Drywall. Check!

Our drywall and nail inspection are complete! Woohoo! Besides Berto and Luke almost dying on the stairs that came unattached for purposes of finishing the drywall, we made it thus far!

Our final walk through date has been set to October 14th and our closing date is officially....

October 18, 2013!!!

We are SO excited! Some things that are coming in the next week:

• Tape and spackle
• Texturing
• Front steps & driveway
• Finish roof under front porch
• Paint exterior

We also had a confirmation e-mail to confirm our stone that goes around our fireplace. I cannot even begin to describe how much I love this stone, and having a fireplace in our family room! Can you picture a Christmas tree in front of the left window, a decorated mantel, I know I can! 

Grading and site preparation ✓

Foundation construction✓

Framing✓ 

Installation of windows and doors✓

Roofing✓

Siding✓

Rough Electrical✓

Rough Plumbing✓

Rough HVAC✓

Insulation✓

Drywall

Texturing

Trim

Painting 

Finish electrical

Bathroom and kitchen counters and cabinets (The cabinets have been ordered!!)

Finish plumbing

Carpet and flooring

Finish HVAC

Hookup to water main, or well drilling

Hookup to sewer or installation of a septic system

Final walk - through (October 14, 2013)

We also see this truck often cruising through our neighborhood so we tracked them down and had some BOMB tacos! We left the kids in the car running, stood outside the car and ate off of our truck. It was pure bliss - best date we have had in a long time ;) 

First baby checklist.

Many of my friends have asked for the checklist I used when I was buying things for Aiden. I used this list to create my registry and it helped so much. Going to do your registry is overwhelming to say the least. There are SO many things that a new baby needs. I used this checklist to monitor what I bought and what I registered for. The good new is, you can use most of it for your future children as well. Just make sure you get gender neutral on some of the big ticket items like cribs, swings, bouncers, etc.

Some baby registry advice:

1. Get your friends opinions on things they loved - it will help you narrow down choices

2. Go to the store and try out the different stroller. Fold them up, walk around with them, see how heavy they are, that way you know what you are getting yourself into!

3. Start online. Research your crib and bedding and see which one you like, then add them to your online registry

4. Add diapers to your registry

5. You won't need a high chair for at least 4 months, probably more like 6, so don't register for it unless you know you don't want to buy it for yourself in a few months

6. I can't stress enough, have extra sheets! 

7. Buy a changing table. Leaning over on the floor hurts, and babies will get pee or poop on your bed! 

8. Do not buy the little 5 ounce bottles. Just get the 9 ounce ones from the beginning. You will need the big ones eventually and it will save you time and money from having to go out and get new ones when your baby starts drinking more!

I hope this list helps you all as much as it helped me!

Drum roll...... porch and walls!

We decided to make a last minute trip to our house tonight to see how things were going. We saw what we wanted to see! Not only do we have a front porch railing and pillars, we also have walls upstairs!

Grading and site preparation✓

Foundation construction✓

Framing✓ 

Installation of windows and doors✓

Roofing✓

Siding✓

Rough Electrical✓

Rough Plumbing✓

Rough HVAC✓

Insulation✓

Drywall (in progress)

Texturing

Trim

Painting 

Finish electrical

Bathroom and kitchen counters and cabinets (The cabinets have been ordered!!)

Finish plumbing

Carpet and flooring

Finish HVAC

Hookup to water main, or well drilling

Hookup to sewer or installation of a septic system

Final walk - through

Now we just have to wait for the bottom floor to be finished then we have a nail inspection. Once the nail inspection passes, they can begin to spackle and texture. During this time the exterior will also be painted. They do not paint the outside until all of the drywall nails are in place on the inside because it can loosen the caulk on the exterior, ultimately cracking the paint. These next two weeks there is going to be some drastic progress! Yippee! 

Invitations.

I used to order everything online or get invitations in stores, but they are just so... generic. I love taking ideas I see on Pinterest and making my own invitations from those! Today, I thought I would share Luke's birth announcement. I use Photoshop to make all of my invitations and I order all of my cards through Tiny Prints. I always get the rounded edges because they add so much to the look of the card!

First I will share Luke's newborn photos. Let's be honest, he looks cute, but a little worm-y, like most newborns. These photos were taken by Bella Baby. They are the photographer that the hospital uses and they are pretty good too. It is honestly the best bang for your buck in terms of convenience. Who wants to get all pretty and wake you newborn and take them to a germ infested studio when the photographer can just come to your room at the hospital and get a sleepy baby right there? Not me, that is for sure! We purchased the digital download of all of the photos, and I really wish we had done this with Aiden as well. I think this is the first time in the history of motherhood the second child got more pictures than the first... that is a fact!

Picture the below photo with rounded edges and a cardboard finish. I saw many similar announcement on Pinterest with little girl photos and cute girly fonts. This font, Sketch Block, fits little boys so perfectly! 

Look for Aiden's third birthday invitation next week!