House and Baby Progress

Here's the (almost) latest picture of the house. There's currently big pieces of plywood over the openings for the garage doors, but other than that it looks just like this right now. We are on a break from doing anything else at this point until the house is assessed. In case you're thinking-assessed? Well, it's a long story-kind of a weird situation, but we still do have a 7 year tax abatement. :) The house will be assessed by the end of the year and then we will move forward with HVAC, plumbing, and electric. We are starting to pick out colors for things but will do most of that after the holidays (and after baby is born!)

Speaking of baby...I had an appointment this morning and am between 2 1/2 and 3cm dialated and 75% effaced. Hooray! Well, only hooray if this baby stays in a couple more weeks and I continue to progress so I can have a quick, easy labor again. :) Hopefully the nurse didn't jinx me since she said to not go into labor this weekend since neither of my doctors are on call (there are only 2 doctors in my office, but there are a couple others from different offices that share on-call duties with them). So...if I were to go into labor this weekend I would have a doctor deliver this baby whom I've never met or even seen! Oh, not to mention we still don't have a name for this baby. Really! Perhaps we'll find some inspiration soon.

I just wrapped my last gift this afternoon and am looking forward to Christmas. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Christmas Card 2010

Slate Snowflakes Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Progress

Here's the latest pictures of the house...obviously there are some stages we didn't post pictures of, but oh well!  :) The first floor is totally framed, the rest should be finished in about two weeks. Seems like I say this every time I talk about the house, but we really have been blessed with great weather. And looking at the 10 day forecast, we are still being blessed. Hooray!

This is the window in the family room looking out to the backyard.

This is a picture Jake took standing on the leftover dirt mound, looking at the back of the house.

Not the greatest picture since the lift is there, but this the front of the house, garages on the right and entry on the left.

It's beginning to look a lot like....

#1 A house!  Hooray, we are really making progress on our house. The framers started today and should be done in less than a month. This is the stage I was looking forward to. Until now, it was just a hole, then a hole with concrete walls, then with a concrete floor. I know I should be excited about it all, but now that the house is really starting to take shape it's even more real. (Jake has the camera...pictures to posted soon!).

#2 Christmas. Well, not quite. No snow here (yet!), but it's rather chilly. And with Christmas comes a necessary project...Christmas cards! I just found out about a great promotion Shutterfly is doing...50 free holiday cards just for blogging about it. We debated sending any out this year, but if we can get this great of a deal, why not!?! You can participate too, just go here. Here's one of the few I've had my eye on...I think it will be perfect to show pictures throughout the year of our little growing family and our growing home. I'm hoping to share 2 pictures of each of the kids, one of the whole family, and a picture of the house. I think being able to write inside the card will save me some time beause I won't have to do a seperate letter and photo card. Ahh...the simplicity of Shutterfly! I always look for cards that actually say "Merry Christmas" and this one is just so simple and fun! There's lots of holiday and Christmas cards to choose from-check them out for yourself! And if you're looking for a gift for a hard-to-buy-for friend or relative, a photo calendar is a perfect idea-it's a gift that keeps on giving (literally-all year!)

Ahh...Life!

Life is good, I really can't complain. It is, however, super busy. Well, probably not-it's just not super unbusy like I'm used to.   :)   Here's a few pictures for a quick recap. I have lots of pictures I could post, but I'm not going to make any promises about posting again any time soon. 

Us at our lot-notice the trampoline in the background. It belongs to our neighbors of course. Who happen to have a little boy 2 months older than Isaac. They're already great pals.

And the lot without us.

We started digging Thursday evening. They finished Saturday morning and the foundation will be started on Monday. We have really been blessed with beautiful weather. And, according the forecast, the blessings will continue. Hooray!

This is what our house will look like when it's done. Except the siding and stone will be different. And the top left window will match the others. This is the original house our plans were used for. I drive by this house about twice a month-luckily I haven't seen any suspscious neighbors giving me crazy looks for stopping and taking pictures.

We went to a pumpkin patch/apple orchard with my parents. Travis and Bri joined us a little later. We all had a grand time. And, as was mentioned above, we had some wonderful weather.

The kids and I made cookies one day for Jake since he was staying home with the kids while I went somewhere that night. Any guesses what makes this happen? 11 of these cookies were yummy-the other, well, I guess I can't say for sure because it went straight to the trash.

And Leah. Oh, Miss Leah how we love you. Even more when you sleep. At all. But more when it's in your own room. She's really given us a hard time this week with sleeping. Last night she finally went back to her own bed. All night. Ahh...rest without getting kicked (by a child not in utero). Here's to hoping she's back to her normal easy-sleeper self.

And a quick baby update. At my last appointment I was 28 weeks and measured 27. No surprise there. I'm sure this baby will be a teeny one like the last two. Not even close to having a name picked out. We're down to just over 2 months so time is a-tickin'!

As for the rest of us...

Jake-SUPER busy with the election being a little over a week away. Besides being President of our county Young Republicans, he's also the campaign manager for his dad who is running for County Supervisor. He's active with about 4 other campaigns as well. He'll be home sleeping Wednesday November 3 since he'll have to wait up late to see the results of all the west coast elections. Young Men's is treating him well and he always has a good time with his boys. And if he has a few spare moments, they go to spending time on our house since we (meaning Jake) are acting as general comtractors.

Jenn-I'm a mom. To two toddlers. With another on the way. What more can I say. Oh, I love it! I really haven't been crafting or sewing lately due to limited space and time, but hope to get in a few projects soon. I was called as the Gospel Doctrine teacher in July so I have a lesson to prepare every week, but I really love teaching.

Isaac-Growing like crazy. He really cracks us up every day. He loves to jump off anything (furniture, stairs, beds, etc.) and prefers to be pantsless. (He claims they make him run slow). He is still working with a speech therapist and is getting better. People other than me can understand him, which is nice-for me because I don't have to translate and nice for him because he doesn't get frustrated. He loves nursery at church is learning lots of things at home with. We opted to note send him to preschool this year. We may not send him next year. I have a teaching degree for crying outloud. :)

Leah-What a stinker. But a cute one. So she gets away with everything. She is a climber and a getter-intoer. She loves to take off her diaper and really wants to be potty-trained. I really think I'm going to try here in the next couple weeks. She is getting used to nursery at church and only cries for the first few minutes. She loves to copy her brother, but can also be quite the instigator. Coloring and baby dolls are her favorites these days. And milk. This girl loves her milk!

Alright, that's a really quick update without much detail. But there you have it. We're here. We're well. We're really well actually.   :)

Hooray!

I'm happy to announce that we finally purchased our land and should begin building as soon as we close and have our construction loan. Hopefully that will only be about 10 days. We'd like to be in our new house by Spring, like May at the latest. Naturally, things will go other than how we have planned and it will take longer, but we're optimistic. It was quite a process of choosing where to buy land. We had actually even decided to wait until Spring to buy and start building. But while we were on vacation Jake felt strongly that we should just go ahead and start. I agreed! We were all ready to make an offer on one lot when we learned the development with the other lot we were considering was going up for auction. Great, we thought! Now we'll get a great deal on our land. Not so much. While we were actually the only bidders that showed up, the developers were not willing to go less than $2,500 off their original asking price. Strange for an auction, but we left really confused and not knowing what to do. After lots of phone calls, emails, prayers, and thought we finally made a decision and now own a lot in Evans View. The city is supposed to be passing a tax abatement that we are really excited about: 7 years of 100% taxes. Meaning, for 7 years we pay NO property taxes. :)  Because of this, the price of land is going to go up because the tax abatement is only for new construction. We're really glad we went ahead and purchased when we did. There are only a handful of houses in this development so far, but from what I can tell (peeking in their garage) it looks like the people right next to us have little kids and that the mom stays home during the day. I'm really excited to get started and even more excited to be done and in our own home again. Living with Jake's parents is going well, but I'm sure we're really going to feel crowed in 2 bedrooms with 5 people and all our stuff. Plus, I'm sure Jake's parents won't mind the peace and quite that comes with not living with 2 crazy toddlers (and soon a newborn!). Oh, and in case you're wondering, we still don't have a name for this little boy. We'll take pictures soon of the land, but in the mean time, here's a link to the website for the development. We bought lot 11 in phase 2. Ahh...progress!!

For Real...

Alright, I really am going to be making our blog private next week. Just another reminder to email me or leave me a comment if you'd like to keep up with our little family. Also, look forward to an update next week about the home-building status. I think I've sent an invite to everyone who has requested one so far. If not, just email me again-sorry!

And a picture from our trip-it wouldn't rotate...oops! This and me and Leah as we were waiting to take off to Orlando!

Since they're sleeping

I was just uploading all the pictures from our camera and thought I'd post a few cute ones. Jake and the kids are still asleep so it seems like an ideal time to do some posting. :)

First up, we headed out to a parade nearby. It was a bit of a rainy day so there were hardly any people there watching. Because of that, we left with a boatload of candy. And we got to try out our new double stroller we had just bought the day before. I've been waiting months and months for this baby to finally get to the stores. It's the only one that will fit our infant carrier-which will be helpful in a few months! (Yes, that means Isaac will have to walk, but what can you do?)

 

Next up is our trip to Branson that mentioned a while ago. I finally am getting the pictures posted...

The kids spent literally hours in this little wading pool. Isaac ripped open the bottom of his foot from it being so soggy. Poor guy!

The next several pictures are from Silver Dollar City. Where we roasted. Because it was hot. REALLY hot. 

Lastly is a picture from the fish hatchery. Isaac and Jake probably enjoyed it the most. We all would have enjoyed it a little more if it hadn't been so incredibly hot and humid!

Oops...

Alright, I realized that I hid comments and that meant no one could leave a comment to ask for an invite. Sorry if you tried and couldn't! I think it's fixed now-I'm still trying to figure it all out!

Going Private

Jake and I have decided to make our blog private. Please leave a comment with your email address if you would like an invite to our blog. (I have comments hidden so no one else will see your email address). Or send me an email. I'll wait about a week or so to change to private. No reason in particular, just to be a little safer in an unsafe world!

Ultrasound Results...

The ultrasound went really well this morning. We got lots of cute pictures (see below) and the Dr. said everything looks good. I stopped at our storage unit on the way home to get some bins of baby clothes to take an inventory of what we have. Right now the couch looks like this....

Which of course means it's a...BOY!

So good job to those of you who guessed correctly!

Here's a few more pictures-the 3D one is a little odd because he was in a weird position, but it's mostly arms around his head (although he does just have 2!!). :)

...now onto to choosing a name...

Playdough

I took the kids outside today thinking it was nice enough to play...meaning it wasn't sweltering hot. It was super nice when we walked out to get the mail. Unfortunately it was almost 90 and super sunny. We lasted all of 10 minutes. Rather than the same ol' toys and books for the afternoon, I decided to whip up a batch of homemade playdough. Never made it before. It was a sinch and the kids (well, Isaac) loved it. In fact, he's playing with it again right now which is why I even have an opportunity to post. :) Leah wasn't so interested. I think it was too messy for her-she can be quite the girly girl at times. Here they are playing away and look oh-so-cute while in the process.

And Leah's new favorite spot...this cabinet. It's usually just storage for paper towels, but she'll move out anything that isn't a roll of paper towels so she can sit in there. She hasn't figured out yet how to get totally in. I'm sure it's just a matter of time. :) Notice the lack of pants-she has decided to start potty-training herself. Meaning that she throws a fit when Isaac goes to the bathroom if she doesn't get a turn. I haven't really been trying to potty train her, though I can usually get her to the toliet in time to save myself having to change a stinky diaper. Hooray for that. Maybe once we get back from Florida in mid-September we'll really give it a go. Heck, she's only 18 months old. I never imagined I'd have her potty-trained before baby #3 joined us!

Poll Please!

I have my ultrsound Monday morning and will hopefully be finding out if we're having a boy or a girl. I added a poll over to the side-go ahead and vote. I'm still feeling boy, but we'll see!

And because a post is always better with a picture, here's a random one I found on Jake's parents' computer since that's where I'm at right now! :)

Mr. Isaac at 5 months as a lobster for his first Halloween. Too cute!

Summer

Whew! Can't believe summer is going so quickly...we've been busy!

We started with a trip to Branson, MO with my parents for a few days. It was hotter than hot, but we had a great time. Pictures to come-they aren't with me right now.

Next was celebrating July 4th on the 3rd. We really enjoyed the weather, quite the contrast from last year's freezing weather.

A few days later we had a special visitor to our little library...none other than Ronald McDonald! Isaac was super excited. He had a little show with music and jokes about how to treat books and encouraged the kids to read every day. I didn't even attempt a picture with Leah, I knew she would freak.

Most recently, we stayed in Burlington at a hotel with an indoor/outdoor waterpark just about 30 minutes from Nauvoo. We've stayed here twice before and both times Isaac was too scared to play in the water. He was a little apprehensive this year, but I really encouraged him to get in and play. Once he was in for a few minutes, he was hooked. He had a great time playing with cousins. There were over 30 of us so for lunch one day Jake's mom ordered 2 pizzas. Two pizzas for 30 people you wonder...check out the size of the box they came in. 28 inches of baked, greasy goodness. Not surprisingly, they were both gone within 15 minutes. Guess two pizzas for 30 people isn't enough after all. We enjoyed the pageant in Nauvoo, but didn't go down again to see the sites again. It was super hot (heat index of 114 degrees) so they were closing all the outside things anyways.

Up next is a day of slipin', slidin', and stitches. Pictures to come.

For a baby update....all is going well. My ultrasound will be on the 23rd of August. I'm really looking forward to finding out what we're having so I know which bins have to be dug out of storage. We'll start deciding on a name (in December probably!!). Seems like it takes us forever to pick a name. Thanks to my dear ol' dad, Jake has another acronym to use. It's not business related like Isaac and Leah (INC and LLC), but it's politically inspired, so it's good enough for him. RNC-Republican National Committee. Great. Not sure if we'll actually use it. There's not a whole lot of R names out there, let alone any that we'd like for our child. Only time will tell-and it will probably be a long time before we actually choose a name. I'm not sure how much weight I've gained, what the baby's heart rate is, or what I'm measuring. All of those numbers were recorded at my last appointment, but none of it was shared with me. I'm sure they would have told me, but I didn't ask. My last doctor just automatically shared all of that with me so it's been interesting to have a different experience at a new office. At this point I wouldn't say that I haven't been pleased with this office, but I will say that next baby I will probably reconsider going to my first doctor even though he's in a giant group now. Ugh...why do some aspects of health care have to be so crazy?

Two Babies

Several weeks ago I picked Isaac up from nursery and the nursery leader informed me that he had been telling her that I was having two babies. Interesting. Well, the truth is that we're just having one baby...due January 9. Yay! We're looking forward to another baby. I've switched doctors and wasn't spoiled with an ultrasound at my first visit. But we did hear the heartbeat and that was as exciting as always. Mid to late August we'll find out what we're having. I'm guessing boy. Isaac says boy. No guesses from Jake yet. Oh, and definitely no names even discussed yet. We're waiting to know what we're having-that cuts the list down in half. :) So far I've been feeling pretty good. I didn't feel sick at all with Isaac or Leah. This time I've felt a little blah at times, but nothing horrible. I'm for sure showing sooner than with the other two, but that's expected. Good thing my sister in-law is due in less than a week and then I'll get all the maternity clothes (we share most of what we have!). Well, I'm off to clean and start getting ready for an upcoming trip.

Yep...

We're still here and doing well. I finally uploaded pictures from my camera since the card is full. :) Here's a few until I have more time to post.

Isaac turned 3 and had a super hero birthday party. Here's his cape...there's a lightening bolt and an "I" on it.


Kristelle and I took the kids to Reiman gardens in Ames before she and Eric left for rotations. We then enjoyed a very yummy lunch at Hickory Park.


That same night my whole family spent some time at Incredible Pizza Company. The kids had a blast and we all enjoyed earning and cashing in our tickets.


For the first time ever, we finally made it to the Farmer's Market downtown. It was fun-nothing spectacular in our opinion. Isaac loved riding this little train thing (there were lots of little cars being pulled by a tractor). He was especially excited about it because it was the same one he rode last summer at the Balloon Festival in Indianola.


The Chapman family planted pumpkin seeds so we'd have pumpkins to carve in October. So far, they've all sprouted so it should be a great harvest!

SOLD

I've been waiting a weeks to finally post this....we sold our house! We received an offer just about a week and a half after we put our house on the market. Today we finally got word that the buyers' financing was a sure thing. We will close the end of next week-hooray! The first little family that came to see the house bought it. They are super excited as this is their first home and we are super excited because it no longer is ours! We moved in with Jake's parents about a week ago and have been moving stuff here and to storage a little at a time. There's still some things to be cleared out, but we should be moved out completely by Saturday. It's been a challenge to fit a whole house full of stuff into one storage unit and 3 bedrooms in Jake's parents' house. Thankfully, though, his parents have plenty of space for us and it's been a pretty smooth transition. Leah has started waking up once in the middle of the night, but hopefully she'll get used to her surroundings soon and we can all get a full night's sleep.

On another note...we went to Nauvoo last weekend with my family and had a grand ol' time. Jake's parents even came down for a night. We always love going to Nauvoo and it was especially nice to be there when the weather was nice but without the pageant crowd. I have pictures, but not on the computer yet. Check out my sister or sister in-law's blogs for pictures soon....they're both better bloggers than me! :)

Back to house talk, in case you're interested, I don't have a way to link our houseplans, but here's a floorplan that's pretty similar. Main differences are the layout of the mudroom and bathroom on the main floor, our laundry room will be upstairs, the office off the entry will be closed in and have french doors, and the upstairs has all the same things but is laid out differently. Oh, and our garage entrance will be from the front of the house and it's a 3 car and not 2. There's lots of other little details that are different, but I'll have to find a way to get our plans online.

For Sale

Yep, it's officially for sale. We're trying to sell it on our own first-hopefully it will be successful and we won't need to hire a realtor. We've been working nonstop for weeks getting the house ready...taking lots to storage, cleaning, painting, decorating, etc., etc., etc. If you know anyone needing a nice house in Adel, send them our way. Here's a link to our website for the house. (We're still in the process of updating it).
We bought the blueprints for our "new" house today. We're planning on living with parents (Jake's and possibly mine) after we sell our house and while we build our new one. We'll most likely be building in DeSoto, but maybe in Adel. Always an adventure with us it seems!

The Party

Alright, I found the pictures from Leah's birthday and her party. She spent most of the day with her Grandma Chapman since it was our Grandma day (one day a month when Jake's mom watches the kids so I can do whatever). I bought her a little Birthday Girl shirt and a mini cake-I think she liked the cake more than the shirt. We sang Happy Birthday, let her eat her cake, and then she opened a few gifts. A few days later was her party-here's a few pictures. She was sick the day of her party so she wasn't looking her best, but still rather cute if I say so.