The pool is finished...

Okay...so here are the long awaited for "before and after" pictures of the yard. I'm behind by about 3 weeks on this post, but better later than never. Anyways, enjoy the pics. I know we are enjoying the pool. By the way, when you see Jen, be sure you mention how tan she is. As for me, I was born tan!

So, this is part of the yard in February 2007 before the digging started.

Don't you just love the abundance of clover in the backyard..

Please notice my job in the picture. I'm on the far right. I'm the "supervisor."

Special thanks to Brad Warren, Donnie, Brian, and Kevin for their hard work!

Finally, we reached finished product. We will definitely enjoy this during those warm summer days!

I can drink diet coke too!

Nicholas was quite hungry the other day and when I go to give him his bottle, this is what I see. Nicholas can hold his bottle and feed himself! Well, not exactly every time he eats but Nicholas can hold his bottle if he feels the need. He loves to grab things and hold on to something whenever possible, so I guess his bottle was the most exciting thing around. Isn't he such a big boy!
Speaking of big boys, on the same day Nicholas decided he wanted more than his bottle of milk. He is sitting in Grandma's lap while she is drinking a diet coke. Nicholas suddenly begins squealing with delight at her glass of coke. Grandma holds the glass a little closer and this is what Nicholas does-he begins sucking the side of the glass!
My guess is that Nicholas got a little sip from Grandma's diet coke based on that face. I guess a tiny sip of caffeine couldn't hurt him too much. If so, Grandma its your fault!

Nicholas swims!

So the pool has been completed for about two or three weeks now, but we have been busy swimming and not posting the updates. Sorry! It is so nice to look outside and see a finished swimming pool and a sodded yard. No more mud. Brad and I (and other family members) have been swimming in the pool ever since it was finished, but I was afraid that the water might be a little too chilly for Nicholas. Well this past weekend I let Nicholas take his first swim. He is definitely a water baby! He absolutely loves the water. We have a cool turtle float to splash around in just like cousin Ben's. Enjoy the pictures below of Nicholas' first swim in the pool!

Mommy, Daddy, and Nicholas ready for a day of fun in the pool! As you can see, Maggie is also ready for her turn to swim. So far she has just put her paws on the steps, but I'm sure it won't be long before she figures out that the pool is used for more than drinking water.

Look at that big grin! Nicholas is having such a good time. He loves to splash in the little pool of water on the front of the float.

Nicholas did go face first into the little pool of water. He was watching his hands and decided to bring his face down to his hands instead of the other way around. He got a mouthful of water but just came up smiling.

"After a few laps around the pool on my turtle float, I think it is time to chill and take in some rays."

Nicholas was cracking us up with his arms propped up on the side of the pool. It was as if he was just relaxing with the ladies. It is a little too early for dates Nicholas!

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day.So this year was my first real Mother's day. Well last year we kind of celebrated even though Nicholas was not here yet, but this one felt real to me. It was a beautiful and perfect day. Nicholas was dedicated in our Baby Dedication service during church with many family members present. We will have to post the video clip since we did not take any pictures. You will see on the video that he was a perfect angel during the entire service (The other babies were the ones making the noises:) He received his very first Bible and the children's book title Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury. If you haven't read this book yet, make sure that you do so with a handful of tissues. It is a sweet story recalling the "last times" in a child's life-the last day of kindergarten, the last time your child jumps into your lap, the last time he holds your hand while walking.

After church everyone came over to our house for lunch and a little swim time. (Yes the pool is available for swimming! Don't worry-photos to follow.) I received many special gifts, but of course the best gift of all is having a perfect, beautiful, healthy baby boy. I could not ask for anymore blessings than I have already received. As the old quote goes, Life is not measured in minutes but by a series of moments, and I know that my first Mother's Day is one of those moments that I will always cherish.

Here are my sweet gifts from Nicholas (with a little help from Daddy). A picture pillow that says #1 Mom, a Willowtree statue of a mother holding a baby (I love to collect these statues), and a homemade card.

Nicholas thinks he is funny...

So, when we get the camera out, we tend to take alot of photos at one time, hoping that we can capture just a few that are worth a thousand words. So, I'm posting some of those photos below. Hope you enjoy.....

The pool....

Well, here we are on week so and so...We are keeping our fingers crossed that it will be ready to swim in this coming weekend. I plan to have sod delivered this weekend. As you can tell, the sod has been delayed for several weeks due to rain/pool construction. Anyways, the liner was put in late last week. The only thing left to do is to cut-in the liner and hook-up all of the electrical stuff. However, we are looking forward to the finished product. Stay tuned...

Sleepy Time

Nicholas was laying in the floor at my aunt Carol's house on his blanket when my dad called me in to look at him. He had grabbed his blanket and pulled it over his head while he began to fall asleep. His favorite little Jesus Loves Me bunny rabbit is sleeping next to him. He would probably have his eyes closed in these photos if it weren't for the flash on my camera. Sorry Nicholas, but you just looked to sweet!

Concrete is in!

Concrete around the pool has now been poured. Now things are really taking shape and the vision is being realized. We have about 10 feet of concrete on the side of the pool closest to the house. This will leave us room for chaise lounges and one of our table and chair sets. On the other three sides of the pool, the concrete is about 3 feet wide. Just enough space to walk around and set a chair or two in the shade if necessary. On the far side of the pool closest to the trees will be two standing lights, one in each corner. If you look closely you can see the ladder leading out of the deep end. There are only about 2 more days of work to be done on the pool. The poolcrete (concrete for the inside of a pool) has to be poured and dried on the inside. The trench to the pump needs to be dug and the pump connected. The final step is the liner of the pool being dropped in. Hopefully the weather will hold out this week and the pool can be completed! We are having a sod-laying party at our house this coming Saturday, so if you would like to enjoy our pool this summer, than feel free to drop by and help. If the pool is done, then it will be filling up with water and you might even get to cool off in the water. If not, then we can just spray you down with the hose. :) Hope to see you Saturday morning bright and early!

Easter

Okay, so I am a little late on the Easter pics, but better late than never right? We actually took these pictures a week before Easter at Spring Park in Tuscumbia. It is a good thing that we did, because Easter was definitely not spring-like. I did not even take Nicholas to the Easter egg hunt because it was about 40 degrees outside. Next year he can enjoy his first Easter egg hunt. Then he can actually participate in the egg hunting! Right before leaving to take these pictures, I grabbed Nicholas' Easter basket and his bunny that Aunt Erica knitted for him. I am sure glad that I did because these pictures turned out so cute!

Like Father, Like Son.

So I came home after a walk around the neighborhood to find this scene in my living room. Brad is sitting in front of the television playing his video game. Nicholas is propped up in his chair right next to Brad, trying to get some playing time too. I guess the old saying is true...like father, like son.

Here is a back view, as Nicholas sits mesmorized by the television screen. Let's hope this video game thing is just a temporary obsession.

"Look at me! I can play golf just like Tiger Woods can!"

"I 'm really nervous about this next putt. I can't lose my lead over Tiger!"

The digging finally stopped....

So, here we are, almost two weeks into the pool digging and things seem to be going pretty well. The walls are up, the concrete has been set, and they have even back-filled and graded our yard. The next step will be to pack the dirt in around the pool. The guys plan to soak the dirt with water for several days. The patio should be poured early next week and the concrete base and liner should be installed late next week. Below are pictures of the process over the last week. We, or should I say, Jen is hoping the pool is complete by Spring Break. We shall see. By the way, I'm looking for free labor to help lay sod. Any takers?

And the digging continues....

Well, we have finished up day two of construction in the backyard. It rained quite a bit in Decatur, but fortunately, there wasn't alot of ran in Muscle Shoals. Thus, they finished digging the big hole. So, for all of you planning on the mud volleyball tournament, well, those plans have been cancelled. The next steps in the construction process will be to get the metal frame set in place. They plan to do this either Friday, Saturday, or Monday.

Unfortunately for the Louisville folks that read this blog, it probably won't be done in 3 weeks (Spring Break). However, Summer is just around the corner, so start planning your trip now.

Jen was going crazy to take a swim in the pool, so we did the closest thing possible. Pictures below show the progress that was made today, in addition to Jen flexing her muscles in the pool. Hope you enjoy.

Let the digging begin....

So, when we learned that we were moving back to Alabama, we searched and searched for a house with a pool. We have always wanted one and now was our big chance. Well, that plan didn't work out. We found several houses with pools, but either the pool was in bad shape, the house was horrible, or in one case, the utility bill was outrageous. SO, what was our next best option? Find a house we really liked with a yard big enough for a pool and whazzam...you have the following. This is the beginning stage of our concrete pond. There shall be plenty of updates on this project.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so if that is the case, mud pit volleyball, our place, 7:00 pm tomorrow night. If everything goes as planned, the pool should be operational in about a month. Hopefully I will have the landscaping finished at that time as well.