Last year, we hired Mow Cow to build a fence in the backyard. They did and after lots of problems dealing with their company (DONT' HIRE MOW COW!!), we got ourselves a fence. They didn't have to build the entire fence because we already had some panels in between our house and our neighbors on both sides - they just connected the dots for us. Well, it turns out those side fences were just a big pile of rotted wood so Mr. Long Fence aka Ed decided to replace them.
My hubby is a handy guy, but he has never built a fence before. I was skeptical, but he proved me wrong - 100%!! To prepare, he spent lots of time scouring the Internet for "how to" articles and You Tube videos. He made sure he had the right equipment (circular saw, nail gun, C clamps, a triangular ruler thing and a step stool which he used as a saw horse), sourced the materials which proved to be a chore (french gothic pickets, nails, string), and got to work.
The old panels came out really easily...look how rotted the were!
So it was out with the old...
... and in with the new!
Ed did such an AMAZING job and he really enjoyed doing it. It was a beautiful day, he was rocking out to great music and he had his favorite foreman on the job with him.
Actually...it was a hot, steamy, balmy day filled with frizzy hair and sweaty clothes but that didn't seem to stop the buyers! Every year, the Quartuccio's get together to clear out the junk sellable items and make some cash. Since it was James' first yard sale-ing experience, we thought we would share it with you lovely people.
The morning started with 2 ladies bickering over some costume jewelry (Mom had to kick them out) and a theft (someone swiped a $2 bill from the garage), but luckily things went uphill from there. We didn't have any huge items for sale, but there was some good stuff - kitchen gear, lots of clothes, Dad's unique items and knick knacks galore. I think the best items we had were bunches of fresh rosemary from Mom's and Dad's huge rosemary bush.
There was a steady stream of people in the early hours and then it died down - big time, but luckily we saw a surge in the later hours. James was a big hit - as was Lucy. We had many offers on both of them. :)
All in all, we did really well. We made a little over $400 which now happily sits in James' savings account. James counted the cash which you would think would be difficult for a 6 month old, but with his old man hat and his Journal of Accounting, he made it look easy. :)
How did that happen? We can't believe that we are at the half way mark of James' first year. What a long way we have come. A what a cutie we have on our hands!!
Milestone Update:
James officially has 2 teeth! Last month they were breaking through and this month, his bottom 2 teeth are in. And if it's possible, he looks even more adorable than he did.
He is now able to get on his knees and rock back and forth which means that crawling is around the corner. Time to start baby proofing!
Mr. Chatty Cathy has a TON to say these days. It's ooohhh this and ahhhh that and la la la la la!
It seems we have a bit of a diva on our hands because when you take a toy away from him or stop him from splashing in the tub he has a full on fit. Hopefully this milestone doesn't stick or the terrible two's are going to be tough!
We hit another major milestone over the weekend ~ they seem to keep on coming these days! Since our little man is now rolling all over the place and actually getting on his knees (time to start baby proofing!), we decided it was time to lower the mattress level in his crib.
Before:
After:
Okay...I realize it is impossible to see the difference from those photos, but I swear, we lowered the mattress. Maybe this helps:
No? Well, I have one more where you can see snippets of James above the breathable bumper and that the crib skirt is now shorter:
Well...I tried. James is a fan of his new set-up but Mommy is having a hard time reaching him for his goodnight kiss. Soon enough he is going to learn how to sit on his own, then crawl, then stand and before we know it, he'll be running around. They grow up so fast!!
Since writing the title of this post, this song has been in my head so I thought I would share the wealth and put it into your head too. You're welcome! :)
Since James is approaching 6 months, he is no longer taking baths on the kitchen counter in his Fisher-Price Rainforest bathtub. He has graduated to the big boy tub upstairs, and with the help of Daddy, he gets cleaned every night as part of our bed time ritual.
So a typical weeknight goes something like this:
5:30 pm: Pick up the big guy from daycare
6:00 pm: Dinner of oatmeal, a veggie (peas, carrots or sweet potatoes) and fruit for dessert
6:30 pm: Playtime with Mommy and Daddy on his play mat or in his Jumperoo or ExerSaucer
7:00 pm: Rubbing of the eyes cues that it is time for a bath!!
We try to sneak a grown up dinner in there somewhere, but once those eyes are rubbed, we know we really only have 20 - 30 minutes before we lose him so we start our night time ritual with a bath. James plays hard at daycare so we think it is important to clean off all the germs each night. We set up the tub with the necessities - Moby spout cover, turtle thermometer, bucket of toys, Aveeno wash and natural sponge and the ever important hoodie towel. His current favs - his elephant towel with his name on the back (thank you Aunt Marissa!) and his froggie towel.
So James and Ed (who is in a bathing suit) hop in the tub and begin Operation: Clean the Bubby. We clean the belly and the toes and the hands and the tooshie. The face and neck are next with a separate washcloth and then it's time for the hair. This kid has a lot of hair these days and it typically has lots of oatmeal in it so Ed goes to town. James is not a big fan of this part, but he deals.
In between all of this, he splashes. And splashes and splashes and splashes!! Ed taught him how to splash and now he LOVES to splash from the moment he gets in the tub to the moment we take him out. When Ed stops the splashing to wash his face or hair, he actually gets upsets and starts crying. Such a diva!
Once the bath is over, Mommy takes over. We go into the nursery where we have his favorite tunes playing (Jewel, Lisa Loeb and Jack Johnson are current favs on the playlist) and the lighting is dimmed. We dry off, diaper up and get a rub down with some lotion. After dressing in his footie jammies and combing the hair into a proper quaff, it is time to head to the glider for the last bottle of the night, a story from one of his many books and a good night kiss from Mom.
By 8 pm this kid is in his crib, zipped in his sleep sack and ready for bed. I don't want to jinx anything by typing this out loud, but he typically falls asleep within minutes without any fussing. I think he is so stimulated at daycare that he is totally beat and ready for bed. And again, I hope I don't jinx us by typing this, but we are getting between 9 and 11 straight hours of sleep out of him. A big change from the 2 to 3 hours for those first few months. :)
So there you have it. We anticipate that bath time will soon change again once he learns how to sit up on his own, but until then, bath time serves not only as a nightly ritual, but as bonding time for all of us.
Three years ago today we changed our lives forever - in the BEST way possible!!! It's been 3 years since we brought our adorable little Lucy home and we have loved every minute of it. Well, almost every minute - those first months were tough! :) But we made it through and we love her more for it.
Lucy has taught us so much over these 3 years. Heck - she trained us on what life would be like with a newborn and for that, we will forever be in her debt. We've watched her grow into the sweet girl that she is today...but don't be fooled by that cute mug. She has sass coming out of her...well you know. :)
She has been a trooper through all of life's changes including meeting her 2 kitty cat brothers, enduring the 5+ hour car rides with Daddy from NY to VA when we were in the process of moving, living at Grandma and Grandpa Q's house for a few months, moving into a new house and getting a little brother! Through it all, she has stayed as sweet as the day we met her.
Lucy's life has been quite eventful from the day she joined our family. She has been in a cone twice and handled it like a champ...
... she put up with Mommy's antics of dressing her up...
... she played in the snow, and in the pool...
... and slept in many a locale.
And of course our crazy dog is a couch potato. She watches TV and when I say watches TV she literally stares at the TV and reacts to what is going on. As I type this, we are watching the Drew Barrymore movie about the whales and she just made a wimper when she thought the 2 whales were going to die. No joke.
One of the best things about Lucy is that she loves life and loves to enjoy it. Playing is her most favorite thing - especially with Daddy.
We love her to death and thank God everyday that she is a party of our family. We love you Lucy - Happy 3rd Anniversary!!!
Since yesterday was a yucky, rainy day and I was laid up nursing my pneumonia (yuk btw!), we thought it might be a good day for James to explore his inner cool guy. We already know he is a cutie pie and he sometimes displays some attitude, but now we have locked up the cool factor. How, you ask? Well, put a Batman onesie and some sunglasses on an adorable face and the cool just BURSTS out! :)
