House Update

Well, we're chugging right along. I'd like to think that it is always someone we've contracted work out to that is holding us up, however there is about a thousand things we are always scrambling to do even though they push their dates back. The final task outsourced is carpet and that will probably be installed while I'm in labor (worst case scenario) but you can bet I'll be there watching to make sure they don't damage our new trim or doors. I'll lay on the tile and be dramatic, and maybe they'll work a little faster. We got our kitchen countertops in this week and so I'll include a picture of that, plus our freshly painted crown moulding and bannisters and walls. Derrick, my contractor, trapeze artist and husband hung new fixtures from our 18 foot ceilings over labor day weekend and they look amazing! I should have taken a picture of the ridiculously dangerous contraption he made to climb and hang 3 different lights, but I couldn't even watch him do it.




The dining room and stairway going upstairs. And, yes, that is a big green accent wall that will not be as overwhelming when furniture is up against it.

















The formal living room and entryway with new front door and lighting fixtures and new tile at the front door.















The kitchen with new recessed lighting and main lighting (it used to just be a big fluorescent light in the middle and one light over the sink.) New countertops, new cabinets. The panel on the back of the peninsula is being replaced because it came in from the manufacturer gouged. Appliances are coming next week.





A closer look at the countertops with new stainless steel undermount sink





On a non-house note, Hayden and I have been fitting in fun between work and enjoying our last couple of weeks together of just Mama and son. He is so fun right now. Very toddler dramatic. His favorite answer to every question is "no" which my understanding is perfectly normal. He is stringing words together which occasionally come out sounding more like a command than a statement. We call him the Japanese general (which was from this bit on Last Comic Standing that was hilarious) because he gives very serious commands in broken English. When we are at the new house and the grass is looking a little too long for his liking he points to it and says "Mama mow grass". He also likes to say "Mama vacuum" a lot. You can tell he sees his Daddy with construction clothes on more than anything else lately as a new descriptor is "icky, icky Daddy." Even Sadie gets bossed around with "Good girl potty!" or "no no no Good Girl". I think she's the only one who takes him seriously. Poor girl, she's submitted to a toddler who weighs 60 pounds less that she does. My little smarty pants is getting very good with colors and will point out the colors of many objects with our favorite being the "yellow schoo bus" and the occasional "purple guck" (that's truck in case you don't speak toddler.) He can verbalize all the colors except for red because that "r" just trips us up, though he can pick it out. Its amazing the words he's learning everyday. He surprises even me. When we're at the house he'll say the words saw and sawhorse and paint. I guess he'll develop his construction vocabulary right now. He's also a great helper. I'm so proud of him that he picks up his toys and puts them away (in all the right places at that), gives Sadie her treats and puts her outside (with me shutting the door), and carries in groceries (don't worry, I give him the lighter things.) He'll be a great help when the new baby comes. I love him so much and look forward to the times we'll have in new company and the memories we'll make for ourselves when we sneak away for Hayden and mama time occasionally.






How is it possible to get this MUCH avocado on your face without trying?





He thought this was hilarious. I just thought it was cute that he was walking around like a Princess Leia.









Who can resist tickling a little bit.






Well we'll post more as more happens. Pics of a wee one coming soon!

Almost Home

To keep you in the loop, we are now working at light speed to finish what feels like an insurmountable project that we took on with this house. My understanding is that nothing ever goes according to plan, takes more time than expected and almost always costs more (except on HGTV where they have magical powers or magical discounts.) I am now into the nesting phase of pregnancy without a nest and trying to keep our current, but not permanent nest running and trying to make the end of summer fun for Hayden. Every time we have a play date at someone else's house, I realize how little I know of toy buying and seem to be depriving (okay, not depriving because let's face it, Hayden does have more than sticks and rocks to play with) Hayden of the enjoyment of childhood via toys. So I go on rampages. We have thus far bought a swing (which will be hung at our new house when my engineering husband has time for that "low priority item.) We have gotten him a tricycle (which he will be given as his own special present when the baby comes home.) And I had to order it online because it didn't occur to me until late August to buy one, but I got him a baby pool (with a shade for those blistering days...next summer). We busted that one out. It took me 3 days to do it, because I couldn't find the little air pump and I was not about to pass out on the back patio blowing this thing up (though Derrick has made me blow up an entire air mattress at 10,000ft altitude while pregnant with just my meager lungs and didn't understand why I couldn't just go to town on this little pool.) However, the feat was accomplished and now we love our new "poo" as Hayden calls it. So here are some cute pictures.
As for the house, cabinets are being finished up today (with exception of a few doors and a panel that have to be reordered), some major painting is being done today and Tuesday, and Derrick will get almost all the tiling finished and doors hung. So we're getting there. I'll post pics of progress after this weekend. Meanwhile, enjoy the Hayden pictures!






Love his fluffy hair in this picture and how much he looks like a little boy.










Pounding an apple juice post-swim. I love his little pursed lips.









Hanging out with BFF, Sadie who faithfully waits on the outside of the pool

Catching Up

So much has happened in a month. With the house, the little boy and the little girl within. We traveled back to Kansas to visit family. We won't be visiting again until spring when we can introduce our newest little addition. So we had a lot of people to visit with Hayden. He'll have to share the spotlight from now on so I hope he enjoyed the singular attention.





















We (and by we I mean, A LOT Derrick, some work that we are grateful for by our parents, and me when I can secure someone to watch Hayden as a toddler in a construction zone is not the safest thing) have mostly been consumed with the house. This week should bring some great change to the house as cabinets will be installed. Derrick has masterfully tiled 2 bathrooms and a kitchen with a little more to go. He pretty much has a second job as my contractor at this point. The pictures capture some of what we have done. Its amazing how much prep work has to go into something before you can even begin the final rebuilding process. You don't just paint a wall. You have to repair holes, sometimes re-texture, then prime, then roll and trim a ceiling twice, then roll and trim the walls twice with paint. And that's just to paint. HGTV makes it look so much faster. But we're moving along.


The master bath-missing cabinetry and shower and toilet still. Will be one of the last things done completely.











Hall bath-missing cabinetry (this week) and toilet.










Family Room- trim and carpet








Kitchen - cabinets (this week) and countertops and appliances (the following week.) Also Derrick has completely tiled this area since I took these pictures a day ago.







As for Hayden, he is just a little parrot. He is picking up words left and right and stringing them together to make sentences. His language development is amazing to watch. He also loves to imitate movement (especially with his daddy and grandpa.) He comes into a room and Derrick is leaning against a post, Hayden will lean against the post. Grandpa (or Manka, as Hayden refers to him) thought it was especially funny to get him walking sideways while he was visiting here. Hayden LOVES anything with a motor and loves playing with cars and trucks. He has 2 Hot Wheels cars and one he refers to as his "fast car" and the other is his "cool car". He was amazed that a fire truck honked so loud the other day too that we keep bringing it up by saying "big truck honk" . Of course it is not as clear as you and I say it. Luckily, I speak toddler. It is more like "fa car" and "coo car" and "big guck onk." He is also doing a stellar job feeding himself with spoon and fork (no knives yet :) and he can know even handle small cups. Not that he's all that interested in eating because he'd rather play all the time. I also finally caved and bought some Sesame Street DVD's and he loves Elmo. All this time that voice has just grated on me. Its amazing what you can push through though when your little one gets so much joy from it. He loves to color (and always manages to find permanent markers laying around which I swiftly exchange for crayons and paper.) He loves to ride on his little cart, play in water (if a baby pool is not available, then a dog water bowl will suffice even if we just stand in it with our socks on.) He loves to be "outide" and gets very upset when the door is shut (as we are trying not to cool the still 90+ temperatures.) Anyway, he is at such a fun age and everyday he makes me laugh and amazes me is some way. It is amazing to watch someone develop from birth. Despite the effort that goes into child rearing, I can't imagine missing a second of it and am looking forward to doing everything from the start. I feel like I took my days for granted until Hayden. I was always looking forward to the next thing in life whether that was graduating, getting married, and then having kids. Watching someone change so fast makes you realize you are too and that you should savor every moment of it. Its really easy to get caught up in things that won't matter a bit to you 10 or 20 years down the road. I look at these pictures and can feel the joy I had in the moment and I am just so grateful to have had each and every moment of them. I hope you all enjoy every moment of every day too, even the rough days.

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.

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.

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.