Hobbs411

A Few New Photos...

2010-04-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

Here is what we've been up to in our absence from the blogosphere.

Easter Sunday- right after church...It was a very cold windy day. It started raining as soon as the kids were done with the egg hunt.
Katie was taking a rest on her way to get the next egg. She proudly filled her basket.
My little sweetheart.
Hamming it up in the bathtub.
Dustin's MBA graduation.
Katie bug loving her new chair.

More pictures to come of Katie's first Disneyland trip and also pictures of projects around the house.

The Busy Days of our Katie Bug!

2010-01-31T21:58:00.000-08:00

Can you tell she likes her new boots? I told her we needed to take a picture and she actually stood in one place and gave me a cheezy grin =)

Katie was all ready to run errands today. Nevermind that her socks don't match....the boots will cover them up =)

She's my very busy girl these days. She has to check everything out. I have been working on painting the hutch above and she was right in the middle of all of it.

Our Katie bug is super fast these days. She's off into the next room before I can get a new diaper on her. She takes off giggling and flapping her arms in excitement. Notice the wipe in her hand. She was wiping herself down with it.

This picture is probably about a month old now, but I put Katie's hair in a ridiculous pony tail and she gave me such a funny expression.

I love observing her every day. She picks up on so much. Today she had my bible study book and a pen and was trying to draw a picture. She showers me with kisses now and always provides me with a funny Katie story to tell Dustin when he arrives home. I feel so truly blessed to have this little one in my life everyday.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T01:20:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a week. We celebrated Katie's first birthday yesterday and enjoyed Christmas Eve as a family. What a different Christmas Eve than the one we had last year....ha! Thank you to all of our friends and family that helped to make Katie's 1st Birthday extra special. We are so thankful that our little one is surrounded by friends and family that love her.

Merry Christmas from our little family to yours. May you take some time this Christmas to kneel in thanks to our God for sending his only son to the world so that we can have a greater understanding of our God and accept the gift of salvation.

Here are a few photos....More to come of Katie's birthday and Christmas!

Christmas Eve at the Mission Inn. (Katie was super tired from her birthday yesterday and Christmas Eve service. )

10 Month Update

2009-11-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

Ok....so Katie is 10 months for the next 10 days! She seems to learn somthing new everyday. She loves to play and get into everything. She is crawling all over the house very quickly and has taken 3 steps! She smiles and giggles very easily. I love that she has learned that when she smiles first she can get me to smile. She also will laugh if I tell her how funny she is. She loves to take walks and explore. She can say Mama, Dada, and all done. She's also starting to use the hand signals that we've been working on. She gets excited and kicks her feet when offered food that she loves. She also always wants a sip of what I'm drinking. It's usually water so I oblige her, but she doesn't get it when it's what I call an "adult beverage". Which usually means its hot tea or apple cider. Since I've posted last we've been to Apple Hill to pick pumpkins and Halloween has also passed. Dustin is now through with going to class on Fridays and Saturdays! Hallelujah! We're thrilled to have more time as a family, more time to work on projects around the house, and time to fellowship more frequently with our church family. We're beginning to realize Thanksgiving is just around the corner and so is Katie's 1st birthday and Christmas! Wow, Lots to plan! 1st Birthday Party plans are in the works!

We hope we have a chance to visit with each of you over the holidays dear friends and family. Isn't it wonderful to have a time of year set aside specifically to remember to thank our Lord for all of his abundant blessings? I know I so often am like the Israelites wandering in the desert and grumbling and complaining. I often forget to thank God for his provision for my family, or I forget the next day and am grumbling in my heart again. May we remember to thank our God for his care for us...and if you call him Lord, may we remember to thank him for his saving grace that He would save such a wretch like me even when I complain like a wandering Israelite.

Late September Fun!

2009-09-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

Katie loves strawberries! We went out for Japanese Buffet and she ate them one after another. She wasn't interested in the little cut up pieces, but wanted a strawberry to hold.

Playtime with Aunty Mandy!

We celebrated Dustin's 29th birthday this week.

We baked lots of cookies for the church bake sale and Katie was very interested in what was going on. She kept peeking in the oven. It was fun to have her crawling around the floor and eating in her highchair while I worked. I can't wait until she's old enough to help bake cookies with me!

Playtime! She loves her leapfrog learning table!

Las Vegas

2009-09-10T23:44:00.001-07:00

We've traveled a lot this summer. Katie has taken 3 airplane rides and 2 road trips. We've been to Laughlin, San Francisco, Las Vegas twice, Corona three times, and San Clemente twice. We just returned from Vegas...and now it's time to put away the suitcases for awhile and get settled back into our routine.

We are so blessed that we get to travel with Dustin while he works. He only has a couple months of school left, then we're looking forward to taking a graduation vacation as a family.

Katie playing with her evil twin in our hotel room.

Outside our hotel.

Playing at the pool. It was amazing to see the difference in Katie's development compared to pool time when we were in Vegas last month. She wasn't happy to just sit on the stairs and splash. She crawled all over the place. Crawled out of the pool, in the pool, jumped off the top stair and assumed that I'd always be there to catch her, and kicked and waved her arms as we swam around! Lots of fun, but very tiring for both of us.

Katie took some nice long naps. Swimming wore her out! Here she is all snuggled up on the bed right before I joined her!

Out in front of the hotel on our way to dinner.

State Fair

2009-08-31T22:12:00.001-07:00

We headed to the State Fair tonight. It was the perfect night. Not too hot, Not too busy.

Katie petting the rabbit. We had a good laugh in the "Fur and Feathers" exhibit. Amanda and I were talking about how cute the bunnies were when one of the peed all over and got both Amanda and I. The look on her face was priceless. We were quite upset that we had to throw away the candy we were eating. We were thankful that we had Katie's wipes with us and hand sanatizer packed.

The animal nursery was once again my favorite. The piglets were just born yesterday and oh so cute!

Our Little Toddler...

2009-08-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, our little one is toddling around. (sniff sniff) Tonight while bathing Katie, I asked Dustin, "Where did our baby go?" His response was, "I don't know, but it's gone."

Here's a picture of Katie after she climbed out of the tub on her own. I guess she was done with her bath.

She's getting so big. New teeth seem to be popping out every day and she's trying her hardest to learn to walk. Her crawl is more of a walk on all fours and she's eating finger foods like crazy. I should buy stock in Gerber puffs and yogurt melts! Thank goodness Target had a big sale on them last week.

I was excited to go to my grandparent's because I was curious to find out if Katie would notice the doggy in the corner...and she did! Rather quickly too!

In some of my earliest childhood memories I always remember the dog. It's sat in the same spot for as long as I can remember.

It was time for some big girl toys. We've acquired some new toys for our growing Katie bug recently. She started standing and playing with them, but thanks to Chelle she showed Katie that she can push it and walk with it. We now have a little one walking across the floor as she pushes her walker.

The newest addition to our family is Mr. Lion. Katie loves to ride him and play with his hair. She learning to get on and off of him.

Aunty Mandy has been wanting to paint Katie's toes all summer, so here she is getting her toe nails painted for the first time. I couldn't believe how still she stayed. If only I could get her to stay still when she gets her diaper changed.

Here's the family picture from Papa's birthday party! Happy 90th Paps! I love you and so appreciate all the ways you've shown me your love over the years.

Las Vegas...and more

2009-08-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

Last week we had the priveledge of traveling with Dustin to Vegas while he worked! It was a wonderfully relaxing couple of days.

Katie flew on an airplane for the first time.

...and her first limo ride.

Katie played in the big bathtub at the hotel.

Ready for bed after my bath.

Lounging by the pool.

She loved the water! She would sit on the step and splash for over an hour at a time. I would then take her upstairs for a nap, then return to the pool for more splash time.

Now...on the home front.

Katie still has no interest in "baby" food, but she likes the baby cereal bits, and more traditional "people" food. Dustin sat down to eat a peach and she decided that she wanted some. I can't blame her. They were fresh from the farmer's market.

She now loves to sit in the grocery cart sometimes, but sometimes she still prefers to be in the sling. I'm such a germaphobe though. Carts have always grossed me out, and now Katie is at the age to sit in them. I always have my sanatizing wipes close at hand until I get a cart cover. =)

One day Katie started peeking over her bumper, and the next day she had pulled herself to standing in her crib.

...and today she can not only pull herself to standing, but climbed on top of the bumper.

Katie climbed all over our luggage before leaving. We're baby proofing the house tomorrow for our little crawler.

Hot Summer Days

2009-07-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy few hot summer weeks packed full of family and traveling.

We took a quick weekend trip to So Cal and went to the Nixon Library. Katie visited her first Presidential Library. I voted that we stop at the Reagan Library again, but we'd never been to the Nixon Library before even though we used to live within 30 min. of it.

The tour included the Library, Nixon's birthplace, a tour of Marine One, and a visit to President and Mrs. Nixon's Burial place.

The next weekend brought 4th of July. I love celebrating the 4th! There's nothing better than BBQ and Fireworks to celebrate our Independence. We are so blessed to live in this country.

We started the morning with swimming. Katie shows off her new talent and love of drinking out of Mom's water bottles. She continues to show no interest in solid foods of any kind, but loves ice water. She can drink it out of a straw and her sippy cup as well.

It was great to have Uncle Casey here visiting. He got to spend the 4th of July with us and spend some time loving on Katherine. Remind me not to give the Hobbs boys fireworks and a lighter next year.

Our first 4th as a family!

Hanging out in my shades watching Daddy and my Uncles play wiffleball.

Being loved by my Aunts!

Hanging out in the hotel room in San Fransisco while Daddy worked. I loved playing on the really big bed with my new turtle from Uncle Casey!

After San Fransisco I traveled to Laughlin for the Muzquiz family reunion. We spent a couple of days feeling like we were staying on the surface of the sun. We did however get to eat All you Can Eat King Crab and visit with lots of family. Here I am with my Grandma and Great Great Aunt Bernice. I even had a matching onesie with the family tree on it.

I had a confetti egg broken on my head. It's a fiesta tradition in Texas and the Texas family thought I needed to be included.

We had a banquet on Saturday night. Here are the Muzquiz family babies. Aunt Sandy with the latest addition, River and my Cousin's wife Amanda with little Samantha. It was so much fun to watch Katie and Samantha interact all weekend.

After Laughlin we stopped in So Cal for a few days. It was great to see my cousin's David and Meleah while they were visiting. Here's a picture of our silly little Katherine with the Rubino Catherines.

Katie had her first trip to the beach. It was super hot and super busy.

All smiles and super playful.

She liked feeling the sand with her feet.

Weekend Fun!

2009-06-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a fun jampacked weekend! We had a weekend packed with family
and friends.

On Friday night we celebrated Grandma Bev's 50th Birthday with a party.

On Saturday night we had dinner with old friends from college. It was so great to see you Rich and Sarah and have the opportunity to catch up and meet your Noah. Noah and Katie enjoyed watching Baby Einstein together.

Love those big brown eyes!

Happy 1st Father's Day Love! It's such a blessing to have you leading our family. I so appreciate your love and dedication to us.

We celebrated with giving Dustin his card and present when we woke this morning. We had breakfast together then headed to church. After church Katherine and I had a long nap, talked to the grandpas on skype, then we headed to the park to have a picnic dinner.

Playing after dinner!

We took a long walk with the new jogging stroller. Dustin has decided to run a marathon in the near future, so we decided a jogging stroller would be a great investment since Katie loves to go on walks. We went for a walk after our picnic. We had to laugh because Katie didn't look out the front of the stroller, but instead watched the world through the small side window on the stroller.

Snipits of our fun days!

2009-06-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

Katie is working so hard on sitting up on her own. She can play sitting for a little while before she forgets and falls. She loves her talking ball.

Reading Bible Stories before bedtime. We also added some fun decals to her walls last week.

Little Miss Katherine woke up just in time to sit on my lap while I blew out my birthday candles last week. We were in the middle of a great game of Catan.

Everything goes into Katie's mouth right now. Here she is teething on her toes. She often prefers her toes to her fingers. All the teething is working well. Her two bottom teeth broke through earlier this week.

I've been wanting to try Rubino's for dinner for quite some time. By birthday seemed like the perfect occassion. We had a great dinner.

I had to share this adorable photo. She was having quite a blast in her high chair while eating her rice.

1451 Long Creek....Now Being Transformed on the Outside!

2009-06-03T22:42:00.000-07:00

Last summer the house was torn apart on the inside. This year we are working on the outside. In the last couple of weeks the front is starting to take shape. Here are pictures of what has been keeping us busy!

A fountain gets added! However, we've already burned out the motor.

I have plans to paint the fence and add a trellis to it. Landscaping is next!

Dustin started the process of ripping off the old shake roof last week. We had so much help this weekend. Dad Hobbs spent the weekend re-roofing and plans to return tomorrow to finish. Grant and Elizabeth even made the long drive to help us! We are so thankful! We couldn't have done it without all of the help! I'm also thankful for the rain tonight that helped wash all of the dust and dirt away that was left after the dumpster was removed from our driveway today. The portion of the roof that still is not finished was covered in heavy duty plastic.

Here's a picture of Dad Hobbs reroofing the first portion of the roof!

More pictures to come of the new paint job as well. The last week and a half the house is getting a new color palette of greenish beige with off white trim and black accents! It's been fun to pick all the new colors!

And of course I can't post without a picture of Katherine...She's been busy getting used to rice cereal for the first time and trying to take naps through all of the noise.

Katherine's First Swim

2009-05-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

One of the extra perks of my sis living here now is that we get to use the pool at her apartment complex. Today we took Katherine for her first swim.

Testing the water out.

Testing out my new floatie.

Loving the water! I was able to hold Katie like this and use her floatie as a kickboard and we swam laps back and forth. The only challenge was keeping her from drinking the water. That's why we had to hold her like this instead of letting her sit down all the way.

Pruney feet is always evidence of great summer swimming fun!

First Giants Game

2009-05-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

On Friday night Dustin took me out to a wonderful dinner at Ruth's Chris to celebrate our anniversary. Katherine was at home in bed while Aunty Mandy held down the fort. On Saturday Dustin had class then he returned home to work on flooring the laundry room. Sunday was speant as a family in San Francisco. We took Katherine to her first Giants game! It was so nice to have family time together. We even used mass transit while in the city! Katherine did ok, but was a little freaked by all of the constant crowds and all the people talking to her. The stadium was irregularly crowded very early as everyone wanted to get their bobbleheads.

We waited in line again to get Katie her first baseball game certificate. When it was time to go back and pick it up I cut to the front of the line.

Happy 5th Anniversary!

2009-05-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

Happy 5th Anniversary Love! What an incredible 5 years it has been. I thank our God everyday for you. I am so thankful that He provided even more in the man I married then what I was praying for. You have been such an amazing leader for our little family. You have been there through sickness and health in good times and in bad. Neither of us ever thought that we'd spend much of the first 5 years dealing with health issues for me, but it brought us closer together and caused us to rely on one another. It has been so neat to watch you grow in the Lord and that you challenge me to grow. Thank you for the hard work you constantly put in on the house and your constant dedication to me. I love you!

Aunty Mandy Moves to Town!

2009-05-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

My Sister moved to town last weekend! It's been so much fun to have her in Roseville. My parents moved all of her things last weekend into a great apartment that she found. She spent the week making it home. I'm so excited to have my sister here. The week has been extra fun. Here's a run down of this weekend.

Aunry Mandy, Katie, and I went to the strawberry festival on Saturday morning to have Strawberry Pancakes that the Boy Scouts were serving. It was a fun start to Mother's Day weekend. Katie fell asleep in her swing when we got home.

Happy Mother's Day! What a great weekend! Dustin took me to dinner last night and stayed up with Katie this morning when she woke at 6am so I could go back to sleep. We went to church, went to the Hobbs' for a great BBQ dinner. I even got to go sit in the hot tub with my sis after I put Katie to bed! What a treat! I just had a hot shower and ate a bowl of frozen yogurt with Mangoes on top! I'm off to feed Katie and then to bed myself!

4.5 Months

2009-05-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

Katherine's new favorite toy the past week has been her feet. She's my active little girl. She loves her jumper, loves her gym, and loves Baby Einstein videos. I often have to change the activity or change the toys around her to keep her entertained. She now grabs for toys, holds them, and puts them in her mouth. She's a rolling machine now too! She squeals, babbles, and now laughs on occassion. The last couple weeks of her development have been so much fun!

Watching Baby Einstein and playing with her toes.

Very interested in her toys and talking to them.

Playing with her toes even in the car seat. I haven't had to pack toys this week, her feet are enough and she hardly notices her ears anymore at all.

More to come soon! -Jamie

Chip Carey + Ron Darling = Headache for me

2009-04-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness Jamie and Katherine are on their way home...I'm getting hoarse yelling at the TV...watching the Yankees-Indians game on TBS' Game of the Week (lol) and Posada just hit a home run that a fan fought with the right fielder for, and the umps had to review it on instant replay. Don't get me started. They upheld the call (fan was reaching out, but clearly not into the field of play - sorry RF, what do you want from fans that you embarrassed in their new park yesterday?)...so, what ticks me off is Chip and Ron instantly go to referencing Jeffrey Maier and Bartman, even after replays clearly show how different the play was. On top of that, now Chip is talking about how MLB should mount fixed cameras on the foul pole to 'take the guesswork and human element' out of the equation...

As my pulse returns to normal and my breathing eases, I can't help but ask - wouldn't a computer do a better job with the play-by-play than Chip Carey? Talk about 'guesswork' and the 'human element'...

Giants are on now, so thankfully I can pretend none of this ever happened...

Lots of Family...

2009-04-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

All dressed in my Easter Best. We had a wonderful Easter as a family. We worshiped together then enjoyed a great potluck with our church family then headed up to Greenwood to spend the evening with the Hobbs Family.

Here's Katherine with her Easter basket and with the eggs that she helped Grandma Bino dye. Well, atleast she sat nicely in her stroller and watched them being dyed.

I even fit inside my Easter Basket!

Last weekend we had the wonderful oppurtunity to spend some time in Palm Desert visiting with my Dad's cousin, Glenna. It is always such a treat to spend time with her. We're looking forward to staying longer next winter so we can catch some sun while it is cold here and Dustin can spend a couple of days on the golf course.

My grandparents joined us for the occassion and Grandma loved Glenna's new bed. She kept commenting on how high it was. She crawled up into the middle of it and invited Papa to join her. On a side note they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary yesterday! Happy Anniversary Paps and Grams!

Jay and Janelle were visiting for Easter weekend. Jay requested that we head to the zoo for his birthday. The weather on Saturday ended up being perfect for the occassion.

Katie was quite exhausted by the time we finished at the zoo. She loves riding in her stroller and looking around.

3 Months Old

2009-03-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting week in the Hobbs household. I officially resigned my position at the Business Journal as of last Tuesday. I feel like we've had extra confirmation this week that it was the right decision for us. Katie hasn't been feeling well. She had been tugging at her ears and a little extra cranky last week. I decided on Tuesday to take her to the doctor. I didn't know if she had just "found" her ears and was enjoying playing with them or if she could possibly have an ear infection. Dr. Valdez confirmed that she had an ear infection in her left ear. Tuesday should have been my first day back and I was needed to take care of my sick baby. Friday night she slept for 7 hours straight! That is the longest she's ever slept and I was so happy! When I woke up after 6 hours and realized how long it had been I ran into her nursery to check on her. That only lasted one night however. Last night she was really not feeling well and only sleeping for an hour and a half at a time. This morning she woke with a red splotches all over and we decided to call the Doc. We all thought that perhaps she had an allergic reaction to her antibiotics. We took her in only to find out that she had a bad ear infection in the other ear and the rash was caused from her body trying to fight it off. Needless to say that I wouldn't be working tomorrow either. I'm so thankful that I get to be home instead of feeling like a bad employee with 2 call ins in a week following 12 weeks of maternity leave. I am soo soo grateful and counting my blessings. Here's a run through of the last 10 days or so.

Katherine weighed 11 pounds when she was at the doctor on Tuesday.

Last Sunday I put Katie in the exersaucer at church to see what she would do. She just dangled because she can't touch the ground yet, but she sat there for 15 minutes just looking at the toys. When we returned home Dustin wanted to put together her rainforest bouncer to see what she would do. She loves to look at the toys and lights as well, but feel asleep.

Katie has been getting baths in the sink, but since we bought bath toys with our target giftcards I decided to see what she thought of them. She's now graduated to the infant tub. She loves to kick away and play in the water. I can't wait to get her into a swimming pool. Here she is tired and yawning after her bath.

Grandpa and Grandma Bino came for a visit this weekend. Here's Grandpa showing Katie the softball glove he bought for her when I was only a couple of months pregnant. He found out from a lady that he was talking to at jury duty that they make pink gloves and sell them at Target. He sent Grandma out right away to find one.

Here's the little one with her splotchy forehead.

And a photo of her tugging at her ear. She was doing the double fisted pull today.

Katie loved looking in the mirrors at the Cheescake factory. She was quite entertained.

Smiling away.

All the things I'm learning...

2009-03-13T18:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I'm starting to bat at my toys.

I love my new Baby Einstein Videos.

Learning to pester Dad while he sleeps.

Story Time!

Learning to stand.

Learning to sit in my Bumbo seat.

Learning to hold my rattle.

Learning to melt Mom's heart.

Poor Baby...Shot time

2009-03-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

Along with Katie's two week checkup she received the first of her shots. She (or should I say we) had a really rough 4 days following. She had one shot in each thigh. I decided to wait on the others and space them all out.

Tummy Time

2009-02-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

We finally bought a living room rug so it allows for Katie to play on the floor in the living room instead of only on the floor in her room. Here's a run through of today's tummy time.

And...She's on the move!

2 Months Old

2009-02-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

Katherine was two months old yesterday. She weighed in today at 9 lbs. 13 oz and 23 inches long. She's in the 20th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height.

The hightlights this month have been:

- Trip to So. Cal

-Outgrowing her newborn clothes and almost too tall for her 0-3 month clothes

- Katie's big eyes and easy smiles

- Making eye contact with me

- The ahh, ahh, ahh sounds and the kicking she does when she gets excited about eating

-She loves to stand with assistance.

- She is also spending much more time alert and awake

-Both my mom and Aunty Mandy have been here for a visit

-Dustin's first valentine's card to his daughter

-Baby Dedication on Sunday, February 15th

Dustin had to be up early for school on Valentine's Day. I brought Katie into our bed after her early morning feeding only to find that Dustin was already up and showered. I put her into bed next to me and we both fell right back to sleep. When we awoke several hours later I awoke to find a card for Katherine and a teddy bear for her laying next to her and he had left my card on my pillow above my head. Thank you love for making the day special for both of us. It's so special to see you loving our daughter.

Aunty Mandy comes for a visit. She's so anxious for Katie to get to the age where she wants to play, but I love this infant stage.

Katherine got to meet Courtney. Courtney was one of my students when I taught fifth grade.

Gummy Grins at 8 Weeks

2009-02-19T13:14:00.000-08:00

The best part about this week has been the easy grins I've been getting. Before now Katie's smiles have been few and far between, but now I can talk to her and she smiles for me. It somehow makes the long nights much more fun.

So Cal Katie Tour

2009-02-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

Last week we finally had the oppurtunity to head to Southern Cal so Katherine could meet her great-grandparents. It also gave us the oppurtunity to catch up with other family members and some of our college friends. Here's an overview of what the very busy 5 days held. It would have taken another week to accomplish everything we wanted to do and the people we wanted to see.

On Monday Katherine and I spent the day with my best girlfriends from college. It was so fun for the four of us to spend the entire day together catching up. They are my dear friends, all of whom were in our wedding and I miss them. We're all married now and it is seldom that we see each other. It will be exciting to see where the years ahead lead and our children get to play with one another.

Rob was the best man in our wedding. He joined us for dinner and met our little one.

On Wednesday Dustin spoke to several Poli Sci classes at our Alma Mater. Katherine and I met him there to visit with some of the staff that we became friends with. Katie even got a little Lancer hat from the bookstore.

Katie being held by my Aunt Linda. While in So Cal my cousin Don and his wife Amanda gave birth to their little girl Samantha five weeks early. My Aunt Linda became a grandma for the first time and we got to see the latest addition to the family. Katie and Baby Samantha are exactly 7 weeks apart in age. That should make family get togethers extra fun in the years to come.

Katherine meets her Great Grandma Muzquiz.

Katherine meets my Papa and Grandma Bino. We named Katherine after my Grandma Bino and it was so neat for them to finally meet. My grandma has been such an instrumental figure in my life and it was without question who we would name our daughter after.

My Uncle Jim and cousin David were also in San Clemente on Sunday night so they also had the chance to meet Katie. We were treated to two of my very favorite places to eat. We eat at Sonny's in San Clemente. They have amazing italian food. We also went to Oceanside Harbor to eat fish and chips. They have the very best fish and chips you've ever eaten. I recommend eating at both places if you are ever in the area.

Oceanside Harbor- We've been going there for fish as long as I can remember. When my sis and I spent a summer with my grandparents we would go to Camp Penelton and bowl every week then head to Oceanside for fish.

Hanging out back at my parents house. Katherine spending time with Grandpa Bino.

5 Weeks Old

2009-02-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

The major event this week was that Grandma Bino came to visit. No one told me that if I had a baby I'd get to see my mom a lot more. I'm not sure why we waited so long.

This has been one of my favorite pair of jammies to put Katie in. They were the only ones that weren't huge on her when she was born. I was sad to find that they were too snug last time I put them on her. I had to take a photo before I retired them.

Professional Photo Shoot

2009-02-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

When Katie was just shy of being 4 weeks old we had professional photos taken. Here are the results...

Grandmas and Great- Grandmas, hang tight, your photos are on their way.

Thank you to Simon and Sydney of S2 photos. They did an excellent job and are very inexpensive. I recommend them. You can check out their website at S2 Photos.com

1 Month Old

2009-01-23T20:10:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks late...but here you go.

Spending time with Dad.

Caught Smiling.

First night sleeping in my crib. Dad was back to work when I turned 4 weeks, so it meant that I had to sleep in my own room.

Love me new hat. It keeps me so warm on cold days.

So thoughtful.

weight: 8 lbs. 1 ounce, 21.5 inches
We'll take a picture of Katherine every month next to her bear and watch her grow. Her teddy bear was a Christmas present from Grandpa Bino and we took a picture of her with it on Christmas morning. Every Christmas growing up we always received a stuffed animal in our stockings. My dad continued that tradition with Katie.

3 Weeks Old

2009-01-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

What another joy filled week it has been. We've stuck closer to home this week as the sleep deprivation began to catch up with me, but we've had a wonderful week with family. Katie met her Uncle Casey for the first time as he was here visiting from Alabama. Uncle Jay and Aunt Janelle were also here and we had our Hobbs family Christmas on Sunday. My parents were also able to come up for a real quick trip and were here visiting on Saturday.

Hobbs Family Christmas picture. Katie was not happy.

Katherine meets Uncle Casey for the first time.

Katherine under the Hobbs Family Christmas Tree.

Sleeping peacefully after eating. She went through a growth spurt this week and there were many nights when it seemed that her belly would never be full.

Katherine's Second Week of Life

2009-01-08T21:27:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the fun things we did during week two. Yes, the post is 2 days late, but here's a look at the weeks activities.
Katherine meets Great Grandpa Hobbs.

We took our first quick trip to the mall. It's never too early to learn to shop for bargains!

Most importantly it was Katie's first Sunday at church. We were late, but we made it. She slept through the music in her car seat, then slept through the sermon in Mom's arms.

Another milestone was Katie's first real bath. I always thought her first bath would be a nice planned out activity in the infant tub, but was I wrong. Her cord had just fallen off and she had an explosion, so the bath was out of instant necessity. I quickly stripped off her poopy clothes and we almost made it to the sink before she peed everywhere. I was happy atleast that we remembered to get pictures of her first bath.

Breaking news - the cutest picture yet...

2009-01-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hands down....

One Week Old

2008-12-30T23:15:00.001-08:00

Wow...we can't believe Katherine is one week old today! It has truly been a week of overwhelming blessings. She has truly been a joy and it is often that I look down at her and can't believe she's ours. What an amazing thing that the Lord has given her to us to raise. It's been amazing to see the changes that have already occured in her in the last week. Her cone head is gone. Her nose no longer is squished, but instead she's beginning to form a bridge to her nose. I also noticed tonight that she may be getting Dustin's ears. We're also beginning to see the faint look of a smile and she's beginning to gain control over her head and lifting it on her own for brief seconds.

Here are some highlight photos of the last week.... On our way home from the hospital on Christmas morning.

When we arrived back to our house we were greated by Aunty Mandy and Grandpa Bino. They had driven through the night Christmas Eve and arrived Christmas morning to meet Katherine. 2008 Hobbs Family Christmas Portrait.... We couldn't have asked for a greater Christmas blessing than the birth of Katie.

First sponge bath since coming home. Gramdma Bino wanted to wash her hair, but Mommy did the rest. She had to get ready for the surprise visit of Uncle Jay and Aunt Janelle.

All dressed after my bath.

Uncle Jay and Aunt Janelle drove up the day after Christmas to meet their new niece. I knew that they were coming, but I had strict instuctions not to tell the new Hobbs grandparents about it.

Katherine is beginning to find herself. We caught her on camera with her hands folded together.

The big hightlight for the week was her trip to the pediatrician on Monday. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 3 oz. and she was given an excellent bill of health. She should be back to her birth weight by her 2 week appointment.

One week old picture. This picture was taken today. She's beginning to support the weight of her own head briefly. She's holding it up for us in this picture.

As promised...more photos

2008-12-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

Almost 24 hours after her birth, Katherine continues to be a hit with the crowd. Thanks to everyone who came by today - Grandma & Grandpa Hobbs (ha!), Grandma Bino, Susan, Kevin & Susie, and Ray & Mary - it was great to see all of you!

Everyone is doing fine - baby and mama are taking a nap right now as I watch Notre Dame putting the hurt down on Hawaii. I'm attempting to parlay my good fortune into finally being mroe than an also-ran in the annual Rubino Family Bowl Pool. A tall task indeed, but hey, if I lose again, at least I can use my new tax deduction to help cover my losses!

Anyway, enough chatter - let's be honest: no one wants to hear me babble - you came here to see more photos of Katherine...well wait no longer!

Momma and baby getting some much-earned rest!

With Grandma Bino!

Say hi to Grandma & Grandpa Hobbs!

Looks like a keeper!

Just chillin' in my Christmas PJs!

With Pops!

Finally asleep!

Merry Christmas to Hobbs!

2008-12-23T22:00:00.001-08:00

That happened WAY too fast...no sooner than we heard the 'time to push' order, did we here the 'here she comes' line. Barely an hour of pushing, Katherine Noel Hobbs is here!

The vitals:

7lbs, 8oz

20 inches

born at 9:24 p.m.

Here are some of the early photos - we took a bunch, so I need to go through them still...I'm a little punchy now, so these may not be the best photos...trust me, I'll be posting more in the next 24 hours...

By the way, congrats to all the uncles, aunts, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. etc.

And double congrats to the Rubino clan - appears the Hobbs gene pool got whupped!

Thanks again for all the prayers and thoughts the last few days, weeks, and months...

Pushin' Time!!

2008-12-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of our prayer warriors out there - we got great news on the last check and Jamie started pushing about 15 minutes ago...things are looking good.

FYI, Hobbs grandparents are starting to wig out! :) Getting a little too excited I think! Hopefully it won't be too much longer, or we'll have to do something about them...

This may be my last post for awhile, so thanks again for everyone's thoughts and prayers - I'll post her first pics and stats ASAP...

Dustin

Good progress!

2008-12-23T18:37:00.000-08:00

Well, things have certainly changed in the last few minutes...we're now making some serious progress - Jamie's fully dialated now, baby's finally getting with the program and is headed in the right direction. Doctors are going to keep at it until 7:30 and then check again, but things are definitely looking good as far as avoiding a c-section...

Hopefully more good news in a bit...

c-section or not - 6:30

2008-12-23T17:58:00.000-08:00

Update - Doc is supposed to come back in around 6:30 - sounds like we'll probably make a decision then to go with c-section or keep slogging away as is...

Zzzzzzzzzzzz...

2008-12-23T17:34:00.000-08:00

No word yet on whether we're going to have to do a c-section or not, although its definitely starting to look that way. Word is the baby is just too big! Props to the Rubino family for their seemingly high guesses - looks like you all might be right! Right now we're all trying to catnap some more while we wait for Katherine to decide if she wants out or not...Jamie's still hanging in there, dealing really good with the pain so far....

Baby's head is getting 'squashed'

2008-12-23T16:23:00.000-08:00

So we've had a bit of an issue in the last few hours - baby not cooperating with us, in that she gets too active (heart rate) during contractions, so they paused us for awhile, and the doc just came in an verified that everything is fine, and that the variability in the baby's heart rate is just because her head is getting 'squashed,' as the doctor put it. Yikes. Let me tell you, not exactly the words you want to hear about your child! :)

Anyway, seems like we're back on track now, but still only dialated to 5 or so. Doc wants to give it a few more hours, but we're now talking about a possible c-section if the baby doesn't start cooperating. Jamie is doing great, hanging tough. Grandparents are catnapping as they can, as we seem to have a long ways to go.

More to come...

Playing the waiting game...

2008-12-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

Two and a half hours after the epidural, and Jamie is feeling much better, and we're now just waiting for the baby to 'come on down!'

The baby is very active, and we're amazed at the correlation between the baby's heart rate and the contractions - pretty cool!

Jamie checked the blog to make sure I was keeping everyone up to date...she's got the Zune going listening to some tunes!

Here's the monitor - contractions on the bottom and baby's heart rate on the top...

Talk to y'all soon...

Up to six now!

2008-12-23T14:34:00.000-08:00

At last check, Jamie is dialated to six...getting closer!!

Much better...

2008-12-23T13:13:00.000-08:00

Jamie's now got the epidural going and is feeling MUCH better (and has a new appreciation for mothers who don't use one!). Three-fourths of the grandparents to be are now here:

For those keeping score at home, on the dialation front, we're up to 4...

Jamie's going to be taking a nap now, and I'm going to grab a bite...more to come...

Update...

2008-12-23T10:25:00.001-08:00

Doc just broke Jamie's water, so things should start to move pretty good now...had no idea how strong Jamie was until she about broke all the bones in my hand squeezing it! She's being quite the trooper so far...

More to come I'm sure...

Katherine's B-Day (hopefully!)

2008-12-23T09:09:00.000-08:00

Things should start to roll here pretty soon, and the welcome wagon has started to arrive...Jamie's mom just got here, and my parents are on stand-by...Jamie's hanging in there pretty good, dealing with the contractions really well so far...

Hospital staff has been excellent so far, very attentive and responsive, unlike our 'last' dinner last night at Lucille's BBQ (didn't even get silverware until after we got our ribs)...

Anyway, mom and baby are doing good, all vitals look perfect...I got a chance to run home and take a shower this morning, so I don't feel too wasted...will post again here in a bit.

The countdown continues...

2008-12-23T07:31:00.000-08:00

So after one night in the hospital, we are both missing the comforts of home. Neither of us slept for too long, or very well. Oh well, good practice for the days to come I guess.

The doctor just came in and checked Jamie out and she's 3 cm dialated, and we should get going with the inducement in an hour or so.

In the good news department, we were surprised to find out that Jamie gets to eat some breakfast this morning, so she's pretty excited about that. I'm going to head home for a few minutes to take a shower and try and un-crick my neck. The couch in the room wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either!

Updates to continue...

Today's the day!

2008-12-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

So at some point today, we'll be heading off to the hospital...Jamie is supposed to be induced at some point tomorrow. We'll be using this blog as a way to let everyone know what is happening. I'll post pictures as I have time, etc. etc. Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers!

Dustin and Jamie

Thanksgiving

2008-12-12T18:55:00.000-08:00

We had Thanksgiving at our house this year. John and Bev as well as Jay and Janelle joined us. We finished off the day with a visit to Grandpa Hobbs and family. Here are a couple of pictures.

Maternity Leave...HURRAY!

2008-12-12T17:47:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile since I've updated our blog. So here is what I've been up to. My last day of work was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, with the official last day being Monday, December 1st. That was exactly 3 weeks before my due date. My days were getting harder and harder. Not because I don't enjoy my job, in fact, I'd really come to love my job. It seemed like it was a perfectly tailored job for me. I love the accounting work that I did, and learning new things about accounting from my boss, but I loved the event work that I was doing as well. I was very blessed to work with other believers and in a fairly laid back environment. But, for now I'm home resting and waiting for Katherine's arrival. The timing of my leave was perfect! I started to get increasingly more uncomfortable the Friday after Thanksgiving. I felt Katie drop and the pressure increased. I was so happy I'd decided not to push working another week.

The last 10 days have flown bye. We had our friends Scott, Carey, and little Emily stay with us for about 10 days. It was such a wonderful time of friends and fellowship. They are preparing for their move to Asia and needed a place to call home for a short while. They are the first couple we met when we started attending Grace over 3 years ago and have grown to enjoy their friendship. It was so much fun to watch Carey grow during her pregnancy with Emily and it has been great fun to get to know little Emily over the last year. We will truly miss them.

I've also been busy addressing envelopes for baby announcements and getting those ready to go.

Aimee and Jack came to visit for an afternoon with Carey and I.

Our washing machine broke down just as Scott and Carey came to stay. You don't realize how reliant you are on a piece of machinery until it doesn't work. We've been waiting on the part for over two weeks now. The part should arrive on Monday and hopefully Dustin can get it fixed quickly. I've been the laundry mat twice. It's quite a project at this point that I can't accomplish alone. Dustin and I went to the laundry mat last Tuesday. This past Monday I called our friend from church and asked to come over and do laundry at her house. I had quite the pile of linens. It was such a fun day! We stamped all day and watched two animated movies. She made a delicious quesadilla lunch. It was such a great way to pass the day and I was so thankful to Suzie for offering to let me do laundry at her house.

Amanda came for a visit on Tuesday so we were able to spend all day Wednesday and Thursday together. It was such a treat. Since she began her management job it makes it really tough for her to get away. I never laugh as hard as when we are together. She makes a trip to Wal-Mart and the laundry mat fun. We also slept and ate a lot. We also went to the mall. Our mall just opened up a whole brand new section with new stores and moved some stores as well. I've been wanting to check it out, but all of the walking is quite a chore right now, and I didn't want to go alone.

Today, I decided to cook. I made yummy chicken and dumplings for dinner and I also have BBQ pork in the crock pot to make sandwiches out of. I figure we'll eat one meal each from them, then freeze the rest for after the baby arrives. I sit around on the couch a lot and browse the Internet or read Baby sleep books. We have a busy weekend ahead. Dustin's work holiday party is tomorrow evening and on Sunday after church we have are going to the Singing Christmas Tree with the entire Barkley family. I'm not sure what next week holds for us. I'm hoping it holds the arrival of baby Katherine, but if not maybe I'll get around to making the curtains I keep talking about.

Week 34 Today!

2008-11-10T21:10:00.001-08:00

I keep growing and growing! 3 more weeks until I'm full term and 6 weeks until my due date!

Baby Shower

2008-11-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

This Saturday I was blessed beyond measure from the ladies at church. They threw baby Katherine and I a terrific shower to welcome her soon arrival. It was a wonderful turnout and an encouraging and uplifting time. We sang two of my favorite hymns, It is Well with My Soul and As the Deer. It was followed with a devotional by our pastor's wife. The devotional was packed full of scriptural references of how God desires for us to raise our children. It was a reminder that it is my job as a mother to 1. Love, 2. teach with joy, 3. show my children Christ and plead for their salvation.

The shower was such a wonderful time of celebration and rejoicing as well. When Dustin and I began to think about wanting children we had no idea how long the road would be for us because of my previous health conditions. All we could do was trust the Lord and pray that he would guide us. I have always found such joy in children and enjoyed others babies that I began to worry that if the road was long for us that I might find that joy harder and harder to maintain. I began to pray that no matter how long the road was that my joy in children would not diminish and I had to trust that no matter what the years ahead held that I could trust my Father in Heaven that he had a perfect plan for our lives, and that he would show us through the trials.

I had shared this prayer with several of the ladies at church and it was with great joy that I was able to share the news of my pregnancy with them in early May. I was greeted with many hugs and tears when the news was announced. It was for that reason that it seamed fitting to celebrate the soon arrival of baby Katie with my church family. I was so blessed and humbled by their love and support. I thank my God that these will be the ladies that Katie will observe and learn from as she grows and watches them serve the Lord and their families. My heart overflows with gratitude that HE chose such a time as this...

Apple Hill

2008-10-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago we felt like we needed some time away together so we headed to Apple Hill for the day. We headed to lunch at the Apple Hill Cafe then spent some time at several different apple farms. Every year we talk about picking our own pumpkins, but it never seems to work out. This year we did it! My belly is now larger than most of the pumpkins around, but we had a great time. Here are some pictures from the day.

We picked 3 pumpkins. One small, one medium, and one large. It's amazing to think that next year at this time Katherine will probably want down and will be wanting to crawl around in the dirt.

Stop the Press! Tim McCarver actually said something that made total sense...

2008-10-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

First of all, before the Hobbs family descends upon me with cries of 'Bryce is quick,' hear me out...

How annoying has it been to see Manny Ramirez tear it up for the Dodgers after dogging it with the Red Sox the last couple of years - yeah, I know, the stats were always good, but you knew he was never playing all out all the time (unlike the 'gamers' on the Giants)...so some enterprising reporter, I'm sure figuring he's totally wasting his time, asks McCarver what he thinks...read and be amazed:

"It's extraordinary -- the dichotomy between what he was in Boston and what he is in Los Angeles," McCarver said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I mean, talk about wearing out your welcome in a town, and it was a long welcome with the Red Sox. But some of the things he did were simply despicable, despicable -- like not playing, refusing to play. Forgetting what knee to limp on. And now it's washed, it's gone."

Are you kidding me??? As if that's not enough, he takes it further:

"You can't ignore all of the things that happened in Boston," McCarver told ESPN's Bob Ley. Later, asked if "despicable" was the right word, McCarver said: "I'm fine with it. I was fine with it when I said it."

I'm speechless...I am without speech...read it for yourselves: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3632077

Here's the $356-dollar question we must now face - is Tim McCarver not the worst ever? Was he so much worse than everyone else that all the lucid quotes like this won't change anything, or are there any other mere mortals who are within range of his insanity that he can now hear footsteps?

I leave you all to ponder that one...my head already hurts...

Only have two words for you:

2008-10-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

In honor of the Phillies coming triumph, I am changing my name, a la Chad 'Ocho Cinco' Johnson, to Dusty 'J Roll' Hobbs...My new jerseys will be available in stores soon...

Update: Congrats Janelle

2008-10-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

You live to see another day...

Jamie: 1, Ugly Nasty Bush: 0

2008-10-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today we did some work out in the front yard - Jamie worked on the roses a little and I did some more of what I'm now an expert at - DEMOLITION!!

Jamie has 'hated' this bush (juniper??) since 'before we made an offer on the house.' So I busted out my weenie little electric Crap-N-Decker hedge trimmer and chopped it up and then dug out the rest...oddly I didn't find as many creepy crawlers as I thought - only a couple of spiders and one black widow...anyway, at the end of the day - bush is no more, and now I've got a pile of dirt, rocks and bush chunks to deal with...

NOW YOU SEE IT...

NOW YOU DON'T...

Apparently not everyone was happy to see the bush go...

By the way, how 'bout them Angels?!?! Don't worry Janelle, the only thing worse than getting swept in the first round (besides losing 90 in the regular season and being out of the NL West by May - yeah, yeah I know) is winning the opening round in a stunning upset, only to have your heart broken in the NLCS...go Phils!

By the way #2 - here's a question for everyone, and think hard before you answer - what team is worse, Chip Carey and Buck Martinez or Joe Buck and Tim McMoron? Some arguments pro and con:

Buck Martinez has absolutely no good stories from when he played or managed...what the heck? You're supposed to be the color guy! At least McCarver is good for at least 3 or 4 references to a Bob Gibson story...Hey Buck - the only point of your existence is to provide some balance to Chip's stupid comments like this gem from tonight: 'They've not only scored both their runs with two outs, but both came with two strikes, so its a double-whammy!' This brings me to the reason we even have to have this conversation - Martinez follows up that idiot line with a 'Yeah, you definitely don't want to give up hits with two outs, and especially with two strikes.'

Crickets...

Ok, I know I'm pushing it here - no Bryce-action - Joe and Tim are totally worse...I just hate TBS' coverage...sad that I can't wait for FOX to take over...at least then I won't have 'EJ' telling me to text him my questions in between innings...

Baby Katherine's Room

2008-09-28T23:28:00.000-07:00

I was determined to finish painting the stripes this weekend. Here is what the nursery looks like as of to night. It still needs the chair rail around the room and the mobile hung. The chair rail will have to wait until Dad Hobbs returns from his hideout in the woods.

See Amanda, I did a fine job. I didn't mess it up at all.

The almost finished product!!

Thank you to Tanya for the crib and thanks to Papa and Grams for the dresser. I was able to find the dresser and glider off of Craig's List. I've been checking the Sacramento and Bay Area listings several times a day for months in hopes of finding a glider chair and dresser that I liked. I ended up finding the perfect green glider chair from a family just a couple of blocks from work and the dresser I found from a family about 15 minutes away. Not to mention I found them both in the same week! I couldn't believe it!

The Personal Update....

2008-09-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

I promised an update on something besides the house....

We celebrated Dustin's 28th Birthday last week. Dad and Mom Hobbs came over to celebrate on Wednesday (the 17th) with a taco dinner. Following dinner he and Dad Hobbs made some major progress on the floor. As of this week the floor is complete!!!

My first baby shower was last Saturday. Oh what fun we had! Thanks to Elizabeth, Aimee,and Mary for making the day so special. It was wonderful to have our close friends and family around to celebrate the soon arrival of Katherine. I start my 3rd trimester on Monday!

Here are some pictures of the 20 week ultrasound. I can't believe it's already been 8 weeks since we found out that we're having a girl! I didn't think that I'd be all into the girly things, but I love looking at the things that are beginning to collect for Katie. I love looking at the clothes that have been given to us and the ones that I've purchased from yard sales. It's fun to imagine holding her while wearing the cute little things. I definitely still need to get some newborn headbands for her and a couple of little bows. Thank you so much to our friends and family for the gifts you've given to us. We feel so loved with your generosity.

This is my favorite picture of Katherine's Feet.

Miss Katherine's Alien Head. I think it freaks Dustin out a little bit that our child will look like an alien.

Here is a picture of my big belly at the end of week 26. All has been going smoothly so far in the pregnancy. I had my first hiccup this week. I was sent in for my one week glucose tolerance test on Wednesday and I heard back from my doctor yesterday that my thyroid level is low, but also that I failed the glucose test. I was sent in for the 3 hour test this morning. I had to sit at the lab for 3.5 hours. I was fasting and had to drink another sugar drink then have my blood taken every hour on the hour. I should hear early next week if I passed that test or if I have gestational diabetes. We'll see what happens, but for now all I want is a nap. I still haven't recovered from the morning of fasting.

I'm excited for this weekend. Katherine's room is almost fully painted. I should be able to finish it tomorrow and Sunday after church we're taking off for an afternoon of fun. It's fall and time to take a trip to Apple Hill. I can't wait to pick out some yummy apples and a couple of pumpkins, not to mention spending time with Dustin. All summer has been about the house. I love summer because it usually means we get to play, but not this year. Now the weather is beginning to cool and I'm itching to get away.

It's Been Way to Long....

2008-09-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

HOUSE UPDATE

It's been way to long since we've updated our blog. Embarrisingly long actually. I've had several of our faithful readers tell us that they keep checking, but there's nothing new to read. I almost feel guilty sitting down at the computer in the evenings. There's always a project around the house to work on or dishes and laundry to do.

We've accomplished quite a bit in the last two months...and there's been a lot going on in our lives as well.

KITCHEN

Since our last post we now have running water and appliances in the kitchen. The kitchen is actually fully complete with the exception of a few cabinet doors and my knife set which is still in an unknown unpacked box.

GUEST BATHROOM

The Guest Bathroom has gone from this...

To this...

NURSERY

We've also been working diligently on the nursery. Scott and Michelle were here for a weekend and they began the painting process with me. Amanda was here last weekend and she very carefully measured and taped for the stripes that will be painted later this week. We're getting close. I hope to have finished pictures of the nursery up by this weekend.

LAUNDRY ROOM

Dad Bino hung cabinets in the laundry room on his last visit. This weekend he also installed several lights and finished switching out the outlets and light switches. We also now have a lock on our back door.

SPRINKLER SYSTEM

Dustin took on the sprinkler system as well. He found leaks in multiple places. We were told by our neighbor that the previous owners had never used the sprinklers. Now we know why. They are still not on a timer, but we're able to turn them on manually. It saves me a lot of time at night now that I don't have to move the hose and sprinkler attachment around all night. It was quite a muddy project and Dad Hobbs was called in for assistance.

FLOORS

The biggest change has been the installation of the wood flooring. We had so much help on this project. We will be forever grateful to our friends from church and to Dad Hobbs for all of their help. Kevin and Bob came to help lay the floors and Suzie brought lunch for the guys. The carpet was ripped out in time to have the floors completed for my baby shower last weekend, but Dad Hobbs hurt his back and we knew he wouldn't be able to crawl on the floor for 3 days as originally planned. The floors were installed in time and my family was here to help get the house in order for guest.

The Sealant was the most beautiful shade of aqua. Dustin sealed the floor in a morning, but first he had to rip out the carpet. He also spent a very dusty day sanding the floor with a commercial sander. I was sent away for the day during this occurance. I had the most delightful day at Grandpa and Mary Barkley's. We baked several varieties of cookies, had a nice walk in the garden, and attended a taco fundraiser. It was a great day only to return home to find a very dirty and dusty house. I was quite releaved to have the floor sealed.

The floors now look great. Dustin has been working the last couple of nights to get the remaining glue residue off of the floor. He only needs to finish the closet and a couple of pieces in the hallway.

Oh...and we now have screens on all of the windows. It's been so nice to be able to open the windows and enjoy the fall air.

That's all for now folks...I'll try to update you on our personal lives tomorrow.

There is light at the end of the tunnel

2008-07-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Kitchen...close to being operational
The bases of the kitchen cabinets are painted! Mom Hobbs took home most of the doors and they are primed, but still need to be painted along with the drawers. Many of them need to be repaired as well.

The Appliances are In!

Dustin and Dad Hobbs installed the appliances on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. The microwave was quite a group effort and it was finally installed on the 7th try. I only had to go to Lowe's twice during the process of installing appliances.

The Refrigerator is Finally in the House!
Dustin and I are still having to get used to the idea that the refrigerator is in the kitchen, not in the garage. The only issue with it is that we weren't able to get much water pressure. When we went to replace the valve, we realized that it had rotted out. Luckily our contractor, Brother Don, was still at the house and we had enough brass fittings around to almost get it fixed. We should have filtered water and ice as of tomorrow! The other good news is that the countertops are being installed tomorrow afternoon as well. The cabinet install company came to install last Wednesday when we realized there had been a miscommunication and the countertops were fitted for the old stove. It delayed us about a week.

The Dryer Vent has issues....
One of the ongoing problems is that in order for the dryer to work without getting too hot it has to be pulled out 2 feet from the wall. It's amazing how Dustin can crawl into the tiniest of places. We seemed to have reached the point where we will have to drill a new hole for the dryer vent and vent it directly outside. Right now the exit for the vent is on the opposite side as the vent on the dryer and it has to go up through the wall and to the roof. It appears to be too many turns.

Guest Bath...On It's Way
Our contractor, Brother Don, is making progress on the guest bathroom. The new tub is in place. Upon removing the mirror, damage to the drywall was discovered. Much of it is being replaced. The new shower enclosure will soon be finished. The countertop also gets installed tomorrow. The target date to have the guest bath completed is August 1st.

More pictures of the new tub!

One of the Best Suprises Yet!
Several families of wild turkies were roaming the neighborhood on Friday! We've come to the conclusion that they live on the golfcourse. They were back in the neighborhood again this morning for a stroll.

Update:June 28th & 29th

2008-06-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

Dustin and Dad Hobbs installed the kitchen tile this weekend. The linoleum was ripped out and boy did it smell when Dustin removed it. The floor was then scraped several times and washed a couple of times. Here are some pictures of it being laid.

Dad Hobbs thinking about the next step... He didn't get through the project without scraping his head. I couldn't believe we actually found he bandaids. Dustin worked tirelessly on the floor. He was up late several nights as he prepped the floor then laid the floor. He has been working on a project every night after work. It's been such a priveledge to watch him work with such determination, yet he's always pushing me to take it easy and rest. He was quite a mess by the time he finished. I think I've decided just to toss his clothes. I'm not sure what the mortar will do to my washing machine. Bev helped me sand the bathroom cabinets and we painted them too! It was a good trial run for the kitchen cabinets which I also plan to paint all white.

And....The exciting part about today, Monday, June 30th is that we finally have air conditioning. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was a challenge last week with the smoke filled northern CA air. We had to keep the windows shut, but it was quite warm.

Making Progress- Weekend of June 14th-15th

2008-06-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

We've accomplished quite a bit of work in the last couple of weeks. The renovations are coming along. We are still living out of boxes and have yet to begin unpacking, but progress is definately happening.

Before we officially closed on the house Dustin, Dad Hobbs, and Casey were busy painting it. In order for the real work to begin on June 14th the house had to be painted first. This is the main living area.

This is the trail that was left from the kitchen to the front door. It carpet cleaners did a great job removing it. We plan to remove the carpet in the living/dining and hallway and replace with bamboo flooring, but I felt like I needed to have the carpet clean for the time we are living on it.

This is the stand that the water heater was on. We were worried that if we breathed on it that it would collapse. Dad Bino spent Saturday replacing the water heater and stand.

The master bathroom countertops were broken and removed.

Dad Bino hung all of the light fixtures and replaced most of the outlets and light switches.
The new countertop being installed. That was Dad Hobbs' project for the weekend. He cut the granite and worked on the plumbing.

Weekend of blessing!

2008-06-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

I promise to post pictures just as soon as I can locate the camera cord, but until that time I can tell you about the last 4 days. We have been so incredibly blessed over the last few days by our friends and family. Dust and I really felt loved this weekend. There was no way we could have made it through the weekend without the help of both sets of parents, Casey, Grant & Elizabeth, and Grandpa and Mary Barkley. Everyone worked so hard at helping us and we greatly appreciate all of their hard work, long days, and enduring the heat.

Jamie

We signed...barely

2008-06-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we were told to head to Roseville around 2:30 this afternoon to sign papers. The email didn't arrive and by the time it did the title company that was supposed to work with us backed out since it was almost five and everyone was going home. We magically got a call from a notary that said she was on the way to Roseville with our papers. The escrow company in So. Cal set it up when it started to get late without telling anyone. We sat down to finally sign papers at 5:30 and finished at 6:30, arriving at the Overnight Express box at 6:45 just in time for the 7pm pickup and the last pickup of the day. We were too late for Fed Ex, UPS, and DHL, but Dustin happens to use Overnight Express at work and he had a package in the car that we hadn't mailed, so we used that envelope and printed a new slip. Unbelievable, but they're on their way.

I should be packing our extremely messy house at the moment, but this is way more fun. Dustin and Casey are at the new house painting the living room and I just got done taking them McDonald's for dinner. Happy Birthday meal to me!!!

Ridiculous

2008-06-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

Escrow was oringinally supposed to close on June 2nd. We used that date along with the fact that we needed to be out of town for a few days last week for Jay & Janelle's wedding, and also figured in a few extra days at the end for repairs when we decided to give our landlord the date of June 16th to be out of the rental. Well, apparently that was wishful thinking. I'm now sitting here after 1pm on Wednesday, June 11th and the escrow company still hasn't received the papers for us to sign. We're told that if we don't sign by today, then we won't be in the house by Friday. Which means that we won't be in it until Monday. Granted, all of our belongings are going into storage for a few months, but I at least want a house with a shower that doesn't leak, hot water, and a working toilet.

My Dad tells me that these things are always a pain and always get delayed, but that isn't great consolation right now. I'm so out of control at the moment, and it is driving me crazy.

I'll keep you posted and let you know what happens. Maybe we'll sign today, maybe we won't.

Jamie

Some 'Before' Pics

2008-06-08T21:18:00.001-07:00

Hey all - we just got back from SoCal - congrats to Jay and Janelle on their wedding! We spent the day washing the walls, removing old fixtures and generally getting ready for the week ahead. Dad Hobbs is supposed to help prime and paint this week, and we hope to officially close escrow mid-week. Dad and Mom Bino are coming up on Thursday or Friday for a fun-filled weekend, as well as many other friend and family, incluing Grant and Elizabeth and Casey! Before we start ripping up the old, we thought we'd show you some 'before' photos. Take a gander:

Here is our new home - Jamie is really excited about the roses! After we first got the go-ahead from the bank on the home (over a month ago!) we've been working to save the roses, which were infested with aphids. We bought a bag of ladybugs and turned them loose, and now the roses appear to be hanging in there! Don't be fooled by that green grass either - since this photo, the grass has gotten a lot browner, but as soon as we get that 'For Sale' sign out of the way, we can get the front yard lookin' good! Here are some other photos of what it looks like today:

family/dining room - plenty of space and a new fireplace to boot!

kitchen - yes, someone purposefully stained (apt choice of words) these cabinets green...this is where most of the work will happen...

guest bath - we'll totally gut this too!

One of the spare bedrooms - should be ready for any visitors very soon!

Master bedroom - these previous owners apparently really liked green!

Master bath - new countertops on the way!

Master bath - Jamie says 'goodbye gold' and broken toilet!

Stayed tuned as now that the work is about to begin, we'll start posting some photos more regularly.

Our new blog!

2008-06-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we finally broke down, joined the 'internet age' and started a blog. We've got quite a bit going on in our lives right now, and we're apparently too lazy to personally call our friends and family and let them know what's happening, so we utilizing this new tool that allows us to avoid the guilt of not keeping you all up to date!

In brief, and for those who don't know, we've had quite a few blessings lately - we opened escrow on our first home about a month or so ago, and on the same day found out Jamie was pregnant! We couldn't be happier and are very thankful that the Lord has provided us with so much good news.

We'll provide some updates on how Jamie is doing, but for the next few weeks, we'll highlight the transformation of the new house. Wait - I must have forgotten to tell you - we purchased a bank-owned home that hasn't been occupied since November of 2007, so while the 'bones' of the house are great, its going to need a lot of elbow grease and updating! We'll post 'before' photos here in the next few days, and as we make changes, we'll post photos as well. After watching an excrutiating amount of HGTV and TLC in the past few months, we apparently feel like we need an audience for our home renovation!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for updates soon!

Dusty