Backyard... phase 1 is 95% complete

Here it is... The most beautiful back yard. We are so pleased with how everything has turned out. Almost all is complete. We took these photos before the huge snow storm hit. We got over 8 inches... Still left (for after the snow clears) are some minor sprinkler fixes and planting of the 6 carpet roses (the color I choose wasn't readily available to they had to be special ordered). I also still need to replant the perennials I dug up and get some blackberries and raspberries. We may even attempt to get some cold weather vegetables in the ground this week.

The grass looks really good and all of the plants seem healthy and larger than I thought we would get. All of the trees are gorgeous. We only ordered 2" profusion crab trees and ended up getting 3-5 inch caliber trees for the same money. The benefit of buying trees early in the year, I guess. Amazing! One tree is almost 15 feet tall.

The sprinkler system is fancy. We have a drip and soak system through out the garden beds and drip system is set to each bush through out the flower beds. I am hoping our huge summer water bills will decrease drastically, and another extra benefit—water conservation.

I spent all of Nicholas' nap time Saturday weeding the front flower beds. Two down, one more to go. We also moved a mystery bush from the backyard (barberry I think) up to the front flower bed.

The front yard work was really needed. For me and the yard. It was so warm and felt great to sit and the grass and dig around in the dirt.

Sorry for all the photos, I should of narrowed it down a bit but couldn't... now you too can see the yard from all angles and perspectives. :)

Many expressions of Nicholas - month 10

Nicholas is 10 months old!!! Time has really flown by. Nicholas has been feeling much better regarding his ears however he still has a ton of fluid in both ears that is affecting his hearing. We have an appointment with an ENT Wednesday to figure out what to do.

Milestones:
Crawling has become old hat. Boy can this baby move. Diaper changes have becoming increasing difficult and he usually ends up diaperless for a while before I tackle him down. Nicholas loves to be chased and giggles as he crawls away from you. His new favorite move is standing and he is quite good at it. He can bring himself to a stand without any help from the furniture. He'll be walking soon.

I believe he has said his first wood, I think... Ball. He loves balls and says "ba" whenever he sees one. With all of the sports around Nicholas he is sure to grow up an athlete. This morning at Andrew's soccer game he sat fascinated through most of the game. He clapped when everyone clapped.

Speaking of mimicking... he loves to pretend laugh when everyone is laughing. It's hilarious and ends up making us laugh at him.

He love to be sung too. And he is a dancer, he is constantly swaying back and forth or rocking when he hears music. His favorite songs right now are Itsy Bitsy spider, Barney's "I love you" and the ABC's.

He weighs 25.3 lbs. I know this because we had a follow up appointment last week to check on his ears. He does not like to be weighed.

He has spent more time outdoors this week than his entire life and he loves it. He sucks in his breath when the wind blows and smiles instantly when you take him out of the car into the fresh air. He enjoys walks in his stroller and holds on tight to the stroller cup holders as we walk.

He also loves to cuddle and I am so happy that he does. Each night when I put him to bed I get to cuddle and hug with him. I hope he never grows out of hugs.

Major yard update - lots of photos

I have been so busy and have not been able to blog much except for phone entries. For all those looking for a yard update, here you go. These are various photos from the last 4 days (after the weather cleared).
















You made it through all of the photos. Whew!

The progress is as follows:
1. liner laid down in garden box area and inside of the trampoline
2. gravel laid onto liner in garden box area
3. Garden boxes filled with top soil
4. finish grade
5. sprinklers continued
6. sod delivered
6. grass edging and defined flower beds
7. trees and shrubs planting begins
8. transplanted shrubs from yard replanted
9. trampoline assembled and tested by kiddos and lawn guys. It works great!

All those plants in the white trash bags are the perennials I am trying to save. Once everything else has been planted I'll go through the yard and decide where to plant the perennials. I tried to save the day lilies, yarrow and other random plants.

Grass delivered!