Much to be thankful for

 We had a great visit with our Idaho family for Thanksgiving and I think Gage had the best time of all. He loves his cousins so much and there really isn't any feeling better than your kid getting to have a sleep over with cousins. It just does a heart good to know that he'll have those friends all his life. We started the trip at Cody's sister Kaiann's house and she was brave enough to do Thanksgiving dinner with all of us there. It was delicious and was a huge hit of course. Then we moved on to Cody's parents place where we were able to honor his Grandma Brower who had passed away just before Thanksgiving. It was actually really wonderful that it happened so closer to our trip cause I don't think we would have made it up otherwise. The funeral was very beautiful and touching and I think it gave Cody a lot of closure to be there and be a part of it all. We tried to get a family picture organized but true to family reunions some family members got sick so once again no picture of all of us together. I wish we could have stayed longer but it was still a good opportunity to be with family and enjoy each other. I sure am a lucky gal to have such an awesome family in law!

Playing race with Grandma. Gage didn't want to leave his Grandma Browers arms

Asher and Eliana born the same day

So on our way home Cody wanted to pass through the canyon he grew up next to (his parents just moved from his childhood home last year) and we thought we'd check out our engagement tree. For those who don't know Cody proposed to me at this tree. On a camping trip with his family in his early 20's he was feeling lonely and decided to carve his name into a tree, just hoping he could bring his wife there someday to put her name on it. Well that girl was me and after proposing to me he had me carve my name in the tree. Well now almost 5 years later we finally got around to adding Gage and Asher to that same aspen. 

And it wouldn't be a trip to Idaho without a cattle drive down the main road. Gage was so excited to see the hundreds of cattle. When they passed on he kept saying Again Again! Almost we were tempted to turn around and go back through.

The Kitchen Reveal!

 Ok here's the big kitchen reveal we've been working on FOREVER! We feel like this is the last big thing we need to do in our house to really bring it out of the 70's. This project had so many steps that it literally has lasted close to a month, often with the kitchen out of commission. So yeah it's been a long time in coming! Things to look for in the kitchen re-do:
-Painted Cabinets
-Crown molding on Cabinets
-New Flooring (from last years project)
-Hardware
-New light fixtures with new sink light placement
-Outlets relocated and switched out (they were all beige and old and ugly and in the wrong places)
-New white microwave
-New counter top finish
-New sink faucet

Before

(When we were looking at houses before we even bought)

 After! 

(Almost 3 years later)

 This was where all the kitchen stuff went in the meantime

 Cabinets being sanded and painted

 Where we did all the painting in the basement. Sideways but you get the idea

 Doing the counter tops were crazy. We applied a tar like paint on the counter top after a vigorous sanding and spread hundreds of thousands of plastic chips onto the surface to give it the stone effect and then had a top coat over that to seal it in. The little plastic chip pieces got everywhere and I'm convinced they'll be found for years and years to come

 Here's the hardware that I totally love. It pulls a lot of the black and silver elements together in the kitchen

 New updated light fixtures that add a whole lot of light to the space

We wanted to tile a back splash as well but the counter top sags to the side so doing the tile job would be hard without the slant being obvious. We're hoping to straighten the top out but it could crack our enamel job on the counter top so we're still considering the option but it's on the back burner for now. Anyway, that's the kitchen and I think it is such a bring happy place to be now!

Weekend favorites

Just a couple of fun pictures from today. My brother and sister in law got asher this cute outfit and nothing spurs picture taking like a cute outfit :) Things have been not too bad here at the Brower house. Asher has had some tummy issues the last few nights and I just can't keep him asleep very long. Poor little guy get crazy gas sometimes.  

I've been feeling so blessed lately to have such good friends here in Colorado. It makes things so fun to have a cool group of people to hang out with. And we all have young kids and little babies which makes it all the better. Gage has been really loving his big boy bed and I wish I would have put him in it sooner. The toddler bed was really way to small once he brought all 3 of his favorite blankets in with a sippy cup and at least 5 books. Really I don't know how he fit. And when he woke up scared I would crawl onto the toddler bed with him. So that was a tight fit! Maybe all the extra sleeping room will get him to grow :) 

Below is Gage playing the classic "I pull the blanket off and take a picture" game that has been know to last up to an hour. It's a favorite for sure and I love to see him laugh and scream.

 And of course some cute Asher pictures. Love this little guy. Seriously he is the sweetest little baby and every time I look at him I fall more and more into love. I just want to kiss all the little folds of his cubby arms!

Little bit of this and that

 Here's just a little update of what we've been doing around the Brower home. First off, it's almost Halloween! Cody's favorite holiday ever! And my sweet mom made Gage his first legit Halloween outfit! I feel super bad that I didn't give my mom the reaction she deserved for putting so much time in to it and it looks really amazing.The first picture is him looking at his refection for the first time in the outfit. I think he's a little scared of his own reflection but soon enough I had him racing around and having fun. So darling. And if he'll let me I'm hoping to dye his hair black and color in a widows peak. Thank you so much mom! It looks amazing! 

And now for the big backyard reveal. Here's what it looked like before.

 And After!

 And to top it all off some darling pictures of Asher that we snapped while Gage was sleeping.

Chill'n with my boys

 These are just some fun pictures I took today of the boys. Asher is really getting into laying on the floor and watching cartoons with Gage. I had to snap a picture of the two cuddling up on the floor together. That of course prompted a photo shoot of my little Asher at almost 3 months old. And then that of course prompted a comparison of Gage and Asher at the same age. Gage had such a round little head! It's been so fun looking though the pictures and comparing my two favorite little boys in the world.

It's blurry but I love the look on that face!

Gage 3 months old

Asher almost 3 months old

 And lastly we are re-seeding our back yard and a certain little dog keeps breaking through our barrier fencing. A perimeter fence has been ordered but until then I've had to create a harness for him because his neck is to thick to not have the collar slip off. So one of Asher's onsie and some duck tape did the trick. That's what he gets for being naughty!

Favorites

 I decided to have just a few of my favorite things in this post. First, I love how attentive Cody is as a dad. He comes home late from work and school and still reads Gage a bedtime story. It's been such a help since we've been double teaming the baby and Gage for the most part. I don't know what I'd do without him! And I think Gage is finally starting to give Cody some real attention. In the past he's been a bit mom obsessed but the tide is turning and he's realizing what a blast a day can be.

 Secondly I LOVE Gage! He has become such a funny kid to mother. There are so many times during the day when I think to myself "he's my kind of kid". For instance, he was playing with the bunny while I constructed a barrier fence so the dogs would stay off the grass while it grew. Notice the dogs didn't make it on my list of favorite things this week. There's a reason. Sigh. Anyway, Gage thought it would be great to not only take the bunny inside but to tuck her into Asher's bed. Makes total sense right. The crazy thing is that the bunny isn't all that well behaved. She scratches like crazy (you can see a cut on his face, not to mention a ton on his arms) but to Gage it's all worth it to play with the bunny. I know how hard he plays because she's freaking out when I take her out of the cage and she's nearly limp with exhaustion when I put her back. He sure loves his bunny.

 Lastly I of course love my little baby so much! He is just the light of my life right now and even though he still drives me nuts sometimes I just love the companionship he gives me throughout the day. I gave him a bath during Gage's nap time today and he just loves soaking in the warm water. Just like his mom. He did get pretty fed up with picture time by the end. I don't know how I got lucky enough to have such a laid back kid. He rarely cries and loves nothing more than to snuggle the day away. I can't wait to get to know him more!

Chilly walks and doggie time

 Walking has become a norm lately since the backyard is off limits till the grass starts growing in. I couldn't do it without this stroller. I can't believe I'm a double stroller mom. Anyway, just mostly pictures this time!

So you're telling me there is no Santa?

Our new dog that Gage LOVES to wrestle with

Re-doing the back yard

 Well let me first say that these "muddy" pictures do not do Gage justice with how much mud he covered his whole body with. To explain we are rototilling and re-seeding our back yard since it died this summer. It was so hot and I just didn't have the energy to raise a newborn and worry about watering the back lawn everyday. So the backyard is getting a do over and it is a messy job! The ground in back is so hard that we needed to turn the soil. But it's so hard that we have to soak the ground so that we can till it. So that equals a lot of mud and Gage is in toddler heaven. His favorite past times include filling the dogs water with mud, smearing it on my sliding glass door and of course covering both dogs with as much mud as he can. I'm excited cause the project is going to look great when it's done but in the mean time it is giving me the messiest backyard ever!

Just a bit of mud

The back part has been tilled already

Filling the dogs water with mud