Finally some food!

Lauren is tasting her first solid food, rice cereal with milk. I don't think she really likes the taste or doesn't understand how to swallow food yet. Most of it comes back out and onto the bib.

Bathroom Day 4-8. Dust and more dust

They installed the drywall and also put in cementboard for the shower area. The drywall still needs some more work but that will come after the holidays. You can also see the two vanities too.


Here you can see my handiwork cutting out all the holes for the plumbing in the back of the cabinet. I also wired an outlet inside the cabinet so that you can plug in things without having the cord show.

I'm 6 months old now!

Where's my rice cereal?

Desert Botanical Gardens and Tempe Town Lake

We just visited the Desert Botanical Gardens and Tempe Town Lake when one of Christy's childhood friends came to visit. It's finally cooling down here.










Here you can see Tempe Town Lake and some of the luxury condos and offices they are building.


Lauren is eyeing the Starbucks. You can just see the straw. :)

Bathroom Day 3. Fishing...

Here you can see my attempt to fish the yellow wire from the switch box up into the attic for the recessed cans. I borrowed my neighbor's glowstick and proceeded to make as many holes as it took to fish the wire up into the attic. Luckily for me, Lauren napped for a good 3 hours.

The plumbers also returned to fix the drain they installed (the overflow was leaking) and to move the temperature valve up 4". Where they had it just seemed to low.

Three turtles

Bathroom Day 2. How many people does it take to install a tub?

Our new Toto cast iron tub was put in and the rough plumbing was completed. The tub weighs over 300 lbs and they managed to get it in with only 3 guys. They did remove quite a bit of drywall to get the old tub out and the new tub in. I also installed 2 recessed lights over the vanity and a new panasonic exhaust fan that is really quiet. Although maybe we would have been better off getting a slightly louder fan for our guests.

Bathroom Remodel

Finally after 8 years, we are going to replace our ugly fixtures. Not only are they from the 80's even though our house was built in the 90's, they are impossible to turn when your hand is wet. Demo finally started today on the guest bath. Once that is completed, they'll move onto the master bath.

Before




After day 1

The tub should come out tomorrow when the plumbers arrive and remove the plumbing.

All aboard

Lauren eyes the kiddie train as it passes by. One of the parks near us has this train for kids. It's actually pretty cool and I can't wait to ride it. Um, I mean Lauren can't wait. :) They have a caboose that the kids can ride in too but it sort of looks like a prison car.

iRobot T1000

Just as in terminator, the iRobot 550 from Costco is a significant improvement over their last model. The bigest improvement is that the iRobot slows down before it hits an object. It also is much quieter than the previous model. The light towers are also improved in that they turn on whenever the robot is turned on. Previously you'd have to go to each unit and turn it on if you wanted it to do an unscheduled clean. You might be asking where the old iRobot went to? Well luckily Costco has a very good return policy.

Boo-tiful

Ha ha. Get it Boo-tiful for Halloween! :)


I love Halloween! I haven't tasted any food yet but I can tell these are going to be messy and delicious.

Inchworm

My new crib

This crib is so much better. It has pillows, sheets, and a blanket. All I have in my crib is a bumper that blocks my view. And for some reason I feel like I'm sleeping on plastic although I can't see it. Maybe if I lay as stiff as a board, they won't be able to move me.

Lounging Lizard

Our friend returns. He seems to have gotten a little bigger since last time.

Outtakes

"You told me to strike a pose. I've seen all the top models do this."


"I'm done. Get me off this chair. Let's go guys."

I'm 5 months old now!

Just 1 more month till I get some real food. Tasty rice cereal, Yum!

Safari

Who needs to travel to Africa to see one of the big five on a safari.

Return of the Bug

So about 2 days after killing the unknown bug, we found another one but this time in the bedroom. I almost stepped on it because it was dark. I'm thinking this is the same bug that was playing dead before and vanished in the morning. I didn't make the same mistake this time. A good whack with the shoe sent him to bug heaven. Also, according to whatsthatbug.com, this bug is a Tailless Whipscorpion and supposedly harmless.

Beauty and the Geek

Morning Stroll

Let's get a move on. I have places to go and people to see. My beauty nap is in 40 minutes.

T. Cook's serves hippos

Okay so T. Cook's (Restaurant in the Royal Palms Resort) doesn't actually have hippo on the menu but they did give one to Lauren during our dinner. The funny thing is that when they brought it to us, we thought we had dropped it because we have the exact same one at home. Looks like T. Cook's does some of their shopping at Ikea where you too can buy one for 25 cents.

Irish Stew

Tried out Martha Stewart's Irish Stew recipe although we did add the carots. Couldn't find any lamb shoulder so I bought lamb loin chops from Costco. Overall not too bad and pretty easy to make. Just throw the ingredients in, bring it to a boil, and then pop it in the oven for 2 hours.

Zoom Zoom

Lauren is all ready to go jogging now. Not sure if Daddy is though. Bought this baby trend expedition jogging stroller at BabiesRUs. Pretty inexpensive compared to the other brands.

Bug off

Saw this bug (spider maybe) in our garage and killed him. While I was sweeping him out on the driveway, a scorpion tried to run into the garage.



Here you can see both the scorpion and the spider in the dead bug position in the driveway. The next morning, they were both gone. Wonder if they were just playing dead or something ate them.

Martha's Le Creuset

Martha Stewart just launched a new line at Macy's. We picked up her 7 qt enamaled cast iron dutch oven for $54 on sale. Regular price was $120. Similar item from Le Creuset is well over $200. The item is so popular most stores don't have them in stock and the online store has even removed the item from their website. Check out the raised dimples on the lid.

Now that I'll be home taking care of Lauren for the next 3 months, I should have plenty of time to make some food in this. Irish Stew is first on the list.

A little rain please

I'm ready for dinner now

We just bought Lauren a high chair so that she could sit with us at the dinner table. We bought the chicco polly from BabiesRus. One major design problem is that you can't fit the tray in a normal size dishwasher.


"What do you mean I can't eat real food for another 2 months!"

Dessert

I'm 4 months old now!

I keep getting bigger and for some reason my peeps don't grow.

New discovery

How did I live without the internet for all these months?

Dunkin Donuts has arrived

I'm sure these weren't the donuts you were thinking of. Target and Safeway started carrying Dunkin Donuts coffee (they are cheaper at Target). I'm not really sure if these will taste any better than our normal coffee but it does remind us of our 2 years in Boston where there's a Dunkin Donuts at every corner.

Pool Time

Oh boy, I can't wait to pee in here too!



Found another snake in the pool today. This one was smaller than the last one. Luckily we discovered the snake before going in today.

MIT here I come!

We'll need to start saving now if Lauren wants to go to any private school for that matter. The avg 4 year tuition for a private school is estimated to be ~$300K in 2025.

Failed roll over attempt

Food and Wine

Here's one of our staple pasta dishes that has a lot of unique flavors and is very simple to make. You caramelize some onions, saute portabella mushrooms, and then mix this with ziti, goat cheese, and some reserved pasta water. Then you top it with a little olive oil, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Out of a year's subscription to Food and Wine back in 1996, this was the only recipe that I ever made. I'm surprised I managed to even make this since I never really read any of those magazines.

Cat Proof Chair

Our cats loved to sit on our old office chair leaving cat hair all over it. They also used it as a scratching post from time to time. As a result, it was time for a new chair. Here you can see our new modern chair. The cats have a very hard time walking on it and so far haven't been successful in sitting on it. Another side benefit is that the chair is very breezy which is perfect for staying cool in Arizona.