Making More Horse Friends...

Matt found some more horses on a different part of the farm so we decided to go meet them.

Alex actually was brave enough to pet them this time and didn't want to leave them to go back home.

Mommy has a soft spot for greys so this was a fun find. Now Alex tells us daily he wants to go see the grey horse again. And he also says, "when I get big, I ride the grey horse". Big talk from someone who would barely pet it!

Then we found a very friendly lady. She was hard to leave because she was so fun and friendly. We will have to go back and see her again.

Week 4, More Basement Progress...

After the excitement with getting the basement walls poured, it has been fun to go by every day to see if anything else new has happened. Sometimes it hard to notice until you are on the lot and it hits you that maybe something is different.

This happened to Matt when he went by last Wednesday. At first glance he didn't think anything new had happened but when he got out to explore he realized quite a bit had happened, it just was things that aren't huge changes. For example, when they poured the walls, you could walk around the outside of them, between the wall and the dirt. Now the dirt is filled in all around so it is up against the walls and the lost is somewhat leveled out. Also, the garage and front porch areas were just big holes. Now they are filled in with gravel.

This gives us a much better idea of the back yard.

Driveway and garage:

They had also started digging holes for the plumbing in the basement:

When we went by the next day, on Friday, we saw a few more small but  significant changes:

Plumbing for the water heater and full bath in the basement.

Silly boy playing in the digger.

Last night we stopped by to find another very small but very significant change, the water line had been run from the main line into the basement. The kids also enjoyed playing around and checking everything out.

Sewer inspectors.

Collecting souvenirs.

Sitting on the front porch. Although they are backwards and would be starring into the front door if the house were finished.

A Basement for the Birthday Boy...

Of course my post last week was about us visiting the lot every day just to see that the wall forms had not moved and nothing had been done at all. Then we stop by on Friday to find a wonderful site - a basement!

Then yesterday, Matt's birthday, he stopped by to find they had added the sealant and the port windows.

Funny story about those windows though. During the selections process Matt drew out where he wanted the plumbing in the basement as well as the larger window we are having put in. On that drawing he included 3 port windows. Our selections lady, Linda, was terribly confused because we had never told her we wanted an extra port window. This is because we didn't know that 3 meant an extra one and that only 2 were standard. She told us the extra window would be $200 and we said "no thanks" mainly because we just didn't need it. So we agreed to stick with the 2 that were standard on the non-garage side of the house (in the picture above).

Low and behold when we saw the basement on Friday we noticed an extra hole for what we assumed was a port window on the garage side. Wondered if that meant we were getting the 3rd window despite all the confusion. And guess what...we did!

So I had a very happy birthday boy who got a basement and an extra window for his birthday.

Prepared for Winter...

Since it is supposed to get pretty chilly this weekend and Alex is going to the campground with my parents, I decided to make sure he had a coat and hat to wear. He wanted to help me by trying them on. When I got to a pair of mittens he said, "gloves!" and then "I mow like dada!" and had to go outside to mow with his "gloves" on like dada does. Matt wear work gloves when he does yard work but I never realized Alex paid any attention to that. I should know by now that he pays attention to EVERYTHING!

Later, after he got his pajamas on he wanted to put his coat and hat back on, all the hats that is, and wear them in the house, over his pajamas. He wouldn't stand still long enough for me to get a picture but I did get a funny video of him chasing Matt around the house.

First Pez Dispenser...

Yesterday as a treat I bought Alex a Pez dispenser. Since he had never had one, I had no idea what to expect. But when I showed him how to use it, it only took once to figure out it was candy that was coming out and that it was delicious. In a record breaking amount of time he had finished off the first pack of Pez and wanted more. He polished off all 3 packs before we got out of Frankfort on our way home.

What I learned from this experience is that a kid who rarely eats sweets will be greatly affected by 3 packs of Pez. All the way home he jabbered and when he eventually ran out of things to say, he just started saying things he saw out his window - car, tree, etc., or would just say "whee!". All the while rocking back and forth in his car seat looking half crazed.

Then we get home and this is what he decides to do:

Wild child!! He is not looking at the camera because he is watching himself in the mirror of my dresser.

Happy Birthday Granny...

Yesterday was my Granny's birthday. Granny was and always will be one of my most favorite people. She spoiled me rotten but was always there for me. We even lived with her for a short time and she kept me after school when we didn't. We had a special bond. The end of this month will mark 5 years since we said goodbye to her. I thought it would be easier by now but it actually has gotten harder. I think of her daily. I think it is harder because I know how much she would have loved to have seen my kids. She loved kids and to have been able to meet her great-grand kids would have put her over the moon.

Birthdays were always special for us since mine and hers were only 3 days apart. We always celebrated together. I don't think my birthday will ever be the same without her.

Yesterday Alex and I stopped by the grave site on the way home to drop off some flowers for her. It was rough but was nice to be able to go and visit.

It amazed me how well Alex did. Not questioning why we were sticking flowers in a hole in the ground, taking pictures, talking to a piece of metal or even saying Happy Birthday and Goodbye to it. I know Granny just had to be smiling down on us and is with me as my angel every day.

My beautiful Granny, forever in our hearts:

Boys and Bugs...Or Worms...

Reagan showed Alex a woolly worm a couple of weeks ago and now he gets so excited when he sees them. I had to capture a couple of them to share:

Last night when he saw one he actually asked me to take his picture (which he has never done), put his finger on it and looked up at me cheesing.

One more video:

Bye Bye Paci...

The moment I have been dreading for about a year has finally happened. Alex has given up his paci. Matt and I researched all the different ways to break a kid of his paci, set goals of him being done with it by 2 (didn't quite make it) and put together a plan. We decided to go with the method of cutting it back every so often making it harder for him to keep in his mouth. I mentioned this method to our doctor at one visit and she even said it typically works really well.

We started out just cutting a very small hole but this changed the way it felt when he sucked on it and he noticed right away saying it was broken. Thankfully he didn't put up much fuss. Every week or 2 we would cut a little more off. We did notice he used it less and less during the day and got to a point where we only asked for it right before bed.

I had to laugh when he said one day that it was broken and that "dada did it". Every mommy wants to be the good guy as often as possible. 

You could tell he didn't like it when it got cut back but he kept on using it, even when he could barely keep it in his mouth.

Until Sunday morning when out of the blue he picked up two pacis, said they were broken and he wanted to throw them away. And off he went to the trash can, opening it up and throwing them right in.

I worried all day what would happen at bed time that night but he read his stories and went right to bed without mentioning the paci once. Same thing the next 2 nights. The first mention of a paci came the night before last and Matt was putting him to bed. He said he asked for it, Matt told him they were gone, reminded him he threw them away and that was it. Off to bed he went.

Last night Matt was putting him to bed again and he said he asked for it, the conversation went something like this:
A: I want paci.
M: Remember they are gone, you threw them away.
A: I want it.
M: We don't have any, they are all gone.
A: I want it.
M: Want a drink of water?
A: Yes!
M: Want your Mickeys?
A: Yes!

End of discussion. 

Tonight he is with his Nana and Poppy so I am hoping he is distracted enough to not think of them. Poppy said he went to bed last week without one before all this started so I hope it isn't an issue. But if this is all we get in trying to break him, I will take it. In the grand scheme of things, it has been easy.

Just another big boy moment, reminding me that my baby isn't a baby anymore. These moments are so bittersweet.

A Cow for A Restaurant Mascot??

After it got too hot to be at Evans and we all got hungry, we headed to Chick-fil-a for some lunch. After we ate, the kids had a blast playing in the indoor playground. I had to beg them to leave after we had been there over an hour. Every time Alex came down the slide he would look up at me and say, "one more mommy peas" and of course that is hard to say no to and off hey would go.

Part of the conversation we had over lunch still makes me laugh. I noticed the kids meal bag made a cow puppet when you turned it upside down and I was joking with Alex that the cow was going to eat his food. Reagan said, "it just doesn't make any sense why there are cows on everything here."

So I explained to her that the cows want you to "eat mor chikin" so you eat less beef which equals less cows. You could almost see the light bulb go on in her head. She said, "oh, that makes so much more sense! I have wondered for years why they used a cow!" Funny girl!

Fun Times at Evans Orchard...

Last Saturday Matt went to the UK football game so the kids and I headed out to Evans Orchard for a little fun on the playground and some apple picking. 

Someone decided they were big enough to go down the big slide by themselves instead of with mommy. And of course loved every second of it:

Week 2 Update...Walls...Well Almost...

We got so excited last Saturday when Ben sent us a picture of the forms being delivered for our basement walls:

These forms will be set up around the edges and then concrete will be poured into them to create the walls of the basement.

Unfortunately that is all that has happened since then. We have gone out to visit a few times yet no new progress.

Matt and Reagan checking them out.

Picture before the forms were delivered but after they put gravel everywhere.

Alex "hiding" gravel in the middle of the forms.

Another visit on Wednesday and for some reason Alex wanted to bring his "mow" and run it all over the lot and the basement. That silly boy thinks we have to take the "mow" every where we go so it pretty much stays in the back of my car.

Absolute Terror and Fear...

There are a few things a mother and father never want to hear. One of them is the scream of pure terror coming from your 2 year old. It can make your heart stop in an instant. I know this because it happened on Sunday. I was back in the laundry room and Matt had just stepped out the back door. Reagan and Alex were in the living room watching tv and all of a sudden I hear Alex scream "dad" so loudly and with such fear that I literally dropped the laundry basket and took off running toward him. Matt heard it all the way outside and wasn't far behind me. 

When I turned the corner to go down the hall, I saw Alex coming toward me at full speed as well. This put me at ease just a little to see he was up moving and there was no blood or any visual injuries. I picked him up and he was so scared he was trembling. I couldn't figure out what he was telling me. Something about his leg getting hit.

Then I hear hysterical laughter coming from Reagan. One might think that would be bad given the situation but she is so protective of her little brother that if it had been something bad, she would be right there wanting to check on him. So I walk into the living room where she is and ask what in the world happened.

Between giggles she explained that Alex had pushed the green button on top of Roomba and caused it to turn on. If you aren't familiar with Roomba, it is a robot vacuum. When you turn it on, it starts spinning in circles determining the size of the room to start planning its path. Apparently Alex had decided the green button was just too much temptation and when he pushed it, Roomba came to life and I guess he thought it was going to get him.

After we laughed over this, we explained to him it wouldn't hurt him and have been running it several times since. Thankfully he now thinks it is cool and likes to turn it on.

Hopefully the next time I hear that scream of terror it will turn out to be a funny story again and not something terrible.

Day 4 & 5...Concrete!

After getting this picture from our realtor (he is going to be our new back yard neighbor) I knew I had to stop by again to see what was going on:

Turns out we were getting concrete for the footers. Now you can see exactly the shape and size of our house. They finished pouring the concrete on Saturday so I am guessing walls for the basement will be up next!

Main area of the basement and what will be under our living room, kitchen and office.

That will be the storage area of our basement, under our dining room.

Matt looking into the basement from the garage.

Day 3...Rocks!!

Last Thursday I stopped by the house again to find more work had been done. The hole now looked like something a house would fit into and the rocks had been spread to form the driveway. Of course Alex just thought all these rocks were to be picked up and thrown. He was in heaven.