Cold Weather, Warm House!!!

Happy Winter everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots to be thankful for! We are feeling very blessed this year, for our health and happiness, friends and family, and a new home that will be ready next month! Tate is getting to be such a big boy (22 months!), who knows all his colors and helps Mommy sing the "ABC" song and is learning to count. He is repeating just about everything we say, so we have to be very careful as Ken and I can occasionally have trucker-mouths ;) My favorite words from Tate lately are "pistachio", "cinnamon", and "Cumbaya" (one of our favorite bedtime songs).

We are very anxious to say goodbye to our apartment and be in the new house. I haven't posted any pics since October, so there are lots in here to catch you all up! Below are a few pictures we took shortly after the walls and flooring panels were delivered & set back in mid-October; the roof went up only a few days later:

At the end of October, my uncle Whitney came to visit from FL and we all went to a pumpkin patch in Chicagoland during his visit to celebrate fall & family:

The boys didn't know what to do with the straw...

Checking out the corn maze:

Taking a hayride with Auntie A & Nana:

Meanwhile, lots of work happening at the house... drywall!

Front porch poured:

In early November the flooring was installed (all but carpet) and the painting started. Below is the foyer/entryway:

Master bathroom:

Family/living room & fireplace:

Here I'm standing in the foyer and looking towards the back of the house (living room to left and dining room to the right in green):

Tate's room:

Guest room (it's a pale yellow):

Extremely bright main bathroom (but the color was called Apple Crisp and I couldn't resist):

Mudroom (it's not quite so pink in person):

Then just a couple of weeks ago the fireplace insert arrived (the kitchen is right behind Kenny):

And the last time we headed down there we had working lights (I'm facing the kitchen and dining area)!

Here I'm standing in the dining room looking back towards the kitchen and entryway:

And lastly, our steel roof is finally on! Now we won't be back in until the house is pretty much finished (our builder locks his clients out for the last couple of weeks so there can be a big reveal). Nerve-wracking, I know- good thing we have a lot of trust and faith in our builder (and our choices)!

Tate says, "Happy Holidays!!!"

From our family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year!!! Next time I blog it will hopefully be from the new house!!!
Meredith ;)

Cows and Houses ;)

Cows and houses are the themes of today! Tate chose his Halloween costume when we were at Target recently by "mooing" his choice loud & clear ;) Introducing the most adorable cow ever:

Checking himself out in the mirror:


Today, in the course of about 10 hours, our house went from being just a foundation to having all of its flooring panels and exterior walls set! Our "panelized" home, not pre-fabricated as some might think, arrived on a bunch of semis and then the crew set it all into place, piece by piece, like a puzzle. The exterior walls, interior wall framing and flooring panels, as well as the roofing joists, were all constructed in the Wausau factory before being shipped out to the lot to be set on the foundation. Besides the exterior walls having the housing wrap and windows already installed, everything else still is done on site, like the insulation, electrical wiring, etc., which makes "panelized" homes different from most pre-fab houses that usually get shipped out in two or so complete pieces, plunked down and connected, and then basically ready to live in. It's cost-effective, eco-friendly, and smart because your "bones" of the house don't get exposed to the elements for weeks on end like many stick-built houses, which prevents mold, etc.
This first pic is looking down at the lower walk-out level, which was done by the time we showed up on site at 9:45:

Here they are using the crane to lift one of the main-level floor panels into place:

Next they started to place the main-level exterior walls (the crew is standing in our master bedroom & bathroom):

It's probably about 1:00 in this pic... view from the bottom of the lot looking back up at the south-facing side of the house:

Looking out through the living & dining room windows!!!

Now the north side of the house gets walls:

Crane is dropping the interior garage door wall into place:

Crazy, right???!!!! All in one day. At this pace it feels like we should be moved in next month...
We met the Fitch family later in the evening in Janesville to pick up Tate (Mimi, Papa & the Fitches were awesome enough to watch him for the last few days down in Woodstock) and we had fun at a local park before heading back home:

Tate sure does love his cousins, and he got a kick out of this see-saw!

Autumn driving her Harley with Tate in the side-car, natch:

Love to all and here's hoping we have a few more sunny days before winter arrives!

XOXO~

Mere

Summer and Beginning of Fall

Happy Fall everyone! What beautiful weather we've been having in the Midwest the last couple of days. We've enjoyed trips to the farmer's market and park in the beautiful crisp fall air, and heading down to New Glarus to keep tabs on the house progress.
The summer was full of trips to Lakeside, Woodstock, and Downers Grove to see family and friends. The adjustment to apartment living hasn't been terrible, but we will be very happy to have a yard for Tate and Zoey to run around in soon. The builder thinks we can be in sometime in January; here's hoping!!!
Work has been very busy for me, as I am now working with a second breast oncologist in clinic on Fridays, and the chemo room is nuts as always. There's always job security, unfortunately ;( Some days it feels like I'm being pulled in a million different directions at once; I'm sure that sounds familiar to many of you out there ;)
Kenny is glad the busy season for Sara Lee is now over, and he can say good-bye to the 16 hour days. Tate is 20 months now! Chattering up a storm (mostly jibberish) and getting into lots of mischief. He loves books and trains (pretty much anything that moves), bike rides and trips to the zoo.

Here are the boys on Tate's first bike ride!!!

Tess (Tate's daycare buddy) and her parents joined us in Lakeside in August and they really loved the trip to Oink's ice cream shoppe:

One of our trips home was for Tyler's 1st birthday on August 27th!!!
He really loved the awesome monkey cake his Mommy made him:

"I'm all set to go water the plants, Mommy!"

A new favorite, corn on the cob!

Tate loves his Papa's (Kenny's dad) cowboy boots, even if they might be a touch big:

Modeling his fall wardrobe for Mommy:

"CHEESE!!!!"

So we finally broke ground in early September, only a month behind schedule :/
We had fun showing Tate the big "dirt-scooper" and the giant hole that our house will soon sit in...

A week after breaking ground.. Voila, there's a foundation! The "house package" arrives from the Wausau company on October 12th, so I'll be sure to post more pics soon when things actually start to resemble a house:

This is looking southeast through the dining room:

Fun at Edward's Orchard last weekend in Poplar Grove; "Look, Dad, it's a fly!":

Nothing makes Tate happier than a train or tractor:

Trying on one of his Halloween options.... it's SUPER TATE:

Well, Happy October to all! Take care and enjoy the pumpkin spice lattes while you can!
XOXO,
Meredith