Merry Christmas!

We thought some folks might be wondering by now how the birth went, how our life as new parents is treating us, how well the baby is sleeping...well, we wish we could tell you! We are still expectant parents, patiently waiting for the little one to decide it's time to meet us in person. We haven't got much to complain about though. We spent the past two days with good friends and with the freedom to eat when we wanted to, sleep when we wanted to, and stay out as late as we wanted to (not very late as it turns out). So now that we've had a fun, social Christmas we're ready to get this show on the road. I'm feeling fine, though moving a bit more slowly, and running out of belly space. Max and I agreed that tomorrow would make an excellent birth day.

In the meantime, we managed to get a tree up in time for Christmas. We found a poor little white spruce in the woods by the cabin with more growth rings than we care to admit to. This was an old timer. It's a hard life in the bog.


Still got that belly.

Rufus immediately made a comfy nest under the tree where he has spent most of his time over the last several days. It's within reach of all the bows and wrapped packages that have been so much fun to attack. He managed to open several before Christmas morning.

We'll put up an update when we have some news. Thanks to all of you who have called to check in with us this week! We're feeling awfully popular these days :) Much love and big hugs, M&M

Siding and drywall progress

Here's a sneak peek at the siding. This photo was taken Thursday evening. Since then the siding crew has finished this wall and installed the soffit. They'll move to the north side on Monday and continue to work around the house following Max's progress on the furring strips.


These photos show the current state of the interior. It's pretty darned exciting to see the studs covered and to get a feel for how the finished rooms will look! First impression...they look a bit smaller, but the house is feeling super cozy now that all the insulation is in and the walls are solid walls. The echoes are gone and the interior has a whole new resonance. This view looks toward the front entry.

The guys didn't make all the way around to the kitchen today but they got pretty close.

The upstairs is looking good too. The drywall made the bigggest difference upstairs where we can no longer look through the studs from one end of the house to the other. It's made the bedrooms feel smaller but I think it'll just be a matter of getting used to the new walls. This is the upstairs hallway looking into the linen closet and guest bedroom.

Finally, here's the north side of the living room. We're still waiting on the deck door on the right. Once that's in (Monday?!?) we'll be "officially" closed in...but a piece of rigid foam insulation does a nice job in the meantime. So that's where we are right now. We're starting to feel like living here may happen one day soon! That's a great feeling :)

All's quiet on the baby front

Well, we've almost made it to tomorrow's baby due date and we don't have any baby updates yet. I had a good checkup with the midwives on Thursday and all systems are go for the birth center. I'm excited to see how this labor and birth business goes but we're waiting patiently until things start happening. Max and I decided this weekend was too busy at the house to have a baby anyway, so I can't say we're awfully disappointed that the little one hasn't decided to make an early entrance. We think Tuesday would be fine though, so we'll see how well baby listens to his silly parents.

In the meantime, we've been enjoying our current family. I sat down with the kitties this afternoon and watched a documentary about ravens. It was much appreciated by little Rufus (formerly Tiger - I think we've finally stopped renaming him) who watched the whole hour-long program. (I know, we're not supposed to let the kids watch tv...the new kiddo will have different rules!)

We have plenty of ravens hanging out or traveling through the yard here and it sure seems like the cats recognize the birds on the screen...they used this opportunity to explore ravens up close.

Rufus retreated to his favorite seat for the rest of the show giving Suki a chance to get an up close look. Entertaining and educational. Our cats love PBS.

December, week 2

There's been a lot of progress at the house this week. Max worked some late nights with his hard working and very reliable hired hand Karl. They were busy putting up insulation on the interior and furring strips on the outside walls. They've managed to stay ahead of the contractors...just barely. The whole interior is now insulated and the living room in this picture is already covered with drywall!


The ceiling vapor barrier went in at the end of the week. The drywallers have already covered the entire upstairs ceiling and have about half the walls done too. They work fast!

Friends Franz, Matt, and Keith helped move the scaffolding one last time last weekend so the siding crew could put up their own lift system. The siding on this side of the house was finished this afternoon. There was too much activity at the house today, and too much dust flying inside to get any new pics. We'll take advantage of the contractor rest day tomorrow and get some more current photos to post. We're really encouraged by all this progress and can almost see the light at the end of the construction loan!

House update December 2

We haven't shown the house in awhile, but it isn't because we've forgotten about it! Since we last posted pictures, Max (with the help of some friends - thanks guys!) has put up the rest of the exterior insulation and is about half way finished putting up the furring strips that will hold the siding. The furring gives the house a nice European ski chalet look that pleases Max, I think. He's mentioned at least once leaving it this way. Luckily the siding is bought and paid for and waiting in the driveway, otherwise I might have a hard time convincing him that we need siding at all! Notice too that the windows and doors are in...all but one. We're still waiting on the deck door that wasn't quite what we'd ordered the first time. With a little luck we'll be able to say we're closed in by the end of this week. Rachel and I stopped by to check on Max's progress on our way to visit one of the newest arrivals in Fairbanks, Lola Mae, the brand new daughter of friends Andy and Sue. Andy passed along some new dad advice for Max along with a locally-made sausage to pack in his birth center overnight bag...something to keep his strength up. Thanks Andy! What about my strength ;-)


We've got a crew scheduled to start putting up the siding this week so we'll soon see some changes to the outside of the house. This is a sample of the fiber cement board that we've decided to use on the exterior. The finish came out looking very much like stained cedar...very nice. We wanted the look of wood, but this material has the added benefit of being non-combustable. With all the wildfires the interior has seen in the past several years we thought it was worth the extra investment. We'll have our fingers crossed that we'll never need it.

The living room is starting to look like Max's clubhouse with a warm stove, a comfortable chair, and plenty of snacks within easy reach. No wonder I hardly ever see him anymore! We've had a working wood stove for about a month now. We're really happy with this stove we had Shiway and Dave haul up from Anchorage. It's easy to use, puts out a lot of heat, and burns about as cleanly as a catalytic stove.

I think this is what Max is doing much of the time that he's up at the house. There won't be many more pictures of these framed OSB walls...the drywallers are supposed to start on the interior in a week or two. We're hoping we'll be able to start on the floors and install cabinets and bath fixtures by early January.

A man and his wood stove. Maybe this is what Max is doing much of the time he's up at the house?

Baby shower

It's been awhile since we've done an update...and here we are less than three weeks from our due date! Where have the last eight months gone?!? Everything is going well with the baby and we've nearly assembled all the baby gear we'll need for the first few months. Thanks everyone for helping with that monumental task! It was impossible to find many of the larger items in Fairbanks, and frustrating to have what we couldn't find here shipped to us. Luckily, we have a great team of supporters willing to store, ship, and lug stuff back here for us...hooray for wonderful parents and wonderful Rachel, who just returned from her Thanksgiving trip with not one, but two large packages for baby. Whew! Speaking of wonderful Rachel...

Three weeks ago she opened her home to a horde of gift-bearing, hungry women, gathered to celebrate the impending arrival of baby Kaufman. Such a support system we have in place here in Fairbanks! I feel terribly lucky to be surrounded by so many great (and generous!) women.


There were gifts from many friends and family who couldn't be there...here's a sweet little onesie from auntie April who we miss very much. We'll see if we can ship her and little Marit up here to meet the baby this winter...Jeb, you can come too! :)


The first hand-knit hat I unwrapped...thanks Sarah! I think this one will be the perfect coming home hat for baby. There are so many great knitters around here...I really need to learn to knit so I can reciprocate!

Ellie was so thoughtful to bring her extra "poop chart". Lauren can't believe such a thing exists while Erin's inner scientist appreciates the subtle differences between day 2 and day 3 newborn poop.

Putting your baby in this turns him or her into a living stuffed animal...how fun! I actually pointed this bunting out to Rachel in catalogue as "the cutest thing I'd ever seen", only to find out at the shower that my mom also pointed this out to Rachel asking if she thought I would like it. Great choice Mom! We love it :) Thanks to Rachel and all the ladies at the shower and to so many friends and family who sent gifts. I'm sure you'll all be seeing the things you gave us again and again on the blog in the countless baby pictures we'll post as proud parents in the coming months and years!

Boodle the duck

Here's a post for my little duck-loving Marit...occasionally we're lucky enough here at the office to get a visit from Boodle, my officemate's pet duck. She thinks she's people, but she's a great little duck with a nifty hairdo.


When strangers come around to visit with her (in this case, me) she retreats to dad's lap until she decides it's safe. When she decides we're only there to give her a pet and take pictures she hops down and resumes her inspection of the carpet, no doubt looking for crumbs dropped during countless working lunches.

I think here Jeremy is telling her bird migration stories. "The common Eider flies each spring from the Russian coast all the way down the Aleutian chain to Alaska..." Careful Jeremy, Boodle is studying that map awfully closely. Better keep an eye on her this spring!

Daytrip to Delta Junction

Last weekend good friends Shiway and Dave came up from Seward to try again for this year's moose...they were hoping for better luck near Delta Junction. Since the boys were going to spend the day out moose stalking, it was a perfect excuse for a visit with Shiway, Ellie, and Wyatt back at the homestead. Rachel and I loaded into Julie's car on Saturday and headed south.

Shiway spent some time cuddling Emma who wasn't invited on the moose hunt :( Poor Emma. I'm not sure if Shiway was invited this time, but she didn't seem to mind it if she wasn't!


I got a few pointers on how to turn kid junk food into kid health food. Don't believe it folks...throwing a few diced tomatoes on boxed mac and cheese does not make it health food! Who are they trying to fool?


Rachel practiced the fine art of baby feeding on little Wyatt. She found the best way to keep him quiet while Ellie was out of sight was to shovel in another spoonful of yogurt. "How much yogurt is a baby supposed to eat?", we wondered, as Rachel scraped the sides of the empty container. I hope our little one likes yogurt, because it looks like it's Auntie Rachel's favorite baby treat!

We had plenty of "feel the baby move!" breaks during dinner. Of course there were never any good kicks while the hands were there to feel them. Ellie said that this is the way it works...babies are very good at moving enough to make the mom say, "okay, he's kicking, put your hand here", then staying perfectly still until all hands are gone. Then repeating the process.

Wyatt tried to feel the baby too. Maybe they were communitcating through some secret baby language. Ellie loaned us two boxes of baby clothes and a few toys for our newbie. Maybe Wyatt is saying, "You be careful with my things, baby!" Or maybe he's just saying, "Good luck buddy...the trip outta there is CRAZY!"

Halloween

We had a long few weeks on the baby front here after discovering at our week 31 appointment that the baby had not yet made the turn to a head-down position. There was some concern among our midwives because in AK, if a baby is known to be breech going into labor, the only option for delivery is a C-section. None of us are interested in that so the midwives gave us some suggestions to try to encourage the little banana to turn, most of which involved me upside down (in the pool) or lying on a board propped up at a 45 degree angle, with my head below my hips. None of this was comfortable for me, and because the goal was to make the baby uncomfortable enough to turn, I'm guessing that I wasn't the only one who wasn't enjoying myself. Thankfully, this past Sunday, after a long day of squirming, stretching, and rolling (the baby, not me), I noticed that little feet were poking me at the top of my belly and there was no little round head below my ribs where one had been for the last several weeks. It was confirmed yesterday at my 34 week appointment that the baby is head-down and in an excellent position for birth. Much relief!! So our fingers are crossed that we can coast through the last 6 weeks with little worry.

In other news...Max and I took our "beach ball" out to the annual Halloween bonfire at our good friend Steve's place. Luckily the temperature, though cold enough to freeze a bottle of n/a beer, stayed above zero, and the fire was hot enough to keep our exposed skin comfortable - at least on the side that happened to be facing the fire. Can't you picture Max hanging out in a beat-up VW van somewhere along the CA coast? Damn, he sure can pull off the beach bum look! The night we met he had just returned from a summer at Shoup Bay and hadn't yet made it to the barber. My first impression of him, with his long blonde bangs and visor (despite the fact that the sun had set hours before) was "California surfer dude". This picture brings me back ;-)

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!

The new yard

We had a marathon weekend of house prep that spilled over into Monday, but we managed to get eveything ready for the final grading around the house to be done. Now that the backfill covers the basement the house no longer appears too tall from the outside. Much better proportions. A bonus is that we can now reach most of the house with ladders - much easier for putting up the insulation. The birch are yellowing quickly now that the nights are cooling down. It won't be long before our new yard will be covered with dropped leaves.


Here's the back yard. Unfortunately we've run out of time to get grass seed on the ground. Something to look forward to for next spring.

Now that the grade reaches the first floor we can use the front door for the first time. The entrance steps will be built into the deck walkway which will wrap around this side of the house. Ron also did some nice touch-up work on the driveway while he was at it.

We had the plumbers run the radiant floor tubing while they were here last week. The concrete guys are scheduled to pour the main- and top-story floors on Friday, which will cover the tubing. Until then we're on hold for interior work. This photo shows the kitchen with the base cabinet footprint blocked in with 2x4's. The sink will be centered below the wide window straight ahead.

Nice view out the kitchen window. This looks out towards our second lot that borders the one we're building on to the east. That means we won't have neighbors building a house right outside our window. At the moment all sides of the property are nicely buffered from any unexpected or unwanted development.

What comes after framing?

The framers finished up their last little bits today and pulled out after a long 6 weeks on the job. Now the house is crawling with plumbers and tomorrow they'll be joined by the guys who will put in our air filtration/heat recovery system. Things are getting busy! Here's a look at the stairs heading up to the second floor. We'll have an open banister on the left next to the back room.


Again, the stairs to the second floor. We're really excited about the window seat off the landing - that's straight ahead in this picture.

This is the view from the upstairs hallway looking down over the landing. The window seat bench will be installed after the electricians finish wiring the house in a few weeks. This is on the south side of the house and should be a great sunny spot for a good book and a cup of tea...or a nap. Can't wait!

Max and I got started on the exterior insulation over Labor Day weekend. Now that the weather is turning we've got to hurry to get the septic system installed and the final grading and backfill done in the yard before the ground freezes. We've got just a few more days before Ron the dirt guy comes back with his bulldozer so we better get crackin!

The house is taking on a new look with these super white insulation sheets. I'm happy to see the black membrane get covered up...the days of Darth Vader house are numbered! This building technique calls for two layers of 2" foam board over the house exterior. That makes the basement walls a full foot thick! We were impressed with our very substantial door jam after the first two layers were in place. This should be one warm, dry basement!