Robert at the park.... sooo much fun!

Robert

Haven't had one of these for awhile...

Sided and Stoned

We were at the house today... siding and stone work are complete. Inside is taped and spackled, and ready to be painted this week. The banisters, cabinets, and fixtures will be installed soon, as well. Sidewalk is poured and the walkway (leading from front door to garage) will be poured too. Everything is coming together very quickly... it won't be long before we're in!

interior: view to Family Room, take from kitchen

Changes are everywhere!

Sorry folks... no new pics of the house. We went by on Sunday. The interior was completely drywalled and the siding on the exterior was completely up. We'll take some pics next time we go by. We are really starting to count down... it's getting so close!

Meanwhile, we haven't had any bites on our current home. We had an open house on Sunday. We are really trying to get it rented through the winter. That will, at least, defer some of expenses. We are not looking forward to having 2 mortgages. ugh.

I have started a new job. Same company, new location. I LOVE it. So much so that I may consider going back to full time through the winter. I am working with an old co-worker (whom I adore) which makes it fun. I will talk to my supervisor about full time opportunities once we get settled in the new house. I'd like to help out financially as much as possible as long as we have 2 mortgages. ugh again.

In other news.... Robert is going to be a BIG BROTHER! We found out in July that Tiny Trif will be arriving in March - actually the same date that Robert was due.... March 21st. I have been feeling okay. I have a day here or there that I feel absolutely awful, but 80% of the time I am feeling good. Everyone says "New House, New Baby"

So, thats all from us this week. I'll post pics of the house as soon as I can. We are scheduled to close on September 15th! yikes!

Time Lapse...17 Days!!

July 16, 2006













July 20, 2006















July 21, 2006















July 21, 2006















August 2, 2006

Framing Walk-thru

This morning we had our "Framing Walk-thru." We needed to confirm that all electrical outlets and such were properly placed before the drywall goes up. We expect that soon we will be seeing some exterior changes (stone and siding).

We've been framed!

Front of house
View of back of house
Side entry garage! Taken from end of driveway. To the right is the family room and above that is the master bdrm.

These pics were taken on Friday 7-21. I did a drive by on Monday and was pleased to see the roof being built. Hopefully I will make a trip there again this weekend to see what kind of progress has been made. Enjoy!

Basement and Wood Drop

This past week, the foundation and basement were poured and our wood has been delivered (in the building world it is referred to as the 'wood drop') It appears that we are next in line for framing. Based on the looks of the other houses going up, framing takes about a week.

here is a link to some more (better) pics that I didn't even know that Bobby took!
I hope it works!
New House

some progress... finally!

One of the moms from my class at the daycare lives right up the road from our new development. (in fact she is the one who told us about the development in the first place) She has been asking me for weeks which lot is ours and telling me she was going to go check it out. She was there last week when it was just a hole, and today she told me that she drove by yesterday and the foundation is ready to be poured!
I will probably head down there this weekend to take some pictures.

I have been working a ton this week and have hardly had a chance to sit still. Now, all i want to do is sleep, and I just can't! Insomnia. blah!

We have a hole!

Ground was broken on our new house this week! It was pouring rain when we went to see the lot today. We were excited to see the bulldozer and then... A HOLE! Footers and foundation will likely be poured this week. Progress will be made quickly.
Pictures will most likely follow weekly from this point on... yay!
(top pics: taken from street - facing front of house. bottom pics: taken from back rt corner of 'house' - small raised section will be the garage)

Just a few pics of Robert playing outside - Friday, June 9th, 2006.

Robert likes to take things out of where they belong. Plates and bowls from his drawer or in this case all the wipes from the wipe case! 

Future Penn Stater

We returned to PSU this weekend for Robert's Aunt Stefanie's graduation. We were anxious for two things... Robert's first picture with the Nittany Lion and his first taste of Creamery ice cream. He already has Lion Pride... can't you tell?
Assuming Robert finishes college on a 4-year plan, he will be PSU class of 2027.
(Robert may go to any college of his choice, but we will strongly encourage him to chose PSU!)

2230 Evening Sun Road

This is lot 23... at Eagle's Landing. The lot where we will be building our future home. We have made a settlement date of August 31st. The front of our house will face the road with the yellow lines (its not really a main road - but a main thoroughfare through the development) And our driveway will actually be on Evening Sun Road, just across from the white truck seen in the second picture.

The top picture is a model home... the same style we are building, except we will have a wrap around porch on the left and a stone front instead of brick. We will post more pictures as the project develops. We hope to break land by next week!

It's official... our house is on the market! I'm sad, but excited. We are going to build a new house in Nazareth, PA - about 30 miles south of where we are now. We'll have a sidewalk and a driveway and our own mailbox! I will continue to work, and Bobby's commute will be about the same as it is now.

Oh, and our new house will have 4 bedrooms. Guess that means we have to have more babies! haha - maybe next year!

Here is a link to the builder...
click on Eagle's Landing (on the left) We are building the Courtland model in the Country design

Happy Easter!

Even tho he is already one, this is Robert's first Easter! Happy Easter, everyone!

Ferberize, Ferberize, Ferberize

At this time last week, we were at our wits end! Robert would NOT fall asleep unless we stayed in his room with him - right next to the crib, usually patting his back. He was waking up 2-3 times during the night, which means so were we. We were miserable and would fight over whose turn it was to go get Robert at 2, 3 or 4 am.
Those days are GONE! We started to use the Ferber Method last week. Robert was at the prefect age for it. On Wednesday night, we had our usual bedtime routine. Then, I put him in his crib, turned on the music, bid him goodnight, and made my escape. He cried. And cried, and cried. I cried too. After five minutes, I went in quicky to console him, and left again. He cried more. His arms were reaching out to me as he stood in his crib and I left the room. I waited 10 minutes again before going to console him. Then 15, then 20. I think by 30 minutes, Robert had put himself to sleep. AND he slept through the night!!!
Thursday night was easier. Robert took about 15 minutes to fall asleep. Friday night it was 7 minutes, and by Monday, he didn't even cry when I left the room.
He has now learned to put himself to sleep, and even if he wakes up during the night (which has happened twice) He calms himself and goes back to sleep.
We are ALL sleeping better now. I am feeling so rested. And I am so proud of my little boy for being independent and adapting to this new routine.

Another parenting feat... accomplished!

Time Flies!

(Top) Oliver and Robert April 2, 2005 (Robert is 5 days old, Oliver is 2 days shy of 11 months)

(Bottom) Oliver and Robert April 2, 2006 (Robert just turned 1, Oliver will be 2 in 6 weeks)

First Birthday... a success!

We had a very busy, but exciting day today! Robert enjoyed cupcakes (two of them!) at school and pizza and ice cream cake this evening. He loved his presents, too. He finally passed out just after nine pm. Here are just a few pics from today. (These are all at home - the first one is this morning before school)

Birthday Blues

Tomorrow is Robert's FIRST BIRTHDAY! I am so excited, but so sad at the same time! I can't believe how fast this year has flown by, and how big my little boy has become.
Today we made cupcakes for school tomorrow. Robert will have ice cream cake after dinner tomorrow. The party will be on Saturday, and we are especially excited to have Uncle Rob and Aunt Germaine visit from Pittsburg and Aunt Julie, Uncle Howard and Oliver visit from Boston. Robert and Oliver are buddies.
Here is a pic of Robert helping me frost the cupcakes. (Thank goodness there are no more Monday pics to take... it was getting very stressful!)