Things that make you go huh...

My friend Kirsten lent me this "Bumbo" chair to use (for the Baby)...
Benjamin found it this morning and discovered a whole world of entertainment when he stripped off his pants to sit in the chair...
Boys will be boys...

Edisto Island

I was lucky enough to go on a short get-away to Edisto Island, South Carolina this past weekend with my mom. One of Mom's friend's has a beach house there and I went for 3+ days. It was absolutely beautiful and just what I needed. I read, ate, knitted, walked the beach, and slept. Of course I missed my boys and was happy to get back home, but it was a really great get-away (thanks, Mum!!)...
The second picture is of me sitting on the beach, watching the sunrise...

Renovations

These two pics show the new dining/living area. The orange half-wall and yellow walls are the kitchen...

Benny loving his baby brother or sister

Jay caught a great scene of Ben giving his baby brother or sister a kiss...
He's gonna be the best big brother ever! ;)

My Little Photographer

Pretty serious about taking a photo of his Mum. Check out the tongue. That's his usual expression when he's really concentrating.

Annual Table Rock Hike w/Pops

Here we are! We made it another year-- not bad for a 35 year old pregnant woman and her Pops! Unfortunately we weren't able to eat our traditional lunch at the Sunday River Brew Pub, but had good pizza at Pat's before heading back home. We had some nice yellow foliage during the hike, and a really beautiful variety of colors on our drive to Grafton Notch.

Entryway/Mudroom/Living Room

Jay has been working very hard at getting our hardwood flooring in. It's beautiful & he's making progress daily. The entryway tile is down and painted. Our 'tile guy' is working on tiling the shower and walls in the bathroom (right off the entryway-- to the left when looking at the inside of the door) and we hope to have a functioning bathroom and kitchen at the beginning of next week. In the meantime, we've moved back into the barn as the mice and cold invaded at Cabin 1 & it was time. We still need to officially clean Cabin 1 and shut it down, but that's planned for tomorrow & this weekend. Sigh, end of the season is upon us. We're basically sleeping and hanging out in the barn and using Grammy & Grampy Simpson's house next door for bathroom facilities and to cook our meals. It's just been a few days and so far, so good! ;-P

Helping with the painting

Our little artist has been quite a helper with the painting. He loves to spend time in Cedar Terrace. This morning we cleaned out Ben's bedroom (a lot of 'stuff' ended up in there during this whole process, since his room was one of only 2 that didn't have major work done to it!). Then he helped Pops paint in the basement, and helped Grammie rake leaves. Skipped a nap and everything...

A Fall Ride

B is enjoying his bike, even in this cooler weather...

2 Years Ago

It's always fun to look back-- here's a photo from apple picking 2 years ago...
Hard to believe how much changes in a two-year time period.

Eighteen (+) weeks and all is well with pregnancy #2. The first 10 or so weeks were tough, but I've been feeling great lately. I have an ultrasound scheduled on Columbus Day and, NO, we are NOT finding out Baby's gender... :) It was a fun surprise the first time around, so we're going for it again.
I'm getting my prenatal care at Central Maine Medical Center again this time around. Unfortunately, due to the Cesarean Birth with Ben, I am not able to have prenatal care with my midwife. She did recommend a wonderful OBGYN whom I think is a great fit. We're preparing to go for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), so wish us luck. (Sorry if that's TMI for some of you...) We really wanted a to go that route the first time around, so we'll attempt it again. Luckily, CMMC is one of the two (I believe) hospitals in the state that offer that choice.
Sorry for the grainy self-portrait; it's the best I could come up with. :)

Making Cookies

Ben was a big help making some sugar cookies (using the Maple Leaf cookie cutter that was part of the wedding favor from cousin Kirsten's wedding).

Marley Cat

She has a sweet face, no? She really IS a doll. However, I've forgotten what night/early morning creatures those felines are. She apparently needs to dig in her litter box several times for several minutes during the night which, in Cabin 1, is VERY noisy. After the digging she likes to tear out of the litter box and race across the linoleum kitchen floor with her little claws digging in the whole way. Oh, and scratching on the furniture- I'd forgotten about that too.

We're getting there...

The drywall is going up- here's a view of our bedroom after the first day. Jay worked really hard to get some insulation in between walls before having the drywall hung. They've been working this weekend to get things put together...

We have a front door now! (Technically, depending on who you ask, it's the 'back' door as the 'front' of our house faces the lake.) Isn't the door & entryway beautiful?
Perhaps we won't have Typar siding forever... perhaps we will. Who really cares at this point-- I just want IN!!!!

The mason who did the pillars at the entryway is also doing a couple of retaining walls for us. i think he does beautiful work.

Scenes from Cabin 1

OK, so as excited as I am to get into our house, it's been really cool to catch glimpses of stuff like this from Cabin 1 (which has a slightly lower and less-obstructed view of the lake). The sunsets have been really amazing lately, and the early morning social activity of the fake owl on the Genoter's float had me laughing out loud several times. He was a very popular owl out there with the lake birds!

Ben's Birthday Party

We had a very nice day for B's birthday party (back in August!). He was loving being the center of attention, and got lots of nice gifts-- thanks to everyone!!! All he said he wanted for his birthday (besides a dump truck) was chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream. Of course, that's what he got. B and his cousins spent some quality time sweeping the barn after the festivities. Ben got a couple of brooms from Grammy Simpson for his birthday (the first thing he picked out at the store), and they were a huge hit. :)

A few pics from inside

It's hard to describe what's happening in these pictures, but we've lost a wall and gained two sets of stairs. The half-wall in the middle of the room is where our bar in the kitchen will be, and sort-of defines the edge of the kitchen. It's a much more open concept, and we have MANY windows for great views of the lake...

5 Islands

We had a great day at 5 Islands yesterday-- it was great to see everyone! Ben loved meeting his cousin Andrew and did some good practicing for being a big brother. Stan taught Ben all about the lobsters, though Ben (luckily) disappeared when it was time to throw them in the pot. Besides the mosquitoes, it was a perfect day & it was really nice to see everyone. See you all again in a few weeks!!!

Chocolate Boy

Happy Face after a Fudgecicle;

Ice Cream with Rainbow Sprinkles at Tubby's;

Chocolate Chip Cookies at Nazinscot Farm w/Daddy....

= Happy Boy!

inside

A view from our new master bedroom window...
The downstairs addition: mudroom/bathroom/closet space.