Donald St. Reflection

In the fall of '04 I purchased this "Diamond in the Ruff" on Donald St. in Ames. Evidently I thought I needed some side projects to take up my spare time. A little over 5 yrs later I'm still plugging away at the "needing to be fixed" list. The amount of time it's taken is not all my fault; in the mean time I've picked up a "honey do" list. I suppose that's life; things always take longer than expected. If only I could predict the unpredictable.

A lot has happened in the last 5 yrs. Getting married and then having a daughter within 10 months are the biggest and best things that have happened to me. I'm very thankful for the things I do have. Sometimes I can get a little stressed from work and house projects but overall I'm happy to be who I am and very proud of my families.

Anyway, I've been looking through my photo's lately and feel their worth sharing.

Sept. '04, Eagerly moving into the money pit.

Spring '09, Newest "after" photo I could find. House has been painted, front steps replaced, overgrowth removed etc...

Sept. '04, I'm lucky to have such mature trees. However, grass quality can be an issue. Especially when weeds/ bushes turn into a forest.


Summer '09, After many attempts at reseeding the lawn and trimming trees to allow sunlight through we seem to have grass all summer long. Back porch is still under construction. Needing to finish off the pergola above.


Summer '09, Back patio.


Shortly after snow melt '05, This is the spring-time result of a weed majority lawn.


Summer '09, After many years of blood, sweat and yes some tears here and there.

Winter '04, Side door entry way. What did I get my self into?

Dec. '09, Not perfect but getting there. Replaced drywall, electric, door, refinished floors/ steps. Still need to build shoe rack built-in off to the lower right of the door.

I hope you've enjoyed your trip down my memory lane.

Andrew

What have we been up to???

It has been a busy last month or so getting ready for the holidays and finishing up projects and visiting family. We are pooped, but we still have a few weeks left of this crazy year before the new year begins and hopefully our lives get a little less busy. (We'll see...) This is a glimpse into Izzi's world and what she's been up to lately.

Hanging with the family after dinner getting ready for my nighttime ritual of putting on jammies reading books and drifting off to sleep. (If I'm in the mood to do all those things in that order and let mom and dad off easy).

Hanging out shirtless with daddy, it was just a matter of time. Doesn't he know I look far cuter than he ever will?

Helping decorate the tree. I was all over putting that star on the top, thanks to dad!

Photo shoot for my Christmas card with my teddy bear. All this smiling is exhausting!

Visiting Grandma & Grandpa Storjohann's house for Thanksgiving. I just woke up and look at what they put me in to get me to sleep, it's very similar to a straight jacket in my opinion.


Bare back riding Cirque, he is a very good sport about me climbing on and grabbing at his hair. He is my furry friend who I love to watch and giggle at.

Tummy time and drooling two of my staples I have grown accustomed to over the last 5 months.

And finally.... Tickling the ivories at my Aunt Kristin and Uncle Rob's house. I just love to play the classics and sing along to my own tune. Oh what fun! :)

Yummy, yummy--rice cereal!!

My first time with this thing they call a spoon. I think I did very well, from the very beginning I wanted to take control and feed myself. What does Mommy think I'm not capable of maneuvering this thing into my mouth?

Daddy decided he would take a crack at it too. I think my face says it all.
Ahhh, finally I am satisfied and full. With a messy mouth and a look of confused contentment.
Oh, we meet again spoon. Well, I might not let you in that easy this time. Check out my block, I am too clever for you!

Ha, this is what I think of you spoon. If you will not let me have you I will stick out my tongue in distaste.
I have gotten you at last spoon. I figured out the best way to get what I want is to look irresistibly cute.

Don't think that spoon will mess with the master again. Now hopefully Mommy and Daddy will remember to just give in and let me feed myself, it's so much more fun!

Emily

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Happy 30th Birthday Daddy!! I helped him unwrap his gifts and was very interested in the adorable photos he got of me :)

It has been a crazy and busy last month--that is our excuse for not posting in such a long time. Izzi has been changing and growing and keeping us busy and we are looking forward to the holidays and taking a break from the daily grind. She is 4 1/2 months old and had her 4 month appt. and shots a week and a half ago and she was 15 lbs 6 oz and 25 in. She was very brave for her shots and barely cried at all, which made Mommy and Daddy happy. She is a healthy girl and getting more and more mobile all the time. No teeth to report yet, but they are there, we can kind of see them so fingers crossed for any day now.




Here I am doing my regular pilates workout to strengthen my core. It really helps my abs, you should feel them, they're rock hard!

Hi there, don't I look cute in daddy's arms?

My Mommy loves me and I am very serious about it.

Basement Bathroom

We went to an orchard this last weekend to enjoy the nice weather while it holds out.

Sadie's been more interested in her lately.

She's really starting to grab things.
They have to be right there for her to reach but once she's got it she hold on.

This is her pet frog. Isabel enjoy's hangin with him.

I apologize for not posting in a while. As you can see below, I've been a little busy down in the basement. I had to dismantle our only shower and want it back so very badly. Especially after working long days working with sewer pipes. Nothing says squeaky clean like bathing in your own filth.
Isabel's doing well; it's her 3 month birthday on Wed. (10.07.09). The last 3 months have gone by very quickly. She's so much bigger than she used to be. Over the weekend we took her to a pumpkin patch and noticed we need to move up the shoulder straps on her car seat. Then when attempting to put her in our backpack carrier we had to let the system out to allow for her girth.
She started teething last week. We were not sure at first, but now every free chance she sticks her hand in her mouth.
She's also excessively drolly now; kind of reminds me of Cirque. This whole teething thing has really thrown off our schedule. It just takes so much longer to get through the day when she's extra fussy. She's teaching us and we're starting to catch on to this new milestone.

Cutting into the basement floor with my Ebay purchased cement saw. I've surprisingly gotten a lot of use out of it. More than paid for itself in all the projects I've used it on without having to rent one.

Got Mark to stop by and help out. It's nice having friends who enjoy using power tools. The jack hammer was rented. Though fun, I do not want to have the need to use one for some time.

It made really quick work of the job. Cutting the outline and then hammering up the cement.

Larry must have spayed himself down to make himself look like he was working.
Just kidding, that's all Larry.

6 hrs. of good hard work.

The next day we got it trenched out and dry-fit the pipes. That took most of the day. One change in one spot makes you have to adjust everything down-slope.

I ended up taking Mon. off and with the help of a Co-Worker got it all glued together and fill back in. Ready for cement!

In the end we have a new floor drain, shower drain, toilet drain and sink drain.


Rented a cement mixer to make the cementing job easier. It really worked well.
Used 5 gal buckets to transport the cement in through one of my egress windows.

Turned out pretty smooth. Not as smooth as the original basement floor.
Oh well, it's going to get covered up anyway.

I have some of the framing done. Now I'm waiting for the shower window to come in, for us to pick out a vanity and then I can finish the framing. Oh yeah, and the time need to do it.

Andrew

Week 10

We went tailgating today; Isabel's first experience with large crowds of people. She gets noticed; we get a lot of cute baby comments. We were not down there very long; we got there maybe 30 mins before the game started. Got going a little late and then had to walk quite a ways. Also, it's never easy finding someone of interest. Phones do not work and txted directions never quite work out how you'd like them to. In the end we got a long walk in for the day, went back to the house during the game and took a nap.

This last week has been really good for all of us. Isabel's been sleeping 7 - 9 hrs each night all week long. We have a pretty routine bedtime schedule that's suiting us. Emily will feed Isabel around 6. Depending on the day or how messy she's been she'll then get a bath (by the way, Isabel loves her bath time!). Then we all try to take a walk; Isabel also loves the Baby Bjorn carrier that we have. I'm facing her forward now and she just looks around all by herself. She like to hold my pointer fingers as we walk and if I let go she starts squirmin. Eventually she falls asleep and we make it back home. We then feed her again pretty quick (2 hrs. later), swaddle her up and sway her to sleep. She sleeps in her crib every night and sometimes hangs out in there during the day with some stuff animal friends. All in all, we're all pretty happy with how things are going. Emily and I definitely miss our usual freedoms, but are starting to get some of them back slowly.

Oh ya, this last Thursday Isabel had her 2 month check up where she received some immunizations. She definitely did not like the shots. Her whole face scrunched up really tight and turned beat red. It was over pretty quick and Mommy and Daddy were fast to give out some calming love. She was definitely fussy later that afternoon, but honestly I think it was her band-aids on both thighs. As soon as I removed them she was in a much better mood.

Stats:
23.5 inches long
12lbs 8oz
Cannot remember what her head circumference was, but she's in the 90th percentile for her growth since birth. Dr. says she's coming along well and commented on how strong she is. I think it's the calisthenics I do with her in the evenings.

Andrew

Hellooooo there. It's good to see you again.
What's that? You want to see more of my wonderful photo's? Then scroll down silly!


I'm a little embarrassed; this outfit's getting tight around my mid-drift. You recognize this outfit?


That's because I wore it home from the hospital 6lbs. lighter.

See my dad. He's very proud of me on my first day home.


This is my room. I hang out in here with my animal friends. They keep me company in my crib when I'm awake and open to playing with them. At night when I'm sound asleep, they look over me. Makes me feel so comfortable that I sleep all night long.

This is wear my Mommy and Daddy change my nappy. What's a nappy? It's Australian for diaper. Those Aussi's have some weird English words. I mean come on, we all read from the same dictionary; but they insist on changing things to make them sound more cool. For instance, if your lights go out down-under you might say "Hey, where's the torch". No they're not looking for a combustible stick. That's what they call their flashlights. Anyway, I've been catching up on my Aussi-English lately because in Feb. the whole family's going down to visit our good friends Adam, Emma, Annabel and Amelia. It's going to be a great trip, Mommy and Daddy wanted to go for their honeymoon, but then I came along and threw a wrench into their plans. It's OK, I've since made it up to them.

Here's a photo of my room before Daddy was done making is special for me. I think it turned out pretty well. The galaxy wall was great and all, just too many memories from the psychedelic 60s.

What????
Do I always have to be on? Give me a break, it's hard work being cute.
Occasionally, I can relax just like like all of you.

Yeah mommy!
I love my Mommy so much.
She takes such good care of my during the day. She's always moving me from place to place making sure I'm satisfied and distracted by something new. I've decided to start rewarding her by staying content longer in one place. I'll be fine, I'll just play with my animal friends or look into those strange mirrors. Then if I really need her I'll let her know.




Is there anything better than a good warm bath? Not in my opinion.
I just love the warm water. I feel so free; I can kick my legs and make all the girgley noises I want.

Wait. What's that dark shadow.

Oh, it's just my buddy Cirque. He likes to follow me around and keep me company.

Dad was trying to clean my bumm. I thought I'd take it easy on him and stood up. Cirque was proud of me. How'd I accomplish this? Well, I'm not much for my "Tummy Time". I know my Dr. says it's good for me, but I like to strengthen my neck and arms in other ways. Anyway, Daddy's been working with me on my strength and balance. We'll do some squat-thrusts and finger sit-ups couple of times a week. One day he even helped me walk the slack-line in the backyard.

Don't get scared Sadie, I'm not a bear. Just you're little Alpha Female friend in training.


I said that I like baths, not tongue baths!

Cirque and Sadie both love the rug in my bedroom. I'm not allowed on it yet, but it looks very soft and cozy. I believe Mommy and Daddy picked it out at Lowe's, it's called a Woolly Bully. A very appropriate name in my opinion.