We Like It.

Our outdoor sitting place, that is.  I wasn't convinced I was going to totally like this fancy curved and fake stone concrete patio.  But I do.  We both do. 

First it's a HUGE step up from the 8 little squares we had outside the back door. 

I think it's more interesting than the usual plain concrete square.

It's supposed to look like stone, and it was very interesting the way they did it.  I'm not sure about it, but it had to do with stamping a pattern and throwing handfuls of sand and then making a kind of pattern and more sand and finally sealing it.

We have a long way to go to make it pretty, but we've started to enjoy it already.  I sat out and watched the clouds and hoped for rain one day last week.  We got it, a lot.

I pleated a panel to smock for something for Graysen while I watched the clouds.

This is my favorite place to sit, although it's not very attractive in this picture.  This is after the rain with a wet dog bed and step stool for painting the window.  It will look better with the flower bed constructed again.  The crepe myrtle mess is going to aggravate me, but I love having the shade and am glad I won that little battle.

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Mike's place.  A drill on the left and a cup of coffee on the right. 

Mama really enjoys sitting there too.  She goes out there to get warm when the house gets too cold for her.  I didn't take a picture of her yet.

Darby and Stella have taken it all in stride and not mentioned it, but I think they like it.  I'm sure Darby thinks we made it just for her as a squirrel-watching platform.

 Stella is not sure she trusts us with something new and will have to take it slowly before she lies on it.

We went pot hunting yesterday for a couple of big pots to set around the edges of the patio.  Mama wanted to buy them for us, but I just could not spend $80 to $100 for a clay or ceramic pot, especially needing 2 of them.  Makes me hyperventilate.  Sewing things, ok - but not pots.

We had seen these wooden whiskey keg halves at Home Depot as we went in, and they were big enough, but I wasn't going for a rustic look, so we kept looking.  We finally decided on plain black plastic pots (that looked like smaller versions of the whiskey kegs) with the hope of painting them somehow to make them more than just black plastic pots.  

We found a paint that goes on with a hammered look.  I'll have to go find the can and see what it is, but it gives a metallic look and was okay to put on plastic.  The thought was to spray the whole thing and then sand off some to distress it a little, but then we thought about those fake bands around the pot and just painting those.  Mike had the patience to tape off the rest of the pot and paint just the bands.  It surprised us both how much we liked it.  And the best thing - $19.99 apiece.  We got 2 tables and 2 planters for less than $75.  Does my penny-pinching heart good.

 
The rest will be fun --finding plants to go in them.

I can't leave without updates on the sweet baby girl.

Aunt CC and Graysen meeting for the first time.  They loved each other immediately, and Graysen honored Elise with her first actual talking (babbling). 

I thought I would take advantage of her constant kicking and found this crib piano.  She loved kicking it, but Emily's not sure she knew it was her making the sounds.

It works just as well with the hands.

She's really learning to grab things and notice the things around her.  Such a sweet age.

I guess they all are sweet ages to me.

No more trusting her in the bouncer or swing without being strapped in, or she'll just leave.  She can flip herself over pretty easily now.

Ryan is already working on baby-proofing the house because crawling is coming soon - I guess after she learns to sit up.  I can't remember which one comes first.