Coffee Table Makeover

A coffee table can be turned into an ottoman? What? Sounds simple enough. Ha! This was one of those projects that I scheduled 2-3 hours to complete. I think it took me closer to 6 hours, that might even be rounding down. It's somewhat of a blur now. Bryan's friend, Brandon, ended up helping me a ton while Bryan took baby duty. I think Bryan was relieved to get out of that mess and entertain Luke. However, I do love how it turned out and believe that it was worth the time and effort. Brandon might tell you otherwise.

 

Bryan doing the demolition on my coffee table from Craigslist. These will be the holes used for tufting. He was quite excited that he was able to buy a new tool for this project, even if it was just a drill bit.

 

 

Prepping the table with high density foam. We tried "liquid nails" to adhere the foam to the table and it didn't live up to its name. I used good ol' fashioned hot glue and that seemed to work great (thank you Tracy).

 

Next, we wrapped it in batting.

 

 I made the buttons for the tufts using a quality purchase from Walmart. You get what you pay for with these. Next time, I would buy a different brand from Jo-Anns or Hobby Lobby. I'm not sure when that next time will be.

 

The buttons. 

 

Used upholstery thread and plenty of it to help create each tuft. 

 

 

Luke assisted Bryan and pulled the threads nice and tight so he could staple the threads in place.

 

Tufting:  Check.

 

Again, Luke assisting in the project. He has such an eye for detail and would pull the "extra" batting off for me to make sure it was even all around.  Extremely helpful.

By far, the hardest part was each corner.  I think it was a good thing that Bryan and Luke's precious ears were out of range to hear his mother's rants of frustration. :)

 

Corner view of the finished product!

 

 Tufting from above.

 

What do you think? 

 

A Camping We Will Go!

We ventured out on our first camping trip of the season. HOORAY for Colorado Camping!! Overall, we had a good time and will continue to make camping part of our "family fun" memories. However, we did learn a few "golden nuggets"  along the way.

 

Blankets are for decoration only.

 

Dirt is delicious, especially mixed with sticks.

 

Dirt must be sampled in a variety of locations, quality control, you might say.

 

 

I really, REALLY need to find shoes that will stay on his feet. Any suggestions for extra wide and thick baby feet?

 

We spend too much money on toys. Next time, I'm bringing home a few pieces of scrap wood.

 

Hiking is a relative term. We knocked off 0.5 miles of The Colorado Trail. Only 482.5 more miles to go! Bryan wants to do the entire trail (in segments) at some point in the future with kids in tow. We're still learning. Hmm...  :) 

 

Bryan is going to need a bigger pack to carry Luke, me and our gear on the remaining miles of the trail. 

Here is a very vague map to give you an idea of the trail.

 

Any takers???

 

Sunglasses are cool at any age.

 

Tough to get a good family picture when there is a combination of fire, dirt and a 9-month old involved.

 

Mornings begin EXTRA early when camping with Luke. 4:45 AM, seriously?

Not the highlight of the camping trip, pretty sure that was the low point.

 

More dirt?

 

Could it be??

 

YES!

How could he sleep any longer knowing that there was SO much dirt and SO little time??? 

Well, that about wraps it up, "Happy Trails to You"! (I couldn't resist.)

 

9 months!

Luke turned 9 months old last week. Time is flying! He is very active and can pretty much get anywhere he wants to, dangerous. This last week he managed to split his eye open in the tub, had the appearance of eating 20 Oreos all over his face, turned out to be more like 20 lbs of dirt (maybe the dirt was the better option) and bonked his head countless times on pretty much anything. I guess we are in that "stage"... for the next 17.5 years??? He definitely keeps us on our toes!

Stats from the last visit:

Height:  30"............. 94 %tile
Weight: 22 lbs 3 oz.. 76 %tile
Head: 47 cm..............91 %tile

He is growing so quickly! Here are a few pictures of the mischief he's been into as of late.

 

There is no drawer or cupboard left untouched.

 

 

 

Getting into tight places, followed by an abrupt onset of amnesia and can't remember how to get out, "help"!

 

This gate can only hold him back for so long.

 

Helping out with his diaper changes, such a big help.

 

 

This is how the toy generally works.

 

Luke likes to pull it over, on occasion, and take a more "relaxed" position while playing with the toy.

 

He obviously enjoys this way MUCH better. :)

 

 

He manages to pull a pretty good, "I'm innocent" face. 

Happy 9-months to you and all of your mischievous ways! :) 

Happy Father's Day!

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes, pictures can say it all.

Splish-Splash!

Today was the little man's first day at the neighborhood pool. He LOVED it! I loved it! Hopefully next time (tomorrow) Bryan will be able to join us. I have a feeling we could be spending quite a bit of time here this summer. Bring on the warm weather and cool water!

  

Testing the waters.

 

Watching the other kids to find out what he should be doing. Luke had no fear and would keep crawling until the water was in his face! I guess he just wanted to play with the big kids!

Favorite Things Update

As the song goes, "These are a few of {Luke's} fav-o-rite things"...


Noodles with tomato sauce. Delish.

Tickles. He has several "tickle spots" and loves to laugh. As you can see, he still has his bib on, giggles and eating are definitely in the top two spots of favorite things.

 

 

 The only thing that might rival the eating and giggling would be climbing. The chairs at our kitchen table provide Luke's favorite climbing gym. (Of course,  if Bryan or I attempt to lay down, then we become his favorite climbing apparatus.)