Kaizen Klan

Shed

We came down the week after Christmas to do some work on the house. Unfortunately, they still weren't done putting it back together so we decided to start some outside work instead. On this trip we poured the foundation of our shed. We went through over 2 pallets of cement. For those of you that don't know, that's quite a bit. Each bag weighs 60 lbs and each pallet has 56 bags on it. That means that Don lifted over 6,720 lbs that day. No wonder he was a little sore.

Téa the big helper

Caden keeping a close eye on the progress

First we cleared and leveled the site

Once the cement has dried we can erect the walls of the shed

The frame for the shed

Don lifting cement

One section done

We have to pour it, tamp it, and then smooth it

Some of the damage

Don mixing the cement

Pouring it in the frame

Smoothing it out

Don cleaning up the edges

Half way there

Our little nugget has officially passed the halfway point. We had our 20 week ultrasound and everything looked absolutely perfect. The baby's heart rate was around 150 beats per minute. The baby was measuring in at 7 inches long and 10 oz at the time of the ultrasound. We got to see the heart with all 4 chambers, the spine and of course the adorable little profile. We did not want to find out the gender so you're going to have to wait another 20 weeks to find that out. The baby has been moving quite a bit. I'm hoping soon the baby will kick or hit hard enough that the kids can feel it. They both understand a little bit. If we ask them where the baby is Caden says in Mommy's belly and Téa runs over to lift my shirt up but I'm not sure how much of it they really get. I'm hoping that when they can feel it move and as they see Mommy's belly grow bigger and bigger, their understanding will be a little better. I've been feeling great! If it weren't for my growing waistline and feeling the baby move every once in awhile I probably wouldn't even remember that I'm pregnant. Since we've passed the hump we officially get to start counting down the weeks until baby comes.

8 weeks pregnant

Little nugget at 7 weeks

14 weeks pregnant

18 weeks pregnant

More pictures from our 20 week ultrasound (the baby's head is on the right)

The baby is facing down with it's head on the right, it's spine is curving up, it's little bum is on the far left, and little leg is on the left side

The back side of the baby - the head and shoulders are on the right and the body is on the left.

Making Progress

The house is slowly coming together. As of Christmas they had the largest 2 sections of the house leveled and put back together. This was the first time we were able to get into the house since it had been moved. The house was in major shambles because part of moving it means they have to roll up carpets, pull up floors, take off doors and tape up all the cupboards. We were a little taken back by how bad it looked inside, but we knew it had to get worse before it got better. We're hoping the workers finish putting the house back together in the next week or so.

Here we are sitting in front of our future front door

A view of our home from on top of the hillside above

Another view of our house

The 2 largest sections on the left are leveled and put back together

Caden and Ma'ma standing in front of the house

The kitchen with the lights taken out and cupboards taped up

The den with the carpets rolled up, and doors laying all over the floor

The dining area with the taped up hutch

Here is the living room, the plastic on the left side is where the remaining piece of the house will be added on.

The bathroom all taped up

The master bedroom. The plastic on the left is where the remaining section will be attached. The big pieces of wood are part of a staircase off of the master bedroom. What a mess!

The master bathroom.

More of the master bedroom

Daddy and Téa in front of our future fireplace

Peeking out the front door.

The remaining section

These piers are spread out underneath the house. They are the only thing holding our house off the ground and keeping it level. Apparently, they're even strong enough to withstand earthquakes. I sure hope so.

Our future back yard.

The front of the house with the picture windows. We're going to be building the kids rooms off of the right side of the house. Hopefully by this time next year Caden and Téa will have their own rooms.

Christmas 2009

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. We were lucky enough to get to celebrate Christmas with both sides of the family. A few days before Christmas, Don's family, which includes his Uncle John, Aunt Barbara, Grandma, sister Lindsay and her boyfriend Brian, came to Monterey and we had a Christmas celebration with them. We desperately missed Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Alicia but hopefully by this time next year they will have made the move from Florida back out to California. Spending the holiday with Don's side makes me realize that we need to have more family gatherings with them. We left Christmas eve night and headed south to spend Christmas with my side of the family. We had a wonderful time seeing the great grandparents, Mama and Papa, Aunt Valarie, Uncle Judd, Brandon and cousin Aleah. Téa was her typical self and left with 2 nicknames from Papa. The first nickname she earned was "Téa the Terror", and the second was "Hemroid Harriet". I keep telling her it's not good when the grandparents give you naughty names; grandparents are supposed to be the ones that think you're an angel. The kids got lots of wonderful gifts. Caden received a basketball hoop and keyboard (from Santa), several construction trucks (his newest obsession), a mini guitar and lots of nice clothes. Téa got a princess dress up kit and new baby doll (from Santa), a princess tea set and kitchen cooking set, a purse and cellphone (which she carries around constantly) and lots of adorable clothes. All in all it was a wonderful holiday and we feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Don's side of the family