Next...ripping it apart.

Well, you've seen the before pictures...oh, except for the exterior. So here it is!
Ta da!

When Brent and Brian arrived in town for Davis & Danielle's wedding, they were quite eager to help out. Brian discovered that the house needed to be rewired, so he and Brent got busy and went to work. They also suggested that the living room would look so good with a vaulted ceiling. Kaden agreed so Amy and Janessa took the ceiling down, and were completely showered with the wood shavings insulation. All carpet was removed. Walls that Kaden wanted removed were done during that week. A dumpster was loaded!

Now I'll show you the work in progress...

Living Room

 Living Room

Master bedroom (with dresser and wall cabinets removed)

Living room view to hall and master bedroom

Dave taking out the 'beautiful' kitchen cabinets.

plumbing

trap door in stairwell to basement - yep - they left stuff in there too :/

taking out the bookcase in the dining room

dismantling the trap door to open up the stairwell

'We' Construction

For the sixth time the Kennedy Klan has embarked on a renovation project. If you are counting here are the stats:
1985 - creating a walkout basement in Dickson Hill
1991 - building an addition in Dickson Hill
2000 - building an attached double garage and landscaping in Dickson Hill
2005 - building a garage and converting carports into living space in Webster
2006 - gutting and re-doing Brent's home in Webster
2012 - renovation #6

Everyone from the oldest to the youngest works and we together are a mighty force. Friends have also lent a helping hand for which we are thankful. A few professionals have been hired along the way...excavation, furnace installation etc.

Kaden bought a house and got possession on June 15, 2012. The roof needed to be done sooner than later and so we started stripping shingles on the afternoon of June 15th and by the afternoon of June 16th there was a new roof.

We then started emptying the house. The people left behind way TOO much stuff. They had lived in the house for forty years and it was obvious they had a full house of ugly.

 The kitchen: Just so you know the faux brick actually crinkled like a Tostitos bag when you poked it!

 The bathroom: This might have actually been the best room in the house.

 The master bedroom: This built in closet and 22 drawer dresser came with the house ;)

 The dining area: Complete with a built in bookcase.

 The front entry: This picture was taken from the living room.

The living room: Oh such lovely blinds, sheers and drapes ;)

It was time for a wedding so the project was put on hold.

Just because...

Here's a few more just because I think they're cute:-)

The girls are into holding hands recently which I think is just too cute!

Finally...Siblings!

I got a few shots with all three kids actually looking at the camera and looking sort of half decent...it only took about 40 pics to get these precious few, so enjoy them!:-P

Kayla loves her little brother and smothers him with kisses (quite literally). She has also progressed to calling him "Camey" which is pretty cute and is catching on as a nickname with the rest of us! Sure beats "Memahs" (who knows what she was thinking with that one!)

I think this one is my fave:-)

Mattea likes to sneak in some cuddle time with Canaan right in the few minutes after Kayla goes to bed, and before she herself has to go. She loves for Canaan to lie beside her in her bed and always asks if he can sleep with her. And of course, the answer never changes:-P

He kinda looks like a little frogger here, but Mattea's smile was cute:-)

D&D's visit to TO

Last week we had a visit from Davis and Danielle! We were so excited to have them come to Toronto and to be able to meet Danielle and to spend some time together.


The visit allowed for some learning experiences for the kids, but also for Davis:

Mattea learned that Uncle Davis had "funny tricks" - which was him holding her hand and then switching his hands without her noticing. She would laugh and laugh and then beg him to do it again. The trick never seemed to get old and kept her quite content to hold hands while we shopped!

Davis quickly learned that Mattea has surprisingly bony knees and elbows and she knows how to uses them in her wrestling matches. He also learned about fighting etiquette....after mercilessly attacking your opponent, you then go back and say "excuse me Uncle Davis...I'm sorry for fighting you".

He also learned never to let Dr's Newallo and Newallo treat him for his wounds...Kayla is not known for her ability to administer pain medication and her treatments usually result in the need for more pain medication. She may have given him a stab wound to the chest while trying to inject him with a plastic needle.

He also learned that babies can scream for long periods of time without a) hurting their voices or b) stopping! - courtesy of Canaan letting us know he wasn't too happy about all the car rides and shopping trips (just preparing you for the future Davis!)

and I don't think Kayla ever quite learned that SHE was the "punkin" that Auntie Dani was talking about. She would keep going and looking around as if she is going to find one.

All in all, the girls had a great time with their Uncle and new Auntie. Mattea claimed very quickly that Uncle Davis was her new best friend and that she loved him. And when dropping them off at the airport, Kayla cried for a good 20 minutes afterwards saying "oh no!...Unco!!!" 

So Davis and Dani, thanks for coming!!! We miss you!!!

Canaan - 2 months

Okay so technically he was 2 months, 2 weeks ago:-) As of tomorrow he will be 11 weeks old. 

He has become a very smiley little guy and is quite interactive. He loves to "talk" and can keep his little conversations going for quite a while, which reminds us alot of Mattea.

But he is also already trying to lean himself as far forward as possible when set in any chair, craning his little neck as far as he can. He can squirm his way forward on the floor and locks his legs to stand whenever he can - all of which reminds us of Kayla!

Soooo I think we are in for some trouble with both his mischief and his mouth in the future!:-P

For those interested in the stats...he was 12 lbs 12 oz at his checkup (9wks old) and was 24.5 inches (62 cm long). That makes him officially my tallest baby, but Mattea was still the heaviest - but Canaan is catching up fast and I think will surpass her stats soon! So he is growing up fast....a little too fast:-(

He is continuing to treat his Mommy nicely by sleeping through the night (8-9 hrs). I guess he has learned you don't bite the hand that feeds you:-)

He also has the curliest hair and the darkest features of all our kids. His eyes are so dark brown that they are almost black and his hair is frizzy ringlets when its wet. His skin tone is also quite dark...its sometimes hard to see in pics because of the flash but he basically looks like he has a nice tan. So it will be interesting to see what he will look like as he grows up!

This mugshot cracks me up...he looks like a little old man:-)

Our little polar bear:-)

Family Pics

It has been another beautiful fall in Regina.  Here are some pics we took this week.