We got back from Hawaii and made every effort to get some things done around here. Problem was, Keith was busy with work. I work four days a week. And we work opposite schedules, so even if one of us is home, we have a very demanding little guy keeping us busy. So it has been slow going around here. Not to mention the sale of our other house has been slow coming. We finally signed a contract last week and we can only hope this one will make it all the way to closing.
The summer flew by. We really didn't do anything too exciting. Weekends we had free we either were tending to chicken stuff or trying to accomplish something on this house. In fact summer was so late in coming (such a wet, cold spring we had!) it almost feels we didn't have one at all. We didn't go anywhere at all, but we had some lovely visits from friends, and a nice visit by my entire family back in the end of July that involved a chicken hunt, a pig roast (clearly we are not vegetarians), a neighborhood party and a lovely camping trip to the Illinois River.
We had a time of profound sadness, in that Keith lost his uncle to esophageal cancer. He was diagnosed in May and after a hard battle, succumbed to the disease on September 7. He lived a full life of love and adventure and will be missed dearly.
What have we done to this house? Nothing that most would notice from the outside. We (Keith) did some gutter repair, chopped a LOT of firewood, did some backhoe work to fix some major drainage issues, and we installed a new wood stove. That's about it, and until we sell our other house, that's where we will sit for now. The stove is doing a great job keeping us warm so far, but we do hope to supplement with something else here soon.
Camden is thriving and continues to surprise and amaze and frustrate us. He will be two in one more month and while he remains a good kid, he is definitely having some very "two" moments. I had the honor of bearing witness to a twenty minute temper tantrum yesterday, where everything I did to try and help only made things worse. Yes, no. Inside, outside. Upstairs, no downstairs. And on and on, shrouded in tears. We made it through, and today he is the polar opposite. Sweet as can be, playing quietly by himself and talking up a storm (although he did skip his nap). The other day he started saying "No mas!" to us. I guess the bilingual stuff at his daycare is working. So very cool. I would rattle off all the cute things he says and does, but you all have kids and know what it's like (besides, I would never leave this chair!).
My favorite, I have to say, is how he has started talking to other kids, "Bea, what's this? That's right! Want some apple?" and to his stuffed animals. SO cute.
Please visit my Flickr page for more pics from the summer if you are interested!
