Hanson Crew

Joshua had his friend party yesterday and it was so much better than last year! For those loyal readers who read last year, you might remember he slept through his entire first friend party last year after hitting his head while decorating his cake! This year, he was awake, loud, excited, and had a great a time! We had a mixed-up movie party (including pirate stuff, x-men stuff, and power ranger stuff). We colored a goody bag, passed out treasure maps for a treasure hunt, opened presents, ate cake, and did a pinata. We even had some time at the end to play with all the new loot. It was very memorable! There were 8 Kindergartners and 2 preschoolers... Today's plan after church is to have a combined family party for Joshua and Ashlyn. Then she will take 3 of her friends bowling next Friday on her actual birthday. After our family party today (and for the next 3 days) - alot of painting!!!!

So for one full week (Ashlyn's birthday is next Friday), I actually have four children with all even ages 2 years apart... 2,4,6,8 That just seemed crazy to me that I had to share!

Where does the time go? Happy Birthday Joshua!

I stayed warm today and even had babysitting for painting today :) I primed the two entry way doors and then painted them the trim color. We might change the color later to an accent color, but for now (and in our short time frame), we freshened them up with a brighter color! Here is some before and afters...

So we are into 1/3 of our paint time frame! It's hard to believe how fast it goes by. The good news is starting Sat, the weather looks very promising early next week...and after 2 birthday parties this weekend, we are PAINTING alot! Here is the work I got done today. Since it was freezing and rainy, I worked under the covered porch and finished up the entry way (ceiling and walls). Tomorrow is more rain so I plan on priming the two entry doors inside and then painting them the trim color. I will paint them again next spring when I come up with an accent color for them. For now, I am going to go with the trim color. The plan for the weekend is to finish the right side's 2nd coat, paint the gutters and ceiling around the front and the right side, and paint the entire back sun room (2 coats). We'll keep you posted...

Jonathan has decided to stop eating the majority of the time...or I should say, 2 of the 3 important meals of the day. He loves breakfast and eats a ton when he first wakes up. Then he wants to snack the rest of the day. He'll eat lunch sometimes, usually when we eat out or have pb&j sandwiches, but that is about it. And dinner is a real fight. He just sits there and utters "Hate that!" over and over again. I remember the other kids not eating during this age some, but not saying his favorite expression. Obviously, the snacking is stopping and we are trying to change the situation, but I had to share a small struggle we are undertaking with him right now!

Today was a very productive paint day :) I was able to get the second coat of trim paint on the two large windows I shared w/ you on Friday done today....it was just too cold this weekend to work outside. We also got tons of power washing done (only above the garage is left for power washing now), we got the first coat of trim paint on a kitchen window on the right side of the house on, and the first coat of body paint on the right side (pictured below) done - minus the under hang that we will do together with the front part of the house above the brick and 2 large windows. It will all be this body color, including the gutters... Oh, and we got the first coat on the cement wall near the stairs and the patio wall. It was really needing some paint and will probably need 3 coats before we are done... We are forecasted for some rain the next few days so my plan is to paint the entryway under the patio covering. It never gets rain in there and I can easily get 2 coats in a couple hou...