The house on May 29

More shingles. Plumbing rough-in. Met with the electrician this week to decide on all those things you decide with an electrician. Roof is just about done. Chimney is done.



Doors are framed


Jack stained the first section of the cedar shingles on the dormer. Love it!

Nine

Jakin turned nine this month. Nine. Nine means a lot of things....

Nine means Jakin's shoes are almost as big as mine
Nine means greater independence, like riding his bike up to the house when Dad is working there
Nine means Jakin eats his age in pancakes
Nine is half-way to adulthood - yikes!

We celebrated the day by going on a bike ride on a bike trail. It was a beautiful day. I just kept saying how happy I was. The girls were in the Burley and the boys rode bikes. It was just delightful. Then Jack took Jakin, Corban and a few of their friends to play Laser Tag. After I've done the legwork on many birthday parties, I was happy to pass the baton to Jack this year.

We love our boy!

At track and field practice


Wearing the soccer jersey that Uncle Ed and Aunt Lisa bought Jakin in Peru. Soccer jerseys are all the rage for the boys these days.


Three of the four


A picture from the bike ride. Lauren is tucked in that bike trailer, too.


On the rope swing that Jack recently hung at our house

Lauren at 15 1/2 months

Some recent milestones:
**Lauren only walks now. Well, except when she's running.
**We were able to get rid of the gate on the steps. It's nice to get to the point of being able to trust all of our children to go up and get back down the steps safely.
**Lauren finally hit 20 pounds. And she's up from the 2nd %ile for weight to the 13th.
**Lots of talking: bye bye, baby, mama, dada, milk, uh oh, cheese, banana, night night, up. Of course, she doesn't say the words exactly like that, but I know what she's saying when she says those words.
**Old enough to be trusted to play outside with her siblings (and without Mommy). This is such a huge help when I'm cooking dinner. I peak at her every moment, but at least I'm not holding her.
**And, she is finally starting to be a bit more social. She will be friendly with people instead of frantically searching for mama. She is still a bully though. No qualms about pushing kids larger than her tiny self if they dare to cross her will.

Pretty girl in a pretty dress


This girl is all about accessories. I think she and her big sister Annie are going to get along just fine.


Her dress from the day before was still on the floor when I got Lauren dressed one morning. She just added the dress to what she was already wearing.


Time with Daddy

The shingles are growing up the house

I'm not sure how to adequately express how excited we are by how stinkin' good we think the shingles look as they go on the house. This photo is from April 29



The back dormer is completely shingled. I just keep taking pictures, because I think it looks so nice from every angle.


The next two pics are from May 2. Since it is now May 8, the shingles have grown up the house even more, but I don't have pictures yet.


The apple blossoms are blooming. I hope that when we see those blossoms next year, we will be living in this house.