures of rooms (the nursery!) and some thoughts on some of the renovations we’ve done after living with them for a while, as well as some posts about things we’re doing to get our house on the market. Oh well, the posts will come in good time. One day I’ll hopefully blog so much my fingers will fall off.

For now, I’ll cheat and just post some baby pictures I’ve been taking since Porcupine turned one…

Our move is certainly not something we were planning on – I thought I’d be in this house forever! And I was accumulating stuff with that mindset :) I’ve been reading (and listening to) and re-reading/listening to The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, and it is making a HUGE difference in what I’m getting rid of and how I plan to approach moving into, fixing up, and decorating our new house. I can’t wait to share the journey! (if I get the chance!)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Apparently, I’ll check in every 3 months :)

I have so much to say, but with a little baby and the rest of life, I’ll just have to stick with: I can’t believe that my little Porcupine is about to turn 1 year old. It’s totally surreal and the panic is setting in. It’s hard to believe that last year on Valentine’s Day, I was pregnant and doing some touch up painting in his nursery and our friend was putting together his crib.

And here he is this Valentine’s Day!

I’m looking forward to/dreading his birthday in 3 days! :)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A 3-Month Update

Time is just flying by! Porcupine is 9 months old and I can hardly believe it. The holidays are coming and then this little guy will be turning one! Everything is a whirlwind, and sometimes I wish I could slow down time (not at night though, because my little guy is always keeping me up!) I have so many ideas floating around, blog posts half written, and baby crafts and projects just waiting to come to life, but none of it seems to happen. Oh well! I will just keep trucking along. :)

In the meantime, here is a quick recap of the past 3 months.

Baby’s first time in Lake Michigan:

Crawling all over the place and standing up on things:

First Halloween (and I made his costume!):

And getting ready for winter (thanks, Janis!)

So excited to see what the next 3 months have in store! ;)

Chair Ideas

As if I need another project to remain unfinished (ahem, sewing room dresser, bathroom, nursery, etc), I’ve been thinking about what I can do to update this chair.

 Forgive the cell phone pic!

With new baby in the house, this chair from my mom’s has been a godsend. It’s in great shape (my mom had gotten a new cushion for it a while ago, so it feels new), it’s comfy, and it’s easy to get in and out of while carrying a heavy baby. :)

I think a getting it totally reupholstered in a silver-gray, keeping the tufts, would be gorgeous.  Something like this:

 image via

But truthfully, that is probably not going to happen. So I have been dreaming about a DIY-type covering that I could do. I’ve been toying with the idea of smocking. Wouldn’t something along these lines look cool on the back?

Image via

Or something like this…

But, truthfully again, with a little baby in the house and trying to find that baby/work/life/life-with-baby balance, this project will probably remain one I am just dreaming about for a while…while I spend my time looking at/sitting in this old green chair. :)

So for fun, here is a baby picture. :)

What projects have you been dreaming about lately? I should also attend to my yard at some point…I have big dreams for out there, too. :)

Nursery in Progress

Much like most of the projects in our house, the baby’s nursery is about 90% done. Why, oh why, won’t I complete projects? :)

But anyway, here it is…in progress :)

 (polka-dot bedding from Ikea)

(Dream on Me Synergy crib)

 (clock and London print from Ikea, Indiana print from Etsy, Zutano Elephants changing pad cover)

(I know you’re not supposed to have anything in the crib, but since for a long time, the baby wasn’t actually sleeping in there, these fun guys were its only inhabitants.) :)

And here’s what baby sees when he does spend time in his crib…
(Skip Hop Alphabet Zoo Mobile – we actually tacked the animals’ legs together so baby could see their faces when he’s lying down in the crib)

I actually already have the art to hang (Paul Thurlby's Alphabet for above the crib, and some cool collected prints/homemade Cricut art for above the bed) but haven’t done it yet! Lazy!

And I just realized as I’m looking at these pictures, that I have made some fun blue striped curtains that are already up…I’ll have to take updated pictures soon.

Anyway, that is where baby officially resides…90% done. But, considering that 3 days before he was born, we were still getting it ready/putting together the crib…

(Thanks to our friend Efren!)
 (This is the last pregnant picture I have of myself before the day he was born!)

and that less than a month before he was born it looked like this…

…I’m pretty happy with how far it’s come along! :)

Happy Birthday, Shadow!

You are eight and a half, as far as I am concerned :)

Thank you for being pretty chill about our newest family member. I hope you become friends and can really play outside soon!

Happy Birthday :)

 

A quick happy birthday to Grounder who is 11…and Baby who is three months!

And to my friend Janis’s baby (toddler), Lincoln, who is 2!

Almost Three Months…

As Porcupine approaches his 3rd month of life, I figure I can post a few pictures from the beginning of his life!  Having a newborn is a similarly great excuse for not doing things as being pregnant.  No blog posts? Have a newborn.  Newborn’s nursery not done? Have a newborn.  House is a disaster? Have a newborn.  Unabashedly letting other people cook and feed us? Have a newborn. It’s pretty great. :)

Here’s one of my favorites from when he was just a day old:

It’s amazing how different he looks now:

Here’s another picture of tiny newborn Porcupine, just for good measure:

As I mentioned before, this little guy came a little early. He was due March 1st, I thought he’d be born March 7th, but in reality, he came on February 17th. So just for fun, I made Brian take pictures of us on his “due date”. :)

I’ve been documenting baby’s growth with weekly and monthly photos, which I’ll hopefully be sharing soon. I can’t believe nearly 3 months have already gone by!

Happy Mother’s Day!

My first Mother’s Day was a pretty happy occasion. :)

We had lots of fun with family.

I thought it’d be fun to take a picture of the grandmas that was similar to some we took when we told them we were having a boy, so we did.

One of the best parts of being this boy’s mom is knowing he’s loved by so many people. :)

Happy Mother’s Day!

Porcupine

It’s the last day of April. I’m still here, I swear.
Here’s a quick recap of what’s been going on:

I hope to post more soon! But this little baby’s been keeping me busy! He came two weeks early and it’s been a roller coaster ever since. But in a super great way!
Hope to talk to you soon :)

New Year Updates

The bathroom is pretty much finished!

Okay, okay, so we actually have quite a few more projects to go. But we are using it and it is amazing!

In between the vanities, I will buy/build something to make everything look more seamless and super functional.  My plan is to put up a subway tile backsplash in the whole vanity area, too.

We’ll get rid of all the extra tools and paint :)  Above the toilet will be some cool shelves, and I want to hang some art and/or mirrors. These inexpensive and functional Algot drawers from Ikea will be surrounded by a faux-cabinet to match the vanities and make them look like a built-in.

The shower still needs a real curtain (we’re just using this liner for now on a curved shower curtain rod, which is amazing).  There’s a little touch up caulking and painting that needs to get done, too.

And we need some artwork and other fun things to fill this large bathroom up.

But overall, I am so happy with what this room looks like and how it functions compared to 4 months ago and the 3 years before that!

A little run-down of what’s currently in the bathroom:
- Martha Stewart Vanities from Home Depot
-Toto Toilet from Amazon
-Price-Pfister Faucets from Lowe’s
-Delta Showers from Amazon
-Tile from Menards
-Allure Flooring from Home Depot
-Vanity Schoolhouse Lights from Destination Lighting
-Exhaust Fans/Lights from Menards
-Medicine cabinets from Lowes
-Hooks and hardware from TJMaxx/HomeGoods
-Zinsser Perma-White Mildew-Proof Paint (colormatched to Pittsburgh Paints Splash) from Menards

My goal is to go back and show you some more progress pictures/steps. Cross your fingers that I actually do it :) and of course more progress pictures as it gets more finished/decorated. :)

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In baby news, I am 34 weeks along and should really get started on that nursery…baby’s due March 1st and that is really coming up fast!

But for now, try to stay warm!!

Christmastime Updates

Between pregnancy and bathroom, I haven’t (updated this blog) really put up any Christmas decorations…but we’ve still got tons of holiday spirit!

So here are a random bunch of life updates, which hopefully I will be able to better organize as “real” blog posts later :) but hey, for now, I’m no pro, so this is what you get :)

Here’s a belly shot! I blame pregnancy for everything and it’s great :) No blog posts: pregnancy. Can’t lift heavy things: pregnancy. Get tired easily: pregnancy. No Christmas tree: pregnancy. Eating lots of delicious things: pregnancy. It’s fantastic.

I don’t know what the rest of pregnancy will be like, but this part is pretty great. I’m not too big that I’m too uncomfortable and can’t move around, eating is pretty normal and fun and “necessary”, and my tummy is supposed to be hanging out, which makes eating and getting dressed way better than before. :)  Also, I can feel this little guy having a dance party in my belly all the time, and can see it a lot from the outside, too – which is all wildly entertaining to me.  This part I am definitely loving.

Our bathroom (which is on a bit of a holiday hiatus) is nearly done! We’re kind of down to some finishing touches…well, and finishing the shower…all of which will hopefully become in-progress posts at some time…but just to skip ahead to some almost done pictures:

The floor, vanities, and toilet are installed. The shower is tiled (but not cleaned or caulked).  So we have to finish the shower and trim work – and then it’s a fully functioning bathroom! I will still be making/buying some cabinetry (in between the vanities for a more seamless look and under one of the windows for storage) but it’s nothing that will stop us from moving into and using this bathroom so we can start working on my little main floor laundry nook and baby’s room!

And we’ve started celebrating Christmas. I’ve done mostly online shopping, so this definitely happened in our kitchen for a minute:

And we started the first of many family celebrations:

All the little kids know that there’s a baby in my belly which is super cute :)

My cousins are getting married January 4th, so we used family get-together as an opportunity to try on the flower girls dresses I’ve been making.

I’m so excited about how cute the dresses are! They’re a little big, but nothing moving a few buttons won’t fix. I’m so excited to continue celebrating with our family even when Christmas is over!

So whew! That’s an overview of what’s been going on since Thanksgiving…and coming up in the new year is this family wedding, more work on the house, a baby shower…and a baby! Whew indeed!

Has your December seemed as insane as mine? Isn’t time flying? What are your holiday plans?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! :)