The Kiddos

Thought I'd share some pictures of the kiddos taken just recently. They're so funny!
Ethan is doing well in preschool - he LOVES going to his school and shares his wealth of knowledge from that day. Here's a few pictures from his trip to the pumpkin patch and from their Halloween party (he's the Transformer Bumblebee on the end):

Leah is getting a lot more verbal; we're working on getting her words right and having her communicate better. She's getting there...definitely has a set of lungs. And while we aren't pushing it, we're working more and more on the potty training - yeaaaaah, what fun!! Shoot me now. The girl loves to streak; one minute you get her dressed and two seconds later, she's darting through the kitchen in her birthday outfit.

Speaking of birthday outfits, here's a pic I snapped with Leah sporting her oh-so-fashionable Dora earrings she got from Aunt Jessie for her birthday. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture quick enough of her wearing the matching crown, princess wand, and birthday sash - but she LOVES the earrings! Can't you tell???

Framing Takes Shape

Things are moving right along with the new house; we have framing in place and even walls in others! We're hoping to get out this weekend to snap some recent pictures of how it's looking now - it's actually further along than when these were taken, just last
week (11-21-09):

Princess Turns 2!!

SAY "CHEESE!!"

Happy Birthday to miss Leah, the big "2" today! She had a super fun, super busy birthday party with more pink and girlie stuff than you can imagine. Shoes, shoes, and more shoes...dress up items, her own TV remote, clothes, books, and her very own play kitchen. She had a blast opening up her presents, which she figured out pretty quick. Great-grandparents, Grandma, Amy, Hector, mommy, daddy, and Ethan all joined her to celebrate.

The event wouldn't be complete without something Dora...which she got a special little cake made for her. Leah isn't the least bit embarassed to sing to people, just don't do it to her. She started crying pretty good when "happy birthday to you" began. She couldn't manage the candles without some help, so Ethan chipped in of course. He was just WAITING to participate somehow.

So I'm home now with both kids, wanting to make sure we post the pictures for everyone of the day. THANK YOU to everyone for spoiling her endlessly with not just gifts, but with your love and support. She got so many cards, emails, texts...we love to hear from family. It definitely makes her day all the more special.

Halloween '09

Well, we had a SUPER fun Halloween this year! As we do every year, we ventured over to Grandma Shirley's house to start things off - this time, much earlier than normal. Before heading out to take the kids, we did a family dinner...visiting with friends and eating a yummy turkey dinner (thank you chef Ryan). After we were all sufficiently stuffed and liquored up, the kids got their costumes on and we braved the friggin' ridiculous wind. Ethan was a totally awesome Transformer; "Bumblebee". Leah was fitting in her fairy princess costume. She really did look sweet. We were surprised that she was so willing - she kept everything on and followed her big brother up to each door. Within the first two houses, she got the hang of "twee a tee". Our friends Jim and Katie brought their son Will over as well (he's a few days older than Leah) and we had Hector's daughter Hailey join us too (Hector is Amy's boyfriend...Hailey was dressed as Tinkerbell). They were a cute, cute bunch...and thankfully by the second round of houses, the wind had stopped completely.

The kids were pooped and stuffed on sweets and we had a really fun, fun Halloween. And Baba - I thought you'd enjoy the picture I took of Ryan following along behind Leah. Made me think of your comment about when dad used to take us out...beer in his hand and all. While Ryan didn't have a bottle, he was kind enough to carry his cup.

Fairy princesses are always so darn busy

Taking Shape

It's starting to look like a house!! We officially have the stem walls in place, forming the perimeter. Now that the foundation framing is done, it's much easier to see the size and shape of the house.

These pictures were taken on Thursday afternoon. As of today (Tuesday morning), we were told the concrete was being poured into the walls. Once it's dried up, we can get plumbers and pipefitters in to start whatever they do before we can pour out the remaining slab. Builder John says another week or two for that.

Facing East - Side of garage

Facing West - Front door area

-Bay window will be our bathtub spot

-Tahoe is parked on our street; Badger View Dr.

Ryan and Leah are standing by the front door

-Corner of garage, facing east

-Facing directly east

Some additional pictures showing the neighborhood/our street. You can see just how much open space we have surrounding us. All the houses are spaced apart nicely; everyone seems to have a good amount of privacy. We love how quiet and clean it is up there. We even have several neighbors with horses too...a very horse-friendly community!

-Facing east down Badger View Dr.

-Facing west down Badger View Dr.

-Facing north - Our driveway/house from the street