Baby Boy Shopping and Names

I love to go shopping as you all know, but buying for boys just isn't as fun. So when I see something cute I have to get it. I know it's a bit early but I'm excited for this little guy to come. I picked this stuff up today at Gymboree (using my 30% off, of course). I got all 0-3 because they looked to big but I know if he's anyting like Jacob he'll be out of them before I know it.

The kids have been really helpful with baby boy names. LOL! Here are the suggestions I've heard of so far.

Jaxs - emphasis on the (s) sound

Jack Sparrow Ludlow

Braxton or Braxy

Jacob (why not 2 boys with the same name, that sounds great!)

Quincy OR Leo (both characters from Little Einsteins)

Seriously choosing a name is so hard! Hopefully they can come up with some more options.

I know you all have been dying to see pictures of the house but it is such a mess right now I can't bring myself to do it. Hopefully we will come close to finishing Abby's room this weekend and then I'll post some photos.

IT'S A ...

BOY!!!

Baby boy Ludlow due Jan. 27th. Abby was a bit dissapointed and told the sonographer to look again! So, Jacob has a little buddy and Abby is already to work on creating art work for his nursery. He is healthy and adorable, just look at his picture, LOL.

The Floor Plan

Our home is almost complete and since I've been gone for the past month I have been left alone to dream about furniture placement and decorating...you know, the important things. I realize decorating and buying furniture will take years and I mean years, but a girl can dream, right? Above are my ideas for the first floor. I realize that the furniture is not to scale but I tried my best. I'm anxious to move in and see if my ideas will work.

House Update

Pictures came from Andy's phone and when I uploaded them they got cut off on the side. click on the picture to make it bigger and you will see the entire photo.
This is the kids Bathroom Vanity. I think it's a crime to even make them this small. But this is what comes standard. Replacing this is near the top of our list. Don't you like how the door swings right into the vanity? Poor design on that one I think.

This is the vanity in the Master Bathroom. Again, not thrilled with this either. It is really small, hardly any counter space. I had an outlet put in my closet so I can put a vanity in there for doing my hair and makeup. I wish the builder had taken a bit of space from the master to make this bathroom a bit bigger. Our master bedroom is huge! Not sure what we are going to do with all the space in there?

The baseboards are in. This is the "toy room" loft area upstairs and you are looking into Abby's Bedroom

Doors are also in. This is the door to Abby's closet.

Our kitchen cabinets are here. There are so many. I am excited about the storage I'll have in the kitchen. The island isn't my ideal space but I had an outlet put on both sides of it so I am looking forward to that.

Our siding is up and I think it looks really nice. The shudders are chocolate brown and our door will be plum. Again, not what I want but the options were limited here. I am planning to paint the door cranberry red but that is way down on my list of things to do. There will be a column put in from the overhang to the step.

This next week the floors are going in and the trim is being finished. Our backyard should also be graded as well. I can't wait to see it. Since I'm in CA right now I only have these pictures Andy took with his phone to see the house. I have to say that Abby and I are very excited to see the updates!
(do you see the house across the street from us? click on the photo to make it bigger and you'll see it. Let's just say we are not a fan of it.)

4th of July Fun

To Celebrate the 4th we spent the day at the pool in our complex and then went to the Hampton Township 150th year celebration! They had blow up toys for the kids, live music, good food, and great fireworks. In typical Pennsylvania style it rained for a small bit but other than that the weather was perfect.

Kennywood Heinz Employee Picnic

A Day at Kennywood

We spent the day at Kennywood (an amusement park) for the Heinz Company Picnic. We had a lot of fun and the weather was absolutley perfect.

The park had about 20 different rides the kids could go on; some even the adults could enjoy.

This was Jacob's favorite ride! He loved the cars.

Abby found it her solemn big sister duy to keep Jacob safe on all the rides. She takes her big sister duties very seriously.

We enjoyed funnel cake and deep fryed oreos! Yum

Heinz had a large pavillion set up with food, drinks, animal balloons for the kids, face painting, and radio disney.

Abby was called up on stage to participate in the huluhoop contest. She did pretty good coming in 2nd place. She won a Pirates of the Caribbean Sticker....Or according to Jacob a Jacks sticker.

A Post for Jaime - Strawberry Festival

Apparently, I need to post more pictures of the kids! So here you go. A few weekends ago we went to a Strawberry Festival just south of Pittsburgh. This is the view of the festival from the strawberry patch which was up on a hill. I know it's hard to see but there are bounce houses, animals, slides, a barn playhouse, horses. etc.

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures. I guess there was a finger print on the lense. Darn, some of these pictures would have turned our really good.
Playing in the bounce houses which of course they loved.



We rode in a wagon up to the strawberry patch and got to pick our own Stawberries. Jacob ate while he picked (green leaves and all) and insisted on holding the basket.

We got to feed the goats, see bees in a beehive, meet Strawberry Shortcake, play, and ride horses.

This was by far the kids favorite activity. The helmet wasn't required but Jacob insisted on wearing it. Even though it was overcast is was really humid. Jacobs cheeks were bright red.

Jacob has been asking almost everyday if we can "tractor, strawbies, horse, play" go now!

Look at it Now!

Our house is fully framed, we have a roof, the cement in the basement has been poured. I'm still in awe at how fast everything is moving. I only got this one picture because the camera wasn't cooperating. More to come next week.

The Dad's Amazing Race

On Saturday some girls from the ward and I sent our husbands on The Dad's Amazing Race challenge as our gift to them for fathers day. The teams were randomly assigned and given t-shirts, a water bottle, small snack, money to complete some challenges, and their first challenge.

We had 14 guys participate. Andy was partnered with veteran of the area Ryan so that was really helpful since Andy didn't know where anything was.

Their first task was to get water from a nearby creek and fill the milk jugs up. After that they go their first clue and were off! There were 12 challenges/road blocks. I was stationed at Barnes and Nobles where the guys had to find an Author with the same first or last name as them.

For the last task they had to do an obstacle course that involved basketball shooting, hulu hoops and a grand finale slide down the water slide.

Andy and Ryan came in 3rd and the winners won gift cards to Best Buy. The guys had a great time and we wives had fun watching them complete the challenges. Afterwards we had pizza in the park. It was a super fun night.

We've Been Framed!

Ok so we haven't been framed, our house has. Look how far it has come.

Here is a view of the back of the house. The basement sliding door opening and the first floor sliding door opening. Oh, and the window over the sink where I'll be looking out for many many hours.

A view from the back corner of our yard.

All of our doors, windows, tub, etc have arrived.

Abby is standing by the smallest window I have ever seen. This is our 1 window that came standard in the basement. I didn't realize it was sooo small. Kind of looks a bit silly. But since the deck will be over this part anyway, it's not a big deal.

Standing in our backyard looking into our neighbors.

Abby in the middle of our backyard. There is still a ton of dirt and rocks that need to be moved.

Standing in our front door. So very exciting! These pictures were taken on Sunday and from what my Sales Rep tells me the second floor is already on.
Wow, can you believe what has been done in only a week! It was so nice to see how much progress has been done on the house. It's so weird walking through all the rooms because everything looks sooooo small. I know our house isn't small but wow, it sure looks small.