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Basement Progress Update #2

Why, hello again blog. I'm on a roll!

LOTS of progress has been made in the basement over the past week. Our carpenter, Jon, has been busy painting and cutting door framework and baseboards. We are thankful for the rain that allowed him to work at our house & not at his normal job.

So, okay, I have always, always, always (did I mention always?!) wanted white trim work and now ~ I ~ we finally have it! I absolutely ADORE how the bedroom turned out. I'll admit, it is blue, it is very darn BLUE. But, with the white woodwork, I completely love it. I will be moving down there shortly. (J/k.)

Our electrician and a helper were out today and worked hard along with Gordon to get all the recessed lights installed and working, and the rest of the electrical work completed. We think it just looks fabulous. All that's really left to do with the ceiling is cut the non-standard sized tiles (err, did I mention they are $5 tiles? I hope someone is good at math so we can use as much from one tile as possible!), install one CO detector, one b00b light in the stairway, and the ceiling/lighting/electrical will be complete! Yahoo!

Again, sorry for the dust and the camera glares... And I really do think it looks better in person, too!

Grandma & Cody

Awwwww!

Basement Progress Update

Oh, boy. It's been a long time (err, November?!) since I've updated you all about our basement finishing project. It is coming right along. I think the last time I posted about the basement, we had just got the drywall hung, taped, mudded and sanded. We have got quite a bit accomplished since then...and when I say we, I mean mostly people that we paid or suckered in to help us :)

When Gordon's folks were here over the Christmas holiday, they helped out a TON in the basement and did *all* the painting and got most of the ceiling grid up. Here's a quick photo of what the ceiling grid looked like before we started installing my (ahem) $5 a tile (ahem) ceiling tiles.

And here is a picture of said ceiling tile. Isn't it nice?! It'd better be, right?

And lastly for now, here are a few pictures after the initial paint job. Excuse the dusty walls and junk laying everywhere, but it is truly an in-process project!

Birthday Celebrations Continue, Continued

Alright, now where was I?!?

Oh yes...our first guests, The Andersons, were just arriving. Soon the rest of the guests all piled in our house and it got louder & louder. It was so much fun though.

We were thrilled to celebrate Cody's birthday with:~

~ 2nd cousin Amy & twin daughters, Elsa & Ava, and son, Aden (6 days older than Cody!)

~ great aunt & uncle, Nance & Kelly

~ aunt & uncle, Joann & Al

~ Grandma & Grandpa A.

~ daycare buddy, Anthony, and his mom, Mindi

~ honorary auntie, Careen

~ friend, Jordan, his baby sister, Sierra, and their parents, friends from birth class, Colleen & Ben

Gah, I hope I didn't forget anyone! I wish that I had pictures of all the guests, but truthfully, I was lucky to just snap a few photos period.

I thought the party went very well with four (yes, four!) little boys around the age of 2 and three babies around 4-6 months old. We socialized for a bit, then had lunch, opened some presents, and then had cake and ice cream.

Lunch consisted of pulled hot-beef sandwiches on rolls, veggie pizza, pistachio salad, fresh fruit, chips, crackers and cheese, and pickles. We got the birthday cake from Cub Foods and thought they did a decent job on the design, and a good job on the taste.

The little boys all helped Cody opened his presents, which was fast and fun, and I only wish I knew who gave him what. Oh well :) We appreciated everything and were so grateful to have everyone share Cody's special day with him.

Finally, one of the highlights was when the Andersons were heading out, Cody and Aden gave each other a heartfelt hug that actually looked real & sincere. It was soooo sweet. Sometimes I think it'd be nice to live closer so we could get these boys together for playdates since they're so close in age.

Sorry for the jarble of photos, I tried something different with this post and clearly, it did not work too well!!

I hope the next birthday for Cody doesn't come _quite_ so quick as this one did! Can't believe he is TWO....

The Birthday Celebrations Continue

It's early Sunday morning as I type this, and all is quiet in the Hart household. We're all partied out and sleeping soundly. Except for me...the events of the week keep running through my head and I know that I have to write them down before I forget. Man, it's tough to get older!

What a week it has been. It really has been the birthday celebration week for Mr. Cody! Where did I leave off....

After opening the presents he received in the mail from Brian & Natasha and G'pa & G'ma Hart, Cody was allowed to open a few more gifts from us, since it was his actual birthday after all! I got him a Doodle Pad thing and he seemed to love that. Gordon got him this awesome tunnel & tent. When we went to Aden's birthday party last weekend, he had one at his house and Cody just loved it. Gordon knew we "had" to have one! Cody was quite pleased when he saw what it was and I think he had a BALL playing with it...what do you think?

The big day was over too soon and bathtime and bedtime was here. But, not to fret, more birthday celebrations were in store over the next two days!

The next day (Thursday), Cody and all his daycare friends celebrated the big 2! We brought the cupcakes that Cody & Gordon made and I was even able to attend the party as I got off work early. Boy, was he surprised to have me there!! They passed out cupcakes, made birthday crowns, sang happy birthday, and all the kids sat down and relatively still for about 3 minutes!! I am so thankful to have the wonderful childcare that we have. I know Cody loves it there and how I wish I could be at home with Cody, oh-so-many days, I know he is doing well there and just soaking up tons of social skills and learning.

(One of the funniest pictures, EVER! Doesn't he look completely thrilled?!!?)

(I love this one! His partner-in-crime, Anthony, is to his left, and baby Riley is in the back.)

On Friday, I had the day off of work and Cody decided to bless us by waking up at 5:15am. Joy!! We somehow got him back to bed and he slept in until 8:15! We got ready & had a quick breakfast and then headed to the doc-tor (thank you, 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!) for Cody's 2 year checkup. Everything went well, no shots, and just a finger prick & Sponge-Bob bandaid that he hated. (What a weird kid! :)) He's healthy & happy, but we knew that already! I think he is up to 28 some pounds and bumped up to the 50-75% percentile in weight...we know he is a good eater! He'd been at 10-25% forever so that was kind of surprising. Cody went to daycare for a few hours while I did some errands. Picked him up after lunch and took him home for a nap, and was he surprised to see Grandma & Grandpa Anderson here when he woke up! We all had a good time playing and he showed off like any toddler would.

That brings us to Saturday -- party day! Wahooo!!

I was slightly crazy when I invited three little boys around the age of 2, three babies from 4-6 months, and 13 adults to Cody's party. It was a crazy & chaotic time...and even though this big house suddenly seemed verrrrry small...it sure was a lot of fun. We ate some lunch, opened some presents, and had some cake. And then a lot of us had naps!!

Here's a few pictures from Cody's par-tay! I wish you could have all been here!! (Well, in theory, yes. In practicality, not so much.)

(Waving to our first party guests - The Andersons. All 6 of them! We missed ya, Casey!)

(Are ya comin' or what??)

More to come!!

Thank You, G'ma & G'pa Hart

I just love my new Drillin' Action Tool Set!! I figured out to use it *immediately* and Dad says I am a natural! I'm sure to wear out the batteries in no time! :) Thank you so much! I had nothing like this in my toybox, so thank you very much! Here is a few pictures of me opening it up and playing with it. Mom took a video too but it's too long to put on here. Maybe we'll put it on a DVD sometime and send it to you.

Love,

Cody