Baby Proof Stairs!

Well would ya look at that? We've got handrails on the stairs!! I actually made myself somewhat useful, and I helped W assemble the rails. We still need to get some baseboard trim up that will cover the sides of the stairs, but I wasn't patient enough to wait for the weekend when they'll probably go up.


I'm not sure if it was because of all the activity around the stairs this weekend, but Baby J is now very interested in the stairs. Yesterday he went up 2 steps, and back down. Tonight, with me spotting him, he climbed all the way to the top. Luckily, I bought a gate for the top of the stairs last weekend. J thinks that the gates around the house are there for the sole purpose of his enjoyment. He grabs them and dances.

Also tonight he finally figured out how to drink from a sippy cup. Until now, he only wants to drink from my cup, and I envisoned very messy days ahead if he only wanted to drink from a big boy cup. But it looks like he'll give the spill free sippy cup a try!

Porches and Stairs

W has been working hard on the stair case. It's been quite a project. He's not finished yet, but I think he will finish just about the same time J will start walking (he's getting really close!). So here's the progression:


The stairs when we moved in! very colorful.

And then after about a year, we scraped the risers (white part) and repainted that. And W repaired and refinished the newel posts (they're leaning against the wall here).

Just tonight, he tacked on the baseboard trim. This might not look like much, but he had to create a high tech template, since each stair is slightly different than the next. And it covers up the big hole in the dry wall! (Remember when the birds flew in on J's birthday? That was their entry way.)

The contractors also wrapped up the porches! Here's the finished look. We finally have hand rails on front and back porches, although I haven't taken an updated picture from the back.

So after 5" of snow on Monday, it was 75 degrees over the weekend. Crazy weather. So I took him to the playground nearby to play on the swings. He wasn't too sure at first, but warmed up to it quickly.



So things seem to be progressing pretty quickly here at our house! W is getting a lot done with our "renovation assistant" who comes most weekends. And J is learning so much every day. He'll be 10 months old this weekend! He's learning to wave and making more consonant sounds daily. He loves "b" sounds- his first word might be baby! He's a riot!