Posts Tagged With: YBW

Baby K is two!

Monday was the second anniversary of Baby K coming into our world.
Y’all, I’m just as awestruck, just as joyful, just as SQUEE as I was that day.
This little girl is more than I could ever hope for!

YBW and I went out to their house in the early afternoon timing our arrival with her waking from her nap.
Three things happened all at once: Baby K woke kind of grouchy, Aunt Gaga (Thing 2) called, and Papa pulled M&M’s out of his pocket.

When she heard her Auntie’s voice, Baby K was all smiles even though she was grouchy. Then suddenly, she climbed out of her mommy’s lap and ran to her Papa.
I was over there like WTF?
That’s when I realized he bribed her with candy.
Classic grandfather move. (imagine me shaking my fist, while also being slightly amused)

Well, it turns out talking to your Aunt and sharing chocolate with your Papa is just what a grouchy-wake-up birthday girl needs.

Presents were tricky, as she really didn’t understand exactly what was going on, but she loves to rip paper, so it evens out. However, she does rip the teeniest little pieces of paper off stuff, so it takes about forty-seven-thousand (possible exaggeration) separate rips to actually unwrap a gift.
Papa and I solved that problem with gift bags, though she pulls out each piece of tissue one at a time so it’s a similar process. (oh, that girl!)

This backpack was a hit.
She said, “A clue! A clue!”
The moment she got it on her back, she waved and said, “Bye!” before turning and walking to the front door.

That girl was ready to go!
Um…peace out, chicken.

My offspring are notorious for their ambivalence toward cake, and it seems to have carried on to the next generation too. So, instead of cake Baby K had ice cream as her birthday treat! A chocolate shake to be exact. From this delicious little frozen custard place not too far from their house.

How it started:

Where we finally put a stop to it:

Birdie took her straight to the tubby while her Daddy and Papa cleaned the mess, and her Mommy started a load of laundry.

Y’all it was spectacular!
She became one with that ice cream and it was an absolute joy to watch. Even when she splashed it all over the rest of us, we couldn’t help but laugh!

This was Baby K’s second birthday in the time of covid. Even though she didn’t get a big ol’ party, we had big ol’ fun!

My daughter’s daughter is precious and beloved.
I’m grateful she was born.
I’m grateful to celebrate her birthday with her.
I’m grateful to be her Birdie.

Categories: love, me | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sunday morning at the home site 4.25.21

On the way to the house I told YBW I was hopeful there would be cabinets in the house. He reminded me of proposed timing and dates and surmised there may not be cabinets. He didn’t want me to get my hopes up and be disappointed. I agreed with his point but reassured him I would remain hopeful. I looked at it this way, if cabinets were in I’d be happy, if they weren’t it didn’t hurt me to be hopeful about it, because they’d probably be in the following week.

G U E S S!! W H A T!!
Y’all! I came up the stairs and squealed! YBW was behind me but I simply couldn’t move. He said, “Stop squealing and take a picture!”
Oh yeah, he wanted to get up the stairs too.

The photo below is from the dining room, you can see the fridge cabinet in the foreground and the oven cabinet in the back.
The island sides aren’t painted because they’ll be covered with the quartz waterfall.

Each of the bathrooms have cabinets too. Only, the loft floor powder room’s white cabinet is down in the ground floor bath and that gray one is up in the loft. And y’all, I need that loft loo to be all white, I have big wallpaper plans for that space.

Our conundrum was how to report the news without spilling the beans that we’re there trespassing each week?
We began to talk it out, YBW was like, so we know we’re not supposed to be on property without and escort. He stopped and looked at me, I’m over here like, nope nope. I know eventually we’ll be locked out of the house and our Sunday morning ritual will have to end, but I’m not ready for that to happen just yet.
What we decided on was simply stating facts and I wrote an email to the building manager that looked a bit like: Hey, these cabinets are in the wrong place. Thanks.
(I wrote the email because YBW was driving)
We haven’t heard anything…yet.

I’m hopeful they don’t start locking us out now, but if they do, at least I’ve seen those gorgeous kitchen cabinets!
I grabbed his hand in the car and was like, do you have even a teeny bit of squee? I mean I don’t expect you to be on my level of squee, but are you excited?
He said, “Yes, I am excited, but what is a single light compared to the sun?”
He totally gets me!

Categories: around the house | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sunday morning at the home site 4.18.21

When we rolled up to the house this week I had a little squee moment!


The railings for the front roof deck were in the garage.
The railing on the right goes along the front of the house, the left one goes along the side.

The trim and interior doors are in and painted too.
These doors are pantry, coat closet, and powder room on the main living level.

Railing for the back roof deck is ready to go in.

And the doors have their first coat of paint.

There was a hard hat sitting in the gravel out in front of the house, and I mean, what else was I going to do but pick it up and bring it home for Baby K to play with.

I sent this pic to Thing 1 and this was our exchange.

I actually cackled.
But here’s the thing, the garage door remains unlocked. So, while I may or may not have committed petty theft, we did not break and enter, we merely trespassed.
YBW said, “Not only did you admit your crime to your daughter, but now you’re blogging about it. Don’t you know you’re supposed to leave no evidence and just walk away?”

He made me laugh too, but it doesn’t really matter either way, the house (and it’s yard) are going to be ours soon enough.

Categories: around the house | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Sunday morning at the home site 4.11.21

As you can see, we’re still waiting for windows on the second and fourth floors. Apparently the black ones for the front of the house are on backorder.
But, we do have a ton of interior doors and trim in our garage, and they fixed the lights in the dining room. So that’s a win.


We have a stoop now, that means people can come visit us and get easily into the house.

First coat of paint is on the walls and I couldn’t be happier about how bright the space looks!
Navy cabinets will ground the space and we’ll bring in color and texture into our house with furniture, art, textiles, and plant life.

And the excitement builds!

Categories: around the house | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

adapting here and adapting there

Thing 1, Husband N, Baby K, and their two dogs officially began living in their new house April first. (no foolin’)
YBW took the day off work. We loaded up four vehicles with the last of their things, and off we went.

Baby K has a big girl bed with the most amazing (to her) Moana duvet cover! She’s so tiny in that full size bed, but it’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.
In the few days they’ve been there, Thing 1 and Husband N are getting settled in their room, and setting up work space for Husband N who only goes into the office two days a week.
Thing 1 built a kitchen table and chairs and a small storage island too.

After being at the house, YBW and I went out Easter Sunday for a visit.
Baby K came out of her house squealing and shouting, PAPA! BEEEE! (for Birdie) and running to hug us. That did YBW’s heart good, he’s missed his little granddaughter.

That girl had such fun hunting for eggs for the first time out in her brand new yard.

Her mommy found eggs big enough to hold Bluey characters, Moana and Frozen stickers, and even toddler-safe nail polish

color: Berry Sweet

It was so beautiful outside, we just had to sit on the porch and check out her loot! She’s holding her Bluey and singing to her.

After her egg hunt, she sat snuggled in her Papa’s lap before letting him take her to bed for her nap.
They’re coming to our house Wednesday afternoon and staying for dinner. If y’all could have seen the grin on my husband’s face!

My Momma heart is chock full of joy for my girl setting up her home.
I honestly think unpacking and getting settled is harder and more stressful than actually moving all your things. They’re making it work. Husband N goes through a space and cleans it well before Thing 1 begins to unpack. They’re working together to create their home in that precious little house.
My Birdie heart is chock full of joy that my grandbaby is so excited to see me that she runs into my arms when I arrive at her new house.

I thought I would feel so sad when they moved. I don’t really.
I mean, I miss seeing them every day, but I know they’re just a forty-five minute drive away. And when I see them in their new space, creating a home that works for them, I feel pride and joy.
When I’m home and I don’t hear a little voice saying, “Papa!” as she runs down the hall, I’m not sad like I expected, I’m grateful we had that time. Of course, when I’ve got a drink on the table and she doesn’t come over and snag it and chug it down as fast as she can then run away, I’m super happy she’s at her house.

We’re adapting here.
They’re adapting there.
It is as it is.
It is as is should be.
And I am content in my grateful life.

Categories: me | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Sunday morning at the home site 4.4.21

Sunny and warm on Easter morning at ‘the house’ this week.
All the brick is finished. Of course, one of the front windows is now broken, so it’s always something, right?

garage

The entire house is drywalled now!

main level

Mike and Josie met us at the house this week. We haven’t seen each other since Labor Day weekend and it was wonderful to hug our friends after so long!
(three of us have had both our covid vaccines and the other has had their first with the second scheduled for Monday next)

Y’all this house becomes more real each week! Soon though, it’ll be locked up and we won’t be able to wander around it on Sunday mornings. But soon enough after that we’ll spend each Sunday morning there, and we couldn’t be happier!

Categories: around the house | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sunday morning at the home site 3.28.21

We have brick on the front of our house, y’all!

And the stacking doors are finally in the living room.

The bathrooms are beginning to come together.

hall bath

main bath shower

We found a couple of problems at our pre-drywall inspection meeting, all of which will be fixed to our specifications.
The sales team sent their weekly email yesterday. Looks like drywall installation is scheduled to begin the end of this week/beginning of next week.
At this point, we’re just waiting on the letter with the final walkthrough and settlement dates.

OHMYGOODNESS!!

Categories: around the house | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sunday morning at the home site 3.21.21

And then there was brick.
And a good color brick not that gross color brick like the house next to ours!

Pre-drywall inspection meeting is Tuesday afternoon and I know of two things that need to be fixed. Placement of the light cluster in the dining room and the lack of rain shower in our bathroom.
Of course, the giant stacking doors still aren’t in…
It’ll be interesting to see what they say about that.

We should get a completion date Tuesday. Even if it’s approximate, at least we’ll know better than we do now.
We’re so excited!

Categories: around the house | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

adventures with Birdie and Papa

When mommy and daddy are away, Baby K will play.
Or as her Papa said, “When it’s just you and Birdie and me, we’re going to party like rock stars.”

Thing 1 and Husband N did a two day – one night trip to celebrate Thing 1’s birthday. Then it kind of became a bit of celebration for buying their first house. It was also a bit of utilizing the built in childcare YBW and I can provide.
Thing 1 remarked that going on a minibreak two weeks before closing on their house was chock full of irony, but it was already planned and she was excited.

Saturday morning Papa read every book in the basket in Baby K’s room, then she and I colored with markers at the kitchen table before we went to the playground at our neighborhood elementary school. The first thing she did was fall off the stairs on the slide. (grandparent fail?)
I think she was more scared than hurt and even with the snuggles and kisses and mulch removal, she was unsettled. Not the best way to begin our adventure, but she rallied and chose to be adventurous.


She struggled to climb up through the tube, but with Papa pushing from the bottom, and Birdie pulling from the top, she made it!
Then there was lots of giggles going down the slide on the other side.

She “quack quack(ed)” at all the birds and said, “Hi!” to the airplane flying by.

When we got home from the playground, we had lunch then watched some of Moana.
After her nap, she played in her media table, which is currently filled with a variety of beans.
She had pizza for dinner, but not just any pizza, pepperoni rolls which are kind of like garlic knots and stromboli had a delicious baby. And she loved it!

She had such fun exploring at the new house Sunday morning. She’s got a penchant for picking up construction debris and finding creative ways to use it.
She found this empty caulk tube and turned it into a scope. (yes, we brought it home and washed it for her to play with)

We blew bubbles on the porch after lunch. Well, we didn’t blow them, the bubble blowing machine did. Baby K and the dogs danced and chased and popped so many bubbles!
Her mommy and daddy got home about ten minutes after she woke from her nap

Y’all, we had such fun with that girl!
How fortunate we can provide childcare for her parents at the same time getting to spend such precious and sacred time with our granddaughter.
Birdie and Papa FTW!

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Sunday morning at the house 3.14.21

Y’all!
We have insulation up in here.

Below the rooftop decks is spray insulation.

That’s the guest room, so when folks come to stay they’ll be nice and cozy under the small front roof deck.

The bricks are stacked up out front, but those huge stacking doors for the living room still aren’t in.

The pre-drywall inspection is scheduled for Tuesday next. According to my (half-assed googling) research it’s only 60-75 days to closing after that meeting! (Eep!)

Categories: around the house | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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