Wednesday, June 30, 2010

The Brothers 3 or 4?

Since buying our first home Kyle's brothers have been a huge help with all the remodeling projects.

This is a picture of them all working very closely to install the microwave.

Even Jake got involved (i.e. Jake is the name of the stumpy screwdriver). Even though he is far away we couldn't forget the youngest Schenk brother.

Sorry, if you don't know Jake this post probably doesn't make any sense. Just disregard and wait for the next post :)

Monday, June 28, 2010

1st Fight

Sawyer & I had our first fight last week. Since tasting real food Sawyer has not been too keen on eating his rice cereal. This particular evening he decided instead of swallowing it would be fun to blow raspberries everytime I put cereal in his mouth. This resulted in him spitting cereal all over his face, getting it in his eye, on his clothes, high chair, hands, and me.

For those who don't know me well I can be a bit stubborn and I was determined to get him to eat the rice cereal. So, every time he spit it out I shoved it back in, over and over and over. In the end he ate all of it.
This was our first battle of wills (and I'm certain not the last) and I prevailed. Though Kyle might disagree since I ended up having to clean up the huge mess.

Sorry, I promise no more food pictures for awhile. I just had to record this moment.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Attic Find

When some people move into a home they have the joy of finding wonderful treasures in their attic. Perhaps an old newspaper that details town events of the past or antique keys from years gone by. This is what we found in our attic...

The attic entrance is in a bedroom closet and from what we have surmised a young boy previously lived in that room (we concluded this because of the Sponge Bob switchplate and the aforementioned video) and was looking for a good hiding place.

While it may not be a unique, vintage piece I can display in my home it was a pretty funny find (and it was promptly removed from the residence). What else will we find?

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The Kitchen Saga Continues

I wanted to wait until the final reveal, but I couldn't contain my excitement. Here's a little snippet of the "before" and our work thus far:

Oh vintage stove and orangey wood cabinets how I do not miss you.

Sadly, the outdated mauve tile backsplash and lace curtains had to go.

Removing the cabinet doors and sanding down the cabinets made our kitchen a mess.

The big hole where the old stove once set.
Now a beautiful new oven/stove has taken up residence.

Bye, bye backsplash and unfortunately the drywall went with it.

Hello, new drywall and white cabinets

It doesn't look like this anymore, but you will have to wait until we're done for more pictures. I can't wait!

The cabinets are finished. The walls are painted. The "new" dishwasher is installed. The lighting has been changed. We still have to install countertops, backsplash, and floors, and add a few new appliances.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

What a Week!

Okay, I know everyone says "they grow up so fast!" And I know it's true, but this past week has been a little ridiculous...Sawyer has hit three important milestones! Let's recap the eventful week:
Sitting up unassisted

Look mom no hands!

Eating his first bite of real food (rice cereal is not real food in my book): Avocado.

He enjoyed it, so I think it was a success.

Standing on his own! This is the first time he has stood without parental support.

Next thing I know he will be running, doing flips off the couch, and climbing up the doorways. Kyle can't wait :)

Friday, June 18, 2010

5 months

I can't believe my baby is already 5 months old. Not sure of his height or weight, but he is developing rapidly.

Things he is currently doing:
  • Playing with his feet (his daddy taught him a new trick...sucking on his toes)
  • Teething, we can see 2 buds on the bottom (might explain the new need for the thumb)
  • Mobility, he can roll over and scoot like a champ
  • His favorite toys are his fabric ball, exersaucer, and the mirror (even he likes to look at his adorable face)
  • Loves to eat his rice cereal, he can finish his serving very quickly (think he inherited that from a certain Schenk uncle)
  • And his newest trick is sitting unassisted.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Little Fish

In anticipation of our summer vacation to the beach we enrolled Sawyer in swimming lessons. The first lesson went well. There were no tears, but there were also no smiles. He was just taking it all in.

We've been practicing our kicking and splashing technique all week, so hopefully his second lesson will be more interactive and fun. Here's our little Speedo man in action.





Monday, June 14, 2010

Sawyer Outakes

Lest you think that Sawyer only takes super adorable pictures. Here's a few outakes from our photo sessions.
Mom, I'm not in the mood for this!
Dad was trying to get a Mother's Day shot, but instead Sawyer got a paper cut (jk, no child was actually injured in the taking of this photo)
Sawyer look at Mommy or just roll off the pillow
We have lots of these half shots because in order to get him to smile I have to play with him and cannot look through the camera lens. So, if I'm not holding it in the perfect position we get this.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Are there any Royals fans left?

Due to the last 2 decades of poor records baseball enthusiasts may wonder if any Royals fans still exist. Well I'm here to show you they do.


The two cutest Royals fans east of the Mississippi (perhaps the only Royals fans east of the Mississippi). Kyle is a big Royal's fan despite their lack of success for 3/4 of his life. He is now excited to pass the Royal's fanship down to Sawyer. Sorry son, you need to learn an important lesson early...Dad always loves the least successful teams (Royals, Lions, etc.). Maybe by the time you're old enough to care their fortunes will have turned (but I wouldn't hold my breath).

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Stove Transformation

During the Memorial Holiday weekend I convinced Kyle to take on a few more projects. We started demolishing the 1/2 bath and remodeling the kitchen. We were going to wait on the kitchen because it's such a big project, but due to a recent purchase I was anxious to start. So, over the weekend. Our stove/oven went from this



to this


to this

There's obviously still some work to be done around the stove/oven, but it is functioning and I have to say it's amazing. Thanks to Craigslist we were able to get a beautiful stove with all the bells and whistles for a fraction of the cost. And the previous owner admittedly cooked nothing more than brownies and grilled cheese. So, it's practically new! I love it...now maybe I'll cook more...but don't hold me to that :)

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Thumb


One minute you're playing with a sweet smiling boy and the next minute
He looks like this.
We're trying to discourage the thumb, but despite our efforts he keeps sneaking it in. He will take the pacifier and other chew toys for a while but then he throws them aside, inserts the fist, and eventually settles on sucking his thumb.
Any mom's out there have advice for discouraging thumb sucking?

This little face is just so cute sometimes it's hard to tell him no. We're working on it :)

Sunday, June 6, 2010

The Accident

Warning: this may gross out some people. Stop reading/looking now if you have a week stomach.

A few weeks ago Kyle and I were organizing the storage room and Sawyer was happily playing in his exersaucer upstairs. When Sawyer started whining I went upstairs to make sure everything was okay and as I turned the corner I gasped. Kyle came running. This is what I saw.

Poop running down Sawyer's leg and all over the exersaucer! Naturally I took a picture first :) while Kyle frantically ran some bath water and we determined the best course of action. As we were about to lift him out and make a run for the bathroom I looked up to see two visitors approaching our front door. We were standing right in front of the window so we had to answer it. To our embarrassment it was the neighbor couple we had not yet met. By this point Sawyer is getting mad and wants to get cleaned up but we can't possibly take him out and hold him. He just had to sit there why we chit-chatted for what seemed like forever. The neighbors were very nice about the situation, but what a first impression our crying infant sitting in his own poop!

Mom get me out of here!

And no worries for all the Sawyer fans as soon as they left we rushed Sawyer to the bathroom and gave him two consecutive baths to ensure his cleanliness.

Friday, June 4, 2010

My Guys


My guys are not only adorable they are sweet and funny. And I get so much joy watching them interact. Kyle is the only one that can consistently get laughs from Sawyer. I am so looking forward to the years ahead to see how their relationship grows.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Cuteness Personified


When we're having a bad day looking at this face will always cheer us up. Whether you're having a bad day or a good day I hope Sawyer's cuteness brings a smile to your face too!