This is a "make-up" post because I have a lot of time that is unaccounted for.

Obviously, Joel is playing with a multimeter. This is because Joel has been doing a lot of new and exciting stuff and because the house has gotten a lot of new and exciting stuff too.

Today was a HUGE day of firsts for Joel. He was really happy, even though he had a lousy night of sleep last night.

WALKING: Joel has been standing for 3 weeks and he has gotten really good at it. However, until tonight he has been too uncomfortable to step alone (though he can do a marathon with someone helping him). We had a lot of fun and spun Joel around in a circle and got him dizzy. As a joke, I said "hey, let's see if he can walk now." Apparently all of the laughing that we did after he tried to stand up while dizzy broke the tension. He took about 12 steps total in about as many minutes, but several of them were in a row and he was standing after them. I think it counts! I cannot wait for him to keep going!

WRESTLING: I think we wrestled this morning. Joel got a funny happy look and crawled onto my head and playfully bit my nose. We then engaged in a bout of "puppy-play" with him and we both had a great time.

DISROBING: Anne took Joel to Meijer this evening and he took his pants off in public for the first time! Yay for beginning with the awkward public moments! He followed this up with pulling his bib off many times (a first at our house, though apparently he has done it for his grandparents).

FOOD: Joel is eating some meat now and he loves some of it. His favorite food is still avocado, though. That is all the spectacular Joel news, other than him getting cuter and more intelligent by the hour.

Home stuff: Last Thursday and Friday, Ryan B. from across the street came over and we re-roofed the porch. It was starting to rot/leak in a few places. It had a small ant nest, but it was mainly incompetent fixes that were previously done to it (as well as a poor drainage system that I fixed by extending an eave directly into the gutter) that caused the issues. No more problems--we laid all new plywood, paper, and shingles--as well as new facia board and trim. The only thing we reused was the gutter. Besides this, I have been improving the grade around the house (hauling soil around and cutting a "ditch") to reduce the possibility of water running toward the basement. It is not a huge issue, but there was some plain ol' dumb spots near the house. I also put in the filter guard stuff (with mesh screen) on every gutter in the house. It took a while of sitting on the roof, but these big, tall trees put out a lot of leaves and the gutters get clogged otherwise. Oh yeah, Joel loved watching us rake (he hardly even tasted the leaves). There are a lot of other random things--digging out our gas meter, repairing the chimney cleanout/adding a chimney cap, cleaning up the roofing materials, fixing a door, making a winter cover for our crawl vent, checking out the house attic and moving around insulation up there, and getting stuff ready for the basement repairs/windows, and random electrical stuff.

Ok, everyone. Read this post again whenever you think you might want to stop renting. It is a heck of a lot of work (and a lot of trips to Lowes)! It isn't even done yet!

Other stuff: we went to orchards twice and to a pumpkin patch once (I should look at those pictures!). I got a new phone to replace my flaky 3650. I got an SDA--it is faster, smaller, and more capable than the 3650--and it has a standard (not round) keypad too. I have had a stuffy nose for about 2 weeks (at what point do you say "I guess I have developed allergies?" and stop thinking it is a cold). I went paintballing with the Grace youth group this Saturday morning at Bull Creek in Bowling Green. I wanted the first memory the youth have of me to involve guns. It was very fun and it gave me exposure to the group, which is great (really nice, super-cooperative). I cannot wait to get to know them more, even though they shot me in the head at least six times.

Tomorrow is the "inside out" party where we celebrate Joel being outside for 9 months (a reverse-gestation thing, sort of). If you want to celebrate the joys of not being pregnant by doing things you cannot do while pregnant (wine, soft cheeses, deli meats, DDR) then PLEASE come to our house Monday at 6:30 or 7.