This week was some new housing milestones... all the interior walls are framed up! We did a walk-thru with our builder to confirm the framing, and despite all of our changes and my picky expectations they really got it right. There was one minor tweak and that was it...most impressive! The exterior has the Hardie Board going in, so it's really starting to take shape. We are also only ones on the block with a 2nd floor balcony (off our master), and I have to admit that is one of the coolest things as we see it all come together....John already has visions of having a beer up there while listening to the Rox's game while the sunsets, and I can't say that isn't a really good plan.
My Fireplace all framed up!
Validation: (not that I needed it) The builder agreed during our walk-thru that moving the fireplace was a really great decision, thankyouverymuch. And to think all the backlash I took over that....
Kitchen looking towards the island
Framing for our shower ... makes me happy to see our customization taking shape!
What is this?? Oh, it's just a mountain view from our master bedroom balcony. Damn straight.
Basement
Cherry Pie Park - Across the street
So this is cool... there are 5 "pocket parks" in our area of Stapleton (Bluff Lake) that will be based on the 5 senses, and the park right across the street from us is called the "Cherry Pie Park." This particular park is based on the sense of taste, so they are planting a bunch of berries and whatnot in this park that are up for the pickin'! Pretty sweet....especially since Ian is a fruitaholic. We can just waddle on over an pick what we want for a snack. Interestingly they are relocating a bunch of the landscaping for these parks, and the big tree you see in the background was actually just relcoated from the Denver airport.
We celebrated Ian's First Birthday this past Saturday, January 26th.... yes his real b'day was 2 weeks prior, but my parents really wanted to be here for the celebration and they couldn't come the weekend of his actual birthday. So, little man was none the wiser when we waited a couple weeks to party. I planned a "snowy/ winter" themed party since he is a winter baby in Colorado. I mean, at the ripe old age of 1 it isn't like he has a list of real "interests" that would make for a better theme, so I thought celebrating the winter season would be perfect. And it would have been, except it was 60 degrees and sunny in Denver on this Saturday in January ..who would have thought?!? Oh well, it might have been beautiful outside, but it was a Winter Onderland in the McG house. Complete with a hot cocoa bar and lots of warm comfort food! Here are a few of the details from the party...
I also decided to skip the whole party favor thing... I mean it's right after the first of the year and everyone is still somewhat focused on not eating crap typically found in goody bags, right? So I had a different idea... When my dear friend Pam passed away earlier last month her family asked that people make donations to the Make a Wish Foundation because Pam always loved everyone's kids as her own...she was "Auntie Pam" to many...so they felt that was an appropriate cause she would appreciate I still vividly remember the day after Ian was born Pam came to visit us in the hospital...and of course being "Auntie Pam" she came with a huge bag of gifts and a big smile on her face... but more than anything I remember how excited she was to see us an hold Ian. Therefore, I thought there was no better favor than to make a donation to Make a Wish in the names of the attendees in honor of Pam.
Hope you were smiling down on us Pam-ella!
John, Jess, Todd, Gretchen, + Krystal
Dede and her girls
Mama + Ian
Ian's "Smash Cake"
Hummm....
Tasty...this icing is...
"Well my hands are dirty."
I SAID "GET THIS HAT OFF ME!"
Some of Ian's Friends
More Friends!
Opening Presents
The coolest thing happened right after opening presents. IAN TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS!! That's right folks, right there in the middle of his party! It's his party and he'll walk if he wants to. He was playing with the toys he opened over by my parents and he was standing up (holding onto my dad)...the next thing we knew he took 6 steps! Then we had a few repeat performances of a few more steps before he got rubber legs and had had enough. I must say he was quite proud of himself.
Practicing to walk with Uncle Bacon
The McG's
We were so thankful to have such a fun day with many good friends in attendance! Thanks to all who came to celebrate Ian's first year!
The house marches on and we are one step closer to Ian having a street full of friends! Can you believe how quickly the block is shaping up?! Remember in my last post the 2 houses to the left were nothing but a hole in the ground.
Here's the latest progress: the windows are in, most of the walls are framed, and they are beginning to install insulation. Oh, and I went inside again to scope out that progress...
Up close and personal
The living room....looking towards the fireplace
Standing in the dining area looking towards what will be the kitchen/wall of cab's
Looking towards open staircase and living/dining
And if you want a little sneak peak at what else we have planned for the interiors you can see that here!
On the 27th of December our holiday trek 2012 continued... we woke up bright and early to head from Cincinnati to Columbus to catch a 10am flight to Omaha. The flight went as planned and Ian was a pretty good boy on the plane. The only hiccup with this leg of the travel was that between all the time changes (hitting 3 different time zones between Denver, Cincy, and Omaha) I had the time an hour off for my mom to pick us up; so she was there an hour early circling the airport and freaking out that something bad had happened to our plane in the air. Whoops.
Anyway, we made it safe and sound and all in one piece. I am actually surprised we made it in the door before my mom suggested opening presents. Anyone who knows my mom knows that she gets so excited about gift giving she cannot usually wait until Christmas to open presents, and here we were 2 full days after Christmas. That being said, my sister had arrived there on Christmas day and they did open gifts with her prior to our arrival, so she had somewhat of a fix.
Don't worry it wasn't long after we got settled in the house that she started with "So, do you want to open a present?" Ian ended up falling asleep in my dad's arms midway through gift opening, so Dede came to the rescue and opened the rest of his presents. A good lesson for first time parents, do not... I repeat DO NOT go overboard with lots of gifts for your baby, they do not care if you give them a box or heck even just a bow and some wrapping paper off someone else's gift. Save your money for another year.
uhhh...alright, let's do this present opening!
Loves cars!
Not so sure about this...
Back to our time in the big O...the rest of our trip was pretty much just lots of relaxing, hanging out, football watching, wedding planning, and eating/cooking good food...
Dede and her boy
All Ian really wanted for Christmas was his own iPad
All was good, right up until the day before we were supposed to leave. That's when hell broke loose. Ian got sick in the middle of the night with a terrible cold and was burning with a fever. I finally moved him from his pack-and-play into our bed because he just kept crying, which is so untypical so I knew he felt awful. Needless to say, we barely slept a wink. The entire next day we were exhausted and he wouldn't let us put him down. He was so pathetic and miserable.... he would cry with his low and sad eyes and then bury his head into my chest and yelp a little. He'd cough and cough and then whimper because of the pain from coughing. He wouldn't eat anything or take much of his bottle. Babies are so helpless and sad when they are sick. And the worst part is they really can't take anything. Any normal adult with these symptoms would be loading up on cough meds, putting Vicks on their chest, and OD'ing on Mucinex, but all a baby can take is infant Tylenol. What is that going to do? I mean really... So poor little buddy was a complete mess. He pretty much slept in my arms the whole day and wouldn't let me put him down for a second. I felt so bad for him. At this point, we were getting nervous that we were supposed to get on a plane and leave to go home in the morning. So, John suggested we just rent a car and drive back so that we wouldn't subject him to the airport (germ heaven) not to mention he would have been a crying mess on the plane (F- for sure), and I can't imagine the number it would do on his ears. Brilliant idea! Done! No plane for this baby. The next day Ian seemed a little better, but we stuck to the plan and got a rental. This go around we got a lovely black SUV, and Ian and mama slept in the backseat together as dad drove us home. About mid-way through the 8 hour trip home we stopped for gas. When John got out to get the gas I woke up and grabbed the baby along with $5 cash to get a coffee, and ran inside to pee real quickly. Once I did my business, and got my hot drink, I headed back out to the car. You can imagine my shock when I got out there and the car was gone. My first thought was that John must have run across the street to the McDonalds to get food or something. I thought it was a little strange because my mom had packed us all these sandwiches for the road, but whatever maybe he decided he wanted a burger & fries instead. So I waited in the vestibule of the gas station truck stop in BFE Nebraska pacing back and forth with my sick baby on my hip. After 5 minutes or so I started to wonder if maybe John had pulled the car to the other side of the truck stop and I couldn't see him waiting there. So I walked outside and did a loop around the entire place. Hum, still no car. No John. WTF. I came back in and sat at this little table in the truck stop, and the owner came over to check on me....I must have had a distressed look on my face. Truck stop owner: Miss, is everything alright? Me: Well, um no... I don't know what happened to my husband. He must have gone to get food. Is there somewhere other than the McDonalds across the street close by? Owner: No Miss, just the McDonalds. Do you want a free cookie while you wait? (tempting, but my nerves weren't making that cookie very appealing) Fast forward another 10 minutes. I've paced back and forth to the point that other patrons are taking notice. One woman came up and asked me what the car looks like... what is the license plate number... etc. As though I was going to know the plate number of a rental. Then when she could tell it wasn't helping she suggested I called him.... Me: Well, I would but I left my purse with my phone in it in the car. I was thinking I was just running in really quickly so I didn't bring it in. Lady: Well, you are welcome to use my cell phone to call. Me: Oh that's sweet, but I actually don't know his number by heart. I know, I know. How in the hell do you not know your husband's number? I don't, it's just that simple. Lesson learned. The only numbers I know by heart are my parents number in Cincinnati from my childhood house (which isn't even valid at this point and hasn't been their number since they moved 2 years ago), and my dad's cell phone number. Honestly, the only reason I know my dad's is because it's been the same for like 10 years and whenever he leaves a message he never says his name or anything he just blurts out his number and generally repeats it like 3x. Needless to say, it's been a running joke in our family. So I decided to ask the truck stop owner if I could use their phone to call my dad. He graciously handed the phone over despite me telling him it would be a long distance call. People are so nice in the sticks. {ring, ring} Dad: Hello? Me: Dad, hey, it's Sarah Dad: Sar, where are you calling from? Me: Well, um, I'm not really sure... a truckstop on the way back to Denver. Dad: Huh. Okay, what's up? Me: Can you tell me John's number? I need it and don't have it on me. Dad: What do you need his number for? Isn't he with you? Me: Well, he was. But we stopped to get gas, and I got out with the baby to go to the bathroom and came out and he's gone. He probably just went to get food or something, but I can't find him {insert me trying to come up with something so it does not look like his daughter and grandson were not just ditched in BFE} Dad: Oh. Hum...well... {insert him thinking what in the Sam Hell?!?!} yeah, hang on a second let me look it up. Thank God! I got his number and promised to call my dad back when we found John. I'm sure he thought this was just the craziest thing ever. {ring, ring} >> goes to John's voice mail.
{ring, ring} >> goes to John's voice mail. Third time's a charm.... {ring, ring} John: Hello? Me: JOHN!??! Where in the hell are you? I'm freaking out. John: I'm coming back. Me: Coming back???....What do you mean? Where did you go? John: Well, I left. I thought you were in the car. Me: In the car... what do you mean? You've been gone for 30 minutes!!!! John: Yeah, the exits are really far apart in the middle of nowhere and it took me an exit to realize that you weren't just sleeping in the back when I asked you to hand me my sandwich. Me: {CLICK} So yes my friends, I was abandoned with my sick baby at a truck stop in the middle of nowhere Nebraska. That is how I ended my holiday. Merry Friggin' Christmas and a Happy New Year.
So I'm behind. My Christmas cards were late and this post re-capping Christmas is late. I'm a busy lady...deal with it.
We kept the McG tradition alive and went and chopped down a Christmas tree with Uncle Bacon. Unfortunately we have had such a mild winter (even up at higher elevations) so it wasn't the typical picturesque winter wonderland for the tree chopping. Another big difference this go around is that I made John's life much easier because I decided to pick a small guy (knowing that we'd be out of town for most of the holiday). I literally put a quarter or less of our ornaments on the tree and maybe 3 strands of lights... we were all about simple this year. I couldn't handle another year of a tree crashing in the middle of the night (in case you need a refresher, read this post).
Mama & Ian look for a tree
No heavy lifting or strenuous saw-cutting required
Our Very Merry Charlie Brown Tree
We also made time to visit Santa so he would know what a good boy Ian has been. There were no tears...just lots of questioning looks.
"Now I'm sorry, but who in the hell are you?!" - Ian
"Hmmmppp....I'm not sure about you Santa"
"Fine, we'll play your games and take a picture"
The holidays this year were a bit of a whirlwind. We decided that this was the year to make everyone happy and try to do it all....which meant we planned on being in both Cincinnati and Omaha over the Christmas holiday. You can hear about Omaha in Post No. 2 on Christmas.
Prior to taking off I let Ian open up a couple of his gifts. Including his "Christmas Jammies. " A long standing tradition in both the McGarry and Hennings households has been that you get a pair of Christmas PJ's every Christmas Eve as your one gift to open before the big day. As John and I have gotten old I'm pretty sure those are the only new pajamas we get all year. So we will be carrying this tradition on in our little family - also nice because you look somewhat put together on Christmas morning pictures.
Excuse his shirtless-ness, we were mid-way through putting on the pj's
Then, on Christmas Eve we flew from Denver to Dayton. Why it is so darn expensive to fly directly into Cincinnati I will never understand. Let's level... I can fly into MUCH more desirable and sought after cities in the US for $100's less...so irritating. Of course our flight was delayed which meant that little man was celebrating his Christmas Eve in the airport in his Christmas jammies.
Hanging at the airport
We finally made it to Dayton at 12:30am (so really it was Christmas day), and by the time we got our luggage and whatnot it was nearly 1. In-freaking-sane. I think both John and I about lost it in delirious laughter when we started making our way to the rental car and realized that our assigned car was a bright "Grinch green" beaut. The best part was that they told us we were getting an upgrade. Riiiiiiggght.
We finally arrived at Debbie's (John's mom's) house at 2am. Needless to say we all slept in till like 9:30, and then the rest of the family slowly started to come over. Shortly after the family got there it was time for us to leave to visit an old friend (always on the go). John's good friend from childhood who grew up next door, Joe Haverkamp. Joe and his wife Kelly had a baby boy, Andrew, just a month prior to Ian...so this was the only opportunity we would have to get the boys together while were in town because Joe was leaving the following morning to go out of town. The boys were so cute together! The whole meeting was sort of surreal.... I mean John and Joe literally grew up together so for them it was really strange having children (not to mention both boys a few weeks apart).
Ian & Andrew
The boys and their boys
But the BEST part of getting the boys together was discovering that they both have "The Crazy Crawl." Everywhere we go when people see baby Ian "on the go" they comment, "Hum, now that's a new crawl," or "I've never seen that before...is that normal?" We've dubbed it "The Lt. Dan" in the McG house, and have grown quite accustom to Ian, "Lt. Dan-ing" (yes, it can be a verb) his way around the house.
So to answer an earlier question, yes, it's normal for Ian and Andrew it's normal....
Now let's cut to the chase. We ate Christmas dinner. We opened gifts. We spent time with family. We saw a couple friends and 48 hours later it was onto stop number 2. Below are some photos to document Christmas in Cincy.... and a picture is worth a thousand words so I will keep it brief.
