Friday Flashback!!!

I think this is 2005. I have no idea why my sister Amanda was visiting, but we always loved it when she did. Jen and I were both living in Santa Barbara then. (and I am completely jealous that she is still there and I am in philly). Jen was really into bowling, and had her own shoes and everything, so we were on her turf here. We have so much fun every time we get together. I am heading home this weekend, and I can't wait to see my family. I just wish Jen and Amanda could be there too, it won't be the same without them cooking elaborate meals, and making us all laugh. Love you guys!

His Own Way of Doing Things

This is how you should play with this toy....sitting down, moving the balls around.

This is how Miles plays with the toy.....turning it on his side and using it as a walker so he can run all over the house. It is pretty funny to watch, he is so proud of himself.

Tommy Turns Two!

Clar and Chris had a fabulous BBQ for Tommy's second birthday. All of the kids had so much fun playing in the kiddie pool and water table, and most of us stuffed ourselves with all the great food. Here are most of the kids at the party (the ones that could sit on their own). I think this mini video is hysterical with all the parents hooting and hollering trying to get their kid to smile....good times. A big thanks to Clar and Chris for having us over. We had so much fun. Happy Birthday Tommy!!! There are more fun videos and pics to come.

Hooray for Warm Weather

We have been able to go to the park so much lately. We have been having just gorgeous weather, and Miles is loving it.

This was his first time on the swing (well first successful time) He wasn't too excited about the swing before but he seemed to enjoy it.

The park is so nice because he can actually touch and play with pretty much everything, unlike our house.

Miles is a little daredevil. He loves the slide. James definitely gets a workout taking him up and down over and over again.

A Little Daddy Time

James was able to spend the entire day yesterday at home. Miles loves it when James is around (as do I) James lets him play with things that I won't, James throws him up in the air, which I don't, and the list goes on. It is so fun to watch them interact, and how differently Miles plays with each of us.

I love this pic. I didn't ask for a ferocious face from either of them...but I got it from both. I guess that's where Miles gets it. :)

A Little Trim

Yep, James and I had also noticed how long Miles' hair was getting. He is so full of energy, and never wants to sit still that a haircut always seemed like a daunting task. Finally we did it...well James did it.

Its a little crooked, but I think he did a pretty good job considering how squirmy Miles is. I think he looks Swedish, or German now....its weird. (Sorry about the Cheez-it Smile)

Friday Flashback!

When we first moved to Philadelphia James and I knew that we wanted to take advantage of living on the East coast and take a trip across the pond to Europe. We left for London and stayed a few days there, then headed to Paris, and back to London.

It was an awesome trip. My Mom is from England, so for me it was really cool to see a little more of that side of my heritage. we had pretty cold weather the whole time we were there, but not too much rain. And of course, while we were there it was 85 in Philly.

James and I walked all over, we were so exhausted at the end of the day. But there were so many amazing things to see, Museums, churches, everything! The architecture of some of their "regular" buildings, would just stop us in our tracks. We both love art museums, and were able to see some amazing exhibits too.

Ahhh, the Eiffel Tower. We stayed really close to it while we were there, and we were up until 2 one morning trying to get a good picture of it all lit up.... you can see in this pic, it is not lit up :)

We were so poor (and still are) that we would just grocery shop instead of eat out. I know its a sin not to eat out while you are in Paris, but I loved eating bread and cheese for a week just as much as eating fancy French food.

10 months old!

Miles turned ten months old last week. The time has just flown by and I can hardly believe how he big he is. He always makes me laugh and smile. I love this pic....he took his ferocity to a whole new level.

Here he is sporting yet another cute outfit from my sister Amy (I know I am the luckiest little sister ever!)

And yet again with the ferocious face. Its so funny! I wonder what he is thinking when he is making it.

Just in Time

Just over a week ago we threw Amy a baby shower. It was so much fun to celebrate her, and share in this experience with her.


Even though Amy wasn't due for another three weeks, she had her little boy last Thursday. His name is Truman Christopher and he is adorable. Everyone is healthy and happy, and hopefully getting some rest. Congratulations Amy!

Friday Flashback!

So about two years ago we bought our house. When it happened I knew that we were going to have to do some renovating, but nothing prepared me for what we ended up doing. Recently we have had friends over and tried to describe what we did to the place. I figure that pictures speak louder than words.

Here is a picture of our bathroom before. Notice that the sink and the tub practically touch, and imagine that the bathroom is only as long as the shower....sooo tiny!


Here is the master bedroom. The closets were not even wide enough to hold hangers in the straight, you had to angle them to the side. Now that was no good for me.

Here is the downstairs living room....towards the front of the house,

and now towards the back of the house. Notice the wall at the back separating the living area from the kitchen. It was solid brick.

Here is the oh so tiny kitchen. They didn't even have a full sized fridge in it.

Here is Mile's room. It used to have a door connecting it to the master, and another one of those tiny closets.

One last picture of our narrow and very dangerous staircase. The wall going up the stairs was completely textured...yuck!

Where did the wall go? Here we are looking into the kitchen. James and his Dad took down that solid brick wall to open up the space. They then moved the door you see in the kitchen to the giant hole you see on the right side of the picture.

No more wall by the stairs! Do you see how dirty James' Dad got. It was crazy!

There I am sporting my lovely teal bakery shirt. (Work didn't end when I got home)

James is standing in the kitchen showing all of us that there is no more bathroom above him. He was actually taking down the cieling in the bathroom and fell through the floor into the kitchen.

Looking into Miles' room from the bathroom.

Miles' room. We tore out the closet and used some space from the new bathroom to make a larger one. Then we sealed off the entry that was going into the master to make the space more usable.

The beginnings of a new bathroom.

James painstakingly scratching off the hideos texture on the wall. It took forever!

My new closet! It is awesome.

The bathtub! Now all we needed was running water....that took a while.

Stairs that didn't seem to want to break beneath your feet.

James and his Dad starting to put in the kitchen cabinets.