Spring Forward

Daylight Savings happened today and I am pretty surprised that Natalie pretty much went on her normal schedule with the time change. I know I have heard many parents say in the past that whoever decided upon daylight savings time didn't have kids, but it really was not a problem at all in the Andreae household...thank goodness!

We had a pretty busy weekend.

Friday evening, Natalie and I met Bobby at the Terre Haute homeshow since we had free tickets from his work (it's only $3 a person normall, but I definitely would not have even paid that). Natalie was good the whole time in her stroller and Bobby was able to get some pricing information on insulation/drywall for our basement project and priced out how much it would be for a fence to be installed by someone else (pretty sure we will be doing that on our own, or I should say Bobby and friends). We have a huge fence to put up...I think Bobby said somewhere in the ballpark of over 250' and we definitely want to get that up before the new neighbors move in (we're thinking before June).  My parents also came into town so that my dad could help Bobby out with the basement walls.  I bet they wished we lived much closer after all these trips to Terre Haute, but my mom definitely doesn't mind because she gets to play with Natalie all weekend long...Natalie loves it too!

Here are some before pictures of the basement:

Looking at Bobby's future office

Bar/game area

Guest room will be the inlet with the window

Looking at the "media/sitting" room with storage in the very back

Bathroom will be near the water heater and white pipe with open space at the indented area

Looking at toward where bathroom/storage will be

Saturday, the guys worked down in the basement and started putting up the walls (the framing). They worked while us girls "played", except we did go over to the old house to clean out the garage since we had never done that since we moved back in July. My mom and dad finished clearing it out while I stayed home with Natalie and while Bobby went out to dinner for a little bit for a co-worker's birthday. Now our current 3 car garage does not look as spacious since the 3rd stall is completely full. However, the wooden swingset we got from Bobby's sister is taking up the most space. We have a lot of "junk." My dad's poor knee was really bothering him this weekend, but he was a tremendous help to Bobby and I don't know what we would have done without him. Surprisingly enough, with all the pounding, sawing, nail-gunning, etc, Natalie had no problem sleeping and took very good naps!

Since my aunt is out of town, my mom is watching her dog and Natalie absolutely loves her. Probably because Lacie stays in one spot and lets Natalie pet her, lay on her, kiss her and hug her. Lacie is also very soft. So, while Lacie wasn't hiding behind our couch, Natalie loved every minute of snuggling with Lacie. Natalie's idea of kisses from Lacie is to get in her face and open her mouth wide so Lacie can kiss her, and that is just what Lacie does. She doesn't kiss her any other time except for when Natalie does that. Lacie was great with Natalie!

Natalie giving Lacie hugs 

Petting Lacie...such a nice doggie (Natalie's FAVORITE word)

Sunday was a low-key day for the girls. Daylight savings put a little kink in the guys' schedule since they forgot about it and they "lost" an hour.  My mom and I worked a lot with Natalie on walking and she did awesome all day. She is still really unsteady, but she walked a TON and the most steps she took at one time was 14!  We are hoping Natalie will be walking by Easter so she can participate in the Easter egg hunt(s)!

The guys were in the basement much longer than anticipated and still have some short walls to do, but are making good progress. Bobby also had to do a couple other handyman things in the house, such as taking apart the dryer to reset the heat sensor since it wasn't drying clothes. Then, he had to finish burying the Time Warner and Dish cables in the yard, as well as temporarily fix the loose piece of siding.  I don't think when I married Bobby that I would have ever called him handy, but he has really surprised me over the years!

I am so appreciative of my parents for helping us pretty much EVERY TIME they come down to Terre Haute, as well as making the long trips. However, I'm sure they will tell you that an adorably cute 1 year old makes the trips worth it every time!

Next weekend, Natalie starts swim lessons at ISU on Saturday mornings. I know she is going to LOVE it!