House With Glass

More House

Grandma and Grandpa Voss paid us a visit this weekend. We visitied the new house, which is almost framed in completely and then went downtown to shop and get some eats. It's always a pleasure to share a weekend with Bob and Gail. The conversation is always good and we do a lot of laughing.

Bean's sprouting!

Today I had an appointment at New Dawn Midwifery (www.newdawnmidwifery.com). We heard the heartbeat with the doppler, and talked about the fact that New Dawn is no longer delivering babies at Park Ridge (where we had originally intended to have the baby). Now they are partnering with Mission St. Joseph, a mile down the road from us. Seth and I have mixed feelings about this change...we had heard so many wonderful things about Park Ridge and have so many friends who have had unmedicated births there. We plan to take a tour of Mission in the next month to see what the facilities are like. It looks like, due to my travel schedule, we will probably not begin childbirth classes until December when I'll be far along in my pregnancy and not traveling anymore. Aside from a little heartburn and some occasional clumsiness, I'm feeling well bodily. I think we have some more preparation to do mentally and emotionally, it's a big change! One decision we have made is to have lots of quiet and calm for the first 6 weeks after the baby's born...so we won't be hosting any family or friends overnight (aside from my mom), even if we're in the new house (though we will welcome visits). After 6 weeks, we'll start making the transition back into the world. One of the women at New Dawn brings her baby to work, and I was asking some about that. It would be a great family benefit if my employer allowed me to bring the baby to work once a week, depending on the personality of the baby. Seth may also request to work from home once a week. Bean's kicking and rolling multiple times every day. She/he especially likes pose of a child in my yoga class, that always gets plenty of kicks and rolls. We're getting excited to meet her/him!!

Blue Skies and Trusses!

Here's a picture Seth took today, we were excited to see the roof trusses go up and the decking begin. We're impressed with the framers (who even sing as they work), and feel good about how the house looks thus far. Seth got a huge compliment from the project manager today, who was so interested in our design that he's asked Seth to design some cabins for him. Stay tuned, tomorrow I have an appointment at New Dawn Midwifery and will post a new picture of the belly and tell how it went.

3 High

Framing continues. Mandy and the baby are due for an update. She's washing dishes this morning so look for something tonight or tomorrow. Great day to all!

Framing at Dusk

The framing crews have made it to the third level. We must admit the house is looking very large, or maybe high is the correct word. The street is clogged with lumber and trucks creating a little frustration with the neighbors (I was chastised by a woman in an escalade on my way home).

Celebrating 20 Weeks and 3 Walls

This weeks we celebrate 20 weeks of new life in Mandy's belly. Baby Bean is beginning to shift around; papa felt it for the first time on Wednesday night. We feel blessed and fortunate to have made it this far and are hopeful for another 20 weeks of healthy growth. The house is doing some kicking of it's own. Three walls have been framed and we're now able to get a feel for the scale of the rooms. Framing should take about two-three more weeks.

Post Labor Day Labor

Framing began today. The sub floor is down and the first floor walls should go up tomorrow. It's been a busy week for us. Mandy preaches this Sunday so she's been spending a good bit of time writing and rehearsing. The air is getting cooler and we're happy for the arrival of fall. We'll post a update of Mandy's belly this weekend. Tomorrow we celebrate 20 weeks.