Swimming Lessons

Hmm, well not technically swimming lessons but it was a start! Last night at mom and dad's, Ed took Mason in their hot tub and tried to show him a thing or two about swimming :-) He did pretty good with the water, Ed tried to get him to float on his back but that wasn't going so well, and he tried to show him how to hold his breath under water but every time Ed went under Mason just thought it was funny and tried to strangle Ed with his feet! It was pretty cute though, he likes it more than he did last year so that in itself is a start so maybe by the end of summer he'll be able to float or hold his breath under water!

Getting Big

My baby Waylon is 3 months old today! I can't even believe it, it's gone by so fast! He such a good little guy, he's been sleeping through the night since he was about 6 weeks, he wakes up as happy as can be with a big smile and is pretty content all day long! He's a big boy though, I can't get enough of those cheeks of his they crack me up! I went through the boys clothes and already had to put away the new born stuff, it seems like just yesterday he was drowning in everything and now he's fillin' out all his outfits! He's so funny, all it takes is a "Hi Waylon" and his entire face lights up, I love it! And he sure enjoys watching Mason, he's constantly smiling at that kid, except when Mason is shoving a pacifier down his throat or pushing the basinet over on him, or crawling into the basinet with him for that matter, but other than that it's nothing but brotherly love ;-) I'm excited to get to the new house because Waylon is goin' in the crib in a room with Mason, so that's a big step for us and I think we're more than ready for it and I think Mason is going to enjoy the company! They just grow to fast though!

Finally Happening!!!

Yay! We're moving in tomorrow! I'm so excited, it's been a long three months of remodeling and cleaning and painting but the time has arrived! So, yesterday I spent about 8 hours in the kitchen, cleaning the floor and counters, cleaning out the cabinets and lining them and polishing them. It looks amazing in there, Ed put up new can lights that match the cabinets really well they're like a dark bronze color, he also put new plugs and covers on that are black plugs and silver covers that really gave the kitchen a brand new look! We got the carpet laid down and cleaned this week and it too looks brand new, we had to patch the carpet where the fireplace was but you can't even tell it was there they did such a good job, thanks Consider It Done for doing that and Kelly Steam for the great carpet wash! Ed and his Dad put up new trim around the new front door and the hallway entrance and new baseboards in the living room and the backroom/office area and it looks really nice, the trim around the door is just fabulous and we put wood trim around the two windows in the living room so that there's that distinct difference between the kitchen and living room, it looks quite nice! I finally got the laundry all painted and cleaned, we're eventually going to replace the floor but for now I scrubbed it and it looks pretty good, we still got to get the new baseboards put up in there and clean out the sink! We painted all the doors down the hall and the little storage are doors and it really brightened up that hall and we put new lights in and it's really nice down there! We also took the lights out of the two back rooms, patched those holes and put in 4 new 4" cans instead and a fan in each of those rooms, in our room we also added 4 new 4" cans and will put a fan up in there also. Someone came in and finished the new wood floor by the front door and re did the wood floor in the office, it looks pretty much brand new and very shiny! Another person is coming today to clean the shower in our bathroom and clean the tile and I think re grout it and scrub the shower door down so that'll be nice and then in a couple weeks she's going to do the boys bathroom, most likely replacing the tiles on the floor of the shower and cleaning it up in there, it was kind of moldy! We also got a new toilet for that bathroom so we've still gotta get that in and we're putting tile down on the floor in there but that's not quite done yet, we're hoping by August before Peter and Emily come up to visit :-) All in all it has been quite the transformation, I can't believe what a HUGE difference it's made in the house, I am so happy with it and we can't wait to finally get in there! I really can't thank Eddie and Susie enough for all the help watching the kids and helping in the house and all the many many late nights and dinners! They are quite amazing parents we've been so blessed with them!

Some of the hallway

The kitchen all clean

The carpets after getting washed! That cabinet on the wall is where our dvd player and cable box will go, stuff like that and our TV will go right above it, so that's what that is!

The nice new walkway!

Before

After (laundry room)

Trimming out the door

The new kitchen plugs

The doors before and after

My colorful laundry room

So sweet ;-)

HOME!!!

The new lights in the kitchen

Our "sunshine" room with the pretty floors!

Soon to Be Auntie of 8!!!

As most of you know I have 3 nieces and 4 nephews on my husbands side and now my little sister is having a baby boy! I'm really excited, I think it's going to be a lot of fun to have the three boys together, so close in age. We were really close growing up and then we sort of drifted apart and now I find that we're getting closer again, and I was thrilled when she told me that she wanted me in the delivery room with her! Now, Mr. Rylan Leigh is due on August 2nd so if everyone could just be praying for a safe delivery for mom and baby! We've also got the big baby shower this weekend that I know Sam's really looking forward too... it should be a good time, I'm looking forward to it myself!

Summer Time '09

It's finally summertime once again! We've recently busted out the volleyball nets and already had several games going on! That's one of the best things about our yard is it's nice and big so we can play volleyball and there's still room to spare for the kids to play football or baseball! Last Sunday we got to play and hang out and made some 'Smores over at Eddie and Susies on there outdoor fire pit! I'm really looking forward to the summer nights ahead... it will even be better when we move into the house so I can just put Mason to bed and not have to worry about all the late nights!

Home Sweet Home... almost!

Alright, well where to start? We're getting there, most of the painting is finally finished! We went yellow in what's going to be the office/playroom and I think it turned out great, it looks really bright in the picture but it's not quite that bright! In our room we did a "Soft Denim" color that looks really nice, I was nervous at first because it just looked grey but as it dried it became a nice shad of blue! The boys room and guest room got it's new carpet and looks amazing, it's like two brand new rooms back there, so I'm super excited to get the rooms set up, they just turned out above and beyond my expectations! We installed our new front door and I love it, it's very nice, and we got the lights all put up that Ed added to the living room... there will be no shortage of lights in that house :-) Then, in the kitchen, we had to paint it and I didn't want to do it grey or brown so I just went for it and got some COLOR! I was a little apprehensive but we figured if we hated it we'd just paint it in a couple of years, but I think it turned out perfect, I love it! We went with a dark green along the soffit and then a light green every where else with a red accent in the pop out! The ceiling is going to be tan like the living room along with the wall that runs from the kitchen to the living room, it's great, I'm lovin' it! So we still have a few baseboards to paint, the laundry room, which is going to be the same colors as the kitchen just cause that's what's left over and I really enjoy those colors, and we're getting cabinet to put in there instead of the little shelves that are in there now, so that will look nice! We're putting a 5'X10' area of wood floor from the new front door to where the hallway starts, and then using some of that carpet to patch where the fireplace was and I think that the carpets finally getting laid back down in the living room and in the staircase next week and then we should be on our way! I cannot wait!

The new front door!

The ceiling with the newly added lights

The boys room with the new carpet!

The new kitchen paint job

I LOVE it!

The back side of the house and our yard

The Bathroom all finished

Painting our room with the crew

The new bedroom color... from green to blue

The office when we started

Then it went white

And now it's all yellow!

It's Coming Along!

Since we've gotten back from L.A., we've been working like crazy on the house, getting it all painted and ready to go! So far we've gotten the two back bedrooms and closets painted, the hallway and bathroom and the living room all painted! It looks amazing! We went with "Green Tea" for the bedrooms which turned out to be a beautiful and calm like color, I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. Then for the bathroom and hallway it's "Country Dairy" basically an off white, just nice and simple, clean and bright! And for the living room we found a "Toasted Cashew" color that turned out the perfect shade of tan that we were looking for! We couldn't have done it with out the help of mom and dad, poor mom got the tough job of watching the kids for us so I'm able to help paint! Then we'll just have the stairs hallway and loft to paint, oh and the kitchen... so much paint!! But it's looking great! The new carpet for the back bedrooms is coming on thursday so we've gotta get the baseboards and doors painted before that comes and then the back part will be done! So, we're hoping by the 12th to start moving in!!!!!! I'll post some more pics when we get some more done!!!

The New Staircase! Isn't it beautiful?

The new bathroom color!

Our pretty yard!

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER!!!! YAY!

Ed and Dad painting!

So excited!!!!

The Almeida/Tagliere Adventures!

Well we got down to L.A. to meet baby Scout and introduce baby Waylon and it was a lot of fun! We got down there on Friday night around 7 or so and the fun began! Scout is absolutely precious, I just couldn't get enough of her, but I did have my hands full with my two little guys! Friday night we just hung out and had dinner then on Saturday Michelle came over, Peter's sister, and her family and made us breakfast, so we got to see them and then we went over to Emily's parents for a BBQ! It was really fun over there, we watched the Laker game and hung out by the pool, then they surprised me with a Birthday cake, it was very sweet! Then sunday we went over to Dan and Laura's, Peter's Brother, for a little pre memorial gathering for his Grandmother who past away on the 16th, so that was fun, we got to see all of Peter's family and meet some that we haven't met before! Monday was the service for his grandma, unfortunately I wasn't able to go, I ended up getting really sick and had to stay behind, but from what I heard it was a very nice service. It was kind of down hill from there, I was so sick and no fun, I spent the rest of Monday in bed and and in the restroom, it was not a good time!!! Tuesday came around and we were supposed to leave in the morning but I was so sick that we couldn't go anywhere, Peter ended up putting an IV in me (he's a paramedic) to rehydrate me and that seemed to do the trick so by about 1:30 pm we headed home! But it was a lot of fun the part where I wasn't sick, it was fun to see the three kids together, I'm really looking forward to them growing up together and the many things that will bring! As much as I wanted to get home, I miss them dearly, it's hard being so far away but we'll be able to see them again at the end of the summer, so we're looking forward to that now!