Baby Room Update

So we are about 1/3 done with Hannah Beth's room. The progress is slow but steady and I love how it is coming together. I actually see the light at the end of the tunnel and Hannah Beth might have a place to lay her sweet head down (besides my arms) by the time she arrives.

This is the same changing table we bought when Luke was on his way. It is one of the FEW things that we did not get rid of ....thankfully!! The cute art work came with the bedding set that Mimi and Papa got for Hannah Beth.

One corner of the room that is COMPLETE! The valance and pillow in the chair also match the bedding. I love the bright colors and it matches the blue in the room perfectly. So fun!

The bookcase/toy storage. This spot is not the permanent location for the shelf........

THIS spot will be the future location of the bookcase. As you can see, we still have to find a new home for the twin mattress.

Again, more items to be moved to the garage, but here is where the crib will be.


I will update again SOON with the finished product! (I hope)

Down on the Farm

The cutest pot-bellied pigs!

Friday was the first annual Ooorah Summer Bash at Hunt Club Farms. MCCS (Marine Corps Community Services) put the entire thing together for Marine families in the Norfolk/VA Beach/Chesapeake area. They had games, bouncy houses, food and of course the location, the FARM.

We spent most of our time hanging out with all the cute animals at the petting area. Hayley was always first to jump in and pet whatever creature we met. She absolutely loves animals.

Being the last Friday in the month of August, it was HOT! I really thought that I might melt, but we all had a good time. Yee-haw!

We Needed An Ark

Hayley was telling us that she felt a rain drop

Trying to catch Luke jumping from log to log

Saturday we ventured out on another first for the Steele family, the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. I had heard great things about the children's garden there and we thought we would check it out for ourselves. Everything was beautiful and blooming. Lots of butterflies and bumblebees to watch flit from flower to flower. We made our way to the WOW Childrens' Garden where they had a water spray park and several cool areas with mud huts, playgrounds, a cabin, and a garden with actual crops growing like corn and squash. We even saw the beginnings of a pumpkin letting us know that Fall is not too far away.

A good 40 minutes into our adventure, I noticed a dark cloud looming in the distance. Hoping it would blow the other direction, we kept on playing and exploring. The kids then noticed how close the clouds were getting and Hayley said she felt a rain drop. It began sprinkling which was actually a blessing since I was beginning to get hot (and we all know how that turns out)! The rain began to fall steadily, and we thought maybe we should start the 10 minute walk back to the parking lot. As soon as we made the call to walk, the heavens opened up and the skies began to poor! I mean poor! We were soaked to the bone by the time we got to the car. I wish I had taken some pictures of just how wet we were. Quite a funny sight! Next time, I will definitely pack the umbrella or a small john boat so we can just float back to the house.

All You Need Is a Box......

In the spirit of school starting in two weeks, we have been gearing up by playing "school" to review letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. Both Luke and Hayley are getting very excited about meeting their teachers next week and starting a new year at school. Here is some of their work.

Hayley's Family Portrait. She even included Hannah Beth. And folks, Hayley does not have bunny ears. I was corrected and told that she has pigtails!!


Another family portrait

A picture of Chris and I made by Luke




Luke is going into KINDERGARTEN which kind of blows my mind. The only thing that helps me not sob uncontrollably about this HUGE step is that we are keeping him at the school where he attended Pre-K. Hayley will also be at the same school in the Pre-K class. Public school Kindergarten in VA is only half days, and Luke and Hayley's schedules would have allowed me about an hour and forty five minutes to run errands, clean, yada yada yada. With Hannah on her way, Chris and I thought that having them in the same place on the same 9 to Noon schedule would help as far as keeping things as simple as possible. Not to mention, we absolutely love the school that they attend. Next year when they both head to BIG school, I may need a few boxes of Kleenex just to make it through the first day!!!!!!


Anywho....back to the box. With all the coloring, letter writing, and creative thinking we have been doing, both Luke and Hayley have created some beautiful masterpieces. One of their favorite things to do is color or draw a picture for Baby Hannah's nursery. I have about 20 to 30 pieces of artwork that I will make into a book for Hannah to have when she arrives.



Hayley working on another picture for her sister.


A picture Luke colored for Hannah

On Wednesday, we headed out to Babies R Us to purchase an infant car seat for Hannah. The kids crack me up in that store! They run to all the different outfits for baby girls and ohhhhh and ahhhhh over how cute Hannah would be in each one. Once we got home with the car seat, I thought the box might make some new creative moments. They were so excited about their "Clubhouse" and got right to work.
A shot of the inside of the clubhouse. Many windows were put in so they could have some sunlight come in!


The ladybug that lives on top of the clubhouse

All you need is a box!

It's Almost Game Day

Folks, I can hardly wait. Only 2 and a half weeks until Game Day for the Dawgs. Seriously, SEC Football is one of my most favorite things EVER!!!!!! I know that our Dawgs have been predicted to have an 8-4 season (ouch), but I will love and support them anyways. All I have to say is

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Dawgs! Sickem! Woof Woof Woof

26 weeks and 5 days

Here is a belly shot for all my friends who have been requesting....... Getting bigger by the minute!

All Aboard!

Hayley is front and center with the BIG red bow.

I love this picture of these two!

Luke getting ready to perform. He was very focused.

Luke and Hayley's VBS program was last night. They both had a wonderful time on the Boomerang Express learning all about Jesus's love.

Baby Room Progress: Take One

Baby room as the current guestroom (somewhat taken apart)

Well, I have been working furiously on starting the process of cleaning out the guest/catch all room (soon to be nursery) this week. The kids have been at VBS for the past three mornings, giving me 3 uninterrupted hours to run errands, clean out, drop at Goodwill, grocery shop, and sit in blissful silence while I stare at the wall.

When we moved in last summer, the guestroom is where we sent all the pictures until we could determine where we would hang them in the new house. We always have some pictures that end up sitting in a closet for 3 years until the next move. Some make the cut and some don't. We never get rid of them because the next house could have the perfect spot for one of the pictures. Many of the items in our picture pile are awards and such that will one day be dedicated to Chris's office when we build our forever home (only 9 years away)! Here is the pile that I pulled out of baby girl's closet.

Chris will be spending part of next weekend finding a new home for all of these items. I wasn't able to take a photo of the Goodwill pile, since I loaded it up yesterday before I broke out the camera. Just know there were about 8 garbage bags of toys, clothes, shoes, household items, suitcases, and things that I would put in the category "other".

With all of the junk out of the closet, I had room to hang these:

Pink, pink and more pink. I have had a great time buying clothes for Little Miss. About 2 years ago, just after Hayley turned 2, I caught the purge bug and got rid of EVERYTHING related to baby in the house. I mean everything except for one box of baby clothes (half boy/half girl clothes). So, basically we are starting from square one. The thrill of bargain hunting has been fun for me and I love visiting a great baby consignment shop that is close by the house. So far I have found an infant carseat stroller frame for $25 and lots of cute outfits for $3 to $4. Can't beat it!

After looking in Pottery Barn Kids and Land of Nod for some type of artwork, I knew I was going to have to get creative as far as wall decor goes unless I wanted to spend a small fortune on one cute print. I went to Michael's and bought canvas, paint, and ribbon and came up with this:

The middle print has Hannah Beth in little letters. Yes, we think this will be her name (actually Hannah Elizabeth), but have not really decided, therefore I have not attached the letters to the print just yet. The colors match the bedding that Mimi and Papa gave to us. I will show it in a later post when the crib is all set up.

So, we are making some progress. Only 98 more days until due date!