Another House Blog

It's been a little while since I've shared a house update, so here we go! This building process has been a lot more stressful and complicated than I thought it'd be. I've reeeeaaallly had to exercise my patience with some things and put my foot down on others. We've sent probably 20+ emails to the construction manger about things that were done wrong and had to be fixed - house elevation, window size and style, garage doors, pillar location, a missing floor outlet... just to name a few. Eye rollllllll. I swear I would be a better fit for his job. But, despite the delays, the house is coming along and looking more and more like the dream home I envisioned months ago.

Brick ✔

Driveway ✔

Drywall ✔

Doors ✔

We paid an additional $275 to have a floor outlet added to the center of the office. What do we see here? ^^ No floor outlet. They just got done cutting concrete to put it in even though we brought this to their attention during our walk-through nearly two months ago. Soooo this room is currently a concrete mess. If only it were done right the first time, darn.

Crown molding & trim ✔

Stair railing ✔

Believe it or not, this was the second time garage doors were installed. The first set of doors were dark brown and clashed with the rest of the house completely. These ones clearly don't match and neither are the correct style we chose. Ughhhhhhhh. Third time's the charm??? You would think. Also, notice how that upstairs window doesn't match the other windows? It's taken over a month for the right one to be installed. This is also the reason the siding hasn't been completed on that section of the house. At one point I was tempted to take the correct style of window from the garage of a different house being built down the street {it was still in the framing stage and windows hadn't been installed yet}. If I could go back, I would do it.

I had sent 3... 4... maybe even 5 emails confirming the location of the front porch columns, yet they still managed to build one in the wrong spot {I'm talking about you on the left there}. This only took them a day to correct, THANK GOODNESS, but if it had been done right the first time it would have saved me a night of anger, frustration, and a wordy email that took me an hour to write.

1st coat of paint ✔

Cubby ✔

Tile ✔

This is where we're at as of yesterday. They replaced the garage doors yet again, but they are still the wrong style of window. I haven't decided if it's worth the fight to have them fix it, especially since these are the standard garages that almost every other house in the neighborhood has. I don't not like them, it's just not what I had in mind.

^^ This is the garage window I selected. Worth it? Not worth it? You tell me, I'm too indecisive.

Meanwhile, our neighbors houses are coming along great and seem to be right on schedule. Maybe even ahead of schedule! At this rate we'll be moving in about the same time as them :,) The neighbors on the other side of us have now been living in their house for over a month. Keep in mind, construction on our home started only a couple of weeks after theirs. Awesome. We have a lot of family coming to visit the entire month of August and I'm crossing my fingers that our house will be finished by then. I'd much, much, much rather be moved in, organized, and settled than have the entire house in a jumbled, moving mess when people visit for the first time. But with my luck, that's exactly what's going to happen!

Moved Down South

We are officially Alabamians. It hasn't really hit me yet that this is where I live now. Hmm... I'm sure it will feel more like home once we're actually in a home. Apartment living is not my fav. I don't really trust the bathtub and some of these carpet stains are questionable. Ick. However, being back with Jason is literally the greatest thing ever. I truly don't think I could have spent another day apart from him.

The car ride from Colorado to Alabama was  l o n g. Like twenty-two hours of straight travel long. We left that morning at 4 AM and got to the apartment at 3 AM central time. We had planned to split up the drive into two days but decided along the way that we'd rather bite the bullet, save a hundred bucks, and just get it over with. Emmett actually did waaaay better than I thought he would on that long of a trip. He's a trooper. I felt car sick on and off, but tried my best not to complain.... too much. As for Jason, he drove the entire way. He's an actual crazy man!

Sooooo glad that's over with!

We've lived here now for three weeks. {That said one week when I first started this post haha. This has been hanging in my drafts for a lil bit.} In that time we've unpacked / cleaned / organized, moved furniture, grocery shopped, done allll of the laundry, barbecued at Ry & Kar's, waited around for oil changes, gone swimming, joined the YMCA, hit the gym, had ourselves a baby-free date night, scheduled doctor's appointments, applied for multiple pediatricians {it is such a hassle to find one here - ugh!!!}, gone on walks, lounged around, watched lots of Bachelorette / Suits / Cutthroat Kitchen episodes, dined out at Taco Mama & Texas Roadhouse, played at parks, hit the splash pad, explored downtown Huntsville, fed the ducks, and driven by the house daily to check on progress. The house is coming along, but it also feels like it's never actually going to get finished. I'll do an update on all that soon. Hopefully. 

I apologize if the rest of this post seems a little sporadic. My mind has been running at a hundred miles an hour lately and I'm finding it hard to focus on the smallest of tasks. I did, however, tell myself that I was going to finish this tonight sooooo it's getting done... whether it makes sense or not haha.

Emmett has adjusted to his new surroundings and temporary home extremely well. It is sooooo obvious how happy it makes him to have his dad around all the time. I can't believe I ever agreed to splitting those two up for so long! Never again guys. The YMCA gym we go to has a huge daycare center with lots of toys and friends for Emmett to play with. It is hands down his favorite part of the day whenever we take him. He gets so excited when we drop him off and never wants to leave! The daycare workers tell us every time we pick him up that he is so easy and good! I love that he gets that interaction here. Emmett also started going to nursery at church and it is the greatest. thing. ever. He has never been able to sit through a full sacrament meeting or Sunday school class. But you put that boy in a room full of toys, snacks, and other little kiddos and he is in heaven! Carly, the nursery leader, has told me every week so far that Emmett is the easiest kid in there. Hallelujah. I better enjoy this hour of baby-free church time while it lasts! Oh and one more thing, Emmett has slept through the night probably six or seven times since we've been here. THIS IS A BIG DEAL. The entire six months we were living in Colorado he slept through the night maybe three times. I'm pretty sure Jason has played a huge part in that. He puts him to bed most nights with a bottle. Finally some relief and a full nights sleep! Have I mentioned how much I missed my husband?????

Here are some pictures of our time here so far.

^^ This boy's morning routine involves a fresh diaper, a warm bottle, a good show, 

a yummy snack, a comfy pillow, and a little mattress. Oh, I love him so much!!!

I love my guys soooo much. 

Reeeeaaaaaal quick I want to share a couple of my favorite pictures from Mar's graduation week. The whole fam + grandparents were together in Colorado and it was seriously the best way I could have spent my final days living there. I love that we got to say our goodbyes to everyone in person! I'm also so happy that Emmett got some quality grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, and cousin time in before our big move :,) Read more about that week on my mama's blog here.

^^ Cutie graduate.

ARE THESE KIDS EVEN REAL?? So so so cute.

Next up: House drama :,)