The Simonson's: The Paint is Finally On!

The painting has begun and is almost done. Tomorrow should be the last day of painting. No we are not painting ourselves. Mike decided to let me hire it done so that we could put the house together finally. I don't think he wanted to wait another 7 months to hang the rest of the pictures on the wall. I had them nicely leaning against the wall. I thought they looked good! Mike however did not. We hired Paul Simonson to come out and paint for us. He is doing a great job and I can't wait to see the basement completed. I love the upstairs! Mike told someone the other night that he didn't realize how much he disliked the colors until he saw the new colors on the wall. I have to agree.
The girls stayed at the ranch from Sunday until Wednesday. They both did really well, and I guess so did I. That was the longest I have been away from Becca. I did enjoy the nights of uninterrupted sleep, I'm not sure that Grandma and Granddad enjoyed the nights near as much! Rachel did get a little homesick, I think some of it was due to being gone from home since the previous Wednesday. Becca did not really want to drink her bottles the first couple of days. She really was excited to be nursing again on Wednesday. She is now waking up again at night to eat. I hope that this is just a growing phase. She has been eating a ton of baby food also!
The girls are finally in the same room and so far so good. Rachel does not even move when Becca wakes up at night and Becca usually sleeps through Rachel trying to be quiet at bed time. Becca is back to sleeping in her little rock and play bed as she has a cold she can not kick and is having trouble breathing. I am hoping to start her back in her crib on Monday.
Monday I got my hair cut and ran some errands in town. Mike and I enjoyed a nice lunch out and the went to town in the Corvette for dinner and a movie that evening. It was a nice date night! Tuesday I did some more running around and then came home and put the kitchen and living room back together. Wednesday morning I meet Wanda in Stapleton to get the girls. We then came back to town and went to the museum to play and then to lunch at Gracie Mae's. Wednesday night the girls and I went to church. Mike was unable to attend as he was on call and had to do a surgery. After mass they had soup and grilled cheese at church which the girls and I enjoyed with the Troshynski family.
Thursday and Friday the girls and I stayed home and tried to stay out of the way of Paul's painting. Rachel really likes Paul and loved to check and make sure he was still working. I'm not sure what she is going to do next week when he is done and she doesn't have anyone to check on throughout the day!
Saturday the girls and I did some shopping while Mike rounded at the hospital. We found some great new artwork for the house. I have most of it hung up, but need to find a few more things for the basement. Sunday was church, then lunch in town, and home for naps. I love lazy Sunday's!. Rachel and Mike worked in the shop all afternoon. Rachel loves to help her dad and I'm sure she is a big help in the shop! They did some cleaning, is what I was told. By the looks of Rachel's clothes I'm not sure how clean anything got. She was not spotless to say the least.
Becca is now 5 months old so I will give an update on her. She usually wakes up between 5:30 and 7 to drink and play. She gets a bowl of cereal with fruit for breakfast around 8. Then it is play time until around 9. She then eats again and sleep for 20 to 30 minutes. We then eat lunch around 11:30. Becca now has a variety of foods she can eat. They are Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Pears, Applesauce, Banana's. She even had Peaches when she stayed with Grandma. Sweet Potatoes and Pears are her favorites but she really is not picky. After lunch it is more to drink and then another short nap. The afternoon is filled with play time on the floor, swing, bouncer, and bumbo. After her afternoon snack she usually goes down for one more nap and then the evening rush starts. She loves to be held most of the evening but is entertained by sitting in her highchair as long as she can see Rachel. She eats another vegetable for supper around 6 then it is bath and cereal around 7:30 before her nighttime bottle at 8. After that she is down for the night, or at least for a couple of hours. Becca can now roll both ways, sit with a pillow around her for a little support and loves to stand with help.
Rachel is also growing. She is almost big enough for school and reminds me everyday that she is growing and will soon be big enough for school. She is fully potty trained with the use of pull-ups only at night. She is so proud when she is dry all night and we are having more and more dry nights so I am hoping I have the last box of pull-ups for awhile. Rachel loves to make Becca laugh, and Becca loves to keep track of Rachel. Rachel can count to 25 and loves to sing songs. She has even started making up her own songs. I have even caught her singing "Rock a bye Baby" to Becca when Becca is upset. Rachel loves "mewgick (music)!"
Now for the pictures! Until next week. Stay warm and out of the wind!