Random kidlet pictures

Atalie likes to help me ("Mommy") with anything and everything. It's actually quite nice b/c it keeps her from whining her head off;) She's helped in the kitchen a few times, so often infact that she lugs a chair from the table all the way to where I am in the kitchen (which is a good place to find me most the time) and says, "hauwp, hauwp", eager to "help, "help" me stir something. I was making cookies a few days ago when she decided I needed help again. When we were all done and the cookies were cooling on the racks I warned her that they are hot and she had to wait a little bit... but is that possible? You'd be surprised to know that usually it is b/c she's a very good listener most the time. But this time she had her heart set on eating those cookies and when I turned my back she snagged one. Then when I took her off the chair and put it back by the table she quickly reached up, tall as can be on her tippiest of toes, ready to snatch another!! Little cookie thief. This is her stealing cookies. Aiden, needing an Aiden sandwich. This little sweetheart has been eating WAAAAY too often! (I know, you couldn't tell at all just by looking at him) So I decided to space out his meals a little. He's getting some solids (mush) ontop of his regular meals of Mommy-milk, however it doesn't seem to hold him off AT ALL! The only thing that would hold him off for another half hour or so was this newly introduced soother. He refused to take it the first month of his life but now seems to quite enjoy it!! I'm making a strong effort to make sure he only gets it when he needs it b/c Atalie is still quite attached and it's been almost two years since she had hers for the first time!

Tile & Slate

Kevin had lots of help from Chris setting tile this weekend. The bathroom floor, wall and fireplace hearth got done. He also intended to put our carpet in for us but it didn't arrive on time (rrg!) so we have smooth edge and underlay waiting in the basement. We got ahold of a local carpet layer who will be finishing it all tomorow though (woohoo!), so I'll put up some pics when it's done. Below: Fireplace hearth has black slate. Kev also put the mantle up after staining it numerous times. (the slate is a dark grey/black but it still has a bit of grout smudged about here) The kids and I tried to help Kev with a bit of cleaning today, after going to Cranbrook for some house related errands. Atalie was VERY eager to help Mommy sweep! We had to give her her own broom and she was heart broken when I had to borrow it for a second or two... should have gotten a picture of the big helper:) These pics below are of us hangin out afterwards, on the new hearth;) Our inspiring artist;) ...ha ha, she sure does like to colour!

Cabinet Boxes

A start to my nice new kitchen:) Kevin had many difficulties and many (thankfully unnecesary) scares with these Ikea cabinets. Lots of fun!! But Ikea is always lots of fun ~ somehow the excitement of new things quickly dies when you see the assembly list... hm. Our friends from Kelowna arrived this afternoon and Chris will be put to work early in the morning installing all kinds of flooring. Yea!! We'll have some good updates in a few days or less:) :) :)

Good grief, will this ever end?????

Meaning, I'm getting tired of saying, "We hope to be in within the month" over and over and over! This past weekend was an encouraging weekend in that we had huge last-minute help from my parents with the painting (DONE!) and my Dad was able to get allll the electrical finished so now we have light (VERY exciting!). Yea:) :) :) However money is the unfortunate part. It's pretty much nonexistant right now and I'm definately looking forward to our next draw, if the appraiser ever shows up that is. Why is it that money (the lack of) almost always seems to damper a persons mood? I can decide to push it out of my mind but it still lurks around back there somewhere, waiting to rear its ugly head now and then. Rrg! None the less, it's all about perspective and the end is near!!! If we can get our ducks in a line once more we'll be able to put up cabinets, lay the flooring, put up a permanent railing coming in the main entry and finish the fireplace before being able to move in. Oh ya, we have to get some appliances too. But we can't order them until we get a draw so they'll have to wait for a little bit. And as for that nasty colour in the kids bedroom, I think the problem is solved. I painted a slightly darker green over the existing green and it looks a little better.

in living colour:)

SO. We definately don't have white walls anymore! Infact, the kids room is all wrong. The lower third is supposed to be green and it must be mixed wrong b/c it's a yellowy browny green. Anyway, have a look for yourself: KITCHEN LIVING ROOM HALLWAY TO MASTER BEDROOM (actually the same colour as "living room" picture above) MASTER BEDROOM KIDS ROOM KIDS ROOM - BIG FAT WRONG COLOUR

Deck

Kev got the deck built yesterday. It somehow seems to complete the house:) Other than that we're currently waiting for the drywall mudding to be done, then the whole house will be sprayed with primer and we'll start painting (most likely) on Thursday. Finally! We really hope to be in by the end of the month... doesn't seem like there's much left but it's alot of detail: fireplace stone and mantle, paint, floors, cabinets, plumbing finishing (toilets, sinks, etc.), railing on the main entrance landing, interior doors, trim, electrical finishing (fixtures, outlets, etc.). That's all I can think of right now. I think we should have occupancy when those are done and then we can work on finishing the exterior (trim on the chimney, shakes on the chimney and top parts of the North and South walls). Wow. Strange to think we're almost there! It's been just over 7 months already. :) Way to go Kev!!!!! And I can't forget to say "THANK YOU!!!" to all who have helped so far and to those who will still be helping (we both have friends and family coming to help this week through to next week as well)! This next picture is taken about half way between Canal Flats and Invermere just beneath the Hoodoos. The bridge to the right was smashed in at the top of the far side when a truck carrying two excavators underestimated the height of his load... now there's an additional bridge put in that is shared with oncoming traffic but has to alternate traffic directions b/c it can't hold much weight and is single-lane. Unfortunately, there has been at least one accident b/c of this situation and one little boy has already died. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

One hot Daddy!

Kevin and I had a fantastic chuckle over this one... yes, infact Kevin was laughing harder than I was. He was making a lunch for work when I pointed out that he looked pretty hot. He dresses this way for work every day, socks and shirt all neatly tucked into his fleece pants to void the chilly air, complete with a bit of bedhead... I guess neither of us ever noticed how funny it was until I took a picture this morning.

Away In A Manger

This video is of Atalie and Grandma singing at Christmas.

The kids~

Well Aiden was 4 months old on January 4th and Atalie is now 21.5 months old (almost 2!!). They seem to quite like each other, even though they can't play at the same level (obviously). Atalie loves to hug, kiss and hold her little brother - I can't say the same affection is returned but I'm sure some day he'll appreciate it... or not;) Here's some fun pics I took today. It's not easy to explain the meaning of "don't squish him" when you want her sitting close to him for a picture. Two little birds. This is hilarious (although a bit blurry) b/c I've only ever noticed Aiden tucking his bottom lip in - until I saw this picture. Well, they are related. Finally, a half decent picture of the two of them. Aiden loves his bear! It counts, expresses different emotions and sings songs with 3 buttons that light up. What more could a 4 month old ask for? Really, he mostly likes to chew on the leg...

Drywall to Paint!!!!

So here's the finished product (of drywall that is) on the mainfloor. The man we hired to do the drywall, taping and mudding said he'd likely be done the taping and mudding end of next week... which means... paint is next!! We dropped off our list of a wide variety of paint colours at Rona today so they could mix them up for us. Woohoo! That was fun. We also made a trip to Cranbrook today to buy a shower for the basement bath, tiles for both bathrooms and tile for the hearth around the fireplace and some interior doors. That gets expensive! Infact we are officially maxed out again and must once more try to put as many expenses as possible on our Rona account so as to prolong our next bank draw request (the interest sure racks up fast)... the dance of a builders mortgage... so much fun. HOWEVER ~ I can smell the finish line:) North wall (above) South wall (kitchen is in an L-shape on the back wall and to the right) Main entry (East wall) Stairway to basement Bathroom (kids room is to the right and master bed is to the left)