Staying Cool

It was in the high 90's here yesterday so we hung out in Meadow's new pool a bunch yesterday. It was very refreshing. The tree that is bent over actually can have water spray out of it. When she is a little older she will love running through that.



We also went down to our beach in front of our house. It was so nice to be able to take some time and relax by the river. I can't remember the last time I just wore my swimsuit most of the day.

This movie is toooooooo cute.

Introducing My First Video Post

I can't believe how easy it is to post these videos. Now you will be able to see some great action shots of Meadow. She was having a great time with dad the other day.

Finished!

Todd and I worked hard yesterday to finish our side yard project while Meadow was at the babysitter. Props to Kari for being such a great sitter and allowing Todd and I some one on one time. It will be nice to be able to get back to our regular date day instead of working on the house. Yesterday, we both worked on shoveling cedar chips and moving the chips from our driveway to the side yard. We also both stained our privacy fence and Todd did a great job on moving some rock and building the little wall between the hot tub and the play area. We are happy to be pretty much done with this project. All that is left to do is to stain the picket fence and find some play equipment. Here are a few pictures of the project.

We also put a gate between the house and the garage just to have more containment. The only open area is on to the deck. We are hoping the gates and fence will put our minds at ease and keep Meadow from getting into too much mischief. She is so fast now that she can walk.

Meadow loves to play outside with the pine needles. She was putting them in this little bucket.

Enjoying the new play area

Picture from the back

Awesome rock wall and picket fence Todd built

Back wall and gate. I love how the stain turned out Gate and new stairs

Stairway to the Meadow

We really love how our stairs turned out. We have some weed wacking to do in the meadow and also need to finish the picket fence, but you can get a little idea of what we have been doing on our property. Hope to post the finished side yard in a couple days. I have been enjoying being outside and working these past few weekends but unfortunately, I got really bad allergies in the process. I am still so glad I live here and feel much better since taking some good allergy medication. We have wild lillies in bloom and floxglove and a plethora of other forms of vegetation all on our hillside. Everything on the hillside is pretty much native and nothing we have planted. There are a few rhodies and ferns that were planted before we bought the house. It is just amazing how much the plants love this area. I guess all the rain is worth it in the end.

A day at the park

Maddie and Meadow had a fun time at Wildwood park. Meadow was squeeling when she went down the slide. I love this picture of the two of them eating in unison from their snack traps.

Meadow just got her one year shots and was not too happy about it. She is a trooper though and got lots of hugs and kisses from mom and dad afterwards. It is so nice being able to see Todd at his work after Meadow's appointments. Also, Meadow is fully a walker now. She only walks to anything regardless of how many times she falls.

Jonah Turns 2

We went to Jonah's 2nd birthday party on Saturday. Meadow had a great time playing with all of Jonah's toys. Jonah's mom Heidi watches Meadow for me on Tuesdays so I can go to work.

The cool zoo themed cake. It had a lot of animals on it, including penguins which are Jonah's favorite animal.

Jonah had just woken up from his nap.

Meadow had also just woken up from a nap. So, her hair is a little matted. She likes to play with Jonah at the train table. Wish i had gotten a picture of them facing forward. Meadow had a cute shirt with a lion and tiger on it.

Happy Father's Day

This is a picture of our new privacy fence and soon to be Meadow's play area. We are probably going to put kid friendly bark dust down and hopefully purchase a toddler slide/playground structure. Hope to find some cool stuff on Craigslist.

We had a great time together for Father's day. The day started out a little bumpy because I woke up with a really bad sore throat but after taking some allergy medicine and sleeping for a few more hours I was much better. I cooked up a nice waffle breakfast and we got fueled up to do some fun and exciting projects outside. We are working on enclosing our side yard so that we have a safe place for Meadow to play. It is getting done slowly but surely. While my dad was here last week we got a privacy fence built and we are already enjoying it. We also had some stone steps put in that are a lot easier to manage than our previous steep rickety stairs. So, once our meadow dries out we will be using our new stairs a lot and hanging out a lot more down in the meadow and enjoying late night campfires. Today we also worked on transplanting plants to our hill from our side yard so that there will be more room for outdoor toys. Although, it was kind of a work day for Todd I think he really felt like he was a "dad" with all of the projects we accomplished. At the end of the day we had a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant "The Rendevous." Meadow was so excited about everything going on today that she could not settle down for a nap. So, we actually didn't get any pictures of us as a family because she was pretty cranky. At least we got a few of her before we left. She got to wear one of her new dresses from her birthday. Some other big news is that Meadow has taken several steps now. Every day, she takes more and more on her own. She even did a 180 today and turned to walk in a different direction. It is such an exciting time for her. We are such proud parents.

Here are a few more photos:

New Steps. The railing still needs to be completed.

Proud Papa

Pretty Meadow

Not sure if Meadow is giving this look because she is like, "why do I have to wear this dress or because she is practicing for "the look" when she is a teenager.