Addison Paige arrived on September 15th!!

We are so truly blessed and happy to announce the arrival of our perfect baby girl!! She was born on September 15th at 5:51 PM. She weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces and measured 19.75 inches in length. The delivery went smoothly and we came home last Friday. We are so in love with Addison!

Photo Shoot at T-2 days!

Here's the family! Baby Bean is currently 2 days away from being induced at 39 weeks. Baby is very strong and quite active. I am getting nervous about delivery, but overall we are very, very excited! Despite many opportunities to find out the sex, we still do not know and are looking forward to hearing, "It's a......!" We choose the names several months ago and have not wavered from our original decision. We are looking forward to introducing our new bundle of joy to all of you!

We're seeing progress!

The master bath is progressing. (Actually, this photo is dated by about 3 days and is missing the installed plumbing fixtures.) We finally have a grouted shower, tiled/grouted floor, installed toilet and faucets for the sink and shower!! It's almost functional. After a few touch-ups to the ceiling, we will seal the grout lines and install the lighting. In the meantime, we are working on cleaning the bedroom of dust and construction materials so that we can move back in there. Things are looking up (and not a moment too soon!)

Master bath Explosion

Master Bath Circa April 2008


Love the pink tub!


Initial demo of the tub surround.


More demo.



Old beams from the dropped ceiling over the tub.


Greg still smiling about this project that is growing as fast as Baby Bean.


Surprise tile found under the hideous green carpeting in the closet.


Leveling the 1.5 inch sag in the floor.


Working around the plumbing for the tub.



Photo taken before the whole ceiling came down. Insulation has been laid in the floor, and recessed lighting set for the dining room.


New electrical for the sconces and GFCI outlets.


Replacing the ceiling. New studded walls for the tub (which the professional plumber has installed).


The construction kitty was never far away.


Even the pregnant people work in this house.


Relief crew = AKA master carpenter and tile setter.



The boys thought this was hysterical.


Preparing the floor for tile.


Matt starting the never-ending tile surround.



So, I think everyone has heard about the simple replacement of the pink tub that has turned into a major master bath reno! Here are some photos taken over the last two months. This destruction project has expanded into our closet and kicked us out of our bedroom, which is now being used a storage location for all of the tools and supplies needed for this project. Matt was here from Utah last week to graciously help us tile the tub. Unfortunately, he had to assist with putting up the walls of the tub first :) We are starting to see progress now after last week's combined efforts of Greg, Matt, Charles, Ryan, and a minor amount of assist from myself. Mostly, I tried to keep the crew fed and hydrated as it was 100 degrees+ when they were working. We want to extend a very my appreciated thank-you to all of our relief workers!

Office Project

My carpenter's handy work.


Built-in painted and ready for books.


Desk is finally in place, and roman shades are hung.



This project is 90% complete. The remaining items on tick list are doors for the built-in, artwork for the walls, and placement of the new armchair (which will be arriving this week). I am so proud of Greg for his superb carpentry skills!! (In addition to his skills in electrical, drywall....)

Closet

The first completed project of the downstairs reno. Greg used this small space as his practice for the office. He experienced crown molding and adjustable shelving - both of which he needed for the office project. My contribution (of course) was the pretty baskets - oh and more painting. (Thank goodness for the super duper gas mask from the Christmas post to keep out all the fumes.)

Powder room

Circa April 2008



By the way, it really is an inconvenience to have to run upstairs every time you need the potty.


Toilet is in working order, but the sink is not.


Finished Powder room, minus a basket or two.


The powder room is officially complete!! Greg's was the carpenter, plumber, and electrician for this project. His favorite part of all was re-installing the sink. We had a slight delay and a need for a new drain when he ignored the directions to "tighten by hand". Note to all - read the directions. My contribution was the sewing the curtain and painting the walls and trim. We are quite happy with the result.

Updated US photos

We've sort of been MIA from our blog lately. We have been very busy trying to finish/start up new home projects. Our deadline to wrap things up is closing in upon us. Greg is away this week in Baltimore, so I promised to post today's US pictures for him to see before he gets home. Baby Bean is measuring 2 pounds, 11 ounces (high normal) and everything continues to look good. Claudette accompanied me to the appointment today and was in awe of the technological advances in the last 35 years. She was glued to the monitor. The excitement of the session was watching the baby suck his/her thumb (which is why the lips are parted in picture 2).

Stay tuned for belly shots and updated reno pictures!

Baby Bean

7 weeks on 3 Feb 2010



13 weeks on 16 Mar 2010 : Sitting Up



13 weeks on 16 Mar 2010 : "Hi world"



19 weeks on 29 Apr 2010: Looking at you (head on view of the baby's face: see the lips, nose, and eyes?)



19 weeks on 29 Apr 2010: Stop taking my picture please. (Baby with arms crossed in front of the face.)




Here's a glimpse of the Baby Bean that has been making me so hungry and tired lately. Things are looking great so far. Baby is measuring in at 11 oz and is sized appropriate for the due date of 22 Sept 2010. Baby will be arriving at least a week early. We have decided not to find out the sex of the baby this time around, though Greg and multiple others are convinced that it's a girl. Our next ultrasound will be in 4 weeks.

Graham's tree

Claudette and Charles surprised us with a beautiful redbud tree for Graham. We planted it this weekend in the front yard: visible from both the kitchen window and the front door. Greg figures it weighed about 500lbs, so luckily we only had to get it down into the hole. We are so thrilled to have this new addition.

Hazard lights

This weekend, we picked up 2 rhodies from Christine for our front yard. This meant a drive down the turnpike with the very large bushes blowing in the breeze behind our cars. We got quite a few looks, but we love the new shrubs. Thanks to Christine and Todd!!

Room Update

Greg has been working on the built-in unit for the office and the window/door trimwork. The wainscoting has been painted its official color, and things are looking up!

Yard Update

So, this picture shows part of the mess that was the front fern/pricker/birch trees. (Looking out from the front door.)




This is how it actually looks now! Yea! We're so excited to have grass. (We have to admit that we actually had a pro do this. We had two trees and a large shrub moved around in the yard.)