Crib Complete

Well, Andy finished the crib today. It was a long process and the photos below will chronicle the journey.

This picture was taken on May 3rd. It was the first tree to fall and marked the start of this entire process.


After felling the individual Cedar trees, the tedious work to strip the bark began.


Next the timbers for the rails and slats were located, cut, and stripped as well. Holes were then drilled in the posts and the ends of each rail were whittled down to fit into those holes. Crossing my fingers, I put together the frame on June 14th.


After fitting the frame together, I cut the slats to length and sanded them down smooth. It was tough work getting those slats to fit just right, but once again my prayers were answered.


Once it was all put together, I gave it a final "inspection" for areas that needed to be sanded better and to make sure all the slats were snug in their holes. I blew the entire crib off with the air compressor to make sure no dust remained before I gave it a coat of polyurathane.


The finish that I put on the crib really did a good job of bringing out the color of the wood and the knots in each piece of timber. Finally on Tuesday, July 27th I got the 2nd and final coat of finish on the crib and it was deemed "complete".


It even dried enough this evening to bring it into the baby's room.


Once we get all the bells and whistles put on the crib, including bedding, pads, and everything else, I'm sure there'll be more pics to come. And there will be countless pics of the new baby in this crib too, once he arrives!

I started the crib on May 3rd and finished it on July 27th. If I had to guess, I'd have to say there's about 140 man hours in this crib. It was a tiring, yet enjoyable experience to build this crib, and the most rewarding part of the process will be once we're able to lay our little man down to sleep in it for the first time!

He's at it again.....

Good ol' Rudy decided to come over this past weekend again. And of course he had to try out some of the new baby stuff. Here's Rudy bouncin' away on the new Froggy Jumper.

Rudy (Puppy Superstar)

While our camera may be a total loss, the SD card with all our pictures was saved!!!

Many of you may remember Rudy, who modeled the infant diaper in an earlier post...well, he's back. Here's Rudy trying out the new baby Bumbo we got!

30 Weeks!!!

Today marks the 30 week point in our pregnancy! We are 3/4 the way through it, maybe less if the baby comes early! Below is what's happening in Trish's tummy according to www.babycenter.com

"Our baby is about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in the uterus. His eyesight continues to develope, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light, but will have 20/400 vision - which means he'll only make out objects a few inches from his face."

According to Andy's pregnancy size comparison chart, based on the size of the baby, he is comparable to a large mouth bass....not a head of cabbage.

In other notes, you might not see many good pictures for awhile on our blog....since Andy dropped the digital camera in the toilet!

One other important happening is that Andy finished the construction of the crib today! It'll get a few coats of a water-based polyurathane and then be transported to the baby's room and set up! Luckily for Andy, there's enough summer left for him to play some golf now that he's got the crib done.

Hopefully pictures will come again soon :(

Lets get this party started!!!!

Twas the 17th of July, getting close to the eve,
it was almost 7 o'clock and from work Andy was ready to leave.
At their house in the park, everyone was keeping busy,
cleaning, decorating, cooking, and running around in a tizzy.
We were preparing for a night of good clean fun,
when friends would show up to see Trish and her bun.
Getting ready for the party, some of the guys worked themselves to the bone,
they got so tired, their snoring filled the house with its drone.

Right after the nap Liz Carson showed up and whipped everyone into shape,
changing our home into a theme of a baby landscape.
It wasn't very long and people were pouring through the doors,
and the dogs in the basement could be heard barking through the floors.
The house was abuzz with friends from near and very far,
we couldn't believe our small driveway could fit everyones car!



There were sandwiches, bean bags, and bibs to decorate;
we laughed and played and of course, we all ate!


We are blessed to have such great friends that gave us such great gifts,
stuff to prepare us for baby, when our lives will definitely shift.








We thank everyone who attended and made it a special day,
we hope to repay your kindness in another special way.
To Liz we give an extraordinary THANK YOU,
she made it all happen and brought the pieces together like glue.
Here's her picture, she's available for hire,
but we will warn you, what she charges is enough to retire! :)

WEEK 29

I've missed a few weeks since my last weekly update on Baby Bartlett, but here's the vital information about our baby's development courtesy of www.babycenter.com.

"Our baby now weighs 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash, or a decent size large mouth bass) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. (Interesting side note: The human brain weighs about 2.5 pounds too!) This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in our baby's skeleton each day."

Here's Trish & Kitty Lazlo, 29 weeks along!

DIRTY DAWGS

Andy's been playing softball all summer in a co-ed league in Boone. Team name: Dirty Dawgs. And it's Andy's inaugural season as the starting pitcher.



And this next picture, if you can't tell, is a homerun swing.



Trish has done a great job as our number one fan and the Designated Babysitter for little Miss Peyton.



The last picture is of the team's two biggest studs.....Alpha Dawg and Junkyard Dawg!



We won't talk about our team's record. Let's just say we have a ton of fun and if anyone wants to come and cheer us on, just give us a call and we'll let you know when the next game is going to take place.

Floods of 2010

Much of the state has been dealing with flooding, so I thought I'd include some pictures of the flooding here at Ledges When the water recedes, this sign in this giant Oak tree will be about 30 feet off the ground. The Canyon Road is wall-to-wall water right now and slowly receding. This flood hit the magnitude of 2008 and 1993 here at Ledges. And with the flood waters, come the reporters.....
http://www.myabc5.com/global/category.asp?c=190187&clipId=4930583&autostart=true

Crib Update

Well today I got a good full day of work in on the crib. I finished the tedious task of sanding all the logs and got to the part where I'm putting the rungs into the rails.



I'll let the glue set up tonight and take the furniture clamps off in the morning. Then it's on to the next side.....

Ancestor of the Week

Mabel H. Thompson



Mabel H. Thompson was born on December 18, 1884 in Fontanella, IA. On Christmas Day, 1907 she was married to Vernon Earl Tiger in Boise, ID at the age of 23. From the information we have gathered, she worked at the only phone company of the time in Boise, ID and is pictured here on the far left below.



The next picture below is of Mabel's family.



Pictured is Mabel holding their daughter Genevieve, and her husband Vernon holding daughter Ethel and son Vernon "Bud" on his lap.

Mabel was Trisha's great, great Grandma. Mabel's son Vernon "Bud" Tiger, who's pictured above as a boy, was Trish's Great Grandpa, who is the father of her Grandma Carol.

Mabel died June 18, 1971 at the age of 86 in Boise, ID. She is one of the many people that are responsible for us being here today and ultimately the baby we are expecting would not be possible without her. God rest her soul.

Git 'em!!!

We have many forest friends that visit the backyard on almost a daily basis. We've seen many different types of birds, squirrels, fox, coyotes, people looking for mushrooms, and deer such as this nice little buck from last night.



However....we have a monster dog that believes all these friends are encroaching on his territory and they need to be driven off with the utmost ferocity. Case in point....the poor chipmunk trapped in the downspout of our gutters. Dozer chased it into the spout and once in there, the chipmunk could not crawl up the downspout because it is metal and his little claws couldn't get a good hold. He couldn't come out the other end either for fear of the 80 pound white monster ready to tear his head off.



If it were up to him, Dozer would still be trying to figure out how to get that chipmunk out of there.