Jacksonville with the Johnsons

The family is all back home in Cincinnati. I flew down to Tampa last weekend and we drove back home. On the way, we stopped by our friends, the Johnson's, house in Jacksonville. We got to spend a day and a half with them which was awesome. Dena and Wade took us to St. Augustine (the oldest city in America) and we got to tour a Fort and watch them shoot off a cannon.

 

Our kids all get along so well together (the adults do too, by the way). We had a great time and we miss hanging out with them. Below is a picture of Sarah Jane and Cole having breakfast together before we left for home. 

We hope to see the Johnsons again very soon.

A Flying Snowmobile?

Tom has been really into Lego's lately. He just has a knack for building things. He doesn't even need instructions anymore. This is a "flying snowmobile". Looks like fun.

Englewood, Florida

Emily and the kids are spending a few days down in Englewood, Florida with Emily's mom. It was cold the first day we were there (cold as in 60 degrees), but has since warmed up to the 80's during the day. Not too shabby for February.

Kickstart My Heart

We are getting a little stir crazy.

Baby # 3

I haven't really written much about our future addition. We are now into the 3rd trimester, so Baby # 3 is going to start getting some pub! Here is the update from the website I go to when i want to check up on where the baby is developmentally. This update is actually a week behind, since I had the original due date in as May 10th, and it is more like May 5th now.

For the first time ever, your wee babe's eyelids have finally opened (remember: they were fused shut previously) and they’re probably having their first moments of sight. In addition to taking in their first visual impressions of their comfy amniotic-filled studio, your little human-bean recently acquired the ability to move their head around.

That's right, if your child were clever enough (which they're not - yet), they could engage in that most basic of non-verbal communication - the head shake/nod.

In further anti-alien developments: your little super star’s head hair is starting to grow in!
Who knows, maybe a cute little cowlick or two is springing into position right now - the first of years of cute-but-stubborn bed-head.

Your wee piggy's toenails have recently grown in and they're still slowly piling up fat beneath their still-loose-n-wrinkly skin.

Most importantly, their brain tissue and neurons are all developing at a rapid pace, increasing their (genius-level?) brain activity, which will continue to function at accelerated levels for the first eight years of childhood!

Construction Projects

We have about a dozen ongoing projects at our house at the moment, but the two most pressing ones are finishing our deck and fixing our Master Bathroom toilet. I am "in charge" of both projects and decided at Christmas that both would be complete before my birthday in March.

Project 1: Master Bathroom Toilet needs new Fill Valve

I attacked this one
the weekend after Christmas. Got all the right parts, followed the instructions to the letter, tested the new valve, works great. Went to put on the new handle, old one is on really tight. Used my Plumber's Wrench (yes I have one), still not budging. Tapped the old handle with a rubber mallet one tiny time to get it moving and......

Water everywhere, toilet broken, mass chaos. Good news is, the toilet is fixed, because we bought a new one.

 

Project 2: Finish the Deck

 

This project has stretched over a few months and with the weather getting cold is taking a lot longer than I thought. However, I do have some help with this one:



 

Tom is always available to lend a hand. And, as you can see in the background, with his help I am nearly finished with this project. The lesson is, it always helps to have someone smarter than you helping out!



Sled Riding