A quick baby update for those who are interested. We had some more excitement with the pregnancy where I actually took another trip to the hospital with Nick sweetly by my side. More and more contractions - which are not unusual at all since I have them every day now, except this time they were regular - about every 7 minutes. After about 3 hours of having regular contractions I called the doc and he had me come right in. I really had a feeling that everything was fine, but when there are more than 4 contractions an hour you are supposed to call the doc. I really waited a while because 1. I felt I was fine apart from the pain of contractions and 2. I WANTED things to be fine, but ultimately Nick and my Mom made me call. So I went in and, indeed, I was contracting away regularly so after some monitoring and tests they gave me Turbutiline with some Visterol (spelling?) to stop the contractions. Yuck - I did not like the Turb stuff but the Visterol supposedly tempers it. The Turbutiline made me very shaky - I looked as if I had sat out in the frigid weather we are having as I sat there and quivered. The magazine I was holding shook, the blankets shook. Whole lot of shakin' goin' on. They also did a fetal fibronectin test which came back negative - which is good! It means delivery was not imminent. So, after meds and some more observation, I was allowed to go home! And then they gave me a prescription for Nifedipine to stabilize me further so now I am on that around the clock. The baby is terrific - super active and a great heartrate and growth so I am not worried. I am still pretty restricted as far as activity goes, but at least I am home, so I am NOT complaining. Just trying to keep this baby cooking! This is such a different experience from being pregnant with Kate! But still a blessing! I am so excited to meet our little baby boy! But he just needs to stay in there for a while longer. Thanks to all for prayers, emails, phone calls, and even fun magazines mailed to us all the way from Great Britain for some great, new reading material! Lucky me!

For those who check the blog regularly for updates, I have to apologize for not posting in so long. One would think that I would have much more time for such indulgences since I am now much more restricted in my activities per doctors orders.....alas, I either run out of steam by the time I think of a posting or I am otherwise occupied. Plus, with the fact that I have not been out and about as much, there is not as much news! I have been pretty boring as of late! All is well and the baby and I are fine - and Nick and Kate are wonderful and helpful and very understanding.

Kate continues to provide endless entertainment and, since most of you check the blog for Kate updates, I hope you don't mind a couple of quick stories:

"What does Kate say?"
Kate LOVES to tell you "what animals say". And, thanks to her favorite kids program that talks about exotic animals, her supply of animal sounds is extensive and interesting. She will gladly answer when you ask "What does a Dog say?" (Kate's answer: woof, woof) or "what does a rooster say" (Kate's answer: cockadooooooooo). However, her favorite animals sounds are those of the more international variety as opposed to domestic or farm. For instance, according to Kate, a humpback whale says "awooo, awooo" in a high pitched tone. A macaw says "sqwaaak, sqwaaak" in a very loud and rough voice. A jaguar says "rrawr, rraawwr" in a growly voice and a sloth makes some sort of high pitched squeak indescribable by the english language...you have to hear it. So Kate just LOVES to play the game "what does a ______ say". The other night, her Uncle Patrick was naming every animal he could think of. We always finish off with "what does a bear say" because we find her answer to be funny - she makes a growly face and says in increasing volume with each word "A bear says bear, Bear, BEEAAARRRR". I guess Bear and Grrr sound the same to her. Last night, though - Patrick then asked for the first time - "What does Kate say?" just to see what answer she would come up with. Kate, who had been hopping around imitating animals of all kinds, quickly composed herself, stood very sweetly with her hands folded and with her huge eyes looked up and said "Kate says 'I LOVE YOU'. MELT MY HEART. She is too much.


"I Need Bless Yous"
The other day Kate was following me around the house saying "I need bless yous, Mommy. I need bless yous! Where are the bless yous?" I had no idea WHAT she was talking about. Finally, she found a box of tissues on the bookshelf in my bedroom and grabbed them and said in a very relieved and dramatic voice "Oh, THERE you are Bless Yous! I FOUND you!!!!!" I started laughing and Kate said "Mommy, do you need a bless you?" So tissues are "bless yous".

Well - those are just a couple of quick stories that I, of course, find to be sweet. Hope they make you smile! All is well here - my folks are in town for the holidays and it is WONDERFUL having them here. Kate is absolutely in love with her "Nia and Gramps". Last night we were over there for dinner and when it was time to leave Kate announced that she was staying to "sweep at Nia and Gwamps house". My Dad is off on a business trip tomorrow, but we will have him back for Xmas before he returns to Miami for work.

Well, it is LATE and I am rambling. I will post some more pics very soon. Lots of holiday activities coming up, so lots of pics to be taken. Keep checking for updates. Also, FYI for all of you who are being so WONDERFUL and sending out terrific holiday cards - THANK YOU! We LOVE getting them! Nick and I really struggled with the decision that we made to NOT send a holiday card this year....but we will be doing another mass mailing soon when the baby arrives, so we will consolidate greetings and announcements then. ;) That does not change our wish for all our friends and loved ones to have a joyous and happy holiday season and a new year of peace and happiness!

WOW. What a week this has been! As some folks know, we had some stressful times with the pregnancy these past 8 days. All is well, and we are counting our blessings which are bountiful! Last week I had some pregnancy complications and I actually wound up being hospitalized Tuesday/Wednesday. IVs, medication, monitors and machines that beeped. Not fun and more than a little scary. The doctors think that I may have had a very small tear in the amniotic sac so some amniotic fluid was leaking. The AFI levels were still good, but I also was having pretty strong contractions. So they gave me all kinds of meds and put me on bedrest. But the baby is FINE and I am FINE. I was on bedrest for a week. I went to the doc yeterday and, while I am still contracting a lot and have terrible headaches (which could be brought on by the hormones released when the contractions set in) - the combination of which are really very uncomfortable - the great news is that I am NOT dilating which means it is not preterm labor. Also the small tear in the amniotic sac appears to have healed over, so yay! I just have to deal with the contractions and keep a close eye on their strength, duration etc. Apparently I have an incredibly "irritable uterus" according to the doc, which I find to be hysterical. Too much info? :)

So, I still have some meds for when the contractions and headaches get out of control, but thankfully I was given the greenlight to resume SLIGHTLY normal activity. I can move around, but still cannot lift anything and am pretty limited, meaning if I can sit down, then I should be sitting down. So I can make dinner and do some light cleaning, and light activity, but no mega trips to the mall, no major shopping, no lifting laundry baskets, groceries etc. Can't really lift Kate too much. Basically if I can be resting then I should be resting. It is better than bedrest which was not nearly as restful as one might imagine it would be. I STRONGLY DISLIKED being dependent on others and we had to have friends come over and watch me AND Kate while Nick was at work because I was on meds that made me a zombie and I could not do anything to take care of Kate anyway. It was a lesson in humility to be sure. And my one outing in a wheelchair REALLY woke me up to how handicapped people have to deal with such enormous amounts of crap from insensitive idiots. BUT I can get back to at least walking around and socializing some!!!!

I have to say a HUUUUGE Thank You to the terrific friends and family we have here in the Twin Cities that helped us get through this week. Our friends the Dunns - who just had TWINS and have a 2-year-old - let me crash on their couch for a couple of days during Nick's working hours. Kate and their daughter played and they kept an eye on me in my doped up state. Tim's parents were in town to help with the twins so they kindly offered to help with me as well! We are so grateful! Also, our friend Claudia came over to watch Kate one day and Patrick helped out as well. I am so very sympathetic to women who have to endure this kind of medical necessity for literally months on end. It really shows even more how important and cherished and valued our friends and family are. If I can EVER repay the favor......

Kate is amazingly awesome and has been such a good girl through all of this! It was almost like she knew and was really so very sweet and well behaved. Instead of us running around, she was terrific about reading stories and doing puzzles with me instead. Precious girl. Nick is beyond description as far as how terrific he is. He has been super husband through this ordeal....though I am not surprised. He was so great: Getting Kate up and fed and ready in the morning then heading to work then racing home to make dinner, do laundry, take care of Kate AND me.....all while I lounged on the couch. He is a keeper...not a peep of complaint out of him. I love him so. Really, how in the WORLD did I get so lucky?

Well - this has become a small novel. Probably more info than any of you ever wanted! I just wanted to post about the events as so many have been so kind with warm thoughts and powerful prayers and I wanted to let you know that things are FINE and I so very much appreciate your care! I fear this sounds like a cry for pity or something - far from it. I have just come to realize all the more how precious this life inside me is and I am SO grateful that our little guy is strong and safe and healthy and I will do whatever I can to make sure he stays that way! He is the main concern here. This could have been so much worse and I realize that....it makes me all the more thankful for the way it turned out.

Blessings to all!

Kate the Baby Jaguar with a big bowl of Halloween Candy. Please note the pink bows on the ears, which she insisted on! ;) She calls herself a baby jaguar instead of leopard because one of her favorite shows is "Go, Diego, Go" - an animated show about rescuing animals in the jungle. On the show, Diego has a pet "baby jaguar" and that is what Kate is. When you ask her what a baby jaguar says she answers "Rawr, Rawrrrrrrr" with a growly face. She loved Halloween and had so much fun! Thanks to Popsi and Aunt Mary Ann for the cute costume!

Mom and Kate going trick or treating! Dad stayed behind while we did one side of our block. Then Mom manned the candy bowl at home while Dad and Kate did the other side of the block! All the neighbors loved seeing Kate and she said "Trick or Treat", "Thank You" and "Happy Hawoweeeen" at EVERY house. So fun!

I love candy!!!

This cat is ready to roar! Let's go get some candy!

Kate and her friend, and our next door neighbor, Aidan - two jungle cats!

Our pumpkin family!

Getting into the Halloween spirit

Helping load the dishwasher while accessorizing with parasol.

Kate relaxing in her jumper from Nana after a morning at church

Giggles

Helping load the dishwasher while holding a parasol!

Hmmmm...

Very serious here......

Getting started on a masterpiece.....

Kate is SO excited about the new Easel that her Aunt Erin, Uncle Nick, and Cousin Jack got her for her birthday! Here she is getting ready to do some serious painting.......

Kate and her Dad - I think Nick had been working on the upstairs remodel for a long while at this point and they were both so glad to have some time together!

Kate and her big girl pony tails!

Kate got a fairy princess dress up kit for her Birthday since she loves princesses right now. One morning as I was making breakfast she ran into the dining room all dolled up as a Pajama Fairy Princess, complete with tiara, wings and magic wand. She put it all on herself and had a blast!

Here is Kate absolutely LOVING her visit to the Rainforest Cafe! Such a cute 2-year-old!

We followed our excursion at Camp Snoopy with a trip to one of Kate's Favorites "The Rainforest Cafe". She loves all the tropical fish and "animals". Here she is zoning out with her milk while she watches the fish tank.

Kate, Nick and I all went on a Birthday outing - just the three of us - the day after Kate's birthday. We went to Camp Snoopy and Kate rode all the rides with her Dad, including the tot coaster, the hot air balloons, the merry-go-round and more. She LOVED it! She kept asking to "go again, Daddy!"

Kate enjoying her Birthday Cake.

Kate and her neighbor friend Aidan blowing bubbles at her bday party. Kate is showing him how it is done, of course! ;)

Here is a shot of her Birthday Garb! She wanted a butterfly party and she got one!

Kate loved her butterfly themed birthday party - complete with cake. She blew out the candles all by herself - after singing "Happy Birthday" out loud to herself along with everyone else!

October was a really big month for all of us! The pic above is Kate with her suitcase because she got to spend almost a week with her Nana while Nick and I went on a trip to London! It was wonderful! This followed a terrific second birthday for Miss Kate. And the most RECENT amazing news is that Kate is going to be having a little BROTHER! Yes, the ultrasound has confirmed that we are having a BOY! We are so excited! Kate will be a terrific big sister! In other news, look for a post about the remodel soon - Nick has been putting Bob Vila to SHAME and as soon as I have time to get some pics taken and uploaded, I will write a little blurb about it all. It looks amazing. We are so very blessed and lucky to have each other - and all the wonderful friends and family that bring us joy. Thanks to all!

WHAT A BIG MONTH!!!!!

I have some very important news to announce! It is big!!!!!!! I am going to be a BIG SISTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mommy is going to have a baby! Daddy, Mommy and I are so very excited! My new brother or sister (not sure which one yet) will be here sometime in early March. I am so excited to be a big sister and cannot wait! Mom is finally over feeling sick and is back to her old self now, except she has a growing tummy! I turn two years old in two weeks! What an exciting time - babies and birthdays and joy all around! Yay!!!! Love, Kate

I have some very important news to announce! It is big!!!!!!! I am going to be a BIG SISTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mommy is going to have a baby! Daddy, Mommy and I are so very excited! My new brother or sister (not sure which one yet) will be here sometime in early March. I am so excited to be a big sister and cannot wait! Mom is finally over feeling sick and is back to her old self now, except she has a growing tummy! I turn two years old in two weeks! What an exciting time - babies and birthdays and joy all around! Yay!!!! Love, Kate

Some of you may be surprised that I am wearing a "Navy" Sweatshirt, considering Daddy is Air Force, but it is a great gift from my Nana and Gramps (Gramps went to Annapolis).

Kate on her new bike in her Strawberry Shortcake helmet. (She is OBSESSED with Strawberry Shortcake, lately)

Kate on her new bike: I get 75 miles to the gallon on this hog!

Kate and a little post-bath boogyin'

I DO like my big girl ponytails!!!

I think I like my big girl ponytails!

Kate dancing in her tutu

Kate exploring her artistic side

Celebrating our Independence and my Co-Dependence

The Fourth of July Holiday was marvelous! As we gave thanks for our great country's independence, I came to realize that I am more co-dependent on my family than I ever thought I was! The entire McKenny clan was in town and it is the first time in over a year that we have all been in the same place at the same time! And now that everyone is gone I feel lonely!!! Mom, Dad, Erin, Patrick and I - and Nick, Kate, Nick, Jack, and Tara - all spent time together in St. Paul. It was like going on vacation for me as well - Mom and Dad have bought a great condo here in Minnesota and we spent most of our time there. We had dinner with friends and family here, went on some great outings, and just enjoyed each other's company. Erin and I escaped to Western Minnesota for an amazingly relaxing and tranquil spa-day at a spa retreat in the middle of nowhere on acres of beautiful land. We did Yoga and took an aromatherapy class and hiked the grounds and were pampered! It was a great sister day! On the 4th we picnicked at the Taste of Minnesota and played scrabble and yahtzee and people watched like crazy! Kate absolutely LOVED the fireworks! She snuggled up with Nick and I and watched in amazement, saying "Woooooow" and "Mommy! Butterflies!" as she pointed to the sparkling fires above. All week long she has been asking for "more buttafies, peas".

It was a terrific week. My nephew, Jack, has got to be the cutest little boy on the planet! He is so sweet and funny and as strong as can be. All of the rest of the family is doing well and I am so very grateful for their time here with all of us! Who ever thought that the world-traveling McKennys would congregate in Minnesota? :) It is beautiful here...a well kept secret and well worth the distance and winter cold if you can stand it! :)

So here's to a healthy balance of independence and co-dependence. It seems to be working for me!

A Connecticut Yankee with the South in her Soul

Kate has a new favorite song...."Dixie". As in "In Dixieland where I was born, early on one frosty morn, look away, look away, look away Dixieland. I wish I were in Dixie....". It is on one of her kid songs CDs and she is obsessed with it. There are some "hoorays" and "aways" in the song, but she says them all as a loud and enthusiastic "HOO-RAY!" while throwing her arms in the air. She sings it in the car, she sings it in the family room. She sings it in the tub. All punctuated by arm raising "Hoo Rays"! And the occassional skipping and twirling. It is TOO FUNNY! She loves it so much that on a long car ride home the other day, it was playing in the CD player and as an absolutely exhausted Kate was falling asleep, she struggled to keep her eyes open as her head nodded down....but her arms kept limply half raising in the air as she muttered "hoo ray, hoo ray" as she fell asleep. I WISH I had a video camera for that one!

She sure loves that tune. And her Virginia-born Mother knows that her Texas-born Dad, along with all of our dear Southern family, all get a kick out of Connecticut-born Kate just a-wishin' she was in Dixie....HOO RAY!

Another weekend, another "war"....against the house that is!

Well, at least we seem to be winning the war! (Knock on wood, which is plenty given all the hammering).

Carpenter extraordinaire, Nick, spent another weekend working on the house. It is really shaping up and the light at the end of the tunnel is widening from a pinhole to a small beam. Nick primed, sanded and painted all of the trim work for the baseboards upstairs, including using some great transition moulding pieces. He is using a mitre saw to cut it and has been using his handy nail gun to install. He has a good portion of it done, but it is more painstaking than one might think! Nevertheless, it looks terrific. It really frames out the room and makes such a difference in giving it a fresh and finished look. Nick also painted, cut and installed brand new trim "picture frame" moulding around one of the bedroom doors and hung the newly painted door with satin nickel hardware. It looks great and I cannot wait for all the other doors to be white to match. It looks perfect. Nick insisted on new trim around the doors - he thought the old stuff that was there looked dated. And it did. It was not original to the house, but instead was really cheap, grooved wood that did look pretty junky. He was right - it makes a world of difference with the new trim.

Nick also gave more examples of one of his traits that I envy most - his patience. This is shown exponentially through "The French Door Project". Kate has a set of French doors into her room off of the room that Nick is remodeling. We love the idea and look of french doors. The problem is, these were in miserable shape. The poor sap who installed them before we bought the house really did an awful job. They never took all the plastic off of the panes and there are hundreds of tiny pieces of plastic stuck to the framing and panes. The doorknob hardware was installed incorrectly, making it crooked, and all of it is unpainted wood. Nick used his time while trim was drying to meticulously cut all of the little teeny tiny plastic pieces off of the doors. We are talking something like 30+ panes of glass on EACH door. Then he individually taped off each pane of glass on each side to prep for painting so he would not paint on the glass....one of the doors is under way for painting, but it will take a bit more time to get that tough job done. But what a difference already!!!!!

I could never thank Nick enough for how hard he working on this house. My main concern is that he is doing it because he enjoys it - and he assures me he does. With my RA, I cannot be as much help as we thought I would be when we bought the place. To be honest, had we known then what we know now about my physical limitations, we probably would not have bought a "fixer upper".....we would instead be living in a perfectly nice split level in the burbs in our price range instead of in a house in need of TLC (which is how it fell to our price range) in this neighborhood.....But Nick is making it all happen and I would love for anyone reading this to take a minute to tell him how terrific he is! :)

Anyway....that was the weekend as far as the house goes! Kate did not have a chance to venture into the terrifying and torturous land of swimming lessons this weekend. Her dreams came true and the pool broke, so classes were cancelled for this past weekend! :) We had a great time all the same. My Mom is in town at her condo and we had a great time with "nana", or as Kate calls her "Nia". We spent a good part of the weekend getting Nana's condo more put together (which, for those of you who know my mother, seems like an impossible task since her home is notoriously about as put together as they come). :) tee hee :) Also, Erin, Nick and Jack are visiting and we went to the Mall of America yesterday to their AMAZING aquarium (I was skeptical about it, but if you are ever here, you should go! It is beautiful! I know the words "mall" and "beautiful" do not generally go together, but trust me. And let me clarify - the aqauraium experience is beautiful. The Mall, while great, is not so beautiful). Kate loved the "Wish" as she calls Fish.

Well, it is late and I should be going. Looking forward to a week with my Mom, Dad, sister and brother et al (Dad arrives tomorrow). My main challenge this week is to get Nick to take a break and enjoy some free time that he so richly deserves! The paint and wood and nails will wait....he deserves a cold one and some golf, I think! I know those are his Saturday plans! Yaaaaay for him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS - I have some terrific pics to post soon....Hint: Kate in a TuTu! It is so darn cute!

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.....and kids say the darndest things!

My friend Sif has a blog of her own where she documents funny stories about her toddler, Anna. I don’t think she will mind if I copy off of some of her creativity in documenting some of Anna’s antics by describing some of Kate’s. Reading about Anna’s activities made me smile and think of all the amazing and funny (and similar!) things that Kate is doing these days.

Kate has turned into a little girl. She is no longer a baby! At 20 months old, she is so agile and determined and funny! She will burst into song at any given moment and astounds Nick and I with her terrific pitch and her melody accuracy for someone so tiny! I don’t think it is that she is a baby genius (though admittedly sometimes I DO think that), but that I am constantly in awe of what such teeny people are capable of! Listening to Kate sing her ABCs or Old MacDonald unprompted by me makes my own heart sing. Today she came up to me in the kitchen and pulled me into the living room saying, “Mommy, Asha Asha!” and I had NO clue what she was trying to tell me. Then she grabbed my hands and started turning in a circle singing “ring around the rosie” until we “all fell down”. I could hardly stop laughing – I don’t even know where she learned that! I have not played that game with her.

Kate’s vocabulary is so fun listen to as it expands literally on a daily basis….she says so much I could never write it all down but some of the words that we get a kick out of are:

Mik: milk

Peeeeeeeeas: Please. Almost always dragged out like that.

Opakus: Octopus

Show: what she says when she wants to play on the karaoke machine at my Mom and Dad’s condo. She loves to sing in the microphone and when she is done she sings into the mic “aaaallll doooonnne shoooowwwww”

Mongy: what she calls her good friend, Maggie Dunn

Pahtik: what she calls Uncle Patrick

Nia: What she calls my mom, her Nana

Shaya Baya: means “share bear” which is what she calls all Care Bears. Also the title of a song she loves to have me sing to her.

Ohs Daddy? : means “Where’s Daddy?”

Abre: as in “open” in Spanish, and she uses it to mean Open! Deeya: quesadilla, her fave food

Reyeee, seh, GO!: ready set go

Bot: bed

I Cwy: she announces this to you when she is crying

Hewwo: hello!

Elbow: Elmo from sesame street

Doora: Dora the Explorer

Wish: fish

Pupeeeeeeeeee: puppy

Swirl: squirrel

Hot: Hat

Sowwy: sorry

Kickle: tickle

Tee daaaah: Her flourishing announcement of “Tah dah” when she accomplishes something she is proud of or when she is appreciative of something. This could be upon balancing a block on her head or when the church choir is done singing and she stands up in the pew and yells her applause in the form of “teeee daaaaah” in a silent church!

Nope: nope. This is a favorite lately.

Soos: shoes

Sahs: socks

Ray: rain

Anyway, that is just a snapshot. Whether she is pointing to her cup saying “wawa” or surprising me with a full sentence of “Mommy, I see a buhd (bird)”, I am just 150% proud of and crazy about this Katootles.

A view into the brand new kitchen through Nick's newly stained woodwork/pocket door. This was not original to the house - we closed up some walls and moved some doors in the remodel and are trying to match the new architecture to existing in style and color.

A good pic of the pocket door in the kitchen that Nick stained to match all the other woodwork...still needs hardware, but it is on special order so we wait - something we have gotten very good at in this whole process! WAITING.

A glance from the kitchen into the dining area through the pocket door - which is protruding a bit in this pic. Nick stained all of that...and the window sills in the windows beyond.

A look into the new kitchen. The flash makes the cabinets look a little washed out, but you get the idea. Everything here is new from the ground up. It was totally gutted and rebuilt. The exterior door has yet to be stained.

A peek into the kitchen from the dining area. Nick stained the door frame to match the cabinets. The light colored door to the porch still needs a special stain and has not been done yet.

A look from the bedrooms into the family room area. I cannot believe how great it all is going to look! How great it does look! New fixtures, walls, window...... more trim work to come.

Another look at the upstairs...lots of trim work to finish, but this is a great example of all the wall work and building from scratch that Nick did.

A look at the upstairs....a far cry from the fake stone walls and popcorn ceilings with fake beams that existed before! Still more to do....

This Old House

Despite my protests that Nick should spend his Father's Day being showered with attention by his daughter and wife spending "quality time" at brunch and some fun summer family activihty, Nick insisted that he wanted to work on the house! It should not have surprised me - he really does love playing Bob Villa - and he does a great job at it! Besides - we had a nice chunk of time together earlier in the weekend. After an office party in a skybox at the Twins Game Friday night, and swim lessons with Kate on Saturday morning, Kate and I retreated to my Mom's condo so Nick could work on the house. He worked all Saturday afternoon through Sunday night and when I got home this morning I was amazed - as usual - at how incredible it looks!

One of the ways that we saved money on the kitchen remodel was by deciding to stain all the new trim and doors ourselves instead of paying to have it done. So this weekend Nick stained the new pocket door, the trim around it, the trim around the new exterior door, and the baseboards. He also rejuvinated the old sad looking window sills in the living and dining room with some TLC and new stain. It looks incredibly great! Following that - he ventured into the torturous world of wallpaper removal on the walls leading to the upstairs that we are renovating ourselves. His patience is astounding, as is his attention to detail.

By the way, when I say "WE are renovating" - it is really Nick. I just take care of getting Kate out of the way so Nick can work without interruption. Well - and I get myself out of the way so he can work without interruption! ;) That, and helping with the overall design vision and paint and placement decisions are my contributions. All the heavy lifting is done by Nick. He is awesome!

I have to go get lunch for the peanut here.....she is thrilled to be back home and always notices Nick's accomplishments and applauds them with an extremely enthusiastic "Woooooowwwww!!!!". What a girl!

By the end of the lesson she had had more than enough.

She lightened up a little here.....

Kate completely distraught at swimming lessons. She could not get her arms around Nick tight enough!

Kate and Nick getting ready for Kate's first swimming lesson. Let's just say it was not a big hit with Kate - she was not a fan of the pool as evidenced by the other pictures showing her clutching her Dad with all her might.

Kate