First floor framed

The build project is proceeding along relatively smoothly. Here are a few shots taken recently after the first floor was framed.

The portion on which these workers are focusing will become the garage. Once the earth that was removed to provide a spot for the foundation thaws, the garage will be back-filled with it. A layer of crushed stone goes on top, and then concrete is poured to form the garage floor. From within the garage, one will climb a short set of stairs into the mudroom that you can see roughly in the center here.

The back of the house is an open concept kitchen and family room that extends the entire width of the house. The opening/outcropping that you see on the far right here is to accommodate the fireplace in the family room. You can barely make it out from this picture, but the family room also has a big picture window that looks out on to the backyard.

Looking at the front of the house, the front door is to the left of the garage. It will be under a covered porch area which will also extend over an office that you see on the far left here. There will also be a covered patio area in the rear of the house, just off the kitchen.

Mister Man Upright

The little man went from commando crawl to all fours to pulling himself upright in a span of about two weeks. Here he is digging the view from on high.

Christmas morning 2009

What a great Christmas we had this year! Jocelyn is just starting to really figure out what is going on with all the decorations and gifts, and Ian loves the attention that comes with seeing family and all the new stuff to examine and explore.

Since we are living in a rental right now with limited space, we really tried to cut back on the number of toys the kids received this year, and instead focused mainly on musical instruments and books. Jocelyn loved the mini-piano we bought for her - she had been seeking it out every time we visited Magic Beans the past few months!

The little man liked it as well, though less as a musical instrument than as a tunnel.

He received his own music-making activity table and has been playing with it nonstop...

...and he is also a big fan of the marching band set that our friends Firas and Thom bought for Jocelyn, much to her chagrin.

They both loved the books they received, and the attention that comes along with having them read to them!

Ian couldn't get enough of having all kinds of new things to check out - it gives him the opportunity to show off his newfound crawling and standing skills!

Christmas Eve - Jocelyn is 2!

On the 24th, we had family over to celebrate not only Christmas Eve, but also Jocelyn's second birthday. Although we plan to keep having a "half-birthday" party for her each June so the two occasions don't get jumbled together, we had cake and just a few presents to commemorate the anniversary of our best Christmas gift ever!

Jocelyn loved the party favors we picked for her, which included some Disney Princess balloons for our little princess. She never let the balloons out of her sight all night.

The little man was less than enthused that Jocelyn wouldn't let him hold the balloons too...

...but once guests arrived and he started getting some solid lap time, he was much more excited to show off the Christmas outfit Momma picked for him.

Jocelyn was much more into the singing of "Happy Birthday" this time around, although the anticipation of digging into her princess-themed cake may have had something to do with that.

She had two slices and asked for a third before we had to cut her off! It's tough to go to sleep to wait for Santa to arrive when you're dealing with a sugar rush.

She loved her birthday gifts, which included a tea set from Momma and Poppa...

...and one of her new favorite books, "The Napping House," which she received from Aunt Cathy and has asked to read just about every night since!

Our First Snow Storm

The first real snow storm of the year arrived just in time to give us a white Christmas! Jocelyn wasn't too mobile during the winter last year, so this was her first experience trying to make her way through the drifts. We think she liked it!

We started out with some technical difficulties, trying to keep the mittens on...

But once we got those issues licked she was all set to make her first snow angel (and a lot more excited about it than the photo suggests).

Success!

Making her way through knee-deep snow (for her anyway) was another story...we had to call in the reinforcements to bail her out a few times.

The little man had what amounted to a Bumbo seat made out of snow, and was watching all the action unfold...

...and even though the snow was a little too light to try to build our first snowman, he seemed to enjoy himself!

Santa 2009

Grammy helped get the traditional Santa photo this year while Poppa was working. The kids were surprisingly unafraid. I think because Jocelyn, who cried immediately last year after sitting upon Santa's lap, had the opportunity to watch a number of children ahead of her prior to her turn with the big guy. And the little man just rolls with it these days ~ he could have cared less!

Making Christmas Cookies for Friends and Family

Jocelyn helped decorate cookies yesterday morning before they were delivered to friends and family...

She loved the green sprinkles best...

But ultimately decided to give the red sprinkles a chance as well...

Grammy jumped in to help...

And the sprinkle container was a big hit ~ look at the concentration happening!

She certainly seems to like helping out!

And here is a result of her very hard work!! Some of you may recognize them!

And all the while, the lil' man could have cared less! He was asleep the entire time!