A Polka Dot Party

Dominic's 1st birthday party was held on the Krenk farm at our annual family camping trip.  It was the first weekend in October and of course was the coldest day of the fall.  But everyone braved the cold and came out to wish Dominic a happy birthday (all except Aunt Carla and cousin Corbyn.  He was just too little and not feeling well to be out in the cold.)

Here we are singing Happy Birthday to Dominic and you can see Andrew starting to tear up.  He got so sad that Dominic was getting all the attention!

I had so much fun with this cake.  It turned out just the way it was supposed to...a polka dot cake for a polka dot party!

 

Thank you everyone for humoring me and wearing the party hats that I spent hours making.  Oh the things we moms do for our children!

The kids had fun exploring around the farm, but it was so cold that the moms left with the kids around dusk and left the guys to brave the 20 degree weather all night long! 

 

Happy Birthday sweet Dominic.  You are loved!

Our Bathroom Project

For a long time Jarod and I have been talking about redoing our master bathroom.  So this summer we finally went ahead and did it.  After getting a quote for what it would cost to have it completely done for us, my wonderful DIY husband made a list of all the things that we could do ourselves.  The biggest on the list was tiling the whole shower and bathroom floor.  He assured me that he could do it, despite my reservations.  I kept saying at different points through the process, "You know, I'm fine with calling someone to do it for us".  But no, he persisted and did an awesome job!  I am so pleased with how everything turned out.  Our list of things we did ourselves included...

primed and painted the cabinets,

installed new lighting,

painted the walls,

tiled the shower and floor,

painted and installed new baseboard and trim,

 put a frame around the existing mirror...

I think that about covers it. 



 

We hired out all the demolition of the old bathroom, plumbing, new countertop, faucets, shower base and glass door.

 

Since we did so much of the work ourselves we saved a lot of money, but our construction lasted over two months!  We didn't realize how much needed to be done and all the steps that took forever.  And with Jarod working every other weekend we didn't have a lot of time to devote to it all at once.  But it's done now and I couldn't be happier.

Jarod did such a good job with the tiling.  If you come over he will point out all the imperfections that are noticeable to only him.  But he's just being modest.

 

I always forget to take a before picture...so here are some midway pictures.

The cabinets were an oak color.  You can see the old linoleum, cream walls, countertop and sinks.

Jarod got lots of help along the way from Andrew who always wants to be doing what dad is doing. 

More September Birthdays

September is a busy month for birthdays around our house.  By the end of the month I was feeling a few pounds heavier from all the cake we've consumed around here!  My birthday came first, then Dominic's, then Jarod's, then Dominic's birthday party.  With all the celebrating we did, Andrew got pretty good at saying "happy birthday".  Although, I'm not sure how he felt about it.  The morning of Jarod's birthday I made a big deal about singing happy birthday to dad and halfway through, Andrew got a really sad look on his face and started to cry.  The same thing happened at dinner before Jarod blew out his candles.  Then again at Dominic's birthday party when everyone was singing he broke into tears again.  Not sure if he is sad because he wants to sing along but can't or if he's sad that it's not his birthday and we're not singing to him. 

 

We are now a minivan family.  I guess you could say it was our birthday present to ourselves.  We decided with the new baby coming my Chevy Equinox just didn't have enough space for three big bulky car seats.  Jarod did a lot of homework and in a matter of days we became proud owners of this Honda Odyssey Touring.  I love it!  It is so spacious and very technologically advanced.  I still don't know what half the buttons do so we are going back to the dealership for a refresher course!

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Dominic!

Dominic, on the morning of your first birthday Andrew, Dad and I greeted you with a "happy birthday" serenade. Oh, your cute little scrunched up morning face is something I look forward to everyday.  Since dad had to work late on your special day we had a breakfast celebration.  The first course consisted of another round of "happy birthday", a birthday crown, and your favorite food...a banana. 

 

 

We had the second course after dad worked out and we got you ready for the day.  We sang yet another round of "happy birthday", wore party hats, and devoured homemade cinnamon rolls. 

You have such a sweet tooth.  I knew you would dig right in and eat the whole thing. 

 

You have been a very happy baby throughout your first year of life.  You are such a joy to be around.  I have noticed you growing and changing a lot lately.  No longer do you sit quietly by yourself and play with your toys.  You now want to join in the fun with Andrew and love to chase him around.  You have an opinion about everything and you let us know it!  You are curious about your environment...which means you get into everything that you are not supposed to.  And every time I tell you "no", you look at me with your sweet innocent face which makes me so thankful that I get to be you momma.

 

 

Happy Birthday to my Dominic.  You have blest our lives in countless ways.

Boys

I can see the boys becoming good friends.  They really enjoy playing together.  Dominic loves to follow Andrew around and Andrew thinks it's funny that Dominic is chasing him.  Dominic has really been on the move lately.  He's not walking yet but he crawls incredibly fast.  It's amazing!  He is also starting to get into things he shouldn't, as all boys do.  His favorite activity at the moment is playing in the trash can. 

 

Andrew is such a good helper.  He seems to really look out for Dominic and wants to help him do things.  It's so funny to watch him help Dominic walk; and Dominic seems to like it too.  They can be so goofy together.  The other night while we were watching the Husker game they kept chasing each other on the couch and giggling so loud.  I don't know where they came up with that energy!

 

This is how I found them the other day when I walked in the living room.  The were sitting together watching a movie and Andrew kept handing Dominic toys to play with.  These moments make me smile.