NOTE: if the video links don’t come through – copy and paste into your browser to view.
A very. long. post. for a VERY full month and a half. You have been forewarned! But we can’t begin without a bit of LL during our mulch shoot we had to take photos for her thank you cards:
I always like to give her something to play with when we photograph, and thought it was fitting to use her ‘I love you’ wooden teether 1. because she’s becoming a rockstar at signing! (see the video below – unfortunately it’s cut short) and 2. because it was neutral! We had fun… sort of.
ok, back to the mulch session:
below she was politely letting me know that she was ‘all done’ by signing and saying ‘daauuh’?? And yes, just after she fell into the mulch, we were most definitely ‘all done’!
Speaking of the mulch (and I wish we had a photo of last year’s yard, because stating that it was overgrown is an understatement! It was truly a small forest), we decided it’d be good to nip the weeds in the bud and at the very least clean some things up by laying some mulch. So we headed to our city site and picked up a few truck-fulls of ‘less-than-great-but-it-does-the-job-FREE-mulch and laid ‘er down.
Tad has been working SUPER hard this past month both in and out of the house! (we’ll get to what’s going on INSIDE in a bit). There were just (and still are) some oddly placed and sore looking items in our yard that needed to see their final day. This bush for example:
And this tree, which is now a lovely stump:
Now that the spring perennials are gone, the back was left colorless, so thankfully this weekend, Tad’s momma came and helped bring some life – COLOR in the form of pretty flowers. And SOON there will be color! Now, if only I can keep them alive. I do have a good solution for this, believe it or not! It comes in the form of a three foot round plastic thing which will be our summer fun: the lil pool.
LL has already truly been enjoying playing in the water outside on hot days, or just being outside in general, so my plan for the flowers is to water every time I fill up her pool (just not on the jet setting – perhaps the mist or shower setting)
We’ve had fun in her new sweet swim halter from Aunt Nichole and the sun hat gma-Marty made:
But, ya know, skinny-dipping has its perks too: (Now if I can just teach her to leave her toys inside the pool so she doesn’t try to get them and fall head first onto the concrete. sigh.) 
We’ve been sitting on the quilt a family friend made for her a lot already this summer, playing with leaves and sticks while momma reads.
And having fun and playing with dad.
And getting bit by monster skeeters resulting in lots of swelling (the middle knuckle if you couldn’t tell):
And LOVING wagon rides!!! (thanks gpa + gma Asay) …so much so that we’ll cry when we pass by the red wagon only to find that we’re getting in the car instead:
Side note: the wagon is proving to be a wonderful walking aid for LL!
This is probably her typical posture while ‘chillin’ in her ride, though every once in a while she’ll try to prop a foot up on the side. (See the naners in the bag?? We were just heading home from the grocery store!)
Speaking of rides, we’ve done a good amount of riding in the car this past month. Tad had a bit of training to do for work and was up in the twin cities for a full week, so to break up his time away, LL and I joined him for a couple of days mid week. We shopped, we walked, we ate, and we made a mess of the hotel with our O’s. Bestly though (it’s a word!), we got to see dad :)
And somehow, in all of her free time, LL pick up a little somethin somethin at the mall, and when we all returned home, she presented THIS to me for momma’s day:
It was full of all kinds of LUSH goodies (yes they were lush, but I don’t mean that, I mean LUSH cosmetic goodies, hand-made yummies good for my nose and well being) Because of my growing belly, the rose and argan body conditioner was probably my favorite in the package. Thanks little lady!
We also traveled over to ‘Mtown’ to visit great gramps n gram McD. Thanks for loving on us! 
Also this month (late last month?), we FINALLY had our first prenatal appointment. I guess we thought mid-way through was a good time to start care;) Actually there were a couple of reasons for the wait, but the primary reason was the month or so without insurance due to Tad’s job switch. But we’re thankful to be where we are and to have heard the babe’s heart beat beating well. Linley even got to hold the doppler! Because Tad wasn’t able to make it to the appointment with us this time, we took a video for him, so have a look if you’d like to watch. I had my blood levels tested as well and am deficient in a couple of areas (This post is becoming quite long, so we can chat about that and nutrition in the next).
It was good to hear and even more fun to have Linley so involved. I have been asking the Lord to tell me what this babe will be like. If he/she is half as goofy, tenacious, and strong-willed as his/her older sister, boy are we in for a real treat! Lately we’ve been:
finding it humorous to stuff food down the back of our shirt
and sitting for Loooong lengths of time (attention undivided-the tenacious part) trying to either 1. put a lid on and off of something 2. take these mini books in and out of their case 3. put either her or your shoes on and off or her or your feet. She seems very patient! Every once in a while she’ll get frustrated that something she’s been trying for so long at isn’t working, but with some gentle encouragement she continues on and has mastered a few things! She’s just so intent on making it work!
For example, this past week, I gave her markers to explore with for the first time, she colored for just a bit, but as soon as she saw the box, there was no more coloring – she was far more interested in getting that marker back inside its case!
I suppose the above image is finally a glimpse of the finished mantel along with the rug and chase we purchased at ikea while up north a couple of months ago, so here are some more!
Yay! The mantel and bookshelf! We’re still working on the decorating – but it’s complete… for the most part (some base shoe and fresh tile and we’ll call it good!) My favorite piece in the room is that old blue milk canister, which we’re using to house our fire utensils. Garage sale find!
Sofa and chairs. I should have taken a wide shot; maybe later. It really does feel more homey and ‘put together’… a good feeling to have. 
But there was another room in particular that did NOT feel so homey and ‘put-together’: the dreaded ‘GREEN ROOM’. Why is it dubbed the ‘green room’ you ask? Well, because it sports green carpet, green walls, when we moved in it was adorned with green laced curtains, green tile, and a green counter top to match in the attached bathroom. So we are currently in the process of carrying out PROJECT DE-GREENING THE GREEN ROOM. We’re hoping to bring some sort of functionality order and a much need aesthetic update to this VERY multi-purpose space.
Here are the before’s:
And so it began this past week/weekend
1. remove old trim
2. rip up carpet and install floor of choice – in this case, a surprise method we’ll reveal when it’s complete (but can you guess what it is?!) ps. we spaced w/ pennies!
3. create and install new casings for the windows to match the 1911 style in the rest of the house – THANKS gpa Asay for slaving away this weekend! 
Well, I guess we didn’t JUST slave drive you! There was some fun involved: 
YET TO COME:
4. create half wall/shelving unit/coat hook/mudroom area/laundry nook
5. fill holes, caulk, and paint!
6. furnish decorate and enjoy.
Well friends, this is becoming a bit much. The meal planning, naked babies, potty training, and photo shoots will have to wait for another day. A joyful SPRING week everyone!
The Asay Placey 