House Progress: Stain and a lil Customer Service!

This past weekend, Beau captured my eagerness best when he said, "I can't believe you're loading us all up to go watch beige paint dry." Ha! Well, it's true. There is nothing exceptional about our wall paint or going to actually see it in person but I'm just so excited to see all the changes. (That said, they only got around to taping this weekend - still no paint.) Here are some of the latest....

The wood detail is all complete. Not to say that they won't have to come back in and fix it all b/c if there is one thing that all these work crews are good at is screwing up each other's work!

Both of the pics above are of the dining room.  

And now we have stain. Not sure if they do another coat or gloss over it but it will look darker than this. Maybe it's just the light with my camera phone too...

Master Bath - If this were my dream home, the master bath would be a lot closer to the size of our old one!
Good thing I never bought a vanity seat. :)

Standing in living room

Fireplace - I saw a grown man standing on this thing so I'm confident it can handle all my Christmas swag! ;)

Floors are taped for painters!

Neighbors got their granite in over the weekend so we should have that next week or so. 

We actually heard from the builder yesterday! He sent over the priced and signed change order for my 10 or so upgrades/changes that we added over a month ago. They're tiny little things but it feels good to have it in writing, signed, priced, AND the building supervisor was on the email so I now know he's in the loop. I met a woman over the weekend who is building a K. Hov home in Frisco and she is having the same poor customer service. It made me feel a little better and we both agreed that, in this market, they're not going to be as attentive b/c they're busier than ever and most builders are delayed, which makes delivering bad news tough. Doesn't make it right though. :)

Fingers crossed for a little paint, countertops and brick in the next couple of weeks!

House Progress: Wood Trim

Do you know what this is? A van. Which means workers. Which means work. Which means one more day closer to completion! You're probably no longer believing me that the builder is moving slowly or behind schedule but I'm telling you! This house sat idle for 6 weeks so each day I see progress, I'm stoked!

Y'ALL. That trim looks like a cross! So cool!

Busy, Busy.

Doors are in and attached

Window sills are going in today.

Crown molding too.

And the baseboards. 

I met the cranky old building supervisor yesterday! He's such a character. He said the painter will be there this week - pretty excited!

Grayson Plays Soccer

That's right, Grayson is 3 years old now and that means that the City of Frisco says he's ready to play soccer! Haha, just kidding, more like ALL the parents who live in Frisco think their 3 y.o. should play soccer. And heaven forbid we be the only ones who don't play! :)

So, we joined the Frisco Soccer Association and Grayson was assigned to the Sharks! I'm just going to enjoy this time where they are "assigned"  and don't have to try out since G is still more interested in running around the opposite side of the field pretending to be an airplane while his teammates are playing soccer. :)

But he's getting there! We'll take the nice camera out when there is actually motion on the field (ha!) but for now, these phone pics will have to do....

Ready for his first soccer practice - shinguards and cleats on my baby!

Running drills

Coach needed the Dads to help. It's like herding cats out there!

Grayson was Team Captain for his second game

#8 standing where he was told (which he took so literal that I don't think he left that spot!)

Thank goodness the coaches get to stay on the field throughout the game. They are needed!

Piper had an 8am game too so we got to say Hi!

We are really proud of what Grayson has already learned. Some basic principles of soccer, yes. But mostly that he needs to listen to his coach, respect for others and the commitment that he made to his team, even when he doesn't want to go. ;) 

Recent Videos of the Boys

One of the things I wish I had more of is videos of my kids. No, really! To others, it may seem like I have a ton but to a Mama, I can never have enough. :)

Here are some of the latest that we have taken. Nothing exceptional but definitely moments in time that I wish I could freeze. I'm loving these ages!

Beau and Walker in the hotel this past weekend. Walker's giggles are so special!

Grayson was saying he was sick the other night (he wasn't) and the "mopper" he's referring to is the ear thermometer that has a button on the back. He's so cute ;)

Walker scooting for (one of) the first time several weeks ago when we still lived over on Ripplewood. He is no full on crawling!

Grayson singing Happy Birthday to Mimi

House Progress: Floors and Banisters are in!

Well, hardwood floors. No tile or carpet yet. And we're loving the banisters. If only every 24 hours could yield this much progress ;)

Looking out from the study

Dining room

Play room - I just can't wait to pick up all the toys that will inevitably be tossed over. ;)

Just ready for some stain!

House Progress: Cabinets and Stairs!

Earlier this week, I was happy to see that the house had it's tape and bedding and texturing all completed! I didn't expect anything else to happen this week since our builder has been moving like molasses. Also, all I really had to go on was the progress of the house down the street that is 2 weeks ahead of us (based on my very unprofessional estimate). But alas, we are catching up! Yesterday, I took Grayson over to the neighborhood to have a picnic in the car and watch the other houses being built (they are at framing so it's fun to watch). So imagine my surprise when I saw this delivery truck in our backyard as we were leaving! 

Delivering cabinets!

So once again, I was completely content with the delivery of cabinets since the BIG statement the builder keeps communicating to us is that completion is 60 days after cabinet install. And b/c we were hopeful for a November 15th close date and Sept 15th came and went without cabinets (you followin' me?), I was pretty anxious and sad earlier this week. But again, stoked that we were at least in the presence of cabinets ;)

And then my friend Lori texted last night saying that various vans and workers had been at our house until dark! That was big news! So I went by today to check progress and couldn't believe my eyes. We have cabinets INSTALLED! And a staircase and banisters! That's a lot of exclamation points but I really expected them to drag their feet and I'm very pleased that they didn't. That means that mid-Novemeber may be a possibility - woo hoo!

Kitchen cabinets!

The island and bar

Butler's Pantry

The making of a wood staircase

The beginnings of the banisters

Based on the series of events for our neighbor's house, next will be all hardwood floors, baseboards, door trim, crown molding and any other wood work I can't think of. Then, paint and stain. That's all I have for now!

Walker is 7 months old!

Broken record alert: Time is seriously flying, When did this baby become SEVEN months?, things need to slow down, I can't keep up, blah blah blah!

That's really all I have right now! No measurements but I know that I'm stuffing that cute little body into 6-12 month clothes still when you're really ready to be in 12 month outfits :) 

Walker, you're army crawling all over the place now! You can sit up from a crawling position, which allows you a little more freedom. Poor kid, just wants to GO! 

You can not get enough of your older brother. I say it every month but your eyes follow him wherever he goes, you shake and whine when you want to be where he is but can't get there. You can now scooch over to him and his toys and he's not quite ready to share with you. But he's getting better at least trading you one of your safe toys for his more grown-up toys. :)

Speaking of shaking, you also shake when you see food :) Food is very important! Eating 4 meals a day, still a 6 oz bottle with solids, alternating fruits and veggies each feeding.

Sleeping great still - from 7:30 to about 6:30 every day. You have a fierce witching hour that I don't remember with Grayson. Like clockwork every day, 5:30 - 7pm is hell and I just fight to get through it, most of the time just feeding you early and putting you straight down. You're just SO tired but won't nap, which is probably best. I admit though, I'm weak and have tried putting you down for a cat nap at 5:30 ;) Naps are still at 10am and 2pm and you go down flawlessly on your own with a pacifier.

I packed away my little monthly stickers :( but here are some photos from the past couple of weeks. 

Hanging with Roxy, the Seemans' Labradoodle

Barely fit but I managed to squeeze it on him for a few photos!

Helping Mommy pack up the nursery

The hats are getting stranger around here.

Fear the 'stache

Sitting up on his own

Walker with his lady friend (and future neighbor), Patton (10 months)

We love your gentle spirit and sweet, easy ways Walker! The differences in our two boys are already taking shape and we love getting to be a part of it all!

Grayson's 1st Day of 3 y.o. School

Grayson loved his first day of school and his new teacher. He still calls it "Ms. Jenny's house" and took it pretty hard when he realized that he would be changing teachers. But overall, he loved seeing some of his favorite friends in his class again. Luke, Chase and Patrick are back along with Sophia from our play group and several other really cool kids. Overall, they are going to have a great year! I can't wait to see what he learns this year. They are studying Spanish, after all! ;)

A little about my 3 y.o.
School: Bright Beginnings 
Teacher: Mrs. Kristi
Best friend: Luke and then Grayson. (Yes, he's talking about himself ;) )
What do you want to be when you grow up? Spiderman. And then Batman.
Favorite color? I like orange and then yellow. And then yellow.
Favorite food? Uh, uh, chicken. And mac & cheese.
Favorite sport? Soccer ball.
Favorite show? Spiderman and Superman and Batman and Spiderman and Batman. And Scooby Doo Doo.

This would be Mimi and Pop's front door step :)

Grayson's 1st day of school was actually everyone else's 2nd day. He was running a fever the first day - look at this perfection. 

But don't fret. I made up for it by breakfasting with my girlfriends and the babies while the first borns were in school. :) 

After school cuddles. We're making progress!

This has nothing to do with school. But he always has his eyes on big brother! :)

Homeless.

Well, we closed on our very first home and it's just so bittersweet. We are so, so happy about what is to come as the new house continues to progress but we said goodbye to the place that made us first time homeowners. The place where we came home from our honeymoon and were hopeful to start a family of our very own. I came home with an awesome promotion to that house. I also became a stay at home mom in that home. Beau reached new heights in his career that we just didn't dream possible at his age and we also had a lot of uncertainty with some risks in that home. We brought home our two babies and also dealt with a miscarriage in that home. I recovered from c-sections there, we watched Grayson take his first steps there, welcomed all of our family and friends for holidays, birthdays and Baptisms. 

I know people move all the time but this was particularly hard on us. We think it wouldn't have been so hard if we were able to move directly in to our new home. But the fact that all of our possessions fit into a 10X25 storage unit was sobering and hard to watch. We are now bouncing between my parents (they are so sweet!) and a hotel at Shops at Legacy. We look forward to the adventure and this next chapter in our lives!

We like to think that we left this home just a little bit more loved on than we found it! :)