Sunday, July 31, 2011
Summer blog updating complete!
Ok folks, I'm now caught up the the happenings from this past summer. Prepare yourself for a whole lot of baby-related posts now: nursery prep, showers, babymoon, labor/delivery, pictures, videos, and more!!
July - Prepping the Nursery
Getting the baby's room ready turned out to be a big task! We had a hard time finding decor that would work for our ocean/Finding Nemo theme. It's apparently not a popular option right now. After a TON of internet searching and a little bit of luck, we found some cute bedding and were on our way.
Emptying out all the stuff that had been stored in our guest bedroom was a chore! We'd been stashing stuff there ever since we moved in. It's nice to have gone through it all now though. Here's a picture of what the room looked like before we started:
We decided to keep most of the furniture that was in there except we bought a new twin bed and a long dresser. The dresser came first. My dad helped us pick it up and get it into the room.
Yes, that's my dad on the floor pushing the dresser through the doorway with his feet. The tight corners going through the hallway were a bit of an issue.
John's giving the dresser a "stinky diaper" test run. He approves!
Once the dresser was in and we'd gone through all the "stuff", John painted the 2 blue walls a different shade of blue. The new color is brighter and more tropical.
Then we installed the new bed.
And then the crib.
And then it was pretty much done!
My mom turned the crib bumpers into valances for us.
John took this panoramic photo with his phone. It kinda distorts the room a little but you can see the whole thing.
(This whole process actually took awhile because we were doing the landscaping at the same time. It was one hectic month!)
Emptying out all the stuff that had been stored in our guest bedroom was a chore! We'd been stashing stuff there ever since we moved in. It's nice to have gone through it all now though. Here's a picture of what the room looked like before we started:
We decided to keep most of the furniture that was in there except we bought a new twin bed and a long dresser. The dresser came first. My dad helped us pick it up and get it into the room.
Yes, that's my dad on the floor pushing the dresser through the doorway with his feet. The tight corners going through the hallway were a bit of an issue.
John's giving the dresser a "stinky diaper" test run. He approves!
Once the dresser was in and we'd gone through all the "stuff", John painted the 2 blue walls a different shade of blue. The new color is brighter and more tropical.
Then we installed the new bed.
And then the crib.
And then it was pretty much done!
My mom turned the crib bumpers into valances for us.
John took this panoramic photo with his phone. It kinda distorts the room a little but you can see the whole thing.
(This whole process actually took awhile because we were doing the landscaping at the same time. It was one hectic month!)
July - Landscaping FINALLY!
After over a year of having our backyard torn up from tearing out the tree, we FINALLY got the landscaping done in July. I was so tired of the constant dust storm out there and it looking like this:
Except it actually looked worse than that because all the grass died and a million weeds sprung up.
Thanks to Rollie (John's dad), my Dad, and a landscaper the job got done really quickly and we love our new lawn and sprinklers! We decided to go ahead and do the front yard while we were at it so we actually love our new lawnS. We still need to plant the flowerbeds and put down some pavers in the back. Once we add on in a few years we'll probably do something a bit more fancy in the backyard but we didn't want to spend a bunch of money now just to tear it up a little down the road. I'm a happy camper for now! (And so is Nala - poor dog didn't even want to go to the bathroom out there it was so awful!)
John and Rollie used a sod cutter to clear the backyard
Rollie put in the apron for the flower bed
We needed to replace the main water line coming into the house because it had been done incorrectly sometime before we bought the house. John and my dad dig a lot of digging to get it exposed.
Unfortunately while hooking up the new line to the meter, the old corroded pipes on the city's side of the meter sprung a leak. And the leak got bigger, and bigger, and bigger until we had a full on geyser. I had to call the city for an emergency visit (on a Sunday). They sent someone right out who told us this happens all the time and the city is in the process of replacing all the pipes. He told us we could just clamp it off for the day and he'd have a crew out the next day to fix it. Clamping it off proved to be a hard job. It involved a water pump, a bunch of clamps, and my brother randomly stopping by to see how we were doing - we put him right to work!
And all that hard work leads us to this. Nala approves!!
Except it actually looked worse than that because all the grass died and a million weeds sprung up.
Thanks to Rollie (John's dad), my Dad, and a landscaper the job got done really quickly and we love our new lawn and sprinklers! We decided to go ahead and do the front yard while we were at it so we actually love our new lawnS. We still need to plant the flowerbeds and put down some pavers in the back. Once we add on in a few years we'll probably do something a bit more fancy in the backyard but we didn't want to spend a bunch of money now just to tear it up a little down the road. I'm a happy camper for now! (And so is Nala - poor dog didn't even want to go to the bathroom out there it was so awful!)
John and Rollie used a sod cutter to clear the backyard
Rollie put in the apron for the flower bed
We needed to replace the main water line coming into the house because it had been done incorrectly sometime before we bought the house. John and my dad dig a lot of digging to get it exposed.
Unfortunately while hooking up the new line to the meter, the old corroded pipes on the city's side of the meter sprung a leak. And the leak got bigger, and bigger, and bigger until we had a full on geyser. I had to call the city for an emergency visit (on a Sunday). They sent someone right out who told us this happens all the time and the city is in the process of replacing all the pipes. He told us we could just clamp it off for the day and he'd have a crew out the next day to fix it. Clamping it off proved to be a hard job. It involved a water pump, a bunch of clamps, and my brother randomly stopping by to see how we were doing - we put him right to work!
And all that hard work leads us to this. Nala approves!!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
July 23rd - Deanna's Baby Shower
Ever since we found out I was pregnant we've been astonished to find out how many other people are having babies this Fall. There are about 10 people we know who are expecting ... and several of them are family members! In July we attended a baby shower for John's cousin Deanna who was due in late August. John's other cousin's wife, Lupe is also pregnant and attended the shower. At one point there were 4 of us there who were expecting (one of Deanna's friends was also there)! We all took a picture together:
The shower was at a great park with lots of yummy food and fun games. We had a really wonderful time and look forward to meeting Deanna and Christian's little girl.
The shower was at a great park with lots of yummy food and fun games. We had a really wonderful time and look forward to meeting Deanna and Christian's little girl.
Friday, July 22, 2011
July 22nd - Kincaid's
After work one evening John and I went out to dinner with our friends Jeremy and Alicia who were visiting from Washington. Jeremy is a co-worker who we love to hang out with whenever he's down here on business. Alicia flew down to join him so they could get away for the weekend. We had a really fun time with both of them! I hope we get to keep spending time with them whenever they're in the area. Or we just might have to find a reason to go to Seattle on business to visit them!
Besides the great company, another reason our dinner was exciting was that it was my first time eating at Kincaid's. The food was really good and I loved sitting by the window looking out over the water. John snapped a picture of the sun setting with his phone. So pretty!
Besides the great company, another reason our dinner was exciting was that it was my first time eating at Kincaid's. The food was really good and I loved sitting by the window looking out over the water. John snapped a picture of the sun setting with his phone. So pretty!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
July 16th - Daryl & Pinky's Wedding
John's cousin (and best man in our wedding) got married in July on a ranch near the Pala Casino. John was one of the best men. The property was gorgeous, the bride was stunning, and the decor was awesome ... it was a wonderful event! Here are a few pictures from the day.
Check out that handsome best man!
They had parasols to shade everyone from the sun. They were definitely needed!
Awwww .... they're so cute together.
Daryl's little sister sang a song for them. She did a great job!
John's speech (one of MANY speeches that evening)
The happy couple
Another happy couple :)
You can barely tell I'm pregnant! You have to look really hard to see the bump.
Check out that handsome best man!
They had parasols to shade everyone from the sun. They were definitely needed!
Awwww .... they're so cute together.
Daryl's little sister sang a song for them. She did a great job!
John's speech (one of MANY speeches that evening)
The happy couple
Another happy couple :)
You can barely tell I'm pregnant! You have to look really hard to see the bump.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
July 12th - Dad's Birthday
This year my dad had to travel to East Aurora on a business trip on his birthday. Since his boss lives in East Aurora I emailed him to let him know that my dad would be there on his birthday. I figured they could wish him happy birthday in a meeting or something. It turns out no-one really said anything most of the day but that night they surprised him by taking him out to dinner in Buffalo. He had a great time! One of our co-workers sent me this picture:
We all got together to celebrate his birthday a couple of weeks later during lunch one day. We went to Acapulco for their lunch buffet. We had a good time being together ... that's what life and birthday celebrations are all about!
Birthday flan
Presents!
Parts for the truck!
Taylor loved the card she got for her Papa. She was so entertained by the sounds it made.
Happy birthday Papa!!
We all got together to celebrate his birthday a couple of weeks later during lunch one day. We went to Acapulco for their lunch buffet. We had a good time being together ... that's what life and birthday celebrations are all about!
Birthday flan
Presents!
Parts for the truck!
Happy birthday Papa!!
Monday, July 11, 2011
July 11th - Debbie's Birthday
We've been so busy with projects lately that I literally forgot about my birthday in the days leading up to it. My mind was totally focused elsewhere. It wasn't until my Mom asked me about dinner plans the night before that I even remembered. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten! That's so unlike me because I love birthdays. Lucky for me, all my friends and family did not forget and they treated me to a really great day. Nothing wild and crazy, just a nice celebration.
There were delicious red velvet cupcakes provided by Amanda at work. John even told her I didn't like sweet frosting so she found a recipe with less sugar. The cupcakes were delicious!!
After work I opened a few presents at home before meeting up with my family for dinner. To my surprise, the baby had managed to get me a card and present. He bought me something I was definitely in need of - Zantac!! That little dude was killing me with the heartburn.
I also opened a really cute picture frame with Nala's picture in it that Amanda gave me.
We ate dinner at Cafe Rio and then went back to my parent's house for presents and dessert. Amongst other things, I got a Mickey apron and a few Disney DVD's to add to my collection.
I wish this next picture wasn't blurry because Taylor cracked us up while I was opening presents. My parents have this carved wooden duck on their hearth. My dad brought it home from Baguio one time. It's not expensive or anything so Taylor's allowed to play with it. Us adults were chit chatting when all of the sudden we hear "quack quack! quack quack!". We turn to look at Taylor to see her scooting around on the duck like it was a horse and making duck noises. We have no idea where that came from - she's never done it before. You may had to be there to appreciate how funny it was, but it was hilarious!!
After presents and Taylor's entertainment, we had some yummy cupcakes for dessert.
It was a great birthday!! It should be fun next year when we have our little one there with the rest of the family.
There were delicious red velvet cupcakes provided by Amanda at work. John even told her I didn't like sweet frosting so she found a recipe with less sugar. The cupcakes were delicious!!
After work I opened a few presents at home before meeting up with my family for dinner. To my surprise, the baby had managed to get me a card and present. He bought me something I was definitely in need of - Zantac!! That little dude was killing me with the heartburn.
I also opened a really cute picture frame with Nala's picture in it that Amanda gave me.
We ate dinner at Cafe Rio and then went back to my parent's house for presents and dessert. Amongst other things, I got a Mickey apron and a few Disney DVD's to add to my collection.
I wish this next picture wasn't blurry because Taylor cracked us up while I was opening presents. My parents have this carved wooden duck on their hearth. My dad brought it home from Baguio one time. It's not expensive or anything so Taylor's allowed to play with it. Us adults were chit chatting when all of the sudden we hear "quack quack! quack quack!". We turn to look at Taylor to see her scooting around on the duck like it was a horse and making duck noises. We have no idea where that came from - she's never done it before. You may had to be there to appreciate how funny it was, but it was hilarious!!
After presents and Taylor's entertainment, we had some yummy cupcakes for dessert.
It was a great birthday!! It should be fun next year when we have our little one there with the rest of the family.
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