Ay, Matey

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. We certainly are. Yesterday we took Landon to a local playground. We spent out time there swinging & playing soccer...of course! Today we decided to take Landon to a Pohick Bay Regional Park. It's only about 10 minutes from the house & has tons for people to do. You can go camping, play golf & frisbee golf. There is also a small water park(for lack of a better term) for families to enjoy, Pirates Cove. The park itself is free to county residents but Pirates Cove costs us $7 a person (with Landon being free). Not too bad for a few times in the summer. We actually went for the first time last weekend but I forgot the camera, so I didn't post.

When you walk up to the park, it doesn't look like much, but...
once you are inside, it's great. This is the big pool area. It starts with the shallow play area, then turns to a regular pool, getting deeper & deeper. The play area has two open slides & one tunnel slide, neither being very big. There are also water guns & buckets for the kids to play with and the bucket on top tips every so often dumping water on everyone below. Landon loves to watch the water fall!
Landon gets super excited when we walk in, but once he gets in the water, he's pretty timid. He eventually warms up & has a great time. There is also a toddler pool that he likes to go in, but prefers the big pool to go on the slide.
Last weekend we forgot our life jacket (thanks Kathleen & EJ) so we borrowed one from the pool. It was a little too big so it really didn't help Landon but he insisted on wearing it. This one worked so much better.

He actually got brave enough to walk/paddle through the pool on his own. He loved it!
I wish I could take him during the week (I only have this next week before school starts up) but it's a little too much for me to do on my own. He loves to go on the slides & can't quite get there on his own so I would have to walk him up & somehow manage to get to the bottom of the slide before he does. I don't think I can do that. Next weekend is the last weekend it will be open, so we'll make one more trip, maybe two!

It's Finally Done!

We have finally completed two needed tasks before our little girl arrives. We have decided on a name & have completed the nursery. Both were pretty difficult to complete, just one was more laborious than the other.

We are unanimous on the first name, but the middle is still up for discussion. We have decided that her name will be:

LIBBIE ______ PECK

I can't tell you what a relief that is for me to have at least that much decided. Andrew & I had ruled out Mackenzie earlier, so our only discussion was whether to name her Elizabeth (with the nickname of Libbie) or just name her Libbie. I have nothing against the name Elizabeth, but I thought that if I'm going to call her Libbie, why not just name her that. The only thing holding me to Elizabeth is that I could give her my name (my mom's maiden name), Kelley, as her middle name. They flow nicely together. As for Kelley paired with Libbie, it sounds a bit choppy, but I'm not totally opposed to it. The other option is Libbie Anne (my middle name) which sounds really nice together.

So now...Libbie Anne, Libbie Kelley, or Elizabeth Kelley!

Now on to the nursery. I have her name up under her shelf. It's not perfect, but for letters that were $1.99 each, it works. All I had to do was paint them. Her shelf is a bit bare, but I know it will fill up once she arrives.

To the right of the crib are the painted chairs & book shelf. In between the chairs are these suitcases (you can't see them very well) my mom brought up when Landon was born. I had every intention of using them as decoration on the walls, but I just couldn't work it out.
Directly across from the chairs is Landon's bed. I originally had the DC picture above his bed, but decided his name would look best above it.
On the long wall is were the picture now sits with a shelf housing his signed Darren O'Day (Sean's good friend from HS & college) baseball & baseball card. They are from when he was with the Angels, so we need an updated set now that Darren is with the Rangers (can you get on that Uncle Sean?). It also holds his rosary & christening cup & a few other knick knacks.
The last task on my to-do list was to paint the closet doors. They are metal doors that were very dingy in color. I hated the way they looked in the room. I decided to tackle the project of painting them. It took four coats, yes four coats, for each panel. I think they turned out great!
On one of my many trips to Michael's, I found these magnetic letters on sale. I bought a pack with every intention of placing them on the fridge. When we walked into Landon's room, I realized that I could keep them out of the kitchen & in his room by placing them on the closet doors. I was so happy with this that I went out & bought 4 for sets of the alphabet & 2 sets of numbers. At $.70 each, it was a bargain I couldn't pass up!

I'm pretty happy with the end result. What do you think?

Congratulations!

My good friends from High School welcomed their 3rd bundle of joy, Juliette Kathleen, to the world today!

She's beautiful!

A few details

All the major projects are done, now it's time to work on the details of the room. Here's what I got done yesterday.

I bought this wood shelf from Michaels for about$7.oo (had a %40 off coupon). The only other thing I needed was some white primer & paint.
And the finished product! The Precious Moments dolls say a goodnight prayer. They are super cute. Landon received one as a hand-me-down from a HS friend of mine & the baby received one as a gift from one of Andrew's co-workers.

This was an amazing gift from my sister-in-law (then soon to be SIL) & brother. It's a picture of the night sky in Washington D.C. the exact minute Landon was born. I might have to take back that Landon's letters are my favorite part of the room, because this is right up there.

I had it in Landon's room with the black frame, but the black would have stood out in the new room, so...

I covered the glass & spray painted the frame white.
Now it's hanging in the room, once again!

The last thing I worked on yesterday were two wooden chairs I received from a co-worker. They're nothing special, but full of potential. I've been wanting to use them, but they have been hanging in the storage area. I decided to pull them out & give them a fresh coat of paint (same colors as the room), for a no-cost project!

I started by painting the base & two back slats the yellow from the room while the rest of the chair would be the cream. Once that was finished I didn't like the outcome, so I decided to try play around with the colors....
and here they are! All I need to do is put their names on the top back slat.

A little more...

We have been working hard one the nursery this weekend. Well, mostly me, but Andrew has helped by keeping Landon occupied. I have a bit more to show you all. This post has mostly to do with bedding.

The bedding I really want, I did not purchase. It's from Pottery Barn Kids, & I didn't feel as though I should spend the money on it just yet. We have financed the entire redo from selling items no longer needed in the house & a yard sale (nothing out of our own pocket) and I thought the money could have been spent in better ways for the room. So here is what, what I want, looks like...

The blue is perfect because it can grow with Landon & the gingham sheets match the gingham on the crib bumper.

I did buy Landon's bed skirt from Pottery Barn Kids. It was on super sale, 9.97, so I thought I should go ahead and buy, even though it was a final sale. The problem with the bed skirt is that there is no good way to put it on. I couldn't leave under the bed open because we will use this for added storage & I don't want it to be seen, so I had to get a little creative.

All I needed was the bed skirt...

A pair of scissors & sticky velcro.

I only needed one long side of the skirt (I saved the other just in case) & 1 short side (it only comes with 1 short side). I cut the side I need from white fabric that would normally lie on top of the box spring. I then attached a small piece of sticky velcro to the skirt & then to the inside of the bed. The end result....

The comforter that is on the bed is from good ole, Walmart, for $14.50, along with the sheets, for $13.99.

Now on to the baby's bedding.

Most all the bedding is being reused from Landon's. the only new piece is the bumper ($14.99 from Ikea) & pink sheets (not pictured below). I do want to get a different crib skirt. The skirt I have matches the rest of the bedding, but it doesn't hit the floor. Again, this is to hide under crib storage, that I'm sure we will need in the future. I found a tutorial on how to make my own, and it involves no sewing!!! All I need is fabric & sticky velcro. It's actually how I got the idea on attaching Landon's skirt to his bed.

Here's a glimpse of the bedding...

If you recall, this crib is different from the crib in the last post. There are a few reasons for this.

1: Landon's crib was much more bulky than this classic Jenny Lind crib & the dresser had no home except for in the closet where is took up some needed space due to it's shape.

2: Landon's crib was a natural finish & I could not find a bed that I like in a price that I like that matched. I bought the white bed with the intention of painting the other crib, but decided that was another task that I just didn't have time for.

So, Andrew & I decided to sell the furniture (for a good price) & buy this crib & some much needed closet storage to fit our needs. It was sad to see it go, but I am happy with the outcome.

Still more to come...

Sneak Peek: Before & After

We've been working hard on the shared nursery the past two days since Andrew took off yesterday & already had today off . We thought about getting away just the three of us, but figured we would save the money & get working on the nursery. I was a bit sad to do away with Landon's "boy" bedroom. I was really happy with the way it turned out (it's actually the only finished room in the house), so it was hard to paint over.

We got started on Thursday by cleaning out the room, so I could repaint. We are going more gender neutral. Before I show you the "sneak peek", let me remind you of what it looked like. The room, as its been for the past 23 months, is a blue with a deeper blue horizontal stripe above center. Please don't mind some of the mess in the background. I had to quickly snap these before I forgot, some of my original pictures are not on this computer.

Here is his dresser with some photos. You can get a glimpse of the baby's crib bumper in the corner.

These photos hang above the dresser.
On the opposite wall is the crib. This, obviously, is it converted to a toddler bed. I am able to reuse the quilt in the room redo.
This has to be my most favorite part of his room. When Landon was born, I left the area above his crib blank until I found the perfect letters for his name. When I went to Minnesota in Dec (Landon was about 2 1/2 months old), I found these. I absolutely love them & could not stand to keep them out of the room redo. So...these are the inspiration for the "new" room.
His book shelf is on the same side of the room as the dresser. This is another one of my favorite pieces in the room. It's attractive storage for his "nice" books, plus I can display items of the top. If you were standing in the room, facing the shelf then, your back would be to the crib. if you turned to the right, you would see a changing table with red & blue baskets.
Now onto the "sneak peek". For the new room, I chose two Disney colors, New Day Dew (cream) & Dandelion for Roo (soft yellow). I wanted two colors because I was set on doing vertical stripes throughout the room. This was a bigger task than I expected, but it's what I wanted.

The first step was to paint the entire room with the cream color. This took quite a while to complete, about 3 1/2 coats. I know I could have used primer but I still would have done about the same amount of work.

The next step was to tape the stripes. I decided I wanted to the striped to be 12 in each. In order to have each 12 in, I had to tape inside the lines for the cream (which was already on the walls) & tape inside the lines for the yellow (yet to be painted). Here's what the room looked like after all the striped were taped out.

Now...for the yellow. I was really pleased with the outcome after the tape was taken down. I have to admit that I was a little nervous that I went to feminine with the new room, but it's coming together.

Another "sneak peek" of the stripes & Landon's big boy bed!

There is still more to do, so as we make progress, I'll post more.

Cupcake Boy

WARNING: Please excuse the mess in these pictures, we were clearing out the room so that the official redo of the nursery could begin. We are going more gender neutral & Landon's "big boy" bed comes this weekend. I will definitely post more on this later)

Now back to the Cupcake Boy:

This summer, my mom bought the baby a hat for the baby. It's not just any old hat, it's a cupcake & it's adorable. I've had it stashed away, but it made it's way out yesterday & guess who found it? Landon had to put it on. I didn't mind so much since it was close to bedtime, so he would be taking it off soon anyways.

Landon posed in the hat,
Read in the hat,
And played in the hat,

He even slept in the hat.

Landon refused to take it off, & he was being such a good boy, I thought, why not? However, he did not wake up in the hat!

Pool Time

Yesterday, Landon & I took a drive to Babies r Us to get him a little pool. This could have been a nightmare, but luckily the pools were right up front, so we grabbed one and headed to the checkout. The past few days have been quite hot & humid & instead of spending our days inside, I thought we could actually play outside & stay cool, plus I can get a little more sun before school starts. The pool is nothing special & its probably a bit small, but since Landon isn't a huge fan of water (besides the pool), I figured this should be perfect.

We brought it home, I filled it with water, then we headed inside for lunch. This allowed the water to warm-up while we ate. I knew Landon would have nothing to do with the pool if the water was too cold.

Once lunch was over we packed up all our things we would need & headed for the backyard. Landon got in no problem, but would only stand. If you know Landon, he's not the most graceful child & is quite a klutz, so it didn't take long for him to fall. Once he did he was set! he was splashing & playing in the water.

This is Landon's "cheese" face. He has started to realize what a camera is & when he sees one, he says "cheese". Sometimes I don't even have to ask him, he says it on his own.

I figured I would add a little fun to the pool, by pulling his slide up to the pool. He loved it. Landon was going up & down the slide for at least 30 minutes. He had a blast!
I thought maybe today we would do the same but it looks like rain is coming, so we may have to pass on the pool today.

More posts to come...our weekend should be packed. Andrew is off tomorrow & Friday. I have my 34th week appointment tomorrow. We are getting close, about 5 more weeks! Landon was born right after my 36 week appointment. We may take Landon to a water park (if the weather permits) & we have to work on the nursery for the two kids. Landon's "big boy" bed come Friday & I need to get painting!

DC...again

This time with my youngest brother, Danny & his friend Aaron. They arrived last Thursday evening & left yesterday evening. In that short time, they got to see quite a bit!

Friday, Andrew had to work so Landon & I took the boys into DC to see the Monuments & get them acquainted with the metro system & get them oriented with as much of DC as I could. We started the tour, as we normally do with our out of town guests. We arrive at the Smithsonian Metro which brings us right to the National Mall.

We headed first to the Washington Monument. The boys wanted to go inside, & I hadn't been in since I was a little kid, but all the tickets were gone for the day. Apparently the line starts to form at 7-7:30 in the morning & the tickets are handed out (their free) at 8-8:30. By 10:30 they are all usually gone. After hearing that, it wasn't too important to them to go inside!

After the Washington Monument, we headed for the WWII Memorial, where they posed for a picture.
Directly from there is the Lincoln Memorial, but we headed left to see the Vietnam Memorial then we headed to the Lincoln Memorial. Landon was napping & I had been up the steps, so we opted to stay behind while the boys went up to see Lincoln.

After the Lincoln, we headed to the Korean War Memorial.

Normally we take our guests to the Korean, then Lincoln, then Vietnam, then to the White House, but this time we did it opposite but opted not for the White House but for the Tidal Basin where the FDR Memorial & Jefferson Memorial are located. Both of which I had never been to. It was quite a walk but well worth it. I know I really liked the FDR Memorial & Danny said it was is favorite, so don't pass this one up if you are in the area.

The FDR Memorial is divided into 4 sections, one for each term of his Presidency. We walked through the first part, & weren't impressed, then we saw that there was more! This is apparently the thing to do at the first or second portion of the Memorial.
I think this was at either the third or fourth portion. The entire Memorial was lined with stone fountains & rocks with famous quotes throughout.

We then continued around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial. I was pretty beat by now so Landon & I stayed at the bottom. Here is a picture of the Washington Monument from the Jefferson Memorial.
Here is the Jefferson Memorial. Inside is a statue of Jefferson.

We wanted to miss the metro traffic, so we headed home after this. Andrew came home, we ate dinner, then headed out that evening to the 9-11 Memorial at the Pentagon. This time we drove & parked at the Pentagon (which you aren't supposed to do). We had never been so I was really glad that the boys wanted to go to. This Memorial is open to the public every day, all day.

As with every Memorial, there is a significance to everything. This Memorial is arranged to be a place where people can come and reflect on the benches below. It is situated right outsde where the Pentagon was hit. There are 184 benches, 1 for each person (on the plane & in the Pentagon) that died that morning. The benches facing to the left are those that died in the plane & the benches facing to the right are for those who died in the Pentagon. The benches are arranged in a time line of birth dates, starting from the youngest, a two year old.

After the 9-11 Memorial, we headed home but stopped in the neighborhood we lived for 2 1/2 years.

Saturday, we all went back into DC to go to two of the Smithsonian Museums, the Museum of American History & the Museum of Natural History. The Museum of Natural History was their favorite.

Sunday, Andrew, Landon & I stayed home. At 33 weeks pregnant and carting a 22 month old around, I was beat. It was probably a good thing we didn't go in, we would have slowed them down & they wouldn't have got as much in. They drove themselves to the Metro station & navigated themselves around just fine. Here's what they got done:

1. a short walk around Old Town Alexandria

2. a walk around China Town

3. an outside view of Ford's Theatre & the house where Lincoln died

4. The Spy Museum

5. Air & Space Museum

6. A walk through the Holocaust Museum (they weren't too impressed, but that's because they forgot that I told them they have to get a ticket with a time frame on it, them come back at that time to view the entire museum..oh well)

7. a stop at Arlington Cemetery & watched the Changing of the Guard

They were exhausted after that day!! We all went for pizza dinner at a childhood favorite, Generous George's.

the boys were a little slow moving Monday, but that was fine, their flight didn't leave until 5:30. Once they were ready, we all headed to lunch (thanks Aaron!) then into DC for one last stop, The White House. We got as close as we could in car, then I pulled over & they walked to The White House. Once they had a good look, I picked them up & we were of to the airport.

We had a great time! Thanks for coming Danny & Aaron!!!