LOVE KNOWS NO DISTANCE: January 2015

Friday, January 2, 2015

12 Months and Counting...

JOSIE is ONE!
We celebrated on Josie's Birthday by taking her out to dinner. We went to Applebee's so they could sing to her. We all shared a fudge sundae for dessert.

Last minute, we decided to make the trip back to MI for her Birthday Party and Christmas Day. We cancelled her Birthday party in TN and arranged to rent the Garden View Guest House in Lake Odessa one evening for her Birthday Party. Because of occupancy limits, we kept the guest list to immediate family. It couldn't have been an more perfect. It was so special to celebrate it all with her Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.

We did a Baked Potato Bar

Smash Cake

She had to "read" the cards, herself.

For the remainder of our stay, we were taken in by Grandma and Grandpa Wiltshire. We felt right at home and quite enjoyed staying there. Although we were not able to attend every Christmas Party, we were able to see almost everyone. We are thankful for that.

We always Cherish our visits with Great-Great Grandma Moot!

Christmas Morning!

Loved Playing with our Cousins Blaine & Tessa!

After we got back home, we still had a few days to relax. Andrew got some outdoor projects done and I was able to accomplish some things indoors. Andrew was able to go to Josie's 12 month appointment with us and afterward we took her to the Children's Discovery Museum in Chattanooga. It wasn't exactly we had envisioned, so we cut out early and went to the aquarium. We had a great family day and enjoyed those extra few days we had until, today when Andrew had to go back to work.
12 Month Stats
Weight: 26 lbs 4 oz (94th%)
Length: 30-3/4" inches (94th%)
Josie has 10 teeth
Wearing 24 month/2T clothing
She says: Dada, Dog, Hi, Bye, Yay
She took her first solo 5 steps the night of her 1st Birthday, but haven't since.
She loves Peek-A-Boo and the song, Five Little Monkeys.
Very interested in puzzles and exploring how shapes fit in certain holes. Its amazing to watch her little brain working in those ways.
We are transitioning to Whole Milk, as well as weaning from the bottle. My goal is by March 1. It would be sooner, but those Molars are killing me!
New flavors we loved this month: Smoked Beef Brisket, Deviled Egg, Salmon, Cornbread Pudding
New flavors we don't like: Tuna, also still not fond of ground beef.

Loves looking at herself in the mirror

Playing at the Children's Museum

Loves the water!

Daddy showing her a Butterfly at the Aquarium

Homestead (Belated) Update

Better late than never...I looked back at my previous posts and at the beginning of each one, I apologized for my lack of posts. This year, I won't be doing that. Not because I don't feel bad about my lapses between posts, but have come to the realization that LIFE IS BUSY. However, I do have a goal to post more often, whatever that might be. This is an update of the homestead projects that should have been posted about a month ago...The exciting part about that is I am hoping to post another (up-to-date) update in the next few weeks as I finish another few projects I have been working on. I just may be able to post a final BEFORE and AFTER of the homestead project in 2015 (fingers crossed). I am finally feeling like we are "settling" into our new home.
We also finalized selling our Farmwood House in 2014. A major blessing having sold it so fast...
We are excited to start 2015 off, officially, debt free :)

Projects seen in this post:
Decorated the house for Christmas
Finished painting the Bottom Cupboards in the Kitchen
Added storage in the Hall/Laundry
Finished Downstairs Bath
Fixed Upstairs Claw foot tub Faucet
Josie's Room***

**I am still struggling with Josie's room. It is a very small space. It is as organized as it could be, but still looks cluttered. Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated!

Projects changed/in progress for next post:
Kitchen Bottom Doors Painted and installed (completing the kitchen project!)
Upstairs Bath + Bonus Andrew Project
Wood Shed (outdoor)
Re-Arranging the Living Room/Dining

Here are some update pictures of the homestead....