It's all in the details.

My boys had some fun on the 4th... cleaning, packing, and playing with sparklers!

We made our weekly trip out to the house. We had some changes since our last post so here they are!
The closet organizers are up.

The hardware is going in around the house.

The bathroom counter tops are in.

The backyard is blocked in.
The AC is installed.

The pavers for the driveway are almost done.It is fun to see the house coming along. Now is time for all the little things to get put together and cleaned up. I still think it's funny the order that the builder does things in. The beautifully painted walls are all nicked up from putting in the extras. While we were there a worker was re-texturing and touching up the walls.

Only 26 days until the close of Escrow (hopefully).

Happy 4th of July!

Let's start with a happy birthday to my dad and Ryan's mom. Ryan's mom celebrated her birthday on the 2nd and my dad is a fire works baby :) Happy birthday to two wonderful grandparents!!

Sorry for the lack of pictures but we have had some fun the past few days. Tyler took his first real steps yesterday at the Rec Center Romper Room. He has been strong enough and smart enough for quite some time to walk...all it took was a little popper. Ty loves the sound those little poppers make when you push them around and there happened to be one at the Rec Center. I showed Tyler how it made noise and then, instead of pushing it to me, he picked it right up, held it in front of him, and walked right over to me! He was one big smile...ear to ear.

Today we have Ryan home so we thought we'd hit up Home Depot and Lowes. We found a killer deal on some ceiling fans. There were three, one for each room, but someone swiped one out from under us. We still got two for about what we would have paid for one. Our first "home purchase".

Hope everybody enjoys some fireworks tonight. We are looking forward to some fun family time with dad home!

What I've been Waiting for!

No- the house isn't done. I didn't win the lottery either but I did come across a website that turns your blog into a book! Talk about journaling made easy. These are like real books, coffee table books even (if you are witty and talented with a camera at least). Check this site out! It's called http://blurb.com.

I hope to find some time between packing, sleeping, and playing mom to make a book from my 2007 blogs. Not only that, but for those of you who use your blog as a journal (like me) it will give me more motivation to take the time to write down the meaningful stuff that I really mean to! Happy Blogging & Book Making to all!

Big D little d, what begins with D?

Date, Donuts, and 'dos!

(not the greatest picture, but we still must document the date)

I finally got my hair cut again this past Friday night. It's been since October. I have a bad habit of waiting FOREVER to cut my hair. I don't consider it a necessity so I just put it off. We had this coupon for a $4.99 haircut though- so the time had come! Just a trim and some layers...nothing too exciting. It actually isn't all that bad. I figured if it was a disaster I would pay real money to get it fixed somewhere. For now, it was $4.99 well spent.

Saturday we did our typical home visit and we got an exciting call from Michael and Jenna telling us that they had free tickets to a show. We haven't been on a date since our anniversary and we haven't been to the strip at all since we have lived here. We made some quick plans for Tyler to have some fun without us with Aunt Heather and made our way down to the Mirage to see Danny Gans. It was so much fun to be with Michael, Jenna, a friend of theirs and his wife, and Ryan of course. We enjoyed laughing and talking with adults- but of course we found ourselves talking about Tyler :) Who can resist?! We even splurged a bit and had a HUGE banana split at this little ice cream shop. Good food, good company, good show!
Ryan brought donuts home from work on Saturday...Krispy Kreme donuts...yum. Well, Tyler was mad at us all morning for leaving him last night, so dad made a peace offering. It is WAY more sugar than I would ever give Tyler, but it worked. He loved the sprinkles and tearing apart the donut. Most of it ended up on the ground or on his face (thank goodness) and it most definitely ruined his appetite for lunch!

New House Pictures

Tyler is waking up so here's the summary... a bunch of finish work has been done. i.e. outlet plates are on, light switches are in, lights are up, garage door is up (and insulated), cabinets are throughout the house, and the patio is poured with our fancy little outdoor light up. Pretty exciting stuff! Enjoy the pictures in no particular order :)

12 Month Stats

So we finally got to go to the Dr. for Tyler's well check and here are the latest stats...

12 1/2 mo......20lb 12oz.......30 1/2 in....... biggest stud ever!

Tyler is in the 25-50% for his weight and 50-75% for his height. Not too big, not too small...just right! After talking with a friend of ours who is going to school to be a PA (physician's assistant) I decided to postpone Tyler's MMR vaccine. I have been pretty easy going up to this point, but it is time that I start to think for myself- and ask more questions too. Doctors do all that they can but it is my job to look out for my little guy. I don't know why this matters to me all of a sudden, but it does. I figured three shots would be plenty for one day, especially since Ty is just getting back to feeling better. Supposed the MMR, or any combo vaccines, have a higher chance of being linked to autism...not to mention that we aren't around measles, mumps, or rubella much anymore! I hope I can find time and good sources to start to research and be a better mom and patient for my little Tyler. Any other moms postpone vaccines or forgo them altogether?

We have officially begun to pack (which means the house is a complete disaster). Every time we move we try to thin out our junk. We are finally down to just about two "memory" boxes for Ryan and I. Now we are moving on to books and other things we don't use all that often.

Tyler is loving the mess. He found some brand new Hot Wheels in Ryan's boxes last night which he could hardly contain himself over. Tyler also found some cap guns, pinewood derby cars, old cell phones, and beany babies. He is loving to search and clean with us.

Ty has always loved the vacuum- but this fancy carpet cleaner is borrowed so it has that extra special factor because it is new and has some bright colors on it. Tyler just can't get enough.

Tyler has also figured out how to get into the empty boxes...now if only he could get out!

Another FIRST happened this week as well. Being ONE now, Tyler is old enough to play in the romper room at the Rec Center while I walk. He is a pretty outgoing boy and he loves any toys that aren't his own, so we gave it a shot. Monday was his first time and he LOVED it! He was pushing cars all around and playing in the ball pit. Tues. he was too tired and fussy but Wednesday we tried again. He seemed to be okay- but then I heard his sweet little cry so, being the over-protective mother that I am, I ran downstairs to check on him. He crawled into my arms and cried for a minute. Apparently he had bumped his nose while crawling around. So- being the 'tard that I am, I check his nose, it looks fine, get him smiling again and finish walking. I come back to get him and his poor little lip is all FAT! Duh. I thought it looked a little funny at first- but 15 minutes later when I pick him up it's all huge and puffy. How'd I miss that one? Well, he survived and I feel like a total bad parent but he still loves the place. Thank goodness Ry didn't kill me for the first ouchie on my watch!

Ryan also gave us an exciting update on the house- cabinets are in and electrical finish work has begun! We'll get some pictures and post this weekend!!

Roof & Interior Paint

Ryan stopped by our new stompin' grounds on his lunch break today. Our home has interior & exterior paint and trim done now and the roof is almost completely done. I cannot believe how different the place looks with paint. It is practically a home. We are so excited but I still get sad at times knowing that I will be leaving my sister and my friend Jessica (ya- that's right...you know you'll read this eventually and I will miss both of you) Ryan and I have always wanted to have our family in our home. So exciting! Here are some pics so you can come along for the ride.

Beautiful Verona Beach walls and white trim

Exterior has just a slightly darker trim

Looking down the hallway at the guest room straight ahead, Tyler's room on the right.