The Bathroom

No, this is not a blog about Piper in the bathtub, although that would be cute. This blog is dedicated to our "starter" bathroom remodel. We decided that it would be best to remodel the downstairs bathroom since it is the smallest and is not required for bathing any members of the family. I really should have taken a before picture so you could understand how terribly outdated it was. The light fixtures above the sink I think might be original to the house, but since they were designed to look like light fixtures from 200 years ago, they look antique and I decided to keep them. Besides, fixtures are expensive! The walls were half wall, half tile. You know, that tile that goes all the way around the entire lower half of your bathroom. The tiles were in shades of blue and beige arranged in a pattern that I didn't bother to figure out if it was random or not. My whole goal was simplicity, so these had to go. What also had to go was the sink and cabinet, which had been painted over two or three times, kind of like the ceiling, which I painted white when we first moved in (much better than seafoam green, right?). After Peter's adventure in re-drywalling the lower half of the walls, I was finally able to start painting. I love painting. I chose a simple neutral we have in a few other rooms in the house and went to town, painting the entire room in a record hour and a half! (this is of course separated over morning naptime and afternoon naptime) Peter re-installed the toilet and set up the pedestal sink. I hung the mirror from Peter's mom that had been sitting on the counter for months. And now, hark, I hear Piper! Time to start some more banging of baseboards, bolting of the sink, and finally, more painting!!

Piper and the Spoon

Ever since Piper began eating solid foods she has had a relationship with spoons that is above all other toys she has ever been offered, except maybe the phone, but I'll save that for another blog. It really doesn't matter what kind of a spoon it is, although I have noticed that the bigger the spoon she is holding, the louder she squeals in delight while wielding it like a sword with magical powers.

Clarks and Growling Defined

So, here it is, my official family blog. Many of you are already in on the growling language that seems to be the preferred means of communication around my house, but for those of you that aren't, let me explain. My first child is a dog named Xena--a Jack Russel/Parsons/Fox Terrier mix with a docked tail and an attitude to go with it. Xena was never really big on growling until we had our second child, another dog, named Missy. Once those two began to play, the growling commenced. Upon careful observation of this language, I've determined that different growls can mean different things, such as, "Back off, I was eating that!" "Quit biting my ankles!" "Drop the mail and run, buster!" and more friendly growls like, "Thanks for the ear licking," "Lets rub our noses in the carpet," and, "Nice break dancing."

After having Piper I anxiously awaited her first "talking" sounds. She started cooing around six weeks and gradually added some additional cute baby sounds. Then one day the growling began. I believe she was five months old when it started. She continued it for about a month when one week, she just seemed to stop. So, the phase was over, right? Yes, until about seven months of age when the growling came back with gusto. One day, while she was playing with her toys in the living room, the dogs began to play and of course, growl. Piper dropped whatever she was playing with, squealed, flapped her arms, and began growling in harmony with the dogs.

About a month ago I thought she was growing out of it again. She seemed to have replaced the growling with the usual baby babbles; dadada, buhbuhbuh, and on rare occasion, mamama. However, sometime over the next week she developed a hybrid language, if you will, of growling and babbling combined.

One day I noticed that the growling is really an effective form of communication in my home. Instead of wasting my breath with my complicated phrases like, "Get out of the kitchen!" "Go lay down!" or "Get your nose out of my face!" I can simply growl and the hint is taken. Hopefully Peter won't unintentionally begin growling at work on a frustrating day.