weather woes

Holy buckets how the time flies. Talk about dropping the ball. Quick a bit has happened since we last posted.

For starters, Ella has grown and grown. She is working on potting training. She tends to me more successful in attempts at daycare. But we digress! She has made the transition from her "little girl room" to her "big girl room". It got to the point where she just couldn't stand her crib, so we made the move. Unforntunately, she likes her big girl room too much. There are too many books, babies and toys to keep her in bed. So her bedtime has extended a bit, but we are glad she likes it. She does still loved to be rocked at night though!

She talks about everything, repeats everything you say in question format, and is in the "what's that?" mode. It is sure precious to hear all the sentences coming out. Between her talkin and Gage's barking, the house has gotten quite loud! She has also grown up in intellect too. She demands to pick out her own shoes (even if it means wearing mom's high-feels). If she doesn't like a certain shirt, she tells us. We did get her ear's pierced! She was a friggin' champ. She didn't cry a bit. And since that day, she makes sure that everyone see's her new earings. She loves everything fruit. Banannas, apples, grapes, you name it. She will always take a bowl full and eat them right up. She has had weeks/months were she would only let daddy do everything with her, and the reverse with mommy. Recently, her and Gage restle for about a half-hour every day. As I mention below, the winter was long and she knows it. Whenever we go outside now, its a screamfest to get her back in. And she sure can spin her wheels. If she gets away from us, she runs and runs fast. Sometimes its hard to catch her. Her favorite things to watch on TV: "toys" (Toy Story 3), Tangled, Dora and Jungle Junction.

Side projects have taken up our time when Ella is asleep. Dawn continues to broaden her skillset. Purses, day bags, dresses etc. etc. She can do anything with some fabric and her sewing machine. She did find a little gem down the street called Mill End Textiles. A great little shop with all the fabric she will ever need! As Spring draws near, she did start her vegetables early for her garden. They are already getting big. As for me, the house has taken some of my time. I got a little weather crazy a few months ago and decided to demolition the basement. Our hope is that we can eventualy put a storage room and a bedroom in half of the unfinished space down there. So the demo came and went. Since then I haven't been able to do much until I fix some landscaping outside to prevent some minor water issues. So that one is on hold for now. Since then, on a whim, we decided to redo our kitchen floor. It is something we wanted to do since we moved in, we just couldn't find the time. So on a Saturday afternoon we ripped out the old flooring (2 layers of flooring and 2 layers of subfloor). By around 1am, we had 90% of the new floor installed. Tiring as well, but well worth it. I also did some landscaping to make up for some unfinished business from last fall as well as building Dawn a raised garden for those vegetables (just in time for our first 60 degree day). I also bought a new sliding door some time ago and was finally able to instal that this last weekend. Soon I will finish resurfacing that wall and paint the outside patio. I can't wait!

As for that crappy weather...It actually snowed a week ago. YES, in the middle of April. That goes to show how bad the winter was this year. Even after the bad storm that made our ND trip so rough (see last post), we had at least 2 more storms that dumbed around 12 inches of snow. And after a broken snowblower, my back sure didn't appreciate it. Whether or not I am ready for mowing the grass is another thing. Speaking of the nice weather, we are looking forward to lots of time at the cabin this summmer. We have to make it a good one!

I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but my Dad did get a new job. He now works in Neenah Wi. He has a nice 2 bedroom apartment there. He comes back to Burnsville once every other week to see all of us. It is sure nice when he is home. With all the house projects, he has been my on the phone handy-man. We look forward to spending time at the cabin with him and Mom this Summer!

As you can tell, we haven't done much traveling during the recent months. With new babies VerDouw and Dalske, that will quickly change. We can't wait for more babies! We plan on making a trip to Bismarck for the baptism of the little Verd. Because it has been so long, it will be nice to see everyone in the western land. Seeing John and the new addition on his home, seeing Charm and having Ell get another precious harcut and seeing how big Mr. Eli has gotten. Heck, I will travel to ND any weekend when there isn't snow on the interstate!

How about that, since originally starting this post, those cute babies were born...and on the same day! On Tuesday, April 26th, Charles "Chuck" VerDouw was born around noon and Emmett Miles Dalske was born around 10pm. They are both adorable little guys. Like I mentioned above, we will meet Chuck. We were able to run up to the hospital and see Emmett the day after he was born.

All in all, there have been ups and downs during the last phew months. And the next few months will probably be tough. Future posts will speak to that!

Song: Since a few killer tunes have come across the 8-track recently, I had to share at least a few. Lady Gaga - Born This Way (cover), Hanson - Give it All & Sara Bareilles - Yellow (cover)

Memory: Since the weather has been crappy recently, I will have to speak to that. Since about a month ago, I also remember playing stop and go (yes, that classic game) in the driveway of our Richfield home on my golden birthday and it was snowing. Hard to believe, snowing in April. Well, this year, mother nature put that memory to rest this year with plenty of snow far into the month of April.