Austin is Mobile!

Over Christmas Austin became mobile. Here are a couple of videos that I hope you enjoy.

Austin scooting...
(Sidenotes: There is a stuffed pig oinking in the background; I have no idea what Andrew is doing at the end of the video)



Austin crawling...

Our visit to Santa + Andrew was on the news!

It took 2 trips to the outdoor mall on Friday.  The first time we were told, "Santa is at the North Pole checking on his elves and he will return at 4:00."  That was at about 1:30.  We were promised a free picture for the inconvenience.  So after both boys napped, we went back at 4:00 in hopes that Santa actually returned.  And he did, about 15 minutes into our wait (apparently Santa was a new Santa, who was a school teacher, and got lost in Carmel).  By that time we committed.  We weren't budging from that line!  The people in front of us were nice, Austin was content in the stroller, Andrew was behaving and stayed right by me.  We were cold, but committed.  About halfway into our wait the local news station showed up.  A man asked people questions about Christmas shopping, etc. and eventually shoved a microphone in front of Andrew.  Andrew wasn't shy at all!  We were also there so long that Loren was able meet us after work, just before it was our turn.  This is the first year we took Andrew to see Santa, so it was kind of a big deal, and we wound up on the news!

Click on the link below.  There should be a video in the upper right hand corner.  We are about 50 seconds into the video.  It's brief, but cute!  I had trouble opening the video with Internet Explorer and was able to see it using Google Chrome (FYI). 

http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=11703204

This is a picture of a very eager Andrew on our first trip, just before being told that Santa wasn't there.

The free picture we received was better than the one I took below, but you get the idea.  Andrew very willingly sat on Santa's lap and had a nice chat with him.  Austin was a deer in headlights, but he didn't cry at all.  It was worth the one hour wait in line!

Mr. Mom

This couldn't go without mentioning, even though it's a little late.  Last Saturday, we all spent a good portion of the morning and early afternoon running errands.  One of which was getting the oil changed in the Pilot.  We took both cars, dropped off the Pilot, and piled into the Avalon.  I think that was the first time we all 4 rode in the Avalon.  No wonder if felt a little strange!  We ate lunch and continuted running our errands.  When we picked up the Pilot Loren told me I could do the rest of my shopping while he took the boys home.  "Take your time; enjoy yourself."  Woo-hoo!!!  I did enjoy myself and I took my time, but not necessarily on purpose.  I tend to have a hard time making decisions when I'm shopping for other people.  When I finally returned home, both boys were napping, Loren had picked up the house, changed light bulbs, vacuumed the basement, made some garland for our front porch (using scraps from the Christmas trees at Lowes), and there are probably some things I'm forgetting.  It was wonderful! 

Potty Trained!

One week after we began, things really started to click.  It hasn't been completely issue free, and there were a couple of days where I thought Oh, dear...what is going on?, but potty training has gone SO much better than I ever imagined it would.  I never wanted to push it with Andrew, but I was really starting to wonder if he would ever, ever have an interest in it.  It's so bizarre how one day Andrew decided it was THE day.  And here we are!  Andrew has stayed dry at preschool the past 2 days (Tuesday and last Thursday), he has stayed dry while running errands ever since this process began, he went to the potty at McCalister's Deli last Saturday, we spent all day at a friend's house on Monday and Andrew stayed dry and used their potty all day (it certainly helped that every time Andrew used the potty, 4 1/2 year old Mason gave Andrew a handful of skittles!)  I have been using pull-ups most of the time.  Most days they weren't really necessary, but it made me feel better and it was easy to ask Andrew if his flags or cars were still there.  I love that the pictures fade when the pull-up is wet.  Pretty genius!  Andrew wore underwear all day today and stayed dry.  We said goodbye to the little potty yesterday and now Andrew reprimands me every time I take his Cars potty seat off when I use the bathroom and forget to put it back on.  "I told you to stop doing that!"

After 3 years and 1 month of changing his diaper, I am very proud and thankful that this day has come.  I will still be a little nervous for awhile, and I'm kind of holding my breath right now, but I'm feeling pretty good about his success.

Congratulations, Andrew!!!

Wish us luck with all of the traveling we will be doing over the holidays!

"I want to be the baseball player!"

So, Andrew went to bed tonight with his friend Mason's hand-me-down baseball pjs.  Andrew doesn't know much, if anything, about baseball.  He is way more into football and soccer and even basketball.  Baseball, not so much.  Blame his parents.  However, tonight he went to bed wearing baseball pjs, and he also took up a big squishy baseball to cuddle with.  Fine by me.  He went up to bed shortly after 7:00.  At about 8:45, I heard at the top of the stairs, "Hey, Heather!  I want to be the baseball player!" 

Our First Snow

I have lived in Indiana my entire life, and I probably never would have counted this as my first snow.  However, after seeing Andrew's reaction when he sat down to breakfast, looked out the window, and literally stood up in his chair and shouted, "It's snowing!  It's snowing!" (okay, it wasn't actually snowing at the time - there's snow on the ground...it's snowing - it's all the same to a 3-year old) this snow totally counted as the FIRST snow.  Andrew wanted to go out and play in the snow right then and there.  Luckily, Loren took a half day and was home.  Shortly after breakfast (after digging up Andrew's boots from last year and squeezing his feet into them), he and Loren had a little fun outside in the snow, while I took pictures and Austin watched from his prime window seat inside.

Hello, Potty

We have officially entered the fun-filled world of potty-training.  No sarcasm intended.  Stickers and hugs and happy-dances and woo-hoo!s...what can be more fun than that?  My 'plan' was to wait until after Christmas when all of our traveling was done, Loren will be home for a week and Andrew will be out of preschool for another 2 weeks or so.  However, Andrew had his own plan.  He decided on Friday that he was ready.  I was very hesitant, mostly because this wasn't on my agenda for Friday (and because I thought Andrew was just messing with me), but here we are...1 full roll of toilet paper sacrificed in the toilet and 32 stickers on the fridge later.  Andrew is doing a great job.  We still aren't completely there yet, and I have no idea how long it will take, but I am so very proud of the progress Andrew has made with the potty.  Woo-hoo!!  So, in the meantime, if you're wondering what I'm doing, I will be clening up pee in the bathroom.

November pics

I have felt a little A-D-D since December hit.  I just finished uploading pictures to the Picasa web album from November, and I also put some on there from December. 

Oh, Christmas Card

What does a mom have to do to get a good Christmas card photo?

Kentucky

The day after Thanksgiving we drove to Kentucky to spend time with Gpaw, Grandma Cynthia and Uncle Evan (who drove from Virginia).  It was a funfilled, packed weekend.  We met up at the Children's Museum in Lexington on Friday.  It was a lot smaller than ours here, but it was really cool.  My favorite part was the giant bubble maker. 

On Saturday we shopped, played at a park that had the biggest, coolest jungle gym I have ever seen, went out to dinner to celebrate Evan's birthday, and then went to Southern Lights at Kentucky Horse Park.  Andrew stayed up way past his bedtime (and loved every minute of it) while Austin slept in the stroller.  I think the highlight at Southern Lights was seeing Andrew's excitement when he took a ride in a train.  He had to wait in line a long time - it was cold, but it was worth every minute.  Andrew was so giddy during the train ride, he ws shaking! 

We five adults also had a lot of fun playing Last Word at night when the boys were sleeping. 

And speaking of sleeping, both Andrew and Austin slept so well!  Andrew slept on an air mattress and Austin slept in the pack 'n play for the first time in about 5 months.  They didn't mind at all.  I was incredibly impressed with both of them. 

(a little glimpse into our time spent in KY)

It was a great time!

If you're wondering what Loren is doing in the bottom right picture, he's sitting on a space toilet and apparenly enjoying it. :)

Thanksgiving 2009

This was the 3rd year in a row we held Thanksgiving at our house with my family.  Everyone was here except for my brother's wife who had a lot of her own family visiting.  It was fast and crazy, but fun.  It was definitely great for the cousins to get together again.

...until next year!

Some Homemade Fun

My friend Nikki and I have been working on a craft blog.  If you are interested in crafting or decorating, have a look!

http://somehomemadefun.blogspot.com/

Soccer

Monday was Andrew's last day of a 10 week class of Soccer.  It was a parent-involved class, but the last couple of sessions the instructor (Coach Carlos) asked the parents to step aside, so the kids could start getting used to listening to him as opposed to the parents.  Andrew did really well.  He listened to Coach Carlos better than he listens to me!  It's funny how that happens.  Andrew loved going to Soccer every Monday and I'm so glad I signed him up for the class. 

Splashing Fun

When this started, we asked Andrew to stop splashing because we thought Austin would start crying...

Happy 3rd Birthday to Andrew!

Andrew turned 3 today.  I found myself reliving the whole labor experience many times throughout the day and remembering what it felt like to hold Andrew in my arms for the first time.  I can't believe it has already been 3 years since Andrew came into this world.  He is proving to be quite the happy, active, independent, opinionated, stubborn, smart, savvy and loving young boy who loves cars, dinosaurs, books, puzzles, football, Nascar (or Racecar), trains, soccer, slides, running, (and more) and who challenges us every. single. day. 

WE LOVE YOU!!

7 Months

Yep, 7 months already.  Things are starting to click.  Austin has taken a liking to solid foods in the past week.  Finally.  He snubbed solid foods like you wouldn't believe, but something clicked at the beginning of the week.  Either he gave up the fight, or he decided solid food wasn't so bad afterall.  He doesn't eat very much (it's probably plenty for his age and size), but the fact that he opens his mouth when the spoon is coming towards his mouth is a huge accomplishment.  And when he's done eating , he's done eating.  No question about it.

He falls asleep on his own 99% of the time and although he's not quite sleeping through the night, he has stopped his night feedings.  He often wakes up in the morning around 5:30-6:00 to eat and then goes back to sleep (I don't count that as a night feeding).  Most days he takes 2 naps, but sometimes a 3rd one is still necessary, depending on how well he napped during the first two. 

He has no desire to roll.  I think he's going to skip that step altogether.  He still hates being on his tummy.  He'll tolerate it for all of about 3 minutes and then he's done.  He definitely prefers to be upright.  I'm amazed at how far he can stretch while he's sitting up to reach for a toy.  He nearly does the splits, grabs the toy he wants and then resumes his original position.  There have been many moments where it seems like he's thinking about wanting to put some weight on his arms in a semi-crawling position, but he's pretty content just sitting up.  Andrew didn't start crawling until almost 9 months, so it will be interesting to see when Austin starts to crawl.  I'm not quite ready to be chasing Austin around the house yet!  He can stay put if he wants to a little while longer as far as I'm concerned.

He loves to bang toys together.  It always makes me laugh when he picks up a soft toy and a hard toy (or 2 soft toys) and bangs them to see what sound they'll make.

Austin loves to be outside!  I can try to set Austin on a blanket inside with his bucket of goodies and he'll immediately start fussing (at times) and then if I take the same blanket and the same bucket of toys and move him outside, he's happy as can be for quite awhile. 

We said goodbye to the infant bathtub (put it in basement storage) and Austin takes his baths big-boy style now.  He loves it. 

Austin is a pure joy and he makes me laugh everyday.  Just check out the top right picture - that's Austin in a nutshell. 

crafts

Watch out.  I'm getting crafty!  I'm thinking about starting a craft blog and trying to talk a good friend into joining me (hee, hee).  There are so many good ideas out there - inexpensive projects to add to your home or ways to spruce up existing pieces of furniture or decorative items, not to mention getting the kids in touch with their creative side.  This is what I have been up to -

decorative blocks using many letters to spell at least 15 different words

filing cabinet makeover using fabric and Mod Podge

decoupaging wooden letters with dinosaur scrapbook paper

What's next??

Our Spring-Like Weekend

Wow.  It was a gorgeous weekend with temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s.  We spent a lot of time outside going to 2 parks, having picnic lunches in our backyard, flying a kite, playing football, rescuing a $3 toy off of our roof, playing in the sandbox, laying in the backyard, running errands (and enjoying it), and just simply hanging out.  The windows were even open during the day.  I kept having to remind myself that it's November! 

It was amazing!!

Football in the Dark

There is a new tradition in our house, which started about a week ago.  After dinner Loren and Andrew go outside to play "football in the dark."  It's called football in the dark, but it's really a combination of football, soccer, running and tackling, dancing, looking for dinosaurs, laying in the grass & looking at the stars, and playing on the slide. 

Andrew loves it.

And it wears Andrew out before bedtime.

I'm not sure how football in the dark is going to be transformed when it gets cold again in the evenings.  Football in the basement?  Laying on the thin, hard carpet looking at the fluorescent ceiling lights?  It just won't be the same.

Happy Halloween!

Brrrrr...it was a tad chilly, but we had fun!  Last year Andrew didn't walk up to a single house and was perfectly content watching all of the other trick-or-treaters.  Tonight Andrew had the whole system down pat - look for houses with a porch light on, knock on door, say, "Trick or Treat?" and "Thank you!"  and then, "Mommy/Daddy, do you want to go to another house?"  He was so cute.  We were out for about an hour and a half (maybe a little less) and towards the end Andrew was so delirious I'm not sure he knew what he was doing anymore.  At about 6:20 (remember, he has a 7:00 bedtime) Andrew asked, "Can we go home now?" and then followed that with, "Can we take a break and eat some candy?"  He then parked himself in the driveway of a house directly across the street from ours preparing to dig through his loot.

Good times!

Shopping with Andrew

Andrew is usually very quiet and introverted when he's around people he doesn't know.  However, when he's in a shopping cart, he turns into a social butterfly.  He generally says "Hi" to everybody that comes within 10 feet of him.  It's not a simple "Hi" - it's more like "Hiiii" and if it was coming out of an adult's mouth, it would sound a little creepy.  While at Meijer recenly with Loren, Andrew changed things up a bit and greeted everybody with, "Thank you for shopping at Meijer!"  However, when he was at Costco with me, Andrew smiled and waved at everyone, and then followed it with, "Duuuh."

Hardwood Floor Project: We're Done!!!

What is this, day 19?  I've lost track.  Actually, Loren finished the floors last night around 10:30, but we didn't get the furniture moved back until tonight. 

Dining Room Before -

Dining Room After -

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"Playroom" Before -

"Playroom" After -

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I didn't get a good before picture of the living room, but this is the after -

I am SO glad to be rid of that awful carpet and tile.  Loren gave up pretty much every evening for the past 2 1/2 weeks to work on the floors.  I am so very thankful for all of his hard work!!  There's nothing like completing a home project that you did yourself and being able to look at it everyday and say to yourself, or outloud, "I Did That!"

Zoo Boo

It was crowded, but it was fun!  Andrew tried pumpkin bowling by first drop-kicking the pumpkin instead of throwing/rolling it.  He was putting those great soccer skills to the test!  He had a blast in an elephant shaped bouncy house, we went trick-or-treating through the Plains, and we saw an elephant paint a picture and eat a pumpkin.  There were several other activities that we didn't have time for, but there's always next year!

Super Spooky Candy House

Andrew had a blast making this house.  I'm pretty sure he ate his weight in candy, too.  Luckily it didn't keep him falling asleep at bedtime!  I had to throw in a picture of Austin as well, who after his nap, hung out in the highchair enjoying the action. 

I think next year we'll have to add some food coloring to the icing, and maybe add some candy pumpkins, some Peeps ghosts, hmmm...the possibilities are endless.

pipecleaners + beads = pumpkins!

Andrew and I are trying to get our craft on. Now that he isn't taking a nap (99% of the time), and now that we are getting into the colder months, I am going to make a concerted effort to do more craft and art projects with him. He was pretty excited about this project and did a very good job putting the beads on the pipe cleaners. When we finished the big pumpkin, Andrew put it on his head and said, "I'm a princess!" I then explained to him the difference between princes and princesses, and kings and queens. I think he understood.

shameless advertising

My friend and neighbor, Shanelle, has a blog with her friend where they post a lot of craft projects and ideas. It is where I got the idea for this project - halloween ornaments! It's always a struggle for me to find a craft that Andrew is interested in, capable of doing, and one where I actually have the supplies needed. I really should raid Michael's one day and stock up on anything and everything, but we all know how expensive that would be! This was an easy and fun project where Andrew could help every step of the way. He tended to stray from the current task by painting his hand and making handprints in the salt dough, but there's nothing wrong with a little creativity! With Andrew's short attention span, I ended up doing a lot of the painting, but it was a fun project for both of us.

Those of you with children may want to check out this blog.

Car Painting

What happens when you combine 2 of Andrew's favorite things - cars and paint?

You get all of these!

"Mommy, I want some oatmeal."

Not too long after lunch, and after he finished "washing the dishes," Andrew said to me completely out of the blue, "Mommy, I want some oatmeal." I couldn't tell you the last time he has eaten oatmeal. I used to give it to him a long time ago (probably at least a year ago) often mixed with applesauce, but I doubt he was taking a walk down memory lane when he asked me for it today. I don't eat oatmeal. Loren doesn't eat oatmeal. I don't mind the taste, but I much prefer my bowel of Quaker Oat Squares to plain ol' oatmeal.

Austin had some oatmeal (or rather, I tried feeding him some baby oatmeal) earlier today, but Andrew was in the other room at the time, oblivious to what we were doing. So, very confused, I said, "You want oatmeal? As in baby food oatmeal?" Andrew responded, "No, I want big-boy oatmeal." I'm telling you, I have no idea where this was coming from. I pulled the container of Quick Oats from the pantry and asked, "Is this what you want?" I opened the lid and showed it to him thinking he would change his mind like he always does when he thinks he wants to try a new food. He still wanted the oatmeal, so I whipped up a bowl for him. He didn't eat much for lunch, so I didn't mind giving it to him, and really, how can I say no to oatmeal? I added a little milk to help it cool off and gave it to him thinking he would immediately turn his nose up at it. He ate the whole bowl...and asked for more! I gave him a little more and then he said, "Maybe I can have some big-boy oatmeal again?" To which I responded, "Maybe tomorrow."

I'm still baffled about his new love for oatmeal.

Hardwood Floor Project: 2/3 of the way done!

The two front rooms and the foyer are all done! We just have to install the quarter-round molding. Isn't Loren doing a fabulous job?

The unfinished part of this picture is now finished.

Next up - the living room!

Hardwood Floor Project: Days 4 & 5

Making progress!

Dining Room-

Playroom/Formal Living Room/I'm not sure

what this room will end up being-

Pumpkinfest 2009

I mentioned before that we took a break on Sunday afternoon from the floor project and went to the Pumpkinfest. We spent all afternoon there. It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be outside. They added a couple of things this year at the Pumpkinfest including a "cow train" (a bunch of cow carts being pulled by a tractor), which Andrew LOVED, and a big slide. Andrew got a lot more out of the Pumpkinfest this year compared to the two previous years that we've gone. He just kept going and going. Austin napped in the stroller a great deal of the time that we were there, but when he was awake I made sure he experienced the Pumpkinfest as well. It was a great time - definitely a Garrison family tradition!

Stats

The boys had their checkups yesterday. Andrew's 3-year appointment was a little early to save me a trip to the doctor in a month. Both boys have colds, but neither one had ear infections this time, not yet. Andrew didn't get any shots, just the flu mist which was squirted up his nose. He weighs 33 pounds (stayed in the 68th percentile) & and is 37.8 inches (58th percentile). He got his blood pressure checked for the first time. I have to say, when it comes to doctors and dentists, Andrew is on his best behavior! He climbed up on the table and held perfectly still while the nurse checked his blood pressure, and asked him a series of new questions. For example, the nurse drew a circle and asked Andrew if he could draw a circle, and he did - or something close, she pointed to 3 different objects and asked him what color they were (he could have told her that a year ago), asked Andrew his name and his age, and he told her (he now answers with a simple 2 instead of 2 and a half). I don't remember if there were other questions, but Andrew also had his first eye test. When using both eyes, he got everything right, with just the right eye he got everything right, and then with only the left eye he was either having problems or he was losing patience and being ornery. The doctor wasn't concerned and said he did fine. Then, the doctor gave me the 'your 3-year old is going to turn into a heathen' speech. Actually, it was a relief to learn that he doesn't have the capability to understand some of the things we have been expecting him to understand. That doesn't mean he's off the hook, it just means we have to go about things a little differently.

Austin weights 15 pounds, 5 ounces (14th percentile) & is 26.7 inches (64the percentile). His weight dropped a little, but the Pediatrican wasn't the least bit concerned. She gave me the run-down...start solids (more consistently), start introducing the cup, try to eliminte night feedings, etc.

Both boys are doing great!

A Day in the Life

It was a crazy day. It started off fairly relaxed. Andrew was awake by 7:00 and Austin slept until almost 8:00 (very unusual for him). We mostly hung out in the morning and Austin, having a cold, was ready for a nap an hour after he woke up. So, I put him down at 9:00 and he took his normal 30-40 minute nap. That was okay today because the boys had doctor appointments (regular checkups) at 10:30. Once Austin woke up from his nap, the day went into high-speed. I fed Austin as best as I could, gathered all the normal things - diaper back, snack for Andrew, toys for Austin, etc. I felt like we were running late, but we got there right at 10:30. And then we waited, and waited. Finally we got called back only to wait some more. It was nearly 11:30 by the time the Pediatrician actually saw us! So annoying. The appointments went well, but we were there for-ever. I was overwhelmed with information, as usual when both boys have appointments on the same day, but what can you do? Sidenote: the Pediatrican told me that age 3 is a really tough age: 3-year-old's lie a lot, they have no logic (not until age 4 - interesting), they argue, they whine. Geesh! Back to my story...we pulled out of the Ped's office parking lot at 12:08. Yikes! Andrew had Soccer clear on the other side of Carmel at 12:30, he hadn't had lunch yet, AND I had to pee really bad! I drove to our house, left the boys in the car, ran to the bathroom, grabbed a granola bar and ice water for Andrew and went on to West Park where Soccer is normally held. I pulled into the parking lot 5 minutes late to find nobody there! Are you kidding me? So, I called our trusty neighbor who's son was in the morning class to find out that the class was held at the indoor location - on the other side of Carmel. I drove right past it on the way back from the Pediatrican! Ugh. I thought about skipping it altogether, but I knew Andrew would be disappointed, so we went back to the other side of Carmel and walked in a good 20 minutes late. Andrew had fun, and I had my fill of Soccer by the time it ended. I'm glad we decided to go. Then we went back home, ate a proper lunch, I (finally) fed Austin, Andrew started acting up, Austin started fussing, both boys ended up taking naps and I had about 30 minutes to myself. Austin woke up, was fussy again (he did get 4 shots today), I fed him again in preparation for a possible trip to Meijer when Andrew woke up. Andrew finally woke up and it was 4:00 before we left for Meijer. I would have nixed that trip, but we were in dire need of some staples. I stuck to the list and zipped through the store after an immediate detour at the pumpkin bin outside. The self- checkout lane took a lot longer than it should have (darn those coupons) and we started heading home at 4:50. Andrew's swim class is at 5:30 and Loren likes to leave at 5:00 to have plenty of time to get Andrew through the locker room and onto the pool deck. We got home in time, and Loren and Andrew left on time. I then spent the next hour with a fussy baby trying to get dinner ready & the kitchen halfway cleaned up. Loren and Andrew usually get home close to 6:30 and when Austin got really fussy at about 6:10, I gave him some Tylenol in case his legs hurt and started feeding him early so he wouldn't be fussy all through dinner. Loren and Andrew got home, sat down for dinner, Austin continued to be fussy so I excused myself from the table, got him ready for bed, and fed him properly before putting him down for bed at 7:00. Meanwhile, Loren and Andrew finished dinner and headed up for Andrew's bath. Afterwards, I read Andrew a story (Loren normally reads him a story, but Austin was already in bed, so I could for once) while Loren did the dishes. After the story Andrew wanted me to take him up to bed, so I did, only for him to request Loren's version of Hush Little Baby. My feelings were only slightly hurt - Loren is the one who usually puts Andrew to bed. Loren obliged and Andrew was asleep within minutes of Loren leaving his room. Now, in between opening boxes and laying out boards for Loren (I'm doing my best to help when needed!), I can relax a little. I should probably mention that Loren had a busy day at work, came home, immediately left to take Andrew to his swim class, came back home, ate dinner, gave Andrew a bath, did the dishes, put Andrew to bed, and is now laying hardwood floor, and, thanks to the boys, he has a cold. It's not like I'm the only one that had a busy day.


This certainly isn't how all of my days are, but it was one day in my life - and I love it. There you go.

Hardwood Floor Project: Day 3

Pretty simple - Loren removed the dining room carpet, padding and nails, vacuumed, then cut and placed the underlayment - all this morning.

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And then we spent all afternoon at the Pumpkinfest!

(More on that later)

Hardwood Floor Project: Day 2

Mission: Remove ugly tile floor and go from there.. We picked Saturday as the day to remove the tile because it was 2 days after my Mom's birthday and it was a good reason for me to take the boys up to Kentland for the day so we could stay out of Loren's way. After looking at the pictures Loren took of the process, I was very glad we were far from this mess.

This is what it looked like at the end of Day 1 and before Loren got started on Day 2

Tile Removal

Plywood Removal - As you can see this was far from easy. The plywood was attached to the subfloor with 2-inch staples every 4 inches or so.

One of a few war wounds

Demolition Complete!

Cut and placed underlayment, and started measuring, cutting & laying the floor boards.

We moved the bookshelves out of the playroom, so we could prep that room the next day. At 10:00 or so, we called it a night.

Hardwood Floor Project: Day 1

Yep, you read that right. We are installing hardwood floor in our house! For those who know our house, we are putting it in the 2 front rooms, the foyer and the living room. We picked up the flooring on Friday and started tackling the project that night. Loren is installing it himself, saving us a lot of money. This is a major event for us, and this project will keep us busy for the next several evenings and maybe weekends. I'll keep you posted of the progress!

The "playroom", foyer, and dining room before...

Day 1 (Friday night)

We cleared out most of the furniture. Thank goodness we have a basement! What we couldn't fit in the basement (or wouldn't fit down the basement stairs), we found space for elsewhere. Our kitchen table and playroom couch are crammed into the living room and the dining room table is now our kitchen table. It's cozy, but it works.

Then, Loren prepped the dining room by removing the carpet, pad, and nails.