The joys of home ownership

Olivia in the guest bedroom

Claire in her crib.

Claire's side of their room.

Olivia's side of the room.

Our bedroom.

A racoon in the tree right behind our house.

A deer standing right in our back yard.

As promised here are a few pictures of the upstairs bedrooms in our house. We are officially moved in now and still working on all the projects that still need to be done. Home ownership is rewarding but a whole lot of work especially when you start from scratch. We just had Hans' parents here helping us before the 4th which so nice to have some help with projects that we just need to get done. They helped put down top soil all around the house, organize our leftover wood from the building of the house, build shelves in the crawl space and garage, finish painting the trim outside and staining the front deck. Even with all of these projects done we still have plenty to do. We now need to get grass planted and do some landscaping. This last week we worked half of the week and the whole weekend, to prime the deck railings and stain the floor of the deck. We still need to put all of the stain on the deck railings and stain the stairs of the deck. The projects in this house are never ending and I know we will be working on them probably until we sell the house and move on, but that is just how things go when you own a home there is always one more project to do.

We are looking forward to our trip to Montana so that we can get away from all the work we have to do here. We are looking forward to having a lawn so that we can actually play out in the yard with Olivia, get out a little pool and hopefully some day have a swing set. As each project gets done we have one less thing on our to do list and feels good to have things really coming together around our house. Hopefully we can take some time to enjoy life a long the way and have fun with our girls instead of working on our house all the time.

We have really enjoyed all the wildlife that we get to see in our new home. There is a little buck that walked past me on the ladder the other day while I was painting. He was just 5 feet away.

Well I will have to put the downstairs pictures on another time as I haven't even taken any of the finished downstairs yet and I will get pictures of the decks and hopefully soon a yard.

Potty Training

Potty training has been quite the process for us. I have been talking with Olivia about going pee and poopy on the potty for the last year, but it has never really clicked in and I haven't taken the time to just get her to do it for many reasons either a new baby on the way, a trip coming up, and just being plain old busy with putting together our house and taking care of a newborn. So finally this last week we made a chart for stickers and told her she would get an m & m every time she went and on Saturday it finally just clicked. After many accidents we practiced running to the potty when we felt like we had to go. And then she just started walking over, sitting down, and going. We have had a few accidents since but she is really doing great and we are really proud of her. It is so weird to not have her in diapers anymore and to now be constantly asking "do you need to go potty?" and wondering where the nearest restroom is when you are out. I am a little nervous for our trip we are taking on Thursday to Montana, but I think it will go well. I am hoping for the best and that she just continually gets more confident in herself and ability to go on the potty.

4 months

Here are a few pictures from Claire's 4 month photo shoot. I love getting my babies pictures taken, although it is often a hastle the end product is worth it and I know I will treasure these pictures for many years to come. We also had Claire's 4 month checkup and she is getting big. She is 24 and 1/2 inches long and weighs 14 lbs. 4 oz. I compared this with Olivia's 4 month checkup and found that Olivia was also 24 and 1/2 inches but she weighed 13 lbs. So they are growing fairly close to the same rate. Claire is such a sweet baby. She is usually pretty happy and loves to just be where the action is. She loves her big sister even though she is a little rough with her at times and she just lights up when she sees her. Olivia loves to read her stories or sing to her to make her happy. We are already working with Olivia on sharing toys with Claire and being nice to her sister and not bossing her around. I know it will be an on going process. The cutest thing that Olivia says is, "Claire your my best friend." It is so sweet and we are so happy that Olivia loves her sister so much already.

Mariners Game

Olivia insisted on pulling her back pack to the game (it a took a little while to walk there).Olivia and Daddy at the game. Mommy and Claire.

Mommy trying to get Claire to sleep at the game.

The crew eating their peanuts.

Olivia playing at the park ealier that day.Mommy and Claire at the park.

Claire and Daddy.

Auntie Anna, Uncle Kevin, and baby Chadwick

Mommy, Daddy, and Claire. Ironically with Hans wearing the sling when I really wanted to get a pictures of me wearing Claire in the sling since I wear it often.


We had a great day on Saturday filled with going to the park for a picnic lunch and a Mariners game that they actually won. First we went to a park nearby to Anna and Kevin's house. We ate and Olivia played on the park toys which she always loves. We got some fun pics of everyone, although I am noticing that I got lots of pictures with Claire but not so many with Olivia. Then the four of us headed back to Anna and Kevin's place for a nap which is essential when you are planning on going to a Mariners game. That evening we went to our first baseball game since Olivia was born and possibly our last at least till they get a little older. We had to eat all the classic baseball food of hot dogs, peanuts, and cackerjacks. Olivia and I had matching hats which I think she thought was the best part. This is funny that she enjoyed the hat so much because usallly she hates wearing hats. Claire had a really hard time at the game as she loves to watch everything instead of going to sleep so it was really tough to get her to sleep. I finally managed to walk her to sleep in the sling on a walk way pacing back and forth. Olivia did pretty good mostly enjoying the licorice and watching people around us. We didn't get home until midnight so it was a late night for all of us. Overall we had fun, but it was very tiring for all of us.

4th of July

We are all decked out in our 4th of July outfits.
Kevin, Hans, Eric and Brian playing boccee ball.

Mary and Olivia coming back from a walk. Eric trying to keep Claire happy.

Claire napping(for a little bit)

Mary and Livy playing in the sand.
Livy has always loved the water.Auntie Anna and Livy playing in the sand.

The whole gang. Eric, Kevin, Livy, Anna (and baby), Me, Claire, Hans, and Mary.


We had a really nice 4th of July. We went to a lake in the Marysville area that had a great grassy area and nice beach and swimming area. We picnicked, relaxed, and played. Later that day we went back to Anna and Kevin's house and relaxed and watched the fire works from their deck. It was nice to not have to go anywhere with 2 kids in tow. I had a very relaxing time as I had enough volunteers to entertain Olivia down at the beach and I could relax in the shade with Claire. Olivia could not get enough of the water. She kept bringing me her suit until I finally put it on her after lunch, then she played most the afternoon down there even though it wasn't that warm. Olivia really loved the fireworks as well and I taught her the proper way to ooh and aah.