Paul and Benjamin really wanted to build a robot together, and ended up finding a great kit with several different energy experiments at Radio Shack. Their first project was a solar-powered car, which has been waiting for a good sunny day to go. The sun finally came out this afternoon, and Benjamin was anxious to get out and try it. It's actually pretty cool!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Paw Paw
Funny story. Peter (at not quite 18 months) has become pretty interested in the potty. I guess with the new one recently installed (and the fact that we still don't have the bathroom door back on...) it's the new big thing. 
So earlier this week, he led me over there after he had witnessed Benjamin doing his thing, and wanted to get naked to try it out for himself. He grunted a little, stood there for a minute or two, then lost interest. 
Then yesterday while I was getting him dressed, I asked him if he needed to go potty, and he ran straight for the toilet. Before I could get his little stool for him to stand on, he had done his thing not in, but at the potty. We weren't sure whether to cheer him on or discipline him. So we cheered. 
This morning, he came to me, and pointing to his diaper said "paw paw," which I of course knew to mean "potty." So I got him naked (as requested) and stood him on his stool, and we waited. And then he did it! Crazy, huh. I'm not crossing my fingers that potty training will happen any time soon. I have no problem with diapers, especially on a kid who can barely communicate with me. 
Really I think he just idolizes his older brother. But Benjamin sure does make a great role model to follow!
So earlier this week, he led me over there after he had witnessed Benjamin doing his thing, and wanted to get naked to try it out for himself. He grunted a little, stood there for a minute or two, then lost interest. 
Then yesterday while I was getting him dressed, I asked him if he needed to go potty, and he ran straight for the toilet. Before I could get his little stool for him to stand on, he had done his thing not in, but at the potty. We weren't sure whether to cheer him on or discipline him. So we cheered. 
This morning, he came to me, and pointing to his diaper said "paw paw," which I of course knew to mean "potty." So I got him naked (as requested) and stood him on his stool, and we waited. And then he did it! Crazy, huh. I'm not crossing my fingers that potty training will happen any time soon. I have no problem with diapers, especially on a kid who can barely communicate with me. 
Really I think he just idolizes his older brother. But Benjamin sure does make a great role model to follow!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
This Just In--
I just got a call from my doctor letting me know that I passed my 1-hour blood glucose screening, which means I DON'T have gestational diabetes this time!!!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am about that.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Random Post
We have a working toilet! The sink still needs another piece before we can hook it up, but we're getting back to normal little by little. I love the new vanity. 
This Spring has been unusually hot, with temperatures generally around the mid-80's. I felt a little odd setting up the wading pool and buying popsicles in April, but we needed it!
Oh, and I found the perfect fabric to go with the existing color scheme in the nursery for whenever I decide to convert it into a little girl's room. The walls, rug, crib and bumper are staying the same.
And this butterfly fabric brings in a few more colors and a touch of femininity. I got the pink giraffe fabric to go along with it because it was $3 for a good sized remnant. I'd start decorating now, but I'm holding on to separate bedrooms for the boys as long as possible. Peter definitely isn't ready to move out of his crib, and so I'm not sure how or when to make any transitions. I might just keep him in there for a few months after the baby is born and put a port-a-crib in our room until he's ready. I don't know. It will be interesting having a 21 month old and a newborn. 
And lastly I had to show this adorable little dress that Paul's Mom got her. I love classic dresses! I'm officially getting excited to have a girl.
This Spring has been unusually hot, with temperatures generally around the mid-80's. I felt a little odd setting up the wading pool and buying popsicles in April, but we needed it!
Oh, and I found the perfect fabric to go with the existing color scheme in the nursery for whenever I decide to convert it into a little girl's room. The walls, rug, crib and bumper are staying the same.
And this butterfly fabric brings in a few more colors and a touch of femininity. I got the pink giraffe fabric to go along with it because it was $3 for a good sized remnant. I'd start decorating now, but I'm holding on to separate bedrooms for the boys as long as possible. Peter definitely isn't ready to move out of his crib, and so I'm not sure how or when to make any transitions. I might just keep him in there for a few months after the baby is born and put a port-a-crib in our room until he's ready. I don't know. It will be interesting having a 21 month old and a newborn. 
And lastly I had to show this adorable little dress that Paul's Mom got her. I love classic dresses! I'm officially getting excited to have a girl.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Progress
What a whirlwind of a week! We had my parents and my brother David stay with us from Monday night through Saturday morning. Our main objective was to remodel the bathroom, which proved to be a lot more involved than any of us had planned. We all rotated taking care of little boys, keeping everyone fed, making countless runs back and forth from Lowe's and Ace Hardware, and getting the job done in the bathroom itself.
To give you an idea of what we started with, here are some lovely befores:
I caught a few pictures of the fun part. The last time Peter had seen my family was when he was 9 months old, so it was a good opportunity for him to get reacquainted with them. I wish I had any pictures of the boys with my Mom! She was the superstar who cared for children while overhauling our dirty, under-construction basement into a usable play area and doing tons of other odd jobs around the house.
When he wasn't actively supervised, this is what Peter was doing. Grandpa brought so many fun tools with him!
Benjamin helped with the demolition of the walls. we tried carefully scraping off the micro-tiles to preserve the wall, but soon resorted to hammers.
And we were glad we did. There were some interesting issues going on behind the drywall. The plumbing needed to be addressed, and so did the area behind the old mirror (many thanks to my Dad, who was the expert at fixing everything!). There were large chunks cut out of the framing so there was hollow dead space where an old medicine cabinet must have been. We also got to see some traces of awesome wallpaper that must have looked terrific with all that brown tile on the walls!
The floor was another amazing discovery. Under the old linoleum squares was a layer of cement, sick aqua mini tiles, and a layer of really old brittle linoleum under that. Oh, and then the plywood around the toilet was rotted. Fun stuff. So after finally getting the floor sound and clean, we laid the hardibacker to level the floor for the tiles. Lucky for us, Paul has lots of experience laying tile!
Paul and I worked together to get the design right on the tiles. I was pretty insistent on a diagonal pattern, which added substantially to the awkward angles and cuts we had to make, but it worked out and I'm glad we did. I did the measuring an the cutting, and Paul laid. It was actually a lot of fun working together. Then we gave David (who wants to be an orthodontist) lots of practice scraping and cleaning once the tiles were set and dry.
Then we worked quickly getting the wainscoting up.
And here's about where we're at now. We've almost got the new toilet in, but we still need to level it before caulking. The new sink should be pretty easy to put in as well. We decided to leave the tub and shower as is, at least for now. There is a window hidden behind the tub fitter, so it's not going to be easy to redo. The walls are where most of the work is still going to come. The upper half has an ugly gummy texture and needs to blend somehow with the new drywall... but I'll just be happy to have a functioning toilet, sink and and shower upstairs at this point! Running to the downstairs bathroom is getting old.
I'm sure we'll have another dozen trips to Lowe's and Ace Hardware before this is all done. And Benjamin's face here about sums up how we feel about it. We'll keep the updates coming!
To give you an idea of what we started with, here are some lovely befores:
I caught a few pictures of the fun part. The last time Peter had seen my family was when he was 9 months old, so it was a good opportunity for him to get reacquainted with them. I wish I had any pictures of the boys with my Mom! She was the superstar who cared for children while overhauling our dirty, under-construction basement into a usable play area and doing tons of other odd jobs around the house.
When he wasn't actively supervised, this is what Peter was doing. Grandpa brought so many fun tools with him!
Benjamin helped with the demolition of the walls. we tried carefully scraping off the micro-tiles to preserve the wall, but soon resorted to hammers.
And we were glad we did. There were some interesting issues going on behind the drywall. The plumbing needed to be addressed, and so did the area behind the old mirror (many thanks to my Dad, who was the expert at fixing everything!). There were large chunks cut out of the framing so there was hollow dead space where an old medicine cabinet must have been. We also got to see some traces of awesome wallpaper that must have looked terrific with all that brown tile on the walls!
The floor was another amazing discovery. Under the old linoleum squares was a layer of cement, sick aqua mini tiles, and a layer of really old brittle linoleum under that. Oh, and then the plywood around the toilet was rotted. Fun stuff. So after finally getting the floor sound and clean, we laid the hardibacker to level the floor for the tiles. Lucky for us, Paul has lots of experience laying tile!
Paul and I worked together to get the design right on the tiles. I was pretty insistent on a diagonal pattern, which added substantially to the awkward angles and cuts we had to make, but it worked out and I'm glad we did. I did the measuring an the cutting, and Paul laid. It was actually a lot of fun working together. Then we gave David (who wants to be an orthodontist) lots of practice scraping and cleaning once the tiles were set and dry.
Then we worked quickly getting the wainscoting up.
And here's about where we're at now. We've almost got the new toilet in, but we still need to level it before caulking. The new sink should be pretty easy to put in as well. We decided to leave the tub and shower as is, at least for now. There is a window hidden behind the tub fitter, so it's not going to be easy to redo. The walls are where most of the work is still going to come. The upper half has an ugly gummy texture and needs to blend somehow with the new drywall... but I'll just be happy to have a functioning toilet, sink and and shower upstairs at this point! Running to the downstairs bathroom is getting old.
I'm sure we'll have another dozen trips to Lowe's and Ace Hardware before this is all done. And Benjamin's face here about sums up how we feel about it. We'll keep the updates coming!
Monday, April 05, 2010
Easter Fun
I got together with some friends from my freshman year of college last week. Andi, Michelle and I all live pretty close now, which is fun! We had a good time catching up and seeing each others kids at Purina Farms.
We got to pet some animals, including this duckling.
Benjamin and Peter loved these tables full of corn and toy tractors. 
But the highlight might have been just running down a grassy hill and picking dandelions (which were just on the other side of the fence).
Benjamin, Avery, Berkeley and Peter. Weston didn't make it much past the dog show. It was a pretty hot afternoon!
On Easter morning, I let the boys dye some eggs. Only a few were cracked and Peter only drank a little bit of the red. He kept calling it juice.
We had some difficulty watching General Conference this weekend since we don't have TV, and I couldn't figure it out on our new computer. Paul assures me I'll come to love our new Mac, but it will take some getting used to. Anyways, we got to see a session on Saturday and a session on Sunday at the church. Lots of good counsel for parents! Afterwards, we came home and had a little egg hunt in the backyard.
Then we had some festive cupcakes while Benjamin helped me recount the story of the first Easter.
I convinced Paul to hop on an earlier flight so the boys could see him before they went to bed. Benjamin made him this sign (he traced the most of the letters, but wrote his name completely on his own). We are all SO GLAD to have him back! Three weeks was way too long.
My parents are driving out here as I type this to spend their Spring Break with us. They are graciously using their break to help us update our bathroom and do a few other projects around the house. I'm sure I'll have a few fun "before" and "after" shots to post pretty soon! We're excited to have them out here.
We got to pet some animals, including this duckling.
Benjamin and Peter loved these tables full of corn and toy tractors. 
But the highlight might have been just running down a grassy hill and picking dandelions (which were just on the other side of the fence).
Benjamin, Avery, Berkeley and Peter. Weston didn't make it much past the dog show. It was a pretty hot afternoon!
On Easter morning, I let the boys dye some eggs. Only a few were cracked and Peter only drank a little bit of the red. He kept calling it juice.
We had some difficulty watching General Conference this weekend since we don't have TV, and I couldn't figure it out on our new computer. Paul assures me I'll come to love our new Mac, but it will take some getting used to. Anyways, we got to see a session on Saturday and a session on Sunday at the church. Lots of good counsel for parents! Afterwards, we came home and had a little egg hunt in the backyard.
Then we had some festive cupcakes while Benjamin helped me recount the story of the first Easter.
I convinced Paul to hop on an earlier flight so the boys could see him before they went to bed. Benjamin made him this sign (he traced the most of the letters, but wrote his name completely on his own). We are all SO GLAD to have him back! Three weeks was way too long.
My parents are driving out here as I type this to spend their Spring Break with us. They are graciously using their break to help us update our bathroom and do a few other projects around the house. I'm sure I'll have a few fun "before" and "after" shots to post pretty soon! We're excited to have them out here.