Moving!

I haven't posted in 7 months, since ML was born.  I wonder if anyone still reads my blog...

Anyway, just wanted to tell everyone we are MOVING to Dallas.  Lee's residency is over in May and he was accepted at UT Southwestern for a fellowship program.  He will be doing an Addiction/Mood Disorder fellowship.  I am super excited about finally moving back "home" and can't wait to be near family again.  I have enjoyed Baltimore but now that Milly is here its hard to be away from our families.  I can't believe all the hard work we have put into this house and some other people will be living in it.  Kinda sad but hopefully pretty awesome for another family.

She is here!

I just wanted to let everyone know that our beautiful Mary Lily Spencer was born May 15, 2012.  She was 7 lbs 13 oz and 20.5" long.

Meet Milly

3 generations of mary's

 yes those are socks on my hands, i can't stop scratching my face

meeting arthur, he never leaves her side

milly and jj

milly and dub

i love skin to skin with my dad

Stairs, done!

The stairs have been a big challenge.  They are really steep and skinny, the steps have a downward slope, and they are not safe (I fell down them the first month we lived here).  Everyone has an opinion on how to make them safer and after hours of thinking, we finally came up with a solution.  Paint the steps black with floor paint that has grit added to it.  Seta had seen grit you can add to paint, I did some googling, and what do you know, she didn't make that up:)

you can't see the texture, only feel it which is awesome                              

before

before primed

after

close up after

painted landing, new rug, & one baseboard on the right
The landing still needs baseboards and trim around the bathroom door.  Ignore the nasty carpet on the left.  That will be replaced once we tackle the middle room and our room.

Nursery, done!

art hung

shelf & hooks added

new door & more art

just wanted you to see her adorable dresses:)

Living Room, done!

The living room and kitchen are DONE!  I never thought I would say those words but it is true.  Dub (my dad) came last week to help me hang crown molding, install base boards, and paint the living room ceiling, kitchen ceiling, stairs and stair well.  He was here for a week and we worked the entire time, we Rock!  Since we worked on so much, I am going to do several posts, so first up is the living room.  

ceiling and stair well unpainted

giant mess we created installing molding

cutting & painting molding

Dub working hard

caulk master! 

(ignore that I am 8 mo's pregnant standing on the kitchen counter)

close up crown molding on brick wall

done!

done!

crown molding close up

baseboards close up

Nursery-part 2

Seta(my mom) came to visit and we put her to work in the nursery.  What we accomplished while she was here:
Painted, ripped out old carpet, discovered green linoleum floors, painted the floors, bought a rug, assembled the crib, painted the stairs, and pulled up the carpet in the hallway.  The hallway is still under construction so I will talk about that in another post but here are some nursery pictures!  I still have to hang pictures, shelves and art.

Before

green linoleum

 painted linoleum (lee's brilliant idea)

 new rug with blue hallway carpet that has been removed and notice the doorway has no door.  That has been fixed!

More pics to come.  We have had workers over the past two days hanging dry wall in the stair well/hall and putting up a door to her room.  None of the rooms upstairs have doors, we aren't sure of the reason but thought it necessary if we actually want her to sleep:)  We had a great time putting everything together and I am sad to see Seta go.  She was a big help and kept me sane while I freaked out about the green linoleum.

Nursery- part 1

I have been working on the nursery, trying to figure out the color scheme, what furniture we need and how to keep the tiny room organized.  My head hurts from all the thinking and list writing, but I finally have a plan and have started working on the room.  It has been fun getting everything together but there is still a lot to be done.  Here is what I have so far.

This is the book shelf that used to attach to Lee's desk.  I turned it on its side and added wheels.  It will be the changing table and dresser, the room is VERY tiny so we can't have both.

The bins are for her clothes, diapers, swaddlers, etc.

Can you see her tiny shoes in the green box to the left??  so cute:)

This is her crib, not the bedding.

 These are the fabrics for the crib sheets. 

I had family photos printed that I will hang above the changing table but will do that after I paint.  I still need a few more pictures but here is a preview.

Her picture will go in the middle white frame that I have yet to paint, may leave it white.  And the cutest pictures of all that will hang on either side of her.....

Are we ADORABLE or what:)???

I still have to decide on a chair for the room.  Since we are most likely moving in a year and I want to purge most of our furniture when we leave I am hesitant to buy a new rocking chair.  We have a small windsor rocking chair that would work for now but it's not the most comfy for night time feedings.  I may just use one of our wing back chairs.  My mom is coming in February to help accomplish my list below. 

 I will post Nursery part 2 after her visit. 

Still on the to do list:

1. replace carpet
2. buy a new ceiling light
3. paint the walls
4. hang family pictures and art

(click on the word art to see what I got for Christmas.  Designed and printed by our friend Micah at The Old Try.)

Walk through

We finally added trim to the walk through that divides the kitchen and dining area.  Its also known as the wall I spent hours stenciling.  It looked terrible for so long because the corners were not sealed and you could see the rough dry wall edges.  So here is a before and the afters. 

Nasty Corners

Beautiful Trim!

It is amazing what a little white trim, finishing nails and caulk will do.  Lee had to take the caulk away from me because I couldn't stop.