It’s been forever since I’ve taken the time to document our life on this blog however I was just reading through London’s monthly updates and wanted to do the same for Lily. I also really like being able to look back at our story. I’m sure my posting will be inconsistent but I do want to try, for both the girls.
Christmas Card Outtakes
Quick Kitchen Update
So the kitchen isn’t done but it’s VERY close to being done. We were able to move back in shortly before Christmas but they still have some finishing touches to do in the kitchen & still have to complete the fireplace – they haven’t even started it but rumor has it the millwork guys are going to be here on Friday & the rest of the work will be done, done next week. We shall see. 
So far I’m really happy with how everything came out. I love how open the kitchen is the rest of the house now. I’ll be thrilled when the fireplace is done & I can unpack the rest of the boxes.
The Christmas Market
The weekend before last Pete had to work so London & I went to the The Christmas Market downtown. We had a really nice time walking around, checking out the shops, and visiting Santa. They had a gingerbread house & huge snowmen all around that London LOVED!
She thought Santa was pretty funny and loved the idea of leaving carrots for the reindeer. I think Santa got her interested by asking her to leave him cookies. I think she somehow thought cookies were involved for her.
Boston, Victoria & Vancouver
The week before Thanksgiving (US Thanksgiving that is) I had to go Victoria & Vancouver. Pete, London & I went to Rhode Island the weekend before and I flew to Victoria from Boston. It was a quick trip to Rhode Island (for me anyway, Pete & London stayed through Wednesday) but nice to visit for the weekend. 
London had the very best time with Nani, Poppi, Uncle Grant, Auntie Betsy & her new best friend Murphy. Dad came down on Saturday & we spent the day Christmas shopping. And had a lovely time. Sunday we met Michele, Britt, & Allison for lunch. 
Monday I flew to Victoria. Beautiful city but we had zero time to do any sight seeing. Training on Tuesday & Wednesday.
Wednesday night we flew to Vancouver. Another beautiful city but another two days of training and then back to Toronto. Thankfully I was able to get on a earlier flight home and made it home at 2:30am instead of 6am. 
House Update
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 14: 
Day 15 & 16:
Day 22: 
We’re surviving the reno! Things are moving along – on time or so we’ve been told. We’ve run into a few things as the walls have come down but I watch enough home improvement shows to know that isn’t abnormal. Annoying, yes. Abnormal, no.
Things should really start coming together at the start of next week. They templated the countertops today & are finishing the cabinet installation today (tonight as we speak) or tomorrow. The wood floors go in at some point this week & they are refinishing the stairs to match the new floors starting Wednesday. I think the appliance are coming next week too. All quite exciting. We will all be happy to have the house back and of course, we’re so excited to see the finished product!
Bring on the Demo
Today we started construction. I’m so excited for the finish product but am scared the next 6-8 weeks are going to be a bit hellish. We have to be completely out of the main floor until everything is done. So we’ve set-up a makeshift kitchen in the laundry room/family room downstairs, the 2nd bathroom upstairs has become our mudroom/coat closet, and our room now is a living room.
Tomorrow they will be moving the fridge downstairs to the laundry room. London is a little perplexed about having to eat in the laundry room.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Big Guy! 
We love you so much & are so thankful for you everyday.
Happy Halloween!
This little girl had the very best time handing out candy tonight. Her excitement was precious. Here’s a little video. She’s yelling “Kids, kiiiiddddddssss”. The few times we were waiting for another group to arrive she was yelling “morreee”. I don’t think she actually knows what candy is. She had a few smarties but didn’t even ask for any.
It was busy. Very busy. We ran out of candy at 267 kids around 7:30pm. I’m sure we would have had 100 more had we had the candy. We know for next year! London was a little generous with the candy early on, so Pete had to reign her in. In the end we had to limit to 1 piece per kid. It was so funny to watch the two of them. 
Work in the Backyard
I think we’ve had people visiting or been away all but one weekend since we moved it – CRAZY busy! Now we have a string of weekends with nothing planned I can get some stuff done around here. Here’s some pictures of the backyard before we moved in. These were actually taken the day we had the house inspection done, before we had officially bought the house. These pictures remind me of what a beautiful day it was that day – London & I had a picnic in the backyard while the house was being inspected.
Our neighbor on the right replaced her fence & cut down some trees while doing so. Last weekend I decided pull out all the plants against the back fence, move one of our bushes back there, & plant grass. We also cleaned out all the plants that were growing on the right hand side. It doesn’t look like much but it feels like we gained a LOT more space back there having done this – the plants were pretty but we value the space. Now we might even be able to fit a small play set. Pete was kind enough to do most of the heavy lifting.
I’m hoping the grass comes in strong & the poor bush we transplanted (see back left corner) survives the transfer. We actually moved that one on the right too but it seems to be doing much better than the other one. Our neighbor’s (on the left) grape vine is starting to take over the fence on the left & needs to be seriously trimmed come spring.
Dad, this gives you a sneak peak of your next deck rebuild project – wink, wink. 🙂
Laughing, Living, and Loving with London 