New house is stinky

So we hear “new house is stinky” about 10x a day.  A few weeks ago when they were staining some of the woodwork we brought the boys in and ended up keeping them outside most the time because of the fumes and now that’s about all they say.  It was funny because that night I had Dylan in my car and Keith had Carter in his truck and Dylan started telling me the new house was stinky, then I was talking on the phone with Keith and told him what Dylan had said and then about five minutes later Carter was saying the same thing – I guess they think alike!  Anyhow, it hasn’t dropped.  Some mornings when we go to get them out of bed, the first thing they will say is new house is stinky, even when I got home from work, that was the first thing Dylan told me.  Hopefully I will be able to convince them to move in!

We are on the home stretch!  Between now and next Tuesday the wood floor and carpet will be installed, deck built, exterior painted, knobs and handles on, mirrors hung and random other touch-ups throughout!  WOO-HOO!!!  We are planning for final walk-through with the builder / realtors on Tuesday, then closing on Thursday.  We will have our items that are in long-term storage delivered on Monday.  I’m so excited to reunite with my belongings, especially my tub of summer clothes.  I can’t even remember what all we have for decorative items.  I’m planning a slow unpacking, decorating process.  We will be living here for a long time, so I’m not going to stress about having everything perfect and complete within the first few weeks.  Though that would be nice, but we will survive without curtains and things like that.

I haven’t been doing a very good job about posting pics on here, I have been keeping a progress album on facebook – not sure if this will work for everyone, but I will try.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100111862583450.2526504.1690945

Carter Benjamin

Carter definitely carries the for the two.  He is ALWAYS singing.  Usually he is singing either ABC’s, Wheels on the Bus or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or a combination of all three.  Sometimes it is more of a chant. Every night we hear him singing through the monitor. 

I LOVE how passionate he is about his trains lately.  To say he liked Thomas would be an understatement.  Yesterday I heard him say “Thomas, where are you”.  This weekend I was trying to get him to fall asleep on the couch with me, he got up, brought in a few trains and laid them on their sides so they could go to sleep too.  Then all parents who have seen far too much Thomas might appreciate this one.  He said,”Mom, cinders and ashes, cinders and ashes”, then he showed me all of his trains in a pile.  He is also saying, “Mom, I need my troublesome trucks”. 

It’s amazing how much they think about now and put two and two together.  Keith took them to this Kid’s Fest and they planted these flowers in a solo cup and they gave them to me.  Then Carter was trying to pour water into it and he told mom it was thirsty and he needed to give it water to grow.  Then they both had brought these to me in bed and they were sitting by our bed.  A few days later I told them we were going to get flowers to bring to my grandma’s grave.  Well about 10 minutes later Carter walks into the kitchen with his cup with the flower.  So sweet!

We finally got him wearing his new shoes!!  FINALLY- his toes were practically coming out of the holes in his old ones. 

This kid LOVES to be outside!  He is also still a big fan of waffles, colored Cheerios, blue blanky, bubble beards, dumping out laundry,  popsicles – Dylan doesn’t like them that much and Carter is always trying to get one for him and make him eat it.

Carter does not like getting up in the morning.  He’ll turn over and say, still sleepy! 

This one is a talker, talking non-stop sometimes.  And very loud at times.  His voice has also gotten a bit on the raspy side.  He is probably a bit mouthier of the two – he’ll yell back no, mommy, NOT doing….whatever I might be asking.  Sometimes I will roll the windows up and down to entertain them and I won't even have his down and he will say I don't want my window down.  One day Dylan was saying I want to play baseball, Carter, I don't want to play baseball.  I don't want to go to school.  All the time!  

Carter is a big fan of his cousin Cade, he copies about everything he does.

Carter gives me pretty good kisses too, I will go to give him a night hug and he will pull my head down and give me a big kiss!

Carter will still randomly call his daddy, Keith.  Tonight he said, Keef, get me milk.  (yes, they are both a bit on the demanding side)

Dylan Tyler

Dylan sitting on the front step cleaning the mud off his shoe:)  This is what I mean by the little Danny Tanner.

I think Dylan is forever going to be a total momma’s boy.  No complaints hereJ

Dylan at times can be the more difficult of the two, but so darn sweet at times too.  He just has this little Mother Goose thing about him.  Sometimes if I am holding him and my hair is in my face he’ll push it to the side.  I would say both are always thinking of each other and if they want anything like a cup of water, they get one for their brother.  But Dylan is always looking out for everyone bringing things to people. 

Dylan does this random thing probably four nights a week and when they are in bed we will hear him at the door, saying mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy (usually Keith or mom go to the door), followed by a DADDY!  And he’ll just hand them something and run back into bed.  Usually it will be a shirt or a sippy or something that is typically in their room.  Last night was a first – a buger.

Dylan always gives me really good hugs and kisses at bedtime. Though tonight he started jumping on the bed saying monkeys in bed

I was so proud of Dylan for doing such a great job giving up his paci, he has barely asked about it and if he does, I tell him we gave it to Cade and he is totally fine with that. 

Dylan is total Danny Tanner - or if you weren't a big Full House fan, I'm saying he likes things neat!   I don’t know where it comes from.  Many people think Carter is a bit more like me and Dylan is a bit more like Keith, but Keith’s parent’s say that he was more like Carter and not really orderly like Dylan.  So it’s a mystery!  The kid loves playing with hangers (plastic of course) and will even hang shirts on hangers for me - and honestly seems to enjoy it!  It’s funny, he really likes things a certain way or if you did something one way, that’s how we do it for now on.  One day he was throwing a fit and a drawer was left open, he stopped, shut the drawer and then continued on with the fit.  He always has to shut the DVD players off in the car.

Dylan is SUCH A HELPER!!!  Anytime if you ask him if he wants to help or you need his help, he peps right up!  Tonight he loaded the entire washer.

Dylan loves breakfast bars, his sunglasses, he wears these all the time and it ALWAYS makes me smile!

They are so funny to the words they attach to - lately at bath time if Carter tries to mess with the faucet, he will say that's mommy and daddy's job, not Carter Dylans.  Or one night we were working on full names and he kept saying Daddy Bormann Keith.

This kid has amazing self-control (at times) - about every morning he gets baggies out so they can have a snack in the car and Carter will eat his entire bag in about two minutes and Dylan will hold his bag - even marshmallows and keep it closed until he gets to daycare and will eat it there.  He even tells Carter not to eat his. Of course then he has to share a few with Carter, since he usually forgets he gobbled up a bag about 20 minutes earlier.  And Dylan is always really nice about it and shares with him!    

What to Expect the Second Year Giveaway

Sometimes I'll have first-time expectant mom's ask me any last minute tips before the baby arrives.  And I always tell them to read a book that talks about taking care of the baby and helping you get a little sleep.  When I was pregnant I was so into reading books and websites about the babies progress, which is a lot of fun and super helpful as we experience all kinds of new and unexpected things as we are expecting.  However, it's so easy to read so much these months and read little about the hard part- what to do when they send you home from the hospital with this fragile little baby.  I was on bedrest my last few weeks of pregnancy and my husband insisted that maybe I should read a couple of those books and after the boys arrived I was sure glad I had!  Because those first weeks after you have a baby, the last thing you have time for is reading!!  

We really enjoyed, What to Expect the First Year too because it outlines all the milestones to watch for and to work with you kids on as well as reminds you of all those things you should be worried about - like when you are analyzing all those dirty diapers those first few months.  I definitely reached for that book at many times to relieve or confirm any concerns.  

So now for all of you, something fun, I never do - A GIVEAWAY!

I have What to Expect the Second Year books to giveaway.  

Here are the Rules: 

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (3) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.
You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected. 

Four out of Seven

House Happenings

Making major progress!  So far all the woodwork is now painted or stained and the walls have been painted.  They are finished, but it's coming a long.  This week will be a fun week because the counter tops are scheduled for Tuesday, the faucets will be in, and most of the tile will be installed.  We had a major tile hang-up because the stuff I want is on back order, so some won't be installed until August.  I picked out the exterior colors yesterday and I think that was one of my last big decisions! 

This week has been filled with lawn drama!  Keith's been working on installing an irrigation system all weekend.  That's been a lot of drama in the happenings with having all the pieces in place to make it happen, but it is close to being done now.  THANK YOU to all those who gave up their weekend to help!

So behind on blogging

Here are a few pics of the boys from the party at the lake.  They seemed to think it was a pretty cool place to hang out, so I think we will be back sometime this summer!

Here is the pic from the Hog Roast, like I said - looks like a grave!  I'm sure the neighbors won't want to do anything to irritate Dave. 

SUMMER

2 (2 1/2) year pics

We finally got the boys 2 year pics done.  Two girls I work with have a photography business.

Here are a few pics...

I

If you want to see more, here is the site: 
1. Go to www.elphotodesign.com 
2. Click on the “proofing” link in the menu
3. Click on the “Login to proofing gallery” link
4. This will prompt you to enter your username and password (below)
Your proofs will take a few moments to load, but after that just follow the directions in the box and enjoy your photos! Feel free to share them with whomever you choose.

Name: Bormann
Password: Family4

I forgot....

In the mix of a crazy weekend, Saturday was our six year anniversary.  We didn't really do much to celebrate!  Every year we try and watch our wedding video, we didn't even get around to doing that.  I did tell Keith I got him a pretty good present this year, a new house:)  We'll see how many events that will work for! 

Here are a few pics I pulled from the Big Day archive.

Too bad we aren't on our way to St. Lucia right now! 

Party Animals

Another busy summer weekend!  Hopefully this pace slows down soon because I am EXHAUSTED!!  Actually it was a pretty darn busy week.  Friday I ran several errands after work, then we went to Sarah and Adam's house for a surprise 21st birthday party for Uncle Nick.  We grilled out and stayed the night.  We had big plans for bags and beer pong; however, being we are no longer that college age, we had two major fails!  Fail one:  Keith and I brought our boards, completely forgot the bags! Fail 2:  Sarah and Brittney either forgot or couldn't find ping pong balls.  We did manage to get a few rounds of flippy cup in though. 
Saturday morning we went to Polk City to show Keith's family the house, since they haven't seen it since pre-framing.  After looking at the house, we had lunch at Granite city, then back to Norwalk to play at a park and an attempt for naps.  While Keith was working on the boys sleeping, I went to Lowe's, the mall and a few other stops.  Then we went back to Polk City (and if you are wondering, no these places are not 10 minutes apart, more like 30ish), and met my parents at the house to show it to my dad for the first time!  Then all of us went to Saylorville Lake, which is a few minutes from our new house, for a surprise 50th birthday party for my sister's boyfriend, Mark.  We didn't stay too long since we don't really trust the boys around water too much and the doc was a little tight with all the people.  We have plans to visit much more often once we move. 
But the partying wasn't over, we ended up stopping at Famous Fest in Ankeny.  A friend from college, known as "Famous Dave" has Famous Fest every summer and actually roasts a hog in his backyard.  I will post a pic later, literally looks like he dug a grave in the middle of his backyard.  The boys had a pretty good time at this party and by 9:30 they were getting a little nutty and a bit delirious, so we headed home. 
Today everyone was exhausted - except, Dylan who was ready to go at 6:30.  I got up with him, while Keith got a few extra Z's and Carter slept until almost 8:30... that NEVER happens!  At about 10 we were back in the car for a play date in Ankeny with our friends Eric, Heather and their daughter.  We played at the park and ate lunch, then it was time to get crabby and crabbier in the car and back home.  They opted not to nap today, so it's been a rough Sunday! 
Not ready to start the week!  I have a big project that is due this week, so I think it will be a few late nights for this girl, starting as soon as this post is complete. 

Less than 40 days!

We should be in our new house in less than 40 days!! So I decided, it’s close enough and time to start packing! Mostly, I really just wanted to move a lot of sweaters and winter clothes out of the way!

I thought about getting boxes but decided to go with an express packing system instead! Most of my moves usually end in last minute garbage bag packing, which usually results in the worst unpacking. I recall unloading a garbage bag in our old house that had some kitchen utensils, a couple of shirts, a couple of picture frames, a power strip and a few other random odds and ends left at our apartment. At least I labeled them, right?  Anyway, I think it will work for now!

Thinking about this great lady today

Seven years ago today my Grandma Kalma passed away.  It is hard to believe it has been that long since we have gotten to see her.  We sure miss Grandpa too! 

She loved all of her grandchildren and would have loved to have met Cade, Dylan, Carter and Alec!  Probably laugh at all the boys.

We made a trip to Newton today so the boys could put some flowers on their grave. 

It's official...

Now almost all the furniture in our house is dark!  Despite the dust it collects, I LOVE dark furniture!   Hopefully it stays in style. 

I was planning on building this box and getting the boys beds with drawers under them.  Then this weekend I was at Homemakers and saw these bunk beds.  The price was great and we will have more flexibility if they are still in the same room in a couple of years.  I did like having the extra storage with drawers, but the beds I was going to buy weren't great quality, so I'm not sure how usable the drawers would have been.  I'm curious what the boys will think of the new beds, I hope they like them!  They would be really happy if they were bunk beds, but I am certain they would jump off the top. 

I also got two night stands and a dresser for our room.  They probably won't deliver until early August, so I will post some pics when they arrive.  When we moved into our first one-bedroom apartment in New Jersey, we made our first trip to Ikea and bought a couple of dressers.  They have worked out pretty well and survived 6 years and this will be their fourth home.  However, the best secret behind Ikea furniture....don't move it!  Provided it's still doing well in storage and makes it to our new home, the old dressers will go into our guest room.  Keith is working on building the new headboard right now!