It Looks Like a House!

Every Friday we get updates on the house!

I guess I was wrong about the brick color and where the stone would go 

the brick color is more brown and there won't be stone around the pillars

kitchen cabinets-  the island has storage all the way around it

family room

backyard/patio

downstairs full bath

view from street

view from island

front entry- the neighbor across from me is an LSU fan, but don't fear- there's an Alabama fan on the corner (and her flag is waaaay bigger)

garage- I think those long boxes are my floors

Drywall and Bricks

We've made it a point to visit the house at least once a week. If we lived closer I think we'd be up there everyday. But since it's 45 minutes away (no traffic, on a toll road that costs us $7), our sales consultant takes pictures for us during the week so we can see the progress.  It's coming along quite nicely and I'm really excited to see how the home comes together over the next 8 weeks.

"Our" House

This is the completed home we walked through.  The captions will tell you what is different/same between our house and this one.

Our house has smooshed gables, the front pillars will have stone around the base, and our brick color leans more towards the peach-y, terra cotta color

same front door

nice yard

big covered porch

we have hardwood floors in the dining room, but our choice is a darker color, less red

same laundry room and appliances

family room, our home will have hardwood floors

view from family room into kitchen.  Our home will have a different granite and no back splash.  I'm adding in my own custom one.  It'll be my little project.

iron spindles and the carpet are the same

kids only game room

kids bath

grown-ups only master bedroom

master bath- we have double sinks, granite counter, and an elongated tub perfect for a 6'2" husband

extra room downstairs and full bath

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, Bobby got something everyone could enjoy:  an edible arrangement!  Everything was so tasty and fresh.  I lifted my no dairy ban and indulged on the chocolate dipped strawberries and apples.  Bobby polished off the pineapple.  Pippy ate  a bit of everything.

Piper's preschool party!  The kids were so cute with their Valentine's.  They were so excited to open the cards and then proceeded to thank the giver repeatedly for the beautiful valentine.  

So happy to have mommy come and join the party!

My Funny Valentines

7 Months!

Oh dear, I fear that my little Baby B is growing too fast! I'd like to keep her my teeny tiny baby forever, but I can't.  *sigh* 7 months marks the end of infanthood and the entrance into full blown babyhood. You know- that time period where they are no longer these observant, tiny little newborns but actively engaged babies.  One thing that typically happens around this time is weaning.  Pip weaned herself starting at 7 months and completely stopped nursing by 9.  I can already feel Baby B starting to tire of nursing.  She's not satisfied by my milk alone and needs more food.  She does like to nurse in the morning and evenings, but I can tell it's mostly for comfort than for food.  Another thing that happens around 7 months is teething.  I don't feel anything in her mouth...yet.  But I know it's coming. 

What is Brynnie up to now?

*B is on the fast track to solids!  She loves eating her food:  peas, greenbeans, sweet potatoes, bananas, and rice cereal.  So far I've discovered that she is not a fan of peaches or me eating anything in the citrus family.

*Along with eating her solids, B has started taking a bottle of formula!  We tried several different bottles/methods to get her to drink from something other than mommy.  I finally got her to take a bottle a few weeks ago when she was super sick.  She's getting very good at it and quite enjoys being able to bite the rubber nipple without someone bopping her on the nose.

*Rolls, grabs, kicks, sits-up, and is extremely active.  With this new found mobility, comes some bumps and bruises.  The other day, she got herself out of her Bumbo and hit her head.  She's also gotten stuck in some precarious positions.  I wish they made a bigger crib too!  B loves having space to move.

*Takes a bath with big sister Pip.  We've been putting the 2 of them in the tub for about 2 weeks now.  Brynnie LOVES the big tub.  She splashes and squeals with delight.  She also loves to reach for the bath toys and put them in her mouth (much to Pip's chagrin)

*Brynnie has a BIG, broad mischievous grin! Pippy would smile like she was squealing with joy, Brynn grins like a "cat that got the canary". 

*Our sleeping patterns are still very crazy and unpredictable.  We've adopted the saying, "If B's not crying, it's all good!"

*Is incredibly attached to mommy.  I got a new calling in the youth program at our church.  It's a pretty busy calling so Bobby has to take care of B a lot more than he had to before.  He's very patient with Brynn.  On several occasions I've come home to a crying screaming baby.  As soon as I walk in the door, she's all smiles and looking at Bob like he's Enemy #1.  It's laughable (once she's asleep).

*Despite being more attached to me than I would appreciate, she's becoming a more content baby.  We've been able to take her to more places and stay out for longer stretches of time.  Last week Friday, we took her to a basketball game.  She was wonderful!

* Everyone says how much Brynn looks like Piper.  I, however, am seeing that she looks nothing like her big sis and more like her daddy everyday!  I think it's her eyebrows.

So fresh and so clean, clean

I love me some bottle

chillaxin, getting ready for my mid-morning siesta

Gotta get my yoga in

I'm ready for my close-up



Hey, how you doin?

Options

Here are our choices.  We couldn't change the cabinet color since they're already ordered, but we would've chosen the dark espresso cabinets anyway.  The carpet is: autumn glow (frieze), the granite:  santa rita, the tile:  bianco, and wood:  java (hand scraped).  I think it'll look nice- what do you think?

From the Ground Up

You know that feeling you get when you see the little pink lines on a pregnancy test and you want to announce it to the world, but it still feels like it's not for real and you're all worried and excited and scared and downright giddy- all wrapped into one?  Well, that's how I feel right now. 

I've been given the greenlight to announce that we will be proud homeowners in April!

More details to come, but we are really excited to finally be under contract.  Bobby and I have been house hunting for a while.  We started looking on the local real estate website about a year ago and just sort of daydreamed about the houses.  Once we were in Houston, we started physically looking at houses in October.  After losing out on a house that I truly felt was ours, we took a break to reevaluate our "house must-haves" and budget.  In January, we started looking again and found a few homes we liked, but didn't feel strongly enough about putting in an offer.  On Thursday, I went with our realtor to look at a few homes in Bob's target neighborhood.

The 4th house of the day was still in-construction, but there was a finished one we could look at.  I walked in and I knew it- Bam! this is it.  The home ticked off every single box of our "Must-Have" and "Like-to-Have" lists and even had some bonuses to it:

*4 bedrooms (this home has 5, but the 5th is more of a study/den and the rooms aren't gigantic)
* 3 full baths
*comes with a fridge and washer/dryer (stainless steel appliances, gas stove, granite, pedestal w/d)
*new construction
*bedrooms/game room upstairs
*storage space in garage
*park within a stones throw and a brand new elementary school within walking distance
*our target neighborhood
*instant equity and greatest growth potential for resale
*large kitchen with plenty of counter space and an island with nice storage (I wanted a space where I could cook with the kids)
*open yard
*covered patio
*and we even got to pick out the flooring

I am super excited.  I looked at a lot of homes. I've dreamed about a lot of homes.  I can't wait to finally be settled and put some roots down in Texas! It's been something both Bobby and I have worked really hard to achieve and it feels really good. 

"Look at the light baby and say 'Cheese"

Piper has taken quite the liking to my old camera.  The other day, she and Baby B were sitting together and all I could hear was Piper saying, "Look at the light baby and say 'Cheese" followed by a flash and a snap.  I quickly grabbed my camera to shoot this tender exchange between siblings and this is what I got!





Say Cheese baby!  Brynn would look at the camera but she wouldn't smile for Piper.  Pippy was getting very frustrated at her subject



Here's Piper telling me how frustrated she is that Brynn isn't smiling.  Jokes on Pip!  Look at that mischievous little grin on Brynn's face.  Is this a sign of things to come?!?

We've been getting this face a lot...

and this face!

Houston Rockets

Last week, my friend asked my husband and I if we wanted to go to a Houston Rockets game with them.  I immediately jumped on it and told her "of course!  We'd love to go!"  (One little unknown fact about me is that I love sporting events and I love sporting events where the tickets are FREE!)

After agreeing to go, I had to find a sitter for the kids.  Thankfully, I had a babysitting swap with a friend who has a daughter Pip's age.  We dropped off Piper at her friend's house and took Brynn with us to the game.  Baby B is still extremely attached and we knew she'd be happier in my arms than anywhere else.

Our seats were AWESOME!  We were center court and in a premium section







We left before the game ended, but we were up by like 50points.  The Rockets won!

Date Night with the hubs and baby

Baby B dancing and watching the cheerleaders

For the most part, Baby B was extremely good.  She got fussy towards the end and the music made her uncomfortable.

We had so much fun at the game!  Bobby and I never get to go out anymore so it was really nice to spend some time with him and some really great friends.  With the exception of the baby, it felt like we were on a double date.