McCord is 8 Months Old...

...and life has never been so amazing!

Here are a few photos I took last week as McCord and I cut some forsythia to bring inside.  If I had to sum up this past month in one word it would be "awe," for McCord has been in awe of every single detail - surrounding him.  And Bo and I've been in awe of him! 

How wonderful it is to be 8 months old!  McCord has discovered that he can move his jaw up and down like he's talking without making any noise.  Sometimes we'll catch him silently "jabbing" and then he looks at us as if to say, "Did you see that?!!!!  I can move my mouth!" His favorite sound, however, is still the pterodactyl squeal (although he has started babbling mama mama mama, lately... all a coinsidence, of course, but saying Mama, none-the-less).

Here are some of Mc's favorite things right now...

• Favorite pastime: sitting on a quilt and playing with his toys (and/or chewing on his books - not looking at pictures or turning pages, mind you, but this grandson of a children's librarian enjoys chewing on his books!).  Right now, he loves to pull toys out of containers like bags, his toy box - he even likes to pull his Butt Paste out of the diaper changing caddy.  Ah, what a thrill!
• Food: Dried apricots have been a hit lately for this teething little guy.  He's not too interested in food in general yet, so we are working on making food a positive experience with lots of cheering and praise for eating oatmeal.  Life is really fun in the Redmond household right now.  

• Music: This little fellow loves to listen to music. And he especially loves to watch you enjoy music. If a good Motown song comes on the Pandora station, and Bo or I start dancing, he starts rocking back and forth and nodding his head too. And if you start dancing toward him, singing lyrics and incorporating him into your dance routine - watch out! - a huge smile abounds usually followed by more head nodding. He's been known to do the same enthusiastic upper-body rock/head nod at Kindermusik.

 
 

• Pets: Rocky, Hank, and Jackson are Mc's buddies! Every time he sees one of them, he lets out a little excited squeal as if he's thinking, "Oh, it's you again! Thank goodness you're here! I've been thinking about running my hands through your fur all day long!"

...and finally, here are my two favorite boys next to McCord's Maple.  You can't tell it from this photo, but McCord's Maple has grown about a foot and a half since we planted it last July.  What a joy it is to see it thriving and growing just like our little boy!

We look forward to seeing what the next month brings.  I think some crawling is in our future!

Happy Birthday Aiya!

"...I can't wait to get my hands on that birthday cake!"

A Few Things You Should Know About Me

: :  A Post By McCord  : :



I love bathtime - it's my favorite time of day...



...and I always cross my feet like this when my parents dry me off. 
They tell me I'm "living the high life," and I just smile because it's true.



I love to help my Mama open the mail

...and so does Rocky!

Lately I've noticed that these two people can't keep their mouths away from me. 

And it's kind of embarassing. 

But I like it. 



So, Daddy, there's this little girl in Kindermusik named Taylor, and I got to sit next to her last week, and she's pretty and cute and smells nice, and I think she likes me, but let's not tell Mama, okay?

And just for fun, I thought I'd share a few pictures from earlier today on my first trip to the new Children's Museum. 

Having a tea party

Playing inside the gigantic pumpkin that is made especially for little people my age - everything is padded!


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Check out the fat rolls on my wrist!

 

Bo's Day Off

I am so thankful that I have a husband who works for a bank, because that means he gets all federal holidays off.  So, this past Monday, we had a grand time stealing a day off the calendar, relaxing at home.    Thank goodness for Presidents' Day.  Here's a quick recap in pictures:



Family picnic in the front yard

 We had so much fun watching McCord discover things for the first time.

"And here, Ladies and Gentlemen, is a fantastic creation!  Introducing, The Stick!"

Bo made homemade salsa on Monday following this recipe - Delish!

...and then he followed that up by making dinner -  homemade chicken fingers and french fries.  I'd venture to say old Abe and George would have enjoyed this day too.

Aren't I a lucky gal?!!!!

Surrey Lane Before & Afters

Well, it's been a little over a month since we listed our house, and Bo and I are getting a first-hand account of how difficult it is to sell a house in this market.  All this house-selling business has had me reflecting on our life on Surrey Lane and it makes me wonder if any of you know the story behind our house....

In 2005, Bo was transferred to Rock Hill with his job and we began looking for houses.  We were young and naive, and had our hearts set on a 1950s-era house with vintage charm.  However, we quickly realized that the houses in our price range that fit that description would need way-more fixing-up than we could afford.  We must have toured 20 houses before Bo came across Surrey Lane online.  The house had been foreclosed on by previous owners and from what neighbors told us, vacant for about 2 years.  The first time we saw it in person, there was a huge hole in the downstairs ceiling where a pipe had burst in the master bath above causing unrepairable damage to the wood floors.  The wallpaper and light fixtures (see pictures below) were a horrible reminder of what was popular in the 1980s (and why those styles faded quickly).  Despite that it was a far cry from the mid century charm we were hoping for, Bo and I immediately fell in love with Surrey Lane.  It had good bones and we knew that we could make this house our home.  More importantly, we both knew that we'd be happy here. 

Fortunately, my mother-in-law had the foresight to take these before pictures - and it's so fun to look back and see how far we've come.  Many thanks to our parents and a great contractor who've helped us renovate Surrey Lane. 




House exterior before we bought Surrey Lane




House exterior after




Backyard before




Backyard after adding deck in 2009




To the right you can see the nasty remnants of an above ground pool.  After moving in, we  immediately had 4 truckloads of dirt brought in to fill the sunken area




Screen porch after




This is the scene Bo and I walked into the first time we toured Surrey Lane.  We took one look at it and said, "we'll take it!"




Same area after repairing ceiling, new floors, and adding an antique pine mantle that my Dad and Bo installed




When we bought the house, we never used this area - it was intended to be a breakfast room...




...we knocked out a wall and converted it to a dining room




This is the original kitchen




The old kitchen area became a desk/bar area with window converted to exterior door leading to deck




We moved the kitchen from the above location to what used to be the dining room - gaining much needed space!




Master bath before




Master bath after - we got this marble top vanity from Costco and had to rent a truck from Home Depot to bring it home and it took 5 guys to get it up the stairs.  It was quite an adventure!




Guest bath before




Guest bath after - these pictures don't show the floors, but all 3 baths have travertine tiles




Third bedroom before



Nursery after - this is my favorite room in the house!


Bo and I have loved living here and hope that the right buyer will walk through our doors and love this place as much as we have.

McCord's New Convertible