so happy together

little by little, mason is warming up to maddux being super mobile and into all of his toys.  he doesn't knock him down every time any more. and maddux is learning to cry when he doesn't like what mason does to him (so i am a little less quick to respond when i see what happened and that the crying is fake - we went through a similar phase with madelyn and mason).  it is going to be so much fun when they share a room in a few months!  when i first mentioned it to mason, he yelled, "nooooooooo!".  but he is starting to get excited about it too.

and sometimes (more and more every day) mason is genuinely thrilled to have maddux near him and greets him with tickles, hugs and kisses.  the kisses are the sweetest - especially when they are an 'i'm sorry'.  (mason is 'tickling' maddux in the picture.) love.

house - week 14, part 2

the staging has begun!  we were expecting (hoping) to see wood floors, but were surprised to see staging already.  the floors have been a source of much drama!  here is the short version - some high rise somewhere bought all of the natural hickory from mohawk making our delivery date impossible.  they were going to offer us a higher grade of wood for an additional price, but the builder said that was unacceptable.  they were able to come up with a later delivery date - and then that one was missed.  the flooring retailer here had their crew go get the floors from pittsburgh instead of waiting for delivery from the manufacturer.  the floors were finally getting installed - only in the wrong direction!  we wanted them running the length of the room and they were running them the width of the room.  and, yes, there had been much prior discussion about the direction of the planks. upon realizing that they would have to pull everything up, there was major concern about not having enough to finish the job (because of how much had already been cut).

i showed up on site about the moment they discovered the error with the flooring.  i was there because i wanted to select the exact location of the kitchen hardware in person.  the builder had been sending me texts through out the morning for approvals and i just couldn't see it clearly enough to decide.

completed exterior

closer view of the front porch

back of kitchen island installed and dishwashers

laundry room counters, sink and shelf

master tub installed

double oven waiting for install

back deck staging

part of the basement staging

pool table in the basement

hot tub on the lower back deck

can we move in yet?! love.

happy boy

just some camera time with the happy little man.  love.

mad boy

maddux is happy 95% of the time.  but when he is mad, he is mad.  and he does not like it when i put him in he pack-n-play while i unload the van. and it isn't like he cries when i am out of site down the stairs, he cries the second his feet touch the bottom of the pack-n-play.

i took a picture this time because it was the first time he had stood up in the pack-n-play and he just looked so sad that i felt like i needed to capture it. 

later today, he added "ma-ma" to his word/sound skills!  it was nice to hear it as a happy 'word' instead of only when he cries. love.

"ma-ma"

maddux said "ma-ma"!

jumping on the bed

some things you just have to see.  here is madelyn "jumping on the bed" with maddux. i guess she thought that he better learn how to have some real fun! love.

house - week 14

we were out of town this weekend and couldn't wait to get back and see what was new at the house.  we went straight there and were not disappointed.  matt had gotten a sneak peak without me on thursday night after golf so it was more exciting for me. love.

all of the front columns were added

the rails were added upstairs and down

the kitchen backsplash tile is up, but still needs to be grouted

chimney hood will go to the ceiling here

some of the plumbing fixtures were in too

laundry cabinetry

master bathroom backsplash runs vanity to vanity

more of the backsplash

a few toilets were in too - here is the kids'

guest bathroom counter top in the basement