Squeaky Clean

I love projects.  I'm sure ya'll have come to know that I always have at least 4+ projects occurring at the same time with 20+ in my mind and on my list when the money presents itself.  Jumping from project to project keeps me busy (as if my kids aren't busy enough), but I enjoy the sense of accomplishment and the beauty in finishing these projects.

We finished our basement months ago, however there still was about 10% of the trim that needs to be completed before we can officially say its "finished."  We however lost our mojo motivation as well as Will's finishing nail gun and our air compressor.  Once we got our tools back I was motivated, but yet dreading the idea of having to repaint all the baseboards that have a layer of dust and gunk on them from sitting in our garage for the last 8 months.

A few weeks ago we submitted for our home to be appraised to drop our mortgage insurance and sure enough last week the appraiser called and wanted to schedule our time for the following day!!! I was in a panic. I knew we needed to get the appraisal done asap, but there was NO WAY I was going to have the time to finish all that needed to get done.  We instead scheduled it to give ourselves 4 days to get it done (and by 4 days I really mean 1.5 days because I worked two of the days and the guy was coming at 1pm).  Wednesday was a busy day.  Lance was out working for pretty much the entire day so I juggled both kids and their needs with cutting and installing trim.  By the end of the night I was able to get all the trim, caulk, and paint done (with the exception of the stair trim and three door trims because we were out of materials).  Exhausted and aching I went to bed and arose at 6:30 am Thursday morning to get the cleaning party started.  I wanted my house to look perfect with everything in its rightful place because I knew he'd be taking pictures of every room.

I literally cleaning, scraped, and scrubbed until 12:59pm. Dropped to the ground with exhaustion the second the appraiser left and laid down for a 10 minute nap before Jillian was awake.

How refreshing it is to see my entire home clean... all 3000 sq ft of it. I couldn't be prouder.... and yet the improvement projects will continue!! haha!

Now heres to hoping the appraisal comes back high enough! [fingers crossed]

 

8 & 21 months

Jillian got her first two teeth at 7 1/2 months. It was a rough three days with waking every three hours at night and having to be forced fed a bottle because her teeth hurt so badly.

Jill was late to start baby food. We kept introduction it to her but she would immediately spit it out. It wasn't until this past week. Now she's eating stage two fruit and vegetable mixes, watermelon, grapes, carrots, and bread. I attempted the baby chicken and gravy mix and she didn't love that. She prefers to finger feeding herself rather than having any help. She even started holding her own bottle three days ago. How liberating it is for both of us! I love her independence. 

For the past two weeks she's been on the verge of crawling. She gets on all fours with arms extended, but just can't quite move forward so she ends up rolling to get what she wants. 

Jill has also started to talk some and sometimes when both kids are in their cribs lance and I can't tell who is talking and awake. Ma and ba are all I can make out at this point. 

She still screams when she's happy. 

Sleeps typically from 9:30-7:30 on most nights. We've attempted to put her to bed before 9 when she's tired but she just screams and stays awake until 9/9:30/10 then is out for the count.

Takes two to three good naps a day. If we stay home her first nap usually lasts almost three hours. It's great but at the same time a little challenging because by the time she wakes Bennett is usually on the verge of needing a nap. He's down to one nap a day so that makes running errands a little more challenging. 

Still can fit into 6 month onesies but they are getting a little tight. She wears 6-9 month pants. She has moved onto 9-12 month pajamas with 12 month fitting her height but loose everywhere else. She's a pretty dense baby. You don't anticipate she's gonna be as heavy as she is when you go to pick her up. 

Typical schedule. 

7:30 wake play 

8:30 eat 

9:30 nap 

12 wake bottle 

1:30 eat lunch 

3:00 nap

5:00 wake bottle

6:30 maybe a nap

7 dinner 

8:30 night bottle 

9:15-30 bedtime 

Jillian Weight: 19.2 lbs Height: 27" foot size 3.5" size 3 still falling off her feet. 

Bennett weight: 31lbs Height: 35" foot size 5.5" wearing size 7-8

Bennett at 6 months:  

20 lbs 12 oz.   29 3/4 inches  funny to see how Jillian now at 8 months is smaller than chubby Bennett was at 6 months. 

Bennett is down to one nap a day which usually begins at 12:30. He sleeps for a minimum of two hours but sometimes lasts for 3 1/2. those days are he BEST! 

All summer long he has been insistent on staying up late. We've tried to get him back on his schedule but he just screams and cries and never falls asleep. I assume when we "fall back" he will adjust back to an 8 o'clock bedtime. For now we just party it up. 

He's began to tug at his diaper when it's dirty so maybe he's getting ready for potty training? 

He is obsessed with watching movies. This month ratetoulli and 101 Dalmatians are his fix. He also enjoys Curious George. He usually grabs the remote and yells "puppies" over and over until we turn it on. 

He also loves playing in the garage. And has thrown many a fits if we try to get him inside or outside and shut the garage doors. 

Oh how the tantrums have started. Yesterday Bennett cried inconsolably for 20 minutes straight because we didn't turn on his movie. 

He loves stroller walks. And going "bye bye". He knows if we are going out Jill has to come with us so he will run over to her and try to pick her up. Thank heavens she's too heavy at this point or she would be getting lots of bonks. 

He has come to absolutely hate being strapped into his car seat. He has always fought us as we strap him in but the last four days the entire car ride he's screamed and fussed at us.  Still trying to find a solution for that. 

Overall he's a fun and energetic kid. 

I've been doing "airplane" with him periodically over the last month or so. The other night I came home from work and was sitting at the table eating dinner. Bennett jumps up. Runs into the living room and points at the ground saying "mom" over and over. Lance and I had no clue what he wanted to eventually I walked over to him and he had me sit down then walked around to my feet and picked them up to his belly.  It's so fun to see how his little mind works. 

Lance has been practicing with Bennett on his little basketball hoop. Bennett now adjusts himself so he's shooting farther away and he makes most of his shots.