Front Yard Renovation: Day 1

It is amazing what a two man team, working eight hours can do to a space.

This is what our yard looked like this morning:

And this is what it looked like by 4pm:

I can already see the potential.  Be back Saturday with the final reveal!

Cheers!

Front Yard Plans

So, I've been saying this for two years now but hand to god, we are actually finishing the front yard this year. Know why? We hired someone to do it. All of it. I know, not very DIY of us but sometimes you just have to decide what you are willing to do yourself and what is just not worth your time.

It will be going from this

to this

Work starts Monday and I'm excited to see what paying people to do all the work is like. We seriously thought about doing it ourselves, but just know that with the baby it would take longer than we would like. I've been waiting two long years for this front yard to be done and I'm glad we are finally getting on it.

Be back Tuesday with an update!

Cheers!

Teething 101

Ahh teeth. No fun for the baby, no fun for the parents. Like all baby things, there are a million and one products that claim to fix everything. And, like most parents, we tried them all.

Teethers fall into basically three categories: cooling, chewy, or nubbly. Or some combination of all three.

Here's what we thought: (clockwise from the bottom left)

• Hand (from the drug store)
• Pros: cooling and nubbly which Oliver seemed to like
• Cons: The fingers were too close together to just get one in his mouth

• Razbaby RaZ-berry Teether
• Pros: cute and pacifier like. I could clip it to him using the pacifier clip and it didn't fall all over the place.
• Cons: He kept thinking he was supposed to suck on it and was confused by the texture. He got the hang of it eventually but more as a novelty than a soothing device.

• Ring Teether (from Whole Foods)
• Pros: Classic cooling beads. Easy to hold on to.
• Cons: The beads are huge and don't really "fit" in baby's mouth. 

• Mam Cooler Teether
• Pros: Long fingers you could put in the fridge or freezer to cool. Easy to grasp handle
• Cons: Doesn't stay cold long, but the fingers have texture that is nice

• Sophie the Giraffe
• Pros: Cute, natural rubber, easy to chew on
• Cons: horrible squeaking noise and expensive

• Silicone Ring (Life Factory from Whole Foods)
• Pros: Easy to grip, no plastic, four different textures to chew on
• Cons: not cooling

• Silicone Chew beads (from Mama and Little)
• Pros: Baby can wear them, you can wear them. Super easy for little hands to grab and manipulate. 
• Cons: Once Oliver learned he could pull the clasp apart he is constantly tearing them off his neck

Conclusion? I would find one that cools, and one that is chewy. Oliver loves the chew beads and Life Factory ring as a general fun thing to put in his mouth. When the teeth are really bothering him he prefers the Mam finger teether or the classic ring teether (he sort of sucks on it). 

Though really he loves to chew on everything. 

Cheers!

Baby Gates and Baby Steps

Man, blogging is hard. I have to find my camera and then download pictures (and take pictures). Getting back in to the groove is proving more difficult than I though. Add in a 5 month old who has decided he no longer has to sleep through the night (seriously kid!) and you get one tired and distracted momma.

But, we did finish a project!

May I present our new baby gate. 

Isn't it pretty? I knew I saved the door we took down for a reason! I didn't bother to do much to it- just stripped, sanded and stained, letting all of the 112 years of imperfections show. I rather like the result. It is making me want to strip every wood surface in the house. 

In bad blogger form I have no progress pictures or befores but let me tell you, this door was disgusting. Covered in at least 5 layers of paint and stain, including the beautiful hardware. 

We used a new (for us) technique for stripping that is safe and easy (two important factors with a kid in the house). A heat gun! I have another door to strip so I will be sure to include all of the details when we get there, but it is the easiest way to strip paint. Like butter under a hot knife. 

Much better than those metal things and hopefully less likely to cause major accidents. Oliver isn't crawling yet but knowing how long it took to get around to this project I'm glad we are just done.

How did you approach baby-proofing? We are going for the one little step at a time. 

Cheers!

Not So Much of a Honeymoon

Every year, Daniel and I go on a self described "honeymoon" to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We pick a new island in the Caribbean and enjoy a week together. This year, we had a baby, which resulted in a very different kind of vacation.

My parent's graciously offered to come along for the ride so, this past June, the five of us rented a house down in the Florida Keys.

There was some fun, some swimming, and some celebrating; but mostly there was lots of baby.

I'm glad we went but I am already looking forward to next year's honeymoon, just Daniel and me.