{six months}

dear hudson,

a whole half a year has passed

since mommy was in labor (and not realizing it)

and anxiously awaiting your arrival by planned c-section

mommy was overjoyed to find out that the date she picked to be your birthday

(pretty much the soonest date her doctor would allow)

was, in fact, the one that God had chosen for you all along!

seeing you for the first time

wow

i was overcome with so much emotion 

your daddy placed you in my arms while i was still lying there in surgery,

and i caught a glimpse of your sweet face

everything inside of me melted with the most powerful love for you....my little baby son

now, my heart is even more filled to the brim as I get to know you

and who you are, and what you like

and your smile, and your giggles...

yes, your giggles

your little boy love for your sister, and your patience with her way of loving you back

makes my mama heart glad

i have not started you on any solid foods yet
but my, oh, my are you getting excited about mommy and daddy's food at the table

you have definitely started making your wants known these days//
cute to see you developing into such a little person
you sit well enough on your own until you get distracted by a certain girly someone
{which is like every other second...ellie wants to ensure you never have feelings of loneliness or abandonment   :) }

"why, hello there, mr. giraffe"

everybody is so in love with your squishy qualities

and your uber-friendly outlook on life

you make total strangers stop and talk to you...you are such a people magnet

and you reward them all with coos and happy grins

{sigh} i just love you two

mommy took you for some shots today  {sad}
but you did pretty well all in all//
you would have done amazingly if we wouldn't have had to wait for over an hour at the doctor's office
during what should have been naptime....sorry about that, honey

you must weigh about 20 pounds now
mommy will know for sure after your six-month doctor's visit
i certainly feel like you have gained a couple pounds!!  {smile}

thank you for making me such a happy, proud mommy, sweets!

love,
mama

The Parade

The annual Kalispell Fair Parade.   Small-town USA fun.   Republicans/Democrats.  Old fire engines.  Horses.  4-H animals.  Candy.  Lots of candy.

Ellie slowly built up two fistfuls of candy, carefully separating her fingers to accommodate just one more piece of candy while not letting go of any of the former pieces.  She never tasted a piece though.   Candy isn't something Kacey wants her to add to her diet.   Have we ever mentioned that this adorable almost two-year old loves things like broccoli salad, salmon, and mints?

Anyway, back to the parade.  Ellie was a little overwhelmed by the sirens and amount of people, but loved the animals.

Hudson seemed to be amused.  But then maybe he was bored; he fell asleep toward the end.

I enjoyed the bagpipers.

I also enjoyed these amazing horses.  Think of the Budweiser Clydesdales, only different company with black horses instead, the Express Clydesdales.

These dogs across the street cracked me up.

Like Flynn Rider's suave accent in Tangled, "Hi, the name's Pug." Whatever  . . .

It was a fun day.  If you would like to join us next year, mark your calendars for August 2013; or just enjoy the virtual parade on our blog. :)  Last year's is archived here.

Happy Days!

Why?

WHY did Ellie insist on going up the steps?

and

WHY isn't Ellie afraid of this tall slide...at all?

This is WHY one shouldn't wear flip flops while working in a construction zone.

WHY does Ellie like to play in our guest shower?

WHY you wouldn't want to walk out our front door right now.

WHY does this little one look so cute in a hat?  (Probably because her mommy is so beautiful!)

WHY is Hudson almost as big as Ellie?
WHY are we allowing the children to do this?
WHY is there a slide in the house?

WHY is my hair so gray?  (probably because of all the above photos!)

What I Learned This Weekend

Demolition derby is messy, very messy.

My life is complete now that I have seen a demolition derby.

Okay, just kidding; but it was an interesting concept to cheer guys to slam their cars into each other.   The loudest applause comes when something blows 60 feet into the air or when another guy scampers out of his car just as it bursts into flames.

Thankfully, no casualties . . . other than the cars.

Ever seen a more striking backdrop for a crazy sport?

Dad took the picture and the other folks are friends from church.  We made a night of it, eating funnel cakes and kettle corn, laughing and wincing, and cheering on the four-wheeler races.  To see the entire fair and all the exhibits consumes about 30 minutes of your time. Ah, small-town USA.  Notable animals included this rooster and a fuzzy sheep.

My verdict is still withheld on demo derby.   A sport or a diversion?  Skill or just smashing fun? Healthy competition or harmful pastime?  ?   ?   ?   ?   ?

For some reason, I have a sudden desire to buy an old car . . .

August 17

Today is the day.   One year and one month.   Second set of pictures.

The park on First Avenue

I took the liberty of changing it up a bit.   Instead of taking the same seven pictures, I decided to take seven pictures of the same locations.   Seasons will change, and the perspective will need to change to capture the true beauty. 

First Avenue sidewalk

I also took the liberty of changing one of the pictures.   Instead of having two pictures of Dry Bridge Park, I figured to capture the front of our house, since it is ever changing as well with seasons and construction.  Granted, it might not always be pretty, but it represents our life up here so well.

Yikes!

The courthouse picture has a fun story in that today of all days happened to be the Northwest Montana State Fair Parade.  How is that for a perspective change!

Absolutely beautiful draft horses

The last three are scenes from the back of the avenues here in Kalispell.  This shot from the end of our street, I simply turned around to look back from whence I came instead of out toward the mountains.

Ninth Street

At Dry Bridge Park, I ventured inside to photograph the pond at sunset.

A family fishing spot

And the last spot looking toward the mountains will be magnificent in the winter, but for now,  I simply changed the angle and took advantage of the landscape to get a different perspective.

Don't know if that counts, but it seemed there would have been no change in the pictures because of these long summer months.   Anyway, enjoy; thank you all for your kind comments about my pictures. I'm glad to hopefully put a smile on someone's face.

Garage update and what is next for Steve

Our garage is finished on the outside (for the most part).

Want to see?

The view from the alley.

The view from the kitchen.

Steve was really kind to me.  He made it look very "cute" for me from the yard view.  When this tree isn't green, one can see the garage clearly.  To me it is like a picture hanging on the wall since it consumes so much of our back yard.  I wanted "cute" and Steve delivered.

From the back door of the house.

Can't you just see a window box under the window and a wreath on the door?  Our back yard needs to still be leveled out and so the concrete path will disappear and the rock path will be a bit different.  

From Rachel's Room.

This garage was a first in a lot of areas for Steve (metal roofing, two roof lines, shingle siding, etc.) and I believe he did a fantastic job.  

I am sure you are all wanting to know what Steve is doing now.  Well, it is a bit of a crazy job but I'll let you look and see.

This is the front of our house.  Do you see the ripped up space there under the window?  Well, that is where Steve has been hanging out.

My dreams (nightmares) have increased since he has been hanging out under there.  There was no foundation under this part of the house.  It was an enclosed porch without a solid foundation.  Steve is all about solid, as you know.

He dug out all the earth under there and is laying forms.  Steve removed a lot of rotten and crumbling lumber.  As I am typing this the jack hammer is hammering away.

The house looks as though it is floating from the side view.  

Creepy and just a tad bit claustrophobic for me.  Looking forward to the concrete pour and stability to the house again.  And, for Steve to get out from under there!  

Oh, and the room inside and above this area will most likely be oh so much warmer this winter as it will be enclosed and insulated.  Sorry stray animals, no more home for you.

There you have it.   Until next time.....

Jodi