Let the Home Improvements Begin...

I have been staring at the gold door handles in my door for more than a year now thinking they could use a good updating.  A while back my friend Stephanie did this in her new house and I stored it in the back of my brain for rainy day.  Well, it wasn't really rainy, since that isn't conducive to spray painting, but I did finally get a round to it.

When all was said and done, it turned out way easier than I had imagined for the following reasons:
A) Braden took nearly all the handles and pieces off for me.
B) The spray paint dried pretty quick in between coats.
C) My door hinges were painted white not gold, so I didn't actually have to take any doors all the way off.
D) Braden put most of the doorknobs back on for me.  What? The kid has his own tool set, or two, what can I say?

Before and after

I LOVE the finished product.  They feel different in my hand, and they look like they cost about $30 a piece- which is what it would have cost me to change them all out.

Reasons why it was more work than I thought:
A) Getting spray paint off your hands takes a while.
B) Cranky babies WILL wake up the second you get prepped and ready to go.
C) Not paying attention to which piece goes to which particular door, may make for a fun puzzle to solve.
D) Your 5 year old son may want to help since his big brother gets to...

Here it is during the process.  I even pulled the hardware off in the bathroom, and off the double doors in the master.  That was tricky, but had to be done!

It really only took one good coat, but because of all the angles and sides a lot of the pieces took three or four shots to get it right.  The kids took special care to make sure all the screws got covered.  I really really love it and now the only complaint I have is that I really, really, really want to paint the doors.  We are going on almost TEN years in this house and it is time for a little lipstick and rouge.  I have plans to paint the master bed and bathroom this summer. And once I see that project complete, I will maybe tackle those drab by doors.  All 16 of them.  And closet doors, and baseboards.  Ah man.  I've got to get to work!

Changes in the Last 6 Months...

They really need to stop growing so fast......

Easter was Here!!!

Here are some pictures of the stuff I put out for spring and Easter.

Each year everyone in the family gets an egg. They all have their number and year on them. It's fun to see how many we have accumulated. Some of my favorites are ones Rusty has from when he was a baby.

And on to the Easter celebration.

First we had an egg hunt with our ward. It was super fun.  They had about 2,000 eggs for the kids to find.   I was pretty proud that my muffins, Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip,  were the first ones gone.  (I had even saved a dozen for home, and within minutes of getting back Brenner ate THEM ALL!) The kids had fun and there were a ton of people from the neighborhood. It was a great turnout.

The rest of the day way pretty relaxing. No games or errands really to run. We did some yard work and then the two oldest boys decided they wanted to swim.  It is still pretty cold but they had a blast.

We decorated a few eggs at the Becks that afternoon too.

Easter Baskets Sunday morning.

All dressed up in our Easter clothes.

Boston's first Easter! Don't worry, we did put shoes on him at church. After we went to the Becks house for dinner. Rusty made lamb on his Big Green Egg. It smelled really good, and everyone said it tasted amazing. I am a bad wife and didn't even try it.

This was my attempt at getting a cutesy picture of Boston during the egg hunt.  He was so curious about the grass I couldn't get him to look up!

 Egg Hunt!

 Checking out the goods.

Then we went over to my parents house to see everyone there.  Boss thought it was hilarious to pull at Nana's necklace. And then he found his way over to the famous wooden bowl of fruit.  I swear each child and grandchild has played with them.  He crawled nearly all the way under the table, hit his head and decided it wasn't so fun after all.

 (The bandaid on my mom's cheek is from a biopsy they took a day or so before. She wen track in this week and it was a basil cell carcinoma, so they took a bigger area out and hopefully got it all!)

 My child has paws, what can I say?

Ok, fun is over, time to rescue

The Beck Zoo!!!

Here's another ode to Pinterest! This was actually one of the very first things I ever Pinned. I am a little ashamed that I have taken advantage of my Dad's retirement and his skills with woodworking a little more often than I should.  After all the blocks he cut, I just happened to email him a picture. And then a few weeks later I asked if he wanted to see where I was going to put the zoo.  Then it got serious.

 (Here was the inspiration photo.  Source here )

He came and measured, started drawing plans. I was pleased as punch when he came over to drop it off! He asked me several times if I was sure I wanted it to be 6 feet tall.  I tried to impress upon him the amount of stuffed animals we have in this house. I did indeed want it 6 feet!

 Here is my Dad and silly Mom, with the jail.

 I got it out back and prepped for painting. The rest of the furniture is white so I knew this would need to be too.

 Making the most of the zoo before we got to painting!

It took more than a few cans of spray paint but I was so happy with the result! We set about filling and instituting a 5 animal rule. You see, the reason I felt we needed the zoo, was because the boys beds are all so full of animals there is almost no room for them!  So, now each night they get to 'release' 5 animals from the zoo to sleep with. It is hilarious watching them toss them up and in each night.

I made the sign with some wood from Hobby Lobby and I cut the vinyl with my Silhouette machine. Now I just need to get the hubby to attach it and the Beck Family Zoo will be officially finished!

 See, Dad.  Filled to the tippy-tippy top.  And I love that you have to be in the room, with the door closed to even see it!

Thanks Dad, you really are amazing.  I will give you a break before I ask for my next project...

Our 6 Month Boss...

So, the sleep training is going ok. During Spring Break we moved Brenner out of the crib and into the bunk beds with Berkley. He transitioned great. Other than he falls off the bed EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. We tried to put a side rail on, but it just doesn't work with the bed frame and mattress, so we figure eventually he'll figure it out, right?

 As part of this plan, we are trying to get him to stay full at night. So, we were given the ok to start him of rice cereal. We've been putting it in his bottles for months to help with reflux, but now he's eating off a spoon! He loved it from first bite!

Moving Boston into the crib has been pretty good.  The first few nights I didn't hear him wake up at all. But according to Braden and Rusty he had some good crying spells.  I guess I was too tired to hear him.  I am taking it night by night. Some nights I will get him up and feed him in the night, other times I just give him his paci, or just let him cry.  He can put his paci back in himself, so that helps (and me putting a dozen or so in there with him).

 This kid LOVES his jumperoo.  He is so funny. He loves to sit in there and watch his brother play outside.

 After a day or two of rice cereal we let him at the good stuff.  He is hilarious during feedings! He opens his mouth as soon as he swallows.  And follows you with the spoon until you give him another bite.  He hold my hand so I can't go anywhere but straight to his mouth!

 He even plows through peas for crying out loud.

 Brenner and Boss are becoming such friends.  I love how he talks to him. It's so sweet. He loves to swing with him, and he is even gentle enough to push him, sometimes.

He is MOBILE people.  Not crawling, per se, but he gets around for sure. He goes up in a bear crawl stance and then launches himself forward.  He is still the most ticklish thing you have ever met. He laughs when you change his clothes, change his diaper- especially if he's poopy, or eat his feet.  He is such a good sport about being lugged around in the car to preschool drop off, baseball practices and grocery shopping. He does still cry in the car sometimes, but usually just when he is reflux-y or really tired.

I can hardly believe he will be 6 months old this week! Ack! I guess it has been a blur, a sleepy slept blur. But I can say that I have gotten more sleep this week than I have in the last 6 months, so that is a step in the right direction!

Berkley is on 2 Wheels!!!

After trying to convince Berk that it was indeed NOT COOL to go to Kindergarten with training wheels on your bike. So after a month or so of saying we were gonna take them off, he finally consented one afternoon. I was watching on the cameras and not one minute later he was off on his own! I grabbed the camera and ran out to get pictures.  He was telling his Dad he didn't need to chase him. He was fine.

Way to be Berk! You will look so great riding to school with the gang in the Fall!