Windows & doors!

Anybody sick of house posts yet?

They installed windows & exterior doors today. Now it totally looks even more like a house - so exciting!



Ryan had fun exploring in the "jungle", as he likes to call the woods. We even found this cool nature-made tunnel!


The great room is really coming along - I love seeing the fireplace in there.
...and we have tubs & showers! This is the master bath :)


Funny Ryan anecdote of the day: We usually try to bring treats and/or drinks to the workers when we come on site. This afternoon, Mason was wanting to tell them that I had brought cookies, but everyone who was left was Spanish speaking. So, he said to me, "Do you know how to say 'cookies' in Spanish? And Ryan chimes right in, "Cookies in Spanish! I know how to say it!" Hilarious!

Busy house

We were out at the house again this morning, and it was a mad house! There were people everywhere. I guess this is the point when lots of things really start happening. It was a lot of fun to be there, but rather crazy since we had both boys with us. I didn't realize quite how much business we'd have to be doing, and Ryan was very good and patient for a while, but he got rather antsy by the end. So, that's why you get lots of pictures of Ryan today - it was one of the ways I could keep him occupied!

(front view)

They have started the front porch, and it adds a lot of dimension to the house... now, it's starting to look more like the house I expected!

(garage side corner view)

Ryan helped us paint some boards with our exterior paint color choices:

And here he is in front of the great room window (overlooking the back yard):

and in front of the fireplace:

We let Ryan pick out his room today, and he was so excited. It could still change, but I kind of doubt it because he chose the one that we all think is the coolest too. But, they all have great character. Hopefully we won't have too much sibling rivalry over the bedrooms! Anyway, here he is running circles in his future bedroom :-)

That's it for today. We can't wait to go back, though, so I'm sure there will be more soon!

11 months

Dear Kaeden,

A month from now, we'll be celebrating your first birthday. Wow.


We spent the last month at home, getting used to our new fall schedule. Ryan started back to preschool and it's been working out really well so far. You've been able to stay awake in the mornings until after we drop him off and most days you've been napping for the majority of the time that he is gone, so you hardly even notice!

It was not your best month - you had a cold for all of September, which eventually turned into a double ear infection/full upper respiratory infection. Plus, you got your top two front teeth, so there was a lot of teething going on as well. You were definitely fussier than your normal happy self, but I have to say that considering all of that, you were really a trooper. You finished your last dose of antibiotics today and you seem to be doing much better. Yay! Now, we hope that you can actually stay healthy for a little while... probably not too likely given that cold & flu season is just beginning.


We also celebrated your cousin Atticus' first birthday and baptism this month. You still love having him around and he is still not so sure of you... especially when you try to grab his face. You are two peas in a pod, though - this picture just cracks me up:


You have become a much pickier eater in the last month. You still like to eat a lot, but if you had it your way, you'd eat fruit and bread/crackers all the time. I can usually still manage to get plenty of veggies in, but you are not a fan of meat. I will not be surprised if you & Ryan both end up vegetarians. You're also much preferring foods that you can pick up and eat yourself these days. Thankfully, those top 2 teeth are helping with that!


You are also starting to sleep a bit less... waking up earlier in the mornings (6-6:15) and often cutting one of your naps shorter. You've even skipped your afternoon nap altogether a couple of days lately. I'm really not ready for you to transition to one nap yet, though, so I'm hoping this isn't a sign that that is coming very soon.


You are trouble. We say that a lot in our house these days. You love getting into things you're not supposed to and just generally doing lots of exploring... perfectly normal for this age, but a little challenging at times. You & Ryan have started butting heads more also, which can be a bit frustrating. Now that you are so fast, his creations are often threatened and I frequently hear him yelling, "I don't want Kaeden!!!!!!!" - Don't worry, though, he doesn't really mean it. He still adores you, and you him. He's even figured out how to pick you up and for some crazy reason, you love it. He hasn't dropped you yet...





You don't do a whole lot of sit still kind of playing anymore, but when you get an idea in your head, you can be pretty determined. You especially like putting things in - in a bin, in a box, in a ball run, in the silo of the farm... just in. Here you were determined to get that person in its truck, but having a bit of a hard time:

Mostly, though, you like to be on the move. Or throwing things. Your water cup only lasts about 3 seconds on your tray at any given time. And any toy given to you in the car is pretty much immediately thrown over the edge of your car seat. You can throw a ball pretty well, though, so there's hope for your future as an athlete. We'll see.

We got lots of great pictures of you this month, so I had a hard time choosing. I recruited your dad to help in getting you to sit still and smile, and it worked so much better. I was thrilled!

I didn't want a big house

I really didn't. But somewhere along the design process, it got big. And I didn't really realize it because on paper (and even on the 3D model) it still looked sort of quaint. Our architect referred to it as "the cottage". Well, now it is almost completely framed. And it doesn't feel quaint at all. It feels enormous. And I am trying not to be horrified. Because after all, I didn't want a big house. But here it is. And it's ours. So, I'll continue to remember all the things that I love about it and pray that God uses it for His glory somehow.

Here it was on Saturday, when we were able to bring my whole family out to see it! (more to come on Atticus' birthday/baptism weekend soon, I hope)



looking out over the back yard, from the third (bedroom) floor

Standing in the great room. It really did feel much more real with walls & ceilings!

And here it was today.


From the front door, looking into the great room

From the pantry, looking at the kitchen/breakfast room

From the great room, looking back at the kitchen/pantry. We have columns!

The attic!! As if we needed any more space to store stuff! But it was cool to be up there.

View of the front yard from the attic. Wow. Fear of heights, anyone?

:-)

While cleaning up tonight, Ryan made a cross out of two rectangular blocks and said, "Here, Daddy - a cross. That means you love Jesus."

:-)

Quote of the day

Ryan's quote of the day (we were playing in the play room & Kaeden was in the living room - don't worry, I was checking on Kaeden often!):

"Kaeden's playing the piano. That's a good Kaeden we've got there."

Where does he come up with this stuff?

Construction

I'm pretty sure that anybody who actually reads this blog already knows that we are in the process of building a new house. We've spent the last year designing, planning, and nit-picking what will hopefully be the house we live in for a very long time. And construction is now well under way!

I've been a bit slow about getting this on the blog, so I'll do some back-tracking. Here is the land after it had been cleared. Prior to this, we had always been bushwhacking our way through, so it was definitely an exciting change.

from the road, looking down our driveway


end of the driveway, looking to where the house & yard will be


facing the front of the "house" - car is in the "garage" :)


from the front yard, looking back on the driveway


These aren't too exciting, but for the sake of documenting, here are a couple after the foundation had been put in and you could actually see the shape of the house:

front view


garage side view

They started framing last week, and we were there mid-week to see that the first floor had been completed. Our reaction? With two more floors to go, it's going to be a tall, tall house.

view from the driveway - there's actually a house!!!


closer view from corner of the front yard

back of the house

And finally, last night, we met Mason's parents out there for a picnic. It was SO MUCH FUN. Ryan had an absolute blast exploring both the house and the land. They had finished the stairs up to the second floor, so we were able to go up & walk around up there to see what the view will be. It's incredible, but I'm pretty sure that my fear of heights is going to kick in on the third floor - could be interesting since that's where my bedroom will be!

Bojangles picnic in the garage!!


view from front of the house


view of driveway from the second floor (from the future front entryway)


Bunny & Ryan (and Sophie) exploring the creek, which happens to be VERY dry right now


view of the back of the house from the creek

Now that there are actually exciting things to see, I'll try to keep better updated on the status of the house. We are just thrilled and despite all of the stress of trying to prepare for selling our current house, continuing to pick out every little detail for this house, moving, etc., just seeing Ryan there last night makes it all worthwhile. What a blessing!