Carrying the History of The Hidden House

{please excuse our yard in need of maintenance and water, we need to schedule our irrigation}

Im falling more in love with our neighborhood -and house- everyday.

We've been meeting our neighbors and feeling more at home.

Our neighbor across the street has lived in our house before.

He is an elder man and gave us a history of our house and the people who have also resided. Including what has been added on, updated, changed and why they left.

He told us about the Nobels, the ones who built the house.
He explained that it is their growth marks left on the inside of the first hall closet door. The marks from young children who are now in their 60's.

So after I walked back into our home I curiously opened that hall closet door
to find the faint existing pencil marks dating all the way back to the 50's.

Not only has every resident, who has called this beautiful home theirs, left those marks, but they have also left us their own. I cant help but feel deeply connected to these people. Our children have played on the same lawn, we've shared family meals in the same dining room and anxiously walked through the same front (or side) door to come home to our families. And it is a few lines marked in pencil that link us to one another. And remind me to appreciate this home for what it is. And all of the lovely things everyone has done to make this house so special and unique.

Hopefully Ill be able to find a blank closet door to make our mark.

Pride. The Good Kind.

Did you know Owyn now stands on his own?

He can even take a couple steps. 

He also points. He loves fans.

Yesterday we went outside to watch some doggies walk by.

Owyn pointed, laughed and said "dog". 

But it sounded more like DA.

AND he nods his head and says "yea"
and shacks his head no.

I'm so proud of my big boy. 

Can you see it in my eyes?

Can you beleive he's almost 1???

Baked Eggs

I've made these baked eggs, similar to a Frittata, twice this week already. 

Me and Owyn eat them for breakfast, lunch and snacks. 

Muy delicioso! 

Ingredients include:

eggs

hash browns

spinach

green chilies

feta cheese

milk

cheddar cheese

What I do is lay the ingredients down casserole style, hash browns first,-into a glass baking dish-

pour the beaten eggs with a splash a milk over and sprinkle with cheddar. 

Toss it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes (depending on the depth of your dish) and vuala!

Breakfast! ..and lunch, and snack, and dinner.

I've been having to get creative with our food since O-Jo 

refuses to eat baby food.

Puzzled

This seems to be a reoccurring theme around here. 

Wake up way too early with Owyn, turn on his fav movie, Tarzan,

lock him in the room, lay on the floor, doze off..

and wake up, a bit, puzzled. 

Unfinished Bedroom Bliss

Eventhough our bedroom is not complete, 

im loving the simplicity of the bare bed and walls. 

It makes sleeping much easier.

I used to have a good boy.

rememer this good boy??

With all of the new change and cutting 3 new teeth at once, 

Owyn has been unrecognizably bad. 

Yes, this kid has his bad moods sometimes. Like when he's sleepy or hungry. 

But he has been so bad the past week Ive lost my mind.

...again. 

Is it possible to loose you're mind if its already lost?

hmm..

I'm hoping this passes.

At least he's still the cutest baby in the world, right? 

First Completed Room: Dining Room

I'm having so much fun decorating this house. 

There's not a thing I've overlooked. 

From the light fixtures and crown molding all the way down to the rugs and base boards, I have planned and touched everything. 

The first room we have completed is our dining room. 

Thanks to my complaints to force Dave out of his Man Cave in order to get my light fixture hung. 

Women will be women. 

Here is the the before:

Hereis the After:

Mornings in the Miller House

The mornings here are so beautiful it gives me a reason get out of bed and go outside. 

The sunshine flows into the house and makes everything glow. 

There isn't a sound except for the birds chirping. 

(and the cow our neighbors have. wierd, i know)

And for the backyard, well, you can see yourself. 

It's just so lovely here. 

Getting Settled

This unpacking thing is taking forever.

It's very strange going to sleep and wakin up in a new place. 

Trading in our small 900sq/ft apartment for over twice that, is very bitter sweet. 

That was the home I nested in before Owyn's arrival. The home we took him to when he was born. 

The small patch of grass outside our front door where we'd wait for daddy to come home. 

It's all different.

And Im having a hard time wanting to let that all go and start something new. 

As exciting as it is.

This is my living room, still needing a lot of work. 

I told Dave he could have the family room do what he wants with. 

So far, I havn't seen him because he spends his days working on his room. 

Although, we did go buy $60 dollar lamps for it today (outrageous, I know) and made a trip to 

Guitar Center to buy a new amp for his guitar. He has BIG plans for a band room. 

Who knew giving a space to a man to call his own would be so exciting??

poor Owyn is so confused. 

:(

Dave admiring my closets in our bathroom. 

That man still needs to hang my middle mirrors. 

Maybe if he'd step out of that family room for a minute I could talk him into it.

There is still so much to do!

More later. 

xoxoxo

We're IN!!

Hello from the Miller house! 

(Miller being our street)

We've been working so hard, and we're finally moved in!

Not looking forward to unpacking..

More pics when I have more time..

Aunt Whitney

It's so crazy to see Whitney with a baby belly!

Im so glad we got to see her sooner than Owyn's first birthday, unexpectedly. 

Sisterhood is the greatest friendship two could share on this earth. 

The fact that we're now going to share the experience of motherhood excites me. 

Especially since the kids will be so close in age.

Whitney is Owyn's only Aunt, and they share a very special bond. 

He adores Whitney like no other. 

The little booger gives her tons of kisses. 

He only gives them to me when he wakes up and is feeling sweet and vulnerable.

The were both very sad to part.. 

We can't wait to see her again in July. 

My not so little, little brother

My younger brother went to prom with his super cute girlfriend Yael this week. 

Arent they the cutest?

I had to steal this pic from Yael's facebook to brag about what rockstars they are.

Christmas at Nordstrom

Nordstrom's half-yearly sale is like Christmas. 

Sooo many free gifts and double reward points.

I LOVE it!

 {my goodies}

Aqua-slig

Owyn's first swim was today.

We joined my family at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge and enjoyed the sun all day.

What a natural! He was crazy about the water.

He didn't hesitate for a second. As soon as I took him out he was trying to jump back in. head first.

{me and my baby <3}

Family Weekend

This past weekend was very busy for us.

My sister, mother and Scott are in town and we're still transforming our charming house into a cozy home. The house keeps looking better and better. We're taking the time to make it perfect. Somehow we got my entire family (almost) to come help us paint on Saturday.

Friday night we celebrated the graduation of my lovely cousin Victoria where we enjoyed a ton of delicious food, drinks and good company.

{our little family}


{Owyn dancing to music and Owyn with GrandJen (my mom) and Vick and I}

{On our way home, way past Owyn's bed time}

Have I Ever Mentioned...

how awesome this kid is?



Maybe once or twice?

Must I need to?


{our pillow party}

I'm so happy school is over for a few months because I get to devote myself to play time with Owyn. All day, everyday. He is the funniest person (not only child) I've ever known. He has the best personality that lights up a room. You can instantly read his genuine innocent happiness, humor and love by looking into his eyes.

He makes me so happy.

Last night I worked until midnight (due to visual updates) and wanted to wake him up to give him some loves. But I didn't have to because he knew I was home and woke up. He didn't want to go back to sleep alone, he wanted to sleep with me. It was so sweet.

It's amazing watching him grow and develop.
He seems way to smart for his own good. And for my sanity.
He likes to use it to his advantage. He knows when to be sweet so he can get away with the bad things he does. And he puts on a "sweet little baby act" for people that arn't his parents. We always hear " hes such a good baby" while he sits quiet and still, but then once the people are gone he turns into the energizer bunny.

He's even started flirting with women.
He tilts his head down slightly giving them the eye, turns his head quickly (as if he's so embarrassed) and looks back slowly and smiles. Where did he learn this stuff??

He also..
claps
gives kisses (my favorite!}
waves bye bye
gives high five's
and stands on his own.
He can even walk next to me if I hold his hand.

If this isn't awesome, I don't know what is.

Great things are happening

We're getting closer to the BIG MOVE!

Everyday Ive slowly been taking car fulls of clutter, 

such as linens, books and kitchen goods to store away in our new home

without disturbing our painting or moving. 

This weekend we'll be painting and getting our new dishwasher in.

{taped and ready for paint!}

And guess what????

I've completed my 8th semester of school!

and I did pretty damn well, I must say. 

And guess what else???

My seester is coming next week!!!

I'm so excited I can't even use ten exclamation marks to express the excitement.

on top of that, my mommy and Scott are coming as well. 

this has been planned for a while so Ive already been super excited. 

I can't wait for them to see how hilarious Owyn is first hand. 

I wish they lived here... :( :(

and Dad and Wendy :( :(   

I cant wait to see them all!

Oh yeah, and happy Mothers Day

Im pretty sure Im the only blogger who didn't do a Mothers Day

post including a picture of myself and my mother. 

I was in a real bad mood yesterday and wasn't in the Mothers Day mood.

{Mom and me on her back patio in Winter 07}

Sorry. I still love you my mother and grandmothers dearly!

Happy late Mother's Day!

Good Boy/Bad Boy

Good Boy 

Bad Boy 

Owyn makes me think of Sour Patch Kids. (my favorite)

First their sour... then their sweet. 

With both I always find myself wishing the sweetness lasted longer than the sour.

This Weekend...

we spent prepping the house for our big MOVE IN. 

We cleaned up the front yard, got our appliances, 

got the inside of the house cleaned, and taped the living room and dining room for paint.

It was a dirty job. 

I cant wait to move in, but there's lots to still do. 

We still need to clean up the back and do all of the inside painting. 

Check List

1. get Mesa Contemporary Art Museum internship
2.  buy appliances
3. schedule a house cleaning
4. schedule for lock change
5. loose baby weight
6. finish semester of school
7. clean mirrors

Tape

I love this.

Check it out HERE.

Like Father, Like Son

{why are all my pictures blurry lately??}

If all else fails, stick Owyn infront of the piano or guitar and his mood changes instantly. 

He is CRAZY about instruments and loves to play.

Male Bonding

Dave and Owyn had the entire house to themselves on Saturday while I worked all day.

I got them to come meet me for my lunch break which was nice.

Dave got in some good pictures of our little terror.

Enjoy.