Happy Halloween!

New floors!

We have new floors!!! The first two days Kevin and Al spent working together and were able to finish the dining room and kitchen. Kevin then shortly thereafter finished the bathroom. (Yummy mold was found when we tore up the floor in there; hopefully all problems are now fixed.) Trim was done a few days later. Currently we are waiting on a stair mold piece and need to come up with a new option for the carpet transition. (We had few issues with Home Depot on these pieces.) Otherwise a little trim filler and painting and we're done! They look really nice. The floors definitely show all the dust, etc. I'm hoping though that once all the furniture and such is back in the room it won't be as obvious, or we'll just be better at ignoring it by then. Anyway, enjoy the before, during and after pics!

Visitng MDs

We continue to grow and meet with lots of doctors this month. Mason had his well-child appt and the RN predicts that he will be 6'3". She was also quite upset that we don't plan to have any more children; "But you make such cute kids!!". Otherwise, Mason continues to be in the top 90% of everything and passed his eye/ear check with flying colors. The RN feels that he's smart enough that he could be in kindergarten and is amused that he doesn't seem to fit the "first born" personality type. He received two shots that they managed to lump into one. A few tears later, he left a happy kid for an afternoon with dad. (Colby and I hit the mall and for some reason the boys just weren't as interested in going.)

Colby got the pleasure of visiting the cardiologist. She was perfect! She even held still for EKG!! I was amazed. The EKG looked great and though her murmur is still audible, the MD feels that it sounds better/he can hear it less than last time. (Though how he can remember what it sounded like with the amount that he listens to...) In the end, she has an "innocent murmur" that she will probably grow out of and unless something concerning happens we don't have to worry about visiting him anymore. That was nice to hear.

Birthday and more

Mason's party seemed to be a success. He claims that he had a good time and in the end that is all that matters. We still have a lot of taco meat left; good thing that it freezes well. i managed to get rid of some food at a friend's party yesterday. If only someone would have taken the cake...

Today I picked up his present from my parents- a new bike. He was very excited, but not so good at it. I think that the bike is still a little big for him, but going a size smaller wouldn't have lasted long. It should be perfect next spring. For now, he's having a bit of a problem adjusting and we received our first skinned bike knee. Probably won't be the last either. Also, this is the first fall season that we haven't had to do a course of albuterol and steriods! yay!! Of course I feel like an idiot going to the the lung MD- 'no really doc, he's usually really bad this time of year.' It is good. I'm not sure if he's just growing out of it or if having one less allergen (the cats) has made just enough of a difference or if it's the constant use of zyrtec. Whatever it is, it's working. His cough is almost gone and there's less snot smeared across his face.

As for the baby... she's been really happy lately. Not that she wasn't before, just more so now. She wakes up in the AM and for naps talking instead of crying and there so much smiling and giggling. Maybe a teething break?? Whatever it is, I'm liking it! Especially the consistently sleeping 11-12hr at night thing. As for developmental things... she continues to pull herself up and want to be more mobile, but still screams whenever she ends up on her belly. Though this evening she slipped down to her hands and knees trying to grab a toy then pushed herself into a sitting position before grabbing on to my shirt and pulling herself up. I don't think that she realized that she did it though. It will all come with time.

Good advice

1. It's always darkest before dawn, so if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

2. Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

3. Never test the depth of water with both feet.

4. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

5. Duct tape is like 'the force'. It has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together.

6. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night

Somedays forwards can be funny! This one was from my grandmother. (There were more, but I thought these were the funnier ones.)