Easter

John was sick all night before Easter, so I took the boys to church while he slept. Then my mom came over and played with the boys while I made dinner.

I debated about doing an egg hunt, since I wasn't sure Scott would catch on, but he loved it. I told him where to look and he'd search and bring the egg over. We did it again later in the day so John could watch.

He gave Tigger first bite of each fish cracker.

I tried to get a picture of the boys together, but neither cooperated.

Jonah is a little spaced out. He had a rough week. He found his own choo-choos, a toothbrush and some puffs in his basket.

Scott had bubbles, chalk and m's, but all he cared about were the car and truck. He gave one to Jonah to hold, though, which I was shocked and impressed by.

John came out of bed and was able to get Jonah to stop crying.

He can get laughs out of them anytime, anyplace.

Then John hit the couch. Scott was bummed, so he joined him.

Jonah napped and my mom read with Scott while I made ham, cheesey potatoes, veggies, and salad.

John showered and was feeling much better. He picked my dad up and the boys roped him into reading some more.

We had cherry cream pie for dessert and just lounged around until it was time to take my parents home.

We missed John's parents who went to his sisters' house and my sister who had to work, but it turned out to be a lovely day.

April I

The rain gave our backyard some green and Scott loves to push his car, mower and wagon around the lawn.

The minute Scott was out of the room, Jonah took over his phone and chair. He already knows what's off limits and went right for them.

Some of our friends also have Happy Hollow passes, so we met them there one day. I was nervous about Scott pushing Jonah away if they shared a car, but he was great.

Scott shared the steering wheel without any trouble and they rode a few times.

Then Olivia wanted to ride with the baby. She spent the whole ride snuggling him

and kissing him. She is an adoring fan.

Jonah's been getting up a lot at night with teething and congestion and Scott sometimes wakes up too early from all the fussing. One day after breakfast, I put Scott in his room because he wouldn't stop whining and I knew he was over tired.

He didn't cry, so I checked on him and found him fast asleep. On the floor. Too sleepy to get in bed, I guess. 

Play Room Complete! (Before & Afters)

I believe we last left the play room in February.

 Our tile came in and John went to work.

 Scott liked watching.

 After it set, John added the grout. 

 We wiped it clean with too much water, so it dried unevenly. It would have worked fine, but the coloring would have bothered us, so we scraped it out.

 Luckily it's a small space so it didn't take long. Then John grouted again and sealed the tile after it had dried (evenly this time).

 Typically paint is an easy and inexpensive way to improve a room, but in a space this big and with new walls it took a LOT of paint, time, energy and money.

We painted the walls wheat bread, the same as our living room and hallway. John added outlet covers and vents in the water heater closet once it dried.

I finished painting all the trim and baseboards before we left so John could install them while we were in Utah. He also put the recessed light covers on and proper sized bulbs and painted the window casings. 

The carpet install was postponed, but later in the week they came and were in and out in an hour. Scott immediately tried it out by rolling across the room. It is so plush and is an enormous space for us. I told John I did some cartwheels and he said he'd done the same thing. 

 Our house went from 1176 square feet of living space back to 1588. John added a doorknob to the closet and now we're 100% done with this project.We still have a lot we want to do with the room, but the remodel itself is complete.

I added pictures of every angle because I love before & afters. In 22 months it went from this

to this.

before:

and after:

before:

tada!

 laundry room:

 and smaller side of the room:

to one open space:

We could not be happier with how it turned out!

Jonah 8 Months

Our little chub hit eight months!

 Love his snaggle tooth smile. I've never seen a kid with teeth like his.

 Jonah's mood lately is high and low, with very little in between and very quick to switch between the two. He can scream/cry and then laugh/smile in a span of three seconds.

 He's happier now that he's mobile.

 And of course crawling wasn't enough, he had to start standing.

 Nothing like this little face to wake up to in the morning!

Grandma Blank's House

Most of our family hadn't met Jonah yet, which was the main reason we went to Utah, so we spent a lot of time visiting with them. Jonah met Julie and Bret's families, Nate and everyone at Grandma's for a total of 17 new relatives.

Jonah and Stephanie watched Karen get creamed by Greg. Sometimes Jonah wouldn't stop fussing, but Steph would walk in the room and he calmed down, enchanted. 

They redid the whole living room before we came--paint, curtains, a new couch and rug. It looked really nice.

Before we left I tasked Joseph with getting pictures of everyone. The boys were not happy about their play being interrupted for a picture with Great Grandma Blank.

Jonah relaxed and snuggled with her for a while.

Sam

Grandma and Olivia. Terri always had a snack on hand for the little kids. She was bribing to be the favorite.

Russ, the chef.

Silly Stori loved baby Jonah and kept Scott well-entertained.

Terri was going through a rough health patch, but she was still cheerful and a great hostess and baby caregiver.

She got Jack off his ipad, no mere feat.

Debra was so helpful with Jonah early in the morning so I could sleep later with Scott.

It was nice having a house full of helpers. I just passed Jonah to Adam and he sat and fed him. I wish I could have brought a few of the teenagers home with me.

And Miss Olivia enjoying her cheez-its. She loved playing at Grandma's with all the cousins and attention.

It was a long drive there and back and a hard rest of the week without John, but being able to spend time with family made it all worth while. Although next time I vote they come to us!