House Progress

Things are moving along with the house, not as fast as we hoped but with no real delays we are happy with the progress so far - I mean, really there is only one of me. Here is a view of the footings and stem wall ready to pour - looking towards the SW.

This view is from the "backyard" looking South towards Helena
Here is a view from the hill south of the house looking to the north - notice the sleeping giant mountain on the right hand side of the skyline. At this point you can see the house from I-15, not really the house but the Insulated Concrete Forms - white styrofoam pieces - for those non technical types who read the blog.
This is another view, looking west from where the garage will be, Here you can get a good view of the "fast foot" product which allow you to form footings without wide pieces of lumber (these normally keep concrete from seeping out the sides). The fast foot is a woven sheet of reinforced plastic material that you staple to the 2x4 footing boards acting a bag into which you pour the footing concrete. We are also using this product for the footings under the "ICF" stem wall (you can see it unattached) lying on the trench floor. You can also notice the 2 levels below, the "far level" or lower level is the shop/garage area and the higher level will be the basement portion of the house.

Asher at 6 months

Asher turned 6 months old on the 8th and at his doctor's appointment on Friday he was 21.2 lbs and 29 inches (yes, both are over 100th percentile). For comparison, at this age, Reese was 27.5 inches and 20.4 lbs. I celebrated Asher's half year milestone with my first 10k in a long time at the Governor's Cup here in Helena and managed to run it under 57 minutes. 5 years ago that would have been a disappointment but given how little I've been running (and sleeping) I was pretty proud of myself. It was a gorgeous day for running and it felt good to just run.

Both of the kids are fighting a cough so none of us have been getting much sleep. We were able to get some smiles, however, with a few BBQs at Val's house in the last week to celebrate Andrew, Steve and Kaitlyn's birthdays.

Asher enjoying his first swing ride

Sliding with Daddy
Pushing Asher on the swing at Val's house

We've started to supplement my milk with formula (since I can't seem to keep up with our growing boy) but Asher's tummy isn't taking too well to the formula yet. So this is Asher saying
"Grandma, why are you making me wear this PINK shirt?" The answer is, of course, because this was the 3rd backup outfit we brought (he had already gone through his two and now had to borrow from Reese's stash). What you don't see is that Mom was also on her 3rd outfit for which we did not plan. Thanks Val and Steve for the change(s) of clothes!

Reese found the cupcakes...
Yummy
Helping Asher with his hat
Playing in the playroom and sort of sharing toys
Reese teaching Asher to read
Starting to look more alike?
Asher all smiles because he can sit up and play with his sister
Still have my bald spot, though
Reese's hair is starting to look almost girly

Kid pics

Thought I'd post some pictures of the kids (since that's really all you want anyway ;)


Now let me tell you about this whole walking thing...it's pretty cool
Reese eyeing Asher's belly: "Yep, mine's still bigger"
The view from our future house...not too shabby
See the master bathroom right there? See it?
The driveway, someday
Asher geared up for softball season
Sitting up all by myself (ok, and with the assistance of a pillow)

Memorial Day weekend

The weather was pretty nice this morning (before the showers that are coming this afternoon) so we decided to take the kids out for a "ride". Asher had his first run in the BOB. Heading out...And getting home...
CK took Reese on her first bike ride
She thought it was pretty fun
We also recently purchased what we refer to as "the cage". Really it's a protective barrier for Asher to let him play without having to fear being hit over the head with a block, book or other painful object.
See? Happy boy safe in his cage :)
The kids like it because they can still talk to each other
Reese has now decided it's fun to put whatever she's eating in her hair. This one was watermelon (or water-lemon as Reese says). Needless to say we take a few more baths these days than we used to.
This one is for Sarah since she sent Asher this lamb for Christmas. Reese has noticed it and lately it's her favorite animal to carry around and sleep with. However, once in awhile she lets her brother play with it.

What a week

Well, after a 91-hour work week (we have to record our hours so, yes, I counted each and every one) I am back from the abyss. Actually the week went really well at work and CK and the kids went up to Malta for the week so it worked out well for both of us. I got home late Saturday night and spent Sunday hanging out with the kids (of course!) Today we took Reese and Asher to daycare for the first time. It was a really weird feeling to come home to an empty, quiet house. Not sure when the last time that happened was :) We were able to get some house planning done, CK played basketball and I (unfortunately) got an afternoon of work in before we picked up the kids. Reese had a great time playing with the other kids and barely remembered we were gone until we got there. Of course, she was so excited she decided not to nap but promptly fell asleep on the way home. I'm sure she'll adjust and be into their regular routine in no time. It's back to SLC for me tomorrow morning (this time only until Thursday) and then a long weekend- yay! Here are some pictures we took of the kids this weekend:

I don't know what I think about this kissing your sister thing...
Uh oh here she comes again...save me Mom!
Ugh, too late!
Skyping with Grandma and Grandpa LaFond
Happy boy

A future chef?

Katelyn, Asher, Andrew and ReeseAndrew and Asher (with matching head scratches)
Reese received this fantastic kitchen from her Great Aunt Debbie (who sells all kinds of cool kids' toys here if you're looking for a great gift)She's already a multitasker...
Whipping up some eggs?
Progress: