Henry's Words

Henry is finally picking up a few words which makes life a little more exciting. I can tell that he understands and he knows what things are but he just can't say much yet. This is a really exciting time to see him learning and developing. We already can't shut him up but soon it will be sentences instead of squawking.

So here is a little of what Henry is saying these days.

Word Henry Can Say What it actually sounds like

Dada Dada

Diego D-go

Dora Do

Boots Boo

Ghost Go

Car Car

More Mo

Mommy Mee

E-i-E-i-O EiEi

Obviously from the video, you can see that Henry's favorite and most prolific word is car. He says it everywhere we go, pointing and sometimes shouting. Anything with wheels is a car and it never gets old for him. His second favorite word is More which is annoying/funny because he will point into the kitchen and shout "Mo!" He already knows that if he says it enough and loudly too he will get whatever he wants. He also knows to point at the tv and yell "Go" which is code for I want to watch Diego instead of So You Think You Can Dance.

Refashion: White Cardigan

I bought this white cardigan at Walmart. 3 or so years ago. Occasionally they will surprise me with a basic that is pretty great and cheap. I also bought it in green and black. Well the white one has seen better days, as in it is no longer white but that sad greyish color with little bits of yellow in there too. So it went into my "to-do" pile and got quite the makeover.I started off by dyeing it. I wanted orange and ended up with this lovely coral color by mixing part red dye and part yellow. I used Tulip Permanent Dye which I loved. Usually I use RIT because that is what Joann's carries but this dye totally trumps RIT any day. I have used it on several projects since and have continually been happy with the results.

Once dyed I looked for some type of embellishment. I scrounged through my notions bin and found this perfect lace I bought on etsy eons ago. I stitched it in place with clear thread and done.
Steve thinks it is a little granny but we don't always have to agree.

Mommy/Son Movie Date

The local theater here does children's early matinees during the summer. Henry and I went on a little date this week to see Shrek 2. We invited some friends and had a great time. This isn't the first time we have tried the theater. Henry's first movie was Toy Story 3 last summer but he just sat in his carseat the majority of the time marveling at the huge screen until he pooped and I had to go change him. And a couple of weeks ago we tried to go see Monsters Vs. Aliens and he wouldn't sit very long because I wasn't prepared with any snacks. Rookie mistake. This time we came armed with Dum Dum suckers, gold fish, water bottles-which he spilled all over himself, fruit snacks and a huge mess of wipes to clean us up. When he saw the sucker he got so excited that he chucked his binky and I never could find it. Overall he was able to stay put for about an hour and then he ran around in the front area of the theater below the stadium part chasing an unknown kid.

We had a great time.

Georgia: The One Year Mark

One year ago today we were waking up in a hotel in Birmingham. We drove the last 5 hours of our cross country battle and Henry was ornery the whole way. We landed in Athens, found our realtor, drove to our apartment, walked inside and then praised high heaven for air conditioning. Even though the first week was really hard here: our apartment was a cell phone dead zone, no internet which meant hanging out in McDonald's, sweltering humidity and unpacking, I was overall pleased. Our apartment seemed palatial after our sad little basement place in Orem and Georgia was beautiful.

This year has flown by so quickly. And you know what? I love it here. So there really isn't a ton to do in Athens unless you drink but I found I have been happy here and we have kept ourselves relatively busy and entertained. Part of it was my determination to like it no matter what. There is no point in hating where you live when you are going to live there for 4-5 years. Right?

So I asked Steve what I should write about for this post and he suggested listing a few things I love about Georgia and then a few things I miss about Utah. So here we go:

I love that Georgia has so many trees. When we lived in Utah the mountains were forever looming above us. And they were comforting in a way. Always present and an easy way to keep track of your direction. Here, the trees are a dense wall that keeps you surrounded. Its almost impossible to see any other identifying markers. It reminds me of Washington.

I miss the mountains. In a few weeks, the first glimpses of orange and yellow fall would be appearing.

I love going to the beach. Its only a park and a man made water source from a dam but I still love it.

I miss Crest drive thrus and their diet coke blend.

I love the people I have met. Mostly all the girls who are stay at home mothers and wives of graduate students. I love that we all just kind of landed here and have found each other.

I miss my girls. Whitney, Lauryn, Celia and Lori.

I love being at home and having a creative job which also allows me to spend hours with Henry. I guess I could have had this in Utah but I didn't and I have it here which has been wonderful and a great blessing. Plus, I seriously am so happy having all this time to be creative and do fun projects or just watch Grey's Anatomy all afternoon.

I miss Cafe Rio, Tepanyaki, Panda Express, In N Out, Forever 21, DI, Savers, Burger Supreme, FYE, Home Fabrics

Anyway, that's it. One Year. One Year.

Refashion: Side Tables

Not really a refashion since it doesn't have to do with clothing but it is definitely a redo. I bought these two side tables about a year ago when we needed some new furniture for the apartment. I think I paid about $10 for the pair at Goodwill. I painted one white and then got lazy and never painted the second one.
So I decided I needed to jazz them up a little. You know, add some pizazz. And what is a better way to add pizazz than with pattern? I finally painted the second one white and bought some fabulous fabric. I wanted something fun and different. We don't have a lot of green in the living room but I think it works. I cut the fabric into two circles. To adhere to the table I used spray glue and then let it dry for a little bit. I coated over the fabric with a couple of coats of polyurethane. And done.
The fabric was about $5 with a coupon and I already had the paint and other supplies. Just an easy and inexpensive way to add some pattern to your space in an unexpected way.
Now if only it didn't take me a year to complete!

Refashion: Dress to Skirt

So the original purchase of this refashion just so happens to have been made in 2009. Yup, that's right. It took me two years to finish this project. I should be ashamed of myself. Seriously. I bought this dress at DI and loved the print. It is a simple magenta petal design on black rayon. But the dress is awful. Even now looking back I have to smile and hope I didn't pay more than a couple of dollars for this beauty. But I did have the presence of mind to have Steve snap a before picture. Here I am in our old apartment.
Well I immediately cut the top off and threw it away. I then proceeded to wear the skirt with a jagged waistband above the existing elastic for about a year. Yes, I hid the frayed edges under a thick black belt but still, for shame. Anyway, in the grand closet makeover I finally did a proper finish on the waistband with a 1 1/2 inch elastic. Took me 10 minutes. Love it.
So when thrifting, if you see fabric you like, don't be afraid to get that hideous dress and save the skirt. Easy as pie.

Henry 19 months

We took Henry for his 18 month appointment on Friday and he is doing great. He weighs 25 lbs, is 31 inches tall and in the 25th percentile.

Lately Henry is full of mischief and acrobatics. As you can see, nothing is off limits. He has climbed into the cabinet of our entertainment unit a couple of times, he is always climbing on chairs and then onto the table. It is seriously becoming more of a full time job keeping up with his energy and spunk. Once upon a time, he would happily sit in the shopping cart and let me shop in peace. Not anymore. He now insists on pushing the cart to "help" me. Then when he is bored of that he runs away. New tactic: dum dum suckers to keep him entertained and happy for 30 minutes.

P.S. I totally sold out on my heartsy sale! 75 coupons! And as awesome as it was, it was super overwhelming and I am happy for it to be over.