I don't know if this really counts as a first step, being so small, but it's more than she's ever done before! She will let go of stuff and stand on her own now. I am glad Daniel was taking video's, because I was asleep.My favorite part is when she waves "Hi." She's been doing that ALL the time, and not just at people. =-)
Monday, December 12, 2011
Happy Birthday Mari
I can hardly believe my baby doll is one year old! Last year, the day before Thanksgiving, our family dynamic was completely changed when Marian Emma Hoffman was born. I have such a clear memory of seeing her round head for the first time, covered in dark baby hair (I just knew that she would have dark hair), that it's hard to believe a whole year has passed since then.
Before Mari was born, I was worried that I wouldn't love her enough. I couldn't imagine adding another person to our perfect life and caring about her the way that I wanted to. Looking back, those thoughts were ridiculous, because before we even left the hospital, she had us completely in love with her. We spent hours just looking at her, watching her little movements and marveling that she really was here after all. We didn't even mind when she woke up in the night to eat, because it meant we got to see her again and hold her a little more.
When I think about those first days with her, it does seem like an entire year has gone by, because compared to then, Mari is very grown up. In many ways, she is hardly a baby anymore. She is a speedy crawler, especially when she thinks we are following her. She stopped nursing around 10 months and now eats all her meals at the table (in her highchair) with us. She says lots of words, including "HI" "Cheese" "Banana" "Mama" "Dada" and "Wolf" and "Ball," and understands even more. She knows how to make a racket when she is not happy with something. The more she is able to communicate, the better we get to know our little girl. We are looking forward to this next year so much and all the years we get to spend with her.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIAN!
Before Mari was born, I was worried that I wouldn't love her enough. I couldn't imagine adding another person to our perfect life and caring about her the way that I wanted to. Looking back, those thoughts were ridiculous, because before we even left the hospital, she had us completely in love with her. We spent hours just looking at her, watching her little movements and marveling that she really was here after all. We didn't even mind when she woke up in the night to eat, because it meant we got to see her again and hold her a little more.
When I think about those first days with her, it does seem like an entire year has gone by, because compared to then, Mari is very grown up. In many ways, she is hardly a baby anymore. She is a speedy crawler, especially when she thinks we are following her. She stopped nursing around 10 months and now eats all her meals at the table (in her highchair) with us. She says lots of words, including "HI" "Cheese" "Banana" "Mama" "Dada" and "Wolf" and "Ball," and understands even more. She knows how to make a racket when she is not happy with something. The more she is able to communicate, the better we get to know our little girl. We are looking forward to this next year so much and all the years we get to spend with her.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIAN!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Mari was a kitten
Mari was a kitten on Halloween. I just wanted her to wear a tutu. One of the great joys of having a baby girl is dressing her in cute clothes; and there are so many adorable tutus out there. Not wanting to spend $20-40 on a luxury item that she will probably only wear a handful of times, I decided to make her one. The spool of tulle cost $1.99 at an online fabric site. I only used one spool for Mari's 12 month sized tutu, but in the future I will probably use at least two spools to create a fuller effect. I bought a couple colors, included a Tinker Bell green and her cat costume gray. Pink and purple were sold out. As many online tutorials said, it was as easy as tying strips of tulle onto a band of elastic. I love the finished result!
We didn't to trick or treating this year, since she is a baby and we had pouring rain all evening! However, we did take Mari to a potluck lunch at Daniel's work where quite a few children showed off their costumes and trick or treated among the desks. Daniel even dressed up! He was Indiana Jones. I'll have to track down a picture, since I didn't take one.
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| Meow! |
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We didn't to trick or treating this year, since she is a baby and we had pouring rain all evening! However, we did take Mari to a potluck lunch at Daniel's work where quite a few children showed off their costumes and trick or treated among the desks. Daniel even dressed up! He was Indiana Jones. I'll have to track down a picture, since I didn't take one.
Weekend Work and Cards
Daniel's grandparents came to visit us this weekend! We accomplished more in three days with them here than we would have in 5 weekends without them! We were able to check quite a few items off the "to-do" list including much needed work on the shed, making apple butter, and weeding along the entire back fence. They also mounted speakers outside, so we can hear the radio out there.
Soon after arriving on Thursday evening Daniel and Grandpap were hard at work on the shed. They dug a trench from the shed to the house to run wires for electricity!
I love what they did to the inside, hanging tools on the wall- enabling us to walk right in without having to haul out the lawnmower and bikes, but the best part is being able to turn the lights on inside.
They replaced some rotting boards and re-enforced some loose ones with new nails. We do have to paint the shed soon, to prevent more rapid deterioration. It only had one coat of paint on it anyway. I've been busy trying to decide on a color.
The weather couldn't have been more perfect on Sunday afternoon than the sunny, 60 degrees that it was. Mari played outside on her blanket while Grandma and I weeded and Daniel and Grandpap cleared away debris from behind the shed.
They poisoned the poison ivy and raked all the leaves and uncovered a ton of concrete blocks back there. The blocks got stacked under the perimeter of the shed. Among the blocks was an old fireplace grate and milk crates of glass insulators. Who throws thrash behind their shed??!! The glass insulators are kind of cool. I am not sure what to do with them, but they are cool. We also got some huge rocks for the hydrangea garden in front of the AC.
My favorite part of the weekend was playing cards in the evening. We usually play 500, but tried pinochle. The first night Grandma and I beat the guys about three times in a row. Something happened after that and for the next few nights we lost every time. Very productive weekend.
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| My first time making and canning apple butter. It turned out great! |
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| Removing this old clothesline in the shade took some muscle |
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| Making new concrete pavers |
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| Removing broken lamp from front yard |
Soon after arriving on Thursday evening Daniel and Grandpap were hard at work on the shed. They dug a trench from the shed to the house to run wires for electricity!
I love what they did to the inside, hanging tools on the wall- enabling us to walk right in without having to haul out the lawnmower and bikes, but the best part is being able to turn the lights on inside.
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| Clean, lighted shed |
They replaced some rotting boards and re-enforced some loose ones with new nails. We do have to paint the shed soon, to prevent more rapid deterioration. It only had one coat of paint on it anyway. I've been busy trying to decide on a color.
The weather couldn't have been more perfect on Sunday afternoon than the sunny, 60 degrees that it was. Mari played outside on her blanket while Grandma and I weeded and Daniel and Grandpap cleared away debris from behind the shed.
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| Side of shed - all cleared out! |
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| The back of our yard was overgrown with vines |
They poisoned the poison ivy and raked all the leaves and uncovered a ton of concrete blocks back there. The blocks got stacked under the perimeter of the shed. Among the blocks was an old fireplace grate and milk crates of glass insulators. Who throws thrash behind their shed??!! The glass insulators are kind of cool. I am not sure what to do with them, but they are cool. We also got some huge rocks for the hydrangea garden in front of the AC.
My favorite part of the weekend was playing cards in the evening. We usually play 500, but tried pinochle. The first night Grandma and I beat the guys about three times in a row. Something happened after that and for the next few nights we lost every time. Very productive weekend.
Chalkboards
A few weeks ago I discovered chalkboard paint; now I am hooked. I like to paint stuff in general. Cleaning dirty, old furniture and sprucing it up with a fresh coat of paint is so fun and feels wonderfully productive. Kinda like baking bread. Whenever I am bored or feel in a rut, I paint something or bake bread... or exercise. One of the three is sure to improve my mood. Plus, Daniel really likes homemade bread.
So, I was having no luck finding a large, vintage chalkboard (preferably from a historic schoolhouse in New England) for less than $100, when a few results for homemade chalkboards popped up on Google. What a brilliant idea! Having seen a frame that we really liked on a mirror in a restaurant recently, and chalkboard paint being pretty cheap, we decided to try making our own.
As practice, I chalkboard-painted our dishwasher. Our dishwasher is probably from the 90's. It works great since we fixed it, but was ugly, scratched and dented.
It's still dented, but looks so much better as a chalkboard.
I am hoping Mari will enjoy it, if we don't replace it before she is old enough to draw. We slipped the thin sheet of metal on the front off and I painted it outside with the spray gun, to avoid brush strokes. I had to thin the paint with a little water to get it to go out of the gun, but we normally do that with latex paint.
So, after the dishwasher success, we bought some masonite and decorative molding and got to work. It took a few nights of working on this to finish up. One night we bought everything. The second night Daniel cut the frame. The next day I colored all the leaves and stained the wood.
Then we applied 5 coats of paint. It would have only needed two, except for the brush strokes. I primed the wood with a brush cause I didn't want to go outside and even after intense sanding, could see the brush strokes through the paint. Then I painted too thickly in one spot and it dripped as it dried and I had to sand it and go over it again and then I had extra thinned paint and wanted to use it up. Finally, everything dried and Daniel screwed it all together and hung it on the wall.
Now we have a permanent location for to-do lists. No more scraps of paper full of lists on the fridge and in my pocketbook!
So, I was having no luck finding a large, vintage chalkboard (preferably from a historic schoolhouse in New England) for less than $100, when a few results for homemade chalkboards popped up on Google. What a brilliant idea! Having seen a frame that we really liked on a mirror in a restaurant recently, and chalkboard paint being pretty cheap, we decided to try making our own.
As practice, I chalkboard-painted our dishwasher. Our dishwasher is probably from the 90's. It works great since we fixed it, but was ugly, scratched and dented.
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| I can't believe we lived with this for so long! Terrible!!! |
It's still dented, but looks so much better as a chalkboard.
I am hoping Mari will enjoy it, if we don't replace it before she is old enough to draw. We slipped the thin sheet of metal on the front off and I painted it outside with the spray gun, to avoid brush strokes. I had to thin the paint with a little water to get it to go out of the gun, but we normally do that with latex paint.
So, after the dishwasher success, we bought some masonite and decorative molding and got to work. It took a few nights of working on this to finish up. One night we bought everything. The second night Daniel cut the frame. The next day I colored all the leaves and stained the wood.
Then we applied 5 coats of paint. It would have only needed two, except for the brush strokes. I primed the wood with a brush cause I didn't want to go outside and even after intense sanding, could see the brush strokes through the paint. Then I painted too thickly in one spot and it dripped as it dried and I had to sand it and go over it again and then I had extra thinned paint and wanted to use it up. Finally, everything dried and Daniel screwed it all together and hung it on the wall.
Now we have a permanent location for to-do lists. No more scraps of paper full of lists on the fridge and in my pocketbook!
Cabinets III
All done! Actually, it's been done for months, I just haven't taken any pictures. The glass for the upper cabinet doors came from some old storm windows we removed from the tool room. Being inside, we certainly didn't need storm windows there!
I think some bright, cheery curtains would look nice over the kitchen sink, instead of the shades. Maybe a bright blue print... Also on the agenda for the kitchen is a new ceiling light. The one there would look better in a child's bedroom (Mari's room has a fan or we would swap them). Overall, we are very happy with the kitchen right now. My dream kitchen has stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops. Daniel's dream kitchen has an induction range and sliders in the cabinets. However, for now, this kitchen suits us fine.
Something we really enjoy doing together is cooking. It's become a tradition that on our anniversary, instead of going out to eat, we go to the market for ingredients and cook a delicious meal together, appetizers and all. Now that I stay home with Mari, cooking dinner is usually my job, but a couple times a month, Daniel and I will make something together after the baby goes to sleep. The last meal we cooked together was dumplings. They were amazing. Daniel bought me a dumpling press for Christmas and ever since then, we've had lots of pierogies and pot-stickers. Dumpling wrappers are quick, cheap and easy to buy from the Asian market, but the homemade ones tasted out of this world and were totally worth the huge mess. Instead of the typical cabbage and pork filling, we wanted something more Italian. As Daniel made the wrappers (partly following a recipe found online and partly making stuff up), I worked on an artichoke, Parmesan and spinach filling. The end result was so good , I want to remember it forever. Unfortunately, I can't find the pictures of this unforgettable food. Just thinking about it is making me hungry!
Something we really enjoy doing together is cooking. It's become a tradition that on our anniversary, instead of going out to eat, we go to the market for ingredients and cook a delicious meal together, appetizers and all. Now that I stay home with Mari, cooking dinner is usually my job, but a couple times a month, Daniel and I will make something together after the baby goes to sleep. The last meal we cooked together was dumplings. They were amazing. Daniel bought me a dumpling press for Christmas and ever since then, we've had lots of pierogies and pot-stickers. Dumpling wrappers are quick, cheap and easy to buy from the Asian market, but the homemade ones tasted out of this world and were totally worth the huge mess. Instead of the typical cabbage and pork filling, we wanted something more Italian. As Daniel made the wrappers (partly following a recipe found online and partly making stuff up), I worked on an artichoke, Parmesan and spinach filling. The end result was so good , I want to remember it forever. Unfortunately, I can't find the pictures of this unforgettable food. Just thinking about it is making me hungry!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Patio Work
So far, the weather this October has been perfect. Sunny days in the 70's and cool nights in the 50's. Even though Daniel wasn't feeling too great, we just couldn't spend the weekend inside. So, we worked on the path that runs from the deck to the fence.
When we built the deck last year, we didn't think we'd reuse those octoganal pavers. They look a little dated. However, now that we have the deck, it seems like some kind of path is needed in that spot and we are not ready to tackle the time consuming, expensive job of redoing the whole path that extends all the way around the house. So, we are just putting the pavers back down the way they were (except now they will be level and have grass growing near them!). The only problem is, we are a coupe short. Four to be exact. Instead of pouring concrete, we used several of these concrete slabs as supports for the deck last year. Thinking we wouldn't ever need them, it seemed a great way to recycle at the time. Now, having searched all the home improvement stores, patio builders, and the internet, we realized they don't sell them anymore. So, unless we come up with an alternative, we will probably be making our own pavers in the near future to fill in this gap!
Even completing this short distance is much more work than I originally thought! The whole path is gently sloped towards the gate. For the longest time, the gate has required a shove to open. I used to hate how it scraped against the too-high path. We raised the gate an inch or so, but the ground is so much higher near the deck that the path has to be sloped too. Since we also have several other projects going on and some camping planned for this October, I'm not sure when we'll finish this. I'm going to try to make it a priority because it's been a mess for so long that I can hardly wait for it to be finished! It's gonna look great!
When we built the deck last year, we didn't think we'd reuse those octoganal pavers. They look a little dated. However, now that we have the deck, it seems like some kind of path is needed in that spot and we are not ready to tackle the time consuming, expensive job of redoing the whole path that extends all the way around the house. So, we are just putting the pavers back down the way they were (except now they will be level and have grass growing near them!). The only problem is, we are a coupe short. Four to be exact. Instead of pouring concrete, we used several of these concrete slabs as supports for the deck last year. Thinking we wouldn't ever need them, it seemed a great way to recycle at the time. Now, having searched all the home improvement stores, patio builders, and the internet, we realized they don't sell them anymore. So, unless we come up with an alternative, we will probably be making our own pavers in the near future to fill in this gap!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Bathroom fix
Awkward space filled one corner of our bathroom. Our neighbor told me the previous owner of our house renovated the bathroom shortly before we bought it, and that the contractors were supposed to put in a closet, but never finished. They certainly didn't leave room for another door in that tight space.
We used to keep our hamper there, but decided to move that to the bedroom and use the space for storage. I really liked this shelf from Pottery Barn:
Making one ourselves would be much more involved than installing a few shelves and offer half the room, so we opted to save this idea for another time.
Over the weekend my parents came to visit and Daniel got started on building some shelves. I am very happy with what Daniel put up, and with my Dad's idea to angle the wood supports. Because this area had plenty of studs in the wall, the shelves are very sturdy.
I gladly de-cluttered the linen closet and re-arranged items in the bathroom. Now, Mari will have a convenient place for bath toys and guests will not have to ask where to find the towels.
We used to keep our hamper there, but decided to move that to the bedroom and use the space for storage. I really liked this shelf from Pottery Barn:
Making one ourselves would be much more involved than installing a few shelves and offer half the room, so we opted to save this idea for another time.
Over the weekend my parents came to visit and Daniel got started on building some shelves. I am very happy with what Daniel put up, and with my Dad's idea to angle the wood supports. Because this area had plenty of studs in the wall, the shelves are very sturdy.
I gladly de-cluttered the linen closet and re-arranged items in the bathroom. Now, Mari will have a convenient place for bath toys and guests will not have to ask where to find the towels.
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