i(Phone) Spy: Months Sixteen - Eighteen - Brynn

Y'all.  My littlest baby is 18 months today.  That's just crazy talk.  I'm not sure if the fact she's been a part of our family for 1.5 years or the fact that I'm posting this timely is more shocking.  Big day all around.  Let's skip to the pictures.  Happy Half Birthday to my yittlest pumpkin.  You make our world go 'round!

Sometimes you get dragged to the park during nap time because your older sister might get sold on Craig's List otherwise.  #secondchildprobs

This is LITERALLY the story of my life.  Books on books on books.

Excuse me... Do I take pictures of you while you're eating?  I don't think so.  Back it up, woman.

It's a bird.  It's a plane.  It's Linus Brynnie.

In hindsight, inciting peekaboo during donut time wasn't the best decision.

I normally try to only include 1 photo selection per random shoot, but this series was too cute not to include more.  Plus each one really does perfectly encapsulate my BooBoo.  Sorry, not sorry.

Am I hilarious?  Is she hilarious?  Is dropping it like it's hot hilarious?  Who knows but it made for a good pic.

How do these go on again, sis?!

Three of Brynn's fav things in one pic - 1) books, 2) blanket, 3) sneaking into sister's bed without permission.

Hey baby- you just sit here quietly while I try to eat your food.  Huh- tastes a little plastic-y.

You want to invade this barn?  You have to go through ME.  (When she decides to dig in, she digs in.)

I can't even with you people.  Adios.

Left for a bridal shower for approximately 3 hours.  My little Mama's girl was glued to me like this for the rest of the afternoon.  I have to soak it all up while I can because I know it will change any day now.

On the move.

Gimme that ice cream and Bella and Lambie don't get hurt.

Hopefully I'll get my butt in gear to do a post on swim lessons.  Both Little Sis and Big Sis have been in them for almost 2 months.  This is what Em's fan club looks like.

I'll see you guys in 3 months- I'll be over here coloring until then.

Home Sweet Home Reno: Month Eight

On April 21st we hit the 8-months-of-renovating milestone.  I would deem this the month of sheet rock.  While it was originally slated to take 1-2 weeks to get the walls/ceilings closed back up, textured and trimmed out as with most things reno- the timeline expanded.  By the end of the month though we were I---I thiiiiiis close to being able to start paint.  EEEEEE.  That's yet another huge mile marker for us.

This month errrrrrr'yone pitched in- Nonnie included!  Non had a few bonus days off of work and so she spent them at the house helping to put up bead board, keeping things tidy and helping my Dad's hammer to mysteriously walk off.  Is that not everyone's dream way of spending extra time off work?

As you'll see in the pictures below, things are really starting to come together.  I can't emphasize enough how hard everyone has been working and what it means to us.  I'll write a big sappy post at the conclusion of this project, I am sure.  So I've been working to save the sentimentality for that, but this month really makes it tough to keep a lid on it.

Accomplishments:

• All sheet rock hung
• All sheet rock taped and floated
• All sheet rock textured
• Ship lap completed in living room built ins
• Fluted trim removed in living room built ins
• New trim installed in living room built ins
• Ship lap installed behind Emery's vanity
• Ship lap installed behind Brynn's vanity
• Bead board installed in Emery's bedroom
• Bead board installed in Brynn's bedroom
• Ship lap installed on living room side of kitchen bar 
• Stairs to attic on 2nd floor replaced
• Stairs to attic in garage replaced
• Old base demo-ed from main living area
• New base installed in main living area
• Crown molding installed in main living area
• Chair rail installed in main living area
• Door trim, jambs replaced as needed
• Banister stained
• Ship lap in breakfast area started

Purchases:

• I know this is getting to be a broken record... but lumber

In the Pipeline:

• PAINT!
• Picking countertop for master bath
• Purchasing countertops

Finally getting to see the new dining room opening closed up in sheet rock.

Sheet rock.  I know it isn't as pretty pre-tape/float/texture but I was really jazzed up about closing some things up.

So jazzed that I took this picture.

Can you tell I was digging the new dining room enclosure?

The home of future pocket door #2.  The entrance to the bathroom (which is the one on the right) is enlarged.  The entrance to the toilet room (the one on the left) used to be perpendicular to the entrance to the bathroom.  Moving it here allowed us to put the light switches immediately within your reach when you walk in as they used to be where this pocket door will be.

Phase 3 of the built in re-do.  Hard to tell here but all that's missing is crown at the top of the bookshelves and removing that fluted casing to replace it with something simpler.

On the days you think your job is hard, just refer to this picture.

Em was very amused by "Pawpaw's friend" and his shoes.

GC and I spent an entire afternoon trying to organize how much trim we needed from ProBuild.  Things got complicated as you can see.

Pawpaws friend doing some skimming.  This was one of my first views of the entire kitchen area closed back up.

New casing: check.

Ship lap behind Emmy's vanity.

View from the front door of the extra sheet rock new kitchen opening.

Bead board in Brynnie's room (with a side of ship lap behind her vanity).

While the sheet rockers were at lunch one day, GC borrowed that massive ladder and took down the foyer light.  People really need to stop leaving their ladders around him.

Bannister after it's first coat of stain.

The bar into the kitchen getting gussied up.

Bead board in Em's room.

New stairs to the attic installed with love by Jimmy James and Ryan.

Santa's workshop.  Also doubles as American Ninja Warrior: Toddler Edition.

More ship lap.  Because I love it.

GC admiring his dining room handiwork.

More of the dining room face lift.

If seeing all this progress made you tired- don't worry you aren't alone.  Here's our guard dog hard at work.

Another Year Wise(@ssi)er

On April 18th my better half became 365 days older more experienced.  In keeping with our theme of disorganization, and my personal mantra of #momfailing, we planned no official party or gathering for this occasion.  I'm coming to realize though that this might be the best plan as it tends to lead to more, and prolonged, celebrations.  Oh how we celebrate you, Big Daddy Long Legs, let us count the ways.

1.  The Mother Nature Celebration:  I guess there's 2 ways to look at this.  Mother Nature either reallllly doesn't like Ryan or she really loves him.  I'm a glass half full type (for this moment anyway), so we'll go with the latter.  Late in the evening on April 17th and into April 18th, Houston experienced record flooding.  It actually was awful.  Several people lost their homes, cars, etc.  We feel very, very lucky to (as of my writing this) have been spared.  On the positive side though, the City of Houston was essentially shut down which meant we all got to hang out together for a party in our jammies.

This is what Monday morning looked like at the Martin Disaster Center Headquarters.  Brynn learned how to get on the couch.  She's really earning that Brynnie-zilla moniker these days.

Ryan really isn't always texting rather than watching his children, I promise.  This was early and he didn't have his laptop so he was trying to figure out how to get work done.  Brynnie was VERY enthused about the weather report we were watching, as you can see.

This is when I returned from putting something away in the bedroom to see that the girls had pinned Daddy into the laundry room.  It's too bad maniacal giggling can't come through in photographs.

2.  The Home Sweet Home Reno Celebration:  Just after lunch we got dressed (read: changed yoga pants) and headed to our new house with our fingers, toes and legs crossed to see if we had experienced any damage.  We met GC there as he had been in Conroe.  

Upon arrival we were so, so thankful to find that all the storm had brought us was a bunch of debris in the yard and a leak.  (Our neighbor who leaves his car on the street lost his car. :c( )  Ryan and I started talking about needing to call someone out to tend to said leak.  Around that time, a very large ladder the sheet rockers were storing in the foyer caught my Dad's eye.  I knew exactly where those spinning wheels were headed.  After trying to convince him he was having a terrible idea and getting no where- the girls and I headed back to the apartment so I could nurture my anxiety over a nice warm coffee.

The Birthday boy stayed behind to act as anchorman for our resident Evil Knievel.  Who doesn't want to celebrate by having their Father-in-Law on the other end of a yellow rope wrapped around a column?!

Here's Pawpaw enlisting Emery's help in his mission that I strongly opposed.

Ryan took this.  I was gone by the time things got this far.  Do not try this at home, kids... or adults.

3.  The Family Man Celebration:  On the way home from certifying that Pawpaw still had a pulse, we swung by HEB so that Ryan could select what he wanted for dinner.  It will come as a shock to zero people that Emery actually wound up selecting both his dinner and dessert.  I don't think that he had any complaints though.

Cake by the Ocean Galley Kitchen.

4.  The Martin Crew Celebration:  The following weekend on Sunday April 24th we met up with Grandma, Pawpaw Martin, Aunt Tiffy and Cousin Kylie to nosh on the finest in Southern Breakfast cuisine at Cracker Barrel.  Poor Ky was sick and felt awful but she was a good sport.  Waffles + Biscuits + Eggs + Family = Best Birthday meal ever.

Rockstars. (Do you see what I did there?!)

5.  The Hot Tub Time Machine Celebration:  Later the same day for the first time in probably a million years we went to visit our beloved McClains.  Melanie surprised the birthday boy with a cake for his and her brother, Andy's, birthdays.  As you may have guessed by the title, we also celebrated in the hot tub.  Nothing makes you feel young again like hot tubing with kids in floaties.  

Hot tubing is so exhausting!

6.  The Mama & Daddy Celebration:  On Wednesday April 27th my parents were kind enough to pick the girls up from school and handle the nighttime routine so that we could go to a grown up dinner.  When confronted with the opportunity for child-free time, what did Ryan decide to do?  Hunt down TV sales.  True story.  After a quick run through at Target, we headed over to the World of Beers for a pre-dinner drink.  We ate at Dish Society after.  Then after the party it was (another) Target lobby before we headed home to relieve the grandparentals from duty.

If you close your eyes, and squint real hard, after a glass or 2 of wine you can pretend you're in Europe.

Isn't this what the kids do these days?  Take pics of their food?

A fail in TV sale hunting led to new seat for Brynnie sale hunting.  Another swing and a miss.

I would say all of these celebrations made for an A+ entrance to the next year for the hubs.  Thank you to all who helped us to celebrate and most of all thank YOU to Ryan for all he does for us.  I truly can't imagine where we would be without you.  Happy Birthday- may this be the best year yet!