Summer in the U District

3 girls and their laptops. (A regular Dell commercial!)

Happy baby who has just awoken gets kisses from his Aunt.

One kitchen wall.

Another kitchen wall.

The third kitchen wall.

Amos and I are gypsies, this week. The contractor and his crew took out the ceiling (with accompanying celulose/paper shreds insulation) and the rest of the plaster on the walls. Now there is another pile of trash on the side of our house! So we came home yesterday to a dusty-ish house, even though the doors were taped off. We could see up into the attic and all of the lath under the plaster. Today we came home and there was sheet rock up almost covering all of the walls, and can lights in over the sink and refridgerator areas. So that's exciting! Tomorrow they mud and hopefully sand on Friday. So last night and today we've had to go around the house to go from the back of the house (portchen, bedroom, etc) to the front of the house (the living room, bathroom, etc) so as not to disrupt the taped off doorway. That's been fun.

We've had fun with the Aunts and Uncle, playing, and hanging out at their house. They are a block away from Trader Joe's which has been sooooo convenient to walk to and pick up various items. Today Abby and I went for a walk around Green Lake, with an Amos that was on nap strike. I think he's really enjoyed being around so many people lately. He also loves animals, and everytime we see a cat or dog, he freaks out! It's so much fun to show him animals! Again, he had a ball at Green Lake seeing all of the dogs.

Tomorrow we meet with our neighbor, Hal, who is a real estate agent. We hope he'll help us put our house on the market and that our house sells quickly.

Amos continues to be a wiggly worm, moving around quite awkwardly but quickly. He also is talking a whole bunch, and sometimes, if you say a sound to him, sometimes he'll say it back, which is really cool. Yesterday he was on lunch strike, refusing to eat. I finally tried for a fourth time, and when he put his hands up, I grabbed them and held them down, and looked into his eyes, and said, "Amos!" with my sternest Mr Leeson voice. He looked at me, and opened his mouth. It was hilarious. It was like he got it! He also is understanding cause and effect. Like tipping the blocks over and seeing them fall (then laughing at it) or splashing the water and getting some in his eyes. He's really continuing to be curious about his environment and loves to touch things in front of him, or as we walk by. He loves patterns and hanging taggie like things.

He's doing ok with having a house that has a bit of dust in it, too. He has been a bit wheezy, but I have been giving him treatments, and it helps that we are away all day.

I miss being home, though, and having a house that is not all torn to pieces. I sort of expect that to be our life for the next little while, though, so I'm just trying to adjust. I suspect it would be easier to cope if someone let me sleep! :)