Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Almost Finished!

And I'm soooooo excited.  I feel like I haven't decorated a room in a while.  It is nice to have this project almost under my belt!  There are a few details left, like curtains (fabric is on it's way, then I need to sew), art (prints I'm creating and should get next week), and a bench for the reading nook.

Originally, I was going to do an "Oh, the Places You'll Go" theme.  Well, that changed a tad.  No strips on the wall, no quotes (though I am going to use one or two from the book anyhow).  I saw this fabric online and fell in love. 


I took the colors and ran with them.  I chose the light blue for the walls, and the others for accents.  I'm loving how it turned out!  My mom came over on Monday to help me paint.  It was sooo nice.  She did al the brush work, which I hate!  Thanks Mom!

This is the view from the doorway (obviously missing art in that frame!).

The storage cubes are ClosetMaid cabinets bought at Target, the bins are also ClosetMaid purchased at Target and Lowes.  I hand painted the "mural" on the wall.  Miles requested a rainbow, so that is for him, though I'm not totally sure about it. 
The orange cabinet was originally in the closet and was an oak veneer.  I sanded, painted and got new hardware.  You can see some of the wood through the paint, so it looks a bit distressed :).

Each bin has a different kind of toy.  Cars, tools, animals, random toys, balls, Little People, etc.


I saw this little bird at Michael's for $3 and had to buy it.  Too cute!

The bins are labeled with tags as to what is in each bin.  I bought little wood cut-outs from Michael's and painted them with chalk board paint, drilled a small hole, and ran ribbon through them.  The bins can change as the kids grow.  Sorry about the poor handwriting.  We only have large chalk, so it was hard to write on the small tags!



Next is the reading nook!  I'm pretty excited about this space and my future plans for it :).

I bought the letters at Michael's, then used Mod Podge to apply scrapbook paper to them.  I love how it turned out!

I took down the closet doors and hung a curtain with a tension rod.  I also painted the inside of the closet...it was soooo gross!

Up above, there is storage for board games and toys that aren't played with every day (puzzles, etc).

Down below are some of Isla's toys, a bean bag chair, and the books on the right.  I plan to install a bench where the bean bag chair is, with lots of fluffy pillows!  My dad is going to help :).  It will really complete the space.  I also have two little battery operated push lights to put on the wall once the bench is in place.

This is the art corner.  The desk is mainly empty at this point.  I am planning to put most of my collectible dolls on the shelves of the hutch.  Art supplies will go in the drawers.

I hung a ribbon on the wall using two little 3M hooks then hung some recent work of Miles' using clothes pins I painted or covered with scrapbook paper.

This is the dress-up corner.  Miles loves to dress up!  I hope to add some princess dresses and high heels to this collection someday!

This is their activity table that I helped my Dad build for Miles when I was pregnant with Isla.  It has a great home here.

Under the table are two crates.  The one on the right has trains, tracks, etc.  The one on the left has blocks and some angry birds (Miles builds his own angry bird set-ups!).  Obviously there is also a CAT dump truck under there:).

So, there you have it.  An almost finished play room!  Miles hasn't seen it since I moved his toys in, but what he has seen, he says, "It looks amaaazing, Mommy", which melts my heart to hear!


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Climber!

Oy!

Check this out to see our little monkey climbing!

If you're wondering, she did this all herself...moved the stool over and climbed (it's usually by the bathtub).  I had left the door open, then heard Miles yelling for me to come get Isla.  I wasn't sure how she did it, so I grabbed my camera and stood by to watch.  We're going to have to be more careful about keeping the door closed!

Christmas Afternoon

One last Christmas post!
To start it off, Miss Isla in her adorable Christmas outfit.  I nabbed her the sweater on clearance from Nordstrom a few days before to beef up her presents under the tree.  And, who am I kidding, I thought it was just too cute!  I got the adorable leggings and gingerbread person shirt from Gymboree for CHEAP a few days prior as well.  The leggings are actually cream, pink and red striped, so I plan for her to wear them through spring :).

Miles was thrilled to have more gifts to open.  He got books and a DVD case from the Grandparents, a Bat Boat from Aunt Christine and Uncle Cam (and cousins Peter and Moira), a cool bat parachute from Auntie Annie, and a really fun remote control car (that goes every which way and lights up!) from Uncle Tim and Aunt Heidi (and cousins Kirsten and Ethne!).s

And we made a Starbucks run on the way to the house.  One last peppermint mocha of the season!

Isla got this adorable doll (handmade!) from Auntie Annie.  It is just adorable!  She also got a tea set from Aunt Christine and Uncle Cameron, some books from the Grandparents, and a plate/cup/bowl set from Uncle Tim and Aunt Heidi (we love it!  It is too cute, pink with a cute owl pattern).

We got such great and thoughtful gifts this year (as every year!).  It was a great Christmas. 

Oh, and my main gift was my iPad...and I'm in LOVE!!!  Miles is quite infatuated with it as well :).  Ben upgraded to a smart phone, so that was his main gift from me.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Isla

When we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa M's house and Christmas Eve, Grandpa Tom was wearing a Rudolph nose and some antlers.  Isla was skeptical and well, frightened.  She cried.
However, when she got hold of it the next day, she loved wearing it!  We were in the bathroom because she wanted to see herself in the mirror.

It blinks!  She loved it!


Christmas Morning

Christmas morning, we woke up around 6:45.  Isla hadn't slept well, so I  felt like it was a lot earlier!  We did stockings first and Isla got these Elmo and Cookie dolls.  She loved carrying them around.

Isla instinctively went for this box and started opening it. 
And found a new baby in the top and began pulling at the doll.  We had to get it out for her to walk around with.  The rest of the box had a cute push pony/stroller thing for the doll and a little doll bed.

Miles' big gift was this wonderful easel and art supplies.  The boy loves his crafts, painting, coloring, etc.  He has used it just about every day since!


Isla got this cute little bus with peg people from Uncle Tyler (who couldn't make it over the mountains for Christmas).  She enjoyed playing with it very much!
It is always so much fun to see what everyone gets!

Miles loved opening his gifts.  He still asks if Santa is coming tomorrow.  We tried to emphasize that these gifts were from family.

He got this cool batman kite from Uncle Tyler.  He loved it and begged to try it out.  We've had some windy days, but it has been a very cold wind.  Hopefully it can make its debut flight soon!

Ben got a whole box of Chuck Palahniuk books, all signed.  He's working through reading all of them.

Everyone had a great time!  Christmas is always so festive :).  Side note:  notice Grandpa Tom and Uncle Danny with their bows.  Danny forgot to take his off and actually wore it around quite a bit of the morning.  It stuck well :).

Here's a pic of some of the damage :).  Isla got that bear (affectionately names Sioux) from Uncle Danny.  It is an University of North Dakota bear.  They are changing the mascot this spring, from the fighting Sioux (to nothing, I think), so Danny is making sure everyone has some of their gear :). 

After playing for a while and eating breakfast, we cleaned up and headed down to Grandma and Grandpa O's house for more festivities.

Christmas Eve Night

After Christmans festivities died down at our house, and I was cleaned up from my run, we headed up to my parents house for dinner and church.  This is where I majorly failed.  I have NO pictures of everyone all dressed up for church!  So sad.  Isla had a cute grey sweater dress with an adorable glittery felt flower pin on her lapel.  She wore black leggings with her boots I made.  After dinner and church, which were both nice, we went up to Grandma and Grandpa M's house for Christmas PJs and bed.
Isla loves playing with her Uncle Danny!

Here's an action shot of them mid fist bump or high five...not sure which!

And the best shot of the two kiddos in their new Christmas PJs.  Isla wasn't thrilled with sitting still, so Miles tried to help with a headlock...which didn't really help, other than keep her in place...kind of!
After some books and a movie ( for the adults), we headed for bed and waited for Santa to come again!

Christmas Eve Morning

We did Christmas at our house on Christmas Eve morning.  Miles was beyond excited!  I apologize for the poor lighting (our livingroom has none) and the odd white balance.  My camera was doing odd things...I think someone has been playing with it...

Isla still loves her blanky.  I love that she has something she loves.  She loves her baby too, which is in her arms, you just can't really see it.


She got a cell phone in her stocking.  She likes it, but still likes mine more :).


Miles ended up with a few too many stocking stuffers, and Isla not very many at all.  It is so hard to shop for them when they're that young!  Miles got some Batman socks, a batman apron, and several other things.

His biggest present from Santa, a bike with Spiderman helmet, horn, and water bottle.  He likes it!

He also got some Batman pjs, several action figures, and a book.

Isla's main gift was the FP Little People's play house.  She enjoys it, especially the baby and all the sounds it makes :).


Miles' other main gift was the FP Imaginext Batcave, or the "ugly" Batcave.  I had told him Santa couldn't get it for him because I thought it was ugly.   When he opened it, he said, "Look!  Santa got me the ugly Batcave!".  Haha!  He loved it and played with it for hours and has for hours since.  We felt that he needed something else to go with the bike since he can't really use the bike for many months.

Ben got some books, a hat, and a lanyard.

He got me some new workout clothes from Old Navy.  Two hoodies and two pairs of pants (one hoodie and one pair of pants are fleece).  I got to try them out for a nice 4.5mile snowy, rainy run after things settled down, before we headed out for the rest of our Christmas adventures.