Another construction success

Well, some plans got botched for the Labour Day weekend and so I decided to dive into another project that's been sitting idle for a full year - grouting the backsplash. Of course on Saturday when I started I thought it could perhaps take the full day but that was it. It turned into a labour of love. When I tiled, I used adhesive instead of mortar, and way too much of it. Everywhere around the mosaic tiles that was supposed to get filled with grout was already full of fully-cured adhesive. So it became as much work as scraping out old grout to re-grout. It basically took near 2 full days of prep before any grout could be mixed. I wore a hole in my forearm.

There's still lots more work to do but this was a milestone. It also means another stopping point for now as it's time to get this defense exam scheduled and defended. The ball has been in my court now for a few weeks.

2011 Construction Updates

Overcoming 1/2 jobs is awesome. Here are a couple of recent ones.

We've had a bare wire dangling out of the ceiling reminding us to finish the ceiling fan project but were finally motivated to do so. I built a little cedar box at the apex, sanded and painted it, so I wouldn't have to touch the drywall. The light we gave up can be seen now as a white cover plate but the new fan has 3 Halogen style spotlights. Considering we'd have to rent a ladder each time a bulb burnt out we got LED bulbs which ended up costing 1/2 the price of the fan. The fan has a remote so you can use the light independently of the fan and vice versa.




The other dreaded job was the last cabinet door. Doesn't look like much but it started as a standard size door and was broken apart and cut down to this size. This was the biggest labour of love ever but at least I can say they are now custom cabinets. Still plenty to do....

A look back at the mini girl

Looking back through our photos it's crazy to think that I've already somewhat forgotten just how small Amber really was!

Amber at 1 month old

Amber at 7 months

Napping with Dad at 3 months

Napping with Dad today

 She seems big to us even if she is only in the 10th percentile!

Sleep? Who needs it!

Amber is still struggling to have a full nights sleep these days. Actually, I wouldn't say that she's struggling, but I certainly am!

Sleep isn't a problem as long as mom is willing to hold me!

At 7.5 months she still has quite a few nights where she wakes up every hour. Needless to say I am more than just a little sleep deprived - sigh. I've tried quite a few different techniques to have any sort of success, but nothing seems to work for any more than a token night here or there.

It would be great if it was just a case of her having her days and nights confused, but she hardly naps during the day. So either she's not getting her recommended 14 hours of sleep each day, or she's sneaking naps in when I'm not looking!

A rare and peaceful moment

Somehow I've managed to adapt to only getting ~4 hours of sleep each night (I wish this was an exaggeration, but I'm actually lucky to get 4 hours each night). Once I get up and mobile - and have my much needed one allowable cup of coffee - I seem to be able to function as well as any other new mom :)

I find I'm quite jealous when I hear of other babies around the same age sleeping so well through the night. I've even heard of some that are quite a bit younger than Amber that sleep better than she does! I'm sure there will come a time when I look back at this and have a laugh. At the moment, however, it just seems tiresome.

You don't need sleep when you look this cool ;)

To Washington and back!

Amber has really been logging her driving miles these days! We took a little mini vacation and decided to drive down the Washington coast. It was a bit of a dual purpose trip as Tim found a canopy for his truck in Aberdeen Washington.

Our first stop (after picking up the canopy) was to Westport, which is a beautiful little surfing town southwest of Seattle.

While in Westport we stayed in a cute little motel that overlooked the ocean. Loca was pretty happy that we were in a ground floor unit so she could run out the door and sniff out her new surroundings.

After some much needed rest we checked out in the morning and headed for the beach so that Tim could get in some surfing. As for the girls and I, we had a nice relaxing time on the beach - pure bliss :)

Tim getting ready for a surf session

The girls and I enjoying the beach

Next we were off to La Push for some camping. I was impressed at how well Amber did with her first camping trip. I think she really enjoys being outdoors as much as possible.

I have to admit, our tent was more than just a little cozy with all four of us in there, but it was an adventure. Plus, the fresh air really does feel great when you wake up in the morning - too bad it was only about 16 degrees though! I had Amber wrapped up like a Stay Puft marshmallow for most of our time at the camp ground :)

Other highlights of our night in La Push include:
Forgotten BBQ nozzle = weenie roast over the campfire

and Loca's extreme fetching

The next morning we took our time, enjoyed the campground and beach a little longer and then packed up and started to make our way home.

The McNelson's at La Push

Amber ready to roll out!

We decided to do a bit of sightseeing while on our way home as well. We made it to Hobuck beach which is pretty close to the most northwestern point of the contiguous United States. Once again the beach there was absolutely amazing and nearly empty!

Amber and dad at Hobuck beach

After Hobuck we made our way to Port Townsend and then took the ferry over to Whidbey Island for the last leg of our trip.

On the Whidbey ferry

It was a long day of travel with quite a few stops to see the sights and stretch our legs, but it was worth it to see the beautiful coastline!

Approaching the 7 month mark!

I can't believe Amber is only a few days away from being 7 months old! Time is really starting to fly now that she is a lot more interactive and eating solids. We're even up to three meals a day :) She definitely lets me know what she likes and doesn't like - full body wretch = dislike.....baby bird open mouth = like

In terms of development, Amber is still resisting sleep at night. Some nights are better than others, but there are still a few nights here and there where I see every hour on the clock. I keep thinking that "tonight will be different", but so far Amber has proved that she is anything but predictable!

After her 6 month check-up and shots we found out that Amber is taking after mom a little more these days. She's fallen to the 15th percentile in weight and the 10th in height. Looks like we have a petite little girl!

All in all things are going great. Amber is really helping me keep in shape as she loves to go on jogs with me in her stroller. She usually just looks around at all the things going by and then after she's had enough of that, she peacefully falls asleep.

Passed out with Grandma after a long day :)

Amber's first road trip!

Over the past two weeks Amber has become quite a seasoned car traveler! We decided it was about time to go and show Amber off to the Nelson side of the family.

Our first leg of the journey was to visit Grandma and Grandpa Nelson in Fairmont, BC. After an extremely long drive we arrived at 4:30am (Fairmont time). We decided to drive during Amber's bedtime so the stops/meltdowns would be less frequent. At first Amber wasn't all that happy about spending that much time in the car, but she eventually fell asleep and we powered through the drive. Thankfully Tim is a pro at doing the long late night drives!

Posing with Grandma

Relaxing on a hot summer day

Amber also had a chance to meet her cousins and Aunt and Uncle for the first time in Fairmont!

Meeting her cousins Oakley and Georgia for the first time!

A quick snug with Uncle Paul

Me and Oakley - what a cutie!

During the last couple of days in Fairmont, we were lucky enough to spend a day on Windermere Lake where Tim and I got to try out some wake surfing! Tim was already a seasoned surfer:

 I, on the other hand, was a newbie to the sport and needed a bit more coaching:

 Amber really seemed to enjoy her time on the boat as well!

Our next stop was Calgary where we celebrated Tim's uncle Ken's 60th birthday. Amber was a big hit that night....makes us realize that soon we will only be known as "Amber's parents". In addition to the big celebration, Amber got to meet her great grandma Dode!

Just before we decided to leave Calgary we spent a night visiting our friends Mike and Kelly. Once again, Amber was all smiles and charm!

Next stop was Elkford, BC to visit with Paul, SJ, Georgia and Oakley a little more. During our visit there Tim managed to get in some "epic" mountain biking with Paul.

To wrap up our road trip we drove back to Fairmont to celebrate Tim's birthday with his parents. Once our short visit was done there we decided to drive back home at nighttime so Amber could sleep. Poor Tim manned the wheel from 7:30pm (Vancouver time) to 5:30am when we pulled into our parkade!

We had a great trip, but are also happy to be home again :)

All tuckered out :)