www.dvhart.com

So I thought I'd give everyone a glimpse at our new facade on the house. We LOVE it! It is amazing what a little bit of style and texture can do to a plain boring ranch. Imagine what a bit of color will do.
The first picture is the original house the day we made the offer on it. The second picture is what it looked like last Friday when they finished the front siding. It should look even better when we have it painted and get the front walk/porch installed. If you would like to see more photos of the siding check out Exterior.

I was inspired by a friends blog to put up some comparison pictures of Devon, just to show how much he's changed. My baby boy is definitely gone and he has been replaced by a toddler. He has hair, teeth, and an attitude, but we love him.

Darren had to go to Toronto this week for a conference so I've been at home with Devon and the dogs. Devon decided that since dad was gone this would be a good week to get the flu and run a fever of about 104 (although it went as high as 106). We ended up going to visit the doctor and get a check-up and found out it was just the flu (no pneumonia, ear infections, or strep throat) all worries for Mama (and Dad). Since his fever was usually still about 101 or 102 with baby Tylenol he spent much of the week cuddled up on my lap watching Bob the Builder & Baby Einstein - which worked out well for me since I'm not feeling well either. Darren gets back tonight (weather permitting) and we are both on the mend so it should be a good homecoming.

Devon is getting to be quite the little handful. He loves to be the center of attention especially when I am trying to get housework done. His favorite is helping me vacuum. All though as 2nd year Photos show he is also helpful when emptying the dishwasher. He loves to take the muddy dog rag (that we use to wipe the dogs paws) and use it to dust the walls, windows, couches, tables, just about anything he can reach. He has also recently figured out the joy of climbing and has gotten himself stuck a few times. He is such a busy, busy boy. He wears his mama out just watching him but I love him to death!

Alberto pretty much finished up the roofing over the front porch today. You can tell it's new material, but since the new roof is at a shallower pitch than the existing roof, the difference isn't too bad. I suspect time, rain, and moss will help blend them together :-) I spent the evening piecing together the new master bathroom water closet drain and vent. it's finally done! I've been dreading it for a while now, and have been procrastinating. The 3" pipe is difficult to work with and glue up (lots of surface area, requires a lot of glue and is harder to work once connected). Getting 1/4" per foot of slope can also be tricky, I learned to pick a small level and check it on a level surface to see where the bubble sits when it's at the proper slope.

Construction finally began on Jan 24 and things have moved along quickly. We are only doing the front porch, the back deck/gable, and the siding during this phase of the remodel but we are excited to see the changes as we think it will make a huge difference to the outside of the house. So far they have ripped off the Back Deck and started framing the Front Porch. We love our contractor and Darren has even been able to go out and work with him for a couple hours here and there so he is learning a few new things. Devon loves all the construction and being outside with the guys and the power tools. He runs around with his plastic hammer or plastic saw all the time trying to help. Mom loves that he actually sleeps through the construction noise.

Well 2006 has flown by and we are already half way into January of 2007. Time is flying by in the Hart household. Devon went from cruising to walking to climbing in very quick succession, and has been wearing both his mom & dad out as they try to keep up with him. He has kept us so busy that I've had very little time to post to the website. However I think I have finally gotten caught back up. I finally posted Birthday Photos, Hawaii Photos, and even a few current photos of our little dude. 2nd year Photos There are also Christmas Photos of Devon and his new set of wheels. Luckily December was fairly quiet except for Darren installing new windows and ripping out our master shower to start on my laundry closet, and the front walk up to our house being ripped out to make way for our new front porch.

[Hawaii Photos]Much to Darren's dismay (not really) they sent him to Waikiki for a conference on Nov 6th-9th. Since Darren was there already we decided to make a family trip out of it and Devon and I flew out on the 8th to spend the weekend with Darren. It was beautiful!!! Sunny, 85 degrees, more humid than we are used to but well worth it in my opinion. We walked along Waikiki, went to Sea Life Park for a Dolphin show (my favorite part) and a luau. We took a tour of the island of O'ahu (it even drove past the temple) and went on a lunch cruise (very pretty but the food wasn't very good). Darren got sick the last day we were there and the flight home was miserable for him (especially since there was a screaming baby a few rows behind us).

Devon was an angel on both flights which was very nice of him and did really well in Hawaii.

[Birthday Photos]Our little boy has turned one and boy did he enjoy the celebration. His Aunt Teala flew in for the occassion (and a vacation) plus we had the Mauery's (Vernon, Lauren, Nicole & Nathan) and the Conacher's (Chris & Patty) over for cake, ice cream, and the present opening. For a 1 year old he really did rake the presents in. He got blocks, cd's, cars, car keys, a little chair, a "tool" truck, books, and his train engine that dad made him [dvhart's blog]. He also got money for his college savings and lots of adoring attention.

He loved his birthday cake and made quite the mess with it. He is defineitly in the right family as he loves chocolate cake. It was a great celebration and fun was had by all.

Devon celebrated his first Halloween this year and as tempted as I was to buy him a cute costume I decided to instead enjoy a halloween off... one of my last for years to come I'm sure. I had bought him a cute orange shirt with a spider on it as part of his fall wardrobe. So this year he went a "Spike the Spider" and combed his hair especially for the occasion. We took him out trick-or-treating with Nicole "The Ballerina/Princess" and Nathan "The Cowboy" Mauery and visited a couple friends in our neighborhood. We got home so late that we missed all the trick-or-treaters -- and we are just hating that we have to eat the candy for them.