Week 10 & Week 11

Week 10: insulation & dry wall









So cool to see the drywall! I didn't go upstairs because they were working, but I did go into the basement for the first time. I am so glad that we're finishing it! We're putting the pool table, row machine, and our current living room furniture (and tv) down there. We're also putting our bedroom stuff in the den and finally upgrading to a King :)


Week 11: trim and prep for paint (inside) siding, board & batten (outside)





I have to give credit where credit is due: Chris picked out everything...the elevation, siding, stone, b & b...he knows his stuff! I could sort of imagine it in my head, but it is way more stunning in real life! This week they'll be doing the stone...I am so excited to see the exterior all finished.

Chris and I are excited about different things regarding the next few steps. I'm looking forward to seeing the kitchen and wood flooring. He's most excited about the landscaping (what?!) and our kitchen back splash. I am a little weary about our master bathroom...he changed the cabinets and I'm hoping it's not too dark overall. He is very skeptical about the carpet I picked for the upstairs & bedrooms. Apparently no one ever picks it...which makes me sort of nervous, but it was better than the alternatives in our budget (light carpet- never again! poop brown carpet- hideous.) I think it'll be great :)

I've been obsessed with the "fun" stuff now...looking at furniture and curtains. I just wish we didn't have to get so much. There are a gazillion windows that need coverings, we need all new living room stuff (including a tv), master bedroom set, a kitchen table & chairs, and area rugs. We're doing nothing to the dining room. It's just too much at once!

We're looking at a Nov. 30 closing date, which means we'll move the first week in December. The Christmas tree will be one of the first things set up :)

Anne Elizabeth is TWO!

And of course it's gone by too fast!

Anne is simply amazing. She is talking so much:

"I want that!"
"Mine!"
"Catch!"
"Please!"
"Thank you"
"Bless you!"
"Up! Down."
"I love you"
"Go night-night."
"What happened?"
"Where (did) ____ go?"
"Grandma's house?"

Also:
paci, milk, drink, tv, cookie, glasses, snack, cheese, outside, blanket (bee bee), van ("BAN!"), mermaid, bath, potty, counts to 3, says names of family & friends

She sings along to the radio, usually catching just the ends of each line. Loves to dance along and makes the funniest/dramatic facial expressions.

She goes to the living room window, gets behind the curtain, and looks out the window while she poops. Yeah.

She loves food and she's a great eater.

Interestingly, she doesn't like to be consoled by her sisters when she's upset. They try, she says, "NO!" and runs to me. If they try to give her something she doesn't want, she acts completely offended.

She's a wonderful listener and follows directions amazingly. When we tell her to do something she says, "OK!" and DOES IT. Every night she picks out a book, or two, and she sits and listens as I read. Our favorites are "I Love You Through and Through", "Mommy's Best Kisses" and "Ten in the Bed." She has started "reading" along and she can predict parts of the story where I stop to tickle or kiss her.

She LOVES Chris. Sometimes she'll just say, "I want Dad." She gets so excited when he walks in the door from work!

She hates the idea of taking a bath, but once you get her in she's great.

After we get her dressed she says, "I pretty!"

She loves to be chased and tickled. She's so fun, so loud, so full of energy.

I don't know when we'll take her off the paci (uses it in bed only.) I don't know when she'll move to a toddler bed. I don't know when we'll potty train. I don't even care #thirdchild .

She loves her daily routine...up around 6, nap around 11, bed by 7. She lays right down and falls asleep (sometimes she'll straight up ask to go night-night.) I love that she happily goes to bed!

She likes to bring us things...if we leave a phone/iPad/laptop/eye glasses (you know, the expensive stuff) on the coffee table she brings it to us and says, "Here you go!" or "Here, Mom/Here, Dad!"

Anne is just the best. She lights up our lives in a way only the baby of the family can. We love how her big sisters care for her and how she learns from them every day. She is our baby. She is two, and I know that she'll be way more of a "Terrific" than a "Terrible!"

Week 8: HVAC & plumbing AND Week 9: electric & low voltage

On Monday I got to step inside the house for the very first time! Talk about excited!





I met Chris after work so he could stay out with the girls. I cannot believe this is going to be ours in just a couple of months..I'm so in love with the floorplan.


kitchen doors, looking from the garage door (mudroom)


mudroom with linen closet and laundry room w/window


living room


playroom


living room

I wanted to take more pictures but I got too distracted/overwhelmed.

I went back again on Saturday (9/19) and walked through it with Chris.




standing in the dining room


Back wall of the kitchen


front door


basement


view from the front door


foyer




upstairs


master bedroom




standing in the living room, looking at the kitchen

I love the stairs/foyer. Upstairs looks awesome, especially our master bedroom with all the windows. Chris will do our pre-drywall walk through this week. October will be a very busy month!

First week of school!

It was exhausting, as usual, but so very GREAT!

I'm teaching Kindergarten :) I was a bit overwhelmed at Open House last Thursday. There were so many people (everyone made it!) The kids were interrupting and asking questions...there were little siblings everywhere...I left happy, but sort of dazed.

This first week confirmed my decision to move to Kindergarten. I love it. Every day gets a little better as far as routines and procedures. Every day I feel myself growing more and more attached. Every day they are making progress.


Audrey loves school, no surprise there. She is literally right across the hall from me, lol. Before school started she was SO nervous. She worried about making friends. Really? This girl is friends with everyone she meets within 2 minutes...even with older kids! I think she was sad that 4-5 of her good girlfriends were in a different class. She does have 3 girls (and 2 sweet boys!) with her this year, and I told her that she'd make new friends in no time. And of course she did :)



On Wednesday Chris took Abigail to meet her new teacher. It went so well, and her first day was great. Chris said that drop-off was perfect. When I picked her up she was SO happy. As much as I CAN'T WAIT to have her with me at school, I'm glad she has another year of pre-k. She'll be more than ready for Kindergarten next year!

Thankfully it was only a 4 day week. Early mornings and late nights will probably be happening for awhile. The commute is annoying, but there's an end in sight...52 school days until Thanksgiving Break and move-in time! That's a lot of school days, but they fly by!

Week 7: roof and some inside stuff

These were taken on Friday:





Chris used his camera to get a bunch of awesome pictures from the inside, and I'm PATIENTLY WAITING FOR HIM TO EMAIL THEM TO ME ;) We have stairs, and they started installing doors and windows today!




Bedroom windows!


Front.freaking.DOOR!!!!!

I cannot wait to go in and walk around! I'm meeting Chris tomorrow after school and I'm excited beyond words!!

Week 6: more framing AND trusses!

On Monday I drove over to the house after school.




It didn't look much different than the pics Chris had taken last week. I drove by again on Friday after school and I was blown away to see trusses!






It's looking like a real house :)

Chris took these pics on Saturday...I love that he took pics of the back!




I'm dying to go in and walk around...I don't know when that will be!


I was looking at our school calendar and we don't have a single day off until Thanksgiving Break...which is when we'll *hopefully* be moving in, lol!

Week 5: Framing begins!

I took the girls to see the house on Sunday before we headed to the pool. Chris met us there so I was able to go up and get a good look at the foundation.


Garage pad









Chris sent these pics on Thursday:




Garage side of the house, laundry room window, playroom window. That ginormous wall straight ahead will be where the stairs are!


This is Chris's favorite pic...the back of the house. From left to right: playroom windows, kitchen door, kitchen eat-in windows, living room windows.


Left side of the house...living room windows, powder room window, basement window, top of the stairs window.

I was surprised! I was expecting for them to frame the basement walls, then work their way up to the first floor. Chris said that they put up the outer structural walls first and work on the flooring system (I believe the word "joists" was used.)

I was even more surprised by the pics he took on Friday! Interior walls, ya'll!






I love being able to see where the doors and windows are! It will be so cool to see it all framed and under roof!