The Basement Project:BEFORE

Here is what the basement looked like before anything was started. Well, after all the crap down there was dragged out of the way.

The Basement Project: Storage Room

A room was constructed for storage and eventually, a half bath.

Here is the back side of the room. Where I'm standing will eventually be where the guest bed goes when Baby #2 comes. (No, there's no plans for that yet!)

Here are the shelves that were constructed...

To house all this crap...

The Basement Project: Under-The-Stairs Storage - BEFORE

We enclosed the area under the stairs for storage. Here are the BEFORE pictures.

The Basement Project: Under-The-Stairs Storage - AFTER

Here's how it came out.

Happy Halloween!!

We hope it's spooktacular!

p.s. Happy Birthday (Great) Grandpa George!!

7 Months Old!

(if you look closely, you can see her tooth!)

Our Little Pumpkin

My New Buddy Tyler

Today Shaun, Amelia and I met up with a couple that I've known since I planned their wedding at Topnotch 6 years ago. I had so much fun working with Jill and Phil back then. Shaun also got to know them and the four of us hit it off. Whenever they've returned to Stowe they've given us a call and we've gotten together.

On Friday Jill texted to say they were in Stowe and this time with a 6-month-old son. I was so freaking excited. I texted her back and said I had a 6-month-old daughter. I knew that this visit would be so much fun!

This morning we went to Topnotch and met Tyler. He's such a cutie. His birthday is April 3rd so he's just a few days younger than Amelia. They were ADORABLE together. It's too bad Jill, Phil and Ty live in the Boston area. Oh well, it just means we have to go and visit!

1st Bath in the Big Tub

After making a complete mess of everything I got to take my first bath in the big tub. Thanks to Auntie Abby, I got to splash all around and have a lot of fun without Mommy or Daddy stressing out about me slipping and sliding everywhere. This pretty cool seat is a God-send. Thanks, Auntie Abby!!

Food Fun

Yeah, Mommy lost her mind and decided I was allowed to make a big mess the other night. I had a ball smearing rice cereal everywhere. Daddy seemed more uptight about it than Mommy. He told her she had to clean-up the mess. She said, "whatever, it's just a bit of food and she gets a bath tonight anyway." She's a pretty cool mom. :)

New Hat!

Since I buy Amelia's entire wardrobe second-hand, I don't spend a lot on clothes. I also lose out on the fun of shopping. So, I accessorize! Here's Amelia's newest hat.

Isn't she so stinkin' cute?

So Cute

I loved her little outfit so I took pictures and luckily, she didn't seem to mind. :)

Playing in the Leaves

I took Amelia to Stowe to get some pictures of her playing in the leaves. She LOVED the leaves but was less than thrilled with me taking pictures and even more so, the hats I subjected her to wearing! :)

Our Little Pumpkin

Unfortunately she was not thrilled about being plopped down into a pile of pumpkins.

Teething bites!

We made it through the arrival of Amelia's first tooth. It was a miserable process but we survived. I assumed (or hoped!) that the next one wouldn't be so terrible. I was wrong. Tooth #2 seems to be a more painful for all of us.

Amelia was little Miss Laughter & Squeals until about 10pm last night. Finally she settled down and nursed. When I went to put her in her crib she FLIPPED OUT. She was bucking around her crib and screaming. You would have thought I laid her down on a bed of hot nails. She just wanted to be snuggled. We tried a bottle but she had NO interest in it. She just wanted to be snuggled. We tried to lay her down with her lullabies playing but that just pissed her off more. She just wanted to be snuggled. Finally we got it, she just wanted to be snuggled.

Eventually I got her into bed with us and we got little stretches of sleep here and there. Like with the first tooth, she tossed and turned and moaned in her sleep so when she wasn't crying and/or nursing, she was still keeping me awake. It was a long night. And unlike with Tooth #1, Tooth #2 was not showing it's beautiful pearly white tip through the top of her gums this morning. Hopefully it will break-through today at daycare because I might shoot myself if we go through all of this again tonight.

Amelia's Stool

Amelia got a beautiful gift last week. A hand-burned stool.

My Shirt Says It All

Swinging In New York

We went to New York this weekend to see Lauren, Chris, Gracie and Andrew. We had a FABULOUS time and Amelia LOVED her new friends. After the Pumpkin Festival on Saturday we went to Lauren's parent's house to visit. Grace and Andrew shared one of their swings with Amelia. She LOVED the swing and I think there was a smile on her face the entire time she was in the swing.

Andrew loves to swing too!

And so does Gracie!

The whole time we were there Lauren and I didn't take a single picture together until about 3 minutes before we got in the car to leave. SO SAD! Thankfully her husband Chris was thinking and snapped this shot of Lauren and I with our newest additions! I love that both babies are incredibly interested in the toys in the playpen instead of the camera! LOL!

Starting Good Dental Habits Early

On September 21st we had a TERRIBLE night. Amelia was unusually fussy and inconsolable. I finally gave up and brought her into bed. She tossed and turned all night, moaning in her sleep and just appeared to be uncomfortable. The next morning, the culprit became apparent. Amelia's first tooth came in.

Now that those pearly whites are making appearances we're starting to brush her teeth and gums. She does a great job and lets us brush both her top and bottom gum lines. Such a good girl!

Veggie Lover

Amelia might not have been crazy about rice cereal or oatmeal but veggies have been a success! Here she shows off her love of sweet potatoes. We've had great success with peas, sweet potatoes, squash and carrots.

Since she did so well with the veggies we've also introduced apples and pears. The apples were a HUGE hit. The pears were liked but not to the same degree. Next up, bananas!