Happy 7 Months Cooper!

Our nugget is such a sweet little guy.  He is happy just to BE.  Cooper smiles a lot, and seems very strong for his pint size.

He rolls around on the floor and pretends he is flying while teetering on his tummy with arms and legs outstretched.

Cooper says "momma" and knows his name.  He loves to play with his toys and is really just an easy-going kid that loves laughing at his brother and sitting in daddy's lap.

It's amazing to see his personality develop ... and so different from his brother's.  Both are sweet kids, just very different.

Cooper is now wearing 3 - 6 month clothes and has itty bitty feet and ankles.  He looks like a doll.  We love nibbling on his toes-so-tiny ... they can't possibly be real or serve a purpose.

-Carmen

My Mother's Day Gift

VOTE Carmen!

Like this photo?  I sure do.

Our new friend Sarah Duckworth has a maternity photo of yours truly in a contest.  A FREE canvas goes to the winner!  Help me decorate the new house :-)

Click and Vote Carmen
Canvas Contest


Vote on every computer and phone you have and please pass on to friends and family.

Voting ends Sunday, May 2, 5 pm.

Vote once per day every day until then on all of your digital devices.

Thank you!!!!

XOXOXOX
Carmen

What Happy Looks Like

Siding. Windows. Doors.

-Carmen

H's Friend Alex

So Holden has come home everyday from school talking about his friend Alex.  They play hide and seek.  They play at the "park" (playground).  They both like to paint with green paint.

I mentioned to his teacher today that Holden sure likes playing with his buddy Alex.  She pointed to Alex and said, "Alex IS fun."

I was looking past the curly headed mocha baby girl for a chubby scoop of vanilla boy .... that wasn't there.

Alex is a girl?!?  Holden has a girlfriend?!?  This cannot be.

So, like any good mother I prodded H not-so-subtly at dinner.

"Is Alex your friend at school?"  Holden grinned, his eyes lit up and he nodded yes.

"Is Alex pretty?"  Holden Cheshired it this time accompanied with a giggle. His eyes got bigger and he nodded his head even harder.

Good God.  Holden is in love.

Hate and Love in one week.  This may be more than this momma can take.

(-: Carmen :-)

The Sound of my Heart Breaking

He finally said it.  The words I have waited for in dread.  The 3 syllables that send any mommy into a swirling, teeth clenching, eyebrow furrowing pit of despair.

I

hate

you.


Holden said this to his sweet aunt Sara this evening.  I realize he has no clue how gut wrenching those words are, but it is still so ugly.

My little angel turns out to be human.

)-: Carmen :-(
  

We have Siding!

The remaining trusses have been put in, the roof has been decked, the back porch has been covered and siding is going on.

Yea!!!!

Isn't it dreamy?

-Carmen

Mangled up in Blue

I love contrast and texture.

-Carmen

Chickie Photo Session - Behind the Scenes

All I wanted was a simple picture of the wind up chick for Easter.

This little scene stealer kept getting in front of the lens.

-Carmen

Happy Easter!

-Carmen

Happy 5 Months Cooper!

Baby Cooper has turned into the easiest baby ever!  All he really wants is for someone to look at him.  That's it.  Just smile at him and you are friends for life.  He rarely cries unless he is really hungry, and he coos and laughs a LOT!  He likes to hold things in his hand and stare off in deep thought.

Cooper is rolling over on to his tummy, but then freaks out when he gets there.  He has lost a lot of his hair now, so I can't really tell what color his hair is, but his eyes are a beautiful blue.

He still has tiny hands and skinny little feet.  Cooper is simply our little "nugget."

-Carmen

Second Floor and Roof 03-30-10

-Carmen

Garage Walls 03-25-10

The garage walls were started, today.

-Carmen

Interior Walls 03-24-10

I can't believe I forgot my camera, today!  This is from my phone.....  our house has guts!

-Carmen

Walls 3-23-10

The first floor SIPs installation was completed today, plus a portion of the second floor.

-Carmen

And we have WALLS!

The wall install began, today!!!!!

We chose SIPs panels from a local company for the shell of the house, which are known for superior insulation properties.  This will vastly improve the energy efficiency of the house.

These walls are the center of this whole project.

A foam core is sandwiched between dense plywood and cut like puzzle pieces per plan specs.  Here are our walls at the factory.....

The walls were delivered to the site and then anchored to the foundation.

Almost a quarter of the SIPS walls were installed today.  I think that is pretty amazing!

Install continues this week, and with any luck and decent weather, the shell will be completed by the weekend.  (There is rain in the forecast ... again.)

-Carmen

Plumbing and Foundation

Remember when I said we stocked up on Vitamin C?  Holden was sick by Thursday of his first week of school.  By Friday, mommy started feeling the effects as well.

We are all feeling better, but tired....

So, I'll keep the text to a minimum and post a bunch of pictures....

The plumbing and foundation were completed on the house this week.  This is a HUGE milestone.  No more waiting on saturated ground to cooperate.  No more pacing!  There is always something we can work on now.  (And today there is snow on the ground!)

Jordan and his dad worked so hard on the plumbing installation.  I am amazed by what they were able to accomplish.

The ground was smoothed and prepped with cables stretched between the forms before the concrete was poured.

Finally, early Friday morning the foundation was poured.  The guy in the green hoodie is standing where the concrete pour started.

Like buttuhhhh......

Holden wanted to help with the plumbing tape and threw it onto the damp concrete.  When scolded, he turned away, crossed his arms, stomped his foot and said, "I'm so mad" .... something he learned at school this week.

Holden wants to help so bad.  He arrived on the job site with his tape measure.

Holden loves playing in the dirt and climbing our little hill.

the reason for all of this......

-Carmen

A Darker Shade of Really Pale

Cooper's skin color fascinates me.  I'm a freckled lass with pale "blue" skin.  Jordan is equally as pale, but freckle-less and "pink."

Coop is sporting a nice little tan.

-Carmen

Holden's First Day of School

Today was H's first day of school.  A bittersweet day, indeed.

It was incredibly difficult for me to move him from Mrs. B to preschool.  Mrs. B has been his other mommy for so long.

Jordan and I struggled with this decision for a long time, but ultimately decided it is time.

Holden is so incredibly social and adjusts easily.  A gift I, as adult still struggle with at times.

He had a very good first day.  His teachers reported that he *loves* to sing and dance, to eat and talk.  He played with the other kids like he has always been in preschool.  Holden is very polite and says "please and thank you," without prompt.  

Holden has three hurdles he will be working on in preschool.... using a potty consistently (they have a potty training expert on staff ... God bless her) and without giggles, drinking out of a cup without spilling and without giggles, and napping only one time a day without giggles.

There were some tears this morning when we first arrived.  H was easily plied with a cereal bar and changed his tune.  Mommy saved her tears for the car ride home, and then the ride to work, and a few more secret times throughout the day.  I felt nauseated every time I thought about him.  The really really really sad part ... the school is only two blocks from my office.  I'm so pathetic.

I've never dropped off a kid at a preschool before.  This was a first for me, too.  It's a weird, weird feeling.

I stocked up on kid vitamins packed with vitamin C this evening.  I have a feeling we will all be sick before long while adjusting to H's new daytime environment.

When we left the school today, my sweet little man went up to each of the other kids in class and said, "bye-bye, see you tomorrow."

He is now passed out from exhaustion in his big boy bed.

-Carmen