Hylie at 18 Months

I have been waiting to do this post for 18 months!  One of the earliest pictures we have of Geoff is when he was a year-and-a-half, so I thought it would be fun to do a little side-by-side with Hylie to see who she most looks like!

Geoff and I both agree, she's a pretty good mix!  I think it's so funny that we both had pics taken, sitting down in a studio, with an 'outside' backdrop!  Ha ha!  

Hylie is talking up a storm...considering her age.  She repeats most anything she hears and loves pointing out things she recognizes like: hearts, quack quacks (ducks), Minnie Mouse, and her 'butt' (Hylie only picks out one syllable from Belly Button, and it happens to be the funniest.)  Life is actually getting a little easier now that she's becoming more verbal...except for when she repeats a word over and over again and we have no idea what she's talking about, but she sure thinks we should!

She is finally starting to like bath time (bubbles have been a huge help here) and her appetite comes and goes, but usually she'll happily eat what we put in front of her.

Separation anxiety has been a MAJOR issue lately.  According to Hylie, Nursery at church is NOT an option.  She cries even if Geoff or I are in the room...luckily the Nursery leaders are working with us and each week we're trying different approaches to help Hylie know that it really is fun to stay and play with other kiddos her age.  I think it will take awhile for her to settle down though, every morning when Geoff leaves for work, Hylie gets pretty upset that he's leaving.  It's nice that she likes having both of us around, but this could get a little out of hand...

Hylie Time

I knew with our house completely upside down, it would be difficult for Hylie to adjust to a different environment everyday.  So I decided to look up some fun activities we could do while Hylie was "up and at 'em" to help her not be distracted by the complete chaos.

We tried playing with some noodles...they totally fell apart, but Hylie was okay with that.

We had a lot of Play-Doh time.  (Hylie calls it "Pee-Yoh")

You have to watch Hylie like a hawk when there's play-doh in front of her--she's always trying to sneak in a bite.  She'll start to direct the stuff towards her mouth, but when you say her name or let her know you're watching, she quickly puckers up and acts like she was planning to kiss her play-doh all along!

We did some finger painting.

Hylie LOVES bubbles.  I found this neat idea where you beat 1/4 cup of bubble bath with a few tablespoons of water.  (You have to beat it for SEVERAL minutes, so I recommend using a stand mixer if you have one.)   It creates this fun foam that is more durable than regular bubbles.  Hylie loved the stuff!

Mom gave herself a break every once in a while and encouraged some 'non-messy' play.  Hylie didn't seem to mind!

Who would have thought rolling cars down a cardboard ramp would be such a hit?

Living and Dining Rooms

This past month has been full of dust, paint, and craziness.  But now that all the work is done, we can finally say, "It was all worth it!".  Yes, we did the much-needed work in our living and dining room.  On January 18th we pulled all our furniture into the center of the room, covered it up, and started sanding, patching, and painting.

Most of the work was done while Hylie was napping or in bed for the night.  It's mind-boggling to me that we only took Hylie to our friends' homes twice during this entire ordeal.  Hylie was definitely a trooper in our construction-zone house, but I think she's glad we're done with all the work!

Prepping the house for its 'face-lift'

Yes, this is how our furniture was situated for an entire month!

Sanding and patching ceilings is messy business!

Geoff priming the trim

Before and After shots

More Before and Afters

We couldn't paint over this wall fast enough!

Ah, what a difference a coat of paint (and sanding, patching and practically reconstructing certain areas) can make!

Trying to make a 50-year-old house look like new presents its challenges, and believe me, this house does not look like new, but boy is it improved!

 We will be adding a dark green panel to the bottom of the curtains, we hung the window treatments now because we felt like getting some privacy was more important than a finished project!

We hope you all can visit soon to see this place in person!