My almost-updated kitchen!

Jeremy and I bought new countertops for the kitchen about a month ago and have been anxiously awaiting the install. There were a couple of delays, but we were finally going to get them and started our demolition this week. Jeremy ripped out the majority of the counters last weekend but left the sink in as long as possible so we wouldn't be inconvenienced all that much. Jeremy also decided to stain the existing cabinets for an updated look so he started doing that this last weekend as well! Although he only got 3 pieces of the bottom cabinets done, I just know that the results will be stunning when they're all done!

Last night, Jeremy and I took out the sink and dreaded the next couple of hours without a sink or dishwasher in the kitchen, but knew that the pain would be worth it.

Our installer showed up today and began putting in the countertops and I was immediately in love. I am SO glad that Jeremy began staining the existing counters because I have to admit, the beautiful new counters do not look good with our existing cabinets at all. However, the stained ones are absolutely beautiful against the counters that we chose. After seeing everything go in, I was so glad that we decided to get this done. It really adds a lot to our little kitchen!

About half-way through, the guy doing the installing called me over to show me the worst possible thing... a big crack in the sink!! I don't know if you know the story behind my sink, but it was a really big deal for me. I knew the type of sink that I wanted and set out on the Internet to make it a reality. I located a little store in Northern CA that stocked it and placed my order. Mind you, this was back in July that all of this was done, so this dream sink has been sitting in the box that it was shipped in in the middle of my garage since it was delivered by FedEx. I called the store in CA and was promptly reminded of their 7 day return policy and also of the fact that I should have opened the box when I received it! I told the guy that I realize that I should have, but the truth is that I just opened it and it's cracked! He told me that he would have to "see what he could do" and would call me back. Really, though, how the heck was I going to take the 50lb sink out of the box to check it? I would have never gotten it back in :) He did call me back, and after reminding me once again of their 7 day return policy and what I should have done, he said that as long as I was willing to pay for the shipping charges, that he'd ship me another one, even though, as he had to throw in, most companies wouldn't do that.

While I am grateful for his cooperation and willingness to bend, the fact remains that I have half of a kitchen, and it's not the half that you'd want if given the choice. We are going out of town over the Labor Day weekend which will soften this blow a bit, but I guess we'll be eating out and washing Autumn's sippy cups in the bathroom sink (that just doesn't even sound sanitary, does it??) until the new one is here and installed. I'm guessing that will be about a week.

Below are the pictures of the kitchen as it looks at this time. I actually like that Jeremy's only done some of the staining becuase I'm able to see what it would have looked like if he had decided against it. You can also see the lovely hole where my sink will someday reside.

I've decided that the red walls no longer go with our new design, so that will be the next to go. Poor Jeremy is going to be busy for the next couple of months... When he's done with that I'm sure I'll have thought of something else to add to my "honey-do" list.

Our little mommy

I want to let you know what this little stinker is up to! First off, I never thought that any toy that we could ever purchase would ever live up to Bubby. As you know, Bubby goes with us everywhere! Last Friday, we went to the pool at the Y with Erin and her son Hutson, daughter Bailey, niece Rian, and nephew Griffin. Griffin is only 9 months old and quite a chunk, so we brought along our little umbrella stroller to haul him around in. When we were leaving the pool, Autie decided that she needed to be the one pushing Griffin in the stroller. She pushed him out of the pool, all through the Y, and out to our car in the parking lot. She actually got mad at me when I took her away from the stroller to put her in the car.

On Saturday, I went to Toys R Us and checked out what they had for baby strollers and found a mini version of the umbrella stroller we have. I brought it home and Autumn has been inseprable with the thing since. The only time she would walk away from it would be if Bubby got left behind. We actually had to fashion a way for her to be able to bring Bubby with us, since he is too good to ride in the stroller and she couldn't figure out how to carry him and push the stroller at the same time.

I took these pictures today on the way home from Erin's. We usually just ride over in the stroller, with me pushing of course... Today, Autie had to push her own stroller to Erin's, both ways. When we got home, she had to finish the walk by taking a couple laps around our yard/cul de sac. Her little face was so red from all that walking I had to put an end to it and get the girl some water. She is so strong-headed, I wonder where she gets that from...

I will say that Bubby has not been replaced by any means, but that may only be because the stroller doesn't fit nicely in her crib at night.

Playground Daredevil

Today, Autie and I went to the park, as we've been doing for months. On a normal day, I follow her as she climbs up the stairs of the playscape, crawl/walk around the little circle at the top, and then she sits on my lap as we go down one of the three slides. Today, I went up the stairs with her, and she went straight to the swirly slide and tried to hurl herself down head-first. I panicked and grabbed her little feet at the last second. She screamed at me as I pulled her back up, and put her on my lap to go down the slide. I realized that her screams were her way of showing her ever-growing independent streak. So, at the bottom of the slide, I decided to let her try a solo flight. I watched in amazement as my little one go up the stairs all by herself and run to the slide and go down, once again head-first! Luckily I had my camera and was able to catch one of the many runs.

Autumn at the Playground from Karen Wallace on Vimeo.

I swear, we were there for an hour and it was the same thing over and over. I guess that I knew this day was coming. She is growing up so fast and I am realizing that she is gaining more confidence and independence every single day (much to my dismay!).

Walking!

So, after many long-awaited months, Autumn is walking. Walking!! I am so excited about this, but mostly for purely selfish reasons. I have always said that I would never worry about my daughter's milestones. Children accomplish things at different times and at their own pace. I *know* this in my head. And up until this point, Autumn as either been on track or early in doing things. Let's just say, I've been a very proud mommy. But this walking thing, well, it's for the birds.

Autumn took her first steps a long time ago. She first started standing by herself before her first birthday and I have been saying since then, "oh, it's just a matter of days before she walks!". Well, it wasn't! And I've been patient. I've watched her learn new things, and say new words, and accomplish new skills in the past 3+ months. But walking has been what I've really been waiting for.

I have many friends who have babies just a couple of months younger than Autumn and I've been so excited to learn that each of them have been walking and believe me, I'm SO proud of those little ones. But what happens in my head is the worrying about why Autumn hasn't bothered to do it herself. And I've kept telling myself what I've been saying all along... the proverbial "any day now".

Unfortunately, at 15 months, when you have a daughter that's just as happy to crawl for what you think will be the rest of her life, you begin to become a bit concerned. I even got a comment the other day from a well-meaning friend who, when asking how old Autumn was, with my response of 15 months, she said "well she's walking obviously". And I had to respond while gritting my teeth, that no, she wasn't.

But today, my friends, at just shy of 16 months, Autumn is walking. I picked her up from our babysitter's house and we were on our way home. Lately, I've been letting her "walk" home, and she just holds on to the basket of the stroller and follows along. But today, she saw something that she wanted across my neighbor's yard, and the little stinker just took off.

I'm so proud of Autumn and I'm more than delighted that she finally decided to take this next step. I realize that she's completely perfect in every way, but I'm still a new mom. I think it's my job to worry. So now that she's taken this step, I'll move on to worrying about the next thing. Friends? Boys? College? Who knows what's next!

I'll end this post with a video that I took as soon as we got home. Isn't she the most precious thing you've ever seen? I may be partial, but I sure think so!

Autumn is officially walking! from Karen Wallace on Vimeo.

Why Dolly Has Been Gaining Weight

Why Dolly is gaining weight from Karen Wallace on Vimeo.