Catching Up

Wow it has been a while. So long that Blogger changed everything and I am trying to figure out posting all over again. I don't even know where to begin. I feel like things have been so crazy busy doing nothing! The first question I am asked wherever I go is how the house is, so I suppose we will start there.

Here it was just a few short weeks ago. I think Mark has a picture of just the foundation, but just imagine these pictures without the floor and you get the idea. Paige was pretty impressed with this portion of the project and scared Mark and I to death as she ran around the sub floor carelessly. I was still pretty panicked at this point wondering how all our rooms would actually fit.

Looking from the garage into the house

My cool square windows, two in each bedroom and one in the bathroom.

Back of the house, master bedroom and garage is to left, unpictured

Living room to kitchen

Front Entry

From garage out to front

These pictures aren't that great, mostly they just show that yes, progress has been made! It has since sit at this juncture for a week which has been killing me, but hopefully trusses go up the first part of the week. I wanted to get a picture from the front, but the windows and door aren't cut out yet so it looks like a wall of wood---not terrible exciting. I promise a good front shot once the roof is on. It is fun to finally picture room sizes and how it all fits. Overall I am pleased with how it all lays out. I wish my living/kitchen open area was a few feet wider but I am sure it will all be fine in the end. I am anxious for some more progress. I have had it with the rental and my spider/dust breeding business. Seriously I have no idea how my house produces both of these things spontaneously. I don't know if my sanity can take another winter Laura Ingall's style.

We are loving summer and are sad to see it go. I love getting out and doing things. Paige and I have a routine going and it is fabulous. We especially love when others join the party. Paige has changed so much this summer. She has gone from saying a few words here and there to new things every single day. She makes me laugh. She can be so stubborn, yet has times where she is so sweet and mellow. She is shy at times, and doesn't talk much in public, but at home babbles all day long. She is still the pickiest eater alive, but likes "nannas" and "rice" and will ask for both. Some of her new regulars: more, please, up, down, bus, hi, bye-bye, yes, thank you, no, mine, cheese, car, baby, duck, juice (which is all liquids), eyes, ears, head, nose, teeth, lots of animal sounds, ball and just about anything else if she wants to. She told Grandpa one day "holy smokes", when I handed her the phone and told her it was Dad, she said, "Hi Dad" and handed it back to me. I pulled into my parents driveway and she pointed to the cars in the garage and said "Grandpa's car." All day long, she says "Mom" very emphatically and then continues to babble something very important complete with facial expressions and hand motions. It cracks me up each time. She loves books, but only certain favorites and she knows her favorite parts and will read them over and over to herself. She loves  "Olivia" "Brown Bear what do you see" "Monkeys Jumpin on the Bed" "Grover's Book of Baby Animals" and "Where's my Teddy". These never seem to get old.

Paige hates to have her hands dirty and constantly wipes them across her chest. She also hands me boogers all the time. I am glad I guess she likes things clean. She loves the vacuum and claps for me when I finish. She dusts and wipes things off when she gets the chance as well. I am shocked at how big she is and grown up. My baby is growing up! I am grateful she is so sweet and she is such a wonderful blessing in our lives.

This is a tire swing we found on a 4 hour, four wheeler ride. Paige loved the swing and the ride, she cried when it all ended---25 miles later.

Paige is a little nervous around water at first, but given a chance to warm up and she loves it! Grandma knew just how to get her out of her shell. Paige loves the swimming pool and will go down the slide over and over, she wants to do it all by herself of course. Grandma bought a little backyard pool which has turned out to be a fabulous 10 dollar investment. We will be sad when fall and winter roll back in. Sad and bored!

Paige has learned to climb up on everything herself and this is her ultimate favorite. She loves to climb in her rocker and grins in achievement when I catch her. On this occasion, she was being so quiet and when I peered in she was reading "Olivia" to herself complete with the mom in the book saying, "No, no no" when Olivia writes on the wall. We made that dialogue up, but it is her favorite part of the book.

She hates actual toys, but loves household objects she can make into toys. These are Scentsy containers used as blocks. Paige likes that she can open and close the side table drawer these are stored in and is currently obsessed.

This summer has been the summer of Baby Bear. She has become quite attached and he has come in handy when I need her to eat, ride in the car, or get her diaper changed as Baby Bear is an active participant in all these activities. Someday I will have to wash all the food he has "eaten" off his face.

We have had fun this summer, but we have also had our share of sickness. Paige had a spell where she threw up at least once a week for over a month. I don't know if it was teeth or what. She has been cutting canines top and bottom all summer. We had a few fevers and on 90 degree plus days with no AC contributed to one unhappy girl. Once we turned that corner, we had a week of diarrhea which was probably my favorite as I was constantly doing laundry and trying to keep a raw bum happy. It was an awful week at our house. Mark caught a bug which once again developed into pneumonia  and after a few weeks, he is just starting to kick it.

Paige still loves the carousel, but loves riding it with Grandpa the best--probably because she just loves Grandpa the best.

I was lucky enough to spend a few days in NYC with my little brother and I had an absolute blast. It was the first time I left Paige for any extended amount of time, and it was hard to go, but I am glad I did. It was like a rejuvenation for me and such a blessing. I loved spending time with Jay and we had a marvelous few days. He was a great host and took really good care of me and showed me all the sites you could possibly want to see. I learned that I could indeed be a city gal, but only if I was rich and could live in the area I want with the ability to shop and eat out all the time. I really wish I had an unlimited shopping budget to buy myself a new wardrobe. A grown up, classy wardrobe that looks like an adult woman would actually wear. With that being said, the only thing I bought was a sweet pair of Nikes. I can always change my fashion ideals later. We were lucky vicariously and scored Newsies tickets on Broadway. It was amazing! I loved the movie when I was a kid, but the play was much more impressive--minus the fact Christian Bale wasn't in it. One of my favorite things was walking the Brooklyn Bridge at dusk, and that was after 3 days of constant walking. It was just that good! I am grateful Mark, his parents, and my parents helped with Paige and made it all happen. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience.