Soon to be Mrs... Chevillet?

Last weekend we celebrated Jamie's upcoming nuptuals with a bachelorette party! To explain the title, Jamie is planning to keep her last name when her & Garret marry. I think that is very cool, but I do know she is in for a lifetime of confusion. No matter what her name is, people will always assume it is Mrs. Schneider. Thus is the world we live in.

This is Jamie & her mommy, Teresa. We started out with dinner and some gifts at DT Kirby's. I was fortunate enough to find the exact same "veil" for Jamie that she got for me 4 years ago for my bachelorette party! Ah, payback... You know what they say about payback.

Yes, yes, that IS a penis whistle around her neck. And a shot glass. Which got utilized. After dinner, we walked around the Taste of Tippecanoe (like the Taste of Chicago only like 1/100th the size) and hit up all the bars there. We watched the fireworks and then headed over to the piano bar at the Neon Cactus. This is the must-go-to place for bachelorette parties. Jamie had to stand up and get heckled about getting married before getting serenaded with the song "867-5309".

We made it out until 2:30am (I think?) and Jamie and I were the last two standing for the evening. We thought we were pretty toasted until we saw the girls that took the cab ahead of us. WOW. One girl couldn't process words. The other girl basically did a back-smacker while getting into the cab. Fortunately someone caught her and dragged her into the cab like a sack of potatoes.

I could tell that my body (and liver) is four years older because I was not right for four days after that night. (Four years older... Four more days of pain... Correlation?) It was a total blast though. Although, I can't say I'm anxious to do it again anytime soon!

Can't wait for August when Jamie will be a lovely, blushing bride!

I would be PO'd

If someone buried me without my full name and the description "his wife"... You know I would be haunting someone hard core.

*We saw this at a cemetary over in Benton County where Lee grew up.

Coming soon to a bedroom near you... A closet!

*
Yet another odd thing about our house is that Taryn's room was once a porch that they turned into a bedroom long long ago. However, they never found it necessary to put in a closet. Mind boggling since when we moved in, there was one medium closet in the master bedroom, a bathroom closet and a coat closet. And that is it. Did these people not have clothes? Shoes? And seriously, two girls shared Taryn's bedroom growing up. Wow.

Oh, and there were two doors to Taryn's room. Yep, just another weirdo quirk... That's about to be unquirked. You can take your quirk and stick it... I digress.

Adios double doorway.
Door is gone, closet is framed. Baby is not dressed. Cat is not smart.

"If daddy doesn't get going, I'm taking matters into my own hands."

The closet is actually totally drywalled and basically ready for the closet door. I just can't take a pic right now because there is a sleeping baby in there. That really puts a damper on work when she takes two naps a day and goes to bed at 7pm! I'll get a pic this weekend though. Try to hold out until then!

One Year Pics @ Target

*
I wanted to get some professional pics done of Taryn for her 1-yr birthday. I mean, she'll never turn 1 again! I hemmed and hawed and finally realized that she was nearing her 13 month birthday! So, I finally pulled the trigger and went to trusty ol' Target. I love that store.
I wasn't expecting a whole lot from the photo studio, but I had a 1/2 off coupon and nothing to lose. I was expecting even less once we got there. Taryn was being shy. And scared. And very clingy on mommy. The photographer was REALLY good though and spent a good 15 minutes just getting Taryn to warm up.

He finally found that she really liked this ball that he had there, and I told him "I don't really care if the ball is in every picture as long as she smiles!" One of my favorite pics is the closeup of her holding that ball.

Looking at these pictures, you would never have guessed that Taryn started off shy. She really got into it and ended up being a little ham. She was disappointed when we finally left.

While we were there, Lee and I jumped in for a few family pics. Lee was not happy about being photographed. It was actually Lee and I that kept ruining the pictures. It was really tough to sit there and then wait for Taryn to look at the camera and smile and then for us to look at the camera and smile in a split second. We got a few though.

At the end of the photo shoot, you select what prints you want right there. There were two families waiting, so I felt very under pressure and am a little apprehensive to see what I ordered this Friday when I pick them up. I'm already wishing I had orderd some things differently. Target put the prints up online that same day too, so if I really f-ed up my ordering, at least I can go back and order more.

All in all, I was really impressed with the Target photo studio and will definitely go back again.

Because I know you love pics of my bathroom...

*
This is where the super ancient, homemade medicine cabinet used to be. At this point, it was a hole. It has been filled since then. Eventually, it will hold a mirror that came with our vanity and a towel bar.

This is probably one of the biggest difference-makers in the entire process. Closet doors!!! These hide our washer and dryer. The door on the left will eventually be our bathroom closet.

SEE... Hides our washer and dryer and our JUNK! Now you see it, now you don't.

This is pretty much how things look right now. We have a shower curtain up, and the faucet and showerhead in, but otherwise...

I can't wait for the bathroom to be done. But, after that, we go right into the kitchen remodel... Oh boy!

Glimpes

*
As all my three readers know, we have been doing lots of work around our house. Our house was originally built in 1935. We're on the Wabash River, so it was built as a river cottage. The house just had a kitchen, living room and bedroom. Yes, I didn't mention bathroom there. What was originally the bedroom has now become a dining room. Over the years, they added our master bedroom on. They also added the bathroom. At some point they turned a side porch into Taryn's bedroom. It is so baffling as we redo different things. Some things are done really really well. Other things... Not so much. But, one thing that is hilarious is to take a walk down memory road looking at the random paint colors and wallpapers that used to be in the house.

I think I have posted this one before. Seriously, at what point did this ever seem like a good idea? You're decorating your entryway and you think "Hmm, you know what would look great, faux stone walls with ivy growing on it. Yeah, that's the trick."

The other day, Lee and I decided to take out the old medicine cabinet in our bathroom. That project got a little bit bigger and we ended up also removing the shelves in the dining room that we didn't realize were attached to the medicine cabinet... Odd. Anyway, we uncovered some more sweet wallpaper. This one above. Green on green. Can you say pimpin'?

And this one... Who needs vases of flowers around the house when the flowers are on your walls?

This always makes me wonder... Are some of the styles we're doing right now end up being the jokes of the future? 20 years from now will someone be saying "OMG, what were they thinking?" Probably.

H2O

As I believe I mentioned, last week, Taryn started swim lessons at the YMCA (and I didn't see the Village People anywhere). The classes are Parent/Child, which means I have to bathing-suit-up as well. The classes are on Monday and Wednesday nights from 6:30-7:10pm. The age range for the classes goes from 6 months-3 years. Taryn is on the younger side for the class. There is only one boy that is younger. There are a few little ones close to her age though. This class is really just about getting the kids used to water, so they play with toys and we sing songs and... Well, I guess that's about it. I was hoping for a little more, but I guess I had some unrealistic aspirations in mind.

Taryn spends most of her time looking around at other people, saying "HI" and waving to people (sometimes with both hands). The teacher is always telling us to do things like "get your child to blow bubbles in the water", "get your child to reach for things to get her stroke started"... Yeah, um, I can't get my child to stop being Miss America long enough to even pay attention to me!

This is the one part of class that Taryn likes and pays attention to. They sit on the edge and wait 1... 2... 3! Then she "jumps" in the water. (Jumps = I pull her in.) She laughs and screams in a happy way.

This is Taryn's LEAST favorite part of the class. The ol' laying on your back. She gets a... Well... The only way I can think to describe it is a constipated look on her face and sucks her legs up into the fetal position. Which is really the wrong thing to do because it causes her to sink.

My mom has come to watch the class a couple times (she is on summer break and has some spare time to fill). Lee came for the first time tonight. When we left, I said, "So, what did you think?" "Pretty lame." I guess he was expecting an Olympic swim meet? Too bad for him, he is going to be the one in the pool next week!

First Haircut!

"I'm not too sure about this mommy. The fake car is kind of cool, but I'm not digging the cape. Little suspicious here."
"I KNEW IT! WHY IS MY HAIR WET AND WHAT IS THAT CHICK DOING WITH THE SCISSORS? YOU SOLD ME OUT MOMMY."

"Get that camera out of my face. I am pissed."

"Hours later and I'm still not happy about that haircut."

So, the other day, I took Taryn to get her first haircut at a place called Cookie Cutters. Originally Lee wanted to cut it ourselves... Between our lack of hair cutting experience and Taryn's wiggling... I really didn't want to butcher her first haircut. Or take out an eye.

Cookie Cutters is a children's hair cutting place. It has a playground in the salon, the kids sit in fake cars to get their hair cut, they turn on kids shows while they cut and everything. Taryn was initially suspicious of the cape. Then the lady wet her hair. That pissed her off. She kept wanting me to pick her up out of the car. To look at her face, you would have thought the lady was cutting off fingers instead of hair.

In the long run, we got the hair cut. Taryn now has the hair out of her eyes. The back and sides are even and the whole thing got a trim. It must have worked too. Since then everyone has been commenting on how much thicker her hair looks. I hope not to have to cut her hair again for quite awhile other than maybe a trim of the bangs. It was definitely not the most fun of some of her firsts!

Summer Randoms!

*
When my mom got done with school last week, we drove down to Kentucky and went to the First Farm Inn. It is a Bed & Breakfast that is on a horse farm. We cruised the area and went to some stores, drove through some small towns and saw the sights. It is gorgeous down there! I have realized, however, that the whole B&B thing would be a lot more relaxing if one of the B's stood for BABYSITTER. The breakfasts were awesome though! One day we had blueberry pankcakes, banana/chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, fruit, coffee cake, etc. The next day we had biscuits & gravy, fruit, eggs, giant cinnamon rolls, etc. Mmmm. My mouth is watering just thinking of those biscuits & gravy!

I just wanted a picture with the horse, but he just wanted to make sure I wasn't hiding a piece of candy anywhere.

Taryn had fun with all the animals. There were a ton of kitties to harrass and a doggie that actually liked her! There was even an adorable black kitten that was her best friend the whole time we were there. Taryn was even more happy to get home though.

Deep Thoughts with Taryn

I wish our tire swing pics hadn't all been blurry. It was hilarious!

Back at home, we are in full summer mode. We got the baby pool going in the front yard. I don't think this is the best pic we had, but I think Lee would have been mad if I posted either of the other pics. He was in the pool with Taryn and felt that the camera might have added some girth and paleness to his stomach region.

Tonight was Taryn's first swim lesson at the Y. She LOVED it. She was doing her excited screams and kicking her legs. I'm pretty sure she was ready for me to let go of her and just take off. She did have some trouble focusing though because she was too busy waving at everyone. She pretty much thinks she is on a float in a parade at all times.

One thing that has cracked me up to no end is how she mimicks me snapping. Today in the car we were stopped and so I started snapping to the song and moving my hands back and forth as I snapped. She put her hands up in the air and waved them back and forth while making a clicking sound with her tongue. And that is her perception of what snapping is.

This is my last week completely off of school. It has passed INCREDIBLY quickly. Next week is our orientation week and then classes start the following week. I can't say my time has been all that relaxing!! However, the summer classes won't be nearly as bad as student teaching was, so I still look forward to some chill time!

We're gonna party like it's your birthday

So, yeah, super late posts seem to be my thing these days. Like a week and a half ago we had Taryn's first birthday party. Thankfully, the weather was perfect so we could have it outdoors and not have to worry about the fact that our house is tiny! We were first worried it would be cold and rainy, but then we worried it would be too hot. Oh, Indiana weather, you so crazy!


Taryn was not a big fan of her "dig" cake. I was. She only ate the frosting number 1 that was on the cake and we're pretty sure that was because she thought it was a piece of cheese. Damn, that was some good cake. It was made by the lady that made our wedding cake. She is so insanely awesome! She makes fabulous cake, her prices are ridiculously cheap, and she told me I looked skinny. Seriously, I could have kissed her. Guess how much she charged for 50 cupcakes and that big 6" "dig" cake... Guess. $12.50!!!! I looked at how much that would cost at Meijer and it would have been in the $50 range. Insane. I paid her more than she charged and still felt like I robbed her!

Taryn got a lot of great gifts. All of which she thought was either a hat or a scarf. That is how she dresses herself these days. It either goes on her head or around her neck. She got a lot of awesome gifts and she has been LOVING her new toys! And I am loving her new summer wardrobe that I didn't have to buy!

There were a ton of kids there, which was awesome. There was a kid the right age to play with every kid that came. Except for my 10 year old cousin. All the little ones had some buddies though! This here is the Klemme crew. 7 grandkids age 5 and under.

I appreciate everyone that made it for the party. I felt like it was an absolute blur. I see now why moms want to have parties at Chuckee Cheese and stuff! I felt like I was too busy making sure everything was done to really visit with anyone! Oh, and I realized AFTER the party that I had 13 favor bags made up for the kids that never got handed out... DOH. And I had bought a gallon of ice cream to go with the cupcakes that never made it out of the basement freezer. (Lee isn't too upset about this... More icecream for him.)

It was a fun day, but I'm kind of glad we don't have to do it again until next year! Happy Birthday to my little cutie pie! I'm so sad that you'll never again be my baby, but I'm excited to see the little girl you're already becoming!