Kitchen Demolition

This morning our kitchen looked like this. Lola and I went to Target to get a few things. When we came back it looked like...

...THIS! Dad & John took everything out this morning. Papa stopped by too and added a helping hand as well. After they left, John moved all our old cabinets out to the garage (we sold them on Craigslist and the buyer is coming tomorrow to pick them up.) I think he knew how badly I was itching to start cleaning all the dust and dirt up ASAP! Our house is in complete disarray at the moment! But it's only for a few weeks--frozen, pre-made meals and paper plates aren't going to kill me for just a little bit! 

I LOVE "before & after" pictures so as soon as everything is done, I'll post the finished product. Wait--who am I kidding--I'll be posting pics along the way, I'm sure!

SIMPLY AMAZING

Happy Birthday Mom!

To the most wonderful Mom/Grammy in the world, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Prittee bows for Prittee girls!

My amazingly talented (and creative) friend Alissa has started a little company--she's making barrette and barrette holders for little girls and their collection of hair accessories! Lola and I stopped over this morning for some Chai Tea and I captured a few of Alissa's creative designs. You can check out her collection here:

Prittee Blog

(Her contact info is on her blog and she'll be selling her things at the Tinley Park Park District Craft Fair Saturday, March 14 at the Rec Center)

Morning Laughs

While John was making coffee this morning, he got creative with the filter...

Yeah Daddy!

My VERY modest husband probably won't be thrilled that I'm posting this, but I don't care because I'm so proud of him!

John passed his certification for his job today (a very big deal) and Lola and I couldn't be more proud. He works so hard everyday to make sure our family has everything we need--I've worked with him so I know first hand what pride he takes in his career-- and just like at home, he gives it 110%. 

Congrats sweetie--We love you so VERY MUCH! 

Every star needs a STAGE!

An AWESOME surprise arrived in the mail last week from John's very thoughtful friends, Jason & Carrie--a Fisher Price Super Star Stage for Lola! I don't know who was more excited--Mommy or Lola. I've wanted this toy for her since before Christmas, but somehow, completely forgot to tell anyone about it who asked what to get her. And since she got so many fun toys for Christmas, I felt bad going out and buying ANOTHER toy. Alissa offered to let us borrow hers, but Lola loves to play with it when we go over there.

As I blog, she's banging away on the piano "keys" the stage has. It's a great toy because once she's older, she can stand up in front of it and sing into the "microphone". Hopefully, she has a better voice than Mommy's. Have you ever heard a Kurek sing? It's NOT pretty!

I'll post some video of our little star as soon as I can, but for now, I think these pictures do justice how much she likes it! (The last pic is my favorite--I don't think I'll ever get over how sweet her smile is and how it melts my heart.)

Valentine's Day

We hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day with the one you LOVE! John and I had a lovely dinner out that night. We went to Fuji so John could enjoy some awesome sushi and I could indulge in some delicious lobster! We headed to Sam n Jake's afterwards to pick up a sweet ice cream treat and payment for our babysitter (my mom)--chocolate covered strawberries. Yes, if you want to babysit for Lola, you too can get paid in sweets! :)

Dad came over earlier in the day so we could finalize our cabinet choices based on measurements. When you're placing a special order, it's always good to check, re-check, then check your measurements AGAIN! 

Lola in her Valentine's Day bib--she's got one for every holiday!

Link to the rest of Lola's Six Month pictures...

CLICK HERE

email: mrsjohnnyh@gmail.com

access code: 5525500e99

Six Month Pictures

Lola & Mommy went to the mall this morning to get her "six month" pictures taken. I catch so many of her great smiles on my own camera, but it's nice to do this too. These 3 were my favorites and the ones I bought. I'll post the link to the online album once it is emailed to me so you all can see the rest of the pics!

How sweet is this beret? Thanks Gigi!

Cabinets, Sink, Faucet

Here's a sample of the cabinets...

We chose a white Kohler cast-iron sink. 

It's called a Smart Divide--the center divider of the sink only goes half-way up so you can get your pots and pans with long handles (perfect for my All Clad set) in the whole sink. I love that idea--I can't tell you how frustrating it is cleaning my pots and pans (since they have to be hand-washed) in our sink right now. My dream is a farmhouse sink, but that's for my future dream kitchen!

And we chose this Moen faucet (with a side sprayer) in a matte stainless steel finish.

This is our kitchen...

...and about a month and a half from now, it's going to look NOTHING like this! We have decided to spend some cash and re-do our kitchen. New cabinets, new counter tops, new appliances, new paint, new window coverings, new sink (finally with a garbage disposal!). And we are so excited! We picked out a gorgeous dark brown stained cabinet (the stain is called cognac, a tad lighter then our dinning room table). We can't wait to see the finished product.

Thankfully, my dad is incredibly handy (it's the architect in him) and is going to do all the labor for us (of course we'll be assisting anyway we can, too). Then, John's dad is going to come up and paint the kitchen and family room for us--and of course, visit with Lola!

We can't wait to enjoy this new kitchen! And we hope when we go to sell our place in another 2-3 years, it will be an added selling feature. 

I promise to post pics along the way. Wish us luck! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELBY!

(It makes sense one of the sweetest people we know was born on Valentine's Day!)

We LOVE & MISS you Shelby!

xoxo,

the h's

Look what I can do...

Yes, that's right--I sit up in the bath tub now--splashing around, playing with toys. Boy, this water stuff is fun!

Jump! Jump! Jump!

Lola LOVES jumping around in her Jumperoo from Auntie Kristin & Auntie Jessica! (Mommy loves it too!)

Lola & Alexis

While working at St. Louis last year, I became good friends with the second grade teacher, Lou Ann. We bonded over our pregnancies and everything that comes along with it! Her little girl Alexis and Lola are 6 months apart to the day! We've gotten together for several fun playdates since Lola was born, but our Wednesday playdate was the first I managed to have my camera in hand!

Saying "hello"...

Lola giving Lou Ann a smile :)

Can you tell these two are teething?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA SUE!

I LOVE YOU!!!

*Lola*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!

I LOVE YOU!

*Lola*

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Today is Honest Abe's 200th Birthday...and because of that, I may have made my way into the Guinness Book of World Records!

When I got to school this morning, the History teacher informed me that we were going to take part in a state-wide effort to make history by having the most people simultaneously read Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. So at 9:30 am, the 200 or so junior high students, along with the teachers, all read the speech together. Schools across the Land of Lincoln took part this morning. I'll let you know if we made history. But it was kind of cool to participate in something like that knowing I could be a part of a World Record! Something you don't get to do everyday :)

Uncle Mikey!

Uncle Mikey came to visit Lola this weekend. They had a great time playing together and she was all smiles for him. Because the weather was so nice, we were able to get out and walk a bit yesterday and today. Mike looked especially great pushing Lola's pink stroller around our neighborhood and Oak Brook Mall!

Fireman Joe

Cousin Joe was sworn in yesterday as a Firefighter/EMT of the Maitland Fire Department in Florida. We're so happy for Joe & Traci as they begin this new chapter of their life. These two are quite the public servants--Traci works as a Child Protective Investigator for the Sheriff's Department. We're so happy they had a great day to celebrate all of Joe's hard work!

Joe, we pray St. Florian will always protect you anytime you are called on to rush into a burning building and save the people you have sworn to help!

Absolutely Beautiful

It's a stunning day outside. Sunny and 50-ish degrees. We have flung our windows open and are screaming at the fresh air: "GET IN HERE!" Oh please, oh please let spring be just around the corner. Taking Lola for a walk this afternoon was such a tease of things to come in the next few months!

Since it's a stunning day I thought I'd share a stunning blog I stumbled upon:

Absolutely Beautiful Things

Talk about eye candy! If I could step inside this blog and live in it, I would! I'd bring John & Lola along too, of course. Thanks to Linnea for posting this in her blog list (how I came across it!)

Six Month Stats

We went to the pedi for Lola's 6 month check up on Wednesday. She got a few immunizations and only cried a bit. I was certain she had gained about 3 pounds this month (she was 14 lbs. 11 oz. at 5 months.) She just seemed SO much heavier this month. Boy was I wrong. Here's her 6 months stats:

Weight: 15 lbs. 7 oz. (50th percentile)

Length: 26 1/2 in. (75th percentile)

A tooth!

For the past week, Lola's teething signs have shown up again. Drooling, fussiness, interrupted sleep, pulling at her ear. So tonight, after bath time, I decided to check her gums again, and finally, I could feel and see a sharp little pearly white poking through! I got super excited and started signing "You're getting a tooth! You're getting a tooth!" to her. (Yes, she knows her mother is a nut!) How cute is she going to look with a little tooth in her cheeky grin?!

Carrots!

Lola got her first taste of carrots today for lunch and according to my mom, she enjoyed them! I love this "making your own baby food" thing, especially when I realize how much $ we're saving! I purchased 3 pounds of organic carrots at $.79/lb. I peeled, sliced, steamed and pureed the carrots and froze the puree in ice cube trays. I estimated I made approximately 30 servings for a grand total of $2.37. If you've walked down a baby food aisle anytime in the recent past, you'd have noticed a lil jar of organic baby food can run around $.79/jar. So that means I saved us about $20.00. And that's just plain cool to me!

Interested in making your own baby food? Check out:

Cuisinart Baby

Wholesome Baby Food

On the left, sliced carrots waiting to be steamed.

On the right, the carrot puree.

Dress up!

Mom and Lola played "Dress Up" while I was at work today and my mom snapped a few pictures of Lola on her own. I was impressed she was able to figure the camera out but she was frustrated I only had space on my memory card for 2 pictures! (Grandma Sue, does this dress look familiar?!)

She loves her dolly!

Super Bowl

On Super Bowl Sunday, Dad, Sue and Lil came over to hang out and watch John's Steelers beat Dad's "Chicago" Cardinals. We had a good time and Papa & Grandma Sue had funny trying to encourage Lola to crawl!

Eating!

Here's a little clip of the fun we had giving Lola her first taste of sweet potatoes!