Memorial Day Weekend

We had a nice, relaxing Memorial Day weekend.  We made our first furniture purchases (a bed and family room couch), though the house will likely be quite empty for awhile after we move in.

On Sunday both our parents got to see the house and afterwards we stopped in Edison for a short time to visit with Gong Gong and Puo Puo:

Reyna is slowly warming up to Cal.  She will now come over, sniff him and lie down nearby.  She still craves attenion and wants to snuggle all the time, but baby steps!

House Update: Windows and Siding

Finally - a break in the rain.  With the recent (pretty) good weather, most of the windows have gone in and a lot of the siding has been put on.  What a difference it makes!

Here is the front:

Before

Now

Closeup

The shutters aren't back on yet, and the trim and door still need to be painted, but it already looks like a completely different house.  We decided to go with a natural cedar look, though the color may be a bit different after it's stained and sealed.

Here is the side:
 

Before



Now

  And here's the back view:

Obviously the siding is not up in the back yet, but the windows in the basement, family room and most of the second floor are in.

Next week, HVAC, electrical and rough plumbing should be finished, as will the rest of the siding.  Things are really moving along now.

Happy Birthday Tim!

This past Saturday was Tim's big 3-0.  We celebrated with a small barbeque in Ridgewood with family and friends.   The rain held off for most of the day, but we did eventually have to move the festivities inside.

 

Yikes, 30 is a big number



One of Tim’s gifts was a 30-themed tub:



30 bottles of beer



And once the tub was empty, someone else took up residence:

Thanks to everyone for helping Tim ring in his third decade.  An added bonus for the night - Uncle Josh held a baby for the first time!

Cal's Afternoon Activities

Since Cal doesn’t like to sleep, you may wonder what exactly he does all day.  Well for one thing, he has learned to read!

Okay, maybe that’s a little advanced for him, but he has started to show an interest in handling books – probably in imitation of what he sees us do.

He has also started exploring the different stations of the Exersaucer.  Right now his favorite seems to be the sand pail (the Exersaucer has a beach theme).  He pretty much spends all his time trying to pry it off and get it into his mouth.

GPS: A Love/Hate Relationship

Have you ever seen that episode of The Office when Michael blindly follows the GPS into a lake?  Sometimes I wonder how I would get anywhere without it.  Then there are times like this past weekend.

Tim and I were furniture shopping, and attempted to make one last stop at a Pottery Barn.  We already had a long day, and Cal was nearing his limit, so we wanted to just get there to check out a table and get home.  It was only about 15 minutes away in a giant mall.  No problem right?  Except when suddenly the nice GPS lady stoped talking and all we got was this:


GPS: FAIL!



Closeup: What are you supposed to do with this?


My only explanation is that there must be little elves in our GPS that like to mess around with us for laughs.  They're probably the same ones that steal socks from the dryer...

House Update: Framing Complete

What a difference a week makes.  The demo is completely finished, as is all the framing and the roof.  You can really see the house coming together now.

Outside

This is the current rear view.

The bottom left (where there are 4 tall windows) is the new family room, and on the right (with the skinny tall windows) is the renovated sunroom.  In between will be the entrance to the backyard and above it all is the master suite.

Here is the side view.  The difference between the old and new house are pretty obvious right now.

This will be the new side entrance, which will have a porch that leads into the mudroom.  On top of the mudroom (where there are 4 small windows) is our study.

First Floor

This is a view from the old kitchen, which was gutted and is now open to the breakfast area and the family room (where there are the 4 tall windows).

To the right is the mudroom leading to the side entrance, and to the left is the sunroom:

Second Floor

They punched through the wall from the old house, and there will be a step to the new part:

The hallway leads into the new laundry room and master suite, which includes the study, master closet and master bath.  Here is the new master bedroom, which looks onto the backyard:

And the master bath, also with a view of the backyard.

Next week, plumbing and electrical is done, plus all the new windows will be in!

Random Pics: 5/12/11

Cal heard summer was coming and said he wanted to start getting in shape (Thank you, Conways!):

Don't look at my belly



Doing some mat exercises

Cal and Reyna are getting to know each other a little better:





Horsey ride



On Wednesday, Cal had a lot of visitors.  First, it was Grandma Wu during the day:

Quality time with Puo Puo

Then Uncle Ryan came by (all the way from North Carolina).  The boys:



White T not optional