Friends in high places

1. The bathroom is done...almost

I still need a mat for the rug so it doesn't slip and slide. I also need a new shower curtain. This was taken from the master bathroom. I don't love the shine but the crisp white is doing the job. Here are the before pictures again.

**And get excited...I have a silver doorknob! This the ONLY silver doorknob in the entire interior house. Hopefully more to come.

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2. Sushi with Shelby

Last Saturday Shelby and I went to Tomo for dinner. I had great food and great conversation. I am still thinking about all of the great sushi that I ate. So blessed to have such a wonderful friend!

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3. Shutterfly

Even though I have not done it in months, I am about to transfer all of my pictures over to Shutterfly. It might take awhile but at least my pictures will be safe from a computer malfunction.

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4. Iphone

Did I ever mention this? Amy gave me her old Iphone. Yes. She GAVE it to me. So I signed up for the new plan and have a wonderful Iphone. Awesome. Exciting. Grateful. LOVE IT.

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5. Dinner with friends

Another great night with Amy and Patrick. It was great to get out of the house, eat great food, and have lots of laughs!

16 months

1. The boys continue to grow
Today the boys had their 15 month check up even though they turned 16 months today!! They are both healthy besides slight ear infections. The most shocking news....Owen gained one pound and Cameron gained two. They are both 24lbs. I feel like they eat me out of house and home. I don't know where it all goes..... I guess that is why I have changed 5 poopy diapers today before 2pm!



I thought that this was a cute moment. Owen was stuffing his snap peas underneath his sippy cup. Oh my goodness...do you think that he was trying to act like he ate them??

2. They can't throw ALL of their toys over the gates.

Everything of importance (usually balls and pacifiers) end up over the gates. To be honest, this is is a constant and gets old pretty quickly. "Ball" is a favorite word at our house. Even if there are no balls on the opposite side of the gate, Cameron walks up to the gate and says, "ball. ball."

3. Updates to the dining room

As I type this I am realizing that I forgot to take a picture of the updated bathroom. I will post soon. Promise. I am thrilled to be getting a new look to the dining room. Slowly and surely I will be making much needed updates to the house.

3. 14 meals

This past weekend I was super busy (with the help of my mom) making 14 meals. Grocery shopping with a giant list on Friday was a chore alone. I am so grateful that the meals are completed and frozen. And grateful for the extra help. Here are two pictures that I took on Friday as I started the process.

4. Baby Hilgenbrinck

Krista and Blaise had a baby girl! I hope that the new family is doing well. I was able to see pictures online. She is beautiful. I am sure the boys will be fighting!

5. Sawyer's health

I am grateful that my little nephew is doing better. I wish that he lived closer so I could spoil him. Very grateful that he is able to crawl around and start walking without his oxygen!

Carbs

1. Olive Garden
Last night we went to Olive Garden with my parents. It was wonderful to get out of the house. You don't realize the impact of adult interaction until you haven't experienced it for awhile. I ate my entire meal and the boys LOVED the bread sticks.

(I was trying to tickle Cameron to make him laugh!)

2. 60 degrees!!!

It was 60 degrees today. No joke. No joke. After naps we ran a few quick errands and came back to the house for playtime. We first started outside. Because Cameron does not LOVE to walk he crawled in all of the puddles, making his pants dirty. Once coming in I gave them reign of the house to enjoy this fresh air. I opened the windows....and enjoyed!

3. New Floors

So here is the before. I know that you might be expecting the "after" of the hall bathroom. Be patient. I have to buy a new frame tomorrow for artwork that I purchased off Etsy. I am excited about all of these new changes...now I need to win the Lottery!!

Side note: Here are some more granola pictures. Just in case you didn't believe me. These things live EVERYWHERE.

4. Up from the floor

Today Cameron stood up from the floor. He might be doing this already in private but this was the first time in front of this "oh so excited" mom.

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5. The new buffet

So I must be in home improvement mode. I am going to experiment and try to update my buffet. I want to give 100% of this idea to Amy. She inspired me (so maybe she should come help me.....hahaha...kidding) to pant it black. I will post more about this later. Today I took off the handles. If the weather continues to look wonderful...so will my buffet!!!

Sawyer

1. Erin and Jess
As I type this morning Sawyer is sitting in a hospital in Denver. I hope that it is just a quick overnight stay. From talking to Erin last night it sounded like he was doing great. Erin and Jess are great parents and I know that he is in wonderful hands. Look forward to seeing them soon.

2. Walking into the store
It is starting to happen!! Two days ago I went to work out (insane...I know) and I carried Cameron while holding Owen's hand to walk him in. It was awesome. Owen LOVED the entire experience. No stroller, no buckles....it was great.

3. Taxes
Wow how quickly I can spend my tax check...in my head. I have not received a dime from the government but it will go quickly once it gets into my bank account. The plans are to not pick up extra work for a few months and get new floors in the dining room and hallway. I am hoping to find some sales and even try to put down fresh carpet in the remaining rooms. Trust me....it is GROSS and much needed.

4. Sun
The past few days have been very sunny. It has been a nice change and does wonders to heat up the toy room. Now we need the snow and ice to melt!!

5. Good dogs
I am very grateful that Mat's dogs are great. They are easy to take care of and wonderful around the boys.

Here is a picture of the boys playing with the dogs at the gate. I thought that this picture was fun because Cameron looks just like a little man with his gap jeans, polo, and long sleeved under shirt.

It has been hard to take pictures of the boys recently. They are moving and playing everywhere and have NO interest in looking at the camera. This picture of Owen reminds me of the song, "Back that Ass Up." Awesome.

Cameron has actually been very good lately. He started crying because I wasn't taking the picture fast enough and his block was stuck under the car. Within seconds he was done crying. Also...note all of the drool. Both boys are teething again!

Rest

1. A quick trip to Naples
This week I took a quick, two night trip to Naples. It was last minute trip that was very quick and very wonderful. Mat was there for work so I joined along.

The first afternoon it was VERY windy at the beach but I was thrilled to be there. (I did have my bathing suit on underneath my sweatshirt.)

Here is a picture of us while we are riding our bikes.

Our hotel had bikes that we used everyday to get to the beach. WONDERFUL!! The second day was beautiful out with perfect weather. We were super lucky.

This was at the restaurant at the hotel. We were getting drinks for the pool. Yum!
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2. My parents, the GRANDPARENTS

So while Mat and I were gone this week my parents watched the boys. Wow what a job. They did great. It was nice to be able to relax, enjoy the trip, and know that the boys are in good hands. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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3. Bethenny Ever After...

As I sit here and type this I am watching Top Chef. What a great show. Anyways, I saw a preview for Bethenny Ever After.... I LOVED LOVED Bethenny Getting Married so needless to say I am pretty darn excited to add this to my DVR list. I love you Bravo.

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4. Being home with the boys

These boys are great. Here is a picture of Owen that I snapped a few moments ago....right before nap time. Today he has been throwing everything out of the crib and then laughing, jumping, and thinking that he is just so funny. Wow....that sounds like someone I know. Hmmmm.

5. The granola drawer

One of the lower drawers in the kitchen is the home to a huge box of granola bars. These are an everyday plaything in this house. I frequently find the "toys" everywhere besides their designated home. Here is a picture of the bars in a different drawer in the kitchen.

It has been awhile...my bad.

1. The bathroom is ALMOST finished
My dad and Mat put a lot of work into the bathroom over the past week and it looks GREAT. The only thing left to purchase is towels and a bathmat. I have them picked out from World Market but waiting for bath accessories to go on sale. (Hopefully this won't take months!) My budget was $500 and I think that it will be around $600 when it is all said and done. I am waiting for the true "after" pictures once I get my new towels.

Here are some pictures of the boys playing with the vanity box and tape that my dad give them to occupy time.

***Please note the giraffe in the background. It is a favorite toy amongst the adults.

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2. CUTE!!

I am obsessed with the boys. OBSESSED. To me the are so stinkin' cute. Here is a picture of Owen's hair slicked over...with jelly. Yes. They had PB&J one day for lunch last Saturday it go in his hair. When my dad tried to get it out, he slicked it to the side. We forgot to wash it out of his hair before we went to Target later that afternoon. (Good thing he was in my mom's cart!) Regardless, he is so stinkin' cute.

3. Changed diapers

I went back and forth if I should post this or not. Some folks might be appalled. Last week I forgot to change the boys diapers all day. I did it once in the morning, and then again before bed. Their diapers were overflowing and FULL to say the least. I was putting them in pajamas before work and I realized that it was the second change for the day. The evening was full of dance parties, chase, and tons of playtime. It didn't even cross my mind. True story.

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4. BOOKSTORE

I love the bookstore. Love it. Because of the ice storm this week I have not been out of the house. I went to Target on Saturday with my mom and the boys and then work on Sunday. Besides that....nothing. Trust me....with two 15 month old boys it becomes a LOT. We don't really watch TV and the only day that I actually wanted to see Oprah, the news was on instead!! Anyways, back to the point....... Last night my parents came over for dinner and then my dad stayed to watch the boys while Mat and I went to the bookstore. Here is a picture I had my mom snap on our way out.

**I would like to note that I am actually wearing a tank top in support of warm weather and in the tupperwear on the left is homemade oatmeal cookies. The box of cookies is already gone. They lasted less than 72 hours. No joke. It is a problem that I have.

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5. Sunshine

Oh how I miss the sunshine. There is not a cloud in the sky today. It is so nice to finally see some sunshine. Looking forward to the spring!!!

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So I wanted to add a funny picture into the mix. I was trying to get pictures of me and the boys one morning in the playroom. I took the first picture of me and Owen and realized I needed to snap another one. Immediately when it took the picture...he fell. You can see the top of his head next to my goofy grin.

I saved the best for last. CAMERON IS WALKING!! Yep. I can now say that he is walking. He usually prefers to crawl but boy oh boy when he walks...he loves it. He gets some crazy, loud cheers from all of us bystanders...even Owen. They boys are going to Greg's tomorrow so I bet when he comes back he will be walking everywhere!

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Ok, so not last yet. I thought of two more.

1. Multigrain Cheerios

This is a favorite toy room snack.

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2. Words

The boys are saying tons of words. Ball, car, uh-oh, done, and doggy top the list. They repeat a ton. It has been so much fun to watch them grow. Looking forward to the next few months to continue to hear their vocabulary grow.