visible progress

It's been a while since I last posted pictures of our house progress.  Mostly because nothing was happening to report on.  I mean, we moved out of the mobile and into our trailer/shop four months ago...FOUR months ago... then it rained for three months...THREE months...and I was about ready to go crazy looking out my window at dark clouds and giant puddles.  Well, about a month ago, the weather dried up, and heated up, and we finally have some visible progress on our new home.  It all happened just in time for me to hold onto my sanity for at least a short while longer...that is until we add a new baby to the whole mix...but I'm not really thinking about that ...yet.

Since I last posted, we moved more dirt, formed the foundation, poured concrete, raised walls, and sheeted the outside.  "We" meaning everyone but myself, but I'm working on my own project right now building a new human being.  Combine that with chasing another human being who is less than 3 feet tall, and I think that excuses me from manual labor.

As for the boring construction pictures below, I apologize, they are imperative to my happiness at this point.  And for the happiness of everyone else, I included some cute ones of Laci "helping."

~ future front door ~

~ building castles with Daddy ~

~ notice the pump in the foreground ~
Never would I have imagined we would need to pump a lake of water out of the way in the middle of June! 

Somewhere in the middle I missed a picture of the actual concrete.  Concrete trucks arrive loudly in your yard at 5:30 a.m.  So, while I was awake at that time due to the noise, it was entirely too early to be up taking pictures.  Then, the walls were delivered a day early, so I missed a picture of the finished slab as well.  Just imagine a big slab of concrete...yep, it was that exciting.  Well, for me it was exciting, but just consider the circumstances.

~ why do the dogs always end up in the pictures? ~

~ the first wall ~

~ the "boss" watching the wall raising ~

I have yet to take a picture of the sheeting, but since the trusses won't be delivered until next week, I'm hoping I have some time.

The view from my window has improved dramatically in the last month and I'm ever so thankful for my hard-working husband and the effort he is putting forth to build our dream.  I'm also thankful for my father-in-law who has been immensely helpful in both building and in keeping Ryan calm and sane.

growing up country

Growing up country can mean...

...learning to look at the ground when you walk through the field (gotta watch for those snakes).
...eating fruit fresh from the tree and veggies straight from the garden.
...that every outdoor activity will involve at least a little bit of dirt.

And if you live in the country, and are building a house, and have absolutely no "yard" to speak of, growing up country can mean that a big ol' pile of rocks can become your new playground. You will become covered in a fine, powdery dust as you climb, and lounge, and play on the rocks, and as you direct your daddy to jump over you repeatedly.  Babies, daddies, and clothes are all washable (thank goodness), and I'm pretty used to having dirt everywhere at this point, so it was a good time for all involved.

remembering June

June is long gone, but I still have many pictures I haven't shared.  Sometimes I wonder why I take so many pictures, so many that I can't keep up with uploading and sharing them.  Not that I feel the need to share every picture.  Despite what it might appear here, I only share a fraction of the pictures I take.  Digital cameras really let a person get out of hand with the volume of pictures taken.  Many of those find the delete button before they ever make it to the computer, some get deleted once uploaded, some get shared here on the blog, and a few just hang around holding their position on my hard drive indefinitely.

Most of the time, though, I'm really glad I take so many pictures because they help me remember all the little things we did.  June has become just a blur in my memory at this point, but with the help of a few pictures, I can remember random moments and funny stories about my girl, and it helps me appreciate the happy little moments we had in between all the stressful ones.

***

Cousin Evan had his third birthday in June.  Laci, although the youngest of the cousins, insisted on being in the middle of all the party action of playing together, riding bikes, opening presents, and hitting the pinata.  She skipped cake time because she hasn't figured out how awesome cake is yet.  And trust me, I've tried numerous times to show her how amazing an overly sweet piece of cake loaded with frosting can be.  She just doesn't buy into it yet.

Some quality time with Shiloh.

In the middle of the action.

Obviously, the best present of the day...a Cars convertible kid-sized couch, just the right size for hiding.

In nearly 50 attempts at a group cousin picture, these are the best I could get.  I'm thinking that adding another cousin or two to the picture won't do anything to help the odds of success.

I can hardly believe I'm saying this myself, but, if you crop Laci out of the first picture, it improves significantly.

Cute siblings.

Without these pictures, I might not remember to tell Laci how much she liked the gift we bought for Evan, which was the race track in the above picture.  I'll tell her about how she insisted on matching the cars to the correct track based on color, even when I tried to switch them up, and how I love how her organized little brain works.

***

Even more than remembering the big events, I like being able to remember the everyday boring things we do.

I like that I'll be able to tell Laci about drinking out of the dog's bucket of water...and thinking it is the best thing on earth.

Gross?  Yes.

But I'm a believer in building up the immune system the good old-fashioned way:  with lots of germs.

And I'm pretty sure Maverick doesn't mind sharing.

I'll tell her about the crazy weather we had that kept us from filling up the wading pool until the middle of June.   I'll tell her that she finally realized it is not only a good idea to sit down in the water, but it is also fun to lay down and put her entire face in the water...a long way from last year when she would only stand up.

I'll tell her how she is obsessed with eating ice, and I'm doing my best to convince her that ice is not, in fact, a real food with any nutritional value.  Because I'm pretty sure if it was up to her, she would eat only ice some days.  Also, I must now disguise my own glass if I put ice in my drink because she will insist on eating all of MY ice, and frankly, I like to avoid tantrums if at all possible, so she ends up getting her way.  Also, I don't really like sharing my drink...or my ice.  I should probably work on that.

And, although I'm pretty sure she'll always know she has a special relationship with Maverick, I'll tell her how they grew up together, and that is why they're such good friends (or at least they will be good friends in a few years).  I'll tell her how her "love" for him often turns physical and aggressive, so he chews on her arm, and then she screams, and then I say, "If you put your hands in his mouth, he will bite you."  And no one is happy with my response, least of all Laci, but it usually distracts her long enough that she stops putting her hands in his mouth and he stops biting her and we move on to the next child/dog argument.

***

And, since I always have a hard time ending posts, especially long, rambling ones like this one, I'll just borrow the words of Forrest Gump:

"That's all I have to say, about that."

The End.

my little girl

It's been ten whole days since I've sat at my computer.  Well, except for one day last week when I was forced to pay bills, but that doesn't count.  Life is just flying by, I can barely keep up.  The holiday, family time, house building, excruciating heat...all combined to keep me from having any quiet, peaceful, climate controlled time to myself for over a week.  But I have time now...maybe even more than a minute...and I'm taking full advantage of the opportunity.

This time, it's an opportunity to show off my little girl.  Who is growing up so fast.  Who brings me so much joy and so much exasperation, sometimes at the same time.  Who is independent, feisty, sweet, funny, smart, and sometimes mean.

She'll be a big sister soon.  It's hard to believe when she is still such a baby herself.  I know it will be the best thing to happen in her little world, even though I'm sure she won't agree at first.  We talk about "baby sister" in my tummy all the time.  She pats my tummy, gives it hugs and kisses, and plays with my belly button (which is a little weird).  Sometimes when I ask her where her baby sister is, she pats her own tummy, then laughs because she knows she's just being silly.  And even through all the talking about baby sister in my tummy and coming out to play, I know she has absolutely no clue what is about to happen.  No clue at all.  It will be an interesting adjustment time for us all.

She's trying her best to talk more.  Her vocabulary gets bigger everyday, although it still sounds like gibberish to the untrained ear.  Even to my trained ear, I often find myself looking at her with a blank stare wondering, "What on earth do you want?" when she thinks she's clearly stated her needs.

Her birthday is over a month away, but the "terrible two's" have been alive and well in our house for months now.  Despite her age, she is two in every way, complete with tantrums, defiance, and a giant attitude.  She tests my limits multiple times per day and thinks it's hilarious when I get angry.  When she glares at me (which happens often on bad days), I can't help but see a little mirror image of the angry face I must be making back at her.

Nearly every night, just as we have since she was born, we snuggle in the brown rocking chair.  She drinks her sippy of milk, and I sing a few songs in a voice that only she can appreciate.  Then, I am able push aside all my frustrations from the day, smell her clean hair, and stroke her soft skin.  My lap is getting smaller by the day, and depending on how baby sister is positioned at the time, rocking is easier some nights than others.  But the past few nights, I've really be cherishing our quiet time together in the dark, knowing that our moments together like that won't be as frequent once sister arrives.

You'd never tell it from these pictures, but she's a big ham...always looking for some attention and a laugh from her audience.  Her personality grows everyday.  Such a big personality in a tiny, little package means there is rarely a dull moment in her presence.

She made me a mama, although she prefers to just call me "mom," or more accurately, "Mom!"  Yes, most often, my name is being called loudly, but she is part Silva and frankly, everything a Silva says is spoken loudly, so I'm sure she can't help it.  She challenges me daily to be the mom she needs me to be, and I really try my best, hoping that I'm doing enough, that I'm patient enough, that I have it in me to take care of two fragile little beings when one is sometimes enough to make me crazy.

And if you can't tell, I'm totally smitten with her, and so is her dad, and her grandparents, and her aunties, and well, pretty much everyone she meets.  You just can't help it.