Making Brownies with Mom

I had a great time with mom the other night making brownies. I added the water and the oil and did a great job stirring, or "mix, mix, mix" as we like to say. So as a treat, I got to enjoy the spoon... Ah, good times.

They've Finished Digging

They've finished digging out our basement floor. It sure is dusty in here! But it's looking promising.




You can see the dirt area they've dug out. They had to leave 4' all around to support the house (a good thing, we thought) and they'll build a new brick 1/2 wall to support the remaining dirt.


The ditch they dug to poor the concrete below the new 1/2 wall. And on the right... our new sewage ejection pit with grinder. Sounds great, huh? So we're thinking we should install a garbage disposal in the shower.


More dirt area dug out with ditch for 1/2 wall.

And the Concrete Floor

They poured the concrete last Sat. These pics were taken as the concrete was still wet, so they're all taken from the bottom of the stairs.


In this pic you can see the dirt area in the back where they dug out the dirt. The wall in the middle is the supporting wall for our whole house.


This is the supporting wall again. Our new bedroom will be on the other side of it with a bathroom to the left. The doorway framed in to the left will be a bathroom entrance from the living area. The door framed in on the right (cut off) will be our bedroom door.


The new living area. We imagine surround sound, a big tv, and a pool table? Who knows.

And So It Begins...

Just to keep things interesting, we've decided to start a major construction project in the middle of the holidays, when we're expecting a new baby, and just as it's starting to get cold. We're finishing our basement -- adding a bedroom, full bath, living space, and storage area. We're hopefully turning what was a scary place Jen hated to walk into, into a great living space.

These are pics taken after the first week.

One of the things they're doing is digging out part of the dirt area that filled 1/2 of our basement. This is the first part they dug out so they could poor a concrete footer to support the top floor and a possible 2d story in the future.

They're also digging the floor down about 4-6" to give us more ceiling height. We're thinking it will be 7' 1" floor to ceiling after it's all finished.

This pic was taken at the bottom of the stairs looking into the bump out area. This area is directly below our current dining room. You can see the current 1/2 wall and dirt behind it that will soon be dug out.

Also from the bottom of the stairs. They built a temporary supporting wall to hold up the house as they poured new concrete footers to support the upstairs.

Ella's Rocky Mountain Visit

Ella, Kate, and Colby came for a visit in November. It was Ella's first trip to Denver and we had a blast. Jack and Ella got to spend a lot of quality time together and the parents went kind of crazy taking pictures. I've posted some of my favs here and there's also a link to a Walmart album if you want to see more or order some.


Naked baby pics are always great.

Ella is a great hugger. Jack is more like his dad and only hugs when he wants to. But Ella was sweet and didn't stop trying!

Playing Guitar Hero! Rock on with your bad baby selves. Ella made an excellent drummer. Jack was more into the guitar, though a smaller, kid size version.



Use this link to access the online album: Photo Album

Big Brother News!

I've got big news! I'm going to be a big brother! Yay! And, I just found out that I'm going to have a little brother. Whoo hoo. He's due the end of March, hopefully not in the middle of a big Denver snow storm.

I'm so happy about it! Yay!

I'm already partying to celebrate.

At the Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch this weekend. There were about a million pumpkins there.


It was just below the foothills, and the view was amazing.


It was a bit cool, so I decided to wear my bee sweatshirt. I love my bee outfit!


If you click on the pic to enlarge it you can see all the pumpkins in the background. It was craziness.


Come on, give me a punkin' smootch.








Hm, what's that?

I Also Loved the Hay Bale Maze for Kiddos

Dad, you are so silly.



Oh yeah, I'm gonna get to the top alright!


Don't cover me with hay, Mom!

Cause it makes me smile!

Daddy Did My Hair the Other Night

Uh!

We've been trying to teach Jack to clean up after himself and even his parents. We've also been emphasizing that he should undertake every chore with gusto. Make sure you have your volume turned on.

And it seems that when chores are taught early, it leaves them wanting more.

Bundled Up For Winter

It was cold here last weekend, 40s or so, as it tends to be on and off in October in Denver, and Ed went a little overboard bundling Jack up for a walk around the block. But he sure was cozy. In fact, he even started saying "Hot, hot?" after walking for about 5 mins.

Jack is talking more and more every day. His new favorite words/phrases are: banana, cheese, all done, all gone, dirty, sticky, digger, eye, doggie, night night, mouth, more? more? more?, and--finally--mama.




Even though Jack can walk and run like lightening, he still loves his push toys. He's very excited to get out of the house since it had been raining for 2 days and he had a mad case of cabin fever.

His other favorite things: trucks!!!, puzzles, books, crayons, sidewalk chalk, and his two favorite stuffed animals (2 cute dogs).

Swinging with Dad

Man, I need a haircut!

I'm So Big

I look so old in this pic. Don't I look like a little kid now? How did this happen??!?!


My ma made some green salsa the other day that I had to taste... I loved it. It had green tomatoes, tomatillos, and avocado in it. Yum.


I loved it so much I wanted a whole bowl.


MMMMMM


Yeah, green sauce rocks.

Other things I love to eat: hummus, cheese, carrots, watermelon, peaches, pasta, olives... Man, don't tell me the olives are gone, because that make me MAD.

I've got big boots to fill

Whoa, those are BIG boots!


haha!


I'm getting so big so fast.

Reading with Charlie

Charlie and I are big readers.




I love this book!


Whatcha got there, Charlie?


Don't tell me the ending. I hate it when you do that.