Happy 2nd Birthday, Arabella!!

We had a  little birthday celebration at our house for Arabella at home.  We had her favorite dinner- chicken and rice with ice cream for dessert.  We also gave Arabella her present from Daddy, Mommy, and Landon.  Arabella LOVES playing house, taking care of babies and playing in kitchens.  I had thought maybe we would buy one but they are expensive and the used ones weren't anything that was that exciting to me.  Being a big fan of Pinterest and being crafty I thought maybe we could make one.  I searched the Internet and Pinterest. There were so many ideas on how to make one and most were under $75.  I looked for months and months for a used piece of furniture that was solid wood and inexpensive.  I wasn't  having much luck with my two specifications.  Finally, at the end of September, I found a lady who was moving and trying to quickly get rid of all her furniture.  So for $20 I got this TV stand/entertainment center.  There is a shelf in the middle that is sitting on top of the whole thing.  I was super excited! But now, what do I do with it?

 



We had planned to make this a Christmas present.  Well, with holidays and a wedding I didn't get to it.  So 2nd birthday present it is. :)
Aunt Merry moved and she had some left over magnetic paint.  Sweet! Maybe we can make the refrigerator door magnetic?
A family friend/ architect, Linda, had a bag of knobs and pulls.  Ooo, controls for a oven? Knobs for the sinks?

After a bit of wood cutting and glueing 

A few of the knobs Linda gave us made into oven controls and the microwave door.

Brian, Josh's co-ower of his painting/ landscape business, had some left over paint.  Paint the whole piece.
I had plenty of craft paint and fabric to do little details. Josh had scrap wood. We had a few old CDs we didn't need

So we bought- a pull for the fridge door, a ceramic dish,  a bit more fabric, a little bit of paint and a sealer.
Total cost-$52 dollars

Josh did some woodwork and took my sketch into reality! Josh, Landon and I sanded the wood.  Josh, Landon and I painted. I painted and painted and painted. Josh and I added hardware.  I sewed. I glued. I painted a bit more. Josh and I sealed the whole thing, in hopes to make all that painting last a bit longer.

Daddy designed and created the sink all by himself.  Mommy was super happy and impressed! 

In all things, give thanks.  

Microwave and Oven

The refrigerator and yes, it is magnetic

A place to put all the food 

Josh remembered we had a rack which was rarely used from a toaster oven we no longer had.

Did I mention it has a light already built into it?

The (Christmas present from Daddy and Mommy) pots and pans look great

AND.....IT IS DONE!

Welcome to Arabella's kitchen!

Landon and Arabella love it :)

A couple of weeks later, we drove up to the panhandle to have a birthday party and celebrate with family.  Josh drove up a couple of days after us since he had to work and could only visit on the weekend. Arabella received some great presents, mostly fun stuff for her kitchen.  We were able to Skype with Aunt Jessica and Great Grandma Williams. Our good friends the Richards were also able to come help celebrate. 

Colorful cupcakes 

Williams family 2013

Tucked out after partying 

It was a fun visit

The kids and I were able to come in time to see Grandpa Williams in a Barbershop event.  The event was a tribute to Frank Sinatra. It was awesome as always! Landon and Arabella were amazingly well behaved and listened to the whole 2.5 hour long event.