Doggie Daycare

Brutus has been attending doggie daycare at Companion Animal Care most Thursdays over the past 2 years. He loves running, playing, and swimming with the other dogs, and friendships have clearly been established! Tonight his daycare had an open house, and we had a great time seeing where Brutus hangs out on Thursdays. It was a family event, and Brutus was eager to introduce us all, especially Micah, to his friends. Below are some pictures from the event.

Brutus with one of his favorite staff members - Tommy

Getting some loving scratches from a bystander

Brutus and his girlfriend, Chile (golden doodle), Oakley (golden retriever) in the background

Initiating play with his friend, Oakley

Outside Fun

The past 2 weekends, we've been able to enjoy some outside time with the kiddos. Last Sunday, we took Brutus to the middle school, which has a nice fenced in area, to allow him to run off leash. Micah had a great time riding along in his stroller in the 40 degree weather.

Kyle and I bought Micah a sled for Christmas, and we've been anxious to try it out. Thankfully, we received a few inches of snow this past week, and we were able to get out on Sunday. Micah loved being pushed/pulled in it, and Brutus had a great time being chased by it. We hope that we get some more snow, as the current stuff has essentially all melted.

Roof update:

Kyle called the city inspector on Monday, but they were closed due to MLK day. He left a message. Today, Kyle's phone blew up with calls from the roofing company and the city inspector. Apparently the contractor that came to our house on Saturday also contacted the city inspector and sent him pictures of our roof to demonstrate the poor workmanship of the roofing company. The city inspector in turn contacted the owner of the roofing company, and a second inspection is going to be performed hopefully  this week. This inspection will occur when Kyle is present. We'll take it from there. It sounds like we need some major repairs, and if this is the case, we will be asking the roofing company to refund our money. We will be using a different company to perform those repairs. I will keep you updated.

Where's Mike Holmes when you need him?!

When Kyle and I moved into our house in 2008, we knew that we could have to eventually replace our shingles. The picture on the top of our blog was taken in 2008, and you can easily see the poor quality of the shingles. The previous owners had put a new roof on the house in 1999; however, the shingles were unfortunately from the defective batch of shingles that Certainteed had produced in the mid-90's. Instead of replacing the shingles, the previous owners had opted for a financial settlement.

While on our way out for a walk one windy evening this past spring, Kyle and I noticed pieces of our shingles along our walkway. This quickly prompted us to start the process of finding a roofer. We received 4 bids on our roof, and in the end we decided to go with the company that came in with the lowest bid. This company also boasts that they perform about half of the roofing jobs in the Winona area.

Kyle and I had concerns from the day the project began. "The crew" that put on the roof spoke absolutely no English. They put no barriers up to protect the landscaping. And, within one day, the old shingles were removed AND the new ones were put up. Apparently, one city inspection was performed on the roof upon completion, and it failed. "The crew" came back to fix some ice shields. Because we felt a little (or a lot) uneasy about the roof, we did call the city and ask for a second inspection to be performed later this past summer. This inspection was never performed for unknown reasons.

Last night, we were eating supper when Kyle noticed streaks of dried water on the inside of our built-in cabinets in our dining room. We soon realized the sickening truth that we have water leaking into our house. We initially thought the leakage was due to an ice dam on our roof, maybe due to an insulation problem in our attic. We recently started using a space heater in Micah's room at night, which also has access to the attic. Today, a different housing contractor came to our house and told us otherwise. The leakage is likely due to poor ventilation in our roof. The job was poorly performed and the roof was not sealed right. Kyle and I will have to have our roof redone this spring. In the meantime, we have to "rake" the roof every time it snows and monitor anymore leaking.

Kyle and I are irate! Shingles that are 6 months old should not leak!! We are going to do everything in our power to get our money back. Our first task is to follow up on why that second inspection was not performed, and see to it that it is performed. We'll then cross the next bridge. This won't be the last post on this topic : )

God's timing is perfect though! Kyle and I have been pondering the idea of moving since last April. We eventually will need more space to spread out, and a finished basement would be so nice. We've been casually looking at houses over the past 9 months, but have not found anything that has struck us. We've considered building, and last weekend while driving around, we found a great sub-division. We've been praying about moving since this past summer, and within this past week, the idea of building. This recent roof situation solidifies the fact that we need to stay in our current house for awhile longer. We know that we'll feel better about moving/building when the time is right. Until then, we'll continue relying on God's guidance : )

On the positive note, Micah has been sleeping better (10 hours or more) the past few nights. Below is a few recent pictures of us. Enjoy ; )

Productive Monday

Every 3 weeks, Kyle and I both have a Monday off of work together. On those days, we'll either plan a fun event to do as a family, or Kyle and I will try to get some house projects conquered. Today was a house project day, so Micah went to daycare. We have to pay a set weekly fee for Micah's daycare, which takes away some of the guilt of bringing him in on our days off. Plus, he loves his daycare.

Since Micah has reached a whole new level of mobility and curiosity over the past few weeks, Kyle and I spent some time baby-proofing our house even more. My first project was to organize this pantry.

Micah will find his way into this cupboard at night while I'm making supper, often emptying the contents off the bottom shelves.  Additionally, the cupboard itself was a complete mess, and had not been organized in at least a year. After some time rearranging, throwing stuff away, and making a trip to Walgreens the cupboard now looks like this....

Brutus normally would not pose like this in front of the cupboard, but Kyle was holding a piece of lunchmeat, which usually warrants Brutus' best behavior. I usually laugh at those "As seen on TV products" that a place like Walgreen's sells, but I may have bought into the "Swivel Store" for spices. It definitely keeps all of my spices more organized.

On this Monday evening, Kyle and I are hoping for a good night sleep. Micah, for some reason, has not been sleeping well over the past few nights, making it an exhausting few days for all of us.

Taken before bed on Sunday evening. He sure loves his bear from his Great Uncle Dave

Happy Birthday Oliver

Happy Birthday Friend!

Oliver is the son of our friends Jackie and Ryan. Jackie and I met during our first year of PT school in 2005, and we became good friends as we pulled ourselves through 3 years of hard work! Coincidentally in the spring of 2010,  we both found out that we were having boys that were supposed to be 1 week apart. In the end, Oliver and Micah ended up being more than 3 weeks apart, with Oliver's birthday on January 3rd and Micah's on January 26th. These 2 boys have a fun time when they get together, although it's hard to capture a picture with both of them smiling!! We're looking forward to seeing the Chamberlains again in early February!

October, 2010

Oliver and Micah - a little over 1 month

At 4 months old

Almost 10 months old

11 months

Happy 11 months Micah! The following pictures definitely show Micah's level of mobility since he turned 11 months last week...

The Raadt household officially has a little walker! Micah took his first steps on Christmas Eve night, as I was getting him dressed for church. I was so happy to witness this whole new level of mobility, as I was certain Micah would take his first steps at daycare or even when Kyle and I were away in Arizona earlier in the month. Over the past week he has gone from shuffling a few steps before falling to now walking about 5-10 feet at a time, or between a toy and the couch in our living room. He's also transitions between squatting and standing without toppling over. I don't think it'll be too long before we have state track star in training, like Uncle Scott!

Micah's red face and wet shirt also describe what else has come with being 11 months old. Micah got his first 2 bottom teeth at 4 months old, and his teething stopped. Over the past 2 weeks, 6 new teeth have appeared, as well as a runny nose, a lot of drool, and an increase in overall grouchiness. He's doing great with Tylenol, Zyrtec, some teething biscuits, and a lot of cuddle time with his Momma!

Micah continues to enjoy puppies and dogs, with Brutus being his all time favorite companion. Every animal, whether it would be a stuffed deer head, reindeer, cat, fox, etc is a "Da" to Micah. Over the past 2 weeks, he's enjoyed sharing toys and snacks with Brutus. And, Brutus always welcomes Micah's handouts except when it's fruit.

Sharing a ball with Brutus

Micah continues to eat and sleep well. He also enjoys his friends inside and outside of daycare. We are so thankful to have Micah in our lives, and we can't believe that 1 year is approaching. We are in the process of planning a small birthday party for family and a few friends that live in the area. Of course Micah's best friend, Brutus, will be in attendance!