Quickly Approaching Four Months

Kya has had lots of firsts lately ...

Her first big art project - a footprint mold for Grandma Rene's Birthday. It went so well, and we had so much fun, I'm sure we'll be making more.

First time wearing "older-loooking" clothes. My mom got her this shirt/sweater pair and I can hardly believe she's already big enough to be wearing it. Granny ReNay bought it at Target after accompanying us to one of my pregnancy checkups.

Kya's first bonfire - Saturday evening at the river cabin.

This isn't really a first - she's just darn cute. I think Kya was supposed to be sleeping (in the wagon, at the cabin) but she was insisting that she wanted to be awake. So, Auntie Caitlyn got her up to cuddle.

Of course, Kya was thrilled at the opportunity to cuddle.

I think she was nervous I was going to make her go back to bed. Silly baby :)

First giant blue catfish stuffed animal.

What? You don't have one?

My mom and dad sent it to her ... apparently they had it laying around. Kya thinks it's pretty funny - so do I.

Happy four months to our little sweetie.

House talk: is it go-time yet?!

We.Move.In.Tomorrow.

I am SO EXCITED!!!!

The driveway has been packed with cars and trucks that belong to workers finishing up the last to do's. Unfortunately, there will still be a few things left to do when we move in, but they will be completed soon after. The tile I picked out for the bathroom tub and kitchen back splash were both backordered, so that is on the list for next week.

So what are they working on this week?

- The back deck. I'm so excited to have you all over for a beverage and chat on the deck. It's amazing - the views, sounds, and peacefulness out there are amazing.

- Electrical stuff

- Paint touchups

- Finishing work like cabinet knobs and drawer pulls

If you are ever in the market for cabinet hardware, check overstock - I got these for about half the price of the same thing in the hardware store.

- Cleaning. Our builder's mom has a cleaning business and her crew visited the house this week. Among lots of dusting, vacuuming, and scrubbing, they took the plastic off the windows. I didn't think the views could get much better, but they did.

- The finishing guys also installed the mirrors in the bathrooms.

- Lighting. Oh golly this was much more complicated than it should have been but I think we got everything figured out. Between my forgetfulness, too many under cabinet lighting choices, and the lighting store's mistakes, it was quite a stressful and busy couple days. I'm happy to report that we got everything sorted out and the last missing light fixture will arrive Monday.

- Appliances. As you can see, they are not in yet. Hopefully soon. Please. I really like refrigeration.

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So this will be my last post in our apartment. I can hardly believe this day has come. Assuming all goes as planned, I will have satellite internet connected at the new place on Monday.

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Oh! I almost forgot.

Kya is excited too. And she thoroughly enjoys practicing rolling on the carpet. Just the right firmness and softness.

House talk: crunch time part 2

Monday's progress:

Another part of the house that we were particularly excited about – the front door.

No door handle yet, but the door and hanging light are good buddies already.

The electrician installed most of the outdoor lights today. Tomorrow will be the day for interior lights.

Appliances have arrived.

And yet another fireplace photo.

House talk: crunch time

We'll be moving from our apartment to our new house Thursday. This Thursday.

Needless to say, the new house is getting lots of lovin' this week. Just about all the subcontractors will be there to put on the finishing touches.

Here are the new details from last late last week:

Lance the masonry guy finished up his work.

The stone really finished off the garage.

The front porch pillars are taking shape.

And my favorite wall is nearly complete.

The HVAC crew put in some vents.

Toilets and bathroom accessories.

And carpet! We only put carpet in the bedrooms, but wow, it really made the rooms feel cozy.

Kya Learned a New Trick

A Note About Little Miss Kya

It seems that Kya learns something new and grows a bit bigger every day.

Kys is really enjoying her hands, and is starting to find her toes. She is still sucking on her thumb occasionally, and is getting very attached to her swaddling/security blankets.

'

Kya is definitely a water baby. I've heard that she can start taking swimming lessons once she's six months old. I know that would be a fun treat for her - and us. If she could, she'd spend every minute of every day outside.

She likes to be on the go. We've definitely got a mover/shaker on our hands. She really enjoys grocery shopping. So many people coo and talk to her and she gives out lots of free smiles.

She enjoys eating. A lot. I'm glad we are into a routine or I think she'd want to eat all day. I sometimes like to give Kya a little "breather" part-way through her meal if she's eating too fast ... well she isn't very fond of that and she usually gives me her best pouty lip and then a squeaky cry. As soon as I start to motion toward feeding her again, she gets a huge smile and starts cooing. It melts my heart, and makes me laugh.

For the past few weeks I have been curious as to how much Kya weighs. I know she is growing by leaps and bounds, but I didn't know how much, exactly. Today Grandpa Darwin rigged up his travel luggage scale, and we weighed Kya's car seat, then put her in it and weighed it, and we subtracted the seat weight. At about 3.5 months old, Kya weighs 14 pounds, 4 ounces.

5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

Lift Off!

I just launched my new freelance graphic design business website: www.bisongirl.com

Go take a look and let me know what you think!

house talk: water, more rocks, and some dirt

My bonus mom, Andrea and I went out to the house for a visit this afternoon.

We have running water.

This is the kitchen sink. It is made of crushed granite, which was surprisingly reasonable in price compared to other sinks.

This is where the water comes into the house ... and related gadgets.

The masonry guys were still busy at work.

And, the biggest change ... dirt. Apparently we needed more.

House talk: plumbing, masonry, gutters, mail, and hail

Only 10 days until the end of the month. And sometime between now and then we will be moving in.

Needless to say, there has been lots of excitement and house progress lately.

Last week the driveway/slab was poured. I marked it with an "H" for Hager, and the year.

Corey and I installed our mailbox, which was much more complicated than I ever thought possible. It is on the post but certainly not secure ... so we'll be re-intsalling it again soon.

The mud-room flooring was installed on Friday, July 16. It looks like slate, but is linoleum. Since this area will gets lots of wear and tear, we wanted something we could easily replace later-on if it gets damaged/worn.

Gutters were also installed on Friday.

The front porch was started on Sunday, July 18.

On Monday it was nearly complete.


Lighting fixtures started on Monday, July 19. This is the half-bath off the mudroom.

This is one of the lights in the mudroom hallway.

Also on Monday, the retaining wall was back-filled. The driveway was leveled and smoothed in preparation for gravel.

Monday was also the day for installing interior doors and hardware.

Kya was impressed.

After our Monday house tour, Corey went dumpster-diving for wood scraps to help secure our mailbox. Found some!

And yesterday (Tuesday, July 20) after work, we ventured out to the house again. On the way my mom called from California to ask about the approaching hail storm. I was totally oblivious to any storm. Since we were almost at the house, we decided to test our luck, and kept on going.

It was worth it. Nearly all the plumbing fixtures were installed. This is the mud room half-bath. This misplaced mirror will hang above the sink.

This is the main bath. Corey and I are both excited about the shower curtain rod. We're simple folks.

Lance the masonry dude was there piecing the fireplace. I trust it will look cleaner/better next time I see it.

Then, we started the drive home.

We got a few miles down the road when the storm hit.

It was raining so hard (and hailing too) that we couldn't see the road, so we slowly pulled off onto a side street and sought shelter under some big evergreens.

Kys was getting antsy, so we get her out of her seat and threw a little hail storm party in Corey's car.

When all was said and done, no hail damage to the car or house, and all is well.

Thanks for the storm warnings mom!

Flower Child

My baby is already 3 1/2 months old.

I fall in love with her more every day.

Thanks to Grandma Rene for loaning her flower garden for a few photos