Just Hanging Out

We have been hard at work on the yard lately.  We got another load of dirt to fill in the beds and the edges of the yard:

The weather hasn't been too cooperative lately, so that has taken a bit longer than it should have.  The good news is that it is almost gone.  The sprinklers are all hooked up, minus the control panel, and the heads all need adjusting.  We are really close to being able to plant our grass though, because Chris is such a hard worker!  He's finished all his homework for the semester, but still has two tests.

M loves being outside.  She is very cautious of changes in terrain, but she has warmed up to concrete, dirt, and grass.

 I was walking on Chris's back last night, and M thought she would help by sitting on his head.  She thought it was quite comfy!

M's Bestie

Meet Puppy.  M's favorite toy of all time, Puppy has been there since the beginning.  She was "born" the same day as M when Grandma Diane bought her at the hospital gift shop.  Since discovering that M can't sleep without Puppy, or at least not without waking up every hour, a twin Puppy was purchased.  Just in case of emergency, or wash day. 

The best part about Puppy is her floppy, chewable ears.  If you ever chance a meeting, Puppy's ears are most likely wet, so avoid that area. 

M and Puppy are pretty inseparable these days, especially since Binky disappeared a couple of months ago.  Here are some more photos of M and Puppy from the past:

 Yeah, these two go way back.

Tired Girl

Poor little M was so tired at lunch the other day, and today she fell asleep in my arms after she fell and bonked her head.  She was sick all last week with the nighttime tummy bug, so I guess she is just trying to recover.  We didn't let her have any milk over the holiday weekend, and I think she is doing much better.

Other things M is getting good at, besides being sick, are:

• Walking and running
• Saying "no" by shaking her head and actually talking, but the talking sounds more like "na"
• Waving and saying "hi"
• Finding her nose, mouth, and occasionally eyes
• Feeding food to other people
• Opening drawers and cupboards
• Climbing the stairs and (kind of) going back down
• Responding to simple commands, like "come here" and "let's go"
• Finding things I have taken away from her
• Saying "Daddy" and "Audrey"

Yes, she calls me Audrey instead of Mom.  We're working on that one.  She knows that I am Audrey and Mommy, but there are so many other kids around that call me Audrey, so I think it is very confusing to her why I want to be called Mommy instead of Audrey.  I try to refer to Chris as "daddy," so she has that one down.  We are looking forward to all the fun, new things she will learn next!

M's Spring Dress

M sported her new spring dress (made for her by G-ma Diane) to church last Sunday, along with the matching clip that I made for her.  I posted a tutorial on how I made the clip over on my other blog if you want to learn all my secrets.

In other news: The basement bathroom is nearing completion, just in time for us to be starting back up on the yard.  We can hardly contain our excitement.

Painting Projects

Here are pictures of my recent painting projects.  I did the wall in the great room chocolate brown and the kitchen walls mossy green.  The pictures of the brown aren't quite as accurate as the green.  The brown is a little bit darker in real life.