Mooserific!

Still working

If you think all these cute baby antics have been distracting us from our home improvements, you’d be right. Still, we’ve done a lot recently. I cut down the rusty basketball hoop in the back yard with a lovely $50 reciprocating saw from Harbor Freight. We planted a lot of flowers and several bushes in the front yard. The deer thought they were delicious. We had our deck cleaned and stained. It looks great.

Finally, I got my window trim assembly mounted in Abigail’s room.

One month (already!)

We took Abigail to the pediatrician for her one month visit on Friday. We knew she was a lot bigger– many of her outfits don’t fit anymore– but we were surprised to find out that she’s already up to 10lbs 6.2oz. It must be the constant feeding. The doctor said that she’s living up to her last name. Should we be insulted?

Awwww

I’m making progress on window trim, installed a storage system in Abigail’s closet, and mowed the yard, but all of that stuff pales in comparison to more cute baby pictures!

More pictures

We’re very proud of our Abigail.

Abigail!

On Tuesday, June 8th, we were very happy to welcome Abigail Sue Moose into the world. She weighed in at 7lbs, 7oz and was almost 21 inches long.

We’re home now and everyone is doing well. Venus and I are delighted with our happy little girl and suspect that she is a genius.

You can view her super-cute official pictures here.

A tree grows in...

Miss Abigail’s room!

We added some cute decals to liven up the nursery.  I wasn’t sure that I liked them as much in-person as I did on-line, but I think they look pretty nice now.  They’re playful.  People kept asking me about a “nursery theme.”  Now I guess we actually have one.  Well, perhaps we have many: woodlands, animals, nature.  Next step is to find a nice mobile.  (John should have an upcoming post about resizing closet doors and window trim.  Lots of changes!)

Abigail's Room

We’re just about finished with Abigail’s room. Her crib and changing table arrived, so we assembled them last night. Yay for Pottery Barn Kids (and sales)– they’re so solid and sturdy that they make the rest of our furniture look bad.

Still to come: mounting the closet doors and, if time allows, window trim.

Birds!

A couple of house finches built a nest in the pot of pansies hanging on our front porch. The chicks hatched this week. So far, their interests include:

• food
• more food

Their poor parents are very busy!

Re-Assemble!

It’s been a busy weekend! The carpet installers are coming on Friday, so I screwed down the subfloor in the last two bedrooms to prevent squeaks. I also replaced all of the electrical outlets and switches and replaced the ceiling fans. I think things are looking pretty good.

Disassemble!

After moving back into our bedroom (pictures soon), we disassembled our two other bedrooms. We removed the doors, outlet covers, shelves in the closets, and pulled up all the carpet.

We’ve had painters in the last two days, so those outrageous colors are now gone, gone, gone. I’ll replace the outlets, switches, and fans, and install new shelves in the closets. We’ll then be ready for new carpet.

The previously-purple room is Abigail’s. We’re really looking forward to finishing it. We have ideas!

Pregnant women aren't supposed to garden.

If some lights are good...

… lots of lights must be better!

We decided that we didn’t like having the island in the middle of the kitchen, interrupting our flow. We then realized that the other counterspace in the kitchen was poorly lit.

After a quick trip to Home Depot for a t-junction, tracks, and lights, our existing track was extended most excellently. (Each light is just 50W, so it’s not as stage-like as it might look.)

A busy weekend

Venus’s uncle is a plumber. He came over this weekend and installed a new faucet in our kitchen and a new vanity and faucet in our bathroom. It’s amazing how much of a difference they make to their respective rooms, especially in the kitchen where we no longer have to listen to a horrible groaning noise whenever we use the sink. We went with Delta faucets and they both feel very solid and came with great instructions.

We primed our bedroom last week and laid down the first coat of our final color (Behr’s “Autumn Glow”) today. The color shifts throughout the day. We’re very happy with it.

Seeing the light

The light in our kitchen has been a bit of a bother. I’m tall, so I ran into it quite a bit. In addition, two of the sockets recently stopped working. We decided it was time to replace it. We picked out some simple and inconspicuous track lights. The light is great and they were easy to install.

Progress, darn it!

I’m still spending most of my working time in the master bedroom. I’ve gotten the windows sanded and caulked. Venus got them primed. I finally pulled out the “banana boat” fan- good riddance!

The floors have been squeaking more and more. We’re planning to get new carpet in the bedroom, so I went ahead and pulled up the old carpet. I discovered that the subfloor had been nailed down rather than screwed. The nails were gradually working their way loose, producing the squeaks. I spent a few hours screwing them down and the squeaks were gone.

Yesterday I patched the walls in the bedroom and sanded. As soon as we clean off the dust, we’ll be all set to start painting. We have our colors picked out and our brushes and rollers standing by.