Zoo and house stuff

On Saturday, we spent most of the day at the zoo. We had a great time! We took one of Brady's little buddies with us and met Ryan and Kristy Miller and their children there. It was IPTV day at the zoo, so we saw Curious George and Wyatt from Super Why. The first time we went by them, Gabe, Brady's friend got his picture with the characters, but Brady was having none of it! Caden, the Miller's son, also got his picture with them. Then we saw all kinds of cool stuff. We got to see Rosie and JP, the elephants, lions, tigers, but no bears. Brady was sure he was going to catch some Monkies, but didn't have any luck. All of the boys were mostly excited about riding on the train. We also fed the fish and goats. Gabe about fell in the fish pond, which would not have been fun, especially since it was a little chilly that day. Brady loved feeding the goats! He kept laughing because, apparently it tickled his hand. Bree was very well behaved all day too. The pictures are from the train ride. As you can see Brady was hanging on for dear life. Not sure why, but he wasn't going to let go until we got off. Not sure if you can see, but his knuckles were actually turning white.

I haven't taken many pictures of the house lately, but there hasn't been much to see. Progress is being made, but it is hard to see. I think the plumbing is all done as far as it can be until we get cabinets, sinks and floors. The electric is all in. The insulation is done and they did the basement, which they weren't supposed to, so since it was their mistake, we got it free! :) Today, they put all the drywall up! It is so cool to see it taking shape. We walked in and couldn't believe that it looks even bigger yet! My closet is HUGE! I am so excited. I can't get any pictures of it right now because the lights aren't in and the electric isn't on, but it has its own vent because it is so big! This will be the first time that Mike and I will be able to fit in the same closet, which is exciting since neither of us have a ton of hanging clothes. Still hoping to be done the first part of August. These pictures are of the living room/kitchen and of Brady and Bree sitting on top of the fireplace. Mike thought it would be funny to set Bree up there, so of course, Brady had to do what Bree was doing. If you look close, you will see that Bree woke up with some wild hair after her nap!

We will be celebrating Bree's 1st birthday this weekend. It is hard to believe she is already one! The time really goes by fast. I now understand why people keep telling me to enjoy them while I can because before I know it, they will be off to college.

Tagged and house stuff

When I went to the house today, it was a little busy. There were several people there working, which I like to see. Those who were working included, Mark doing some plumbing, the electrician, the heating and cooling guys, and the siding guys. It is fun to see progress. They put a little bit of the siding on yesterday and got the fireplace in as well as the furnace. My wonderful sister shipped me a garbage disposer and a hot water dispenser, which I am so thankful for! My other sister was in surgery today having a piece of her ruptured disc removed from her back. OUCH! Cut story: I had called a friend and left a message this morning for her and when I hung up, Brady said, "Mom. Mom. Tell Laura I be praying for her!" Why he felt the need to pray for her, I am not sure, but I thought that was pretty awesome. I hadn't said anything about prayer or anything to him. He came up with this on his own. Then, I called Mabes (my mom), to see how my sister was doing (before surgery). Brady asked who I was calling and I told him I was calling Nana. He asked why, so I told him and he said, "Tell Robin I be praying for her." Maybe he is going to be my little "prayer warrior" as our pastor once put it.

Thanks to Hollie, I have been tagged in this thing, so I am writing about myself, which, like Hollie, I don't do much. Anyway, here are my answers.

I am…working on Bree's birthday party.
I want…to move into my new house so I don't have to see naked laundry guy anymore!
I wish…my parents lived closer.
I hate…spiders
I miss…having a yard for Brady to play in.
I fear…scary movies.
I feel…relaxed at the moment, both kids are napping and the house is picked up, life is good
I hear…the wind blowing outsite.
I smell…nasty food that my neighbors are burning.
I crave…any chocolate (I am on a diet)
I search…for good recipes, which usually just means calling Hollie or one of my other friends.
I wonder…what my children are going to be like when they grow up.
I regret…things that I say sometimes without thinking first.
I love…my husband and my kids
I ache…after mulching at my parents houses.
I care…for my family and friends.
I always…am up for hanging out with friends and family
I am not…creative
I believe…that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I dance…any song that comes on with my children.
I sing... Jesus Loves Me and The B-I-B-L-E many times a day.
I cry…whenever the mood strikes.
I don’t always...think before I speak.
I fight…with submission.
I write…my blog and my journal
I never…want to lose faith.
I listen…my children playing and laughing
I need…to do dishes and laundry.
I am happy…when I am with my family and friends.

So, I have to tag someone, and the lucky people are Kristy and Leslie. :)

Weekend in Winfield, more house stuff

We had a wonderful time in Winfield this weekend. Saturday was a big day for Brady. He got to ride the golf cart, play with our friend's son all day, and go fishing. Brady caught his first fish. Actually, the first fish on his pole. Last time he went, Papa let Brady reel in the fish he had caught on his big pole. This time, Papa put the pole in for him, and as soon as he took it, there was a fish on it. He reeled it in like it was no big deal, but once it got to shore, he freaked out. He didn't like it and wanted it to go back! Between, our friend's son and Brady, Papa spent most of his time untangling and fixing fishing poles! It was still fun. We also got to eat some morel mushrooms, which I missed out on last year due to being pregnant. Mike got to spend some time on the golf course, and we also spent some time helping my parents put mulch around the new house and what was left went around the old house.

The house is coming along. We went through today and decided where we want all the electrical stuff. The bathtubs are in. They will continue working on plumbing and electrical stuff this week and then insulation and drywall next week. We are now thinking that it will be done the first part of August! It is hard to believe that that is so close. That will be perfect timing since Brady's birthday is in September. Hopefully we can be in and have a big party to celebrate both his birthday and our new house! Bree is turning one in a few weeks, which also seems hard to believe! The time has gone by so fast, but we have either been selling our house, moving or working on our new house since she was about 6 weeks old.

I don't have any pictures of the house, but I thought the second picture was a cute picture of Brady and Bree, and it is hard to get both of them to smile and look at the camera at the same time, so thought I would share it.

Deck, windows and more

As you can see in the pictures, it looks like a house. We have all the windows in and almost all of the framing is done. We now have a deck on the back of the house, at least the frame. You can't walk out on it yet, but it is there. When I was there today, they were framing the rest of the basement and putting in the holes for the vents. They had also framed the fireplace for the upstairs. The rest of the week, they will be working on the plumbing and electrical work. We will be picking out the stone for the outside as well as doing a walk-through to decide where we want all the electrical outlets. SO many decisions. Brady is doing great! Now, we just need to get back on the potty training thing. Bree is really crabby lately, but she is getting her 4th tooth, so it must be hurting pretty bad because she keeps pushing on her mouth. She is also not eating very well. I can't wait until it is over!

Great news!

So, I don't really have any pictures to post today, but we heard back from the doctor today that all of Brady's tests came back normal. So, he just had some viral thing and is fine. Praise God for that! I talked to Mark, the builder today, and he said they have found many bird's nests in the house, so this isn't the first one. They did put windows in the house and were going to try to get the front door in today as well as working on finishing the framing of the basement or starting the deck. They also got stairs in, so we can safely walk to the basement. We went to look at stone today and need to get that picked out as soon as possible because it takes 3 weeks to come in. Hopefully, I will have pictures soon.

Moving in already!

So, we went to the house today and found that someone had already moved in, or should I say some"thing!" It is hard to believe, but there is a bird's nest in my bedroom! The picture shows it. Anyway, happy mother's day to everyone. Breanna was dedicated today. It was a little complicated. Due to Brady being sick recently, we didn't want him to go to the nursery, especially since we still aren't sure until tomorrow what it is. So, we went for the dedication and afterwards, Brady, Bree and Mike went back to the apartment. I stayed at church with Mike's parents. They took me home and then Mike and Bree went to Story City to eat lunch with Mike's family. Since Mike has two nieces, we didn't want to expose them, Brady and I stayed home. We actually went to McDonald's for lunch (drive thru) and ate in the car on the way to see the house. However, when we got there, we didn't get out of the car because we were having some obedience issues, so we came home. Brady took a nap, and I got some quiettime, which was nice, too. After nap, we got to try again to see the house. This time, Mike and Bree were with us, and we found the nest. We also had a nice walk around our new neighborhood. That's pretty much our day.

House, sick kiddos, and more...

So, here is what is going on. They finished the roof today, but I didn't get to go see it. Mike and Bree went to see it because I spent the afternoon with Brady at the doctor after his fever spiked at 106...that's right, 106! He had a fever this morning, but it went away when I gave him some Tylenol. He didn't act like anything was wrong with him, so we went out for a bit. On our way home, I noticed he was getting lathargic, so we came home and took his temp. It was 104, so I gave him more Tylenol and called the doctor. I waited a little bit and took it again and it was up to 106, so I called the office again, since the nurse hadn't gotten back to me yet, and got an appointment for 4:30, but was told to come in right away. Good thing we went when we did. We didn't get home until 5! By the time we got there, his fever was down to 100.5, so that was good, but they wanted to do a blood culture to check for his white blood cell count. By the way, when we pulled into the parking lot, he puked all over himself, the carseat, and even some on the car. I even had some on me from taking him out of the car, so you can imagine how wonderful that was. Thankfully, Mike had followed us to the doctor so he could take Bree to my wonderful friend, Steph's house. Thank God for her! I totally ruined her plans for the day, but she graciously rearranged her schedule so she could help me out. Anyway, his culture came back high, so we had to do more tests, more blood, only this time from the arm (previously was just a finger prick), a urine analysis, and a chest x-ray. Funny story...the urine test was going to be through a catheter if he couldn't go in the potty, but I told him he would have to get an owie on his penis if he didn't go on the potty. Needless to say, he went on the potty! After all the trauma, we found that he doesn't have pnemonia or a urinary infection. We are still waiting on the other blood tests to come back, so we don't know anything from that. We go back in the morning to do more blood and see if the white count is still high or not. He got a shot of antibiotics, which we aren't sure if we want them to work or not. If they work, then he could have bacterial meningitis and will require more tests. If they don't, then it is probably hand, foot and mouth disease, which is a virus that has to run its course. So after 4.5 hours at the doctor, we still don't know exactly what is going on, but we will hopefully know by tomorrow. Mike will be able to go with me, so that will be a blessing. I know I said it before, but it was such a blessing that Steph was able to take Bree as Brady really needed to have his Mommy focus on him.

As for the house, they finished the roof and put the white paper around the outside to weather proof the house (can't remember the name of the paper). They started working on the stairs, so soon we will be able to get to our basement without trying to climb down through a window. All the braces are gone, so we can walk through the house without tripping over boards. As promised, I am posting pictures of Brady in the ruts. I know they make Mabes (my mom) nervous, but he is not in any danger. :)

I haven't said much about Bree in this post, but she is still on the go. She is so proud of herself when she pulls herself up on things. She also likes to eat her feet when I am trying to feed her, as you can see in the picture. Tonight is the first night that she would chew on them and laugh because she was tickling herself!

More roofing

Okay, so I know it has been a long time since I have posted, especially since I was on a roll for posting more frequently, but I have been working for Mabes (my mom) selling ads and that has kept me busy, along with two little ones, so I haven't posted in awhile. Anyway, it is cool to see the progress. I don't have any pictures from today, but when we went last night, they had finished the roof on the backside of the house. When we went to the house last night, there was a huge storm north of Ames. You can tell in the pictures when you look at the sky in the front pictures compared to the back pictures. When we went today, the were finishing the roof on the garage, putting the particle board on, had tar paper on most of the main part of the house and were going to finish both this afternoon. The roof guy was also hoping to have the back of the house shingled by the end of the day as well. The rest of the roof should be shingled tomorrow, and hopefully we will have some pictures of it. Brady has started to explore the backyard, and currently the ruts that are there from the big machines are huge. If he stands in the rut, it goes above his waist! I will try to get a picture of it sometime this week. It is pretty funny. He has also gotten his first owies for the summer. He fell off the merry-go-round when Mommy was pushing too fast when he was trying to get off. Then he fell in the dirt at the house, so he is looking pretty rough right now. He asked Mike the other night, "Daddy, can we play a football game out there?" He was talking about the backyard. Bree is now saying "daddy" and "Brady" but not Mommy! I spend the most time with her, yet she doesn't say my name. What is up with that? She is also still crawling all over the place and getting into everything! It is different having two mobile children. I can't leave her somewhere and expect that she will be there when I get back.

The roof is going up!

Okay, so they just finished the outside walls yesterday and started puting up the trusses for the roof. It is so cool to see all the progress! When we were there on Wednesday, they had only put up a small portion of the boards to go around the outside of the house. When we got there on Thursday, they had finished the boards around the house, cut out the holes for the windows and doors and put up about half of the trusses. It is exciting to see the progress. We definately are getting a little stir crazy in our small apartment, but are trying very hard to be patient with the building process. Our front door also arrived yesterday, so it is sitting in our garage waiting to be added to the house. There are a lot of pictures that I just added to the dropshots site, so be sure to check them out. Brady knows exactly where his room is and Bree's room is and where Mommy's and Daddy's room. He also went into our closet and asked what it was. I told him it was my closet, but his dad corrected me and said it was our closet! :) Of course, we can't go a whole week without rain, so there was no work today due to rain. Maybe next week.

More walls

I can't find my camera, so the pictures that I have are from my phone, but they show a little bit of what has been going on. All the walls are up! They put the board around the outside of the house yesterday except for the east side and part of the back and part of the garage. However, the plan is to finish that today and hopefully start putting up the trusses, which will make the roof take shape. It is cool to see all the progress. Brady is getting better as is Bree. The front door should be arriving sometime this week, so it will be pretty cool to see that. We also have found that the house looks much bigger with walls. Not much else to report. Hopefully I will find the camera soon and have more pictures to post. The top picture is looking through Bree's room into Brady's room. The bottom picture is looking across the living room to the kitchen and dining room. Many people have asked when we are hoping to be done and moving in. As of right now, we hope to be in sometime in August or September.