Big changes in the Backyard

So, lots has been going on the past few weeks. We had to move out of the playroom, master bedroom and master bath. So the living room and garage are a wreck... We are sleeping in the living room that looks like this...



















And the garage looks like this:






















And the playroom looked like this- for a short while...
















Empty bath
























Empty master

Before we left we watched the workers pour the cement foundation early one sat morning.

And when we came back it looked like this!

And soon after there was a roof

And lots of mess...

And now they have broken through the inside walls. This is the old master bedroom, soon to be Huck's room.

And the playroom now. No more brick walls!

And the bathroom demo

The new bedroom!

The new bathroom!

We made the first set of choices. Here are the bathroom tiles. The large wood-looking tiles are ceramic tiles for the bathroom floor. The square sandy ones are for the shower walls and the mosaic will be the shower floor and accent on the shower walls.

So much fun!

Birthday Boy!

My sweet Huckelberry is 1! It seems the year flew by... well except for the first few months which feels like an eternity ago. What fun we are all having with you now.


Playing!





You are full of smiles and laughs and think your big brother and big sister are very funny. You have been walking since you were about 10 months and are starting to climb onto and into things. You love to take objects out of something (like diapers out of their drawer) and put them into something (like into the bathtub.) We never know what we will find in a box, a shoe or drawer. You love to carry things around the house and have recently started pushing or pulling large things around. You love to push buttons- elevator buttons, light switches and buttons on toys- are some favorites. You dance by bobbing your head up and down- pretty cute! Oh yeah, and you love to empty out the kitchen cabinet with storage containers.

Growing!

At your 1 year check-up you weighed 23 pounds and were 30 inches tall. You eat baby food and a few table foods. You like Cheerios, puffs and bread crusts. You are still nursing quite a bit. About every 4 hours if Mom is home with you during the day and a couple of times at night. You have decided that you are not interested in bottles from Daddy while Mommy is at work. You are learning to use a sippy cup and love to drink water from an open cup- and you LOVE to steal your big sister's nighttime water cup!

Sleeping!

Or not... You are sleeping in bed with Mommy and Daddy still. We put up your crib a few days ago but so far you think it is Baby Prison. Naps are semi-regular. You are moving more towards 1 nap a day and that is usually around 11:00 in the morning. You will fall asleep in the car and stay asleep even when Mommy turns the car off, but you won't stay asleep if we try to move you into the house.

Talking!

You are babbling like crazy. You say "da" for yes. You say mamama and dadada but don't really use them purposefully. You point to what you want and scream for what you want.

We celebrated your birthday a few days late because we came home from Hank's Open on your real birthday. We tricked the big kids into thinking we were all eating baby food for dinner! It was pretty funny! You really were not interested in your cupcake. You really didn't want to touch it none the less eat it. You did lick some frosting off Duchess's finger, though.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy! We love you very much!

Spring Break and Walls!

We have returned from the annual Hank's Open Tournament in Arizona. This year it nicely coincided with Spring Break so we made a family vacation out of it. We left for Arizona on Wednesday because plane tickets were so much cheaper then. We flew to Phoenix after school and spent the night in a hotel just outside of town. The next morning we started on our way to Yuma.




We stopped along the way to see some petroglyphs at Painted Rock. Pretty cool. Bubba found some basalt (igneous rock) for a school lesson and Cub Scouts belt loop.






























We headed on to Grandpa's in Yuma where we met up with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Nancy, cousins Jacob and Sara, Aunt Katy, Aunt Mart and Uncle Ron and cousin Tori. The weekend was fun- the men played some golf, the kids did some swimming, we made s'mores, played some Farkle, had a kids Wii bowling contest, took a desert hike and found more rocks, played mini golf, Huck ate some rocks... The Hubby was the winner of Hank's Open- his fifth win out of 9 years.

(Sorry the pics are all out of order, but Blogger is making uploading pictures annoyingly difficult so I'm not even going to try to fix it...)



































































Wii bowling trophies!


















Fun Times with Aunt Nancy


































Sara braiding the Hubby's beard



































The kids serving drinks to the golfers




















Tips! Bubba got $5!





























Hiking Muggins Mountain

















Farkle playing
































We headed back to Phoenix on Tuesday and went to a Dodgers Spring Training game. It was a beautiful day and everyone got Dodgers gear to cheer on Daddy's favorite team. We found a hotel, did a little more swimming and went out to dinner. We headed home the next day. All the kids did well. We really didn't have any major meltdowns from the big kids- and only a few from the baby.






























One tired cheerleader!


































Someone famous...















Speaking of the baby, I guess I can't really call him a baby anymore because we celebrated his first birthday! A birthday post will come soon...





















We got home to find that our addition has walls! and floors! The framing has been done and now you can really see the size better. We can stand in the bathroom and know where the shower will be and where the sinks will be. So exciting! More update to come soon.

Now... to get everyone back into a routine of regular mealtimes and bedtimes. Good thing we have a few days before school starts again!

And So the Chaos has Begun

We are really doing it! The addition to our home is happening. Yikes! Yay! Several things have already happened. The big oak tree in back came down Fri Feb 17th. It was a huge tree and it makes me sad to lose it but it was a trade off we were willing to live with.

The first bit of construction (or unstruction as Duch says) began on Thursday, Feb 23.

Right now the kids and I are sitting in the playroom watching as the men pour the cement foundation. The are wheelbarrowling it from the alley across the back yard. This weekend I have to clear out the playroom and it will out of use through the rest of construction. The kids have chosen which toys they want to have in their rooms, which they want to box up during construction and which they are finished with all together.

In non-construction news...

We leave for Hank's Open on Wednesday. We are flying to Phoenix and then renting a car to drive to Yuma. We'll come back a week later. We are excited to see family, Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Nancy, Jake, Sara, and other aunts and uncles. Most of that side of the family have not meet Huck yet. Huck will have his first birthday the day we return.

Bubba had his Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby last weekend. It was a learning adventure for Daddy and Bubba. The biggest lesson Daddy learned was to start the project more than one day in advance... But the boys had fun and that is what is important. It was extremely well organized and not chaotic which is an impressive feat considering there were 50+ boys entered. Bubba was disappointed but not surprised that Dino Racer did not win any awards :-(

Duch spent that day playing with a friend. My friend, Miss Linda, invited her over to play with her 6 year-old niece who was spending the weekend. The girls got along great and Duch stayed all day! I left her about 11:30 and picked her up at 6:30. They played with the dogs, played outside, had lunch at the Purple Cow, went shoe shopping, and spent lots of time sharpening pencils (???)

An important discovery was made in the back yard this weekend. The kids found an "artifact." There are several hypotheses (sp?) about what it is:

1) A claw from a giant gorilla-type animal that dug the hole that it was next to. (Bubba)

2) The top of a Gladiators helmet. (Duch)

3) A plastic ax. (Bubba)

I put some items in a consignment sale this weekend. It is my first time to consign although I have shopped at this sale in the past. I got to shop early because I was a consignor and got a few dresses for Duch and a few outfits for Huck. I have no idea how I did on pricing stuff- we'll see when I go back to pick up anything that didn't sell.

And lastly, we have not yet kicked the sickie bugs around here. Huck's ear does not want to clear up. The first round of antibiotics did not clear the infection so he started a second round of a different medicine. Then a few nights ago Duch woke up crying saying her ear hurt. The doctor confirmed an ear infection so she gets 10 days of antibiotics. While we were there she checked Huck's ears and guess what... still not clear! So he got another 5 days of meds! And Pink Eye has taken hold as well- Bubba has had in twice, Huck had it and I had it. Duch may have it as well...

Stayed tuned for more adventures!

The Sweeter Side

Ahhh, Duchess... You do have a very sweet side to you. One day last weekend when Huck was sick Duch woke up and came and sat on the couch with me.
In a pitiful little voice she says "I think I'm a little bit sick, too."
Me: "What seems to be the matter?"
Duch: "My tummy is a little bit sick."
Me: "Oh, I hope not. You have a Valentine's Party at school this week."
Duch: "I think it is just a little bit sick today."
Me: "What do you think will make you feel better?"
Duch: "I think I need to sit on the couch and snuggle with you. And get lots of hugs."
That is one prescription I can get behind 100%. So snuggle we did.

She took Valentine's Day very seriously. She wrote cards for each friend in her class. She made several cards for each family member and shared her coveted "treats" (chocolates!)
Love you, Sweet Girl!

Sickie

Poor baby Huck was a sick boy this weekend... Is there anything more pathetic than a sick baby? This was really the first time he has been sick with more than a cold. It started on Thursday- he was a little more irritable than usual when I left for jury duty in the morning. By the time Juror #7 got home (luckily it was a one day case), he was pretty pathetic- clingy, quiet, warm and so very tired. The Hubby reported he had slept a lot that day. His temp was 99. By Friday morning his temp was a little higher at 100. I went to work but the Hubby called me around lunch saying Huck was "listless and pretty warm." My nurses sent me home to take care of my baby. I took his temp (because the Hubby refused to take a rectal temp...) and it was 101 so I made an appointment with the doctor. A few hours later we had a diagnosis of double ear infections and a prescription for an antibiotic. His fever went up and down all weekend and when it was elevated he was pretty sad. When it was down he would play. He nursed fine but didn't eat any real food all weekend. He NEVER just sits on my lap anymore but he sure did a lot of that this weekend. I really didn't get much of anything accomplished because I had a baby in my arms almost the whole time.
Then last night he really scared me. He woke up about an hour after he had gone to sleep and screamed. And I mean screamed! He was crying, screeching, arching his back, rolling around in my arms or on the floor ... I knew the poor guy was in pain! I called the Hubby and made him come home because I was really scared! The screaming lasted for 45 minutes almost non-stop. He'd fall asleep for a minute or two and then start screaming again. He fell asleep about 2 minutes before the Hubby walked in the door and stayed asleep that time. I kept expecting to see puss and blood come pouring out of his ear like his ear drum had burst. Poor guy. He slept through the night after that and the Hubby reports he seems fine today. Hopefully now that he has been on the antibiotic for almost 3 days he will only improve from here on out. Knock on wood- we really have such healthy children!

A Day to Forget...

Wednesday was a day I'd like to forget... BUT, I am going to put it into writing so that when the kids are teenagers and I am fondly looking back on how easy it was when they were little I can be reminded that parenting ALWAYS has it's hard moments.

It was a school day for Bubba and Duchess and Huck were home with me. The Hubby has started the weaning process of cigarettes (yay! we are proud of you!). During the day Duch had several moments that were rough. She was a bit congested and I thought she felt warm so I was chalking it up to her feeling a little under the weather.

The Hubby left for work around 5. Huk was sleeping. I went to the kitchen to start dinner. The kids were watching TV. Before making dinner I decided to get rid of some leftovers from the fridge. In the middle of that Huk woke up. Then I noticed the sink was not draining. Uggg. Called the Hubby who said call a plumber. I got under the sink to check the trap to see if I could clear the clog- nope! The clog was further out the pipe. But I did get all the water from the sink to drain into a bucket- and on the floor... and in the cabinet... and all over me. Gross left over tainted water. And Huck crawling all in it. I asked Bubba to help me watch him but he kept crawling to me. And crying. A lot. Wailing. Tears streaming down his face. Snot flowing freely. Nasty left over water all over his clothes. I asked Bubba for help again and was told "he's your baby you know" in a sarcastic voice. He got a serious LOOK for the attitude. Finally got the sink to a place that I could leave it. Thanks goodness for preservative laden microwave dinners because by this time there was no way I was cooking. Plus I had no water.

BUT during dinner it all got worse. Both big kids got up from the table for some reason and were asked to please sit back down. Duch wanted to get to her chair by climbing over Bubba. I said no, she still tried, I said no, she tried again, she was carried to her room. She cried, came out, she was taken back, she came out again, she was taken back again, she screamed, wailed, yelled. Came out again and crawled under the table to get to her chair. In my head I'm trying to decide if I should just let it go... But then, THEN, she looked over her shoulder at me and STUCK OUT HER TONGUE. She was hauled back to her room again. Huck almost falls out of his high chair. I sit down in my chair and act like I can't hear a thing around me. Duch comes and says sorry. She is over it in about 2 minutes. It takes a little longer for me to get over it...

So after dinner I am ready for everyone to go to bed. Duch refuses to put on her PJs. Fine, I'm not going to struggle with that one tonight. She wants to sleep in her sleeping bag in the hall. Fine, I don't really care at this point. But she puts her sleeping bag and pillow in the middle of the doorway to the family room. I tell her she needs to move it down closer to her door. "No" she says. "Yes" I say. "No." So I pick up her pillow and sleeping bag and throw them into her room and inform her she has lost the opportunity to sleep in the hall. Much crying, begging, and struggling ensued until finally she settled down and went to sleep. I went in to tuck Bubba in and apologized for the scene. He said "I know it is frustrating, Mom. You're having a tough night. I have those sometimes, too." Sweet boy. Makes up for the earlier comment and not helping with the baby. And miraculously Huck went to sleep with out a peep or a cry. I crashed on the couch, watched a little HGTV and went to bed at 9:00.

And now you know why I want to forget it! Luckily those days a few and far between! But you have my permission to remind me in the future that it wasn't all tea parties and Lego building!