New House Pictures

I’m excited to finally be able to post pictures of the updates we’ve been doing on the house since we moved in!  We’ve been here just a little over 2 months now, and things have really taken shape.

The first thing we did was hire some tree trimmers to shape up the trees out front and in back.  They’d become completely overgrown – so much so that you couldn’t even really see the front of the house. 

Front of the house before:
 
The huge mess during all the trimming. 

After:
 
Love our beautiful house!

The oak tree in the backyard before: 

After:

Since this picture, we’ve actually removed that oak tree by the pool altogether.  It was dropping a ridiculous amount of acorns into the pool, and I was having to clean out the Polaris bag at least 4 times a day… when it hadn’t gotten so heavy that it became disconnected and sprayed water all over the place, forcing us to add tons of water to the pool every day.  Yeah.  The tree had to go. 

We initially moved in and unpacked for a couple of weeks, then decided we really wanted to paint the whole house.  Since we were still waiting on the majority of our furniture to be delivered and a lot of things were still in boxes, we decided it would be better to paint sooner rather than later.  So, we repacked most of the things we’d already organized (not recommended when you have an 8 months pregnant wife who is desperately trying to nest…) and moved in to my parents guest room for a week while the painters were here.  In the end, it was all completely worth it because the house now “feels” more like us.  It’s funny – after looking at tons of paint swatches, we ended up choosing the same main colors we’d chosen when we painted our condo a couple of years ago. 

Here’s the before and after photos.  (In some of the pictures it doesn’t look like the paint color changed much, but I think it’s just the lighting.  It was much more golden before, and now it’s more of a khaki.) 

Kitchen before:
 
Kitchen after:
 
Den before:

Den after:

Dining Room before:

Dining Room after: 

Formal Living before:

Formal Living after:
 
Master Bedroom before:

Master Bedroom after:

(Please excuse my hospital bags packed in the corner.  Yay!) 
Master Bath before: 

Master Bath after:  (I love the blue!  So relaxing.)
 
Upstairs Gameroom before:
   
Upstairs Gameroom after:
 
We re-did the pool bath too.  Originally it had an ugly pedestal sink, no mirror, and horridly dirty gold lighting fixtures.  I don’t have a before picture, but here’s the after:
  
Logan and I also changed out all of the door knobs throughout the house from this gold, covered in old dried paint:

To pretty silver door knobs:
 
The official test to see if you’re a grown up – how excited you get about household appliances.  :)  I was SO excited when our new refrigerator came!  It has a special snack drawer in the middle that has it’s own temperature control for wine/cheese/meats/soft drinks.  And I love the crushed ice dispenser!  My refrigerator.  Is.  Awesome. 

We also had to get a new washer and dryer since ours was a stackable pair that’s staying in the condo.  I’ve decided I really like the front loading kind.  And instead of just buzzing when the cycle is over, they sing a little tune.  So cute!
And last but certainly not least – something I’ve been wanting for about 8 years… The Pottery Barn Manhattan Leather Recliner!!  My new favorite spot to sit/sleep/read/be. 
We’ve been busy at work here, and there’ve been lots of unforeseen obstacles we’ve had to deal with in the process, but it’s definitely all paid off.  Our new house really feels like home, and we completely love living here.  Not only that, we’ve fallen in love with our neighborhood.  We’ve met most of our neighbors who have all been so nice.  Apparently our street even organizes a block party twice a year in the cul-de-sac right across from our house, and everyone cooks out, and they have a bounce house and activities for the kids.  Everything is very family oriented, which is exactly what we were looking for at this point in our lives. 

I’ve also started cooking again, and have taken up baking too!  I’m all kinds of domestic.  :)   

Happy Fall!

Since I’ve started maternity leave, I’ve been feverishly trying to get the house organized, unpacked, and decorated.  I’m happy to say, I think it’s done!  It officially feels like home now.  Pictures are on the walls, all of the furniture and appliances have been delivered, and I’ve scrubbed it from top to bottom.  We’ve decided to wait until the spring to do the overhaul the flower beds need both in front and out back, so I was super excited to find this little potted plant that is perfect for the front porch.  :)  
And I wanted to include a picture of Lucy in her new favorite “perch”.  If you’re ever wondering where she is, 9 times out of 10 she’s resting on the first landing of the stairs.  From here she can see out into the front yard, the front porch, and into the kitchen.  She loves this spot. 
Happy Fall, everyone! 

Happy Howl-O-Ween!

This was our first Halloween in our new house, and our first time to have Trick-Or-Treaters!  Tons of kids stopped by and got the good candy.  (That was another thing I promised myself growing up:  I’d give out the good stuff instead of the nasty candy no one wants!) 

Lucy got in on the action this year too and wore her cow costume.  She didn’t keep it on for long, but I managed to get a few shots of her in it.

I liked this first one best – looks like she’s smiling! 
  
Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

Nonnie Nora Shower!

The sweet ladies at First Baptist threw my mom a surprise Grandma Shower!  Now she’s all set with tons of goodies for Knox when he comes over to her house. 

Tons of gifts!
One of the tables was decorated with all the different names for “Grandma”.  Cute idea!
Yummy cake balls, lemon bars, and chocolate caramel squares.   
Opening some of the loot!  :)
I was so happy they invited me to come and watch my mom celebrate her first grandchild.  The ladies at FBC were so generous to do this for our family!  :)  

Bump Watch!

I feel huge.  My belly is really heavy and I can’t get comfortable in any position.  I’m waddling like crazy, and I have a hard time walking without shuffling my feet so it sounds like an old person at a nursing home coming down the hall.  Nice.  :)  I am SO ready to meet Knox… but also getting more nervous about the impending delivery.  I try not to think about that part of it and just remind myself that people survive childbirth every day, right?? 

I’m now going to the doctor every week, and I’ve made it through two major hurdles:  1.  I didn’t deliver last week while my doctor was out of town.  2.  I didn’t deliver on Halloween.  :) 
 
35 weeks:

36 weeks:  At this doctor’s appointment, they did one last ultrasound to get some final measurements and see around how much Knox was weighing.  Everything looked great, and they estimated his weight to be right at 6 lbs.  If he continues to gain the average 1/2 pound each week, he’ll be 8 lbs at delivery!  It was around this week that he “dropped”, and I could finally start to breathe again!  They also started checking my cervix every week at this time (not the most comfortable thing…) and I was not dilated or effaced, but he was –3 in station, and Dr. Ryder even said “Wow, his head is low!”  (-5 is a floating baby, 0 is when the head is fully engaged, and +5 is crowning.) 

37 weeks:  Another good doctor’s appointment this week.  This time I was dilated to 1 cm (not much, but I’ll take it!) and he was at –2 in station.  I saw a different doctor this week, and he also commented on how low the baby’s head is.  I think that’s good? 

I can’t believe I’m posting these, but here they are...


38 weeks:  This is me last night.  My next doctor’s appointment is this Thursday, so we’ll see if I’ve made any more progress then!