House Project, Part I

We are having the carpet replaced in our living room for a myriad of reasons - all good ones, we believe - so this is a totally justifiable project.  We're trying to be frugal where we can and in doing so agreed to do the following ourselves: move all the furniture out of the living room, rip up the carpet and the gross, stinky, disgusting pad that lay beneath it, clean the floors so that I don't stare at the new carpet while constantly thinking about the gross, stinky, disgusting things we found underneath the old carpet that WEREN'T JUST OURS (cigarette butt included!). 

And you know, it really wasn't that bad.  And THAT is good news because we will be tearing up the carpet in the dining room next week...and that is being replaced with cork flooring rather than carpet so tack strips and staples will need to be stripped as well. 
Deep breathing. 

We have officially crossed the line into house project insanity.

MORE GOOD NEWS (in addition to the carpet not being a TOTAL pain in the ass to rip out):



I know, I know.  You're thinking, she can't really think it's GOOD news that three tiles broke around the fireplace when they were ripping up the carpet, right?  Wrong.  This moved the "Heeeeeyyyyyy, hooooooneeeeeyyyyy, (eyes batting) I would really like to replace the tiles around the fireplace..." project from the WANT TO folder to the HAVE TO folder.  Paul wasn't quite as excited about this news as I was. 
I'm eager to see this project complete; this will require a furniture purchase or two, fireplace re-tiling (woo-hoo!), possible window treatments and a few other finishing touches.  And then lots of vodka.

Photo Booth

We attended our first wedding reception as a family of three this weekend and along with a happy bride and groom there was a photo booth in place of a traditional guest book.  These booths have been at the last few weddings I've attended and it seems like a pretty fun way to document your guests and the dumb things they are willing to do after the free beer you provide for them.  Below is evidence that a.) we had a good time and b.) there are an infinite number of ways to torture your child. 

Take #1:

Take #2:

Georgia on My Mind

In early August my Mom, Lucy and I went to Atlanta to hang with the Roches for the weekend.  Lucy hadn't met the whole Roche family, and we hadn't met Landon, and we hadn't seen Beau in such a long time, and there were a few other people out there we love and missed so we invaded their world for a few days - and I'm so glad we did!  We ate good food, kept good company and told stories that have only been told about a billion times.  And yah, they were still funny.  At least WE all thought so.  Maybe THAT'S why we keep each other around... 

This family is special, special, special to us and I'm so glad the youngest of the bunch have finally met.  There are lots of memorable beach trips in our past without these young tots and I'm really looking forward to more of these trips in our future - with a LOT more luggage.  

Big hugs and many thanks to the Roches for a wonderful weekend!

 

9 month Stats!

Oops!  I meant to include this in the last post. 

At Lucy's 9 month well check-up this is how she measured up:

          Height: 28.25 inches (70th percentile)
          Weight: 20 pounds, 5 ounces (74th percentile)
          Head Circ: 17.5 inches (62nd percentile)

Lookin' good Luc!

9 Months

...And she is playing the part well! 

She motors around on all fours, loves standing on her own (typically applauding herself for the task) and has a smile plastered across her face if you grab her hands and assist her while she practices strolling around.  Pulling up from the floor to standing is also something she does over and over without losing interest.  This kid is constantly moving!  She frequently waves and claps with enthusiasm making her mom and dad laugh a lot.  She also is into stealing Buckley's pink squeaky bone and so far Buckley just stares at her with caution...  Another classic Lucy move is cocking her head to each side between bites.  Speaking of high chair behavior, she loves eating; EVERYTHING.  We have yet to put something in front of her that she doesn't enjoy.  A few of her favorite foods include: squash, chicken, Greek yogurt (with cinnamon!), watermelon, cantaloupe, pears, avocadoes, tomatoes and Gerber puffs, just to name a few.  She's also babbling all the time, I think we can confidently say that "Mama" and "Dada" are coming out of her mouth with intention and as of tonight, I think we can add "dog" to that list!

She also LOVES the water!  LOVES IT.  The bath and the pool are two of her favorite places, so we've been trying to spend lots of time playing in both.  She really enjoys being outdoors; she is fascinated by everything going on around her and if she starts to get cranky stepping outside is an easy fix.  When she starts getting tired she is able to soothe herself by sucking her thumb and cuddling into my chest and I'm not sure I've ever enjoyed anything as much as those moments. 

These pictures are probably the most realistic portrayal of her monthly progress to date.  It was 110 FREAKING degrees outside the day she turned nine months so they had whipped out squirt bottles at school to cool the kids down; hence the new 'do she was sporting in these pics.  This stage is fun, fun, fun and we're trying to enjoy every minute.

Dad is so funny!

This video needs no explanation, but I love how she erupts with laughter and then stops herself and stares at him blankly, waiting to see if he can actually make her laugh again.  It's like she wants him to know that it's a challenge every time; one of these times she just MIGHT NOT LAUGH.  But then, oh yah, it's still funny, she DOES LAUGH!

(And please excuse the 80s mix blaring Simple Minds' "Don't You" in the background...)