Alex has been exhausted after daycare each night this week (her naps are too short!). But she’s a trooper and I get about 30 minutes of play out of her before we head upstairs for bathtime, quiettime and bedtime. Last night while I was snapping some pictures of her grabbing her feet she decided to show off her rolling skills, she rolled from her back to her front (which she has been doing) but then she continued on and rolled to her back again! And I caught it in a series of photos.
she likes to start her rolls with a foot grabthere she goesand going…and she’s overhey mom, look what i did!guess what, not done yet!it starts with a flopand i had no idea the roll was coming!whoa!really mom, this is no big deal, i’ve been doing this at daycare for days (probably) 🙂she probably would have continued on but i was in the way at this point
Tonight, each time I set her down for second she proceeded to immediately roll to her belly! And then she’d look for me and smile up at me from her belly – she knows she did something great 🙂 Then she got tired and whiny each time she was on her belly. We skipped bathtime tonight because I kept her up a bit late (i wanted to eat some dinner for a change). Still down by 8pm so I had plenty of time to upload pictures and blog 🙂
So a bit of the story with this painter. We hired him to strip and then paint a few sections of the house including:
The soffit and frieze board on the driveway side of the house
The soffit and posts on the porch, all the way around (top part of the posts since we are re-doing the lower sections)
The siding next to the side door
The shingled section in the peak on the driveway side (he didnt have to strip this section, just sand/prep for paint and then paint.
The quote is not tiny, mostly it’s for the stripping which is understandable and it was very clear that everything was covered except for the shingle section since that wasn’t getting stripped he didn’t write that part out explicitly like the rest.
Well they stop by the first day of the job and I talk to the owner (who did the quote) and turns out he didn’t realize we needed the whole soffit of the porch done, he thought it was just the posts and the board the posts touch (or something like that) so he wanted to get back to me with a new quote. At the time i didn’t have the quote in front of me so I didn’t argue but was concerned about how much more this would cost.
So I get the new quote and the wording ‘soffit and frieze board around the porch’ is the exact same wording as the original quote so we mention this to him and he admits he just screwed up. He asks if we’ll work with him, it would be cheaper for him to have his guys remove most of the wood instead of stripping it and put up new wood. Fine, as long as they can make it look very close to the original, that is fine with us.
So they get to work, they have 1 guy stripping the posts (and man is he slow) and another guy starts taking apart and rebuilding the soffit around the porch. Well it became clear pretty quickly that a) the stripping is going to take forever, the guy only showed up sometimes and he was ridiculously slow at stripping (he had the wrong type of scrapers mainly and he kept dinging up the wood). I mean it’s nothing compared to the work I did stripping the soffit outside our gym. ho hum.
Then it became clear that the carpenter he hired is not a finish carpenter, he can’t do moldings well, not only does he waste tons of material cutting things wrong, he leaves corners with gaps and broken tips and he puts up the moldings in small sections because that’s all he can manage by himself. One corner in particular was really bad so we complain about that and the owner decides to get another carpenter he hires sometimes to come fix it. Meanwhile the first guy is still working on other sections.
In the mean time, they started this job in August (13th), they worked that first week then showed up sporadically the second week then stopped coming until this past week, right when Ryan was off and needed to do siding on that side of the house (we had anticipated that the main work would at least be done and they at the worst would be painting at this point – nope).
So Ryan and the guys are stepping on each others’ toes and Ryan is catching them doing all manner of stupid things and ends up helping them (when he needed his time to do siding etc.). Finally the owner basically fires the first carpenter and wants the second carpenter (who admits freely that he is not a finish carpenter and it took him so long to do that one corner of molding he doesn’t feel comfortable doing the larger molding by himself). He however knows a real finish carpenter and we decide to just hire this other guy to put the molding up and the painter’s carpenter can help him (the painter is paying him to put up the molding so that works out). So we will be out an extra thousand probably when this is all done but the large molding is coming out SO much better and we are finally happy with the work.
The stripping is still taking forever! The same kid (whom we found out was hired at the time of this job starting so this is his first time doing any type of construction and no one is overseeing him!), is still working on stripping the porch. They replaced almost everything but he’s got to strip the moldings at the top of the posts and the moldings in the front of the house/triangle/peak. The soffit along the driveway hasnt been touched yet and has a large section to strip as well. No idea when this project will get done.
Today however Ryan got a few more pieces of siding up and the window installed! He’ll be continuing siding this weekend and next week before he goes back to work on wednesday.
And now some pictures, we walked around the house today after everyone left.
The last window is in on this side!The peak, they had to replace some rotted wood and the first carpenter put in the small molding. Ryan agreed to put in these small blocks to save the carpenter from having to do these outside angles on the molding which saved probably a day of labor.The large molding is done – all around the porch, they just have to do the one at the second/third story of the house next week.They even did the peak because there was no way to meet up the new trim with the old. Notice only 1/2 of the peak is stripped, the kid started this in the morning and must have got bored because he then swapped to doing other parts instead of just finishing it for some reason. This whole triangle I could do in an hour easily, took him 3 to do half of it.The painters showed up one day this week and started priming the molding that was up, Ryan mentioned to them that the stripping still had to be done and would mess up their paint so they stopped. I hope painters are coming next week now that it’s almost ready for them!The back corner. We are so happy with this now, thank goodness something is finally working out.
So this will cost us but it was worth it to find a local finish carpenter that does good work on historical houses and he’s not slow about it either. He also brought his dog (he brings here everywhere) and she hung out in the back yard and even met Fitz for a bit 🙂
Alex is 5 months old – and started daycare on the same day! She is approximately 13lbs 13oz and wearing 6month and 6-9month clothes but out of the 3-6month for the most part.
She is working on rolling, she can get from her belly to her back and from her back almost to her bellly (hasn’t figured out how to move her arm out from under her yet). She likes tummy time now and usually only rolls because she’s trying to reach something. If she’s on her belly she tries to scoot herself by kicking her feet against the floor rather than trying to roll. She’s no where near crawling but I do see her scooting around on her belly soon (and getting frustrated!).
She loves to hang out naked, it’s her very favorite thing and it’s so much easier to get her to laugh or giggle when she’s naked and you tickle her face or belly with a soft blanket. She loves to try to grab you with her feet and she tries to investigate your face with her hands (usually daddy’s face in the morning and she’s quite violent about it) 🙂
She can fit in the jumparoo without anything under her feet now (toes just touching) and loves to bounce and explore. She also loves standing if you’ll help her and playing that way. She’s obsessed with electronics and technology, if there is a cell phone or computer (or tv) anywhere in the room, she will crane her neck to try to see it 🙂
And finally the pictures. It was harder to get her to smile because I did these later in the day on Sunday instead of morning when she’s at her best but I got some fun ones!
5 months oldThere’s a smile!Always trying to eat anything and everything!example number 2dresses are so constricting – freedom!oh what’s this over here?Her twin in the mirror!
That’s right, last weekend was our annual Groudas family camp out in Knox. This year we had 2 little ones with us so it was very interesting. Luckily the days went on without a hitch, little Jason crawled around happily, not caring that it was grass and not a floor to crawl on. His favorite activity by far however was getting pulled in the wagon by grandma who drove him over to the pond and back multiple times (a day).
Grandma, the pond is that way, why are we going into the woods??Oh! You want to take my picture? Awesome!
Alex’s favorite activity during camping (and any time really) was getting some naked time with daddy tickling her with a blanket or burp cloth or whatever. This is her favorite game and getting to be naked made it even better evidently. She surprisingly did not pee all over the place like she does at home.
Our kid loves to be naked and outdoors.
On Saturday it started to get a bit warm out so the kids got changed into something lighter to wear. Alex decided to sport her favorite dress.
She loves dresses because she can pull them up and eat them.little jason doing some yoga posesthank you grandma for bringing the little travel swing – naps were great because of it!
While naps were great, sleep was ‘okay’. Better the first night than the second for sure on both counts. Alex slept until 2am in her bouncy chair Saturday night. When she woke up her hands were freezing (i didn’t think to bring mittens or a hat). So she spent the rest of the night in bed with us which meant she woke me up to eat a few times. Saturday night jason slept great, he did wake up crying at one point but it was probably a dream because he calmed down and slept the rest of the night.
Sunday night was a different story for both kids. Alex slept the entire night with us after watching fireworks. This meant we were up every 2-3 hours to eat. Jason was up crying quite a bit himself – probably the molar he had pop through (bad timing!). Of course he slept soundly right through the fireworks.
The fireworks were short lived though Sunday night, Fitz got freaked and after a while ran off to get away. After an hour of everyone searching in the woods (and down the road) for him he finally slinked back on his own. Crazy dog.
So Sunday was not as good a night as Saturday and on Monday everyone was a bit tired. All in all though camping was successful, no one got hurt! Oh except Fitz there too – he got a huge thorn in the paw and was limping/crying until Ryan took it out. Other than that no one got hurt!
the tents – notice pj and erica’s tent hiding behind our tent – not the ideal location when babies are crying in the middle of the night !Jason and PJ had a little accident in the pond when the canoe tipped over during an attempt to land 🙂
I didn’t get a trip in the canoe this year, Alex needed constant attention (she always does) so I took my breaks to do more productive things like eat. Next year though I plan to get out there!
And another one down for a nap! Success!One goes down, the other gets up – ‘Mom, i’m not amused, don’t you have any NEW toys for me?’ 🙂 She’s so opinionated.Don’t be fooled by my cool shades, mom did not let me out in the sun at all, i was stuck under the tarp all day!Dressed in her new camping outfit as it started to cool down for the evening.Oh look – the cousins match!Jason’s favorite books by far are his bug books – he just kept going back to read them again.Alex, not to be outdone grabbed her own book to read and settled in 🙂 She’s not competitive in the least i swear!and the burpcloth/blanket game again – she loves this!jason got to sit on the tractor with grandpa, this did not last long, but he kept looking for the tractor when he heard it!a little photo opportunity
On Sunday we all went out for a little adventure (actually Alex slept so she stayed at camp napping). We went out on the quads then met up with Aimee, Jason and Jason at the pond. PJ caught a bass after only fishing for about 15 minutes with bobbers that don’t float no less!
See! I wasn’t joking – this kid loves to read! Just like his momma!Giving me the stink eye – cutie!
Later on Sunday our friends Justin and Jen brought their little one over to play for a bit as well. He and Jason didnt’ exactly play ‘together’ but next to each other, it was cute and Landon liked the wagon just as much as jason did. Next year it will be Jason and Alex fighting over the wagon! Or hopefully, Jason pushing/pulling Alex in the wagon.
One wakes up from a nap…The other passes out 🙂
On Monday we waited until the tents dried out and then got packed up to head out. Since we were able to drive the trucks all the way into the campsite setup/breakdown was really pretty easy this year. One good thing about drought conditions at least.
He’s a crawling machine now!Packing up camp is hard work – tired Alex right out.
Just before lunch we headed out to go to Grandma and Papa Williams’ house for the day where I got a nice long shower – the best part about getting done with camping – showers feel awesome when you haven’t had one in a few days!
Baby girl is 4 months old already! In exactly 1 month she will start daycare so today we went over to check it out and meet her ‘teachers’ and fill out paperwork. Alex loved watching the other kids (she always does) and I think it will be a great fit.
What’s new this month? Well Alex laughs (sometimes), blows raspberries! All.the.time – as of yesterday. Rolls to her side like a pro (not all the way yet). Holds her head up steadily now. Found her feet (but hasn’t eaten them yet, just plays with them). Scratches herself daily (insane how quickly these darn baby nails grow!). She’s drinking pear juice now – her first non-milk ‘food’. You know, all the things those genius children do – read books, count to 10 (just kidding) – but we’re having lots of fun.
We had some fun taking photos today…
It is so hard to choose a favorite so there may be a lot…didn’t get many smiles but a giggle is greatgoing for the feet, i had to grab her so i wasn’t able to center the pic but still cute!oh hello thereand some tummy time, always tough to get good pictures because she hates it, i tricked her by using her giraffe to pose her a bit. This lasted for about 20 seconds longer than normal (which is 2 seconds)For size reference, getting so big!
Alex and I spent some time on Monday over with our cousins. The girls got to play with Alex on the floor as she attempted to roll (back to front) – she still has to work on getting her arm out from under her and she mostly attempted to roll with her giraffe in her arms so I assume that was an impediment as well 🙂
Georgia and AlexChloe and AlexMaia and AlexPlay timeAnd nap time 🙂snuggling with her raffi the giraffi
Time is flying and Alex is growing like a weed! This past weekend we went up to Lake Pleasant to stay with Ryan’s family and Alex got her first boat ride, first time in the sand and feet in the water. She was quite the trooper and LOVED playing with her cousins.
Don’t worry, mommy was hiding behind holding her 😉Totally un-phasedHey kiddo – look where you’re going when you’re driving!
“Watching” fireworks on the boat
And today marks 3 months old…
i can finally get her to smile for the camera!thanks mom i was getting hungry… mmm…
What a weekend we have had! Baby girl has been busy! Saturday morning Ryan got up early and made 2 trips to the dump to get rid of wood we had laying around making the outside look much better (all though we still need to mow!) Then he got the last small piece of crown installed and the rosettes so all the trim was installed!
Next up it was prep for painting, this included filling nail holes for the rest of the day when baby girl would let us (generally one of us worked and the other was on baby duty). Our final project was stripping the door frames in the tvroom – no more lead paint in the tvroom! Alex got lots of walks outside during that process and a little time in the back sewing room.
Happy Girl!
Today we started the day going out to breakfast at IHOP (our favorite breakfast diner was packed). Then we continued the trim work, caulking, sanding, sanding, vacuuming and sanding. Finally all the trim and built-ins are ready for primer!
Trim ready for primer!
Ryan has baby duty tonight so maybe I can get primer on the trim?!
This weekend Ryan’s parents came out to the house to help out. Suzanne helped out with Alex a ton so I got a break and could get some stuff done around the house, it was a much needed break because Alex can be quite demanding. Mark worked on the posts he made for the front porch, getting half of them installed. He’s also making the railings from scratch, matching the original detail, just amazing.
front posts done and one railingand the right side posts all done!
And on Sunday Alex turned 2 months old! She’s over 9 lbs and 22 inches long now and has her doctor appointment on Tuesday (I am not looking forward to her getting shots – ugg). Here are some of my favorite shots from today.
This past weekend we had our regular annual pig roast – a first for little Jason and Alexandra! We drove back to NY Friday night (Alex, Fitz and I picked Ryan up in Boston and we headed out). I was a long drive because we had to stop to feed Alex since the only time she goes more than 3 hours between feedings is at night (when we’re lucky). However she was wonderful in the car, even though she didn’t sleep for the second half of the drive (after she ate), so I didn’t sleep because I was keeping her occupied (so she would remain calm and she did).
Jason and Alex meet the pig. Alex was in her Beco carrier on me while I took pictures.
Saturday was the pig roast, Alex and I got up early. She wasn’t sleeping great (different bouncy chair and I think she was a bit on the cool side with the a/c running). She was happy during the day though because everyone wanted to hold her so she pretty much never had to occupy herself 🙂 This makes for a calm baby.
Alex chillin on her new quilt from Aunt Mo!Cousin Georgia gets to hold Alex for the first time!Cousin Chloe having a chat with Alex 🙂Cousin Maia and Alex - Alex really needs to work on her picture face 🙂
Sunday we celebrated Jason’s first birthday (he’s actually 13 months old now but it was a great opportunity to get everyone together). He’s such a ham and since he was napping quite well all weekend he was in a good mood (except during picture moments pretty much) 🙂
Monday was a day to relax, we went down to see Ryan’s family and have lunch before our long drive home (another stop to feed Alex).
Hannah is quite the artist, even with frosting - check out this monkey she drew!Birthday Boy!Some very happy grandparents!Wow - they are getting so big!Papa Williams holds Alex for the first time!Alex with Grandma Williams!
All in all we had a wonderful long memorial day weekend, lots of friends and family and Alex was very good. She sure slept great the first night home though, we were all happy to be back in our own beds (or bouncy chairs) 🙂
