Monday, July 19, 2010

Stripped Down version of our New Old House



Daddy's little helper











Getting his work gloves on. Point me to the power tools.










Master Bedroom









Another Bedroom












Hall Bathroom









Family room







Breakfast nook looking into bare kitchen









Master bath















The staircase and open hallway to second floor






The entry way and family room

Thank God for Little Boys



I didn't grow up with any brothers and so have never had the experience of what a little boy is like in the day-to-day. I just know what my sister and I were like as little girls. I do remember being fascinated with anything with buttons and loving to play on the playground. I liked water, in an orderly fashion with swimsuit or at bathtime. I remember wanting to hold and nurture smaller animals (cats, puppies, and the occasional hamster or gerbil) but never wanting to saddle them up and ride them into the sunset with my box of mac and cheese cargo. It amazes me everyday how he explores the world around him with such different eyes than I did and do. I am so grateful for my little boy and the opportunity to raise him up to be a man. I am grateful that for today he is still my little boy and will let me attack him with kisses, cuddle him, and kiss his ouchies. As excited as I am to have a little girl coming and to have that new and different bond with her, I'm going to miss my little boy only days that have passed so quickly despite my trying so hard to make certain parts of them just hold still for a moment or at least freeze in my memory. I can't help but everyday at 8pm get a little nostalgic for how life really does seem to speed up when you're watching someone change so quickly before your eyes. Anyway, I'm just thankful for everyday, no matter how tired I am. I wouldn't trade my exhaustion for anything.



















PS-None of these photos are posed especially the last. We have a very patient lab who actually lets him ride her occasionally.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Button Pushing and Other things

How is it that a toddler has radar on how and when to push your buttons? Hayden apparently has the magical ability every 5 seconds or so to zone in on exactly the precise activity that will make my miraculously low blood pressure this pregnancy (thank God) soar. What? Mommy is having a stressful moment trying to negotiate pricing with someone who is blatantly trying to rip her off? Now would be a good time to give my stuffed animal a swim in the dog bowl. Or maybe I'll just pull my pants down and then cry when I can't walk or run very well. Anyway the last one made me laugh because I love his little non-baby legs. Hope all of you buttons are unpushed out there.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Summertime Fun!

So our little Hayden is 18 months now and we are a mere 3 months away from starting the baby journey again with our new little girl. If you're curious about whether or not we've picked a name, know that we still need to select countertop and lighting fixtures because they are scheduled to be installed before her debut and we seem to be running a JIT life right now.

So if you haven't heard, we Finally, Finally bought a house. It took us 4 1/2 years to bite the bullet. We were able to get a good deal on a fixer-upper in a nice neighborhood but are doing a big renovation on it. Now by we, I mean mostly Derrick, as I am limited in my painting abilities and handiwork abilities at that. So while he labors away, and gets away occasionally, Hayden and I have been playing in the sun enjoying our health. The usual swimming pool and zoo visits and even some tram rides and hiking trips have been part of our summer activities.

We have been keeping very busy, needless to say but Hayden often reminds us that we need not be all work and no play and reminds us to not be in adult-mode all the time despite our life-changing and uber-important decisions about cabinets and carpet we are always making. He keeps me on my toes these days and wears me down. I can't think of a time in my life where I've wanted so badly to go to bed the second I put him to be at 8 o'clock. The thought of staying up past 10pm makes a wave of exhaustion sweep over me.

He's a toddler boy for sure though. A lego-playing, turning everything into a car (from chicken nuggets, to books) with his little motor noise, to full fledged temper-tantrums which are interesting to watch develop, to mounting his horse-dog Sadie for a ride around the living room (if you think I'm kidding, I'm not, you should see it-bare back holding onto her fur.) Its fun because he totally knows how to melt mommy by puckering up (to his best ability) and giving me a kiss as soon as he knows he's broken the law.