Growing up!

Little man is growing up!  It's remarkable what happens to babies around the 16, 17, 18 month mark.  They're not really babies anymore.

I know Fletcher's recent transformation is mainly due to that age, but we've seen him really blossom these last few weeks after he had tubes put in his ears.  He struggled a bit through recovery...

But after that first week, his true inner self has been shining!  He has always been such a good, content baby that I don't think we understood how sick he had been feeling.  He just dealt with the discomfort on a daily basis.  But since the surgery his energy level, playfulness and mischievousness have been soaring. It was sad to realize just how sick he must have been feeling - and fun to see him 100% again.

Last week we had neighborhood friends over for dinner.  Fletcher was released from his high chair to eat at the kids table for the first time!

Overnight it seems he learned how to climb up the ladder to the playhouse and slide.

He loves to go get the mail with daddy (see them in the background) - and walks with daddy instead of running ahead like his naughty sister.

It happens so fast.  He's even cooking his own meals.

Before and After - The Chair

I love when things in your home have stories.  


We have a new chair.  With a great story.


So... my fabulous interior designer friend, Katie, who is also a gifted bargain hunter... calls me up a few months ago and says that I have to go check out a chair and ottoman - at the thrift store.  Uh.  Ok.  I am not a Thrift Store shopper.  Not because I shouldn't be a thrift store shopper kinda girl - but because I have a terrible eye for treasures and it's generally a source of great frustration for me.


But Katie on the other hand.  She has an eye.  And a history.  She didn't steer me wrong with my buffet pieces.  So I trust her.  So I go.  


On the way, I'm thinking - I don't even NEED a new chair/ottoman right now.  There are a lot of things on our to-do list for the house and this isn't included.


I get to the thrift store and find the chair combo she called me about.  Now, if I had happened to go to the Thrift Store on my own (which I wouldn't) I doubt I would have even given this thing a second look.  All faded and dusty.  But now that I'm here and give it a second look, I can see that it seems to be in good shape and I can sort of visualize how it might look recovered.  Sadly, there is a red slash through the price.  This is a sign, I think.  A sign that I didn't need a chair/ottoman to begin with and now it's not even available regardless of it's great price.


A Thrift Store employee approaches and asks if they can help.  I explain that I was interested in the chair but it's clearly already sold - oh well, better luck next time.  "Oh no," she says.  "That slash means it's now 50% off."


Wait!  What?  50% off the already insanely low price?  You must be kidding.  My befuddlement must apparently looked like an invitation to bargain even further because she offered to knock off even more money if I would take the chair right then.


Sold!  For the crazy amount of $80 I bought this perfectly good chair and ottoman.

I then found some super inexpensive fabric and with the help of designer-Katie, found an equally economical lady to reupholster the whole thing.  


Tada!  New chair!  For a fraction (fraction) of the cost I would otherwise have paid for a chair like this.

Do you love it?  We do!  The chair's placement in our home is still currently under debate but I absolutely love the way it turned out.  And it's super comfy - we're all fighting over who gets to sit there - even the cat!  But part of it's awesomeness is that most all of us actually fit in this chair at the same time!


See all that carpet under/behind the chair?  All gone as of today!  Lovely hardwoods are in our future.  More fun before and after's to come!

Rodeo Time!

We hit the rodeo (or "roady" as Syd calls it) this past weekend with the kids.  This was one of our first big outings after we moved to Houston last year and Sydney had such a great time that we couldn't wait to go back.  This year -  although we brought the stroller - was much more promising for Fletcher's involvement.


He looks thrilled doesn't he!

Syd's first pony ride!  She was a little nervous at first but as soon as the horse started moving, she relaxed and let me step away.  Of course, the thing she talks about the most... the pony poo they had to stop and clean up midway through her ride.  Really?  That was the best part of your day?  (Excuse the blurred photos - Pat and the camera are NOT friends.  So I'll take whatever I can get when he is behind the lens.)

Fletcher loved the cows.  The louder the better!

 Bunnies!

I couldn't see his face but I love the girls!

 And finally - the petting zoo!  Fletcher's first real petting zoo experience.  Pat had to hold him back.  I think Fletch would have wallowed in the mulch right alongside the animals if we had let him!

Notice Syd's tense shoulders in the background?  She was a bit more reserved this year.

Yeah, that's close enough thank you!

 Here piggie, piggie, piggie!

They're still a bit too small for the rides and numerous other activities the rodeo has to offer, but we love it just the same.