We're Flipping a House

So, to fund our next adoption, we decided to get creative instead of going into debt. Ryan thought it would be good to do a project together and we are flipping a house, along with my parents.

Avery calls it her house, but the only person (thing) suited to live there now was the dog sized racoon family that inhabited it when we took possession. (gasp!)

I don't know how often I'll be updating since we are knee deep in demolition, but I thought a few pictures of our disaster, um, I mean house, would be fun for you all to see.

And BTW - I've never hurt so bad in all my life. I've trimmed bushes, hauled bricks, knocked out walls, and pulled out more nails than I ever care to count. Now I need a manicure, bubble bath and some aromatherapy to calm my nerves. Oops - about 10 weeks to go...

The Palace

Lovely Shed - see the vines growing from the roof - That's Class!

That's SUPPOSED to be a Gutter

The Dining Room

How Do You Like My LIving Room Color Choice

pepto pink not working for ya? - how 'bout the curtains?

Where Did My Baby Go?

It's official, there are no remaining traces of babyhood in our home.

Diapers - check
Highchair, bottles, formula - check
Changing Table - check

Crib - check

That's right she's in a big girl bed (well she thinks so). After a week of Avery climbing out of bed, escaping her room and wandering into ours, we made the switch. Oh, did I mention, the wandering was at 2 a.m. and was accompanied by the sounds of barking. Nothing like scaring the pants off mom and dad. So here she is - her first night out of the "cell".

So now to the barking. Yep, I swear, she thinks she is a dog. Oh and has an imaginary puppy friend that I have to let out to potty. And yes, we has an ice storm and a foot of snow - you'd think an imaginary puppy would be easier. At least I'm not cleaning up accidents, but wait, I am... She also has a bar of soap in the tub that is a puppy. As I type this puppy is sleeping in its "house" under a washcloth. The soap puppy is the messy one. He splashes and makes a mess in the tub, never the toddler, always "My puppy spashed you Mommy" "It funny". For mommy, not so much.

And to what do we attribute the new fascination with puppy power? Ah, now that is the kicker, it's all my fault. I offered to keep my aunt's dog overnight. Riley is Avery's surrogate dog and he came for a visit. Well, my wild monkey decided, it wasn't enough to play with Riley, she wanted to BE Riley.

So, yes, that is my little lipstick queen IN the dog crate with her furry friend. You'd think we'd just get her a dog, but alas - not gonna happen. I'll stick wit letting the imaginary puppy out for potty breaks.

Another Year Comes to an End

Holidays, fun, but oh so hectic! This year I tried to get things done earlier, so that I could spend more time enjoying Avery and my family in general. In many ways I succeeded. The gifts were wrapped as soon as we bought them. I was done buying for Avery by the day after Thanksgiving. Still, it wasn't as easy as that.

We did manage to have a few afternoons baking cookies and that was so much fun. Avery wore my apron that I had for Christmas baking when I was a kid and she did a great job doing sprinkles. Our cookies weren't up to Martha's standards, but Avery didn't seem to mind.

I had worried that the tree tyrant from last year would be back to dole out some hefty destruction, but overall she did really well at looking and not touching.

Christmas Day was loads of fun and I can honestly say she has played with every single toy. She got a doctor's kit and I am continually "sick" now. She runs for the kit and says "Oh Mommy, you sick, I "pix it" - make you better."

Ryan and I are looking at investment property. Apparently we need a project. I think it will be great if we pull it off. A nice little chunk toward adoption #2 would be great. Speaking of adoption #2 - we hope to start that in the summer, but it is so in the air. We don't know really where we'd go again or what works best for us, but I'm researching and we think we are narrowing down the field.

Oh, Avery got this interactive doll for Christmas and we take it and it's diaper bag everywhere. It cries and Avery gets so frustrated when she can't make it stop. She brought it to me and said "Mom, it won't stop crying!"; to which I said, "Now you know how I feel."

Wednesday marked the milestone where Avery had been ours as long as she had lived without us. Lots of hugs and tears on that day. She spent 15 months and 23 days under the care of the Russian govornment. She has been talking a little more about Russia. In fact we were downtown and she looked out at all the big buildings and said "There's Russia!". I guess the buildings are about all she remembers, outside of the baby home.

Enough about us for now. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year!