I need catch myself up on life! It has been going by too fast! With Addison starting Kindergarten in a week, I want to make sure I am documenting these amazing milestones and family memories (disclaimer: some of these are pics from the iphone so they are a tad blurry).
So to catch up, this is what we’ve been up to:
February: Jack and I made-over Addison’s room. She chose the color-Olympic One’s “Lavender Haze.” I couldn’t have been happier than a pig in slop when I ripped out the hideous 2 ¼” wood trim from 1987 and replaced it with 3 ½” white trim. I would have gone with wider trim, but our ceilings are standard height and the price difference between 3 ½” and 4 ½” was a lot. So here are our before and afters (I need to add a couple more of the final product with bedding, etc.):
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| Addison helping during the process |
March: We had an unusually warm spring, which was awesome! We did a lot outside including buying a new bike for me and a “1/2 wheeler” for Addison (which is a bike that connects to an adult bike). She graduated from the bike trailer! We spent a lot of time on the Loveland Bike trail.
The week before Easter (since we were going to Florida) we colored Easter eggs.
April: For Easter (which was also Jack’s spring break) we went to Panama City Beach with Aunt Angie and Uncle Tony. We had amazing weather and we’re already looking forward to spring break 2013
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| Econfina Springs Canoe Trip |
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| Angie and I |
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| Pontoon Rental to Shell Island |
I made-over our dining room after spring break but it is not completely done since I still need to paint the table and buffet. I used Sherwin Williams paint (bought during their 40% off sale) color matched to Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter. It is grayer than I thought it would be but it turned out really pretty and the best thing is, Jack likes it. Here are the before and afters (I threw some after pics of the living room...stairs/balusters are next):
May: I worked around the house a lot on painting the downstairs window trim white. This was a tedious process, but I am glad I finally found the right paint and I’m in love with it! I use Glidden Gripper primer and Sherwin Williams’ ProClassic trim paint in a semi-gloss (color matched to Benjamin Moore’s Simply White). I continued the Revere Pewter in the living room, family room and breakfast nook. The trim is still a work in progress…
Addison’s preschool graduation was at the end of May. The “ceremony” was adorable—the kids sang a couple of songs and said the Pledge of Allegiance. We will miss her preschool/daycare center very much since it is been part of our lives for 4 years.
Since the weather was so warm in May, aunt Julie opened her pool earlier than usual. This is my cousin Jack. Planning on taking his senior pictures this fall so I thought I'd practice.
June: Addison turned 5 on June 5! What a special day that was. She couldn’t have been happier. We had a backyard party complete with pizza and a princess cake. This was my first attempt at using Wilton’s Wonder Mold, but in the end it turned out well. I think the cake was Addison’s favorite part of her birthday. We ended up celebrating 3 times-once with friends, again with my side of the family at a pool party and again with Jack’s side of the family.
I hosted the monthly Shagbark Ladies’ Night at my house to have a little baby shower for my sweet neighbor, Jessica (who is due at the end of August). Here is the diaper cake I made and I regret not taking any pictures of the actually party!
Right after school was out, Jack was underway on my parents’ deck project. He did an amazing job! He completely tore out the old 20x20 deck, replaced that in addition to building an 8x10 addition on the side for their grill and a 20’ bench seat. I need some more after pics...
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| In Progress.... |
We swam a lot…
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| Aunt Amy and fiance Aaron |
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| "Oh No You Didn't!!" |
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| Addison took this picture of me. I was surprised it wasn't blurry! |
Addison started swim lessons in June and passed level one with flying colors. Our swim club offers 2 week long lessons which were held everyday. She really enjoyed her swim teacher and made some amazing progress. She has been jumping off of the diving board and swimming to the side without assistance.
Addison also started an 8 week session at Dance, Etc. and is taking Hip-Hop and Tumbling. She can almost do a cartwheel and loves dancing to Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus in Hip Hop.
Addison had her 5 year old check up and 4 shots this month. She is in the 50th percentile for height and weight, so right on track. She also answered all of the doctor’s safety questions correctly without any prompting from me. The doctor said that she is definitely ready for kindergarten.
On the DIY side, I finally made over Jack’s grandmother’s dresser into an entertainment center for the basement. I wish I would have used darker paint, so I’m glad I did this dresser before I move on to the buffet in the dining room. The color I used was Black Bean from Sherwin Williams. I used a semi-gloss poly on top (which I had never used before). It was frustrating to use since it left brush marks but I finally got it down pat after 5 coats. I also switched out the old knobs (I patched 2 holes on each drawer since each drawer had 4 holes for the pulls). I will probably take the top two drawers out for electronics (DVD player and Wii).
On June 24th we celebrated one year of living in our house. Moving has really been a blessing. We love our house, the neighborhood and our wonderful neighbors.
July: We traveled to Lake Erie for the 4th of July and spent time with Grandma Jackie, Grandpa Jim, Uncle Steve, Aunt Amy and Aaron. We borrowed my friend’s pop up camper since there wasn’t room in the cottage for us and it was perfect. The weather was in the 100’s so it was very uncomfortable if we weren’t in the water and we ended up leaving a day earlier than planned. Jim took us out in his boat and we decided then that we’d seriously look for a boat (we had talked about it for years but never took the plunge). For the next two weeks straight our best friend was Craig, from Craig’s List. We knew we wanted and older boat (80’s model) with a cuddy to sleep in for trips to Put-in-Bay and Kelley’s Island. We had plans to go back to the cottage 2 weeks following the 4th of July trip and take my mom, aunt, my two cousins, Angie and Tony. We actually found a boat on the way to the cottage that fit all of our needs and the people we bought it from were the best. So we ended up with a 1986 Sea Ray Seville II with an aft cabin for Addison. The only thing on Addison’ list was that it had to have a potty (it does). It is in great shape with no ripped upholstery and very clean. Next spring I do want to recover all of the interior upholstery with waterproof Sunbrella material, but it is at least usable this season.
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| On Grandpa Jim's Boat |
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| Fun with sparklers and a slow shutter speed! |
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| Our new boat |
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| Aft cabin portion straight ahead with potty to left and sink to right |
The weekend of the 20th was spent at the cottage with the above-mentioned family. It was awesome! We had amazing weather for boating, jet skiing and riding around Put-in-Bay on golf carts. Everyone is looking forward to going back next year.
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| Cousins Jack and Cameron with Addi in middle |
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| My aunt Julie and I |
Jack spent some time installing brakes on the boat trailer for towing it long distances. All of the parts needed to be ordered online so it took some time, but it has been completed. We plan to go back to Lake Erie for Labor Day and do an overnight on Kelley’s or Put-in-Bay.
Addison completed a second session of swim lessons in Level 2 and improved on skills learned in Level 1. She is working on perfecting her jump from the diving board.
August (so far): We continued to work on the downstairs trim. I learned to use the miter saw and nail gun. We completely finished the “living room” which houses our elliptical machine (see after pics above).
Addison and I are working on creating a craft room in the unfinished part of the basement. Jack hung up a big shop light and I am utilizing the big pegboard that was already there.
Last weekend we attended a family reunion of my mom’s cousins/aunt and their children. My aunt Julie hosted it at her pool but only the kids swam because the temperature dropped from almost 90 to 75 overnight. I love 75 degree weather, but just not for swimming.
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| Cousin Cameron with his BFF Savanna |
Addison starts school next Friday the 24th. We bought a new Land’s End backpack and all of her school supplies in addition to a new uniform jumper. She’s going to look adorable!
Looking ahead: Dance starts up again next week. Addison decided to forgo hip hop and take an hour of tumbling instead on Monday evenings. I liked hip hop so much that I signed up for a Wednesday night adult class. I am so excited for this to start! It will break up my boring elliptical routine. I’ll change my hours at work so I can put Addison on the bus which means I can go to the early morning power pump class at the gym twice a week. I had been going on Monday nights this summer, but I really need 2 days a week.
I signed up to run walk The Color Run on October 6 downtown. I am really looking forward to this! Check out the website if you’ve never heard of it. The 5K event is being held all over the United States and I know a couple of people who have already completed it in different cities. I am going to jog/walk with my team of family and friends.
Jack is not coaching Batavia Football this year which has been awesome!! He has been able to stay home with Addison this summer. Speaking of Jack, today is our 8 year anniversary. Love him. We don’t have plans to celebrate until we go up to Put-in-Bay for Labor Day. Grandma and Grandpa will watch Addison so we can do an overnight trip to the island on our boat.
Upcoming DIY projects: I have been itching to do the kitchen for some time now but it is such a big undertaking…as you can see…
We want to knock a wall down so I hesitate painting any cabinets until that is done but I really just can’t wait. We recently installed a new sink because our disposal bit the dust and the cream acrylic sink wanted to go back to 1987. It is a stainless steel single bowl which is A-MA-ZING. I always thought they were silly, but they are the best ever for washing dishes.
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| Before |
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| After |
For the time being, I am going to paint the countertops until we figure out what we are doing with the wall (then we’ll do a solid surface of some sort). We will work on replacing at least 4 interior doors downstairs and then I’ll hit up the laundry room. Probably stack the washer and dryer to create more space. I hope to have the kitchen in progress by the end of the year....too much to list. I'm tired.
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