Although Avery has been keeping us busy, we’ve found time to make some needed updates within the house.   Specifically, we’ve had two projects hanging over our heads (literally) since we moved in.

The Dining Room Light Fixture Switcheroo:

This is the lighting fixture we inherited in the dining room:

After we moved in, we took down the fixture, and found that the light didn’t have a box, and would be much more difficult to switch, so we left the project hanging for a while… In the meantime, Avery came.  So our first night back from the hospital, we had dinner with family and friends under our lovely mid-construction light fixture:

Then, with the help of my dad, who was visiting for Avery’s birth, Vinay & Dad put up the new light fixture.  This is what they started with…

And because our ceilings are low, we decided on this new fixture instead of a chandelier:

So, the men went to work…

And here is the final product!

A close up:

The Nursery Light Fixture Switcheroo:

So, after the successful install of our dining room light, we attempted the nursery light.  This is the original nursery and light fixture:

And you can see from this nursery progress picture, we took down the old fixture, but didn’t get to replacing it until after Avery came.

So, with what he learned from the dining room light fixture, Vinay attempted to put in the nursery light.  This proved much more complicated though… there were extra wires which caused the electrical box to short… so the nursery looked like this for a few days until we could get our electrician in to finish it for us.  And you can see from this next picture that theres a light switch above the crib (where the old doorway used to be), so the electrician moved that to the doorway.

The new light switch vs. the old one:

And the new nursery light:

Oh, I just realized the pile of dirty clothes on the rocker… proof that our life isn’t perfect with a little one to care for!