Aquarium, Biking, and Crabs

After a year of having the master bathroom 92% complete, Chris was finally able to finish the caulk in the shower.  We had to order a custom color to look right with the marble tile and we just dragged our feet about selecting a color.  Now even though it's 96% complete we are able to shower in there and Samantha gets her own bathroom.  The shower is huge and luxurious! 

Chris' sister Paula and three of her girls came up this weekend for soccer games (that ended up canceled).  Samantha was so excited to have guests - she went insane running around and squealing when they arrived.  On Sunday after church, they offered to watch her so we could get something accomplished.  We drove over to the nursery to buy our first round of landscaping plants.  We ended up with about 50 plants which covers most of the front of the house.  We'll get the rest after we install the retaining wall.  Hopefully next week we'll be able to have some plants in the ground. 

We also had a lot of fun this week.  A friend of ours invited us to go to the aquarium for free (her husband's company has some great benefits!).  Samantha had so much fun there - much more than the last time we went.  Here are some pictures from our visit:

On Saturday, we went on the Columbia BikeAbout.  It was a 10 mile course that visited some of the historical sites in the area.  We decided to bike to and from the start/finish so it ended up about 18 miles.  Chris was great and pulled Samantha in the trailer (with his single speed bike).  I realized how out of shape I am - particularly when I had to walk up several of the bigger hills.  I think I'll be very sore tomorrow. 

After the bike event, Chris went to the Zymurnauts crab feast.  He was very happy to have some time to relax.


Samantha has been making us laugh quite a bit (when she's not having tantrums!).  She is really enjoying wearing glasses and hats.  Here are a few of the better ones (and Chris is not happy I'm comparing her to Elton John).

And she's not mischievous at all... 

Next week...landscaping! 

Big Sister, Art, and Injuries

The first thing we want to share is that Samantha will be a big sister!  My due date is March 28, 2014.  This is part of the reason we haven't done much lately - I've been too exhausted!

Chris had very good intentions to work hard on the porch railing this weekend.  He started Saturday morning but after about half an hour, he gouged his hand with a chisel.  So instead we spent a couple hours at the urgent care place.  He ended up with 3 stitches and has to leave them in for 10 days.  He was able to complete some of the cutting and routing even with his hand bandaged but there's still more to go.

I do want to share the progress my parents made on the River House this week - it's very impressive!  They both took a week's vacation and had a lot of help - my brother, uncle, cousin, etc.  They started the week with the foundation and one beam (not shown) in place.

They added the floor, walls, another floor, and roof.  Here are the progress pictures they sent me throughout the week:

They still have a long way to go but they really flew through this framing job.  I really hope some of our projects start going this well!

Of course we had some fun this week as well.  I went to a "Wine and Canvas" event (don't worry - I drank water) at a local restaurant.  Each person gets a canvas, paint, and brushes and a local artist walks you through a particular painting.  It's so neat to see how each person has such a different painting when the evening is through.  It was a lot of fun!  Here's my rendition of "Flower Blast."

I also went to my first official Mothers of Preschoolers meeting.  The MOPS group was very welcoming and I will enjoy going each month. 

Some fun things that Samantha and I did this week were a few play dates - one at an indoor playground store, one outside with water (on the 96°F day), and one at an inflatable play place.  I'm really appreciating all these free events!

After church on Sunday, we went to breakfast with Kate and Corbin.  It was a nice change to our Sunday routine.

This week I plan on ordering our retaining wall block so that we can finally get some landscaping installed - it'll make a huge difference in the look of the house!

Slow Week

Not a lot happened this week - absolutely no house work and not many activities.  We did get to see our friends Kate and Michael over the weekend - they are moving back to the area and hopefully we'll see a lot more of them. 

Since I don't have anything to write about I'll just show you a cute picture of Samantha dancing after church on Sunday.

Labor-less Labor Day

I know I was a slacker last week and didn't post but there wasn't anything accomplished on the house and I only had one photo (of Samantha) from the whole week.  I still don't have any work to write about but I'll still fill this post with plenty of photos!


Samantha has been spending a lot of time with friends lately.  We went to the zoo with the Briczinski's a couple weeks ago for Free Day - it was extremely busy but we had a good time.  We also spent the day with them last weekend - Chris and Steve went to the Kegs and Corks festival and Samantha and I hung out with Diane and the boys.  It was a nice relaxing day!

I watched a couple of Samantha's friends the last couple weeks.  Alex and Caleb were both great while they were here.  It is funny though to see how differently they interact with different friends.  Alex and Samantha feed off each others excitement - one screams, the other screams; one runs around, the other follows.  Caleb and Samantha are very kind to one another - Caleb would hold up Samantha's water bottle so that she could drink - and Samantha would reciprocate.

And of course there was the usual library classes, nature center visits, and a trip to the playtime center.  We also went to a Toddler Tailgate that was a lot of fun - and we got to dress in our Steeler gear!

We also had some excitement on the street - they finally paved it after 31 years (according to our neighbor).  Samantha had a good time watching the equipment!

Our family friend was here for a week to watch her granddaughter during the day.  It was very nice to have her here.  Plus we got to have a nice dinner downtown with her daughter and husband too.

Our garden is doing pretty well (better late than never!).  We have a lot of tomatoes and peppers with a bunch of eggplant close behind.

 

This is the first year that our carrots have grown big enough to eat but they are still pretty short and squat.  I made chicken soup and a chicken pot pie with them (and Samantha ate adult sized portions!).

 

For Labor Day, we went up to PA for the weekend.  On Saturday, we went up to camp for the day to spend time with aunts, uncles, and cousins.  It was Braden and Beckett's birthdays so we had a nice big party.  Samantha (as usual) was spoiled rotten by everyone - check out her new jewelry, purse, and shades:

She tried to go on a ride in the Power Wheels with Braden but it didn't last long!

 

On Sunday, we took a trip to the River House to see the progress that my parents have made.  Since the last time we were there, they removed the old addition off the back and installed the foundation for the new one.  

The inside looks similar to the last time but there's much less of it!  They also finished up the mortar in the basement.  It looks much, much better.  

Samantha was ready to help Pap move around some dirt before he returned the backhoe to "Crack House Jim" (who apparently has just about every tool my parents need and don't have themselves).  It's a good neighbor to have!

That's about it!  Hopefully we can get some work done at home this week!

Mostly Cute Samantha (and a little porch progress)

Chris worked some more on the porch but did not finish as much as he had hoped.  The posts are installed and faced.  We had to redesign the top railing which required an additional trip to Lowe's and will require more routing. 

The routing is one of the things that has to be done in a very narrow window of opportunity (while Samantha is awake) so hopefully some weekend work will help get it done. 

Since there is not much to write about the house, I will just post more about the cute girl that lives with us. 

Lately, she has started trying to get the dog ready to go for a walk...first she calls him "Dog, Dog!" and then tries to get the collar over his head.  He is too excited for an opportunity to walk but still too wary to try to let her put the collar on.  It's just too funny!

She is getting much better at stacking her large blocks...

...but sometimes struggles to figure out which articles of clothing belong on which body part (but it doesn't stop her from trying!). 

Personally, I think she does it partly to make us laugh!

And the last picture for today - potty reading!!

Porch Progress and Cute Farmer!

There was a little bit more porch progress this week.  Once the paint was removed from the brick, I worked on the porch floor.  The first thing it needed was to have some holes patched.  These large holes were from the original railing (and filled with lead).  The smaller holes were from our temporary railing.  I mixed up some concrete and made it nice and smooth. 

After the patches were cured, I used some muriatic acid to etch the surface.  I followed this with a nice gray porch paint.  It worked really well and didn't even need to be touched up.  It's just nice that it's all one color now - the old surface had so many color variations (rust, grease, adhesive, paint, etc.).

Chris got a little work done on the new railing by installing the posts.  We are using some pressure treated lumber for the posts and then facing them with some nicer, painted wood (like the current posts).  Hopefully we'll be able to finish up the railing this week (if the weather cooperates!).

Samantha and I did some fun things during the week - play dates, picking peaches, etc.  We also got to meet up with Traci, Claire, and her family for lunch (since she lives in Washington state we only get to see her about once a year).  Samantha and I drove over to Hagerstown to see them on their way back from vacation.  It was a great time!

Samantha's favorite for the week was probably the Howard County Fair.  She had so much fun watching all the animals.  Her favorites were the chicks and ducklings.   It was a fun age since she could "moo," "baa," "neigh," "oink," etc. when she saw the different animals.
 

I told Chris when we got back home that instead of a sandbox, she needs a cornbox!  She had so much fun playing in the dried corn - it was hard to get her out of there.

After the experience at the fair, she sat down and put on her muck boots (on the wrong feet but pretty good for 18 months!).   I guess she didn't want to step in any animal poop...

She's become very proficient at the puzzles we own - I think I need to get some different ones for her...

She had her 18 month appointment at the pediatrician yesterday.  She is still a big girl - 34 1/4 inches (98th percentile), 25 lb (79th percentile), and 45.5 cm head circumference (30th percentile).  So she's tall, thin (for her height), and has mommy's pin head!  I compared my height/weight from that age and she has an extra inch and an extra pound and a half (but a smaller head).  I think she's going to end up pretty tall!  The doctor was even surprised that she's been above the 95% curve for so many visits in a row - I guess that's not very common.

She also got two shots and did not make a peep - I was so proud of her!  We also just noticed that tooth number 15 has come in.  Only one more canine and then the two year molars before we get a little break!

Hopefully next week I'll get to show some more porch progress!

Porch Work

It may be a little while before we can do some front porch sittin' but we did get some work accomplished on it this weekend. 

Chris removed the old railing which makes it look so big and open.

We also purchased all the lumber for the new posts and railing.  Before we can install them, there are a few things we need to do first.  The previous owners painted the trim all around the house but unfortunately they did not care at all if they got paint on the brick.  So before we can install the new posts, we need to remove the paint.  It took a long time but it looks much better.  Of course we both want to find the person that painted like this and well, I'll leave it to your imagination what we want to do to them!

 

Chris also spent a good deal of effort to remove the lead that was holding the old railings in place.  We will be able to patch them with some concrete and hopefully it'll remove those giant holes in the porch.  

Samantha finished up her swim lessons this week and she did a great job!  On the last day of class, they were supposed to "jump" from the diving board into the deep end of the pool (with the parents in the pool to catch them).  She enjoyed it so much that she did it twice.  I think swimming is one sport that we'll have to continue.

Today there was a lot of activity outside our house today.  They county is getting ready to repave a lot of roads around here.  So there was a lot of grinding away the old surface, scooping/sweeping up the debris with backhoes and street sweepers, and putting everything in the multiple dump trucks.  She had a good time supervising!

Samantha has been very interested in dressing herself lately - even if it's incorrect or not hers.

Mommy's flip flops...

Shirt inside out and sideways...

And Mommy's work goggles...

And one last picture for the week - she loves watermelon!