Stairs, garage floor and more walls!

The stairs are finally in, which is nice since we (and more importantly the contractor) has had to go around the outside of the house or down a ladder to get to the lower level. 

Also, the garage floor concrete finally got poured which allows for a convenient work space for the guys that's under shelter and now we're not all stepping over insulation and heating coils. Not a glamour it's shot even if it wasn't poor lighting:

Also, they're framing the interior walls on the main level which is exciting! Its a little more complicated up there, because of the sloped ceiling, the timber frame that has to be framed around and some details that we've designed to keep the space as open and transparent as possible. Nonetheless its coming together!

And also, during our visits to the site, Marlin is getting good at "making fun out of nothing" (that quotation is supposed to link to my aunt's recent blog post: http://andekbe.livejournal.com/11461.html - thanks Anita!):

He's selling tickets to the baseball game and then we were playing baseball and "hockey puck" with scrap shim pieces that were laying around. And in case you're curious, that opening in the wall is for our creative designs to make a (hopefully easier) sliding bed rather than a regular Murphy bed.  You'll have to come visit us and stay overnight once the house is done to see how it pans out!

Marlin has also been enjoying his first ever swim lessons this week and last. He's still nervous about putting his head under but he's made tremendous progress since 6 lessons ago, and it's been fun to watch him in a class setting with a teacher without me for pretty much the first time ever!