Kitchen and Dining Room Completed!

BEFORE:

AFTER:


I'm finally getting around to posting some photos of our finished kitchen and dining room. You'll have to head over to the set on flickr to see all the pics and all the details....but I'll list some of the information here, too.

Oh my, where to start. Once again, Joe has done an amazingly detailed job on this space. I'll start with the kitchen. I did manage to convince Joe to purchase the cabinets rather than build them himself (it took a lot of convincing)....but he installed them all, including adding a few inches to everything but the island (for us tall folk). Then he designed and poured the concrete counter tops...which you'll have to check out all the pictures to see some of the details there. An integral drain board (seems simple...but how do you make a form for that, including the steel channels? a bit mind-bending), a built-in knife rack, a subtle indented "fruit bowl"...and what has earned him the moniker "lover-boy" by the neighbor guys: a really cool L + J design that Joe originally came up with for the cover of a gift he made while we were dating....and eventually showed up on our wedding ceremony, and evolved into the design that is on each of our wedding rings. Joe found a guy who cut the design into steel, then Joe put it into the counter top. Around the stove on the island, Joe made part of the counter out of oak....then added some stainless steel circles that serve as hot pads.

I'm sure I'm missing some details. Follow the link at the end of this post to see the photos and notes.

The dining room--Joe had the idea of using steel sheets as the background for wainscoting instead of something more traditional (wood or paint), then he trimmed it out with detailed wood-working including inlays of a darker wood.

The trim throughout the downstairs is white oak that Joe bought from a guy on Craigslist. This guy gets trees that are already coming down from utility companies and other construction jobs, then he mills it all locally, and sells it for a great price. Joe's dad has done all the window trim and helped out a lot with the other trim--incredibly detailed and beautiful work.

So now we have the second half of the downstairs left: the living room and back room (den?) and 1/2 bath in the back. These rooms are a lot less involved than the kitchen and dining room---and much of the ground work has already been laid (yes, he already took out another wall:) And the bathroom is all plumbed and the electrical is all done. He is taking a few days detour to re-do the flat roof on the backside of the house....but we're not far off now!

BEFORE:


AFTER:


Before you head over to flickr to see the rest of the photos of the kitchen, make sure to check the post directly below this, too, because I also added some photos of the girls there today!
To see more photos of the kitchen/dining room, click here.

Autumn Photos

Just a few photos of the girls from the past few weeks....enjoying fall in Michigan!
To see a few more photos from these days, click here.

The first 2 photos here were taken by my friend Jill....she also took the last dozen or so photos in the set on Flickr. Thanks Jill! It is always such a challenge to get my own kids photographed....I love the help (and thanks to Mom, too, for helping with a very fussy Piper in the first set of photos! where does my happy baby go when the camera comes out?)

Piper is taking a few steps---I love this first photo, it captures these fleeting weeks when steps are so tentative...how quickly they give way to full-confidence walking!

big photo update

I have put 2 sets of photos on flickr, one from july/august, the other from september/october.

Since I am so far behind in updating, I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking. I've added more details under each photo than normal---so you can see any updates by looking at the photos!

To see the set of photos from July/August, click here.

To see the set of photos from September/October, click here.




One of the best things to happen in September: the birth of my sister's son, Kai!

how can you not smile....

...when you have this to greet you after a nap??


This is our girl, Piper, at 9.5 months. I have not posted a photo of her in awhile, and this one just cracks me up. I have lots of photos to go through and post--but I took this one today when I went in to get her from her nap, and I just had to post it. The hair, the smile...can it get any better? This is also evidence of why I always put her hair in ponytails :)

And then a few shots of a proud Piper who has learned to clap. These photos are the best I could do to capture it today, but she is very excited about this new skill and just lights up when I start to sing "Clap, clap, clap your hands, clap your hands together!"




You'll notice in the photos that Piper is eating in a high chair. That's right. A high chair. At our table. In our dining room.

I promise, I promise...just a few more pieces of trim, and then I WILL post pictures of the kitchen and dining room!!

I have been keeping really busy taking photos of people and trying to keep up with the editing. I'm assuming that as the weather turns colder, I'll be able to stop and catch my breath and get things updated (most of my shoots have been outdoors).

Thanks for checking in on us!

she does not have allergies

Click here to see an example of how photos that are sold on istockphoto might be used.

This clinic actually contacted me directly because they had seen the photo on the blog and wanted to purchase the right to use it....TOTAL coincidence that it is a business in Grand Rapids!

Kinda fun, huh?

she knows what she wants

Two firsts for Piper today, both discovered in bed while we snuggled this morning.

1. her first teeth are poking through---two bottom ones at the same time. finally some teeth! and they don't seem to be bothering her too much at this point (not that her sleep could really get any worse for an 8 month old, but oh well!)

2. her first unprompted sign! we did a lot of signs with Rowan, but I don't feel like I've been as consistent with showing Piper how to do signs yet. It's hard to be motivated to keep modeling them when the baby can't do them yet. I've been trying to do "more" and "nurse" and "please" and a few other simple ones.

This morning in bed, she was happy, crawling around, finding things to amuse herself. She was kind of nuzzling her head into me, then suddenly she got up on her knees with purpose, thrust that left hand towards me, and unmistakeably squeezed her hand together to indicate that she wanted to nurse. Joe and I both saw it. She had her paci in her mouth, but still gave us this cheeky grin of satisfaction when we both praised her with clear excitement.

I uploaded some family photos that we tried to take last weekend. Our friends Jeff and Ruby were visiting from MO, so I thought it would be a good time to set up the tripod, let the camera fire away, and have our friends yell and holler at the kids to get them to look in the right direction (occasionally). We got a few good ones! Click here to check them out.

The trick to getting her in photos

I've figured it out.

One pink, fluffy, swingy, totally girly skirt made of yards and yards of tulle.

Watching a few other pretty little girls be photographed in said skirt.

And there you have it, one 4 (and a half!) year old, actively participating in getting her photos taken! Wish I had figured this out sooner!



To see a few more photos of this pink skirted session, click here.

I have many other things to update on...and many other photos to upload...but I'm having this tiny little problem, which is...

TOO MUCH PHOTOGRAPHY WORK!!

A good problem, yes, but I can't seem to get on top of all the editing (notice the horribly outdated photos on the right side and top of this blog, for example), and my floors need scrubbing, and someone around here hasn't been cooking many dinners, and, well, I basically communicate with Joe while staring at a computer screen.

So I'll get there eventually. I have cute kid stories to tell, lots of photos from summer sessions to share (I'm thinking of starting a photography blog...never understood what those were for until recently, when I've had lots of photos from sessions I want to share, but don't know where to share them), and photos of the house-in-progress to post. Just stay tuned!

important stuff

Tonight as I was tucking Rowan into bed, we were talking about the day. She's been doing lots of playing with neighbors and cousins...crossing over into that age when she often prefers to be with friends than with mom or dad. I've been thoughtful about that process, and aware of the things in her life I might not know about anymore, simply because I'm not with her every minute.

Me: Rowan, you know you can tell me anything, right? And you can ask me anything. Always, anytime.

Rowan: Like what do you mean, Mom?

Me: You can always talk to me about anything. Like if you want to tell me about something that happened with a friend, like if your feelings get hurt. Or, if you want to ask me about heaven, or growing up, that kind of thing.

(She's thoughtful here for a brief moment, then perks up with this:)

Rowan: Or, if I want to know how the sewer works?

I had no words, I just smiled and laughed out loud. Exactly, Rowan. Come talk to me if you want to know how the sewer works. Save that relationship and heaven stuff for later.

I love this kid.

We have a crawler on our hands

It's official. Piper is crawling.

She's been working on it for a few weeks. That adorable thing where babies get up on all fours and rock back and forth, like the rocking just might propel them forward. She's managed to scoot around, sometimes by rolling or by going backwards, for awhile now...but in the last few days, crawling has clicked.

For proof, check out this short video on my mother-in-law's page: click here.

One might think that learning a new skill would please a developing baby. Not so for Piper. This developmental milestone has been accompanied by some serious personality changes....namely: whining, being bored, frustrated, more frequent crying, and loudly scolding us for reasons we aren't quite sure.

She still doesn't have any teeth, so it's easy to hope that it's just "teething." We'll see. I have a growing suspicion that the crawling deal has given her just a taste of freedom and control over her environment---and she wants more. NOW please. Where did my sweet, quick to smile, easy-going 6 month old who stayed in the place I set her down go?

Oh, that's right. She's crawled to the bathroom.

My Family is Famous, Sort of

I've posted before about selling some photos through istockphoto...if you haven't seen my portfolio there before, you can click here to check it out. I've sold over 400 images through istock....but you never really know where they are being used. Some in print, brochures, that kind of thing. But also on websites.

Well, we've gotten a few calls from friends this week because a few of my images that were sold through istock are being used on many different photo sites as place holders in their greeting cards, announcements, that sort of thing. We had 2 different friends who were randomly looking at making announcements or other cards see a photo of Joe and Rowan!

One picture is of Joe and Rowan...the other is just of Rowan, kind of hiding her face behind a towel.

Click here and then click on "photo cards", then scroll down just a bit, to check it out. They are using both photos in several different spots all over the "card" section.

They are using the same template and photos at Walmart, Walgreens, and Meijer. Kinda cool!

In other photo news, I've been really busy with shoots this summer. Trying to keep up with all the editing, which is a good thing! I need to post some of my most recent work...I've been really pleased with some of my new stuff this summer. Fun fun!

Hula-Hooping Rowan

For as good as I am about taking photos of my kids, I am equally bad at taking video of them. Good thing my mother-in-law is diligent about it, and apparently more technically-savvy than me, too, because she figured out how to put these little clips on Flickr!

To see Rowan and her amazing hula-hooping skills (notice the TWO hula hoops), click here.

To see a cute little video of Piper making noise, click here.

Maybe this is motivating me to catch more of their antics in live-action....we'll see!

Piper at 6 months

So Piper is actually 7 months now....but I've been meaning to post this since she was 6 months, so that counts for something, right?

Ah, 6 months. 6 months is a huge sigh of relief. Half way to a year. But more importantly....6 months is a whole bunch of other fun things.


6 months is sitting up. Not wobbling, but steadily. Sitting up gives you a whole new view of the world, a whole new sense of control over your environment. Siting up is a Good Thing. 6 months is also rolling over with proficiency, starting to scootch, and just in general feeling more engaged with the world in a physical way.


6 months is eating lots of new foods. I've been making all of Piper's baby food (I may not have a fully functioning kitchen, but gol darn it, I have baby food cubes in the freezer to feed triplets through the winter, it's at least one thing I can have control over!) I've enjoyed cooking and pureeing all sorts of veggies and fruit. She's eaten the basics (sweet potatoes, peas, pears, green beans, squash, peaches, bananas, etc) but also the slightly more exotic: avocado, artichoke (yes, artichoke), mango, papaya, apricot, zucchini, chard (yes, chard), kale, tofu, and tomorrow she'll try her first egg yolk. And rice and oats, of course. She loves it all, as far as I can tell.


6 months is a slightly more predictable sleep pattern. Especially during the day. She takes a morning and an afternoon nap, each ranging in length from an hour to two hours. Depending on the quality/duration of those naps, she sometimes needs a little 30 minute power nap in the late afternoon to get her through until bedtime. No more napping in the car or stroller...and seldom even in the Moby. Give this girl a flat surface please, and her paci, and a blanket, and she's good to go.

Night-time sleep is still a bit up and down. She's sometimes going with only 1 brief wake time during the night (I can do that)....but some nights she is still waking 2 or 3 times. Not always to nurse, just to see what's going on. She's getting better at putting herself back to sleep after these wakings...so we're progressing in the right direction.

I've started to do a "dream feed" with Piper before I go to bed at night. Basically I just pick her up while she is sleeping, nurse her, and lay her back down. She never wakes up...and the hope is that it tanks her up enough to make it through the night without waking. It seems to help sometimes...and at least puts my mind at ease when she does wake between midnight and 5:00, I know she isn't hungry. But mostly, I just loving doing it. She is still such a fast nurser that the whole thing takes me about as much time as it does to brush my teeth. And it's just so sweet...a sleepy baby, still groping for the milk, her face all warm and snuggly and soft. It's the only time I hold her while she's sleeping anymore. And I kinda love it.


6 months is flirting. This girl can flirt! She smiles, coos, flaps her arms like she is about to take off, smiles at you and then buries her head in the nearest neck. We are all just madly in love with her!

Oh, and the stats: Piper is 19 lbs, 13 oz, and 27 inches long. She's a big girl!

To see some more photos of Piper at 6 months (and her sister and momma!) click here.