No Turning Back

Dave and I have been wanting to redo our kitchen since we moved in over 2 years ago and finally we know what we want to do with it.

Today we made it to the point of no return. We ripped out our carpets in the living room and dining room and as I type Dave is pulling off the sheet rock off of one of the walls we are taking down. Yes we are removing walls here. Our goal is to tie three rooms together into one large usable space.

The hardwoods underneath the floor aren't too terrible. We will have to wait and see if the spots will buff out. The wood is a nice cherry color that we both like. I really hope we can keep it and not have to rip it out and start from scratch.

Once the walls are out we will measure for our island and then order it and the counter tops. I can't believe we finally started this large project. Once the project is complete I will post before and after pictures.

The best part of the day was the look on Arden's face when she woke up from her nap and the carpet was missing. Her surprised look seemed to say "Am I still dreaming? Because this is not the way it was before I took my nap."

The Big Fork

On Memorial Day I made special chocolate chip pancakes that were very yummy. Arden had been helping me in the kitchen and had a fork in her hand. I thought Dave must have given it to her because I didn't and she used it to eat all of her pancakes.

Once she was finished and she handed it to me I realized that she had ate her entire breakfast with the meat serving fork. The super huge one that is for serving meat. She must have taken it out of the serving drawer herself. I had to laugh. Here are a couple of pictures from the morning.

This picture is of a regular dinner fork and not the salad fork beside the meat serving fork. She must have opened really wide was she was eating.

The Sneaky Meter Maid

Arden and I went uptown to eat lunch with Dave and meet Josh who was in town for the day. I had problems with the parking meter. They are changing the parking meters to a central pay area.

Well I didn't have enough change out so as I was digging around in my purse and keeping track of Arden I got timed out of the system. So I tried to enter in more money but it wouldn't let me with out a special code that is printed on the receipt. Who knew? Not me and of course the screen does not tell you this nor is there a diagram explaining all of the numbers on the receipt. It took me a little while to find this very small number and I finally entered into the system.

Well this eliminates the ability for someone do drop a dime in the meter for someone. Very, very sneaky.

Did Someone Say Pool Party?

On Saturday our family attended the pool party/cook-out with the guys he cycles with on Saturday mornings. The weather started out iffy but ended up being a gorgeous day. It also doesn't hurt when the host heats up the pool a week before the party.

Arden hasn't been in a pool since last August and took to the water like she hadn't missed a day. She jumped in, put her face under the water and even stood on the step and tried to swim over to Dave. She would cheer for herself when she would come up from being under water. She's very brave and wants to figure out how to swim.

There was also a trampoline in the yard. Arden took her turn and loved and I mean loved galloping around on the bouncy surface. She can't jump yet so she just loved the feeling of bounciness. Her smile was as big as her face.

There were other children there her age and as the night was wrapping up they were all sitting beside each other along the pool splashing their feet in the pool. It was a priceless picture. But wouldn't you know it...I forgot my camera.

Girls Day Out

Friday Arden and I had a girls day out. She was spoiled might be a better way to describe the day. I first took her to McDonald's. This was her first trip and she really liked the french fries. I myself had forgotten how good the fries are at Micky D's.

Afterwards we ran a couple of errands and then went to the mall for a little shopping hoping to catch some Memorial Day deals. Arden was very successful. I was able to find some adorable swimsuits for her on sale. She found a $400 purse that she liked. I was trying to pry it out of her arms while she screamed "No...purse!" at the top of her lungs. She has good taste. I must admit that but out of my price range. So we headed up stairs and found a few things for her that we took home.

After all of our shopping she was treated to a strawberry smoothie. I had to remind her to come up for air and that she could take a break from drinking it. She did not want to let go of it as I tried to put her in her car seat.

By the time we got home she was super tired but Dave came in a little while after us and she capped off her day by hanging out with Daddy. It was a great start for the holiday weekend.

Very Small Shoes

Our neighbor had her guinea pig outside and showed her to Arden. Arden wasn't quite sure what to think of this small squeaking animal.

Finally, Arden spoke. She pointed to the very small tiny feet of the guinea pig and said "shoes".

Question of the Week

Have you taken the time to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can be free this Memorial Day weekend?

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my Dad's birthday. He is a great father to me and an amazing grandpa to Arden. He has always been there for me. He always works hard to provide for his family and would do anything for his family.

He's moved me more times that I can remember and each time swears he'll never do it again. He also loves to have projects around the house to work on. He's never lost his patience with me...well only once that he showed it and I had my learner's permit and he was teaching me how to try an automatic but I'm sure I made his heart race a little faster that day. Arden loves to call him on the phone and he always talks to her even though most of the time he gets dead silence in return.

He would do anything for anybody and I am so thankful that he's my dad.

Happy Birthday Dad.

A Little Cheerleader

Tonight Arden and I were in the yard watering our flowers and picking up sticks and a man came running down the street out for his evening run. As soon as Arden saw him she immediately threw her cup down that she was holding and started clapping and cheering. The man didn't know what to think.

I loved it. Two Saturday's ago when we were in WV Dave ran a 10k road race and we took Arden to watch it the end of the race. We taught her that as the runners are passing by you clap and cheer for them to encourage them to finish the race strong. Apparently she remembers what we taught her and thought this guy needed a little encouragement tonight.

I Know the Way Home

The other night we were over at our neighbors house we had driven our car because once we left we were going to run some errands. There was another family there that we knew so we ended up staying longer as planned.

I think that Arden forgot that we drove there because as we were leaving she walked right past the car and started to head home. I let her go a little ahead of me to see what she would do. She started walking towards the house. She went up the block and was turning right up the street. I had to remind her that we had the car. She didn't care she was ready to head home. This is the direction we walk home from the park.

We had to walk back to get Dave but Arden still wanted to walk home and was trying to figure out why we had our car with us. Dave and I were comforted that she knows how to find her way home.

Arden's First Reunion

On Saturday we attended Arden's first reunion. Now you might be thinking she's only 20 months old what type of reunion would she be invited to? Well, the NICU has a reunion for all of their graduates. Let me tell you they threw a party these kids enjoyed.

The weather on Saturday was perfect. When we arrived Arden was so excited. There were balloons, games, firetrucks, popcorn, police cars and motorcycles, ice cream, dogs and lots of laughter.

We ate lunch and then hit the events. Arden loved petting the therapy dogs they had walking around for the kids to pet. She liked the police motorcycles over the police car. Her favorite was the fire truck. She climbed up on board and really got the fireman's attention. They could not believe how she just wanted to explore and that she was not shy. She sat in the back and wanted to be buckled in to the seat. She tried on their very heavy fire hat. Then after a few minutes when the line got smaller she climbed into the front seat and wanted to drive the big latter truck off the lot. She even let the firemen hold her coming off the truck.

After that we grabbed some popcorn and headed over to the NICU where she saw her nurses and was able to hear other stories of other preemies. We also saw lots of twins and triplets at the reunion.

Here are some picture of the day. We are going to make this an annual event in our house.

Question of the Week

Why is it that when you travel and have the opportunity to sleep in you are wide awake at 6:00 am but as soon as you get home and need to be up at 6 am you have a hard time waking up?

Picture Perfect?

Here are two pictures of Arden. One is her being herself and the other is her posing for the camera. Can you tell which is which?

Can't tell the difference, well me neither.

How Arden Shops

First find a book that you want to read.

Then find the cutest table and chair set in the store.

Third make yourself comfortable.

Finally smile for the camera that your mom seems to take everywhere with her.

Yard Work

Last night Dave, Arden and I were picking up what seemed like a million sticks in our front yard from the storms we had over the weekend. Arden was such a good helper and took over the sweeping duties. She was right there along side of her daddy working hard.

Hit or Miss

We had another surprise during our trip to WV. Arden told us that she had to go potty at my mom's house. So I took her to the bathroom and we had sucess! We were all so excited! She is doing a pretty good job trying to tell to us and is sucessful over half of the time.

We do have some misses still but she is getting much, much better. We also have a few false alarms but that's ok. She's trying. Dave and I are so proud of her because she hasn't given up dispite a few set backs.

Rockin' Robin

This weekend we were in West Virginia visiting our parents. We were able to get away for a couple of days and we are back feeling refreshed.

We had a pleasant surprise at Grammy's. In her back yard there were 4 baby robins still being fed by their mama. We were lucky enough to be close enough to watch her feeds the little birds. Arden, Dave and I really got a kick out of watching the daddy bird fly in and wake up the sleeping babies and then the mother swoop in a feed her babies. At one time Arden and I were about 30 feet away and we were able to get a great view. Watching the birds this weekend was real treat for us.

Question of the Week

Why are peanut M&M's so addictive?

Focus

The other night Dave came home from work feeling horrible and went straight to bed. Arden was so excited that Daddy was home and running through the house laughing and screaming. Of course, Arden had a hard time understanding that Daddy was sleeping because he didn't feel good. So I took her outside to play.

Well she grabbed my hand and headed down the hill. She waved to the neighbors and even went in their yards to say hello. She then kept heading in the direction to the park. She held my hand the entire time and would stop when a car would pass and throw her hand up to wave. She would then continue walking towards the park. Now the park is about a mile and half away from the house. I wanted to see if she knew the way and she did. I had to stop her before she thought she was heading back to the park. I convinced her that everybody was in bed like Daddy and it was her bed time too which was true because by the time we got to the house it was 8 pm.

As we were walking back I started to wonder if am I am focused as she is on things?

I Don't Know

Arden has started a new thing. If you ask her where something is or where she put something. She will turn her palms up, hold them mid-waist and shrug her shoulders and say something that resembles "I don't know?”

Wild Goose Chase

Tonight Dave was able leave work before 8 pm. This rarely happens. So when he got home we strapped Arden into her jog stroller and I mounted my bike and we headed out through the neighborhoods.

The evening run ended with us coming across some Canadian geese. Dave decided to have a little fun and started chasing the geese while pushing Arden. All of them moved out of the way except just this one who just kept running as Dave was running towards it. Arden was laughing so hard, pointing and yelling "duck" over and over. It was a sight to see. The goose finally realized he could fly and took off leaving Arden, Dave and myself laughing.

Disclaimer: No geese or humans were harmed during this activity.

Old Fashion Bike Ride Sorta

On Sunday it was a nice warm day. Almost perfect. Not too warm, not too cold. So we decided to head out on a bike ride as a family. Well, not really. I was the only one one a bike. I road my new bike that Dave got me, Dave ran and pushed Arden in her jog stroller. We went through the neighborhoods in our area and ended up in some gorgeous neighborhoods. It was really a great afternoon together.

Dave found a new bike for me a few weeks ago. He rescued the bike from the trash. It is a very old, has fenders but is perfect for what I was looking for. I have a mountain bike that I ride but I don't like the way I have to bend over for long periods of time. I've also told Dave that I want a beach comber that has high handlebars and a wide seat. Well he found me one and was able to get it free of charge. He said that he asked the people who were throwing out the bike if he could have it and they told him sure. We put new seat, handlebars and tires on the bike and Dave cleaned it up for me and it is perfect. Well, other than being heavy its perfect.

I took my camera but we were having too much fun to stop and take pictures. I look forward to spending many Sunday afternoons riding around with my family enjoying each other.

Question of the Week

Aren't you glad that it is starting to warm up and we don't have to layer like this to go outside?

I'm a Pepper, She's a Pepper

Today I was cleaning up after a horrible diaper incident and washing my hands downstairs. As I was washing my hands I realized how quiet it was in the house. I remembered that I had a newly opened Dr. Pepper on my desk beside the computer and I had no idea where Arden is in the house. I took off running upstairs. I would hate for her to spill the Dr. Pepper all over the computer.

Well I didn't have to worry about her spilling it because she was chugging it when I saw her. She climbed up in my office chair that spins pretty easily reached over the mouse, some paperwork, grabbed the can, and sat back down in the chair without spilling a drop. The chair spun around so she was facing the door. I called out her name just to get her attention. I thought she would either look at me or or put the can down.

She must have known that she should not be drinking the Dr. Pepper because she threw it straight up in the air. It feel in her lap and fizzed up all over the place. She was covered in Dr. Pepper and the seat was soaked and her shorts were saturated with the cola. She was too stunned to give me her famous "uh-oh".

I grabbed the bathroom towels and started cleaning her and the chair up. She was so sticky. I stripped her down to her diaper and told her to go the bathroom because she needed a bath. As I was putting the towel in the laundry she had already taken off her diaper and thrown all of her toys in the tub. At least she understood how sticky she was and wanted a bath before she ate her lunch.

An Apple A Day

Arden was helping to unload somethings from the car. She is getting pretty good about helping me put things up or back where they belong. I gave her two apples to carry over to the refrigerator to hand to me while I was putting other things up. I thought it would keep her occupied and allow her to help at the same time.

Well she was really quiet and the apples never made it to the fridge. It's because she started eating one of the apples. (I had already washed the apples and these weren't eaten earlier.) Now keep in mind the skin was still on them and I did not start a bite for her. She just dug on into the apple and ate quiet a bit of it.