Fall Break

We had "Fall" Break in mid-September this year... which is why I have "Fall" in quotes.  It was SO early!  And SO hot!  Stephen had to leave town that week, so the kids and I did a whole lot of nothing (while our neighbors were off gallivanting on cruises and at beaches... even Europe.  Next year goals.  ha!)

It really was all good- we were still living amongst boxes so it was kind of nice to stick around.

 Main Event Fun:

 Halloween Store Fun:

The girls got Parker dressed:

Checking out the pool:

Mom had surgery- dad and I keeping warm:

Riding bikes at the park:

My birthday!

Celebrating all the September bdays at my parents' house:

Guess who's getting braces soon?  This is her "not smiling" picture... orrrrrrr her mug shot. ;)

We also went to Uncle Matthew's high school football game at the school where he coaches; movie nights; dinner with our neighbors; and a whole lot of unpacking!

Parker is 6!

How in the world is my baby 6?!

Parker is a combination of being "all boy" and "a little brother to two sisters".  He loves running, playing sports (especially baseball), Atlanta Braves, watching football, and sometimes his temper flares pretty quickly.  On the flip side, he loves to "snuggle" with me on the couch, he sleeps with a Cabbage Patch Kid doll every night (hehehe, I'll make sure he doesn't forget this one!), and he follows in his sister's footsteps with some of the games they play, YouTube slime making people they watch, etc.  Parker is really good with numbers, I'm wondering if he'll be my math whiz when he gets older.  He hasn't really shown an interest in reading until recently.  But numbers- he loves them.  He loves to look up baseball teams on my phone and write down two names and then play a pretend game of baseball with pencils and little balls in his room, and write the score down.

All of his scores written down.

He is so funny and smart and sweet, with a side of being able to aggravate his sisters really well.  I'm so thankful that God put this little boy in my life. :)

Parker's birthday was last Thursday- he wraps up our 4 September birthdays in the family.  We opened his presents the night before his birthday, since we have soccer until late on Thursday nights.

A card and check from Aunt Katherine.

Baseball pants!  He was stoked!

He's been eyeing these sweet tarts at Five Below for months. 

He's been wanting a "real bat"- he was so excited!

On Thursday, he woke up to his decorated room, and we got to snap some pictures before school.

Stephen and I went to his class and brought cupcakes and little goodies for his classmates.  They went outside to eat the cupcakes, and the kiddos sang happy birthday to him out there.

His birthday announcement on his school sign.

What a great day celebrating my little man!

Double Digits

Sydney is now TEN!  That is insane, y'all. Ten.

Sydney is still really into sports, and her wardrobe decisions go back and forth between Nike and Under Armor.  She is a really strong soccer player, and she's the only 4th grader on her team of 5th and 6th graders this season.  And guess what?  She's the only one who's scored on her team so far.  She's doing great in school, getting all As.  She likes to read but still loves reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid or The Kicks series.  She won't try Harry Potter no matter how much I try to sway her.  She's still pretty shy and quiet when she's in new situations, or when meeting new people.  She has made some good friends at her new school, and still keeps up with her two best friends from our old town, as well as her cousin in Tennessee.  She still loves playing with legos and her beanie boos.  I'm kind of hoping her innocence will last a lot longer!  She loves the Braves, Falcons, and ATL United.  She pretends to like both GT and UGA, but she really likes UGA the most.  I promise I had no influence on that. ;)

So proud to call her my little big girl!

The morning before her birthday, she got her requested Dunkin Donuts, eggs & Belgian waffles and she opened her presents.

A new (very needed!) bike!

We then headed to Dave & Busters, then hit up one of those Halloween stores for fun.

On Sunday, her actual birthday, she was celebrated at church.  Can you tell how excited she was?!

This guy thought she needed some extra confetti.

We went out to dinner that night- her pick, Moes!  Then we got some fro-yo afterwards.

On Monday, I brought (more) doughnuts to her school for her class to have after lunch.  Of course, Sydney, as a big 4th grader and all, just wanted me to drop them off in the front office for her to get herself.  Sniff sniff.

She's having a sleepover in a couple of weeks, which should be fun.  I would say she had a great 10th birthday!  Happy birthday to my Sydney!

House Progress

Here's a look at the progress of our house!  From beginning (12/2017) to end  (08/2018).  It felt like eternity, I'm not going to lie... but I don't think I'd change anything about what we went through to get here.  Enjoy the pictures!

Before: (December 2017)

Still nothing: (early March 2018)

Breaking ground: (mid-March 2018)

Slow but steady progress: (mid-March through end of May)

The "driveway"

Basement is laid out

A view to the back of the lot

Concrete footers are poured

These frames are put in so the concrete walls can be poured

Concrete!

We have basement walls!  These had to sit for 7-10 days.

The dirt mound in the front is gone! (the garages were filled with the dirt)

Plumbing in the basement.

The concrete for the basement and garages was poured.

Wood delivery: (late May)

Framing: (late May-June)

Basement framing:

First story framing:

Second story framing:

 Trusses/Roof framing: (early June)

Framing out the 3rd car garage: (early June)

Finishing up the roof framing/preparing for shingles; installation of the fire place; framing out inside things (island, bookshelves, frame around the showers/tubs): (early June)

The start of the roof shingles: (early June)

Lots going on this week!  Continuation of shingles/HVAC/Plumbing/Electrical done/Installation of tubs/Building the deck: (2nd week of June)

Installation of the windows/doors; electrical/low-voltage installed; bricks delivered; pre-dry wall inspections done: (mid-June)

Brick was delivered (mid-June):

Siding and cedar shake were put up (3rd week of June):

Pre-drywall inspection with construction manager (3rd week of June):

Brick installation has begun (late-June):

Brick installation is complete.  Meanwhile, construction manager leaves the company, leaving only one construction manager for the n'hood.  The insulation and dry-wall installation are stalled for 2 weeks.  Ugh. (end of June):

Sewer lines are installed (first of July):

Drywall is up! (first week of July):

Sydney's room

Taylor's room

Parker's room

Fireplace installed, doors installed, trim is done, driveway and sidewalks are poured!! (Third week of July):

We have a driveway!

Sidewalks being poured

Inside painting has happened, mud area is built, French doors are installed, wooden stairs and railing are installed, chair rail is done in dining room, tile work is mostly done, outside of the house is painted! (Fourth week of July):

Cabinets installed, lighting/fixtures are installed, tiling in master shower is done! (End of July):

Installation of the countertops (both kitchen and bath), hardwood floors, garage doors, shutters, delivery of the columns, beginning of grading of the yard (First week of August):

Shutters!  They make it look so much more homey.

Countertops!

Hardwoods

Bathroom countertops!

Grading of the yard

Column delivery (finally- they had ordered the wrong ones originally!)

LOTS going on this week! Columns are installed, plumber installed all faucets, hot water heater, & toilets, landscaping, carpet, mirrors, shelving units, gutters and blinds are installed. (Second week of August):

What a difference sod makes! (Columns, too!)

landscaping

carpet!

Master bath

Sydney's bath

The pantry!  I am SO excited about this!!  This is nothing crazy grand by any means, but our last pantry was pathetic! (and we didn't even have a pantry in our apartment)

Gettin' there...

Blinds

Yay, we don't have to jump down from the porch anymore!

Nor do we have to jump up into the house. ;)

Basement stair rail went in.

We have AC!

They put brick around the columns.  They had to take down the railings they had so awesomely put up to do this.  :(

Staining the stairs!

Painting the garage.

Building the bookshelves.

Stove installed.

A view of the put-back porch railings.

Wrapping everything up... it's getting real! Walkthroughs, final touch-ups, etc. (third week of August)

I kept asking- when are you painting the railings?  Guess what?  They don't.  What?? (They say the wood is the same as the deck wood, and should remain unstained/unpainted for 3-6 months).  Boo.

The cleaners came!  This was my first look of our real, put-together house!

Guest bath.

Kitchen

Foyer

Master bath

Master bath

Upstairs

Living room

 We closed on Friday, August 24th!  It didn't come drama-free, as 24 hours before closing, we were told our neighbors' fence is 2 feet onto our property.  They realized this on August 23rd.  Luckily, I work for a closing attorney and I made a call, he gave me a solution that didn't involve them having to tear down their fence, and we were in business!

It feels SOOOOOOOO good to be in our own space, out of the apartment, with all of our stuff in our house.  OUR house.  Ahhhhh.  All these months... it was all definitely worth it, but I know I'll believe that even more once all of these boxes are emptied and things are in place. :)

Next, I'll have to post pictures of the aftermath, with all our stuff in it!  I can tell you it hasn't looked this clean since... ;)