jillian is 18 months! (and i'm totally gonna brag about it)

Holy smokes! I have a TODDLER! She is definitely out of the baby phase (and she won't let you forget it). 

She has learned SO much over the last few months. Around 16 months she learned the names of basic shapes (square, circle, triangle, rectangle, heart, diamond, octagon). After enough practice with those I taught her a few more and she just soaked it up like a little sponge: pentagon, crescent, trapezoid, hexagon. ...what 18 month old knows what a trapezoid is?? There are a few others that she can point to when I ask her, but can't quite say the name of (semi-circle, arrow, and spiral). I think I'll let those slide...haha. She loves when I "quiz" her on the names of them really fast- I draw them and she says what they are. 

She is seriously so bright. Sometimes its hard to entertain her because she gets bored of things that aren't interesting enough to her. She can count to 10 (though not always in order and she usually always skips the number 4). She counts EVERY thing- walking up and down the stairs, toys, food, etc. 

She just learned the names of some colors- blue, red, yellow, green and pink (sometimes she'll say orange).  

The iPad might be her favorite toy. It's scary how well she can get around that thing. She can turn it on by herself, swipe to unlock, and get in and out of all her apps. Techie baby!

She's extremely attached to two of her blankets that are the same but in different colors. If both are within eyesight, both are in her arms. If she wants the other one she'll say "another blanket!" and when you give it to her she says "two blankets!" 

 

Speaking of things she says, she says a lot. She talks in 2-4 word sentences regularly. She picks up words really fast (including when I accidentally say "crap" or "dang it"...oops). This has been one of the GREATEST things because she doesn't throw a fit when she wants something (most of the time), she just tells us what she wants. Halelujah!! 

She does throw fits (glorious, thrashing, screaming fits) when we take something away from her that she can't have. Terrible two's approaching? I think so. It's almost funny to watch though.

I have almost every word memorized in the same few episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse I downloaded for her. Girl is obsessed. She sings the intro song and it's pretty adorable. Her favorite characters are Minnie and Goofy (aka "Doofy"..all her g's are pronounced as d's). Her Grandpa got her a Minnie the same size as her. Most of the time she has to carry it over her shoulder in a fireman's carry to tote it around.

 

One of her favorite things to do is get a bath and use her bath crayons. She'll scribble all over the tub and then say "e i m m m e e m m". Soo maybe the alphabet will come next (right now she sings about every 4th to 5th letter when we sing the ABC's). 

She's in some weird phase right now where she is being a REALLY picky eater. Not fun. Obsessed doesn't convey her true infatuation with dairy products. Yogurt, cottage cheese, string cheese...it's a staple in her diet. In her opinion, vegetables are of the devil but any fruit is her best friend. I don't get it. 

                                                                   "Heck no I'm not eating that ravioli"

All in all she is so FUN! I love that I can talk to her and she'll talk back. I love that she pretends with her little toys like they're talking to each other and makes them kiss. I love when she brings me a plastic cup from her kitchen with one for her in the other hand and expects me to slurp up the imaginary deliciousness she just concocted in her play kitchen. I love that she tries to "hide" from me by laying in the middle of the floor curled up in a ball. I love this girl!

I've also recently had an epiphany. The thought of having another baby has terrified me. Another NINE months of pregnancy? Another newborn that never sleeps and wants to eat ALL the time? I'm hoping she'll be the only kid I have that has reflux- that was terrible (and probably the main reason I've been worried about little Houlin #2). 

The other day I was thinking about all of Jillian's "firsts"- first smile, first time she rolled over, first laugh, first word. Every time she learned something new I felt so incredibly proud of her, even though it could have been the tiniest thing. Then it hit me- THIS IS WHY PEOPLE HAVE MORE THAN ONE KID!! You get to experience all of those "firsts" all over again! The good firsts that make all of the "bad" or "scary" firsts tolerable. And for the first time, having another baby doesn't seem scary to me.

And that might be the scariest thought of them all. 

cabinets: before and after

I have way too much of an interest in home decor...is it lame to say it's a hobby? This has been done for a week or so by now but I finally have a spare second to write about it! Phase 1 of the main floor makeover is DONE!

Painting your cabinets may be one of the best and worst things you ever decide to do. Best because the transformation is probably needed and worth it. Worst because it takes for freaking EVER. Especially if you're doing it in 2-3 hour spurts when you actually have a spare second and then you get the flu right in the middle of the project, like me. Blegh.

But two weeks later, it is finally finished! 

Before: 

Blah oak color. I don't know what it is with me and that color of wood. I'm just not a fan. Too cabin-y for me. 

(like how my kitchen was so incredibly tidy in the before pictures? I also already started on the cabinets above the fridge, hence why they are already missing) 

After:

It really brightened up the whole room! I love it. Everything feels cleaner and fresher. 

I'm planning on putting more "after" pictures up after we finish "phase two" which is putting up bead board around the back side of the bar. 

I used the Rust-oleum Cabinet Transformations kit. Which is essentially TSP (Trisodium phosphate)- a wood deglosser, base paint with primer, and a polyurethane top coat (umm I think it needs to be said I just spelled polyurethane correctly the first time I typed it. No red line for me. I am awesome.) So if you don't want to pay the price of the kit, it would probably be cheaper to just buy those 3 things (though the kit does come with a glaze also if you wanted to do that as well).

Allow me to give a few tips, from someone who learned the hard way, if you ever plan on doing this:

- The "deglossing" part is the most annoying part, but the most important. If you're using TSP (or equivalent) you don't have to sand, which is great, but you do have to scrub the crap-ola out of it. 

- So you don't have to sand, but about half way through I lightly roughed up the doors with sand paper and wiped them down after the TSP and felt like those turned out a little better. 

- Start painting in the least obvious place in your kitchen (frames or doors). The painting technique takes a couple doors to get down solid where your brush strokes are even. I started in the most convenient place which was also the most obvious place, and those doors have more mistakes that I can see. 

- The kit instructions say to use 2 coats of paint. Bull. Mine took 4. Fortunately the paint goes a loonngg way. (This could have been because I painted them white, so there was more to "cover"). 

- It's really easy for drip marks to dry when you're painting, especially with the last clear coat. After you're done with each cabinet, run the paint brush along all of the edges again to collect any drips that may have formed. I also visually checked them after about 10 minutes for any drips. You can't get rid of drips after they dry without sanding them off and repainting. 

- When you're painting close the floor, especially the baseboards of the cabinets, I would double tape along the floor. So use two strips of painters tape next to each other. I only used one strip and got several paint spots on my floor (fortunately that's one of the things to go so I wasn't super worried). 

- Plan on eating take out or leftovers for however long the process takes. It's not worth the risk of using your kitchen a lot and messing up your fresh paint (especially the stove area) for a meal. 

WHEW. They didn't turn out perfect. If you choose to do a darker color I think any mistakes would be a LOT less obvious. But ultimately, it cost me $75 and I achieved the look I wanted to!

Phase 2: bead board around the back of the bar

Phase 3: New wall color on the main floor (I'm loving Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter! See?)

Phase 4: New flooring! I want to go with a darker wood. Right now it's a light oak (nasty) and brownish/gray carpet. The carpet isn't awful at all but I want it to be uniform across the whole floor. So goodbye carpet.

Phase 5: A new light fixture above the dining table. 

Whew!! We're (I'm) hoping to do all of this by the end of this summer! Can't wait! 

the good news

So after my last post and the mysteries surrounding the "James has good news but it can't be revealed until next week!" line, I got several text messages that night from friends asking what in the world was going on and why didn't they know? 

It's okay...It's not like he's pregnant...

The good news is: he got a new job! Yay! (I wasn't allowed to say anything until he put his two weeks notice in at work). He's been looking feverishly for the last several months in attempt to leave his current job. The senior management there is a joke and his hard work went fairly unnoticed. Kind of funny how it happened, because after months of interviews and second interviews and nothing after that, he suddenly got offers from three banks within the same couple of weeks. 

Decision time. 

The top two contenders were Goldman Sachs and RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland). We had essentially 12 hours to make a decision. AH! There were definitely pros and cons to each job, but we ultimately decided to go with RBS (James still can't believe he said "no" to Goldman Sachs!). We liked those "pros" better. He starts later this month. 

Unfortunately, that does not mean we are moving to Scotland.

twenty twelve

How is this year over already? I swear it was just a couple of weeks ago I was doing the exact same thing I am now- sitting on the couch watching Dick Clark's Rockin Eve on TV while Jillian and James are asleep. :-) I mostly likely will not make it to midnight to ring in the New Year (thanks to Nyquil), and I'm completely okay with that. 

Here are the top 12 moments for the Houlin family in 2012:
1. We bought a house!

2. Jillian turned one (and hated her birthday party.)


3. Jillian and I had an awesome trip to Florida in the summer.


4. I started teaching for Provo's online school, allowing me to be at home more.

5. James has good news that can't be revealed until next week!

6. Michaela lived in Utah for a while- it was awesome.


7. We got to see our California family that we hadn't seen in years!



8. I got a new car (that we had to drive to east itchy butt no where aka Kansas to get)




9. My family came to Utah for the week of July 4th and we had an AWESOME time up in Heber/Midway.


10. I went skiing for the first time.



11. James and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. I honestly think this has been the best year yet! I love that man!



12. Jillian had many firsts: crawling, walking, talking, etc.




I'm pretty excited for 2013!   Some things we're looking forward to:   1. Some big house updates!  2. James starting grad school. 3. We always said we would start trying for baby #2 when Jillian turned two (which is this summer)...so we shall see about that. 

things i'm thinking

In no particular order:

- I literally just googled "hairtstyles for toddlers with mullets." I didn't really find the results I was looking for (why you fail me google?!)..but Jillian's hair situation is desperate. Home girl has a mullet to the David Bowie-th degree. I did pin some cute ideas when she has more hair up top. In the mean time...I guess we'll rock the pig tails...daily. 

- Why did I decide to paint my kitchen cabinets again? Holy WORK Batman! My kitchen (and basically entire main floor) is a disaster area. 

 (see? Disaster zone.)

- I'm so over being sick. I asked James, "What if you couldn't breathe out of your mouth and you were really congested?" He said, "You'd die." I guess that makes sense. Good things we can breathe out of our mouths.

- Is it summer yet? All the snow outside is re-dic-a-lus. Not to mention anytime the door has been opened, a blast of arctic air shoots through the entire house. I haven't driven my car the last couple of days (or even stepped outside really- sick, remember?) and it wouldn't even start this morning. Umm...what? 

- Not ready for Christmas break to be over...but ready for all the Christmas stuff to be put away. Jillian's into straight up throwing the ornaments now..aye aye aye.

- I FINALLY found some new couch pillows I like at Target. HOL-E-CRAP I love Target! 

(every time folks)

a crafty christmas

I decided to make a lot of Christmas crafts and presents this year. Bad idea. I think I took on way too much. I was painting my last project on Christmas Eve. Everything turned out great (except for the tile sign I'm still working on for James' mom because my stupid Cricut is having issues). 

I didn't get pictures of everything, because I was too busy trying to actually finish them in time, but here are a couple: 

Sign for Nana (my mom):

I used the frame underneath to make a photo collage for my Dad of pictures of him with Jillian. 

Bibs and matching burp cloths for Jon & Sarah's new baby, Theodore:

And the project I'm most proud of, Jillian's table and chairs set. I got the set from Ikea for $20 (such a good deal). It comes in a rather boring wood/white combination...and that just would not do. 

The chairs are covered in scrapbook paper (the most adorable patterns I've ever seen). It took a LOT of time and a LOT of Mod Podge. The table is painted on the legs and has chalkboard paint on the top. So worth it, but so glad to be done with it! 

She loves it! Success.

christmas day

Merry Christmas! Here are some pictures (iphone quality-as most of them are) from our morning. 

In the wee hours of the morning, Jillian woke up around 1 with a fever (darn these molars!). We gave her some motrin and Benadryl (heh...) to help her get through the rest of the night. Thanks to Sir Benadryl she slept until 8:30! What a wonderful Christmas present. 

James' dad and brother were over for Christmas morning. It's always fun seeing them!

Jillian was over all a little confused. When we unveiled her kitchen and table, she was kind of looking at it like "What is this? For me?" And looking at us like, "Why the heck are you guys making such a big deal out of this?" Haha. She also didn't really get the unwrapping part of the presents. I'm sure we'll be in full force Christmas kid crazy next year (and all the years after), so it was nice to have a relaxed morning! 

In my family it's always a tradition to have a big Christmas brunch. And big it was. I'd been cooking nearly the entire day before and a good chunk of the morning! My efforts were not in vain. We had chunky cinnamon french toast casserole with fresh cream and berries, sausage quiche, spinach and mushroom quiche, sweet and spicy bacon, and fresh fruit. YUM-O. 

Also, I need to get on that gym joining thing like STAT. I ate a piece of cheesecake for lunch...just...cheesecake. 

***

Jillian's been having a rough few nights. It's guaranteed she'll wake up some where between 12-2 with a poopy diaper, runny nose, and a fever. Two of the three things we tribute to teething molars (death be to the molars). Christmas night proved to be no different, she still woke up. But this time she was on fire. Her fever was over 104 and she had a weird rash on her legs and arms that looked like clusters of purple mosquito bites. I called my dad (Dr. Papa) and he said go ahead and take her into the ER to get checked and make sure the rash wasn't a bacterial infection. Aye aye aye. Why do our ER visits always happen in the middle of the night? 

Anyway. We bundled up Jillian and headed down to Utah Valley, where it was far less than busy. Funny how things move so slowly in an emergency room. I guess they didn't want to be there either. 

They checked her out and gave her a strep test. After much thrashing and screaming and attempts on our part to hold her down to be looked at, they gave her some Benadryl for the rash (oh bless ye Benadryl). Jillian was cradled in James' arms when the nurse was giving it to her. She pulled away at the same time the nurse squirted the syringe and it ended up all over James' face. Classic. She was super embarrassed. The strep test came back negative and turns out it's just her THIRD viral bug this month. Kid can't stay well. 

We got back home around 3am. And now we're sitting on the couch watching the third episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Because we're tired, and we can. 

Merry Christmas!

a very, very cold date

Last week we went on our first date since Michaela (aka the best babysitter/aunt/sister ever) moved back to Florida- thanks Shelby! 

 (that's a really nasty picture of us...I know...but it's the only one I took)

We saw A Christmas Carol at the Hale Center Theater. They did such a great job! Makes me wonder sometimes how people in little Orem, Utah are so talented...and people like Kristen Stewart are the ones to make millions of dollars for "acting". Hmmm...

  It was fa-fa-freezing that night, which sucks because you have to wait outside of the Theater in line to get your tickets. 

There was a scene towards the end where Bob Cratchit visits Tiny Tim's grave and sings What Child is This? and snow falls from the ceiling. I couldn't help but tear up as that was the reality for so many parents in Connecticut this Christmas. Thoughts and prayers still with them. 

 

a christmas party

Saturday night we got together with aaaalllll the Abrea side of the family (James' mom's side) for dinner, games, and even some Christmas karaoke. It was a good time. We don't get together often enough, but when we do it's always a hoot. 

Crazy Argentinians...Argentines? We're not exactly sure...

 

thoughts on today

I was absolutely devastated at the news of today's events and the horrific tragedy that happened in Connecticut today. 

I've run that scenario in my mind before, as an elementary school teacher. What would I do? Would my hands stop shaking enough to lock my door? Would I be able to keep it together enough to know what to do to keep my kids safe? Do we run out? Do we stay in and hide? How horrible to actually have to think of those things.

After watching the news for several minutes about the events and new details that were coming to light,  before I even realized it I was praying that those babies would be blessed and their parents feel some kind of comfort. Because they were- babies. 

I don't know why horrible things happen. I don't know why people are called home before what seems like their time to go and in such appalling circumstances. I do know that every single one of those children is with Heavenly Father and has been embraced by the arms of Jesus Christ. I pray that their families will feel some relief tonight and in the days to come in knowing this. 

Several years ago when my youngest sister passed away, I came across this poem that I absolutely love. They're additional verses to the children's hymn I am a Child of God and how true they are.

I am a child of God and He has called me home.
My earthly journey's through but still, I do not walk alone.
He leads me, guides me, walks beside me, helps me find the way.
He welcomed me with open arms. I live with Him today.

I am a child of God and I have gone ahead.
My earthly life was brief but oh, such peace and love you gave.
You loved me, held me, stood beside me and though I cannot stay
You gave much to help me and I live with Him today.

I am a child of God and I will wait for you. 

Heavenly glory shall be ours, if you can but endure.
I'll lead you, guide you, walk beside you.
Help you find the way.
I'll welcome you with open arms
One bright Celestial day.