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: