The Build: Main Level Updated Photos

After a month of living here, I finally feel like I have unpacked the majority of our belongings. The hardest part right now is wanting to make finishing touches happen yesterday. The biggest item on my impatient list is the master shower. I am trying my hardest to just relax knowing it will be done in just a few weeks, but it's so hard. I just want to wake up in the morning and shower....too much to ask!? At least Jason hooked up the faucet to the bathtub, but little did I know that a deep tub....means I have to start filling it a good 15 minutes before I even want to sit in water....just something to get used to.  Enough complaining about what's not done....let's look at what IS done.

Mudroom lockers
Perfect space to drop winter wear, hide clutter, and leave behind your shoes. We also snuck Lily's dishes here and hid a bin of her food in one of the bottom drawers.

Main Level Bath

 Custom Hood and Wolf Stove- The green tabs on the small cabinets are painter's tape. We have yet to add pulls but were unsure if we were going to put them in the middle so you could pull the cabinet out or add it to the side so you could open like a standard cabinet.

Living Room- The built-ins are beautiful.....I just have to figure out what goes in them. For now, it's every random decor piece that I found when unpacking. BUT, they will look even better when I find that perfect something to go in the middle. Someday it could be canvas photos of the family or kiddos, but for now, we'll keep looking for something that sparks our interest.

Lily snuck in this one.....she has quite a large dog bed for such a small dog, but everyone has to be spoiled to some extent.

Close up of the built-in shelving

Dining Room- like the touch of the booster seat? The chairs work out well for us since you can wipe them down. It would have been fun to do some type of fabric chair but we actually have fabric covered cushions in the works for the "L" shaped built-in seating. That way when we have lots of guests for dining, we can extend the table and push into the corner so we can fit more on the benches. Fabric just came yesterday, so we dropped it off and will be waiting about 6 more weeks until completion.

A view from the living room.

Entry way- this space needs some work still....We picked up a great antique piece of furniture for the grand space but need a mirror for the wall. Haven't found anything that has caught our eye around town so we might have to shop online. The rug is an old one that fit better in our first house, but we just needed something to catch the snow from our guests' boots. Just another thing to add to the "Buy for House" list.

Slowly but surely we are feeling more at home. Jason is working hard at backsplashes in the kitchen and the pantry so that will create for some new updates soon as well.

Bedtime Laughter

We have officially watched Finding Nemo 127 times. Every night after dinner, every morning before we leave for school, every time we walk in the door....Austin asks, "I watch Nemo?!?" Plopping Austin in front of Nemo was a great way to get a few things done while we were unpacking or maybe just for Jason and I to actually eat our dinner. Even though it is one of the better Pixar movies out there, it still gets old. While Jason is trying to put together something in relation to a meal, I grab Austin and ask for his help in putting Ava to bed. This is now my favorite part of the day.

Austin asks me to put Ava down on the floor and then he gets in her face and says "Crawl Ava". Meanwhile he chases after her around the room while she is belly laughing so hard she falls on her face. Both children were laughing so hard one time that Jason came up thinking they were bawling their eyes out! It has completely changed Ava's bedtime routine into loud and laughter rather than quiet and soft music but she LOVES it. I mean LOVES it! There is no one that can make Ava smile or laugh like Austin can. If he even makes one move towards her, she is smiling and giggling.

At not even 1 year old, Ava thinks the world of her brother. I doubt I will be able to remind her of this when he is stealing her toys, pulling the heads off her dolls, or not allowing her to play with him and his friends. But that's ok, because for now, we will just keeping laughing until our cheeks hurt.

Racing to the Potty

Daycare certainly has its positives and negatives. We are exposed to 8 thousand germs everyday. We have to pay a babysitter when daycare is closed (or beg Gamma or Gackum to help), it seems like they check my kids temperatures every 5 minutes so that they are sent home......BUT one of the many positives.....Austin has 11 other children in his class that all potty train together. Monkey see Monkey do. Austin is 26 months and ready to be potty trained and I thought we'd have another year before this started. Daycare has told me it's time for me to give up the diapers. It just so happens my mom just bought Austin 4 pair of big boy underwear so we were prepared when the middle of the week request came to get going on the training.

Austin was really excited. He has been staying dry and going on the potty for weeks now at school. So last night was interesting as he had the multiple accidents and I had to watch him like a hawk, all while setting timers and asking him every two seconds if he wanted to go visit the potty.

This morning Austin ripped his diaper to shreds. No Mommy! But I was very scared for the car ride to school. Especially with the weather, it's not a short ride. So I padded his carseat and just prayed. As we get closer to school Austin is yelling at me "Pee pee in the toilet! Pee pee in the toilet!". So we rush into school which is no easy task considering the slippery sidewalks and Ava in my arms, but we had a smaller accident than I expected and he went on the toilet. My favorite part was seeing his grin has he turned around to look at me while he was so proud of himself.

Amazing what creates excitment in life when you have a toddler.

Let it Snow

Let it snow....or not.......

Michigan weather has been nothing short of disappointing for those that want lots of snow to ski or snowboard. Since I have never done either, I don't really care. I'd actually prefer for there to be less snow, but then I wouldn't get to watch the kiddos and all the fun they have playing in it.  On this occasion, they loved the opportunity to get outside and go 'sliding' as Austin calls it. 

I couldn't help but stare at Ava as she experienced snow for the first time.

We didn't need to go farther than my parents backyard.

Austin was even excited to pull his little sister around. Thank the Lord Ava is so content doing whatever her big brother wants to do. 

Austin loves to stare out the dining room windows at the neighborhood kids sledding down the hills. Even though it's a joy to watch.....I can't help but anticipate the spring and summer when the lake thaws and we can finally feel the sand in our toes!

The Build: A Few Details

Just some random updates as the house was coming together before we moved in.

Handles and hinges make a big difference!

Kitchen is almost complete. We still have yet to find a faucet for the bar sink and a big missing item.....the infamous Wolf stove is not pictured. But it is in.....and we have yet to use it to it's full potential!

We are currently working on the shelves in the built-ins. The fireplace works amazing! We also now have furniture in place and that TV was a toughy but it's also mounted in place!

Our pottery barn dining table came a bit early so that's in place now, but we did place a pottery barn lighting fixture just above the table as shown here. We are working on getting fabric cushions for the built-in benches. The drawers have handles now and are proven to be excellent for random storage. Boy do I really need to get updated pictures!

Master bath vanities. My side has a missing sink because it was broke by one of the many workers helping to get this place ready for move-in but a new one was placed a week after we moved in. The random carpet pieces are down because Jason continues to work on the master bath....still not done yet, but I am doing my best to be patient!!

A few too many baskets up top in the Master Closet but we can fill up what we need and put a few in other spots. Thankfully it will be easier to put seasonal clothes up top rather than in some bin in the basement or garage.

Still unpacking more boxes each day. Finding a home for everything is more challenging than I thought. We have plenty of storage but trying to figure out where everything goes isn't so much fun. We are trying to organize the basement so we can get more boxes and bins out of the garage. As my mom says, "everything takes time" and with the 2 hours at night after the kids go to bed, you can't get as much done as you'd think. But we are IN and that's all that matters!

The Build: Carpet

Everyone practically knows we are moved into the house by now, but since I am behind on everything, blogging has taken a backseat.

We had carpet installed the week prior to moving in. Choosing carpet was actually easier than we thought. We had some great advice about putting a berber carpet on the stairs, while putting the softer carpet in the bedrooms.

We also decided to make a playroom out of the office for now while the kiddos are young, so we also put the berber carpet in there as well.

Here is the landing at the top of the stairs. Right outside Ava's room is a built-in to act as a catch all for many things.....still needs handles of course, hence the painter's tape. Also there is a linen closet.

The Master

We did not put carpet in the laundry/craft room of course. We actually picked out flooring for that but just have yet to put it down. Every night there seems to be more boxes behind every corner so I'll have to get the updated photos taken and uploaded when we are more settled.

And to All a Good Night

Christmas felt like a whirlwind this year. We were barely even thinking about Christmas as we were so focused on moving.

Growing up, Christmas with my family was usually about begging my parents to let us open just one present nights before Christmas. We usually convinced them to let us open one present two nights before Christmas. Then, on Christmas Eve we usually opened them all one by one, as Christmas day was a big family get together. We were still very excited to open our stockings Christmas morning since they were usually spilling with tons of cool gifts, who knows where my Mom found them!

With the little ones, Christmas hasn't found any traditions just yet. Ava doesn't care much about ripping open the presents.

She did however love the tissue paper.

Austin on the other hand was really excited for Christmas presents since every time he saw Santa he couldn't stop saying 'Fire Truck!'. I made sure to tell my Mom that once Austin opened his fire truck, Christmas would be all over. She couldn't help her excitement and didn't even mean to,  but she gave him his fire truck first!

Although his excitement was priceless, he continued on with the rest of the presents and every once and a while, ran back to his fire truck.

What good is a fire truck without all the fun accessories?

A race track too? So spoiled!

Then, from our family Christmas, Kate had Austin's name and got him the biggest teddy bear she could find.

Austin has named him 'Polar Bear' and has made us put it in his crib to sleep with. This bear takes up at least half his crib but he will not let us take it out!

We are very blessed this Christmas season. Beyond blessed. And even though all the presents were fun, and things were mostly focused on moving....we are thankful for so much. I can't imagine my family was that thrilled with moving us the weekend before Christmas, but they did it without thinking twice or complaining. Now if only I could unpack as fast as we moved in.

Ava: 10 mos stats

Ava was a month behind on her well child check ups due to the move so here is her 10 months stats:

Height: 2 ft 3.5 in : 31 percentile

Weight: 19 lbs 11oz: 52 percentile

Just took her out sledding for the first time this weekend so I can't wait to get some photos edited and posted!!

Helping Gackum

There is nothing more that Austin wants to do, than help his Gackum around the house. Whether it's feed the birds, or bring items upstairs from the basement.....Austin is there to be a big helper. Now with the snow that's fallen, Austin has his own shovel and is ready to help Gackum clear off the deck.

 I can't help but stare and watch.

A beautiful winter day with a little boy and his shovel.....and eyelashes to boot!

Ava: 10 months

Ava has finally sprouted some pearly whites! Two little front teeth have popped their way through and Ava couldn't be happier. Usually kids are pretty crabby when it comes to teething, but not this girl. She is very excited about the teeth that can finally chomp down on some new foods!

The poor girl has it rough right now with this terrible upper respiratory virus that is going around so she hasnt been up to going outside, but I can't wait to get some cute pics of her all bundled up in the snow.

She has adjusted well to the move but I can't wait to spruce up her bedroom. Lots of cute things to hang on those empty walls but maybe I can get that done before everyone comes over for her 1st birthday party (hint....this past year really flew by!)

She is pulling herself to stand but isn't cruising around the furniture or standing alone just yet. I am in no rush for my little crawler to grow up and start walking around. PLUS, I am just getting used to putting things away, yet alone baby proofing this place since that is way different than toddler proofing!

Ava loves all foods that's for sure. There isn't much that she won't eat, but when she doesn't like something, she lets you know. I don't know how they learn so quickly to spit things out but she sure gets some distance! Just like Austin, she loves greek yogurt. She is transitioning to people foods much faster as she sees what we are eating and pushes away all baby food.

She isn't drinking near as much formula/bottles as Austin used to. She seems more likely to transition away from a bottle than Austin did which will be nice.

She is outgrowing her carseat at a fast pace. She just went in for a check up not too long ago and was 19+ pounds. I am looking forward to transitioning her to a booster seat.

Sometimes she takes two naps during the day but other times it's just one long nap. With the 2nd child, I am not so worried about everything and Ava just seems more easy going regarding her nap taking. If she takes one nap, then she naps for 4 hours and it makes me miss her so badly!

Everyone says she is a mini-version of me when I was a baby with the exception of the blue eyes. Especially when I put her in overalls like my mom did to me. I think the other exception being that I was a tid bit chunkier, hard to believe, but true!

That's my little Aba (as Austin calls her now). Growing up too fast as always. Can't wait for her 1 year birthday party which is coming up quickly. She has a little cousin Grace on the way that will be born closer to her birthday. I look forward to that as it'd be nice for them to grow up together since Ava won't have any sisters of her own. I was always fortunate to have cousins to play with and am glad we are close to family again so she can have the same.

Absent

Ahhh feels good to be back on the blog. I have been absent from blogging over the last few weeks for some very good reasons. Those reasons should best be bulleted in hopes that I spare the scarce reader of this blog the lengthy details.

• We moved in to our house....FINALLY! Even though it seemed like a Christmas miracle to move in right before the holidays....it came without many things that might make life a tad more convenient. We moved in without handles and knobs on all the cabinets. You can only pull on painters tape to open a drawer or cabinet for so long. We moved in without washer and dryer hooked up.....back to the college days of bringing my parents all my laundry, only times it by 4 for all those itty bitty kiddo clothes. The shower that works just happens to be the Jack and Jill shower in between the kids rooms. I just learned the other morning that I can't wake up super early and shower without them noticing.
• The nasty stomach flu and upper respiratory virus has plowed through our house. Unfortunately Austin seemed to have contracted both and last week was one of the worst weeks he has had in a looooong time. I now understand why, and that's just speaking on the respiratory virus. I'd trade for the stomach flu any day.
• The holidays and unpacking have kept me busier than busy. Every night there are boxes and bins full of items that need a place. We have lots of storage in this new house which is great....but what do you do? Do you put items in a spot just to get it out of the way? Do you put it away in the right spot and organize it now even though it takes twice as long?

Regardless, we are in, we have moved, we are sicker than dogs, and I feel so disconnected from reality because I haven't been on the computer or watched TV in weeks. Unless you count the 18 times we watched Finding Nemo while Austin was sick. Looking forward to getting this house somewhat put together so we can finally start entertaining........