louisa's first haircut

I gave Louisa her first haircut the other day. Pretty amazing that at 14 months, she was able to get by with nary a trim. She did have a pretty stellar mullet but at least it was somewhat even. I think I was in denial that this girl is growing up so I ignored the long strands that touched her back during the bath. I just cut the funny pieces off the back into a blunt bob and she looks super cute. Will made up a song the other night that he named "Loulou is the cutest baby in the whole world". We all remain faithfully hers.

house tour: downstairs bathroom

I have been thinking about what we'd like to do with our bathrooms. We have three bathrooms in our house but only one is currently useable for showers and baths. Our master has an en suite but the shower has a leak that we have yet to get fixed. For now, that bathroom gets minimal use and we mostly use the hallway bathroom (i.e. kids' bathroom). I'll blog about that another day but since I've started dreaming about what I'd like to do to our basement, I've started considering options for the downstairs bathroom. I made a room board to help me design a plan and as a guide as we go along with our plans. If you're interested in hiring me for a room board, check out this page here. :)

Like the rest of the basement, the bathroom is really sad and creepy. It has lots of spiders and a toilet that clogs constantly. I am too scared to open the medicine cabinet and the drawers on the vanity. That's how creepy it is. It currently reminds me of the bathroom at my dad's old lumber yard or other construction site bathrooms. Haha. David scraped off the popcorn ceiling, like the rest of the house but otherwise, nothing else has been done.

We don't have a huge budget for this room so we'll need to keep as much as possible to save money. Paint will do a lot to this room. David will skim coat the walls in the basement, like he did upstairs, which will help the walls look nice when we paint. I like the idea of painting the walls a darker, slate blue and then adding in lots of white with navy (buffalo check and stripes), light blue and greens... maybe I love to decorate with those colors a little too much... It has a shower/tub drain but no shower so I'd like to add some kind of shower/tub combo against the window/wall. Adding that will help increase the value of the house because we'll have an additional full bath.

TO-DO LIST:
- skim coat, prime + paint walls (maybe BM Hale Navy or RL Lancaster Blue?)
- install hex tile floors (this may be a pipe dream but we'll see what our budget is like)
- rip out medicine cabinet
- hang mirror and vanity sconce
- paint vanity + add hardware
- new sink faucet
- replace/repair toilet
- install (semi)flush mount light
- install shower/tub (in reality, it'll probably be something more like this)
- shower curtain/linens
- storage cabinet

life lately

I tried taking some pictures with my kids the other day but Louisa was the only one who was kind of cooperating. She's such a little baby bunny and I love her. She has recently learned how to do this squinty, cheesy smile whenever I smile at her and it is so funny to me (not in these pictures so you'll just have to take my word on it).

Louisa has also recently graduated from her baby tub (I know, at 13 months) and now she sometimes takes a tub with the boys. They like to dump water on her head and splash her a lot so her baths are typically very short, but she thinks she's such a big girl! Will and Fritz continue to dote on her.

Last week, we went on a drive and ended up at Gas Works Park in Seattle. We climbed to the top of the hill, ate pizza (locals: what's up with Ballard Pizza Co.? We heard it was epic and it was NOT!) and let the kids roam around while we enjoyed this gorgeous view before sunset. Seattle is a gorgeous place in the summer.

As glorious as this summer has been in Seattle, I am ready for fall. A couple of nights ago, I woke up at around 4 a.m. to help one of my kids (can't even remember who because I was still half asleep). After I tucked them back in, I went to the bathroom and we had the window open for some fresh air. The wind was blowing into the house and I felt that "crisp" Autumn air which made me feel giddy with excitement. I have visions of Christmas in our new house and I can't wait! This picture, in particular, is really making me feel jazzed about the holidays.

house tour: nursery

Another house update post for you all. This is Louisa's nursery. It's nothing like I imagined or planned but it's cheerful and I do like it, even though it still has black baseboards and black doors... which doesn't exactly go with the color palette in there. Oh well, soon enough we'll be able to replace those things and it'll make a huge difference.

As always, things aren't permanent in here but I still wanted to share the progress. I finally broke down and got a nursery chair. I thought the color was going to be more blue but it's really a sagey green. I was pretty disappointed in the color but the shape is great and it's REALLY comfortable and the price was right (I got it on sale and had a coupon code). I just had to add in some other colors that mesh better with the chair color. Luckily, the quilt I made for Louisa has that color in it, repeated a few times. Now, the color doesn't bother me as much.

I love all the things from blabla kids and got this pillow and cat doll for Louisa's crib. Without fail, she throws both of them out of her bed before going to sleep.

This old, antique dresser is one that I painted green and changed the knobs. It's really crummy and the drawers stick really bad, so I want to replace it down the road, but for now it works. I still need to hang the art (which is a Rifle Paper co. wrapping sheet) and take down the pendant that I saved from her blessing brunch.

The kids' closets are just the right size for an EXPEDIT cabinet from IKEA so I put one in each room and I'm so glad I did to give us a little more storage. Other plans for this room include:

- replacing the carpet
- new baseboards
- new doors
and...
I'm sure I'll change up a few other items as well down the road. For those of you who want to know sources for items, here you go.

Wall Color: Benjamin Moore - Pensacola Pink
Crib: Jenny Lind from Amazon
Bumper: Serena & Lily
Sheet: giggle Basics
Skirt: Restoration Hardware Baby
Cat Doll + Pillow: Blabla Kids
Rug: West Elm
Mirror: vintage
Chair: Home Decorators
Buffalo Check Pillow: IKEA
Bookcase: IKEA (several years ago - they don't sell it anymore)
Blackout Drapes: Pottery Barn
Swan Vase: Anthropologie

bluewater days 2015: snakes + peaches

The last few days at the ranch were full of fun, but as we anticipated our departure within the next day or two, we felt really bummed about having to leave. The whole week went by wayyyy too fast! The boys had a grand time climbing on the tractors and riding quads. I think this picture of Fritz's face kind of says it all!

We also took a hike in the canyon to the creek and went swimming. Well, I didn't swim but the kids did. It was a fun time, except for that one time when my nephew stepped on a snake in the grass and everyone started screaming and then my brother killed it. The ranch is a wild place sometimes.

All the kids piled in the back of the ranch truck for a bumpy ride down to the canyon from the ranch house. David and I took the boys with us on a quad but William begged to go in the truck on the way back. He was so happy to be with his cousins and then Fritz fell asleep in my arms on the quad, driving back. It's hard work keeping up with the big kids!

David helping Fritz cross the creek

There were a few more snakes killed that week and my brother caught this shot of Leone holding a recently departed rattlesnake. I love this picture of her. She's a beauty and I love her friendship and presence in my family!

Here are a few miscellaneous shots that I had to include. I made some peach cobbler with the 50 peaches that my mom bought. Which brings me to a funny story. My mom had put the huge box of peaches on the bottom shelf of the kitchen island to ripen. One day, Charlotte (3 years old) climbed down there while we were making lunch but no one really thought anything of it. We figured she was just playing. Later that afternoon, I was searching for something on the bottom shelf and saw that 15 peaches had one little bit mark out of each one. Turns out Charlotte was testing them for ripeness. Haha! Anyway, it inspired me to peel them and make them into a cobbler. Obviously, with fresh peach cobbler, one must have freshly whipped cream to go on top. I gave Fritz and Margot each a beater and let them enjoy the left overs. They declared it "delicious!"

My sweet bunny Loulou. She loved the ranch just as much as any of us!

I spent some QT with these two on a quad ride. They are good friends and I love them both.

bluewater days 2015: let's go fly a kite

The next day at the ranch was windy and overcast. It was perfect weather! The boys went out to fly kites with their cousins while some of us lounged around on the swings and front lawn to watch. It was entertaining and the weather was cool and fresh. There's nothing like the smell of wet dirt and juniper trees. Mmmm, I can smell it now!

I caught some great action shots of Fritz's emotions while trying to fly the kite. Haha! Lots of epic facial expressions coming up!

First, someone handed him the kite and he was determined. Until it fell to the ground. Bummer.

But, then he decided to try again and it started to go up!

Success!

Meanwhile, I captured some pictures of Louisa blowing in the wind and wrestling on a blanket with David. These two - they melt me.

And, I can't forget my sweet niece, Margot. I sure love her and her wild, wind-blown hair!

bluewater days 2015: family photos

I had my nephew, Brett, take some pictures of our family out on the ranch. My kids were all in a mood, but at least we're all in them! We had the pictures taken in front of some of my favorite spots at the ranch: the flag painted on the barn and then some in front of the old Bluewater fire truck that was retired from the village. I love me some David in a cowboy hat... Ow ow!!!

bluewater days 2015: quads + cousins

By Monday afternoon, lots of the cousins had arrived (though all of them were the "older" cousins). William and Fritz were thrilled to catch some tadpoles in Bullfrog Pond with Jane and Mary. William named his "Slippery Fish" and wanted to bring it home with him, until cousin Charlotte squished it between her chubby hands in an overzealous display of affection. Haha!

David and I took the boys into town on the quads to go get an ice cream cone from the only store within 20 miles. Bluewater Village is a tiny little place and many of the buildings are old and run-down. This one used to be the village grocery store, run by my great-great aunt. There's something kind of beautiful about old, run-down buildings.

We all love the American flag that Christian and Stephanie painted on the back of the barn. It looks great and the barn will always have a special place in my heart, since that's where David proposed to me...

Next to the barn, live four chickens in the chicken coop. I have this thing with birds and really don't like to get close to them, but these chickens looked so sweet (these two are "Alice" and "Molly") and Will captured one of their eggs and carefully kept it safe so he could eat it for breakfast. He was fascinated as I cracked it open in the pan, and we all marveled at the bright orange yolk contrasted next to the yellow"ish" yolk from the store-bought egg.

These boys are the cutest!

Fritz and his cousin, Charlotte. They are just two days apart in age, and are as cute as can be. Everyone got a lot of entertainment this week out of these two. They met for the first time at the ranch a couple of years ago. It's fun to look back at that first picture and see how they've grown.