New paint, new floors

So on Friday, August 6th (two months ago to the day, coincidentally), the city turned off our water to fix a water main break. We accidentally left our bathroom faucet on and then left to go to Tim's parents so he could shower and then out to dinner with friends. We returned home to a flooded house.This necessitated replacement of all the engineered hardwood flooring in every room except Stella and Etta's bedrooms. Which, for some reason, took 6 and a half weeks to actually get installed. Well, technically they installed the floors in 10 and a half hours, all that in-between time was due to Floor King being really slow. We got the same Walnut floors so that we could keep the floors in the girls' bedrooms.

The only good to come out of all of this, well other than the fact that the flooring that

we accidentally scratched when moving the piano in got replaced, was that they repainted our living room, hallway and bedroom walls and ceilings to fix any places that got ripped when they pulled off the molding. And we got to choose the colors. So our formerly cave

-like living room (because the ceiling and walls were too dark) went from this:

to this:

I realize it's not one of those "wow" transformations, but it really makes the room seem so much brighter. The color before was a beigy-brown and had too much green in it and always sort of bugged us. It was hard to tell what color it was. The color on the ceiling is Behr's Swiss Coffee and the walls are Natural Linen. You should have seen us desperately trying to choose the colors the night before the painters came, lining up these little tiny paint chips on the picture ledges and trying to tell different shades of white apart. But it was definitely worth it, I think we chose the perfect shades.

Then we had the shelving unit wall. I'd had the idea few weeks ago to paint that wall orange to make everything on the shelves pop. I couldn't believe I managed to convince Tim this was a good idea and so as soon as the painters were out of here, I set plans in motion to get it painted before Tim could change his mind:)

I wish I'd taken a picture of the awful orange we chose first. It was called "Pumpkin Pleasure" in Olympic's No-VOC line, and it looked perfect on the chip, but it was totally wrong. After three terrible coats, Tim decided to use photoshop to get a fix on what the actual color was in our

inspiration picture (the one in the middle):

BTW, if you are looking for lots of inspiration on 60's and 70's paint colors, check out www.retrorenovation.com

So this is the wall with the shelving unit before:

And after, with the addition of Olympic's No-VOC Georgian Leather and some hard work rehabilitating the shelving unit using these instructions:

I also used Jonathan Adler's shelving unit as inspiration:

Although I could have done a lot better if I'd just had a grand or so to spend on some of his pottery. I wonder if he'd be willing to give me a gift certificate if I sent him an email? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery;)

What do you think? The orange color isn't exactly what we had in mind, but Olympic's no-VOC line had a very limited selection and we were in a hurry to get our house back together! Next up: our bedroom.

Our new living room

I never blog anymore, but thought I'd include some pics of our living room with the new couch and curtains in case anyone reads this anymore. I made the curtains after the couch went in and haven't gotten a picture of everything together yet. One day...

10 Months!

Etta, you turned 10 months old today. It is hard to believe that in that time you've gone from this:

To this:

My tiny little baby is growing up, only 2 months away from turning 1! Of course, you also get more fun every day and are in that stage where I'm reminded WHY I have children. You and your sister now play together on your own. Just wander off and I'm like, "where are the children?" and I'll go look for you and there you are in your room or Stella's room just playing together as happy as can be.
You worship your sister. Oh my goodness, I know you love me and I love you, but I will never be the recipient of the type of love I see in your eyes that you hold for Stella. She is your teacher, your buddy, your idol. It's an amazing relationship already.
Some wonderful and fun things you have been doing lately:

1/12/10: Etta pulls up in her crib! I went into her room because she was crying and not sleeping at nap time and she was standing up! I went to try and help her down and she fell down, stiff as a board, and nearly bonked her head on the backside of the crib!

1/13/10: Etta waved hi to me twice when I was putting her in the car after Stella's ballet class! Then she waved to her sister!

1/13/10: Etta pulled up to standing on the bathtub twice!

1/14/10: I love how when Etta wants you to pick her up, she'll crawl over to you, get on her knees and tug on your pant leg. She looks up at you with the most adorable expression:)

1/18/10: Etta was standing at a chair in the kitchen and she sat back down on her bottom without falling!

1/20/10: You're 10 months today! I love how when you're eating, you'll pick up a piece of food, tap my palm (or your sister's) with it, and then put it in your mouth. Almost like you're saying “cheers!”

You also are getting a "Buddha belly". It is the cutest thing I have ever seen. And no wonder since I think you only ever stop eating out of sheer exhaustion!

You change every day and it's an amazing process that I feel like I am enjoying and savoring far more this time. Thanks for being my little "Etta-bird".

Love,
Mommy

Under the Zilker Tree then and now

Stella spinning under the Zilker Tree a few weeks ago:And 3 years ago (I do have video of her spinning, but no stills of that actually happening):
Hard to believe that is the same kiddo! 3 years has gone by so fast.

7 Months and One Week

I love blowing raspberries

I decided to give Etta a running start on 7 months before I blogged about her. So 7 months and one week seems like a fair point to stand back and evaluate.

Still don't like baths. Still don't get them very often.

You are the smiling-est, happiest baby. I thought your sister was happy, but you take the cake.

Love playing with my rings, just like my sister did!
You have discovered the joy that is raspberries and you will happily do them over and over. This afternoon, your sister and you were having a back and forth raspberries contest in the car. If someone starts doing raspberries, you mimic them immediately!

You also love peek-a-boo. You just laugh and laugh when I cover your face with something and say, "Where's Etta?" then pull it off and say, "There she is!"

Goofing off with your favorite person

Two days after you turned 7 months you chose between two books! I put "Good Night Moon" and "Pat Them Gently" in front of you and told to choose one. You examined both and then decisively grabbed "Good Night Moon"! Now every time we read before nap or bedtime, I let you choose the book.

The last month has been really difficult as far as sleep goes. We sleep-trained you and you are much better for naps, although you still go down for pretty short periods of time, but you have gone from sleeping 7.5-9 hours at a stretch to sleeping 4. If I'm lucky. It's been hard, you slept through the night almost from the get-go, so going back to such extreme sleep-deprivation has been hard on your momma! This weekend you did 8 hours two nights in a row, so I'm hopeful that perhaps we're on our way back to longer stretches of sleep.

You eat 3 meals a day and often demand more, more MORE!

You suffered through your first Slapdash. MeMe stayed with you and Stella, and on the Sunday after it was all over, you wouldn't let me out of your sight. In fact, you wouldn't let me put you down, even to give you to Daddy. You are truly a Momma's girl.

You went on your first family vacation, to Galveston! You weren't too fond of all the time spent in the car, or all the missed naps, but I still think you had your own brand of a good time. At Schlitterbahn, you were all suited up in your life jacket and sharing the intertube with your Daddy and you totally passed out as we floated on the Torrent River. Everyone in the park thought you were adorable. Bathing Beauty
While on vacation, you also had a couple of complete meltdowns in the car on the way back from dinner. Your Daddy, your sister and I sang Old McDonald with increasingly silly animals and objects and you calmed down immediately. That is still your favorite song.

You started sitting in real high chairs at restaurants and sitting in the shopping cart at the grocery store.
You drink out of a sippy cup, although you usually need Mama to hold it so you can actually get water out.
You took your first bus ride
You slid down the slide in the backyard for the first time.

Sometimes I feel guilty because the number of photos I take of you pales in comparison to the ones I took of your sister. And I don't blog about you nearly as much, or in as timely as a fashion, as I did with your sister. And sometimes you get dragged around rather than having your naps exactly when they are supposed to happen. But I enjoy you so much, Etta. I really feel like you've made our family complete. We're now a self-sustaining, contained unit. And I hope that in exchange for not having a moment by moment photographic record of your life, you are getting better parents (because we're more experienced and much more relaxed), and a sister who adores you and keeps you constantly entertained.

And finally, because it's just too much of a coincidence that I took pictures of you and your sister in the same outfit at almost exactly the same age:

Here you are,And here's Stella:

I love you sweetie, till' next month!

6 months!

Her first Starbucks. Very important milestone.

Etta turned 6 months old Sunday. I just cannot believe that my little baby is already halfway through her first year of life! We've been in hardcore sleep training mode and (knock on wood), I'm starting to believe it's working. It's hard when she's screaming and crying, but we'd been setting her up with bad habit after bad habit. And not scheduling around her naps. Last week the you-know-what hit the fan and she would not sleep. Woke up at her grandparent's Thursday night and wouldn't go back to sleep, so they got her up. Then woke up at our house at 1:50am and wouldn't go back to sleep for 2 hours. Eek! So we stiffened our spine, made some sacrifices (like Tim and Etta missing a birthday party that Stella and I went to Saturday afternoon to not sabotage nap), and got her back to human baby form. Most days, we only suffer through less than 10 minutes of crying before she falls asleep. But she still cries as she senses that we're starting her nap/bedtime routine and every time it breaks my heart and I say, "it's not going to work!" Tim is always like, "why don't you give it a few minutes, you say this every night!" I'm glad he's right;) Triple-decker of cuteness

So Etta is now back on the cereal (rice) and has started eating sweet potatoes. She really digs the food now. We went to the doc Monday and she is 26 inches long (50-75%), 13 lbs (25-50%) and 43 cm head circumference (50-75%). For comparison (and of course I have to compare), at 6 months Stella was 26.25 inches long (75%), 16lbs, 9.6oz (just below 75%) and 42 cm head circumference (25-50%). So Stella was 3 lbs, 9.6 oz heavier (WOW), but they're about the same on height. I blogged on the occasion of Stella's 6 month visit too. Apparently then I was also worried about squeezing in 3 feedings. That seems so silly in retrospect. What did I have to do back then? Ah, I was so naive! With Stella the doc, (same doc, btw), was all about cutting down on feedings. No mention of this that time. I guess that's the difference between having a big baby and an average/slightly below average one! I'm enjoying doing everything again this time, but having it be totally different.

Etta continues to be a super happy, smiley baby. She's now moved into the terminally cute blowing bubbles and making really cute gurgling sounds phase. I think teeth may be imminent, as she puts her tongue over her bottom teeth a lot and also is drooling constantly. Plus her gums are swollen. But who knows, Stella didn't have teeth until she was 8 months old!

We'll be going on our first family vacation two weeks from tomorrow. And this weekend my Mom will be coming and watching the girls while Tim and I do Slapdash Flimflammery 6 Hopefully all those changes won't sabotage our sleep training and turn Etta back into a zombie. I did not like zombie baby!
Well, Stella's timer woke up Etta, but not Stella, so I guess I'm back on duty again!

Family Photos

We did family photos a couple of weeks ago and they turned out AMAZING! You probably will only be able to see these for a bit longer, but check out some of them at:

http://www.robinwinklesphotography.com/Favorites/thomas.htm
and
http://www.robinwinklesphotography.com/blog/?p=1985

Etta's got a brand new trick

Etta's been saying "mama" for the past week or two. The first time I heard it, I was shocked because Dada is the easier sound to make and Stella made that sound for months before she said Mama. But Etta is a bit of a Mama's girl;) I knew she was just making a sound and I wasn't naive enough to believe that she knew I was Mama. Until today.

This afternoon I was trying to get Etta to take a nap and she was wailing and was in full-on crawl position in her crib. She looked up at me with those big brown eyes and yelled, "Mama! Maaaammmmaaaaa!" Dude, no mistaking that girl knew what she was doing. She was tugging at my heartstrings. Hard. I am in trouble with this one, she knows how to play me!