So Cool!!

I have a picture for everyone tonight - Alex sitting on the NEW KITCHEN FLOOR!!! :)

Yes, Dad and Grandpa (my dad and grandpa) finished the floor tonight. YAY!! Alex was up until about 10 (an hour past normal bedtime) because they wanted to finish, and his bedroom is right down the short hall from the kitchen. So, he was a little cranky, but we snuggled and he went right down at 10. Here are a few pictures from the day.....

"How wide is my mouth, Mom?"

"Would you believe that this is a moustache?"

The new floor - looking from the hallway towards the 'dining room' and the rest of the kitchen.

From the 'dining room' to the laundry room (where Alex is with his ruler-bat-moustache)

The laundry room (ruler-bat-moustache left behind)
And Alex (right before bed - notice the cork he is donning) - he LOVED the bare feet on the new floor!

The project will enter it's final day tomorrow - Dad and Grandpa have to leave - it's hard to believe that they have been here for two weeks already. The time has gone by way too fast, but they have worked so hard and it all looks great! The toilet and vanity will go in tomorrow - I AM SO EXCITED!! :)

House Update...

Sorry, "somebody" - no pics of Alex here, so you can just go ahead and stop reading.

For the rest of you - - :)

The bathroom floor is "finished" with the mortar at least. All of the tile is laid, and as of tonight, it could be walked on - but the guys will probably finish tackling that tomorrow. Could I have a toilet by tomorrow?? Oh, happy day!! :) Going all the way downstairs in the black of night is getting a little old, but I am NOT going to complain - this is turning out really cool!! :)

So the guys worked on the kitchen today. The first obstacle was getting the glued-on carpeting up. I tried to help the guys, but they wouldn't let me - - but with a pair of vicegrips and a utility knife, they made short work of that ugly carpeting.

This is what was left behind.....

Everyone had to wear shoes, because you STUCK to the floor! Stick, stick, stick!! :) And if you stayed in place for too long, it really took an effort to move again. All of the appliances from the kitchen are now in the living room, plus the dryer. The washing machine is on the back patio, covered in garbage bags because it's pouring outside. Here's what my living room looks like....(notice also the countertops in the pictures above - I have no space left!!)

Then it was on to the "green stuff"- underlayment or something - that has to go down before the wood floor goes down. Here's a shot of the "first plank" - -

This is as far as the guys got tonight, they had to make a few difficult cuts, but the floor is in front of the sink, and will continue into the laundry room.

There's our update from today - I am going to bed now!! :)

Bob!

There are more pictures of the little man today, because "someone" jokingly mentioned that they read the blog to see pictures of the family, not of the bathroom. SO, here you go! :)



The past few days there has been a "bob" (dog or puppy to the rest of the English-speaking population - but "Bob" to Alex - remember the post about my sister and brother-in-law's dog named Bob? - That's where the name has come from. Bob is a memorable dog - a St. Bernard and something mix.....anyway, he's huge.) Okay, back to the pictures.....

The past few days the dog from the house behind ours has a dog that has been getting out of his gated yard, and has come over. The first day he and Squiggles had a close encounter as Squiggles tried to escape into the garage, where this dog already was. I think that poor Squiggles lost 2 of her 9 lives then.....ANYWAY (I am getting de-railed a LOT tonight!!)

Alex has been slowly warming up to this "bob" - at first he needed someone else to go with him, and he would giggle and act silly, not at all petting the dog. Today, Alex was the bold one and didn't need help at all - he would go over and pet him, and followed him (I am assuming this dog is a boy) all over the place. Here are a few shots of their adventures....

We gave the bob some water - he was a HOT dog!!


"No, Bob! This way!!"

Nice puppy!

"I think that if I talk to Mom real nice, she will let you come in - we can chase the cat, she has it comin' to her!!"
"Mom, look what I found! Can I keep him?!!??"

Then the bob took off - not heading towards home, but down the street towards Homer's house. Alex followed him as far as he could - and I took off after him. You can barely see the bob turning off of the sidewalk - almost under the blue car. By the time Alex got down to the end of the sidewalk, the bob was no where in sight. Alex began BAWLING! Uncontrollable, tears flowing, no consoling, just give me my dog cry. He had only napped for 1 hour, so his emotions were already on his sleeve - and his sleeves were short! :) We'll see if the bob returns tomorrow.

Now for pictures of the bathroom - they have the shower DONE - and it is "resting". I guess the tile has to rest for 24 hours before you can grout it, and they are nearly done with the floor now (it's 10:00 and they are still working). I think that the schedule is to work on the kitchen floor tomorrow because the bathroom floor will be "resting" - and Dad seems to think that it won't take too long. I hope that these guys will talk to me after this is all over with - they have been putting in long hours and working A LOT! So here's the shots of the finished shower.....

Andy was MIA tonight, he had a ballgame in Sargent. He just got home, and he said that his Juniors played the best they have ever played in the 3 years he's coached them! They won 10-0, and had a no-hitter!! Yay for them! The Seniors on the other hand - played a good game - but still lost. Three more games - Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday, and then the season is over - just the tournament to go! :) Where has the summer gone!?!! :)

More pics of Alex and of the bathroom (and maybe some of the kitchen!) tomorrow! :)

Progress!

Sorry, I don't have time to write much tonight, the guys are scrambling to try to finish up the walls yet tonight (it's 10:30 now) - so I am going to offer to help since the little man is off in dreamland. :)

Here are a few shots from throughout today - the tile is going up!!

And a shot of Alex - he has been especially tired and cranky lately - I am wondering if he is not getting more teeth in - - he won't let me look in his mouth, so we'll have to wait and see! This was a shot of nap #2 today (he's been napping only once for at least the past 6 weeks - - who knows??!!!??!)

Pool Time!

WHERE has this weekend gone? It seems like just a couple of days ago it was Monday, and here it is going to be Monday again tomorrow!

The three guys got a LOT done on the bathroom this weekend - I bet Andy feels like he didn't get any time to relax at all - that's okay, because once this is all done, there will be plenty of time to enjoy it all! :)

Because it was going to be a day where Alex needed to stay out of the bathroom, we inflated the pool this morning and let the water warm up all day. Right after we filled it up - he was in it!! I can't imagine how chilly the water was, but he was having a blast! Luckily, his clothes were dried by the time we came inside - but his diaper was a little clunky! :)

Here are a few shots of Alex after supper playing in the warm water - and a video, too! :) He wasn't too fond of sitting in the water - but he put himself there!! Splash, splash!!

Here are a couple of shots of what the guys got done today. ALL of the cement board is hung, and all of the drywall is hung. They finished up on the mortar around the tub and on the floor, and got all of the joint compound on the tape and nail holes. It's drying now, which is why you have "door shots". It will dry tonight, and they hope to begin on the tile tomorrow morning. Once that is laid, we have to stay off of it for at least 24 hours - so tomorrow afternoon we are going to go down to Grand Island and return some of the extra supplies we won't need. We then will head to Ravenna for a baseball game. Andy has had this past week off because his guys were at football camp, so it's been nice to be home for a while. I think that Andy is ready to get back out on the field, though. The end of the season is coming up too soon - tournament will be here before we know it!!

I am getting REALLY excited to see what it's all going to look like - I have a vague idea from piecing together the tile and countertop and such - but it will be so awesome to see it come together!! :)

On a really unrelated note - when I was fixing supper tonight, I thought that it was super-hot. I looked at the temperature gauge on the wall, and this is what I saw.....

Time for new batteries!! :)

Weekend Updates

Hello all - sorry I didn't post last night, I was absolutely exhausted. Today's not much better, but I am getting it done earlier in the day - -

Yesterday the guys began working on the cementboard - that goes everywhere that might get wet - around the tub/shower and on the floor. They got a pretty good start on it, and had all around the tub and floor done by bedtime. They even stopped for a pie break. :) Grandma Le also had to leave yesterday morning, leaving me the only woman in the house. I guess I need to get used to it - but it was very nice having her here. My sister Sarah is leaving for London on Monday, (please keep her safe travel in your prayers) and someone needed to watch her new lab puppy - Ruby - so Mom had to head home. *By the way, Sarah, I still need pictures of Ruby and your new house!! :) Pray also for Mom's patience with Ruby, she is all puppy and Mom is very thankful she didn't get her new carpet last year! :)

Today Andy was working with the guys ALL day, and they have all of the drywall hung now. It took quite a bit of time because they had to cut every single piece - for the light switches, heater control, vanity light, window, lots to do! Here are a few pictures before they hung the last couple of pieces - -

Overlooking the tub - -

The corner where the toilet will be - - (yes, I am without an upstairs toilet for now)

Corner where the vanity will be - -

Alex has been such a trooper through all of this - I was a little worried how he would handle the changes, but he has been outstanding. A few times he has battled for his nap, but he will eventually go down.

Today I worked on cleaning the house - even though I know that it's going to get dirty again (it's already dirty), it needed to be done. I am very sore tonight from lifting and such, and I had to run through the weeds to catch Alex because he thought that running away while I was hanging sheets on the line would be funny. I was not amused - - thankfully, he hasn't tried his "getaway" since. :) Grandpa Dave did nickname him "sparkplug" though - I think it's a pretty appropriate name, espeically given what he was wearing today.....

He's also been into hats - because all of the guys are wearing them. He knows which hat belongs to which guy, and even wore Grandpa Dave's hat for a while! What an adorable smile!! :)

Ready to GO!

Well, I think that almost all of the demo is done in the bathroom (with the exception of the toilet, a pregnant lady NEEDS her toilet as long as possible!) - we waited for what seemed like FOREVER for a plumber, then he finally showed up at 4:15ish this afternoon. Then the guys were really able to make some progress! Here are a few pictures before the plumber arrived....




The guys were able to get one of the new things installed - our new light and vent/fan! There is still a patch from the old one that needs to be repaired on the left side, but I am excited to see one little bit of "new"!!


Alexander enjoyed playing in the new bathtub - while it sat in the middle of the living room! He found that he can climb in and out of this one, and there is a no-skid surface on the bottom, so that's exciting!


The tub is installed now and the guys have all of the leaks fixed. They worked the better part of the night on the screwy plumbing that someone did when they built the house. I guess there are pipes of all different sizes, and some of the joints are in dire need of repairing. So, I think that they have them all repaired and all of the leaks fixed - I believe that the walls and floor are next - how exciting!! :)

Alexander did give Grandpa Dave a scare earlier today - he was climbing up the ladder (see last night's post if you don't remember), and got up to the 4th rung - then turned around and JUMPED off!! Luckily, Dad was ready and caught him - talk about fearless!! :)

Up!

Well, the remodel is going right on along. We have had only one "hiccup" so far - I have called two different plumbers, both said they would arrive later that afternoon, and neither showed up. SO.....I am half tempted to call them and say that if they just didn't want to do it in the first place, just be a man and say so! Argh! Okay, enough of the pregnant moodyness..... :) *However, if any of you want to call and tell them off, I would be happy to provide names and phone numbers. :)

Alex was a ball of energy today, and went to bed earlier than usual. He spent quite a bit of time outdoors, playing in the garage and driveway and with his new sand/water table. Tonight, he was out in the garage, and figured out how to do this!!!

Yeah, it was a little scary at first - but I have to remember that my fear is not his fear. He needs to be able to go out and explore - and he may get hurt every once in a while, but fortunately, tonight was not that night. What a character!

Andy also shot a video of Alex as he climbed up, up, up! I figure that arms' reach is high enough (for now), and his smile was HUGE as he turned around to see what he was higher than everyone else. Also notice the clapping he gives himself as he walks away. :)

Pray for a plumber tomorrow - the guys are at a standstill until we can get one here! Until tomorrow's post - stay safe on ladders (and everywhere else you are!) ;)

BP Squared

Yes, I know - tonight's post has the two BP's - Bathroom Progress and Batting Practice. I'm getting more creative as each day passes. :)

First on to bathroom progress. Last night the guys (Grandpa Dave and Daddy) began ripping the tile off of the wall. Even Grandma Le got in on the action. They were able to rip off quite a bit, so here are the pictures from yesterday night.

Then today, Great-Grandpa Frank came out from Lincoln to help out. Then the work really took off! Tile came flying off of the walls and we began to see studs. They found a bunch of sketchy work that had been done earlier, and some rotting that had taken place. It was a good time for us to begin doing this, there are a lot of things that need replacing. We are hoping the plumber that we called shows up tomorrow, because there are a couple of supply lines that need to be professionally done. We also "ordered" a large dumpster, because right now all of the tile and drywall is being housed in 5 buckets and the tub - as you can see in the pictures below. Here are Great-Grandpa Frank and Daddy busy working......

Now on to the second BP - batting practice. Alex has really taken to liking to attempt to hit the ball. He throws the bat to his preferred pitcher - in this case it was Daddy - and then assumes a left-handed stance. (the left-handed REALLY pleases his Daddy!!) Although he rarely lucks out and gets a hit, he throws the bat down and begins to RUN!!!! Instead of a baseball diamond, Alex creates more of a baseball triangle.....enjoy!

Off to help with the demo!!! :)

The Results Are IN!!!

Hello all!



Well, we have had an eventful day to say the least. My parents - Grandpa Dave and Grandma Le - arrived last night. Alex was winding down when they pulled in, and he then gained a second wind. So after entertaining his grandparents for about 45 minutes - he CRASHED!! We expected him to sleep in a little this morning, nope! He was up at his usual time. We had a full day planned, because today was the day for the big ultrasound. This is what I have been worried about for the past few weeks, because of the lack of movement on the baby's part. Andy had taken the afternoon off, and I had to twist my parents' arms to see if they would watch Alex while we went to Grand Island. There were a few things that we still needed from Home Depot, so we all loaded up and went down. While Andy and I were seeing Acta for the first time, the three went to Home Depot, Menards, ShopKo, and lots of other places. The back of the pickup was packed!! One of the toys that they bought was a sand/water table for Alex. Here are a few shots of the three of them playing once we got home.....




I don't think that I have ever laughed so hard in my life - Alex was trying to drink the water, but would get more than he could handle into his mouth, so spit it out (and let run down his shirt and shorts) when he got too much. He was SOAKED!!!!! Water was dripping from his shorts they were so wet. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes came out so we had to head inside. No need for a bath for Alex tonight - he had a complete bathing outside!

Now, on to the "results" of the ultrasound. The tech that administered it was especially nice - very social and explained things very well. She took a lot of shots, measurements, and decided that my due date and the measurement date were only a day apart. The doctor said I should be due on November 2 - the measurements said November 3. If this one is anything like Alexander, we'll be lucky to have a baby by December 20. (I'm not kidding - Alex was VERY late!!) Anyway, the baby is breeched right now, but she said that in a matter of 5 minutes that could change. Only at week 37 do they begin to worry if baby is still that way. I'm at week 20, so no need to stress now.

This baby gave us all of the shots that we needed, and moved very little. (Therefore making the "I don't feel the baby" even more real - this baby is very mellow!) We got great shots of the heart with all 4 chambers, the kidneys, the femur, diaphragm, head measurements, spine shots (all which looked GREAT according to the Tech), two little feet with the little piggies, the right arm (the way that the baby was laying, we couldn't see the other one), a profile, and we were able to get a good "crotch shot" (Aunt Elly's words - I am merely borrowing them). Yes, we know what the baby is!!! :)

Here's one of the shots of a side profile. She labeled the chin, lips, and nose. The baby is on it's back - -

You didn't think that I would leave you "hanging" as to what the sex of the baby is.......And the "crotch shot" - -

In this shot, you are looking up at the butt. The legs are going out to either side, and the little winkie is in the middle (the arrow is pointing to it!).

I guarantee you, this is the first and last time that you will see a winkie on this family blog. :)

Now, we need your help, faithful blog readers. We had been so focused on girls names, that we are not knowing where to begin with the boys names. We would like suggestions from ALL of you, please! Either leave a comment or e-mail us directly, we would LOVE to hear your suggestions!

(Obviously, names like "Owen Bo Bowin" and "Edwardo Bowin" will NOT be considered - but feel free to recommend whatever you like - we do reserve the right to veto any and all names. Sorry, I had to put that in there, I know some of you and the way you think). :)

2 BOYS!!! What am I going to do with myself????!!!!!?!?!? :)

Happy Father's Day!

...to all of you wonderful fathers out there. We are blessed to know a number of wonderful fathers - and had outstanding fathers growing up (they are STILL outstanding!), we are so blessed to have ALL of these wonderful fathers in our life.

This morning, after church, I wanted to take a picture of "my boys" - and got a better picture than I could have dreamed of!! This was the one and only shot - Alex must be getting used to this camera thing!! :)



Happy Father's Day, Andy - Alex and I are so lucky to have you in our life. :)

Now on to the past events since our last post.

Thursday Alex and I drove down to Broken Bow to surprise Daddy by taking him out to lunch. It's not easy to surprise Andy, because he can tell when I am "hiding" something. I had just asked him to call me when he was done at the nursing home in Broken Bow, so that Alex and I could "swoop" in and pick him up and take him to lunch. He, of course, asked, "Why?" And he could tell from my, "Oh, no reason - just so we can talk.......yeah." answer that something was up. I do think that he was a little surprised, even though I think that he had pretty much figured out what was going on. We went to the new Runza - it was OUTSTANDING!!! I don't think that I have ever had a better "fast food" meal in my life! Yum!

Friday Alex and I spent most of the day doing laundry, cleaning, and getting ready for the ball game that night. We drove down to Boelus (about 1 hour away - by Grand Island) for a Seniors game. DCB (The Dannebrog-Cairo-Boelus) team has only a Seniors' team, so there was only one game. They have the most beautiful field - trees, grass, playground, running water - the only drawback is that it is by the river so the bugs were terrible. We seemed to be spraying every hour or so - Alex walked away unscathed, but Andy and I have a few new bites. The guys took DCB to 7 innings (their ball games are only 7) - which was a "moral victory" for them because DCB has been a state qualifier for a LONG time - they have a pretty solid program. The final score was 9-0, and the guys were so happy that they held them to only 9.

Saturday we spent that morning cleaning out the bathroom because it's going to be getting it's makeover beginning Monday. We sorted through stuff that should have been thrown away a long time ago, and put "like" stuff together. So, the bathroom is cleaned out and ready to go. Then Andy had 2 games (both Juniors and Seniors) in Broken Bow. Last time the Juniors played them, they lost 26-8. This time they barely lost in the bottom of the 7th - 12-11. Broken Bow is the best team these guys will play all season, so them holding up a great defensive game was outstanding. They made Broken Bow come from behind to win - they really played great. The Seniors on the other hand - let's just say that they had fun. One of the radio announcers that was there said on his broadcast, "I don't think that I have ever seen this before - every player has been to bat here in the first inning, and every single player has scored a run!" Yeah. Andy went through 4 pitchers in the 3-inning game. (There's a 15 run rule - where if one team is winning by 15 after 3 innings, the game is over.) 3 of those pitchers were in the first inning. The final score was 16-1. They managed to score 1 run, so they were happy with that.

Then on to today - we took Andy out to Country Neighbor for their lunch special. Roast Beef, BBQ Pork Loin, or Country-Fried Steak. This afternoon we are working on cleaning the garage so there's room to work in there with the remodel, laundry, and the lawn. My folks, Grandma Le and Grandpa Dave are on their way up as we speak (although I haven't heard from them yet - they were to leave at 1, and it's now 3:45) - but they were going to be having supper in Lincoln with my grandparents. They should be pulling in (hopefully) before bedtime.

Well, that's all for now - sorry it's so long. We will have pictures of our remodel as we are going - we are VERY excited!! :)

Friday