Simon turns ONE!

Simon loved the chaos of balloons and presents and wrapping paper on his birthday. He loved ripping open his presents and got lots of help from eager siblings. We got him an inflatable pool and a big bag of balls and he was beyond excited about the combination (actually, all of the kids were). We kept the pool in the house for a few weeks because he loved climbing in and out of it so much. The balls eventually made their way outside and into the trampoline.

I made Smitten Kitchen's S'more Layer Cake from her cookbook and it was so delicious.  The cake layers tasted like graham crackers and had a delicious chocolate filling. The meringue smelled just like a toasted marshmallow. And the best part was the excuse to use my kitchen torch. I also made a big cupcake for Simon to devour/destroy on his own.

birthday photo shoot

Simon turned ONE on April 17! He is a happy, busy boy and keeps everyone around here smiling and laughing constantly. He took his first real steps right around his birthday and is now cruising around everywhere, trying to keep up with himself. He still puts everything in his mouth (including a frog his siblings handed him the other day) and makes messes everywhere he goes. He prefers to be outside and learned very quickly how to climb up the ladder to the trampoline. He loves to play catch with any sort of ball, play in the water, and try to do anything the big kids are doing. I'm pretty lucky to spend my days with this little cutie.

dining room: before + after (phase 1)

I've always had grand plans to convert our formal dining room into an art room. A place to work on projects, do homework, play games, do art, etc. We already use it for all these things, but all of the art and craft supplies are very haphazardly stored in the closet under the stairs and not easily accessible. I ultimately want to create storage for all the crafting supplies in the dining room.

But for starters, I painted. Every single wall in our house was freshly painted an ugly beige color right before we moved in. And definitely not done by a professional. Or anyone that cared what it looked like. And not only that, they used FLAT paint. Flat paint on the walls! Not good. I struggled to find the right gray for the room but finally went with Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore. I really like it but part of me kind of wishes I had done something darker for a more dramatic look, especially with all the white wainscoting. But I wanted to keep it light since it's a project room. But who knows. Maybe it will be dark in the next set of photos.

Ben hung a new light fixture. I LOVE the new light and how much it has changed the look of the room.

We scored the gigantic table from the Crate and Barrel Outlet in Alexandria just a few days before we moved, knowing that we needed a big table for this room. (Can you believe that giant thing fit in the back of our minivan?) It's so nice to have a big work space. And the luxury to not have to put away in-progress projects and games to make room for dinner.

Before. Paint color decisions...

 And the after shots...

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Every time I think about sitting down to update the blog once the kids are in bed, something far more exciting steals my attention. Like sitting on our back deck watching the fireflies in our backyard. Our woods are completely filled with those fascinating little flashes of light right now. I could watch them all night. Painting has also monopolized a lot of time lately. We are very slowly getting rid of the ugly beige color which occupies every single wall in our entire house.

But back to the blog and April. After Amelia and I left D.C. we made a stop in Richmond for lunch and walked around the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Amelia loved taking photos of flowers and they had a fun children's garden to explore. It was fun to have that special one-on-one time with just Amelia.

Checking out the fairy houses.