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

Way Overdue

So I've been meaning to post forever, but life has been a little busy! Between trying to move, work, raise a 15-month old, and stay sane, there hasn't been a lot of free time lately ;) We move into our temporary apartment on June 4th, close the sale of our house on June 15th, and then hopefully break ground on the new house shortly thereafter! We are so excited, but also really anxious for it all to be done so life can get back to normal around here. Tate is ridiculously fun and curious about everything. He has about a dozen words and is exploring the world at breakneck pace (at least it feels that way to us). It seems as soon as he learned to walk (a little before his 1st birthday) he was ready to try running and climbing and jumping. At the end of the day we are all worn out ;) Here are some photos of Tate over the last few months:

"Hi Dad!"

"Papa always helps me fall asleep":

Tate loves his new penguin hat from Mimi & Papa!

"Look, Dad, I'll keep your hat warm until you need it":

Below are some great photos our friend Mandy took for Tate's 1st birthday (on Feb. 6th, yes I know it took me forever...). They're so great; thanks again Mandy!

Tate and Mommy all bundled up to go fight for state employees' rights:

Swim lessons!

Early spring day in the park:

"Why, yes, I am the cutest train conductor there ever was":

This is a video of Tate "jumping". He's so proud of himself, despite not leaving the ground ;)

We've had some great birthday and Mother's Day celebrations this year, and we look forward to a great summer and seeing as many of you as possible very soon! We'll be sure to have everyone up (or down) to New Glarus once we are settled there, hopefully by Christmas!

Take care,

Meredith

Halloween through Christmas

Wow, how is it already 2011? Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this blog, but the last two months have been a blur. We had a wonderful holiday season, filled with lots of firsts for Tate and joyful family gatherings. Tate is 11 months old now, with 7 teeth and a few independent steps under his belt! Ken has gone back full-time with Sara Lee and I am still enjoying my job in the UW Cancer Clinic. Every day I learn something new, which I think is a blessing.

Our biggest news is that we're putting our house up for sale this month, in an effort to get one step closer to building our home on our 3 acres in New Glarus. Our plan is to move into an apartment for the next year or so until we can solidify our building plans and save up some extra money. When we're ready to build, we won't have to worry about risking two mortgages or not having the new house ready to move into once we close on our current house, etc, etc. So we've been very busy getting the house ready to sell and hoping that, even with the current market, someone will love it and we can move on! Prayers for a quick sale are much appreciated!

Halloween weekend we went to the Henry Vilas Zoo with Tate and enjoyed some of the last sunny weather in Madison:

The cutest giraffe in town! We had fun towing Tate around the block in his wagon on Halloween evening:

Tate's first taste of pumpkin! Not too impressed... but he did have fun playing with the pumpkin guts and squishing them all over:

Tate's first haircut!!! He was so good and didn't even cry or fuss. He had fun honking the horn and holding onto the hairdresser's comb for her:

Tate loves his lovey-dovey donkey:

Tate also discovered the joy of climbing stairs at Mimi & Papa's house over Thanksgiving. He had no trouble going up the stairs, and seemed pretty unafraid of launching himself back down, much to our chagrin. The "down" technique is still a work in progress:

Becoming a Yoga Master in his sleep:

Tate was very excited about this crocodile walker; he does circles around the kitchen and living room and seems very proud of himself while doing so:

I could not resist posting this picture simply because of Tate's jowls; love 'em!

HI MOM!

Tate loves to pull himself up onto anything and everything, but the kitchen chairs are his current favorite. "Look at me go, Mom!"

Tate has discovered two joys in life: Zoey's water bowl and toilet paper. Needless to say, lots more messes for Mommy to clean up ;)

Tate's first time in the snow was sort of anti-climactic; it was too cold and we went inside after 10 minutes. Dad had to shovel the driveway without our moral support:

Here's one of our Christmas card photos; at least half of us are looking at the camera ;)

Mimi and Tate practicing walking and looking pretty dapper with a little extra bling on during the Winkelhake Family Christmas celebration:

Over Christmas weekend we were celebrating with the White & VanDevander side of the family. Here's my brother-in-law Mike & my nephew Tyler snuggling up for a nap:

Tate says, "Auntie A, you're silly... I wish everyone would stop sticking bows on my head!"

"Zoey loves to keep me warm in the car while we head back home; she's one of my best buddies":

Here's Tate showing off his new reindeer pajamas from Grandma & Grandad!

Tate says, "I am a night owl, Mommy! It's play-time!!!" And then he proceeds to pass out 5 minutes later ;)

Here's a quick video of Tate's very first steps!!! Sorry it's sideways ;(

Here's wishing you all a very Happy & Healthy 2011, with many blessings and new adventures!

XOXO,

Meredith