It's been a quick 6 months since we've moved up to West Michigan. We're settled. The house feels like home. I can usually find my way back to our address without my GPS now. I have a place for most things, but most things are not always in their place -- as you'll see! Here's a glimpse into what home looks like for us these days. We're renting for now, and the only painting we've done is Elijah's room. All other rooms were like that when we moved in...The entry way & living room (above): If you actually come visit, I promise Elijah will be much happier to see you come in than he was to see me go out. The living room is a great size for us and the gas fireplace was nice over the winter. The living room opens to the dining room, and around the corner is the rest of the kitchen, which is a little too closed off and 100% too small for our tastes =) That's pretty much our only complaint. The back slider opens to a deck with stairs to the spacious, fenced backyard.
Kitchen: Well, I guess you really can't see the kitchen here. But this is what is usually happening when we are in the kitchen. I'm not sure if this was an actual meal or just snacks to hold Elijah over so I could actually do something with both hands. He is really amusing when he's eating sometimes. The pic in the upper left... for some reason he likes to lay his head to the side. Only to his right side, mind you. And the other ones of his mischievous little smile were probably snapped right after throwing his food on the floor. He really likes that part of eating.
Moving on... to Elijah's room.
One of my favorite parts of being a mom is making life special for my little guy. (This is not so enjoyable for Art, because it usually involves shopping and spending money and hanging stuff on the walls.) We painted one wall in Elijah's room one of my favorite wall colors - Benjamin Moore's "Bermuda Blue."
Our bedroom -- The green walls are fun, albeit at least two shades brighter than what I would pick. I doubt I'll get around to painting it. In the bathroom, we have dual sinks and a big tub, and lots of storage. Love it. We have a big picture window in our bedroom, which is nice, but would be nicer if it actually faced something other than our neighbors back deck. But it's a nice place for Elijah to watch the dogs run and play!
We also have a perfectly-sized walk-in closet for us. After a recent trip to IKEA and The Container Store, I'm finally satisfied with how it is all set up. I have the left side, and the bins on top for me are labeled: Summer Clothes, Winter Clothes, Skinny Clothes, and Maternity Clothes. Those are my seasons.
Art has the right side, and I've organized and labeled his bins: Hunting Gear, Work (as in work-on-the-yard-it's-ok-to-ruin) Clothes, and Winter Clothes.
Lately, Elijah's absolute favorite game is playing chase-me across our king size bed. Our very tall king size bed. He knows from experience that if he gets close to the edge, he gets a BIG reaction out of mom and dad.
Speaking of favorite activities, here's another. The Ball Popper from Uncle Dave and Auntie Ninny for his first birthday. He loves dancing to the music, chasing the balls everywhere, and putting them back through the maze. Great toy!!!
Back to the house. Our bedroom is down the hall from the living room. Also at the end of the hall is the guest bath, Elijah's room and another bedroom, currently being occupied by the dogs crates. I had Elijah's tunnel set up in the hallway for a few days and loved these pictures. I think it counts in this post since technically it gives you a view of our hallway and guest bathroom.
Another favorite of Eli's is stairs. The stairs to our basement are just inside and to the left of our front door. My office is to the left at the bottom of the stairs. the basement, which I don't have any pictures of yet, is around the corner to the right.
My office/scrapbook room... This was truly the little jewel of this house when we first discovered it. I was so happy to have a little cove of my own where I could shut the door, work on my projects, and leave them all out if I needed to. Obviously that's what I've done! Although this has been clean at least twice since we moved in, it has mostly become the catch-all room for any random item that remotely relates to all things crafty.
The other reasons for it's disheveled status is that it does not have any ventilation. So it was FREEZING in the winter and I never wanted to go in there. And since warmer weather has hit, I've found almost half a dozen spiders in there. My little cove just isn't proving to be so special. Not sure what I'll do with it now! But, if I ever brave the spiders or remember to turn the space heater on and actually organize it, at least you'll have an appreciation for the "before!"
And to wrap things up I'll leave you with a few more dashing photos of my sweet little boy. He has now started walking. Usually quite drunkenly, but more and more he actually looks sober and controlled and like a toddling toddler should look =)
