Before and After

Over the last two weeks, we had the backyard and a small part near the front of the house (re)landscaped. The kids spent the last two weeks watching the work men out the back windows. Life around here just became a little less exciting now that they are finished.

The project began with the removal of our large deck that was becoming a danger zone for the kids. The brick patio was then pulled up and relayed. Retaining walls were built around the tree and new patio. Some existing plants / shrubs were moved; others have left the premises with new ones in their places. And no more gravel "trails"! With the deck and gravel removed - this area is largely grass now, our backyard suddenly seems a lot bigger. With Andy in mind, all of the gravel is now contained in area dubbed "the construction zone". We love the new backyard, I just hope we can keep it all alive!

BEFORE...

Watching the workmen build our new patio steps...

AFTER...

"The Construction Zone" on the right

Retaining wall/new patio

"Helping" load the dishwasher

Eleven Months!

Sammy's first birthday is quickly approaching! She continues to be a sweet little thing who greets us every morning with smiles. She's a good little sleeper. She still consistently takes her two naps a day and 10-11 hours at night.
This month was filled with first milestones and refining of old ones. Yesterday, after waving at her for the last 11 months, she waved back!
She has mastered crawling. She can get around the house pretty fast. She is now sporting two calloused knees from crawling on the hardwood floor. This should be incentive to walk! She can cruise and walk with assistance. In the last week, I have noticed she can also stand by herself. This usually occurs when she is playing with something and forgets to hold on. She usually falls as soon as she realizes this. She is also mastering the climbing thing. The gate at the bottom of the stairs reappeared after we found her half way up. Now, she stands on the bottom stair and hangs from the gate!
She is very independent. We can usually find her in the playroom playing. She doesn't care if there is anyone in there to play with or not. Fortunately, Andy usually doesn't mind when she gets into his things, sometimes he even thinks it's funny. This is good since Sammy gets pretty upset when you take toys away from her. She yells and isn't very easily distracted!
We have moved on to the #3 foods. She still prefers the #2's, they are easier/faster to eat. She's still pretty particular about texture when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Apparently, this does not apply to crackers because she has no problem sharing Andy's snacks. She's getting better with the sippy cup. I'm hopefully this is a sign that weaning her from the bottle will be easy:).
This video is Sammy, Andy and I playing a little peek-a-boo. Sammy loves to play peek-a-boo.

4th of July

Our Fourth of July weekend turned out to be a busy one. We spent Friday night with friends at their neighborhood block party. Saturday, we took the kids to Villagefest in Prairie Village to check out the fire trucks, music and Andy was fitted for a new bike helmet.
Andy participated in his first neighborhood Fourth of July Parade. He was a big hit on his decorated tricycle. This was followed be games and great food with all of the neighbors. After the party, we walked over to Meadowbrook (country club 1/2 mile from our house) for fireworks.

Checking out the fire truck...

Spraying the fire hose...

Lining up for the parade...

wheelbarrow race...

Sammy celebrating the Fourth...