Room Reveal: Dining Room

It was pointed out to me by an Instagram friend that I spelled 'grateful' wrong. And now I have to spend another 20 minutes re-doing this chalkboard to get it the way I want it. True Life: It might actually stay this way for a while. 

At the beginning of last year I started doing a house reveal one room at a time..deep cleaning, finishing any and all projects, then posting to the blog after everything was finished. It was kind of my 'reward' for checking things off my list. But you might remember we took on a pretty massive flooring project last year, which is why the three main rooms in the house (which is more like one HUGE room), the living, dining, and kitchen...have not yet had their reveals.

So today our dining room gets its chance to shine. I'm cheating a little because I do have one project left to accomplish in this room (sanding, staining, and sealing the buffet to match the new table) but I'm calling it done enough.

Now for a painful trip down memory lane...

I almost can't even look at these. Lord have mercy, there was a bird feeder on our deck. AND VERTICAL BLINDS.

Our dining room looked like this for two years and I'm almost having a seizure looking at these pictures...no one should let 21-year-olds purchase and decorate houses.

These pictures are all pretty close-up, so it's hard to get a good idea of how BAD the floors were.

I'm looking through all my house pictures on Facebook and finding I did too good of a job 'hiding' our floors whenever I took a picture of something. DARNIT. Long story short...the guy who owned this house two owners before us had a hot tub where our dining room table is. Hence, the random square of tile flooring. The weird fluorescent light that hides above the (then purple) accent wall is there because...that's what you did with a 90's home renovation. FLUORESCENT LIGHTS! And finally, and my personal favorite...we have a fan vent instead of a lighting fixture in the ceiling above where a NORMAL PERSON would have had a dining room table. What a blessing.

Our dining room looked like this for another couple of years...notice the hodge podge of rickety chairs around the table. Nothing has ever matched, some pieces have been found in dumpsters...what I'm saying is...IT WAS TIME FOR THE GORGEOUSNESS I'm about to reveal.

But first, a short Boersma-table-history. The first table we had came from my parents' garage and it was my very first re-finishing project (it's an antique, so it's gone to live with my parents for a while...this time NOT in the garage). The second table we had came from what the Boersma family likes to refer to as, 'The Smoke House.' This was a rental property Josh's parents purchased, and the previous owner was a chain smoker...thus coating everything with a nice, thick nicotine scum. Walls, fixtures...and table included. I cleaned it up and it lived with us 'on loan' until Josh's brother got a house and then it went to be with Nate and Hannah. The third table to make our dining room 'home' came from our acreage. More specifically...the barn. It was covered in dust, bird poop, and many other mysterious dirty-barn substances. I came very close to throwing it in the burn pile, but because it has metal claw feet, it tugged at my heart strings and made the trip back to Ames to be cleaned up and brought inside...where it was covered with a table cloth the majority of the time. ;)

Thank God I had the common sense to paint over that purple...

The ceiling vent issue has not yet been remedied because it would be seriously annoying to fix...electrical is one thing...but the drywalling and texture-matching that would follow...Josh might leave me if I request one more project. So I found these lamps at Lowe's today for $28 each, called it good, and saved my marriage. ;)

Picture this buffet stained the same dark color as the table I'm about to show you...

The wreath is seasonal...I do very little decorating January-March so I can clean every inch of the house and declutter. Also please ignore the ugly grill outside.

It seats six comfortably, but can easily seat 10. It's from the Canadel line at Homemaker's and I got to pick some of the finishes and details, which was really fun. And also why my mother-in-law made the trip with us to be the helpful expert and voice of reason. I was ready to nix the bench and the additional inches to make the table bigger (due to the extra cost) but she encouraged us to just do it or we would probably regret it later. As per usual, she was right. We figured if we're planning to buy one dining room set in our life...we might as well make it count. I also wanted to pick something that would be perfect for our future farmhouse, and felt like this was definitely it.

I should also mention, this is the exact table I've had my eye on for three-and-a-half years. Every time we were at Homemaker's I would go 'visit' it just to make sure it was still the 'one.' It's also the only one Josh and I have ever totally agreed on...so that in and of itself made the decision a fairly easy one.

The best part is, we sit at the TABLE for meals now instead of at the island or in the living room in front of the TV. I feel like we're finally grown-ups...I can only think of one thing in our house that was found on curb! This is progress!

One more thing...HOW GOOD DID MY HUSBAND DO ON THOSE FLOORS YA'LL?! It actually THRILLS me to clean them. No joke. It's so much better than the tile/carpet/linoleum/more linoleum combination we had in this space before. I'll be doing a floor blog sometime soon...the whole thing has taken more than a year (and we're not even finished yet...trim, transitions, etc.) so that's something everyone can look forward to. :)

Our first dinner guests are set to arrive next Wednesday and I am beyond thrilled we finally have a beautiful table to share with our family and friends. It just warms my freaking heart to think about all the Easters and Thanksgivings and Christmases that will be shared around this table...and the play-dough and paint that will be played with...and the rowdy teenagers that will sit and do their homework here. I simply cannot wait for all the memories. :)

MmB

Maverick's Favorite Things

Maverick thought everyone should know about the stuff he loves too...he's the reason I have all those favorite momma things, after all...so here are my his tops and why we he loves them.

Graco Duet Connect Swing & Bouncer

I am all about this two-in-one, three-in-one stuff. We have no room for multiple, large, pieces of baby equipment in our living room all at once so this thing is perfect. Why do babes need so. much. machinery?! Finding pieces that have more than one purpose is my jam. BONUS, it comes in a black/gray/tan color scheme (and tons of others), so again...not offensive to look at! It took a while before I found what I liked, but this thing is amazing. The swing plugs in, has six swinging settings, and plays music or white noises (Jamie prefers Beethoven, I prefer water). When I want to take Mav to the kitchen while I make supper or the hallway while I get ready, the bouncer clicks off the swing base and I can set him anywhere. The seat vibrates on two settings with a D battery, but I've found Maverick is pretty indifferent about that. Then when I'm ready for him to swing again, the bouncer just clicks right back on. Seriously...I'd never seen anything like this before and I'm SO GLAD I discovered it in time before I 'settled' for something else.

*We also have the three-in-one high chair and they sell a matching pack'n'play/yard in the same color scheme, which we don't have but I can appreciate. My guess is we'll also love the high-chair for its dual functionality, but I'll let you know when we get there...I'm waiting to get that out once the swing is put away.*

Baby Monitors

We wanted to stay so unbelievably simple in this area. When it safely applies, I very much fall back on the mantra, "My mom didn't have any of this crap when we were babies and we survived." So we went for the most basic baby monitors out there to use when we run to the basement to work in the storage space, to visit Jamie, Josh is working in the garage, we're fire pitting, on the deck, or we're spending the evening in the hot tub once Mav is in bed. It works perfectly for all those reasons...and other than that, I feel like I don't really need to have my eyes on him constantly. While I obviously care about how my baby sleeps, I think it's helped me obsess a lot less about his sleep habits, wondering what he's doing in there, feeling bad watching him cry it out, etc. When/if we end up with two babies in the same bedroom, I could see us getting a video monitor to keep an eye on a toddler and an infant in the same room...until then, this $26 model is working great.

Baby Bjorn Carrier

I'm not a huge fan of this 'movement', but I am a fan of wearing Mav when it comes to bleachers, antique shops, and thrift stores. So far those are the only places I've found where I can't (safely) lug his carrier or walk him around with the stroller. And Maverick doesn't complain since...you know he's being held. Which means I can shop until I drop (even squeeze in the tiny booths!)...or take in an MNW football game and he doesn't make a peep for three+ hours. I did very little research before choosing this carrier as the ONE I would buy...in fact I went to Target the afternoon before the football game to find one or we wouldn't be going (the MNW bleachers are...treacherous) there were four to choose from...this one was a brand I liked (based on other products we own) and it came in black. Done and done. It easily adjusts, I can stick him in there on my own (although it took a time or two with assistance when he was super tiny), and he can face in or face out now that he's older. We love it.

***I think we would have used this even more if Mav was born earlier in the summer/fall season. I could see this thing coming in handy for apple orchards, hay rides, bonfires, walking around at Twin Lakes...stuff like that. It just got too cold to take him out and about that way.***

Room Essentials Kitchen Towels (used as burp cloths)

Skip the fancy, expensive burp cloths and towels and go for something plain, cheap, big, and useful. Everything I found in the stores was too 'cutsie' and annoying or too expensive to make sense...the cute ones on Etsy are always too small. For the love, I just wanted something PLAIN. So a week before Mav was born I realized I hadn't settled on any burp cloths and we would definitely be needing some SOON. While Jamie and I were taking a casual lap around Target, we landed in the kitchen section and I decided these would work just as good or better then anything I'd seen in the baby department. Five months in and they totally do. They're white so they go with every outfit and they don't look obnoxious laying around the living room (are you noticing a theme here?)...also...THEY'RE CHEAP! We bought two packs and that's been more then enough.

Monthly Numbers

These are just the best things ever. Ours were a gift from the wonderful Angie Carson, who was able to find the PERFECT set for Maverick...each month is a new woodland creature! It makes taking his monthly pictures a breeze. Seriously, there is nothing easier than smacking a sticker on a white onesie and snapping a few pics. There are tons of options on Amazon, on Etsy, or in the baby department at basically any store.

Baby Bjorn Travel Crib

This is a little weird, but YEARS ago when I was following this blog, I read a 'favorite things' post (similar to the one I'm doing now) and filed this little piece of information away for when I might need it someday. The 'pack'n'play' she was describing sounded like the. shiz. Let me tell you...it totally holds up. It's SO EASY to put together...goes up in 30 seconds or less! It's super light so I can carry Maverick, my purse, the crib, AND another bag or two AT THE SAME TIME (if you're like me, taking one trip to the car in the winter is always the goal). It's black, so if there comes a day when I need to have it up in the living room or dining room to 'contain' him for an extended period of time while I run around the house doing stuff...it's not offensive to look at. Sheets are easy to find (Auntie Hannah found him these on Amazon) and I just keep those on the mattress pad so they're already on when we set it up. It's also small and really easy to store. It is on the pricier side, but baby #1 is when the gift cards are plentiful...do yourself a favor and buy the stuff you love in the beginning so subsequent babes can all get good use out of it. Watch for sales and use your Target card for 5% off and + free shipping.

Graco FastAction Travel System

I've heard differing opinions about this brand, but I tell you what...so far we've loved everything about the Graco products we own. This car seat and stroller are no different. Despite what some mom's prefer, I really did want the 'Travel System' with the stroller and car seat because we don't have room for multiple strollers around these parts...but finding a stroller I liked that worked with a car seat I liked, in the color I wanted did prove to be a challenge. Especially when the one I landed on was SOLD OUT for MONTHS at Target before Maverick was born (coincidentally we saw the exact same stroller about 100 times at the fair...which sort of explains why it was always sold out. Apparently it's a popular model!). I love how the car seat clicks in and out of the stroller so easily and I like how smooth the stroller rides. The metal wheels make the stroller feel a lot stronger and sturdier than some of the similar models with plastic wheels. The car seat is about as light and ergonomic as they come, but let's be honest...those huge, heavy baby carriers are all kind of the worst. In the few months we had to use the stroller and car seat before winter, we really loved it...I'm thinking we'll feel the same way this spring and summer when we're on walks, at the pool, and outside with Mav all the time. The beauty of online shopping today is that if you get it and hate it, you can take it back to the store and try again.

Ikea Trash Can

I'd skip the Diaper Genie and go for a basic $10 trash can with a pedal and a flippy top (is that what they're called??). Medium-sized, off-brand garbage bags fit this one, no problem. The inside bin has a handle and is removable for easy cleaning too. I wasn't positive about this when we bought it (seven months before Maverick was set to arrive may have been jumping the gun) but for $10 I was willing to give it a try.

Baby Einstein on YouTube

Can I just say...THIS CRAP IS AMAZING. It's so annoying, but entertains our little man at his crabbiest (evenings or right before it's time to eat) like a dream. Once Maverick got a little bigger, was more alert, and started noticing his surroundings more (and I was closer to feeling back to myself) the endless hours of Today Show followed by Gilmore Girls and Kardashians during the day while we both napped and lounged were not going to cut it anymore. Our TV has YouTube capability, so I just pick a new 25 minute clip every day, plop his bouncer in front of the TV, and let him learn about numbers and mammals and countries from a zebra puppet. It's completely ridiculous and I'm not doing it because I think it will actually make him a genius by the age of two...it just seems like a better option than Kim K.

Ikea Dresser

I think most of my mom friends have jumped on this bandwagon because it's genius...gone are those 'changing table' days. What in the world does someone do with a changing table once it's no longer needed? It goes to a basement or an attic never to be used again. Instead, you can buy a shelf or dresser or bookcase, pop a changing pad on top and voila...a changing table! When we're done with babies, we still have this huge, amazing, pretty dresser to use in big kid bedrooms (or since it's bigger and nicer than ours, maybe I'll steal it!). I opted for the larger IKEA dresser so I could hide all of Maverick's nose suckers, diapers, wipes, paci's, Tylenol, socks, lotion, Q-tips...all that annoying (colorful) baby stuff in the smaller top four drawers. We have small rooms in this house and the more stuff we have 'sitting out', the more it seems like the walls are closing in on us. I keep things tidy by having that stuff put away at all times, and those spacious drawers make that a lot easier.

White Noise App

I couldn't find a good link to this, I just searched 'Baby Sound Machine' or 'White Noise' in the app store, was able to find something I could stand listening to. I'll reiterate...our house is small, we've got girls living in the basement, our laundry room is right next door to Mav, and ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars are a sound we hear hourly at our house. Not to mention the snow plows, semis, and LOUD traffic zooming by right outside Mav's window (NOT complaining about any of those things, I'm obsessed with our house, I'm just explaining). I can't be sure, but I think this is the reason he generally naps and sleeps so well (we've had a very odd week that I'll cover in his six month update). It blocks the sound of whatever we're watching in the evenings, the friends we have over late at night, and seems to be pretty effective at getting Maverick to sleep in foreign places (within reason). I have it on the iPad and my phone so if we're somewhere and we want to use the iPad for Netflix or something, I just use my phone or I can always leave my iPad with whoever is watching him.

Disposable Diaper Bags

This genius little number was something I had never seen or heard of before I opened it from my friend Erin at a shower. I keep it in the diaper bag so if we're out and about somewhere or spending the day at someones house and throwing a dirty diaper in their trash can is not ideal, I can just tie that dirty diaper up in one of these little baggies. Then, throwing it in their bathroom or kitchen garbage isn't gross at all because it's already sealed in this amazing, fresh bag. Tossing it back in the diaper bag is also option and it avoids that dirty diaper banging around in my diaper bag. They come with a nice fresh scent and you can buy bag refills in the baby department.

Infantino Play Mat

Apparently this is THE thing to have right now, because six of Maverick's baby friends on Facebook have the same one. The colors aren't my favorite BUT this play mat twists, clicks, and collapses so easily, putting it away before people come over and getting it back out is a breeze. I just shove it in a corner of his closet and pop it back out on the living room floor in the morning. It has a mirror, hanging toys, and winds to play music. He seems to love it and at $50, it was one of the more affordable options out there.

Nike Socks

Think it's silly to buy a baby name brand clothes? Think again. THESE ARE THE ONLY SOCKS THAT WILL STAY ON MY CRAZY MAN'S FEET. Normally I wouldn't be so up tight about keeping socks on Mav because I'm determined to not be 'that' mom...but it's the dead of winter. The boy needs to keep his socks on. Jamie was so excited to get him these before he was born and I just put them on my Amazon registry because I thought they were cute. Turns out all other tiny baby socks are a joke (I've tried Circo, Gymboree, Carter's...). These have the perfect amount of ankle elastic to stay on his feet no matter how much he shuffles them back and forth or tries to grab and put them in his mouth. He's been wearing them since he was about a month old, they still fit great, AND they go with absolutely every outfit because they came in the best color scheme...gray. ;)

Overflow Thrift Store (consignment stores in general)

Everyone wonders why/how Maverick's dresser and closet is so full...surely we've spent TONS of money on ALL. THOSE. CLOTHES. Absolutely not. Maverick's momma is someone who lives for finding shirts on the Target sale rack for $3.98...I was not about to spend more on my child's clothes than my own. Enter: Overflow Thrift Store's Friday Clothing Frenzy. The first Friday of every month, baby clothes are 50 cents a piece. FIFTY CENTS. I have found Child's Place, Baby Gap, Chaps, Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, and tons of Carter's on more than one occasion (full-disclosure I've been doing this since we found out Mav was a boy). Quality clothes, purchased far in advance, supporting a local non-profit...FOR FIFTY CENTS? Sign. Me. Up. I go every month. Sometimes I find a lot of stuff...some months not as much. But it's worth the trip if I spend $5 on 10 items and Maverick has a wardrobe from now until he's four for SUPER cheap. I also like to hit up the other consignment stores in Ames every now and then and you all know I'm no stranger to the Target and Gap Factory sale racks...but I honestly do most of Maverick's clothes shopping at Overflow.

Humidifier

Maverick got a cold when he was six weeks old...he had tons of green and yellow gunk in his head and I was determined to knock that cold out as fast as I could. With the help of a lot of sleep, cuddles, Baby Vicks on his feet, his nose sucker (we love this one recommended by his Auntie Nurse Kylie!) and this humidifier, it was gone in a little over a week. When we ran to Target that Saturday to stock up on newborn cold supplies, this was the only one in the store that wasn't an ugly animal shape and color (I guess everyone else had a cold that week too?)...so I have no reason to recommend this particular product because zero research was involved. We like it, but I'd just make sure to nab one before wintertime. We run it at every nap and overnight because our house is so dry, but I also appreciate the extra noise it provides. I'm convinced it's one of the reasons his skin is staying nice and soft this winter (no chapped cheeks, flaky head, or dry skin anywhere!).

Why it took me 72 hours to decorate our Christmas tree...

It's February.

I KNOW OK.

This post is as much for me to refer back to next November as it is to share how I decorated our tree this year because a lot of people have asked me. It was way different than what I've done in previous years and I was pretty proud of its originality. I'd like to take credit for all of this creativity, but if I'm being honest I copied some stuff from my mother-in-law, some stuff from my sister-in-law...added hot pink, and ended up with this.

This year I was most excited about putting this tree together because I'd been thinking about it all year (I know, I'm the worst). I'd been busy hunting for and collecting antique ornaments (with the help of some birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, sales from last year, finding a BUNCH at our old farm, letting my parents pick up a couple boxes when they were in the Amanas last fall, getting some from from my G'ma Phyllis, and buying a few here and there) all year and I was super excited to see if this tree would turn out as amazing as I hoped.

It did. Until the day I took it down two weeks, ago I was totally in love with it. I don't think I'll ever go back to decorating our big tree the way I used to (all silver and red).

The week before Thanksgiving I went to Hobby Lobby during a ribbon sale and picked up a couple rolls of gold glitter ribbon, a spool of pink glittery tulle, and six rolls of lace (three fat, three skinny). I was actually hunting for beads but DANG those can get expensive when you need four to six strings. I waited until after Christmas and found some at Jo-Ann's for 90% off...perfect for adding to the tree next year. :)

I started by fluffing the tree and adding nine strings of 100 lights. I've read that the general rule is 100 lights per foot...so I'd recommend doing AT LEAST that. But if you're like me, you like the lights on the heavier side so the lamps you don't have room for in the living room and are hidden in the basement during Christmastime aren't missed. ;) 

After I had the lights evenly dispersed and strung on the tree from the inside out...I started with the tulle. A spool of this stuff was like $2 but it added SO MUCH. When I was buying it I seriously wondered if I'd lost my mind...pink tulle on a Christmas tree...I was worried it would look as cheap as it actually is. 

Nope! It was subtle enough that it blended in and just added a different texture to the tree...it pulled out all the PINK in the different ornaments and I was super happy with how it turned out.

Next up was the lace. You can see in the above picture the two different kinds I used. Who puts lace on a tree? My sister-in-law is the first person I've seen do this and I always liked how it looked with the lights...it's also an easy way to add a vintage touch to the tree without breaking the bank (buying lace in 'ribbon' form at Hobby Lobby is WAY cheaper and was the perfect solution for me).

After the lace, everyone in the house who was 'helping' me was starting to get tired. I marched onward. Yes it was Thanksgiving night and yes we had just hosted family all day BUT I WANTED TO DECORATE.

The next element I added to the tree was the gold glitter ribbon you can see in the picture below. I'm not a big fan of obnoxious yellow-y gold...I prefer the more subtle silver/rose/gold color that is out there if you hunt long enough. I let the ribbon stay curly and laid it in between the branches, going the opposite way I'd laid the lace and tulle.

Above is a picture of how I went back and forth with the tulle, lace, ribbon, and beads. The gold beads were the last 'garland' piece to be added to the tree and that's when it really came alive. Beads add SO MUCH to trees...I would highly recommend. The way the light bounces off their sparkle and reflects with the ornaments once those are added...they're probably worth what they cost. I just prefer to find sales so they don't cost $14.99 PER STRAND. Yikes. I inherited these from Josh's mom when she was pairing down her Christmas stuff years ago and I'd never had a good use for them until this year!

After the beads were on, I was done with the first part of the tree. And good news...it only took me four hours! I actually don't know how long it took...it was midnight at this point I'm pretty sure. 

With the variety of ornaments that I had planned for this tree, I still wanted to give it a cohesive feel. I found some really pretty (and affordable) white glittery icicles at Hobby Lobby and started evenly dispersing those all over the tree. You have to look closely to see them, but I really like how they looked. They were the perfect ornament to hang deeper in the tree so I could add more dimension without wasting the antique ornaments on the less visible part of the tree.

When we bought our acreage a couple years ago, I ended up with TONS of plain, older ornaments (not necessarily 'antique, but they work great). We found them on the tippy top shelf in the BATHROOM closet of all places. Which is kind of where the idea to switch to all old stuff started...that and I LOVE that my mother-in-law has always decorated with antique ornaments and we have tons of fun collecting them when we go antique shopping. Also...PINK suddenly becomes an appropriate Christmas color...my favorite part!

So from the acreage clean-out, I inherited about a million plain gold and silver balls. Those were the next thing I added...again evenly dispersing them all over the tree to get a 'base' before I went crazy adding the prettiest ornaments. After I finished with the gold balls, I stepped back and thought to myself...I could probably call this 'done' and no one would even know the difference it's already so pretty! But I kept going anyway. :)

I went on adding the other plain balls I had from the farm...trying to keep the colors spread out evenly...red, blue, purple, and green tend to stand out pretty heavily, so I wanted to make sure those colors didn't take over. After I felt like I had enough of those, it was time to add my antique collection to the tree.

I had plans to still use my big red ribbon for the topper but HATED the way it looked once I added it. It totally ruined the vintage theme of the tree that I'd worked so hard to achieve. I dug through the stuff I was thinking about donating because I hadn't used it in a few years, found this gold star (in the color I require) and it ended up looking perfect. It's on the small side, but I didn't really mind.

After all that, I spent the next few nights in front of the TV 'rolling Hymnals'...now you probably really think I've lost my mind. If you look closely in all the pictures of the tree, I used the rolled Hymnals to fill in the holes and make the tree appear fuller. The paper was a nice old yellowed color and I didn't stop with the tree...I ended up sticking these rolls in every garland all over the house (along with berries and lights) and it really made my garlands come to life. 

I stuck in a few of my favorite old post cards, added a cream cable knit skirt and my childhood nativity to the bottom of the tree and...it was finally finished! Next year I won't be in as much of a rush to get everything up because we aren't hosting Thanksgiving...so I plan to start early and enjoy the process a little bit more...but that is everything you never wanted to know about how I decorated our Christmas tree this year. :)

If you missed the Christmas tour of the whole house, here it is.

MmB

Maverick: Five Month Update

I realize since I'm a stay-at-home-mom, snow days are essentially the same as any other day of the week for me. But still...there is something a little 'different' about being snowed in. An excuse for me and Mav to stay in pajamas all day? Yes. An excuse to not leave the house for three days straight even though we need diapers and Clorox wipes from Target? Sure. An excuse to pop in a movie in the middle of the afternoon? I think so.

Our baby turned five months old on Monday! Maverick celebrated with an especially crabby evening, I celebrated with two glasses of wine, and Josh celebrated by caucusing for Rand Paul.

I'm not sure how much Mav weighs, but on the same day a couple weeks ago when we were carrying him to church, Josh and I both noticed and commented on how it felt like it was getting heavier to haul around in that carrier. So...that's about as much as I can tell you about his weight. He's still in size 1 dipes, some 0-3 month clothes, and 3-6 month clothes came out of the drawer this month. He's a content and happy little man, so I'm not spending a second obsessing about his peanut-sized nature.

Speaking of peanuts...that is our favorite nickname for him this month. I quickly went back through my Instagrams and realized that is almost exclusively what we call him. Other favorites include:
Little Maverick
Mav
Punk
Little Mav
Naughty Mav

The other night Jamie and I made up two songs to sing to Maverick...sung to the tune of 'Frere Jacques'...

Maverick's Diaper Song:
Little Maverick, Little Maverick.
Is so cute, Is so cute.
Likes to poop in diapers, Likes to poop in diapers.
Pinch the legs, pinch the legs.

The Daddy Song:
Maverick Boersma, Maverick Boersma.
Has blue eyes, Has blue eyes.
Likes to pee on daddy, Likes to pee on daddy.
Has his toes, Has his toes.

And when the three of us do it in a 'round'...well let me just say it's pretty magical.

I blame the aforementioned insanity on all the Baby Einstein we've had playing in this house lately. Maverick has started to get a little more crabby vocal at certain times of the day (if he wakes up too early from a nap and eating is an hour away, most evenings, etc.) and Baby Einstein blaring on the TV buys me upwards of AN HOUR when I plop him in front of it. So that's what I do. No guilt.

Maverick loves to eat his feet and it's impossible to keep them out of his mouth during pictures, diaper changes, during his bath...basically all the time. He's still obsessed with bath time and kicks harder and harder every time...he's about to outgrow the size of his baby tub! He will love bath time so much more when he can sit up on his own and splash around. He is constantly eating his sleeves, socks, collar...I'm always finding soaking wet socks on the floor beside him.

Mav will sit in the Bumbo for 20+ minutes now (which is much different than when he could only go about 5-10 minutes at Christmas). Jamie and I like to stick him in the Bumbo in the mornings while we make breakfast and the evenings when we make supper. He observes everything from the island and tells us when he's had enough. But it's fun to eat 'with' him.

A new thing this month is his interest in standing. He locks his legs and likes to stand and bounce while we're sitting on the couch and we practice for a few seconds after every diaper change. I think we will be in the market for an obnoxious-colored-entertainment-walker-bouncer-thing any day now...but I'm holding off until he's done with the swing. My rule is only ONE large, crazy, colorful baby item in the living room at a time.

I have about 47 videos on my phone of Maverick laying on his tummy doing...absolutely...nothing. He has rolled a total of five times this month (from tummy to back), all when the camera is off. And AS SOON as I turn it on, he refuses. It's really hit or miss, and he also refuses to 'perform' his roll for anyone other than Josh or me...but I'm totally fine with this as I'm in no hurry for him to become mobile. No hurry at all. I caught him last week attempting to roll from his back to tummy more and more so that's when he started 'traveling' to each room with me while I undecorated Christmas instead of staying in the living room on his play mat because I will not miss it. Actually, there was one night while I was on the computer and Josh was sitting in his chair (with Maverick on the other side of the living room playing) that we heard him crabbing and fussing louder and louder...but it was the evening so that's pretty normal and we just ignore most of it. Turns out Mav had flipped almost all the way over from his back to his tummy and had his little arm caught underneath him...haha no wonder he was mad. Oops. First-time-parenting fail?

Maverick likes to be bounced, thrown, rocked, danced with, and swung. These things will usually get some giggles, but he doesn't give them away easily. Smiles are easy to come by but we have to work pretty hard to make this peanut laugh. I like to kiss his cheeks, mouth, neck, feet, tummy and legs to get laughs, Josh likes to tickle him with his whiskers or burrow his nose into his armpit for laughs. Or toss him in the air...that wears daddy out more than Maverick most of the time though. ;) He will also laugh at his sleeper zipper being zipped up for bedtime. But if we announce to anyone in the room that he's about to do it, that when he doesn't. And when we're not expecting it...that's when it laughs at the zipper. Punk.

Mav has started to want his scenery changed a little more throughout the day. He's no longer happy to spend all of his awake-time in one place. If he's getting crabby earlier than usual, I move him to a bed, chair, Bumbo, or his swing in whatever room I'm in and he's happy for 20-30 more minutes. He's grabbing and holding toys more and more, notices himself in the mirror, and pulls things down from his play mat to 'eat.'

Speaking of eating, this month Maverick had his first few TINY smells and tastes of lemon, avocado, yellow pepper, steamed carrot, Chick-fil-A sauce, ice cream, and brownie batter. We fell off the wagon with those last three...it's just funny to watch him taste and react to stuff! He doesn't seem super interested in any of it, so I'm holding off starting any solid food until he can sit up on his own and use his fingers better. My plan is do to Baby-Led-Weaning because, to me, it makes sense to teach a kid to chew then swallow instead of letting them swallow mush and then learn to chew their food months later. I've heard it can be an absolute mess (yay tile floors!) and have only done minimal reading on the topic so we will see how it goes. Also: I have ZERO interest in making my own baby food. Mav will be eating a variation what we eat around here (with exceptions like traveling, eating out, staying with babysitters, etc.) Breastfeeding is still going well, though after I hit 60 ounces in the freezer I quit pumping because I got bored of it. Thinking I should probably start back up again, but...I'm waiting for the Holy Spirit to move me.

We have a very talkative little man on our hands. This month his sounds changed from baby gurgling and whining to a hilarious fake cough/high-pitched squeal. It's so fun to watch him get excited because his legs go nuts kicking and he cough-squeals. He just started doing it one day and now we hear it constantly. Maverick gets exceptionally LOUD in the evenings...not always crying, he just starts shouting really, really loudly...like...making it impossible to hear each other, the TV...anything. I mentioned he's doing this fake cough thing when he's happy, he also now does it when he's mad. It's so dramatic and ridiculous and I can tell it's fake and he's clearly not sick or choking...but he has Josh falling for his dramatic tricks...he can't ignore it as well as I can.

Mav has discovered his tongue, as evidenced by this months' pictures. The face he's making in the picture with Chester the Raccoon is his new favorite and we think it's pretty adorable. He gets sturdier and sturdier each day and we're almost to the point where I can prop him on my hip and run around the house easily doing things one-armed in the evenings if it's TOO fussy...but he still surprises me with a flop every now and then. Last weekend when it was so warm was the first time I took him out of his car seat and into a store to shop rather than lugging the carrier around.

A quick rundown of his daily routine...can I just say how much I love our new four-hour schedule?! Maverick now wakes on his own almost every morning around 9 because that works for us Boersma's and our crazy winter vs. summer schedule. He eats at 9 and is awake until 10:30/11ish. Goes down for a nap until 12/12:30ish. Eats again at 1, is awake until 2/2:30ish and my goal is always for him to sleep until 5...though he only makes it all the way to 5:00 about half of the time. He gets up to eat at 5, is awake until 7 or 7:30 and then goes down for a 45 minute to an hour evening cat nap. After that he's awake (and usually crabby) until he eats for the last time at 9:00 and is in bed around 9:30. From there it's common for him to sleep until 5:30/6/6:30, eat, and then back to bed until he wakes for the day at 9. He will still have one weird/bad night each week, and occasionally he will wake at 1 or 3am, squawk about some farts, and then go back to sleep with his paci once he gets them out...but overall I'm thrilled with how he's sleeping. I think it's partly because we lucked out with a good and easy baby, but partly because I've never used any type of sleep prop with him...no nursing to sleep, no rocking or bouncing to sleep. He's put himself to sleep pretty much since day one (it was actually night three when I discovered he would cry when I put him down and stop as soon as I picked him up...nice try Mav).

Some mornings he will sleep until almost 7 so my guess is he will be dropping that early morning feeding any week now..meaning we will start our mornings at 8 and bedtime will move 8pm. But I'm not forcing that because, I'll be honest...Josh and I like sleeping until 9 in the winter. Thinking we'll spend another month with our current schedule and move to the 8:00 schedule when he hits six months (or if he tells me he's ready sooner).

We do have a schedule and stick to it most days, but I try not to be a slave to it when plans with family, church, or other things come up. If we need to run to Target or Fareway I do it during his morning or afternoon awake time and try to be back home by nap time. If we have too much to do out and about or have library or a play/mommy-date planned I try and squeak at least a half hour nap out of him in the morning to tide him over and be home for what I like to call, The Big One in the afternoon. I want Maverick to be able to adapt to different schedules, surroundings, and situations, but I also don't think it's fair to expect him to do something even I would never want to do...ie: napping during an all-day shopping trip or supper at a loud Mexican restaurant. He's a pretty easygoing baby all around so I know when he's overstimulated or just had enough because he quickly turns into a disaster. If I know those situations are possible (sometimes inevitable if he's had a rough napping day) Josh and I always try and remove ourselves from the situation before it's too late. We would rather leave on a high note with everyone saying, "He's not even being bad!" or, "Let him stay up and play a little longer! (MOM!)" than sit through church, supper, the caucuses, or a party with a fussy, annoying, disruptive, LOUD baby who knows it's bedtime. I know this will get harder and harder, and will be simply unavoidable in some circumstances...but I plan to keep doing my best.

In mom and dad news this month...we're depressed about a couple of things. I'm upset that Christmas is over and Josh is beside himself that Rand Paul dropped out of the presidential race. We've been drowning our sorrows in Netflix by binge-watching Parenthood, The Office, and Army Wives together. In fact, there was a week in January where we accidentally stayed up until l or 2am for a week straight because we just wanted to keep the December-party going. We have no idea what came over us, but it seems we're past that phase now that Christmas decorations left our house and February is finally here.

MmB

Happy Valentine's Month from Maverick

Because I'm a first-time mom obsessed with Pinterst who's been waiting years to do all this crap and I'm not ashamed to admit it...

Behold...Maverick's Valentine's Snow Day Photoshoot...