Thanks Grandpa!

My dad came down to visit for a week. He arrived on the 4th of July just in time for a BBQ dinner followed by a fireworks show that we were able to see from our backyard. My dad held Nathan on his shoulder through the whole show and Nathan was just in awe the whole time. It was pretty stinkin' cute!

After a while Nathan started holding onto grandpa's hair for...comfort? balance? whatever his reason it was hilarious.

My dad's visit wasn't just to come watch the fireworks, or even to play with this cute kid:
Nope, his visit was to help us (ok, more to single handedly) turn this:
into this:
When our house was being built we noticed that there was all this empty space under the stairs that wasn't being used. My dad had the great idea to turn part of that space into a little play area for Nathan. I absolutley love it because not only is it a fun place for Nathan to play, but it is also a great, out of the way, place to store all his big toys.

The builders didn't completely waste the space under the stairs, they at least gave us this little closet:
But it didn't even go back the full length of the stairs. So once again, dad to the rescue! He knocked out the wall and extended the closet all the way back. He even built some shelves for our food storage!

This is the additional space he found us by knocking out the wall, and I say it is well worth it!
It was quite a successful endevor, Nathan LOVES his new "play house"

And we LOVE our new storage room!
I feel bad that every time my dad comes to visit we manage to put him to work, but with results like these, how can we resist?

It is amazing how much easier these additions have made my life. Nathan spends most of his time playing in his play house! There is a window that looks out into the living room, and one that looks into the kitchen, so no matter where I am it is easy to keep an eye on him, and he loves watching me through his windows.

Can you see his little head poking out the window? So cute!
Not only does he love peaking out the windows, but he gets so excited if someone looks IN the window at him!
This place is seriously heaven to him, he just skips around from toy to toy laughing and having a ball!
The other day I was in the kitchen cooking while Nathan was playing in his playhouse. Most of his toys make noise so it is pretty easy to tell where he is. After a while though I couldn't hear him anymore, and as most moms know, silence is rarely a good thing. So I decided to check on him and this is what I found:
He had moved his bumbo (that I don't think he has seen in months) to the doorway and was just sitting in it, calm as can be. He reminded me of an old man sitting out on his porch just watching the world around him.

I constantly find him just sitting in his bumbo by the door, just chillin.

One of his other favorite things to do now is to hide things in his playhouse. The other day I found the duster, the broom, and a couple of cutting boards stashed in the back. I guess he is trying to keep the place clean?

We are so happy with our new spaces, Curtis likes to say that it has added "at least $20,000" to the value of our house :) I am so lucky to have a dad who is able and willing to help us out ALL THE TIME! I swear the man can do anything!! We are learning a lot from him, but I don't think he is getting much in return. However, I did buy him one of those "expensive" Arby's sandwiches while he was here, so maybe that makes us even! ;)