Zoo Again

We took a trip to the zoo again today.  Paisley got to feed the giraffes. 

Unfortunately, there are no pictures for today's blog.

P threw our camera over the giraffe's fence.

Mrs. Priscila's Non-Daycare

P started her first week at Mrs. Priscila's NON-daycare!

She had a wonderful time. 

She was in such a good mood every evening

because she had so much fun during the day at Mrs. Priscila's house.

She looks like such a big girl with her backpack from Gram & Pap.

Here's a few things P is learning at Mrs. Priscila's house:

Keyboarding 101

Manners

Making friends

(This picture of Ava cracks me up.)

Defensive Driving

Protesting

(I have no idea.)

Dating.

Trent wasn't too fond of this. :)

This is our friend Jen's son that happens to live across the street from Priscila.

And how to put her shoes on.

As you can tell, we only send P to the most prestigious childcare centers.

Ok, that may not be true, but we do only send P to the most loving homes.

I am so thankful for God bringing the Koch family into our lives

so that Paisley has a wonderful place to go every day

and can play with her friends while I go to work.

Though I miss her, I am never worried about her because I know she is in great hands.

Slippin' and Slidin'

We went to a birthday party this weekend. 

Paisley had fun in the water, particularly the slip & slide.

She started out in the pool...

But she soon discovered the slip & slide, and never looked back.

Believe it or not, this is her "RIGHT ON!!!" face.

She liked just chillin' in the jacuzzi at the end of the slip & slide.

The Kitchen Makeover

Well, it is finally finished.  Trent and I started this kitchen project about 3 weeks ago.  I had found images of super cute DIY play kitchens from old entertainment centers on Pinterest.  I guess Trent also thought it was a good idea, because after hunting for cheap entertainment centers on Craigslist for a couple months, Trent surprised me by bringing home this baby one day:

What you can't tell from these pictures is how heavy the entertainment center is.  Trent paid $20 for the entertainment center (quite a deal since they were asking $25), but had to pay a spectator $5 to help him get it down the stairs of the apartments he picked it up from.  Apparently he picked it up in a sketchy part of town, and may have contributed $5 to a potential drug dealer/user, but in the end, we had our $25 entertainment center that was just waiting to be molded into a beautiful play kitchen.


We began by taking all the doors & fixtures off the E.C., sanding a bit, priming, and painting the E.C.  We chose to paint the kitchen white because that is the color we already had on hand!  The whole point was to build a play kitchen that was more awesome, but way cheaper than the plastic, store-bought kitchens.

We bought bead board for the back of the entertainment center. 

We bought one sheet for $17.

This picture is to prove that I actually did some of the work, but don't be fooled.  My presence was actually not important at all, except that I did play a big role in the art and design direction, and that is a BIG deal!

We painted inside the "oven" black. 

We already had black paint, so again, no money was spent.

We also painted the inside square of the "oven door" black.  The door was flipped so that the hinges would be at the bottom of the E.C. instead of the side and actually open like an oven door.

Here are some purchases that we did make in the process:

Sundays at the local thrift store is 50% off everything.  Stuff is DIRT CHEAP!

We bought all the items here for $4.50.

The telephone is a huge hit and the serving tray will be spray painted and decorated for the kitchen.

The next two items are Wal-mart purchases. 

Sink fixture: $10.00

This set with a baking pan (for sink) and cookie sheet (for decorated magnetic board)

was on the clearance rack for $3.00.

Trent did most (mostly all) of the handy work.

Tada! We have a kitchen sink.

We had some extra knobs (from P's dresser we redid when she was born) that we decided to use for the oven/stove knobs.  We also used old CDs as the burners on the stove.  The only purchase made was for the black spray paint: $4.00.

Finally, we have a completed kitchen. 

 All that is left is to decorate the kitchen and make it beautiful!

Oh and let's not forget the kitchen necessities: food & dishes.  No money was spent here (by us) thanks to Gram & Pap!  Pap also helped Trent move the kitchen into P's bedroom so she can enjoy playing with it while the finishing touches are being added.

Now all Paisley's kitchen lacks is a window.  I purchased a poster print from Walgreens while they were running a 40% discount.  I decided that her kitchen window should look out into our very own backyard.  I think that was a great decision, as everytime she looks out her window she says, "Doggie? Woof Woof."  She can keep an eye on Harley while she is cooking.



The window frame was spray painted, and then finally hung on the kitchen wall.

And now...the finishing touch! Curtains that my dear friend with mad skills was gracious enough to make for me since I lack the sewing talent.  Trent actually picked out the fabric, which really surprised me.  He has pretty good taste.

Total Cost Break Down:
Entertainment Center - $25.00
Bead Board - $17.00
Accessories - $4.50
Sink & Fixture - $13.00
Spray Paint - $4.00
Fabric for Curtains - $10.00 (estimated guess)
Dowel Rods - $2.00
Window Poster - $10.00

TOTAL: $85.50

According to the Toys R Us website, play kitchens range from $40.00 to $200.00.  So maybe we didn't accomplish making the cheapest play kitchen, but at least it is quality material and MADE WITH LOVE! (And did I mention all the storage space?  I can see many things being stored in the "fridge")  P has already enjoyed talking on the phone while making many new recipes and serving juice to her daddy and me.  I look forward to trying many more new dishes from Paisley's kitchen.

Let's Play

I have a ton of photos from the past several weeks that are just waiting for their chance to be seen on this blog.  Therefore, I have sacrificed this time that I should be cleaning house to upload these photos.

Goin' Shopping! Bye Bye!

P loves the sound of her shoes tapping on the floor.

This is her tap routine...with a little extra spunk.

P has become a big fan of her baby dolls lately.

P speaks French and calls them "bebe".

She takes her bebe to the store...

Shares her chair with her bebes...

And of course gives her bebe lots of love.

P loves talking to her Gigi and Gram on the phone.

I forgot to mention in my last post that another favorite word is "HI!"

She yells it when answering the phone or just walking outside to the backyard.

She will hold her arm up and wave to anyone and everyone, shouting "HI!"

The funny thing is, there is usually no one there for her to say "hi" to, but she doesn't care.

P also likes to brush her own teeth like a big girl.

I can't wait until P starts her "dress up" phase.

She already enjoys wearing her sunglasses and carrying her purse.

Mom still has to help put the glasses on her face.

P usually just gets them around her neck and wears them like a necklace.

We already know that P LOVES her new swimming pool.

She gets in it every day...several times a day.

I don't even know what to say about this picture, but poor Harley!

We try not to let P abuse our dog, but she loves him so much and just can't help herself.

I did try this experiment...once.

I think I will wait a while before I add milk to her cereal again.

Paisley's friend, Paisley, turned one. 

Paisley was nice enough to share her new "Paisley" chair with Paisley.

Paisley's mom was lucky we didn't walk out with Paisley's chair! ;)

P actually surprisd me by actually "pinning" the sticker to the cupcake, instead of just eating it.

P discovered the water hose.

 I think the water hose won.

P seems to get into predicaments like this one often.

Yay! Oreos!



Bear Hugs!

The End. 

Now I guess I must clean house. Ugh.