More news

So the big news of this month is that we bought a house in Boerne, TX and I officially gave notice at my job. I'll be leaving in Feb. and moving to San Antonio, where Loren has been working for the past few months and has recently been permanently assigned. It will be SO wonderful to live in the same town as a family again!

The house we bought was a foreclosure, with LOTS of problems. Definitely a "fixer-upper." But we got a really great deal and already have it pretty much gutted! Loren's parents came out last week to start working on it. We figured out a general plan and they went to work on demolition.

Some interesting finds so far:
-the house does not have a foundation (oops, minor building oversight)
-it is completely infested with fleas
-there was a dead raccoon under the master bathroom

So that gives you a bit of an idea of what we are up against!

It was really really gross to start with and was totally random. There were rooms added on in a maze so you never knew where you were, and random things like a hot water heater in the middle of the master bedroom (literally).

We've had a great time planning what to do. We are moving walls, rewiring, redoing plumbing, adding bedrooms, etc.

Here is a shot of the original layout:

And the new plan:

Here are a few before photos:

Front of the house

Master bathroom

Kitchen

Living room

Bedroom #1

Here is the link for the rest of the before photos.

So now, many walls have come down, drywall is down, all fixtures have been removed, and it is basically a shell. They tell me the foundation is next, then framing for exterior doors/windows.

So here are some new photos from this weekend:

Kitchen and living room (with bedroom #1 walls and kitchen wall gone)

Taking a break

Kitchen with playroom in back

breakfast nook

Living room/ bedroom #1 with walls gone

Hallway to kids bedrooms

Kids bedrooms

Here is the link for all of the recent photos.

Big changes!! We are very excited. A million thanks to Kent and Debbie for all their work and to Jim and Sarah Hewitt for their extended stay facilities:)

First haircut

Kate had her first real haircut today (by real, I mean by someone other than me). We had a coupon for one of the glittery- hot pink kids places and Kate loved it. She also got a mani-pedi. Don't know who enjoyed it more- Kate or me :) Except I can't get over how BIG she looks!

Here is Kate counting to 21, complete with a bout of giggles in the middle:

DIY maternity scrubs

I'm pretty pleased with these scrubs I converted into maternity scrubs. They were old ones that were a size too large, and I made a gathered empire waist on the top and used my bella band (which never really worked for me) as the panel for the bottoms. I've never been able to wear drawstring pants below my baby belly- my babies are too low! So I really need the over the belly type. These are totally comfy now!

August update

It is back to school time at the UT-Houston School of Dentistry, and students are once again filling the hallways. I've got about 12 lectures to give this fall, and 9 of them are in the next few weeks, so I've been busy getting those prepared.

I'm feeling so much better this month than last. In July I had 6 migraines, felt like I was going to throw up all the time and was completely exhausted. The funny thing is that now that I'm feeling better, I realize how really badly I was feeling during June and July.

I'm still tired, but I do have energy to make it past 7pm without a nap. At 15 weeks now, belly is growing and is visible- although still maybe in the "too much lunch or pregnant?" category. I don't think I've felt any movement yet, but I'm definitely on the lookout! I've switched doctors and am now seeing a family friend, which I debated over, but finally went with and am very happy I did! I can call him on his cell phone and he calls me back himself in 20 minutes. Much improved over leaving a message on the nurse phone and waiting 48+ hours for a bad reply from the nurse.

Kate is thrilled that she is going to be a big sister and gives kisses to my tummy every day. She talks all the time about our baby and how she is going to be a good helper. I think she really is.

We had a great time at the Wehmeyer family reunion in early July. Kate went on vacation for most of June and July with her grandmas and absolutely loved every minute of it. She spent lots of time with her cousins and on the lake in Washington.

I've realized in writing this post that I have very few photos from our entire summer. I'll need to be better. I do have a couple of videos, though! Kate loves to make up songs and sings to herself while she is going to sleep all the time. I don't know how to edit the videos, so you get the entire thing.

Photo summary of June, July

Sorry I've been MIA...I haven't been feeling well the past few months:

Due 2.5.12 :)

Ballet

How did it get to be almost June? Sorry for the long time with no updates. We've had a very crazy, very busy spring. 

Our house in NC sold and (finally) closed, and our condo in Iowa City also sold, so we were thrilled about that! 

Loren has been spending some time in San Antonio and some time in Austin. Still 3 nights/week gone. He is only sleeping in his truck in Austin, though--and he did buy a cot this weekend so he can upgrade to sleeping in his office. San Antonio pays for him to have a hotel room, since he is "on assignment."

Kate is continuing to thrive at her preschool. She can write the entire alphabet and can write words that are dictated to her. She loves to collect sticks on walks and loves ballet lessons. She recently had a recital, and Annie came to see it. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Getting ready:

She looked at herself in the mirror and said "I'm beeeeeeautiful!" and she was.

 You can just see the excitement in her face!

These are some of the girls from Kate's preschool.

Kate is the 4th from the right.

...phew! That was a lot of work!

Annie!

...and then meltdown on the way to the car. It was a long, exciting day! Kate wanted to take off her shoes and leotard and walk in just her tights. She "compromised" with having one arm inside her leotard.

Needless to say, she slept in the next day!

Houston Rodeo

The Houston Rodeo is a big deal in Houston...it lasts the entire month of March and takes place at Reliant Stadium, just about a mile from our house. We went the last weekend and had a great time! It is really like the State Fair, Texas style. They have famous country singers perform each evening and a rodeo. Kate's favorite part was the mutton busting, where 5 year olds wearing helmets hold onto a sheep and attempt to ride it across the arena. It was hysterical, however, no chance I'm letting my baby do that! She also loved the rides. She brought her piggy bank and spent her own money to buy tickets for the rides.

Kate loves her Texas hat and wears it whenever she can:)

Kate has made some new friends at preschool- Nethia, Snow, Lucy, Solice and Eden, to name a few. They are a very diverse group of kids!

She also loves the little girl down the street, Simone. Their favorite game is hide and seek.