Harrison: One Month

Harrison turned one month old last week! (You might be wondering where the "Introducing our son, Harrison" post is. We spent the first weeks getting to know him and didn't focus on anything else so this is the first post on our little guy!)

Our first month with Harrison was awesome. While there certainly were difficult moments/hours/days, there were so many more where we would just watch him in awe. We have loved every minute getting to know him and watching him develop before our very eyes. He has transitioned from a sleepy newborn to an alert, inquisitive baby over the past four weeks.

At one month, Harrison:
- weighs 10.6 pounds and is 23 inches long
- eats every 2.5-3.5 hours during the day and about every 4 hours at night
- naps in between most daytime feedings and every nighttime feeding
- holds his head up while on his tummy or while we're holding him (right before his neck realizes how heavy it is and he head butts us in the chin...ow!)
- loves the bath
- is starting to detest diaper changes a little less

Here are some of our favourite photos from Harrison's first month:

Our first family photo (taken on Harrison's Birth Day - February 5, 2012)

Proud First Time Daddy!

Brent at home with his boy!

And here is Harrison's one month photo! I am not skilled in Photoshop nor do I possess the software so I can't layer a "One Month" image on his onesie, so we'll just need to use captions when we put them in the photo book :)

Times they are a changing...

Just over a week ago Brent and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. We had decided last year that we wanted to start a tradition of getting away for the special occasion, and this year we decided to go back to the place where we said "I do"- Niagara-on-the-Lake!

We enjoyed a beautifully sunny morning leisurely walking in and out of shops and enjoying delicious coffee and lemonade. Around noon we decided it was time to visit wedding/engagement destination #1 (I should also mention we got engaged in NOTL in 2008, so this picturesque town is doubly significant to us). The night we got engaged we went to the Prince of Wales Hotel for a drink in their uber cool lounge, and the August sun and humidity had us ready for a cold bevy!

We finished our drinks and headed over to the Queen's Landing Hotel for lunch. We had a great server who was absolutely charmed by the fact that we had gotten married there exactly two years ago that day. He took extra time to chat with us about the great moments from our wedding day at the property, and returned at the end of our meal with a very special surprise for us:

Thank you Queen's Landing for making our anniversary lunch so special!

After lunch we drove over to the rose garden at the Pillar and Post (ceremony location), but unfortunately didn't take any photos, so I'll use a pic from the garden two years ago:

Later on we checked in to the B&B and got ready for dinner. And what a dinner we had! Brent took care of reserving us a table at the Charles Inn, (the place we had dinner the night he proposed). We had such a relaxing evening enjoying every morsel and relishing our delicious after dinner coffee:

The night Brent proposed, we took a walk by the lake in Queen's Royal Park and he popped the question in the beautiful white gazebo. If you read my post from our first anniversary, you'll know we started an anniversary photo tradition last year and thought the gazebo would be a great backdrop for year two.

This year's photo is especially significant for us, as we decided it was a great opportunity to showcase an incredibly special addition to our family...

Most of you reading this already know, but for the rest of you our little bean/beanette will be making an appearance the first week of February! Brent's hoping for a Superbowl Sunday baby :)

Four Months??!

I just realized it's been four months since I last posted on here. I am ashamed and feel I can't really call myself a blogger (not that I ever really did since my posts were so sporadic!). Nevertheless, I'm back and have a great post (IMO) I can't wait to share with you all later today!

Life is Good

Today is a good day. Not that every other day is a bad day, but for some reason today I have such a sense of optimism and excitement about life in general. The sun is shining and I just got back to my desk from a walk around the park which neighbours our office campus.

This great weather allows me to walk to and from work, as well as on my lunch hours. Intermittent walks throughout my day encourage me to gear up for the day/reflect/ponder/and just smile at how good life really is. The spring months mean the grass is getting greener, the days are already longer (love it!), and it means that summer is just around the corner.

Last night Brent and I were sitting in the family room with the windows open, and we could hear a soccer game taking place at the nearby sports complex. We both smiled as we chatted about the "sounds of summer," like baseball games, crickets at night, birds chirping in the morning, bicycle wheels speeding down the road, and thunderstorms. Just typing this is making me smile!

Have a great afternoon on this beautiful Friday eve friends!

Living Room: Before and "Progress"

I titled this post Before and "Progress," because even though we've done quite a bit in this room there's still much to be done! Here's what we've done so far:
- painted the walls and trim
- purchased a sofa, rug, two chairs and two lamps
- decorated a little (see wall behind sofa in photo below)
- replaced the hideous light fixtures above the island (I know, technically that's the kitchen but it's all one big room. More on the kitchen later)

Things still on our list:
- get a bigger coffee table
- start my photo collage on the wall behind the chairs
- purchase and hang curtains
- find a toss cushion for each of the chairs

I'm planning a more formal house tour post to document all the before and afters, but in the interim, here's a before photo I snapped on my smartphone the day we took possession of the house (sorry for the blurry quality, but you get the idea):

And here's what it looks like as of yesterday afternoon:

I am so thrilled with our most recent find: the mirror behind the sofa. I knew I wanted a mirror but wanted something different and kind of beachy looking. I think the table/mirror combo turned out really well!

Stay tuned for a house tour post in the next little while.

Happy Monday!

Paint (a banister) by Numbers

Brent and I have just finished our latest project, and boy was it a doozie! We had a great time spending over half a day (16.5 hours in total) together, but are we ever glad to be done! We are extremely pleased with the result. Here’s the lowdown on the banister painting expedition:

66 spindles, 8 newels and approximately 25 feet of railing

12 sheets of 100-grit sand paper to sand the entire thing down over 2 hours

3 coats of paint to attain the finish we desired which took 14.5 hours in total, how’s that for some heart-to-heart chatting time?!

And here’s the breakdown of our supplies and cost for the project:
- CIL’s No VOC semi-gloss out of the can white paint (approx ½ a gallon): $0 = already owned
- Sand paper: $6.76
- Brushes: $0
- Paint trays: $0
- Painter’s tape: 0$
- Total for project: $6.76

Here’s a WAY back photo of what she looked like before we had even moved in:

And here’s a few from after we painted the walls (back in November) but before painting the banister:

And here she is all clean and glossy white!

Next step: artwork and photos for those bare walls!

Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake...

...or three. My sister Joanna is coming up for a much needed girls weekend, and we're going to do all sorts of girly things, like watch movies, read magazines, drink margaritas and bake (we are both addicted to all things culinary). My nephew, Bentley is turning one tomorrow and I offered to make some cupcakes for the party on Sunday. My sister Hayley happily accepted, and I have been trying to decide what flavours to make for the past week! I have it narrowed down to three.

Listed in order of priority:
1. Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting
2. Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon Filling and Meringue Frosting
3. Espresso Fudge Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

I'd like to make at least two varieties to bring to the party, but if one turns out better than the other I might just bring all of the good variety (cupcakes to be scored by professional judge, Mr. Brent Carpenter).

I'll be back with photos and the verdict from the cupcake "challenge" on Monday!