J.J. and Jen's New House (Part Deux)

When we last saw J.J. and Jen's house, it looked like this.....Then they started putting the bricks up....

And now it looks like this!!

Here's a view from the kitchen into the great room when the drywall was going up....

And the same view after painting....

Catwalk during drywall process...

Catwalk/Banister/Staircase after...

Great room/fireplace during drywall....

And after....

Kitchen being worked on....

And the kitchen now.... can I just say WOW! Gorgeous!

The bedrooms and bathrooms are coming along nicely as well.....We can't believe how fast this house is progressing. If things keep going at this rate, Baby Boy will have a brand new house ready and waiting for him when he is born in May! It will be fun to see it in real life!

Esme's Visit

Last weekend we were lucky enough to have a visit from Roo, Annie and Esme! We haven't seen them since Christmas, so we were very surprised at how much Esme has grown.

Needless to say, she was very spoiled by her Tutu's and Aunt Nat all weekend. She did a great job of letting us hold her, and she was not too scared to be away from her Mommy. We think Skype has a lot to do with that.
She is very expressive and does funny things like shaking her head back and forth, randomly shrieking and squealing, and spinning around in circles while sitting on her butt. She is able to concentrate on things for long periods of time, which is very impressive for a nine month old. Esme is also very skilled kinetically--meaning she is very aware of her body. She has good dexterity with her fingers. Her balance and climbing abilities are very advanced. We think she will be walking before she turns 1 year old.

Roo & Annie were very excited to see their puppies! The puppies were very excited too...but mostly just because they had someone to play fetch with.

There was lots and lots of snow while they were visiting, which was probably a nice reminder for them to enjoy the heat and humidity of Houston.

Esme also LOVED to eat. She was very patient as Aunt Natalee and Grandma Tutu fed her baby food. She would hold very still and open her mouth as wide as she possibly could. Aunt Natalee couldn't feed her fast enough! Adorable!

We bought her one of those mesh teether things and she got to try her very fist strawberry! She liked it.

She also tried pineapple for the first time during her visit. Even though we thought Esme really liked it.... later on she (and her diaper) let us know that she actually did not.

Esme had lots of fun crawling around the open space of Grandpa and Grandma Tutu's house. We could not get enough of her hilarious crawling. She uses one leg normally and lets the other one trail behind. It reminded me of Quasimodo. Annie said she was taught by someone with a peg leg. What do you think??

Esme was glad that she got to spend some time with her Papa Tutu before he flew halfway across the globe! (More on that later).

We love you and miss you Papa Tutu!

Nat's New Hair

I decided to cut my hair because it is finally over 40 degrees in Idaho and it felt like time for a summer haircut! My hair had gotten really long and I was wearing it up every single day so it was time for a change.

I decided to donate my hair to locks of love. I have done this a few times in the past. Its nice that I can do something good with this hair that grows super fast.

This is how much hair they cut off. The two ponytails in the middle are from the front of my hair and the longer two on the outside are from the back. Its funny how much healthier the hair in the back was.

And this is the finished product! This might be the shortest I've ever had it. My hairdresser was sweet and super excited. She was down to document the whole experience by taking these pictures. Sorry they are from my phone or they would be better.
Its definitely more grown up, but I like it. It will take some getting used to. Actually having to blow dry it and stuff will be annoying, but it will also take me like 10 minutes instead of 45. I'm glad I did it!

J.J. and Jen's New House!

Some siblings have requested updates on the siblings who don't have blogs yet. We will start with J.J. and Jennifer, who are going through some major life changes right now. Most of you know they are expecting a Baby Boy around May 13.... but did you know that they recently moved away from Washington, D.C. too?

Just last week J.J., Jennifer, Baby Boy, Jango, Yoda, and Lizzy packed up the car and drove down to Charlotte, North Carolina--although technically they will be living just over the state line in Tega Cay, South Carolina. Mom and Dad are already asking, "Wait...which state are J.J. and Jen living in??". Hahah.

They will be living in an extended-stay hotel until their brand new custom-built home is completed and ready to move in! J.J. has been great at sending us pictures to document the construction progress. Mom and Dad are totally blown away at how fast the house is being built. At this rate, the house will be ready in time for Baby Boy to arrive!

First--the foundation and driveway

foundation

first walls going up

first walls going up

A nice panoramic shot...bedroom, bathroom, and to the right is the "catwalk" view down into the greatroom below

Master Bedroom

Kitchen
Hallway
Bedroom/Office
Bedroom
The "catwalk" looking down into the greatroom below
Bathroom
And this is what the house looks like as of last week!
Here's a good video of how the house looks....ignore the construction guy bragging. ;)

We are SO impressed with the progress of the house! We can't wait to come and visit J.J. and Jennifer in July for the baby blessing and to see the finished product. Congratulations on your new home in South Carolina....or North Carolina....wait..... South Carolina is where Jen's parents live, right? But.... isn't Charlotte in North Carolina?? But their mailing address is in South Carolina. But J.J.'s work address is in North Carolina....

Congratulations either way! We love you guys! Send more pics as the house (and the baby) grow!