Happiness is ON THE WAY!

One month into the renovation, and the bathroom/laundry room are nearly done. We have some finishing touches left, but it feels nice to have a guest bathroom downstairs and to be able to do laundry in a nice bright & clean room.
Felix breaking in the washer/dryer in the new room for the first time! So exciting.





And here is phase 2. The kitchen.
The wall has been taken down (plastic sheeting is in place of old wall), support beam has been securely put in place, and we are just taking it day by day as work gets done. As soon as we can get the room framed, the floor leveled, electric and plumbing put in, and the drywall put back up- then we are ready to install the cabinets! Of course, after that we have to make the countertops and put down flooring.

It is definitely getting a little rough trying to survive without a kitchen, in a construction zone, with a ruthless, destructive, barking dog and a sweet playful toddler. Our house smells like sawdust when you walk in and it is nearly impossible to keep it even remotely clean. We have finally given in to frozen meals for dinners. I am exhausted, but thankful that we are really able to make this happen.

Halloween

Picking out a pumpkin at Adam's Farm (I need a new camera that is much more user friendly!).

feeding the goats

conversing with the cows

ahhhhh. true love.


Pumpkin carving time! Felix tried his hardest to carve Elmo out of this pumpkin with just a kitchen knife....




We went trick or treating in our friend Marcys neighborhood with the other kids...Emma was Elmo of course, and Felix- a Black Bear.

Also making their debut was the swine flu, the joker and his ladybugs



After she got her first treat, she promptly sat on the ground waiting to eat it. I thought this was going to be a very long night....

I think her favorite part was petting all the doggies that came to the door.

.....and by the end of the night, she was walking up to the doors by herself!

Elmo!

I brought Emma to a Halloween party at Gymboree today, dressed as Elmo of course. She had such a blast- running all over the place, playing with her friends and all the toys, singing and dancing. Her costume is a little big for her, but she loved it so much that we just had to get it.

At the end of the party, exhausted.


BIG hug with her buddy Declan.........

.....finishing off the hug with a nice dip on the floor. They love each other!


Loving the maracas. She was the only one who wouldn't give them up when it was time to put them away.

Shaking the parachute.....another favorite.


She climbs up and goes down the slide all by herself now, finally!


Although she is smiling at her friend here.... she was not about to let him into that tube with her- still very possessive with her toys!



Every little kid loves Elmo.... so Emma was being attacked at the party!


BUBBLES! Oh how we love bubbles! I was only able to catch the very end on video of how much fun she was having with the music and bubbles (after she had slowed down a bit)- dancing, yelling 'bubbles' and trying to pop them on the floor. And at the end you hear her say "yeayyy".

Making Progress

We are well into the renovation. My days of crockpotting dinners and washing/drying/storing dishes in 3 different parts of the house are starting to get to me. I am very much looking forward to getting settled in our new kitchen!

You may recall, this is how our kitchen (turning into bathroom/laundry room) started out. The far right end of the picture is the pine panel basement door.

A few days into the renovation we were left with this (doing dishes):

and now.....we have a wall! and a door!!! That is the basement door, a real wood door! With a real door handle!!! With a lock!!!! What more could a girl ask for? (the fridge is in its temporary spot during all the construction).

This is the floor inside the bathroom/laundry room. Look how uneven the floor is- the wood strips are thick on the right side and really thin on the left- so they could even out the floor. I couldn't believe the difference there was in the room.

More progress in the room.... our neighbor who has been helping coordinate this entire project, and connect us with (his personal friends) the best carpenter, plumber, and electrician.... has been coming over (as a favor to us) after his long day of work to drywall the rooms and ceilings for us in the evenings. He also taught Emma how to fingerpaint in the plaster he was putting on the wall...so now she likes to rub her fingers on the walls. We are so lucky to have such great neighbors- and we can never thank them enough!!!!

View looking inside of Emma's playroom, with new bathroom entrance to the right. I have already painted one coat in the room. The brown wood is going to have drywall put up- so it too will be a real wall! We are slowly eliminating all of this wall paneling!

Looking inside the bathroom where the toilet will go. Currently, we are drying our dishes in that spot! I need to paint the window white.

Small storage closet and washer/dryer closet opposite the window.

This weekend they are trimming out the room and putting in the doors. Then- I will do a 2nd coat of paint. Then- the tiles are going down....the vanity and toilet, washer & dryer go in....and we are ready to go! CAN'T WAIT!!!!!...and then we start the kitchen :) woohoo!

All dressed up with nowhere to go. She found her elmo hat upstairs in her room and insisted on wearing it. When I brought her downstairs, she walked over and grabbed her little purse and monkey and started walking around the house saying "bye, bye, bye". She is too cute these days!
She also picked up a new saying from me. "Oh Boy". She is so funny, I heard her say it for the first time a few days ago. I didn't realize how often I would say that, but usually when I want her to get excited about something I say it to her.... so now, before she eats or gets to watch tv in the car or something- I hear her say "oh boy" in her sweet little voice. It is so cute.

New York City!

Last week, Emma & I drove to NYC Saturday afternoon for a 5 day visit with my parents, Aunts & Uncles, and cousins who were visiting for a Bat-Mitzvah. As always, it was so wonderful to visit with everyone. Emma was an angel the entire trip- the drive was no problem, and she was so well behaved and social with everyone around us. She was definitely loving all of the attention, hugs & kisses, and new playmates (and cheesecake)!

When we arrived, Emma & I bunked with my parents in their room in the mansion (turned hotel) that everyone was staying in for the celebration. The rooms were gorgeous and we found ourselves wondering what life was like back in the day when a family actually lived in this mansion.

Emma snuggling on her pack-n-play. She even had her own sleeping quarters in the room! (the closet...but it was big enough to fit her bed....!!)

Playing blocks with Aunt Carole

Cousins! These self-portrait shots always turn out awesome, although it does help that Brian has super giant arms.

Emma & Bubbe in the backyard

She really loves picking fresh flowers... she will clear out your entire garden if you let her!

After leaving the hotel in Long Island we went to the city to stay at my Aunt & Uncle's apartment for some more adventures.

Each morning my Aunt Carole would pop in an exercise video and do yoga or toning. Emma quickly joined in....and by the end of the trip, when she saw my Aunt Carole, she immediately pointed to the TV and got into a yoga pose. I didn't get to witness that cuteness, but I can only imagine!

Our first day in the city we went to the Museum of Natural History and visited my Aunt Audrey who was volunteering in the children's room. I have to admit- Emma was having more fun playing with the rocks and stones and looking at the animal displays than I was.


That evening we met even more family in the city for a family style Italian dinner, which was so much fun. I didn't do a good job taking pictures this trip and therefore have no picture of dinner. After dinner, we walked home 30 blocks to work off the eggplant parm, and get a sneak peek of Times Square. So fun. Even little Emma wouldn't close her eyes to snooze in her stroller with all the lights and people outside.

The next day mom & I decided to just take it easy and walk around the city all day. Emma lost her binky somewhere along the walk, so we made a quick stop in Toys R Us to replace that emergency item, then thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at Carnegie Deli- which was an extremely special treat. We split a huge sandwich, and then Emma pretty much dominated the gigantic slice of NY cheesecake that we ordered for dessert.


We finished off the afternoon by spending an hour or so playing in Central Park at one of the playgrounds, and then walked back to the apartment.
That evening I visited my friend Michelle and her new apartment in the Upper East Side and enjoyed a delicious dinner out while Emma had quite an adventurous evening with my mom, Aunts & Uncles.

It was such a great trip, I wish I took more pictures. Emma was perfect the entire trip, and of course, we were excited to get home to Felix who was anxiously awaiting our return!

New Teeth, New Jacket, New Tantrums

My only guess is that she is getting more teeth, because everyday her shirt is soaked with drool and she is chewing on her finger. Now that it is so cold out, we have to put a bib on her! Here she is posing for the camera with her cute little smile and scrunched eyes.

New Jacket.
Saying she is not a fan of the jacket is an extreme understatement! When we picked it out at the store she refused to even try it on and was pushing me away from her. I snuck up behind her and slid it on her arms before she noticed, just to make sure it fit.

I can't even go near her with the jacket without her thrashing her body all over the place all while screaming 'no, no, no' over and over with a heartbreaking cry of misery. She even takes a second to stop crying- thinks hard and then says as clearly as her little lips can say "offfssss" while pulling at the jacket. And I so badly want to reward her valiant efforts trying to communicate what she wants....my poor baby is so miserable with that jacket on!

I am trying to get her in the habit of always wearing the jacket outside, so this morning when we got home in the driveway and I knew I had time to deal with the inevitable tantrum, I made her put the jacket on before we got out of the car and into the house.

and boy did she have a tantrum! It was about 35 degrees out, and she threw herself on the driveway, screaming while on all fours as I just walked away... she didn't even budge. Nose running, face red, fingers probably frozen to the ground......she kept on having her tantrum. And when I tried to pick her up and carry her inside it only got worse.
Let's just say we have a lot of practicing to do!!!!!
But...what did she want to do once we got inside & I took off the jacket? Go outside!

So she continued her tantrum for about 20 minutes in the house. I was ignoring her, but it wasn't really making a difference, so I decided to go in her playroom and play with her toys hoping she would stop crying and join me. However- I noticed a bug on the windowsill, so I picked up my shoe and smacked it. Sure enough, she walked over, picked up my other shoe- stopped her tantrum, and started smacking the window with the shoe.

I guess I really need to be careful these days! She sure is watching every move I make!!!! Hey- at least it ended the tantrum!!

True Love

She would even give him the shirt off her back!


This afternoon I was watching her play with Elmo, and had no idea where this came from!

She had Elmo lying on the couch and was trying to put HER shirt on him- I could see it in her face before she even lifted her shirt as she was trying to figure out how to get it on him.

She then proceeded to feed him with her spoon- although, she was a bit distracted by Sesame Street on TV.

.....I think she thought I was saying "eyes" when I told her to say "bye". That face she makes at the end is what she does when we ask her where her eyes are (before poking herself in the eye).