Gwen's Kitchen!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

Here's the kitchen we built for Gwen for Christmas. (We celebrated our Austin Christmas this morning.) We tried to use mostly recycled, used, and leftover materials to keep down the costs. We splurged on chalkboard paint and the handles for the oven and fridge. The knobs for the stove are from a cheap old vintage guitar. Megan sewed the curtains as well as several food items! Most of the wood comes from old kitchen cabinets we bought at a salvage yard. We had a lot of fun with this project, and we hope Gwen continues to play with it for years to come.


Here, Gwen has her eye on some delicious corn on the cob that Megan hand sewed.






We're still looking for the right wire rack to use as a shelf in the oven, but here's a look with the doors open.


(Some last minute adjustments to the oven door)

Setting the timer for the cupcakes

Happy Halloween

Sorry this is overdue. Everyone else had their Halloween photos up long ago, but at least I got them up before Thanksgiving, right? Gwen loved being a cat for Halloween this year. Here are a couple of pictures and a video from the big day and one from a trip to a pumpkin patch.

Hot Cross Buns at 17 months

(It was chilly out this morning, and we had just come into the studio from outside.)

Gwen is really into piano, and she knows her colors really well, so I thought I'd try teaching her some songs using colors. I'm not sure that color reading transfers well to note reading in the long term, but I'm writing the note letters on the colors to help with the transition. When Gwen starts to get this down, I'll put the colored notes on the appropriate place on the staff.

Camping!

It was another first for Gwen this weekend. We headed out to Pedernales Falls State Park for Gwen's first camping trip. I reserved a campsite in advance because the campsites at Pedernales usually fill up quickly, especially when the weekend forecast calls for perfect fall weather as was the case. On Saturday we packed up our bags and prepared for some ol' fashioned car camping--coolers, comforters, pillows--we didn't want to rough it too hard on Gwen's first night under the stars! But when I called to confirm our site, I learned that I had accidentally made the reservation for the next weekend, and all the campsites were full! All that was available were the primitive sites which required a 2.5-3 mile hike in. OK, so maybe we were going to rough it. We rethought and repacked and ditched the cooler idea, the pillows, and brought our ultra-light stove, and prepared for some backpacking. When we got to the park, the park attendant was kind enough to give us the last car-camping site that they reserve "just in case." So we didn't have to backpack after all. We had a great site, watched a family of deer graze near our tent, ate some tacos, and enjoyed perfect weather. Gwen seemed to really enjoy the trip.

She slept between us in the tent, and at first all she wanted to do was play instead of sleep. Megan and I both closed our eyes, trying to pretend we were asleep, but for about 30 minutes Gwen kept tapping us saying, "Momma? Dadda?" Then pulling our hair, scratching our noses, climbing on us, Gwen persisted. It was hilarious, but we stayed strong, didn't laugh at her, and eventually she fell asleep.
We can't wait to go again!

Zilker Park

Gwen and I went to Zilker Park this morning. Gwen is a beautiful baby, and Austin is a beautiful city.

Colorado Vacation

We're having a great time here at Pops and Babs' house in SW Colorado. Gwen has hiked on the Blue Lakes Trail and also at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. She seems to really enjoy going for a "ride" in the hiking backpack. She loves to point and say "mountains," and she's enjoyed seeing all of the animals here in the mountains, especially a few close encounters with deer. During her time here she's become a full-fledged, independent walker. Sometimes she doesn't even want to take your hand if you offer it to her. She's also started counting to ten and reading letters. So far she recognizes A, O, and S.

Fish Face

Yeah Gwen!

Gwen at 13 months

OK, so she's still not really walking. She stood by herself for more than a minute and took a few steps about 6 weeks ago, and we thought she'd be walking all over the place in a matter of days. She has not shown much interest in walking by herself or standing on her own since then. Everyday she walks from Megan's office all the way to the car while holding my hand (it takes a while.) So she's getting in a lot of practice. She'll walk when she's ready.

She's dang smart for a 13-month old, though. Here's a video. Oh, and in that one verse, Megan was just mixing up the words to "Ol' MacDonald" to see if Gwen was paying attention.

Happy Birthday, Gwen!

Thanks to everyone! Gwen really enjoyed her first birthday!

Bull Creek

Grandma came to visit a few weeks ago, and we took Gwen to Bull Creek park. Gwen loved splashing in the water, but her shirt got soaked. Here are a few pictures: