Back Patio Remodel

We have just taken the beginning steps in redoing our back patio. It was a raised earth patio with pavers on top and large rocks in a retaining wall. Over time, the earth underneath has eroded and animals have burrowed under the stones. This has left the surface of the patio very dented and "wobbly". As the kids get older we feel that using this patio poses safety issues. Not only can they fall/ride off the side, the ground bees and other bugs bother us all.
So we have decided to pull up everything and build a wooden deck with a railing. Fortunately, we have found a family through the Jefferson Co. freecycle program that is willing to pull up all of our pavers and rocks. In return they get to keep them all free. This family runs a daycare and has a lot of dirt and muddy areas that need better structure supposedly. In any case, we are very happy that we do not have to pull up and transport all of the pavers and rocks.
We got all of our lumber delivered to us this past Saturday and Andy spent the entire day shuttling it from the curb to our garage using a wheelbarrow....3 boards at a time. They are very long and very heavy. I couldn't help him much since I had to watch the kids and also help out at the funeral home.
So, here are photos from the first step of our project. Pavers are being pulled up.

Milestones

Rowan continues to learn something new everyday! Now she is 2 1/2 years old. She can dress and undress herself, feed herself (including self-serve from the fridge), count to 3, and is making leaps and bounds in her speech development. She is still not attempting to say k, c and g consonants but I'm sure they will come soon enough.
Rowan is becoming quite the independent little girl. Every day she proclaims, "I do own" or "I do by myself!" a dozen or so times.
She has a strong desire to take care of Harvey at times and wants to feed him, dress him, undress him, and change his diaper. But most often you can find her yanking toys out of his hands and scolding him, "No Owbie! That's mine!" even if it's really not her toy.
I took this picture of her in her boots because it reminded me of a photo of myself when I was younger - standing in jammies and winter boots.





Rowan still loves to play in the water and really loves to play in the sink. She tries to help wash dishes every now and then.











Harvey is now 7 months old. Time is passing quickly. It seems that wherever I go, many women describe him as a flirt. A lady at Wal-Mart called him a "lady killer" yesterday. It doesn't seem to matter what age the female is, Harvey charms them all.

Harvey is now doing very well at sitting on his own. He tips over about 30% of the time. He is rolling over quite a bit and is starting to do the "army" crawl. He is quite capable of moving about the room now and reaching Rowan's things (much to her dismay).

Harvey is now eating oatmeal, peas, pear sauce, sweet potato, carrots, squash, blueberries and bananas. His only disliking is for broccoli and green beans at present. He gums up teething biscuits with glee and boy does that ever make a mess in the high chair.
Harvey's growth is amazing us still. He is about 21 pounds and has a long torso. Today I broke open the 24 mo size onesies for him. Maybe the 18 mo size shrunk in the wash, but it's not so easy to snap over his diaper - whether its a disposable or a cloth diaper. So here's my baby boy - 7 mos old...wearing a 18-24 mo size onesie and 6 mo size pants.
I'm also pretty sure his shoe size is a 3/4.
Oh and he outgrew his bucket carseat. So now I have to carry him to and from the car, or transfer him to a stroller.

Harvey is also babbling a lot. He can say da da da and lba lba lba. And he can blow raspberries.

We look forward to watching the kids grow and learn. Their relationship with each other will be interesting to watch too!