Child safety locks

Yea... he figured these out in no time flat.  I liken him to a guy in jail... he has nothing but time on his hands to figure out how to beat the system.

Bedtime

Every night we do the same routine.  We look at all the Totoros and the pictures on  his dresser.  There are two photos on his dresser.  Both photos are from when Niko was first born.  One is my parents and one is Neil's parents.

Niko has started to do a funny thing though... when he sees my mom's picture he says, "Do Da Do Da" now.  When we visited my parents over the holidays, Niko and my mom did this little dance/singing thing that said, "Do Da Do Da."  It came out of no where really - our trip was over a month ago.  He has done it for the last couple of nights.

After our tour of Totoro, Grandparents and Abuelos - it's time for bed.

eBay sellin'

This may look like a bunch of nerdy He-Man toys to you.  It looks like a new TV, bookcase and half a ceiling fan to me!  

I sold these toys on eBay over the weekend to make some money for my new office/studio space.  After years of being told that it was a waste of money/storage space to keep these figure I feel justified!  

Oh yea!  Happy dance!  Told you it wasn't "junk," Neil!   :)

Totoro house shoes

The last couple of days Niko has really taken to having house shoes on.  He must get this from his daddy....  

Niko's Godfather Mark and Aunt Shelly got him these for Christmas, but they were a bit too big for him then.  They are still a bit too big but he cries to have them on so here they are!  He is in love with them!

Painting done!

Cutting out the edges and corners.

This is actually the second coat of paint. That blue paint really showed through a lot more than I though it would. If I had to do it all over again, I would have used Killz on the first coat.

Third coat is the charm. All I have to do now is wait a couple of days for the paint to cure and move my furniture back.

I am glad to have this project done. I spent the last three nights painting until 1 a.m. I can't really work on things until Niko goes to bed. I only have the whole rest of the house to go.... not really looking forward to it!

I think I'm going to replace the ceiling fan in this room too. It works just fine, but it really dates the room. I can replace it for under $100 and it will make a big difference.

Prepping to paint

One of the things I am MOST excited about the new house is that I will get my own studio/office space again.  I lost my space when someone (Neil) moved in!  Our house guest is going to help me paint it today.  I'm going orange in my space since it's one of my favorite colors.  I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse right now on the color... I am worried I went a bit too bright....  I guess we will find out tonight!

I'm hoping to paint most of the rooms I want repainted while I have some live-in help!  :)

Piano lessons

Aunt Shelly came over to give Niko another lesson on Tuesday.  Sort of...

Roommate

And old friend is staying with us for a while.  You may see her pop up in a few photos from time to time.  She is doing fine for all of those who know her.

Merry Christmas to me

Old crappy sink. Gross stains you CANNOT get out... no matter how hard you scrub.

My Christmas present. New sink with all the trimmings... love the new faucet. Thanks Neil and Niko!

Special thanks to our friend "On the Bench" who put it in for us!

House pants

Anyone who knows Neil, knows that he changes into "house pants" and slippers the second that he gets home for the day.  I came home last night and he had Niko in is very own "house pants" for the evening.  So cute...

King of the mountain

Favorite furniture = you.

Yo Gabba Gabba

Still loving on the Yo Gabba Gabba.

Christmas presents

Godfather Mark and Aunt Shelly gave these to Niko for Christmas.  For his birthday they wrote and illustrated a book for him.  It's a cool story about a hero (Niko) saving a town... and ice cream.  So good.

They had a few of the pages framed for him for Christmas.  We hung them in Niko's play room so he can enjoy them all the time.  So cool!  :)

Florida trip

We flew Delta this time around and I must say... Delta is nice to fly with!  They were very friendly and punctual. It takes 2 flight to get us to Fort Myers Beach - 3 of the 4 flights were pretty good.  That last flight was terrible.  Niko was "that kid on the plane" - you know... the one that SCREAMS.  For some reason the last flight of the trip really bothered his ears.  Poor guy.... and poor us!

Ahhh... but this is what makes it all better.

Niko had no fear of the water - he stomped right in.  We did not... the water was FREEZING! 

Playing in the sand.

Please take me home.  I am cold and tired.

Smell the cooking!

Baking cookies!

This was by far Niko's favorite part of the trip.  He would climb into Grandma's chair then call to her for her to come get him.  Grandma would come running to get him and he would laugh and laugh.  He pushed her out of the chair so he could sit in it - then look for her to come get him.   I'm sure he can't wait to see her again for Easter - so she can come tickle him again!

Thanks for hosting us Grandma & Grandpa!  :)