Reinhold Summer Highlights

Apparently the passing of Labor Day weekend means that summer is over but it sure doesn't feel like it on this 90 degree day at 51 Odell.  Because even the thought of moving my body makes me break out in a sweat, I figured it was a good time to sit down and catch up the blog.  Everything summarized below could have it's own separate post to elaborate on details but for now, here is a summary of our summer and the things we are excited about for the fall.

Eric & Bethany

This summer marked 6 years of being married and we were blessed to be able to take a week away and go to Bar Harbor, ME at the beginning of June to celebrate.

Josiah stayed with his Oma and Papa Adler and had a great time while we enjoyed the ocean, seafood and a chance to talk to each other without being interrupted by toddler babble.  We could have never foreseen all of the wonderful plans God had for us 6 years ago when we first said "I do" but we are so thankful that He put us on this journey together and the blessings He has given us along the way.

 The rest of the summer has kept us busy taking care of our house and son which is not without it's challenges but is also rewarding as we see the fruits of our labors.  

Josiah

Josiah seems to have grown by leaps and bounds this summer.  Although he is still small in stature, his mind is learning and processing new things every day.  His vocabulary has exploded and we call him a parrot now because he loves to repeat everything we say to him.  Among our favorite things that he says, "Thank you" is probably in the top 3.  He even says thank you when he gives something to us, or if we tickle or kiss him.  He also recognizes all the letters of the alphabet now and the numbers 1-9 although putting them in order is a different story.  His favorite song is the ABC song and he has started to be able to put some of the letters in their place if we sing it for him.  He loves to be read to and one of his favorite books right now is a book about being a big brother.  Josiah spent his summer playing with bubbles, reading, helping Grammie and Grandpa with our house and learning how to go down the stairs backwards to avoid more tumbles!





 He also got to meet some of Bethany's cousin and visit "Pepop" when Bethany traveled with her mom and sister to western NY in July.



We are just delighted to be his parents as he grows into a little boy.  

51 Odell

The summer project at 51 Odell was to renovate the upstairs bathroom and turn it into a full bath with a shower.  We were thankful to have a great plumber help us out on this DIY project and Eric's mom and dad also put in countless hours helping Eric each weekend.  Eric will probably write a more detailed post about the whole process but for now, here are some pictures of the before and after.

This is what the upstairs bathroom looked like 2.5 years ago when we first considered moving into this house.

This is what it looked like after we cleaned it out and got it ready to be gutted and redone.  

Here's what it looks like now with only a few touch ups left to go! 

This was a long tiring project but we now have a fully functioning bathroom with a shower upstairs. Our purpose for expanding the bathroom was because in August we welcomed our first tenet to 51 Odell and we offered her the downstairs bedroom and bathroom as her own.  She is a student at Gordon College and has been very flexible about sharing her bathroom while we finish ours up.  She also loves our old house and Josiah so we are thankful for a good match and the extra income it will provide.  

Looking Ahead to Fall

As we look ahead to fall, it doesn't seem like the busyness will decrease but there are some exciting things planned for the future.  At the end of this month we will welcome our first Tucsonians to 51 Odell so we are busily preparing a room for them and can't wait to see friends from Arizona!  We are also preparing for a more permanent guest who will arrive at the beginning of December.

Here I am half way through my second pregnancy.  As we post this, I am headed into my third trimester.

Lord willing, our daughter will arrive in safety and health sometime around December 2nd and we can't wait to meet her!  When I was pregnant with Josiah, I felt completely inadequate to care for a newborn and was willing to let him hang out inside of me for as long as he wanted.  Now that I know how sweet and precious babies are, I would much rather have her here hanging out with us than have her hanging out inside making my belly huge.

Thanks for letting us fill you in with our summer happenings.  We look forward to sharing more pictures and stories as we add another member to our family and continue to renovate and restore our home.    

Cape Cod - Days 5&6

Our last days at the cape have come and gone.  Tomorrow we pack up and head north with a stop at IKEA on the way!  We were thankful for better weather these last two days and ventured outside to see some more sights.  

You cannot vacation in Cape Cod and not have light house pictures.  So here they are!

Reinhold's with the classic Cape Cod lighthouse in Nauset Beach.

Bethany and Josiah gaze out to the ocean watching the seals play.  This beach is in Chattam which also has a lighthouse.

Siah find himself in a quandary: more space to explore then he can explore! 

 Checking out some boats in the local harbor of Harwichport. 

A handsome photo for Josiah's lady friends. 

We found the tower of Sarumaun, but it was closed until April! 

(Interpreted: We went all the way to the end of the cape to see the monument where the pilgrims first landed  in Provincetown but it is closed until April 1st.)

Siah was very impressed with these animals that could fly away from him.  

A post card for the Nauset light on Cape Cod.  The caption reads, "Come join me in Cape Cod!"

Until the next blog post, stay warm and happy spring!

Cape Cod - Days 3&4

Time flies when you are having fun and two more days have passed in our Cape Cod adventure.  Here are the highlights from Tuesday and Wednesday.  

We went to our first Josiah focused event this week at the Cape Cod Children's Museum.  It was about 2 hours of Siah saying, "Oooo!" which is his word for "Cool".  He loved it!

Look at that smile!  So many toys! 

This was more for the amusement of mom and dad.  He was "all done" with the tractor pretty fast. 

Little J could spin these little cogs for hours. 

Dad trying to make the most of 15 seconds of Siah's attention to instruct him on trains. 

On Wednesday we got hit with a blizzard that knocked out our electricity and heat for almost 4 hours!  It was comical to hear the weather men say, "The blizzard will miss all of America, except Cape Cod!"  Notice how there is only snow on one side of the car because the wind blew it off the other side.  The highest recorded wind from the storm was 71 mph right here in Harwich!

Siah got bundled up warm because it was cold in our room! 

The cold did not dampen this little man's spirits! Meanwhile mom and dad are trying to get warm.  At the end of the day we watched Frozen in honor of the blizzard that we endured.   

A new favorite place to find and eat Cheerios. He is saving that one by his leg for a couple seconds.

Thursday and Friday promise warmer weather and we are excited to be outside again enjoying the end of our week!  More pics to come!