And I'm done for the night...

This is what our house looked like the last time we checked it out this past Wednesday night. It was my Mom's birthday the Tuesday before so we took her out to eat in Champaign as well as look at the house. We are still planning to close September 26th and they don't have too much left to do! The tile and hardwood is down and we are just waiting for the carpet. They have put in the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms and installed the lockers in the laundry room. Lil' Ron already knows which one is his room. I would post more pics but they are all turned to the side. I have to figure out how to move them around so you can see more of the house. We are planning to go back this week to see the house again and will definitely take more pictures. I have also posted a lot to this blog tonight so make sure you go back to see all the pics!

Illinois State Fair!

Just thought you might like to see pics of our adventures to the State Fair. We went on Sunday afternoon with Ron's parents and had a good time! Lil' Ron thinks he can eat corn on the cob. At the time, he had no teeth but I am FINALLY happy to say that he has popped his first tooth!!! He's not too happy about it and has been waking up in the middle of the night wailing but it's pretty exciting! He LOVED the big slide. Him and Big Ron went on it two times. I think if it wouldn't have cost so much and Ron would have been a bit more in shape, they would've went more! You can also see in the pics my pork chop on a stick, the only one of it's kind in Central Illinois. Boy was it good!

I love dipping!

Lil' Ron is now an expert dipper. He doesn't like to get the ketchup all over his hands so he daintily dips his food into whatever condiment is available. Ketchup is definitely his favorite though, much like his mom!

A haircut for Lil' Ron!

Here are pics from Lil' Ron's 1st (but really second) haircut by Daddy. He actually sits very still and looks so cute when he's all done. He doesn't look like the same baby at all! I guess no one can mistake him for a girl now!

Only a matter of time...

Here are some pics of the house with the paint colors we chose! The green room is going to be Lil' Ron's room. The brown room is one of our extra bedrooms. The blue room is our master suite (sounds nice, huh?!?). I also included a picture of the back of the house with the siding almost done. I think we did pretty good with the colors. What do you think?

After Louisiana...

In just a short week, this is what happened! We were thinking that at this rate, the house might be done the next week but unfortunately it wasn't. It's pretty exciting, isn't it?!??

After Holland...

So before we left for Louisiana but after we came back from our Holland trip, this is what our house looked like. The frame was up and you could sort of tell the rooms apart. It was crazy how fast this was put up!

Our Trip to Valpo!

Once again, we made our way up to Valparaiso, IN for the weekend to visit some old friends. The families have expanded a bit - Jen is going to have a baby any day now and Liz just had a baby girl in March to add to the bunch. We had such a good time that we can't wait to do it again. Hopefully we can have it at our house as previously talked about next year. Dave, Jen and Matthew were wonderful hosts. Hope to see you all again soon!

More to come...

I hope to post pictures of Lil' Ron's new haircut and the progress of our house! I just put in my resignation at Richland which is the first step in our move! Ron began his first day at Carle Hospital in Champaign this past Monday. So stay tuned for more adventures of the Baker family!

How bad do YOU really have to go?

Ron really needed to use the bathroom so Mat and Riet offered him the public urinal. He thought about it for a second and then realized that it wasn't too sanitary (he is a nurse, you know) and decided against it. I think I would have passed on it too!

For Mat and Riet

Tanta Riet had a great idea. She wanted to see if we could take pictures of Lil' Ron in the flowering tree. He took a few and then got antsy. Their backyard was absolutely beautiful. I think I could spend all day out there!

More Pics from Holland

We got to spend some time with Ron's grandma (Oma Bruisten) who was so much fun! The moment we got there she started pulling out pictures and was the perfect hostess! I've seen pictures of her when Ron was younger and she still looks the exact same! I just wish we were able to spend more time with her and hear all of her stories. We definitely love and miss her!

Lil' Ron's new friend (or not!)

While in Amsterdam, Lil' Ron found a new friend. The other little boy was shooting the pigeons with a water gun (you can kind of see the little orange gun in his hand). Lil' Ron loves pigeons (well, birds and nature in general) and went up to them. The little boy then points the water gun at him and Lil' Ron freezes. It was hilarous and frightening all at once. I don't think was too happy!

Pies, Pies and More Pies!

Have you ever really had a fresh pie? Well, I haven't besides our family's sweet potato pie or pumpkin pies every Thanksgiving. In Holland, they bake fresh pies every day. Whenever family comes over, they also serve pie and tea or coffee. Here's some pictures of some of the most heavenly pies we've ever tasted. We're trying to convince Kit and Frans to come over and start a pie shop. They would definitely make tons of euro! Oh how I wish I had a piece right now!