Family time is a great time!

On Saturday, the Nelson's came down to Brainerd so Troy could help Bryan work on the basement. While the guys worked, the girls and kids "chilled". Carter enjoyed playing with Nicole and he newest cousin Gavin. Nelson's went home on Sunday morning and we were sad to see them go. I have to say, it's been a long time since I spent the night in the same house with a 5 week old. Thank goodness Carter sleeps through the night as I was tired for Anne and Troy the next day.

On Sunday evening, Bryan and I and Carter AND Scout enjoyed putting up our lil' Christmas tree. We decided we just didn't have room this year in our little apartment to put up a full sized tree so we opted for a 4 foot Wal-Mart special. What a great decision. We had so much fun putting it up and together. Last year, Carter was just 11 months old and didn't really know what was going on, but this year, LOOK OUT, he is all over the ornaments and lights. It was such a great night, spending family time together. These moments are some of my most cherished.

A Thanksgiving full of blessings

Our Thanksgiving was nice and relaxing. We had Bryan's sister down and the 4 of us enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Carter enjoyed the pie the most...IMAGINE THAT! Bryan was set on making the mashed potatoes and I didn't argue. I wish I would have been able to get a picture of him when he got the hand mixer cord caught in the beaters. It was truly a memory I will not forgot. Scout even got a plate of her own. We were thinking that if she got one of her own she wouldn't beg. Did we seriously think that would work? It was a great Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for each day, Thank you God for the great blessings.

Lego-Land at the new Miller homesite

Progress is being made on our new home.

Bryan continues to work nightly and every weekend to keep the project rolling forward. Here are some pictures of the massive stacks of foam "Lego's" that will soon be our basement walls. Instead of doing concrete blocks for our basement walls, you put together a massive puzzle of foam forms. In between the forms goes poured concrete. When the concrete sets or hardens, you have cement walls instead of block walls. A great bonus to this type of basement is that we increase our "r" value or insulation rating and we can attach the sheet rock directly to the foam on the inside. This means we don't have to frame up the exterior walls with 2x4's?
Too much shop talk for those of you that aren't "handy"? Take a look at the pics, it will make much more sense.

Could this kid be more like his parents?

Each day, Bryan and I notice more and more things that Carter does that completely resemble us! I have a tendency to walk around while I talk on the phone, multi-tasking when I can. Now, granted, I don't do it in only a diaper, but the attire aside, this kid is a spitting image of me! Bryan shot this video while I ran to get a movie one night. Please disregard all of the toys and junk lying around, its been quite busy around the Miller house lately.

I should also mention that Carter now knows how to "toot" on purpose. I'll let you, the reader, decide who he's imitating when he does that.

Let's get this "potty" started!

The day has arrived and Carter is interested in the toilet. He has managed to pee-pee in the potty at least 5 times. He now goes into the bathroom when Bryan or I do and wants to sit on his potty chair. Sometimes, we come up empty handed, other times, we are successful. Carter is not even two years old yet, so we are naturally very excited. It does seem that he's not quite as interested in pooping in the potty as he is peeing. That's a shame because retirement from changing poopy diapers could not come soon enough.

Oh well...we're not going to wish our little boys life away, so we'll keep changing, and doing the pee-pee dance until he shuts the bathroom door on us for some privacy.

Fun misc.pictures

We got a bit of snow overnight, so Carter and I and Scout played outside this morning. It is nice and warm out so who knows how long the snow will last. It was fun because last year at this time Carter was only 10 months old. It was a little hard to play in the snow with him.

Deer Season-2008

What a great weekend! Per our tradition, we spent the weekend at my parents, while Bryan, my dad and brother Tom attempted to slay a day so we could "have food on the table" for the winter. I always have to laugh at that statement because I'm pretty sure that the Indians, when living off the land didn't have deer sticks and summer sausage "on the table". Regardless, I really enjoy this annual tradition. While some hunt, the rest of us sit around and eat, drink and be lazy. Well, almost lazy. This year there were a few kids around. Tom's 3 month old, 16 month old and 6 year old PLUS Carter PLUS my sister's 2 week old and 7 year old. It was a blast watching the kids play and also EXHAUSTING! (Tom's other two kids (14 & 12) were hunting with their grandpa Fox in Hill City for the weekend.

Bryan got a 4 point buck at around 7am opening morning and my brother got a doe and a buck later that day. It was a great weekend, and I'm relieved Bryan was able to "put food on the table."

The big day arrives!

FINALLY, the big day arrived. Friday, November 14th, the concrete trucks arrived. Well, they almost arrived before they got stuck in our driveway. BOTH trucks!

It took over an hour to get the trucks out of the mud and close enough to the basement to use the GIANT conveyor belt to bring the concrete to the footings.

Carter and I went out and watched for a bit and he was very interested in the trucks.

Next on the "To Do list of building a house" is the insulated foam forms that we will use. Once those are put together, they will be filled with concrete (instead of using concrete blocks). They are like a giant puzzle. Bryan will be working very hard to put the puzzle together as quickly as he can because we are working against the weather.

And our home project moves forward

For the last month, Bryan has been working very hard setting up the forms for our concrete footings. A month ago, it was still nice out and he could enjoy the fall weather while working. Carter and I and Scout visited every time he was working out there. 2 weeks ago, everything changed.
#1...Daylight savings time-Fall back an hour! Obviously the people that agreed losing an hour of daylight was a good idea have NEVER tried to build a house in the dark. We worked around that by using construction lights.
#2. Old Man Winter decided he would make an appearance. Last week, Bryan worked every night using a pick to get through the hard, FROZEN earth so he could continue with the footings. He did not complain once.

A fun fall weekend

Bryan had a hunting weekend away from home so Carter and I played and had fun while he was gone. We attended a Halloween party at the Moose club. He and Hayden posed for a picture while in costume. After the party, we headed over to Hayden's house for a sleepover. Hayden's mom had been my friend since 3rd grade, so we had a sleepover too. We had so much fun. After the boys went to bed, we sipped Cosmo's and watched Sex and the City, the movie. We had a great time. The boys enjoyed playing with Playdoh and also enjoyed a bath together. It sure makes bathtime more fun for the boys. What a great weekend for all of us.

A new Nelson arrives!

On October 22nd, my sister Anne Marie gave birth to our new nephew Gavin Troy. He is a precious little miracle. I think he looks so much like Anne! Nicole is a very proud big sister. Carter is very lucky to have 7 cousins.

"Driveway to heaven"

The transformation of what used to be a vacant piece of land is taking place. What an exciting time for us. We are looking forward to settling down in our new home next summer.

Our new driveway

The view from our future family room and dining room!

And the digging begins...

About two weeks ago the excavator started the digging of our basement. It sure is a fun feeling to know our project is heading in the right direction. We hope to be in our new house by mid summer. Judging from the pictures below, we've got our work cut out for us!