A Bowl on the Table...

Is worth a mess on the toddler, right? It is in our house anyway. We have some bowls that have a handy little suction cup on the bottom. They work great for keeping little people from picking up their bowls of sloppy, wet cereal and walking all around the house. At least I thought they did. Then Abby tried to pick up the bowl to drink the milk out of her cereal and the entire bowl of cinnamon toast crunch ended up coming down on top of her. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe for a minute or two, then I took her picture, then we cleaned up the mess.

We also cleaned up a very big mess inside. We had a bathroom with a major ceiling mildew problem. Part of it was pre-existing, but the rest was our own creation from not running the vent fan so that we didn't wake up Abby any earlier than she got up on her own. Needless to say after scrubbing the ceiling with bleach and repainting the whole bathroom, no one in this house will be showering without running the vent fan. But, the bathroom went from a blah (and dirty) light blue to a fabulous "Tinkerbell" green, so I think it was well worth the effort in the 80+ degree heat.

Olivia and Abby are both cutting teeth. Abby has her last two molars just about through and Olivia has been chewing her fists for a solid 3 weeks. They both also developed snotty noses over the weekend, which for Abby has always been a sure sign that the teeth were just about through. No coughs, no sneezes, no fevers, just icky running noses. I hope their little teeth hurry in - Olivia kept me up most of the night since she couldn't lay flat to sleep and she is definitely too big to be crammed into an infant car seat, even if it is the most comfortable way for her to sleep. So, after keeping me up all night (I'm operating on maybe 3.5 hours of sleep today), Olivia took a big long morning nap. Of course, I had to stay awake to watch Abby who is wearing her big girl panties today. So far no accidents... I hope she can keep that up.

Abby Rides A Zebra

Abby is getting ready for her visit downstate, complete with a visit to the Toledo Zoo, by riding her toy zebra. She especially likes riding it at night with the lights off so that the flashing lights on the handle show up better. She rode last night until just before she passed out. She was so tired we ended up putting her to sleep in her clothes.
We have been keeping busy and trying to stay warm and dry this weekend. It hasn't been above 60 degrees yet this weekend - not exactly what you'd expect for the last weekend in August. So we had to break out Abby's fall clothing collection a bit early. She has been feeling like a princess all weekend in her new gear. We are almost rested up from all of the activities Steve and I have been working on this weekend. First, we helped friends Jon, Michelle, and Mackenzie get their uhaul loaded for their big move back to Kalamazoo. We will sure miss them! After doing that late into Friday night (Abby was enjoying a huge play date with all her normal buddies), we had to be up really early for Angel Food on Saturday morning. We got that all under control and then napped for most of Saturday afternoon. Finally we are about back on our regular schedule.

Today Steve is teaching Abby the important skill of installing a vanity. I can't wait to have our bathroom back together for the first time since we moved in. What a relief now that I am making many, many trips to the bathroom.

Abby has started stringing multiple words together and will parrot just about anything she hears - this means we are being extra careful what she watches on t.v. and hears on the radio. Not that we weren't careful before, but even more so now. Sometimes though you just can't prevent the occasional naughty word from popping out of her mouth. Like yesterday when she was trying to say "fox". Abby's version of "fox" is basically a four letter word right now, so we've put away the book with the foxes in it so that she doesn't keep saying that new word, because try as hard as we can, we can't help but giggle when she says it. Bad parenting... I know.

Oh... and in less than 48 hours we will know the answer to the big mystery. One crib or two.... that is the question :)

Demolition Girl

We finished tearing the tile up in the half bath yesterday. Steve and I have never been so sore. That tile was really stuck down good. Abby loved watching the destruction happen (from a safe distance of course). We are really making some progress on the bathroom now. I've got the mirror frame and toilet paper holder sprayed to match the new faucet and the walls all painted. Now we've just got to get the new floor laid down.

Abby learned quite a few new words this weekend including her current favorite "sit." She's been telling Maize to sit all weekend, although Abby's version of sit sometimes comes out a little like a word she shouldn't be using. She had a lot of fun playing with her dad this weekend and has become a professional laundry chute user. We've got pictures to share, but I have to wait until Abby's napping to get the camera out, so you'll have to wait until tonight or tomorrow.

Big Girl Play Date

Abby had a big girl play date today with other kids who have stay at home moms. She seemed to have a really good time once she finally stopped clinging to me. It's a regular Tuesday play group, so we'll have to check it out again and see if she likes it just as well the second time.

Abby got her 8th tooth on the 4th of July. She's got all her incisors now, so we'll be working on the molars next. She also chipped her top central incisor, but just a little bit. Her dad said it wasn't a big deal, and with as active as she is she will probably do it a few more times. I just can figure out whether she chipped it chewing on ice or whether it was from playing.

I am going to be working on the half bathroom again today, once my arms get the strength up. I scrubbed walls for an hour last night and still have about one-third of the bathroom left to scrub. Then it's on to painting and floor removal. This has been back breaking work! But I can't wait to see the finished result. It is going to look great.

My Yardwork Projects

Hot pink peonies :-) I can't wait for the whole bush to be in bloom! I love flowers.
The trees post cutting - now I just need to haul away all the branches and limbs. Our yard goes all teh way back to the line of hostas/foliage in the back. If you click on the picture to expand it you should be able to see them. All we need is to get a fence going and we'd be perfect.
My newest flower bed and walkway. Some of my transplants aren't faring too well, but hopefully they'll get better soon.
Freshly trimmed shrubs and bushes. And mowed grass. The only problem is that our sod didn't transfer well from the back yard to the front yard. Could be worse.

I've heard that some of my cousins are trying for a mini-baby boom. For the record I have no intention of participating. Abby still wears diapers and still needs too much assistance. So don't count on us to add to the global population any time soon. Abby enjoys being an only child :-)

House Update

We have ordered a new dishwasher and it should arrive in the U.P. within 5 to 7 days. Apparently it takes longer when they have to deliver by dogsled and snowmobile. It's too bad that the old one broke down so soon, but I sure won't complain about the nice, shiny, new unit that is on the way!

I've also got all my shrubs and hedges out front trimmed, the lower branches on the tree trimmed up, and the new flower bed mostly filled. Only a few more weeks of work and this place will look like someone actually lives here :-)

Getting Dirty

Some of us have been busy working. Others have been having picnics and taking naps with their best friends. That and making HUGE messes now that there is 5 times more space to mess up! This afternoon, after I put Abby in her room for her nap, I got down to work on a new garden. We have lots of old gardens on the property that are overgrown, weedy, and in desperate need of work. Instead of tackling one of those I ripped out a little section of grass that we decided we didn't want to mow and put flower in instead (and my bell pepper plants so we'd have lots of yummy peppers to eat this fall). I'm two-thirds of the way done with this side of the garden, then I'll have to rip out the rest of the grass, put in the brick pavers I found in the yard and finish the north side of the garden, which currently has two big, tangly bushes. On the bright side, all this gardening is pretty much free, since I have been relocating the plants from the yucky gardens into my new space. And Melissa and Mom also sent some beautiful guys to live in our flower bed too.Abby has been enjoying our new deck. We put a kiddie pool out on the deck and she's been exploring that quite a bit. She also has been using her bubble mower to keep the deck clear of any weeds or grass. And she has been enjoying being outdoors in the nice weather. She even has the start of a farmers tan from being outside so much the last 3 days. We've especially enjoyed the ability to eat outside, which we couldn't really do at the last house because the cement was weedy, unlevel, and too far from the kitchen to make it practical to carry everying in and out.Along with all the playing, Abby and Maize have been taking extra long naps to make up for all the energy they've been using. The other day they were both sleeping on the same pillow on the couch. It was too cute! Abby's adjusted well to her new room and house and is napping and sleeping perfectly. We've been very happy with how well she's adjusted to her new space. And since we've been in the new house Abby's picked up a new skill - climbing. She can now climb onto the futon all by herself. She loves being able to get up by herself and last night was taking books over and getting up to read them by herself. I'm not sure if any reading occured, but she sure thought she was hot stuff. She's also become a champion stair climber, since we now have to climb upstairs to do all the diaper changing. She is one quick little lady!

Quick Update

We've been busy, really busy. So we will just give you the quick update and then get back to work. We moved into our new house on Saturday and finally got our internet up and running Sunday night. Yesterday was a blur of unpacking, putting in the Angel Food order, enjoying the nice weather with our new kiddy pool, and other odd jobs. We have a lot of little projects to work on over the next few weeks, including a really neat garden that Abby and I are going to start.

So, we will give you more details later. But for now it is back to work. I have 6 boxes of slate tile for our bathroom floor that need to be moved from the car to the house.

Abby can now say "baby," "boy," and "daddy." She is still working on tooth number 8. She is also now a master of our new staircase.

Supplies, Check

Now we just need to get them installed and we will have working bathrooms again :-)

Abby has been into trouble all day - chewing on lotion bottles and things she isn't supposed to, running like a mad woman at the hardware store, unpacking boxes at the wrong house... Hopefully she will decide to be a better helper this evening and tomorrow, when we've got major work to do.

But, she did sleep 11 hours straight in her own bed so that Steve and I got a full night's sleep, and boy did we need it!

More Surprises!

New surprises to add to the fun:

Our oven is a convection oven! Oh the cookies we will make with that baby :-)

We have an even bigger yard than we thought and a nice 2nd shed. Lots of room to play dog chasing games!

So Much Work, So Little Motivation!

We have a lot to do, but it is yucky and gray and I have so little motivation! Abby and I did one big load this morning and got it all put away. I also mowed the back yard at the rental house (which was a jungle). I am never letting the grass go to seed again - that was back breaking work! Abby and her dad even found time to break in the new couch a little bit and read some stories at our new house.Here's a sneak peak at our hardwood from the living room. It is much better than the yucky carpet. It is super dried out though, and I've already had to mop it twice. I'll have a few more mopping sessions and hopefully we will get it back in shape. You can see where I've put down the floor cleaner because the wood sucked the stuff right in. So I'm hoping that if I mop again and again and again I can get it all shining and nice. Hard work...

And now... Abby and I have to move the food over to the new house. The dishes are already there and so are the rest of the kitchen supplies, so we've got to get the food there too so we can start eating at home instead of having fast food for every meal (which got old after the 2nd day).

Oh... and on the Abby news front she is learning more and more words. She can say Abby now and also knows that saying up and pointing to the stairs will probably get her carried up to the top. What a brainiac!

Surprises!

I need to shower, so I'm keeping this very short. Abby, Steve and I ripped up the carpet in our new living room and had a great surprise - beautiful hardwood floors in great condition. We also had some neat floors under the carpet in the half bathroom. It's vintage honeycomb tile from 1926, just like the entryway. Some of the tiles were damaged from the tack strips, but I think we are going to try and leave them at least for now. Maybe I can even get some replacement tiles to fill in the broken ones.

Abby was a good helper again today. We've got a lot left to move, but we made a good dent. We also bought the new toilet, new vanity and sink set, and a new set for the shower. Now we just have to figure out how to get them installed... that could be the tricky part. But we have leaks in the bathtub faucet, leaks in the half bath sink, and leaks in the kitchen sprayer, so they all have to be fixed. Otherwise the water will have to stay off because I am refusing to pay the huge water bill they will cause!

Watch tomorrow (or the next day) for pictures of the awesome floor we found :-)

Working Girls

Abby and I spent all day yesterday working. We packed at the rental house in the morning and unpacked and cleaned the new house in the afternoon. We even let Maize come to the new house to check it out. She, of course, instantly peed on the carpet. Luckily the carpet is all coming out, so a little dog pee won't hurt it.

We moved the garage sale sofa in last night with some help from friends. It is just as nice as our current sofa, so it will work out great. We also hosted our first dinner party at the new house last night for the friend who carried in the sofa. We found a few more little things that we needed to fix by having company over and using the bathrooms.

Abby and I ran some errands this morning and worked on some additional packing. I think it is going to be a very busy weekend for us. We stopped in the local florist and greenhouse and remembered how spoiled we are having Grandma Jennie and Delton Floral in the family. The flowers and baskets at our greenhouse up here were almost double the price and not nearly as nice. I was definitely disappointed in the selection! We also stopped in Goodwill and found a great little picture for Aunt Carol (it's a whole row of Raggedy Ann's and Andy's). I love the half price tags - we got the picture for $1.99 and a winter weight infant car seat cover for $2.49. THIS DOES NOT MEAN WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER BABY - I just figured for such a great price there was bound to be someone who could use it and it is the fancy, normally $40 or $50 dollar kind.

This afternoon has more packing, moving, and cleaning in store. I am waiting for the last load of curtains to finish washing so that we can see how they cleaned up and decide whether they are moving back into the house or moving down the street to Goodwill. There may be a few in there that would be bad enough that no curtains would be better than re-hanging them.

Official Homeowners

We signed all the paperwork and have the keys... we are now officially homeowners. Yippee! Abby and I have even done some major cleaning in the cabinets. We only have a few left to clean before we can start moving our dishes in.

Other than the big closing we've had an uneventful day. Abby was wonderful for her babysitter Kitty and even smiled and laughed while playing with her. She also had a play date this morning while I was at a local United Way function. It was a very eventful day for her. And tomorrow she has another play date planned while I sneak out to my first official lawyerly function in the U.P. - the local bar association luncheon. Hopefully she continues to be a well behaved lady.

We have lots of gardening to do, lots of cleaning to do, and lots of moving to do. It's going to be a monumental task, but hopefully it will be the last big move we make. That's what we keep telling ourselves.

Closing Time

We are closing on our new house tomorrow - we hope. We are still waiting on USAA (our bank) to get the closing documents to the title company, but we are on the books to close at 3 pm tomorrow. What an exciting afternoon and a huge relief to have this all behind us. And I personally can't wait to get into the house and start making it ours.

Abby learned a new trick in the last day or two. She can now nod yes and knows when to use it. We are constantly cracking up at this little girl, she is so full of character. Here's one great shot from the last week's adventures. You'll have to check flickr to see the rest.

Finally Final

We signed the last scrap of paper and finally closed the contract for the purchase of our new home. Hooray!!! So now we are well on our way to home ownership. Needless to say we are relieved that this negotiating and bartering is done. Now on to the fun part - making this house into our home!

Abby and I worked on our tans outside today in the 68 degree sunshine. It was great! Abby helped "mow" the lawn with her bubble mower, picked up golf balls, and showed Maize all the flowers that are blooming. We are hoping for another great day tomorrow since Steve has the day off. And now, I am being begged to read another book... again...

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Here's a photo from Abby exactly one year ago. She's grown up so much since we first met her. She helped me take Angel Food orders today at the Tribal Health Center, so we got to visit her daddy and all his co-workers. She had a great time seeing the native artwork on the walls and in the lobby - she especially liked the painted wolves and the brass statue of a heron. And she loved having lunch with her daddy.

We are having a very rainy day today. Not the downpour kind - it's the annoying drizzly, not enough to use a windshield wiper, but too much not to, kind of rain. But we do need the rain up here. Our fire risk was very high according to our local Smokey Bear sign this morning.

We are getting much closer to having all of our quotes in for the necessary repairs on the new house. It is nice to be one step closer to getting this all wrapped up and very nice to be almost done playing phone tag with all the contractors. Abby and I have been busy thinking of all the fun things we can grow in our gardens - we already have 72 baby perennials sprouting up in tiny pots on our table. It is going to be so beautiful in our new gardens :-)

Terrific Tuesday

Abby and I have had a lot of fun on this lovely day, except that she only took about a 30 minute nap, so I'm sure we will be paying for it later this evening with a great dramatic meltdown right before bed. Such is life with little girls...

We are getting closer and closer to getting things with the house all figured out. I now have at least one official estimate for the electrical repairs (and a second on the way) and I should have two roofing estimates in the next few days as well. I just can't wait to move into the new place and get to work making it ours. I have 72 little perennial seeds planted so that I can start my flowerbeds. I am so excited about the possibility of great flower gardens. I just was out back and noticed a lot of new things coming up that I had planted last spring and left for dead (like some peonies that never came up last year and lilies that didn't make it up either). Whoever is here next should have some pretty blooms out back to enjoy. They'll just have to fill in the gaps with some annuals or start more perennials of their own.

We took Abby on a long walk last night around our little downtown area. She pushed her own stroller the last block and a half. She is really into pushing shopping carts and strollers right now. She was trying to push from the very bottom axle, but that would have meant practically crawling, so she had to settle for pushing from the basket. Abby had a minor meltdown last Friday at Wal-Mart when I made her ride in the cart rather than walk on her knees so that she could push the cart from the bottom rack. What a nut...

May Flowers Please

As we wrap up April here in the U.P. I am hoping that the May flowers are not too far away. It's a gray day up here. Thankfully it's 60 degrees, but not the kind of 60 you'd want to be outside in. Luckily it was beautiful yesterday when we had the home inspection done, so we were able to see a lot and stay outdoors longer than we could have even a week ago.

The home inspection was overall a good thing, with the exception of two major and two semi-major items that need addressed. The wiring in the home is almost all original wiring from 1926, which isn't too surprising. The main problem is that the wiring itself isn't up to code and shouldn't be insulated around. The inspector said the wiring was in great shape and wouldn't be too much of a concern were it not for the fact that there is blown in insulation around it in the attic (a major fire hazzard). So we have a call in to the church to see if they have anyone who will take care of that before we start looking for an estimate on the cost. The roof, which is overall in almost new shape, also had some leaking around a dormer where the flashing was done improperly. Those are the major problems. We'll also have to have 2 cement windowsills replaced and there are leaks in the faucets and some drains, which should be relatively minor repairs. Ugh... So we'll see how the repair and estimate process goes and decide what we are going to do from there. I guess with old houses comes old everything.

Abby is back to being her normal, silly self. She has been playing extra hard with Maize and doing lots of extra eating to make up for her self-imposed fasting last week. She's just right back to our good little lady. She cried instantly last night when she saw her baby sitter Kitty come through the door, but was good and played with her while we were gone. She's got a pretty good memory, since Kitty hadn't been here for at least a couple months. And now, back to cleaning up. I've been doing loads and loads of laundry to catch up from last weeks siege.

Smarty Pants

Abby and I made it safely home from Hastings yesterday with a very minimal amount of crying. It was a record, even for when Steve and I are both in the car and I can ride in the back with her. Some days we can really tell she is growing up.

Abby's Uncle Dan and his friend Zac Fay came and hauled away our old Buick yesterday so that it can be repaired and be her Aunt Hannah's first car. Dan and Zac got to enjoy Sault Ste. Marie's finest dining establishment (or not) - The Antlers. While we were having dinner Abby completed another one of those incredible little "firsts" that happen in these first couple years. She successfully fed herself a french fry with a fork. We were surprised that she was able to fork the fry and then for her to be able to eat it off the fork was even more impressive! She is growing up so fast.

Steve and I are heading out this afternoon to have our new home inspected. While I was down in Hastings for the showers I was able to sneak off to Home Depot for a few minutes to pick up some updated light fixtures. I am so excited about our new home and all the fun we will have decorating and making it our own.