So long, sweet summer...

It's hard to believe, and it almost pains me to say, that my eight week summer is officially over.  I started back to work yesterday, with contract work days this week and students coming in next week.  Although we're of course bummed about summer wrapping up, we are both extremely pleased with everything we've accomplished and done over the last eight weeks.  Here's a recap:

Together, we spent a lot of time with friends and family and did quite a bit of baby readiness items like attending three preparation classes, found pediatrician and daycare, and downsized the office (now nursery) from an entire room to a single drawer in one of our guest bedrooms.

We accomplished quite a bit separately, as well.  In my eight weeks, I took three grad classes (doubling my grad credits!), attended a total of three weeks worth of work/professional development days, cleaned out and reorganized upstairs and downstairs closets, single-handedly overworked our air conditioning unit (...twice), attended three amazing baby showers, resumed physical therapy, designed nursery closet for Steven to build, designed and created the stenciling magic in the nursery, and most recently created an awesome frame display/holder for Lily's bow collection:

The entire project only cost $6 because I got a frame from Goodwill, ribbon from Wal-Mart, and used leftover ribbon from our wedding and paint from the nursery for frame and sponging the background.

 

Steven was also a busy boy, working on really big projects that had been postponed till our much-needed summer.  He redid the deck, installed an awesome new single basin kitchen sink, painted the nursery, built the nursery closet, built stuff for work, had a couple days of professional development, and most recently built a fence:

It was quite the feat since Steven was digging twenty post holes in ground that hadn't seen a drop of rain in weeks.

These are Steven's little helpers making sure the fence is level.  :-)

Our view of the fence is pretty sharp,

 As is the view from our neighbor's yard.

Beautiful!  Or as Eric described it, "Legit."

 

 Just over a month until we meet our little Lillian.  :-)