Baby mama turns 40.

Posted on by David Maxwell
The three members of my family.

It is a good thing that Liz does’t know about this blog because she probably wouldn’t be a fan of this post. Anyways, she hit the big four-oh yesterday. The celebration included nursing, bottle feeding, changing diapers, and a bath. I actually went out to get her a hamburger for dinner, but the place closed at eight. So I asked for requests from Publix and she wanted kambucha and key lime pie. I also got her some potato chips because I am an amazing husband. One of her presents was the photograph below, framed and matted. It shows her holding Luke when he is approximately 22 minutes old. I think I cropped out most of her nipple.

I most likely avoided some trouble by not going to Hobby Lobby until today. Had I gone previously I would have stumbled upon the awesome signage pictured below and probably bought a couple and probably upset somebody.

More tummy time and swaddled up tight.

Posted on by David Maxwell

He seems to like being on his belly. He also slept well in the pack and play this morning while bundled up in his new swaddling gear. I had to buy another box of newborn diapers at Walmart today. Ouch. Waiting for the rain to pass so we can get him back outside.

First stroll, second bath, and Grandpa time.

Posted on by David Maxwell

Today we took advantage of the lovely weather and a visit from our friend Emilie by going for a little walk around the complex. It was Luke’s first real foray into the great outdoors and he handled it very well. It was nice for Liz to get out too, as it seemed to boost her spirits considerably. Unfortunately rain is supposed to arrive tomorrow and possibly last for several days. But we will venture back outside as soon as it is nice again.

Luke received an overdue second bath last night. He started off calm but that didn’t last too long. At least we covered up his hose this time and didn’t get sprayed.

On Thursday my dad brought by some food that my mother prepared. Fortunately his visit coincided with Luke being awake, so they got to spend some quality time together.

Blocked up, pipe relief, and beautiful weather.

Posted on by David Maxwell

Two truck loads of block got delivered yesterday, along with sand and mortar. They were able to position all of the block on the inside of the footings. Unfortunately the surveyor didn’t come as scheduled yesterday to mark the corners, so the masons couldn’t start today. Hopefully tomorrow. We are using split face block for the exposed areas and regular block for the parts that cover. That saves a little money, although we still used a lot of block – over 2000.

Yesterday as I was trying to figure out how to get water for the masons I discovered the main water line coming in from the street. I had been planning on replacing it since I assumed it was in rough shape, but it is actually one inch PVC pipe of a recent vintage. I found where it branched off to the house and outdoor spigot, and cut the line there. I installed a valve for a garden hose. It was a very easy and cost effective solution to a problem I was quite concerned about. I couldn’t have just used the existing spigot because there were too many leaks on the line that fed it. So now the masons will have water, a key ingredient for mortar. I am rather pleased with myself, but think that I will rework everything by putting a 90 degree elbow onto the line, then coming up a couple of feet off the ground and then attaching the spigot. Otherwise it would be a mess after it rains and the hole that the spigot is now in fills up with water.

This weather has been amazing, but will cool down again this evening for a couple of days. It was warm but quite breezy today. I hope the wind lasts through the summer. Things are getting nice and green. Unfortunately that means the grass needs cutting. I don’t yet have an implement for my tractor. I actually need to repair the three point attachment before I am ready for a cutter. Lots to do around the farm.