dirty laundry...

...is now going to be taken care of on the main floor!!! yes, today i got my first-floor laundry; this was started about three years ago and until today, got no further than the water hook-ups. HUGE thanks to mom and dad for coming and helping with the project and bringing lasagna!

kelvin wedged in behind the dryer...

cole "helping". once, when he was jabbering away, my dad was in the basement and copied the noise he was making; the look on cole's face was to die for! he knew it was grandpa but wasn't 100% sure exactly where grandpa was.the finished (almost) laundry room! i wish i had thought to start taking pictures earlier on, but didn't. the floor used to be a gross white linoleum, and is now laminate flooring (partly). there was a toilet to the right that was just in the way so it came out. an extra toilet would have been nice, but the seal busted about a year or so ago, so out it came.

and cole's enjoying the new room- he's been pushing this wire cart around a good part of the day. kept him occupied off and on for quite awhile! he's starting to understand that there's more than one way of doing things- i watched him try to push the cart over the metal strip, and when it got stuck, he walked around to the other side and pulled it over! i love it when little kids figure stuff out... their little minds are so amazing!
anyway, now i can do laundry a little more easily- i don't have to leave cole (and soon, the baby) alone while i try to toss in a load or two. and the basement stairs? whew. especially right now- those stairs are brutal. i can't thank kelvin and dad enough for getting this done... it means so much! and mom is relieved that i don't have to tackle the steps now. there are a few more things left to do, like get some cabinets and a shelf above the washer and dryer and do some touch-up painting, but nothing that can't wait. the big job is done, and that's all i could ask for right now!