One Big Update

After spending the day on the computer at work, my enthusiasm for more in the evenings and weekends is low. The boys are so much fun to play with that the computer work gets put on the back burner. Additionally, remodeling the house consumed most of our free time for several weeks. Here are the highlights from August through October.


August: Most of August was spent working on the upstairs remodel, while living downstairs. A contractor took the wall down between the kitchen and living room, scrapped the popcorn acoustics from the ceiling, and retextured the ceiling. Curt and I painted the trim throughout the upstairs and the walls. Removing the popcorn ceilings left a terrible mess of white powder everywhere, so when the boys were upstairs they were confined to their highchairs, which is not fun for 10 month olds! Much of the work had to been done once the boys were in bed. While living downstairs we ate most meals on the picnic table on the deck. We enjoyed being outside for lunch and supper and usually ate breakfast downstairs. The boys ate from their Bumbos. Artie especially enjoyed this part as he found lots of leftovers on the carpet while Carter & Cooper learned to eat solid “big boy” food.


On August 23, the boys were baptized at the United Methodist Church. We were blessed to have our families attend this special event. We enjoyed lunch with the family and friends at a restaurant, since the kitchen table and chairs were in the garage and the kitchen counters covered in white powder and painting supplies.


At the end of August we took a trip to Idaho. I did an inventory observation for one of the audit clients that I supervise and Curt visited two of his clients that were in the area. The laminate flooring was being laid in the kitchen and living room when we left on our trip. Returning to a home without plastic on the floor was exciting.


We stayed home over the Labor Day weekend to finish painting our bedroom, nail up the trim and move in the furniture for the kitchen and living room. What a relief to get life part way back to “normal”. Finally, the carpet was laid in the bedrooms and we were able to move back upstairs. The boys shared a crib while we were downstairs and were happy to have their own space back for sleeping.


September: We went to the Cox ranch to help pregnancy check the cows for one weekend during the month. The following weekend we went to Denver for a continuing education class for my work. We arrived in Denver a day early to catch up with our friends from our stay last fall. We met up with our favorite nurse practitioner from our stay in the hospital. She was the nurse that kindly baked a carrot cake for us to help us celebrate the 34 week mark of gestation and our release to the Ronald McDonald House. Additionally while in Denver, we prepared a dinner for the guests at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH). During our stay at the RMH, the meals from volunteers were what we enjoyed most about the House and vowed that we would return the favor. We also stopped by the hospital to drop off some knitting supplies that were donated by my co-workers for the Healing Art’s Program at PSL. Butterflies filled our stomachs the second we pulled into the hospital parking garage. An uneasy sense came over Curt and me while walking the halls of the hospital. We couldn’t get out of the hospital fast enough. Our friends, Jack and BeaAnn treated us like royalty during our stay. We went to supper with them at our favorite Greek restaurant and enjoyed supper at their house one evening. Curt and the boys hung out at the motel and around Denver while I attended classes during the day.


October: We celebrated Carter and Cooper’s first birthday with friends and family and had such a memorable day. It was one of the best days of my life. The boys had so much fun and found everything so exciting. It warmed my heart. We enjoyed lunch with our family and then invited friends over to celebrate the boys’ birthday, Curt’s birthday, and the completed house remodel.


We just returned from a trip to the NILE and stopped by the Hamilton Ranch for the weekend. Carter and Cooper spent some time with their new cousin Aspyn.


PHEW - it’s now apparent why the blog’s last update was in July. We’ve had a blast and enjoyed each of these adventures – (well maybe not all of the house project - that one was exhausting.) Carter and Cooper have been little troopers through all of this. They are amazingly patient with all of our activities. We continue to be so blessed!



Carter and Cooper
During these months the boys were busy too. Carter spent our time downstairs learning to crawl on all fours. Once he figured it out, he really took off. One of the boys’ favorite activities was to crawl up the stairs. Now they have even mastered coming down the stairs.


About a month ago Curt renamed the boys Katrina and Ike. The scatter the boys can get on things is remarkable. Their favorite places to play are the kitchen drawer with spatulas and other kitchen utensils, the drawer with dish towels and under the bathroom sink. It’s not uncommon to find a serving spoon in our bed, my make up on their high chair, or toys in the bathtub. Nothing is safe from a toilet with the lid open. So far my car keys and a pacifier are the only items to take a swim.


Carter took his first steps on his birthday. He prefers to crawl, but can walk with some encouragement. He gets the biggest grin on his face when he does walk. Walking was too slow paced for Cooper. He now runs most places that he goes and we can’t stop the kid from climbing. Curt went to change Carter’s diaper one day and came out to find Cooper dancing on top of the kitchen table. Both boys like to dance to the music. Cooper now says a few words. All animals and many other objects are Artie.

Here are some pictures. Be sure to "turn" the pages and you can click on any small pictures to see them larger. I'll put more pictures on at a later date of the house.

Make a Smilebox photobook