Leaps and bounds

Aaron is hitting milestones like crazy these days. Maybe a week ago he started walking and now he wanders through the house just to enjoy walking.

He's started talking. All of my kids have done that really young, and he is proving similar. He also is shockingly capable at getting his point across without words. I don't remember the older two being so capable of expressing what they did not want so very young. Basically he points until we take him somewhere, grins maniacally if he gets what he wants, or shoves stuff away from him with a horrible how-could-you-possibly-offer-that-to-me look on his face. I've gotta say, I actually appreciate it. Having opinions is cool, especially if he's willing to share them.

He eats like a boss. He has mastered using a fork in a way that I'm pretty sure the other two didn't do for at least six months.

He climbs like crazy. His favorite things to climb currently are the couch, which he gets on by climbing on our mini recliners and then climbing over the arm of the couch, and the staircase up to Spencer's bunkbed. He does both of those things on repeat all day. Surprisingly, for as much as he climbs, he doesn't fall that often either, though the staircase is still tricky. If I could keep him off it, I totally would, but no such luck.

He roughhouses with both kids all the time and holds his own surprisingly well. Plus, he has a shriek that scares them off pretty quickly if he gets tired. Or really it brings me running to see who is killing him and then to break up the brawl, lol.

He went from having none but his bottom two teeth when we came home from Utah to having all four top teeth and a bottom one or two coming in.

He learned to give real kisses. He puckers up his lips and everything. This never gets old.

They love baths, despite the looks on all three faces.

 He likes to bonk things with his head. Kind of weird, and shocking and painful when he picks my head as a target, but whatevs. We're managing. Basically, he seems less and less like a baby and more and more like a toddler and it's kind of mindblowing. Time flies.

What we've done lately in pictures

 I've been refinishing some furniture this last week and finished it all on Wednesday. I'm kind of failing on taking final pictures, which I really shouldn't since I think I want to start doing more of this, but here's a few mediocre shots of some beautiful furniture.

Footboard I refinished for a friend.

Matching headboard. This bed was in incredible condition. It's probably 75 years old and not but maybe one crack in the wood. It was so fun to refinish it. I'm totally hooked. 

This is the matching vanity. I totally forgot to take a finished picture of it, but you can see the drawers in the background and it looked amazing when I put them back in.

The mirror that fits into the middle of the vanity.

And the other refinishing project I did. Again, the quality here is incomparable. This table is I'm guessing 45 years old and in pristine condition. The stain was all chipped and peeling, but it was so easy to strip and refinish. I was bummed that I had to give it back. 

Totally engrossed in their books on the way to church. 

Aaron loves this little chair. He can climb up himself and he finds all kinds of comfy ways to chill on it. 

We've had some crazy thunderstorms this week and the kids just love them. They get all decked out in their boots and jump in the puddles until they're absolutely soaked. I just sit on the porch swing and swing away and enjoy the storm. It's awesome. 

The pigtails! She had very particular directions for how she wanted her hair done that day. It makes me smile that she's finally interested in letting me do it instead of just pulling it right out.

This kid starts preschool in three and a half weeks. I'm simultaneously so excited for him and wondering how he could be at this point already. Time is a 'flyin.

I chopped my hair off last month and I'm totally in love with it. The ease of doing it just cannot be beat. I have no plans to go back ever. :) No more headaches from ponytails, taking the time to style it every day, figuring out what to do with it when I run, or generally worrying about it all. I'm a little weirded out about how much straighter it was when I first got it cut. It's grown out a bunch already and is curling in the back again. And when I wake up in the morning I have the most amazing bedhead ever.

Refinishing furniture

I have a friend that asked on my ward Facebook page if anyone could refinish a bed and vanity for her. I've dabbled in that work in the past, but a while back I read this post and was itching to try it out, so I told her I'd be happy to refinish it for her. Excuse the terrible phone picture, but this is the only shot I have of the original pieces before I started the work. The finish was really old and fairly thick, so it was hard to see the actual grain of the wood. There were some major gouges from whatever mattress had been used. But the moment I saw it, I saw so much potential for a gorgeous piece. It has lots of history for the family and is something they really wanted to preserve and use again, so I was excited to get to work.

This is a shot of the mirror of the vanity. The finish was just old and worn and dull looking. I was really impressed with the quality of everything though. This set is probably 75 years old and there was hardly a crack in the whole thing. I'm not sure what kind of wood it is made of, but it has lasted really well.

 So I got right to work stripping all the old stain off. I'd never used these particular products before and once I got the hang of it, it's like a dream to strip. Here's a picture of the side boards after I've used Citristrip on the one on the right. The old finish just peels right off. It's amazing.

This is after I had stripped and steel wooled and prepped the boards to restain. Look at that gorgeous grain that emerged when the old stain was gone! This isn't even the same kind of wood as the original piece.

 Another shot of the mirror all buffed and ready to stain. I'm still in the middle of this one, so this is the most updated picture I have of the mirror.

And here it's stained and just needs the tung oil to finish it up.

 Behold, the finished product! It is SO gorgeous. This is hands down my favorite color of stain, so I was so glad they picked it. What a difference new stain and finish makes to a beautiful old piece.

I can't believe how much satisfaction I got out of this project. I refinished my kitchen table years ago, but it was before I knew about the stripping process I linked at the top of this post. I sanded and sanded the top of the that table and I remember it being just torturous. Five years later it's pretty beat up again. But this? This was easy. There were lots of steps, but they all went fast. I'm so pleased with the result. I barely even got out my sander for this project. I used it to deal with those gouges, but that was it. I think I've found a new side business. :)