Family update

We're quickly approaching the 8 month mark...and I'm starting to look like it! We haven't done a very good job of documenting the belly growth so far - would be easier if Max and I were at home together during any daylight hours! Isn't it supposed to be the first baby that gets the first class treatment? We'll be better with the baby pictures :) Rachel was kind enough to volunteer part of her lunch hour to a photo shoot yesterday. Here you go Mom, finally!


Let's see if the video function works...here's our little water baby. Tiger has turned into a funny, sweet, and personality-rich little guy who can't seem to stay away from the sink. Washing dishes is enormously entertaining for him, as is any other washing (face, hands, vegetables). Here he is overseeing Max's work as he fills the humidifier tank, which apparently requires rather close inspection.

Early snow

Wouldn't you know it...it's our first year with early snow and we're too busy to really get excited about it! It's nice to see anyway, and even better now that the roof metal is installed. We've seen some progress since the last update, including the finished roof! The electricians finished wiring around the middle of the month but little else has been done on the interior since then. We ordered the insulation for the interior today...the last bit of work before the drywall can go up. Max has been making headway on the exterior insulation and has two walls just about covered. Another big step towards winterization...half the windows are in now and the other half will soon follow now that the scaffolding has been moved to the north and west sides.


The east side is looking good.

It shouldn't take long to get the rest of the insulation up on these walls. Max has started reading up on installing siding but isn't looking forward to that job. It's gonna be a cold one!

The trees are getting frosty after several days of thick ice fog.

One of the last jobs of the fall was to put in the support posts for the deck...we kinda missed the fall though, so this job ended up being a lot tougher than it needed to be. We were faced with digging through 8" of frozen ground for the 12 posts. Luckily, our framer Marcus was putting another deck in just up the road and offered to piggy-back our job on the drilling equipment rented for our neighbor's deck. The holes got dug over the weekend and the cement got poured last night. Fingers are crossed that it can set up at 10F!

The rest of September

September went by too fast! Over the last few weeks I've grown out of most of my pre-pregnancy tops...evidence that the baby is putting on some weight. More evidence...for the first time tonight I was surprised by a kick that felt like it was splitting my abs. Ouch! Then another one. Either baby just learned a new move or he's changed positions again. Either way, I'm a little worried about what those baby Max legs are going to be capable of in the coming months! I'm a week into the third trimester now...really hard to believe. We've switched back to the midwife group that we started with. They're a wonderful, calm, supportive group of women and we feel like we're in good hands. All is well on the baby front.

Earlier in the month we had the floors poured to cover the tubing. This is the cleanest the house has been so far...far cleaner than it is today. Here's the kitchen and back room.


And the front entry. At the time of the pour the rough plumbing had just been finished. Since then the electricians have had their chance at the place and the walls are starting to look like a road map with main highways and side roads of wires and pipes. We've made the most progress on the utilities this month, which isn't particularly evident in photos. That's probably why we haven't loaded any here in a few weeks.

We're still working on the exterior insulation and the black weatherproof liner. Max's two-week work trip to Canada slowed down the process for a time, but we've been back at it over the last week. Rachel gave up a beautiful Saturday morning to help out.

The autumn trees were lovely while they lasted. Unfortunately they only lasted a week before a cold front came through bringing rain and snow that knocked most of the leaves to the ground. The forest looks a little less colorful these days.

We had scaffolding delivered last week and Max and our friend Franz were able to erect it in no time. The decking has been a huge help getting the bare spots on the corners patched and it will allow us to get the rest of the insulation and siding up this month. It will also be a big help to Marcus who will be back in a few days to put on the metal roofing and install the windows. Oh, to be weather tight! Maybe we'll beat winter yet!