Newness in the House

*Warning* This post includes pictures of the interior of the house right after the fire. If you do not want to see those images, do not scroll down. They are disturbing to some folks.

There has been some major progress at the house!! Things are moving along so quickly and we were told this week that we will be moving in the 2nd week of February! We had March 1st in our heads and when we got the good news that move in would be a couple weeks earlier, my stress level decreased so much.

I have a few progression pictures of some of the big things that have happened in the last few weeks, but I want to save the real "before and after" images for once it is all done and painted. Walls are being painted this week and floors begin going in late next week!

You can see below the progression of the siding. I am very happy with how it has turned out.
This is how the boys' bathroom looked just after the fire and then the stages since. There is a good shot of Joe the "plaster master" working on the walls! He was amazing to see in action.Our closet just after the fire and then the other day after Allen built the new shelves and such. I was able to "design" the placement of shelving and clothes rods...something I never thought I'd do.

Last is our master bath just after the fire and then the new shower stall that was completed this week. Of course there is still a shower door and fixtures to go in, but we were REALLY pleased with the tile work. We used to have a cast iron tub and decided we didn't need that and so chose to put in the shower. I can't wait to use it!

There will be more later!

We got the YUCK...and then Christmas came!

Sam got the yuck (fever, snot, coughing, body aches) from school. He was pretty sick for about 4 days. 

I got the yuck from Sam. Mine turned into influenza and then bronchitis with the beginnings of pneumonia. One night I had so much trouble breathing I ended up in the ER. After some antibiotics and breathing treatments they sent me home and after 2 weeks I am feeling better.

Arlo caught it from me, though he maintained a pretty snotty cold and nothing worse.

Megan, my sister, came for the holidays and ended up with some sort of hybrid version of it all. She's back in Maine in now and seems to be on the mend enough that she's going out tonight to celebrate the new year.

Matt and my Dad escaped the yuck. 

How? We will never know. Though you could find them anywhere in the house by following a trail of Emergen-C wrappers and that may have had something to do with it!

Megan arrived on the 18th and my Dad on the 20th. On the 21st, despite the below zero temperatures, we drove to the Peacock Road Tree Farm in Laingsburg. Matt and Dad braved the cold outside and cut us a tree while Megan and the boys and I hunkered down inside with hot chocolate. I was only 3 days out from the hospital and knew I would not be able to engage in the festivities, but wanted to tag along anyway.

Megan, Dad, Matt and the boys took the train out to see Santa.

The boys each sat on Santa's lap and were given candy canes and sleigh bells. They got to tell Santa, once again what they wanted for Christmas. Sam: a Spiderman Truck.  Arlo: Candy and a truck.

The tree was expensive. In fact it was the most we've ever paid for a tree (we haven't paid for a Christmas tree since 2002, so it all worked out in the end). But, it was really pretty. Matt and dad trimmed it up and we decorated on the 22nd.
I found this really ornate and pretty cast iron tree stand in the laundry room of this house. We decided to use it being that this year's tree is so big and the stand seemed to be very sturdy. However, by the time we'd completely decorated the tree, including putting the angel on top, we realized the tree stand was leaking water all over the hard wood floors!  Dad soaked up all the water from the floor and out of the stand and the next day he and I went on a tree stand search. It was not an easy task to find a tree stand large enough to hold a trunk 8" in diameter 2 days before Christmas! But, we did....and then after un-decorating the tree...

...we decorated it again!

Here you see the tree and fire and all the gifts Santa brought early on Christmas morning. My Dad and I were up before the boys! I was so excited and SO hungry! It was fun opening ALL the presents and the boys had a blast! Santa brought the boys everything they wanted and more!

We replaced almost all of the toys that the boys lost in the fire, which why we had such a huge Christmas. I was worried that they would be so overwhelmed that they wouldn't really appreciate the gifts or the time were spending as a family. However, both boys did really well! Sam was so into all the activities; the advent calender, the tree adventure, the gift wrapping and even taking turns opening gifts and the excitement and joy of giving. I was so proud of him and of Arlo.  They really enjoyed having my Dad and Megan, or "Megit" as Arlo called her, here for the visit and I miss them so much already! Megan left on the 28th and my Dad on the 29th.

Tonight we will bring in the new year with some friends at their house. They are hosting an "Around the World" New Year's celebration with a toast at every hour for the new year in one part of the world or another! It is a family friendly event and I put the boys down for late naps to aid in a smooth, late evening!

March will be a big month for us with moving back into the house and the new baby, but beyond that, let's hope that 2009 is a lot less stressful for our family!

Happy New Year to All!!!

Whew, he made it to TWO!

There have been some close calls...Arlo is a wild child! We, very gratefully, celebrated his 2nd birthday last Friday. It does seem like yesterday that he was born and was this tiny (errr, not so tiny) little baby boy.

However, in two years he has blossomed into a fantastic, explorative, and expressive little toddler. Running and climbing everywhere, talking up a storm, eating like a champ and asking so many questions...he really is a joy (and a lot of work) to be around.

Arlo has a wicked sweet tooth, likely inherited from me! He LOVES candy, especially lollipops. We hosted a play group on his birthday and had cupcakes with lollipops on top! Quite a splurge on my part, but you only have one birthday a year, right?

We had a wonderful weekend filled with holiday family events. The university hosts Santa every year in the arboretum and it is filled with poinsettias, including a huge poinsettia tree. We braved the crowds of families with 2, 3, and 4 year olds and managed a quick photo session. Not an easy task with two wiggly boys.

Arlo wasn't sure about Santa and if you ask him about seeing Santa he'll say, "Santa cary Arlo", meaning "Santa scared Arlo". Sam told Santa he wants a Spiderman truck for Christmas and Arlo felt a little better about Santa after he gave him a candy cane...which disappeared in a matter of seconds!

Over the weekend we began a new family tradition of building a gingerbread house. The boys loved the entire process, especially our little sweet tooth who kept eating the candy decorations. 

All weekend Arlo kept asking, 

"eat ginger house, please, please, please?" 

When he was told that we don't eat the house right away he wasn't too happy as you can see below!

We've been seeing this face a bit more these days between Arlo's recent new fears of moving toys and Santa and his assertion with independence. The two's have hit and though he usually takes these developments in stride, we're definitely seeing more tantrums.

Where are we at?

Specifically, we are in the very beginning of another Michigan winter! It has been snowing every couple of days over the last week or so and most of it is sticking around. We got another inch or so this morning and more is expected this evening and into tomorrow. Being that we LOVE winter, we're all pretty excited. I took this photo at our house last week during the first snow.  I just had to go by and see what our space looked like with the first blanket upon it. So beautiful. We miss being there.

Along with the winter weather comes more time inside....it's inevitable and we find lots of fun things to do! The boys were sent a cute little gift package from a dear friend in Kansas including gummy Army men (her husband is in the Army) and lots of stickers! Arlo entertained himself for quite a while with his book!

Winter also brings some great capitol area activities including the Silver Bells in the City celebration. We went last year, as well as this year, and loved the electric lights parade and the lighting of the tree with the fireworks. 

So cold, so fun, so worth it.

The house work is moving right along, too. Below is a photo of the bathroom when we bought the house. You can see the octagonal window and the HUGE vanity and double sinks.

We opted to put in a regular double hung window and replace the large vanity with one pedestal sink. You can see the basic changes below, though it is still hard to visualize where things will be. Once it is all done I'll post before and after pictures.

The house has now been fully smoke cleaned and sealed, which is the white powdery looking stuff all over the walls. We have all the new windows in upstairs and it is nice to have the plywood removed from the window spaces. It makes the house feel more like our home. Below is the master bedroom.

And the dining room all sealed. You definitely don't smell smoke anymore...now it just smells like sawdust and paint! Smells I much prefer!

Of course, when ripping apart an old house there will be surprises and what you see below are the remnants of a fire from possibly 30 years ago that began in our mud room wall and then smothered itself. The previous owners likely had no idea the fire ever started and were very lucky it didn't progress. The cause of this little surprise was taken care of...an improperly sealed 220 wire. Ugh. It was a little scary to find this, but the contractor has assured us that it is all being dealt with appropriately. 

Next week the new plaster walls will begin going up and by the end of the week the new siding will also begin going on. It is beginning to feel like we'll actually get back in by February 1st....

Are you Two or Four??

Saturday we were driving in the car. Matt was talking to me about something random.  I can't even remember what and Arlo pipes in and says," Daddy, why?"

Matt responds, "I don't know why. Why do run around the house and destroy things?"

Arlo is quiet for a few moments, then says, "Mmmmm, ahhhhhh, wanna touch, Daddy."

"Why?" is the latest word/question/phrase and we're hearing it all the time. He'll even ask Sam and Sam's common response is, "I can't know why, Arlo."

Big Steps

When I remember the potty training process with Sam it seems like it was such a long, rough road. He really resisted and thanks to my blog posts I can say with confidence that it took us the better part of a year to get him officially potty trained!

Arlo has been much more interested in the potty and the whole idea. 

He watches Sam and though he rarely asks to go or tells us when he needs to go, he doesn't fight it when I take him. Last night I sat him on the potty before bed and he pooped! Then again this morning he made a little deposit on the potty. I think if I am persistent and regular about taking him, he could be fully potty trained by the time the new baby comes. We'll see how this winter plays out, but I am going to shoot for that.

Happy Halloween...err, Voting Day!