What’s Out There?

Reid has started pulling up on the windowsills and standing on his tip-toes to look out. 

I thought it was so cute, I just kept snapping photos… …and of course, he had to see how it tasted!

Before & After

Who doesn’t like a good make-over story?  We recently “refreshed” our kitchen and living room.  (By refresh, we mean that we didn’t replace everything…just the stuff we couldn’t stand any more!)

If we rewind five years ago, this is what the kitchen looked like when Jer bought the house:In December of 2005, we finally got around to painting over the wallpaper and making the home feel a little more like “us.”This fall, we decided to finally pull the trigger and make the changes to the kitchen that we’d been planning for years.  Here’s the BEFORE:    And here’s the kitchen AFTER: The project was:  new granite countertops…new backsplash…extended the island by adding a bookshelf on one end and an overhang to eat at…new under-counter lighting…new refrigerator & oven…new sink…crown molding & new paint.
And of course, one project leads into another…

One big problem we’ve always had with our living room is the weird shape and that there is no good place for the TV and having the room feel open to the kitchen.  This became a bigger problem when Reid came into the picture!  So…in classic “while-we’re-at-it” fashion, we asked our contractor to give us a bid and his ideas for mounting the television over the fireplace and removing the Greek-style mantle.  (And also wiring for surround sound…while we’re at it…I mean, why not?!) 

Living room BEFORE:Living room AFTER:The project was:  update existing fireplace and mount TV over new hearth…build in speakers to fireplace and also in ceiling for surround sound and crown molding to hide the speaker wires.We still need to hang things in the living room, get a few more barstools, get blinds for the kitchen, and (I hope) replace the light fixture over the table.  But for now, we are LOVING having a nice open space between the two rooms we use most often.

Thank You Ammy & Papa!

While his parents were vacationing in Guatemala, Reid was lucky enough to have his Ammy & Papa (Jer’s parents) here to take care of him.  In her own words, and with their photos, here’s what Ammy had to say about their visit with Reid:

Ammy & Papa were blessed to spend this past month with Baby Reid and see him accomplish all of the things Jenny posted. He was an angel when we watched him for 8 days while Jenny & Jer were in Guatemala at G & Mariana's wedding. Bobbie & Michael even came to visit for 2 days and enjoyed "watching Reid" with us. Reid sure does bring smiles, laughter and joy to everyone around him.

We were glad we were here to help out when Jenny & Reid came down with the swine flu also. We are thankful they are better now and Bob, Jer & I escaped getting it (we took Tamiflu also).

We are sad to be leaving, but are thankful for the time we have had this November in Texas. We appreciate every minute we have with our Texas family. Thank you Jenny & Jer for everything and for giving us this extra special time with you and Baby Reid. And THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL WEB SITE!!!! It keeps us going in between our visits.

We love you sooooooo much!
Ammy & Papa (Dana & Bob)

 

They brought Reid to the airport in his PJs to greet us and welcome us home!   We were SO HAPPY to see our sweet little guy!!

Thanks so very much, Dana & Bob/Mom & Dad!  We appreciate you for taking such great care of Reid while we were gone!

Santa PJs

Happy baby in adorable Christmas PJs!  Enough said!!

Guatemala Vacation!

Last year, our friends George & Mariana “made it legal” in Las Vegas.  It was such a fun vacation that we could only imagine that their “real” wedding ceremony in Guatemala would be fantastic.

It was.

G & Mariana planned a wonderful week-long vacation in three different locations for their American friends and family before their amazing wedding on the final day. 

We had such a nice time relaxing, hanging out with friends,  enjoying beautiful Guatemala and celebrating the marriage of G & Mariana!

Guatemala CityLake AtitlanAntigua None of my (very few) pics from the ceremony turned out very well well, so go to her photog’s web site and check out the stunning bride and happy husband.  The full collection of our photos are on our Picassa Web Album.

GREAT VACATION!  Congratulations George & Mariana!  We were so happy to celebrate with you!

So….where was Mr. Meatball during his parent’s little adventure?  He was at home with Ammy & Papa (Jer’s parents).  (More to come on that in a future post.)

“Bang, Bang, Bang!”

It’s been a long time since I posted.  Maybe this will give you an idea of what’s been going on in our world these past few weeks!Reid is on the move and into more every day.  Wooden spoons are one of his new favorite toys. You can chew on them, bang them on stuff and throw them.  What could be better?!

Can someone tell me why we are bothering to get him toys for Christmas?!

We’ve got a lot of updates – and of course, photos – so I’ll get those posted soon!  Until then, just know that there is no peace on earth at Casa Remington!

Get to know Reid @ 8 months!

Sweet Baby Reid is eight months old today!  He’s growing and developing so fast that I don’t know where to begin!Eating:  He still nurses 4x a day, and now has three meals a day.  His favorite foods are bananas, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, butternut squash, carrots and chicken.  He really doesn’t like avocados, still.  If you mix anything with applesauce, there’s a good chance he’ll eat it.   His third tooth came in right before Thanksgiving, just in time to try ham for the first time!Sleeping:  Most nights Reid sleeps through the night. Most.  When he does wake up in the night he is screaming mad.  Sometimes we can settle him back to sleep, and other times we give up and turn on some lights to try and break the trance and stop the crying.  He takes two naps a day and they are getting longer, so that is nice!  Once he’s awake we either find him sitting or standing in the crib!Little Personality:  He loves to smile with a big open-mouth grin.  He’s super noisy and seems like he’s trying to carry on a conversation with himself or his toys.  When he’s happy he’ll “flap his wings” and squeak – it’s about the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. Lately he has begun making a cute little grunting/growling noise when busy playing, which is a welcome relief from some of the higher-pitched squeaking he likes to do.On the Move:  Reid is mobile and fast!  He is a pro at crawling, and in the last three weeks has started pulling up on the furniture (and anything else in his way) to get to a standing position and now scoots around the furniture.  Sadie has learned that when he raises his arms and leans forward he’s about to launch himself and she better get moving!  Likes:  being outside, crawling, standing up, swinging, cuddling, reading books, Sadie’s tail, noisy & wet kisses (giving and getting), music & dancing, jumping, bath time…Dislikes:  being cold during the diaper change after bath time, teething pain, being put down for a nap before he’s ready.Favorite Toys:  microphone (as seen in photo below…we don’t get it either…),  Mr. Wonderful (which was a given to Jer at his bachelor party), the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?, and his funny feet elephant from the Hofers…to name a few of his current favorites…Nicknames:  “Mr. Mister” (everyone), “Meatball” (everyone), “Big Guy” (Daddy), “Baby Dude” (Daddy), “No-Lips McGee” (Momma)   Reid in a Few Words:  happy, noisy, charming and loved!