Embarrassing that I haven't put anything up on here for a few months, but would you believe I've been busy?? Anywho, the most exciting thing about the holiday season, so far, has been creating our first family Christmas card! So fun! A big thanks to Andrew Gillman for the awesome photography work. Looking forward to an amazing holiday season, lots of food and...lots of wine and family!
The (Des Moines) Beechers
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Projects!
I am utterly frustrated with our technology situation here at the DSM Beecher household. JJ and I both have laptops that were fully capable...6 years ago when we bought them. Now they are painfully slow, crash constantly and make simple things (like uploading photos...which is of growing importance to me) quite frustrating. Pair that with our lack of reliable internet (we use a Sprint card and have a low signal) and blogs become week-long projects for me to get composed and posted. I think we need a new computer.
Anyway, pretending that I am able to write frequently, I am going to spread out the variety of my posts here. I love writing about Evan, but he's 7 months now and I'm realizing that not everyone may be so interested in things like the color of his poop or how many times he rolls over on the changing table while I'm changing his clothes (no less than 3 times, every time - for those of you interested). I've been taking on more projects trying hard to turn what used to be the polo club house into our home. However, our budget is about as limited as Evan reading abilities right now...pretty limited. And, I hate spending money for things that I'm pretty sure I could do myself. Most recent project: I've decided to take on stripping and refinishing and end table. It doesn't seem so hard, but it is the first time I've stripped varnish so there are umpteen areas it could go wrong. But what's a person to do when faced with a nice table for free...a gift from my parents garage of treasures? I mean, we could go purchase a table, but I just can't bring myself to drop $100 or more on a piece of furniture. I know...I'm cheap. But I also like to do things for myself. And again - its not in the budget. Here is the table (this picture loaded in only 15 minutes!).
Anyway, pretending that I am able to write frequently, I am going to spread out the variety of my posts here. I love writing about Evan, but he's 7 months now and I'm realizing that not everyone may be so interested in things like the color of his poop or how many times he rolls over on the changing table while I'm changing his clothes (no less than 3 times, every time - for those of you interested). I've been taking on more projects trying hard to turn what used to be the polo club house into our home. However, our budget is about as limited as Evan reading abilities right now...pretty limited. And, I hate spending money for things that I'm pretty sure I could do myself. Most recent project: I've decided to take on stripping and refinishing and end table. It doesn't seem so hard, but it is the first time I've stripped varnish so there are umpteen areas it could go wrong. But what's a person to do when faced with a nice table for free...a gift from my parents garage of treasures? I mean, we could go purchase a table, but I just can't bring myself to drop $100 or more on a piece of furniture. I know...I'm cheap. But I also like to do things for myself. And again - its not in the budget. Here is the table (this picture loaded in only 15 minutes!).
I have spent days now stripping, scrubbing, and scrapping away during Evan's nap time. It now looks like this.
Gross. Now I see why they plastered on the varnish.
Luckily, I have a can of black spray paint and a clear sealant spray paint. It won't look near as good as the nice wood table I had envisioned, but it will look decent enough to at least pass off as something I purchased at a garage sale. The good news is, Evan loves blueberries...or anything really. :)
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
A Mom's Free Time
I love fall! The cooler weather and shortening days have a way of inspiring me...the cool weather really wakes a person up! Almost 7 months into this parenting thing and I'm finally settling in and relaxing into things. Our nights seem more restful (we only wake up 1 or 2 times at night) and the days have a smidgen of free time in them as Evan has begun taking longer naps fewer times daily. What is a mom to do with herself?? :) Of course, I'm still cleaning up after the Dominican roommates (they leave next week) and keeping up with our family's daily mess, but I've got my routine down and can knock it out fairly quickly (although admittedly, I need to vacuum more frequently). I've begun to master my pacifier clip making skills and am pleased that other people are actually interested in buying them. Today (being that it's a little rainy and I don't feel like going out) I'm going to do some research on setting up an Etsy.com shop to market the products resulting from my need to create.
As inspired by my new favorite person/blogger/cookbook author, Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), I'm trying to hone my photography skills, too. There is nothing more I would love than to have a sweet camera like the Nikon D3, but - lets be honest - that's out of our budget (barring a winning lotto ticket). So, I'm setting my sights (no pun intended) on something more like the Nikon D90. I'm working on a black and white photo wall for our home at the moment. Here are some of the 200 pictures sister Katie and I snapped the other day. I need more practice, but I figure if I don't use the camera I have now, I have no business wanting a nicer one! ;) These were taken with our Nikon Coolpix camera, which takes great shots, but the photos print off pretty grainy if I use the zoom at all and it has a hard time capturing action shots.
Hope everyone is having a great fall so far!
As inspired by my new favorite person/blogger/cookbook author, Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), I'm trying to hone my photography skills, too. There is nothing more I would love than to have a sweet camera like the Nikon D3, but - lets be honest - that's out of our budget (barring a winning lotto ticket). So, I'm setting my sights (no pun intended) on something more like the Nikon D90. I'm working on a black and white photo wall for our home at the moment. Here are some of the 200 pictures sister Katie and I snapped the other day. I need more practice, but I figure if I don't use the camera I have now, I have no business wanting a nicer one! ;) These were taken with our Nikon Coolpix camera, which takes great shots, but the photos print off pretty grainy if I use the zoom at all and it has a hard time capturing action shots.
Hope everyone is having a great fall so far!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Best 6 Months Ever
Post doctor visit, we stocked up at Target |
Official stats: 18.25 lbs and 27 inches of pure joy! What a little bruiser...our little man cried for about .5 seconds after getting his 6 month shots and was smiling before we left the office. What a tough little bugger!
Didn't take long to figure the cup out! |
Evan helps Ainsley use the exer-saucer. |
Celebrating Tyse's Pregnancy in Marshalltown |
I have to say - I'm looking forward to the fall. Polo activities will be done mid-September and our roommates will eventually leave for their winter destinations (I will miss their company, but I'm definitely looking forward to only cleaning up after JJ and myself for a few months). Of course we're staring down the barrel at a whole season of Hawkeye tailgating and the 1st Anniversary of our marriage. How did I get so lucky? We have so much to look forward to! I leave you with a video of Evan and his buddy Jim (sorry it's sideways...our technology is extremely limited here). :)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Busy Busy!
Wow! It's been a busy minute since I've posted anything about out little guy! Things have been full and fun the past few weeks. We enjoyed a trip to Traer over the first weekend of August. The Wilson family BBQ and golf tournament couldn't have been on a more beautiful day and Evan enjoyed getting attention from many family members. We got some cute pics of him with his Great Grandpa Evan, Grammy Rhonda and (second) cousin Hayden. Riding in the golf cart with Dad during the shotgun golf tournament was pretty fun and new for Evan, too...If this kid doesn't grow up to love golf (like his cousin Jack), I'll be very surprised.
Evan and Evan |
Last weekend we had our first big road trip and Evan was a champ! I think being an awesome road-tripper runs in our family. ;) We drove to Spring Lake, Michigan for my friend Libby's wedding. The drive took us about 8 hours (although the trip out was longer with traffic). Our accommodations for the weekend were at the Holiday Inn, which was, for the most part, quiet and clean. We arrived on Friday and attended a cocktail party with all of the wedding guests. Evan was, as usual, very well behaved even though we stayed out long past his bed time. We have such a good baby! Saturday was rainy and Mom and Dad were a little tired from restless nights (it's so much tougher to sleep when I have Evan in a crib by the bed and I can hear every toss and turn!). So, we ordered pizza and at it in bed with cheap wine while Evan napped in his portable crib. It was my favorite part of the weekend! Just some laid back family time....which I can honestly say we haven't had all summer! The wedding was beautiful. I attended solo as Libby didn't want Evan at the wedding and we weren't comfortable leaving him with an unknown 14 year old babysitter in a hotel room at such a young age. But, JJ and Evan had fun walking around Spring Lake and I was glad to be able to see my friend's big day.
Relaxing after arriving in MI |
On Sunday, we drove home and got to see Lori, Mark, Brooke and Charlotte on their way out of town. I can't believe Charlotte is 1 year old...and running all over the place! I wish we could have spent more time with them!! But, we had fun visiting and seeing the cousins together. And we did get some bonus time with Papa Mark before our trip to Michigan, which was a nice plus! Brooke made Evan a super-soft blankie, which is now his favorite thing, ever. We have taken it nearly everywhere with us (except the YMCA where other kids have sometimes wandered off with the toys Evan beings). Having Charlotte here and being so mobile was a good tutorial on what we need to baby proof around the farm (ie EVERYTHING). We have lots of sharp edges, dirty/nasty rugs and flooring and open garbage cans, amongst many other small swallowable things. Thanks for being a sport about it all, Charlotte! Next time you come through, I promise a more baby/kid friendly abode.
Other than our travels the past few weeks, we've been plain old busy with fun things like checking out Dad's dirt work for the various new structures being built around the farm as well as feeding the ducks (actually, neither of these things have been the cause of our full schedules, but they did make for good photo opportunities). We are getting geared up for the rest of the month which is full of baby showers and family visits, as well as Polo on the Green (the huge polo benefit that occurs yearly at the farm) and hopefully a trip to the Iowa State Fair!
!!!!!Cousins!!!!! |
Practicing for tailgate season in Charlotte's chair. |
Evan and his Blankie |
Other than our travels the past few weeks, we've been plain old busy with fun things like checking out Dad's dirt work for the various new structures being built around the farm as well as feeding the ducks (actually, neither of these things have been the cause of our full schedules, but they did make for good photo opportunities). We are getting geared up for the rest of the month which is full of baby showers and family visits, as well as Polo on the Green (the huge polo benefit that occurs yearly at the farm) and hopefully a trip to the Iowa State Fair!
Lookin good, Dad...lookin good. |
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Polo Shots
We spent a long overdue day watching polo last weekend. Despite the heat, Evan loved it. Robin Allen, the wife of a long time polo player in town, has an excellent camera and snapped a few photos of Evan and I...which I LOVE because I have very few pictures of my little guy and myself (I'm always on the other end of the camera). I've always wanted be able to have a nice camera that take some professional quality pictures like these...someday I will! But until then, I'm so glad to have to have friends who do. And, of course, we have a wonderful little camera right now that does a fine job of capturing memories. But, I digress...enjoy these pictures!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
He-Man is 5 Months Old!
5 months ago today JJ and I saw Evan (or "He-Man" as we sometimes call him) for the very first time. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone since then! Even more unbelievable is how much Evan grows and changes every day. He's rolling and scooching all over the place, he comes up with new noises daily, he eats cereal mixed with a few veggies or fruit daily and he's thinks cartoons are the most hilarious thing in the world. He loves his books and stuffed animals and bath time has suddenly become a fun game of "How Much Water Can I Splash Out Of The Tub?". Evan's sleeping habits have him sleeping until sunrise, although lately he's been waking up a few times at night to have his pacifier put back in or for a quick snack. But, compared to those first few nights at home 5 months ago....he's come miles!.
HAPPY 5 MONTH BIRTHDAY E.R.B.!
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