9 Weeks In; The Fun Begins!!!

We drove by our home site on the way to Orlando last week & again on the way home Sunday. Apparently we drove by just before the concrete truck arrived Thursday. All that we saw was the form/framing for the footer & foundation & some kind of liner laid out that the concrete gets poured over. It was still exciting to know that the concrete WAS coming and SOON!

The contractor called Friday to let us know that the foundation had been poured so we were excited to drive by again on our way home. Not only was the foundation there but some of the materials for the framing had been delivered too!

The pups first visit to their future home :)

 

 

We are super excited to see the house start to go up, much more exciting than waiting on surveys & permits while staring at an empty lot :)

30/52; Beachin' It

Project 52; Beachin' It

Working/Fun Weekend

Usually when we head down to grandma's house just outside Orlando, our visit coincides with Donna's audit schedule at work. She is part of a team that audits stations within her district to make sure they are up to par for a corporate audit. There are a number of stations in the Orlando area, so we get to visit sort of frequently, Donna doesn't have to worry about leaving us behind & missing the boys & I don't get left home alone with the boys. It works out well :)

This past Thursday & Friday Donna had an audit in Orlando, so we packed everyone up & headed to grandma's. Our plan is to not have to take the cats with us now that they have each other for company but we had to take them this time because Cecil Cat is still too young & has to be fed softened food a few times a day. So 3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats & 2 moms later, we were all loaded up & on our way...

top left Caden & Kellan, bottom left Garren, top to bottom right Eason, Murphee, Haddie & Cecil

Upon arriving grandma had just discovered her air conditioner wasn't working, it was running but the house wasn't cooling, actually it was getting warmer & warmer by the minute. Got to love a 100 degree summer day! It took a little bit of time to find an after ours air conditioning company but once we did, they were there in an hour. It was about 9pm when he finished the repair & we were all cooling off again :)

Garren & Cecil at Grandma's house

Friday morning when grandma got off work, she met me at a photo studio to attempt to get a group portrait of the boys. I'm not much of a fan of portrait studios bit the controlled environment made it so much easier to get the boys to sit together for a photo. We LOVE LOVE LOVE the photos we got of the boys for their 3rd birthday but we didn't have a group shot of just the boys & wanted one to give to all the grandparents & aunts & uncles. The photographer at the studio actually got some really great shots of the boys & even had Kellan, mr serious giggling. I was so happy with the photos we got, even with the fake background, hehe. 

Garren, Caden, Kellan

That afternoon, Aunt Pat & Aunt Ro came for a visit. They played with some very sleepy boys who went to bed late the night before & woke up early that morning. We had dinner & a really nice visit before we finally put the boys to bed a little bit early. The boys were out quickly & we were all able to enjoy desert quietly & visit some more.

Saturday the boys were up a little early again but in good spirits. We wanted to take them to splash pad but I didn't pack 'real' bathing suits & they had a pretty strict "swim shorts with liners & drawstrings, not past the knee" policy. The boys have had some pretty major chaffing from their bathing suit liners so I've been letting them swim in some mesh athletic shorts. We decided to just go get a kiddie pool for the backyard instead. Donna changed out the lighting fixtures in Marie's (grandma) bathroom for her before Aunt Pat & Aunt Ro came back over for a cookout. We had hoped our triplet BFFs from Tampa would be able to come but they couldn't make it :( So Donna grilled, while grandma set up the cold stuff inside & the boys played in the kiddie pool, showing off all their moves until it was time to eat. We relaxed & watched a movie, the boys played & snuggled with grandma, Aunt Pat & Aunt Ro who the boys have started calling Aunt Rosie (Rosemary condensed)

Garren, Kellan & Caden helping MomMom put up lights.

Caden, Kellan, Garren

Garren enjoying a chocolate "hot cake" aka cupcake

Caden's "hot cake" face

Aunt Pat & Garren

Grandma & Kellan

Kellan giving Aunt Rosie some snuggles

Aunt Rosie, Kellan, Aunt Pat & Garren

Sunday morning the boys helped Grandma make breakfast & we spent a little more time with her before packing up to head home.

Garren helping Grandma beat the eggs

Garren testing out the OJ

Kellan making sure Garren did a good job

Caden eating a morning "hot cake" with no hands

Caden with another "hot cake" face

Kellan with his morning "hot cake" mustache

It was a really nice, relaxing weekend of visiting & we all really enjoyed spending some quality time with Grandma, Aunt Pat & Aunt Rosie!!!

29/52; Patiently Waiting

Wednesday Haddie hobbled around all day, she wouldn't put any weight on her back left leg. Thursday she wasn't any better so I went ahead & called the vet. Of course the boys tagged along to get Haddie "fixed" up.

Project 52; Waiting Patiently {c,g,k}

8 Weeks In; We Have Plumbing

On our way home from Jacksonville this weekend we stopped by our lot to see what was going on with our soon to be house. We knew that our permits were finally in & that the first bit of work was finally starting. We should have weekly progress from here on out, the next 3 months will be very exciting!!!

We also noticed that they have trenches dug for the footer, so we should have a slab any day now :)

Summer Bucket List; The Zoo

Friday morning Garren woke up asking to "go to the shoe (zoo) & ride the zebra?" I didn't have anything really planned for the day, just maybe some swimming if we could dodge the thunderstorms. So I called Donna to what the earliest time she could be done for the day. She could leave right after lunchtime so the zoo became our plan giving us the opportunity to check another item off our Summer Bucket List.

It is so amazing to me that Garren even remembered this idea. The last time we were at the zoo, in April, he noticed the carousel. I told him that they could ride it the next time we went, when Donna was with us. The carousel at the zoo has zoo animals instead of houses which is where he got the idea of riding the zebra.

Garren asked all morning when we were going to the zoo & soon Caden & Kellan chimed in. 1 PM could not come fast enough! We picked Donna up at work & headed directly to the zoo.

When we arrived, we of course had to go directly to the carousel. The boys had never been on one before & their expressions showed they had no idea what was about to happen. Once the ride was over though, none of them wanted to get off! 

Kellan & Garren

Caden

Caden

Kellan

Garren

Donna hadn't been to the zoo with us since the new Tiger exhibit opened, so we headed to see the Tigers & Wart Hogs from the carousel. The boys were so excitable, I think it was because Donna was with us but it was so funny to watch them & hear them (mostly Garren) screech each time they saw another animal.  

Tiger ;)

Children's viewing cave

The tigers are all the way at the back of the zoo, so after we finished seeing them we just wandered back towards the from seeing animals along the way. It was a very hot & humid day so we didn't stay too long, not to mention the zoo closes at 5. It's not a huge zoo & we've been there enough that a couple hours is more than enough in the summer months.

28/52; Three's A Crowd

At the grocery store this week the boys insisted on a 'driving cart' a car shaped shopping cart with stealing wheels. I warned that they wouldn't all 3 fit but they weren't hearing any of it.

Project 52; Three's A Crowd {g,c,k}

7 Weeks In; Cutest Builders Ever!!!

We drove by our lot last week & not much had changed but we knew it hadn't. We were still waiting on permits to come in & our design plans to be finalized. (There was a monetary change in our favor allowing us to add/upgrade a couple things) 

The boys expressed their disapproval with how long it was taking to build the house. Garren declared he wanted a new playroom NOW! When we explained that it takes a little bit of time & he'd have to wait he said he wanted to build it. So this week when we drove down he had his tool box in hand, equipped with a hammer & screw driver for each of his brothers & himself.

Garren & his tool box

Kellan, Caden & Garren 

Caden

Kellan, he wished he had a shovel to dig in all that dirt!

Garren, determined to get it built & get his new playroom :)

Mom Mom pitching in

27/52; Triple Splash

I forgot to post a photo for Project 52 last week & looking back, I didn't have anything great. It's hard to get good photos of the boys at the pool & since that is where we spend a lot of time now that it's 95+ degrees everyday, I didn't have anything but I did have some cute videos of. I've shared this one on Facebook already but it's my favorite since it is all 3 of the boys jumping together :)

Project 52; Triple Splash!!!

To Nap or Not To Nap???

Seems like a pretty simple question with a very easy answer, of course NAP!!! That is until you have 3, 3 year olds who's sleep patterns are changing & are very messed up as far as sleeping all night, waking up WAY too early & are just plain cranky. Mommy doesn't do well without adequate sleep either, so we have been a pleasant group the past few months!

Around the first of the year, Caden started waking up in the middle of the night crying, I would go in & console him without getting him out of bed & would usually end up laying with him until he fell back to sleep. Most nights he would wake again & I'd have to go back & console him again. It took a few days to figure out but I believe he was having growing pains. It went on for a couple of weeks & then one day we were at the doctor for a cold or something & found out he had grown 2 inches.

Kellan loves to snuggle!

It wasn't long after Caden finally started sleeping all night again that Kellan started waking up anywhere between 2 & 4:30am & thought it was morning. At this point I was at a loss. He didn't seem hungry & he wasn't crying, just awake & ready to play. I decided our days could NOT start that early & after a couple days I just started telling him it was still night time & he had to go back to bed. It was a fight & involved screaming on his part & sleeping on the floor, blocking him from opening the bedroom door on my part. Fun right?! :(

After a few weeks of this I decided something had to give. I REALLY DID NOT want to give up naps but I really couldn't go on getting up every night or sleeping on the floor, not to mention I'm sure our neighbors were not fond of the toddler screaming in the middle of the night. So I finally gave in & gave up on naps. The first few days were tricky & finally I figured out timing was everything. I did not want them dozing off. If we weren't going to have naps then I had to keep them awake all day. Come late afternoon they all wanted to sleep, dozing in the car or on the couch. So I changed up our days a little & we started going to the pool during the time they were wanting to fall asleep & staying right up until dinner time.

Garren just can't keep up after a swim.

This worked out well for a few weeks, the boys were falling right to sleep at bedtime & sleeping all night without any interruptions. Kellan wasn't waking super early anymore either. Garren however was suffering a bit. Of the 3 boys, Garren really likes to sleep & is a good sleeper. He also requires a little more sleep than his brothers. So he slowly started losing his cool. He wasn't listening well, he was crying at the drop of a hat & was becoming an all out brat! Caden had started waking in the middle of the night crying again & Kellan was starting to wake a little earlier again. So I decided to let them try napping again to see if they would revert back to not sleeping all night & to help with the overly tired & cranky Garren.

So far so good this week. Most days all 3 boys have napped, one day Kellan didn't fall asleep & another day neither he or Caden did. Garren has napped every day though. They are going to bed pretty good, they fall right to sleep once they settle down but aren't as exhausted so it takes a few minutes to get them to settle down. They are also still sleeping ALL night. Caden wakes in the wee hours, around 5 or so, calling for me but lays right back down once I go in their room. I just sleep the last couple hours with them & that's just fine with me. It's WAY better than waking in the middle of the night to party! Hopefully it stays like this, or even improves past Caden's cry outs & we don't have to go back to no naps.