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the first week
Last Monday, I called my mom to chat about how things we’re going (I had worked up until the Friday before so this was my first “free” day). She commented that she hadn’t seen a recent preggo picture of me so I snapped this one and sent it to her before heading to an afternoon doctor appointment. 39 weeks, 2 days.
Last Monday, the nursery also looked like this. (We bought a sleeper sofa for the basement and had IKEA deliver it the day before.)
Last Monday, we also had a baby.
Avery was breech for the last several months of my pregnancy (we tried a version and other methods to turn her, but she was stubborn), so we were anticipating a scheduled c-section on Wednesday.
Wednesday, at 4:00. I even wrote it in my planner.
However, on Monday afternoon I got a call from my doctor’s office saying that the results of some blood work done earlier that day were a little off and they’d like me to just head on over to L&D triage to get checked out. To make a long story short, I felt great and baby was doing well but, per the doctor’s recommendation, we decided to not chance anything and go ahead with the c-section that night. It went very well and we’re grateful for the top-notch team that was taking care of us.
In other good news, Kyle did not pass out.
I’m also grateful for friends who bring us cupcakes. Pink cupcakes.
It was a gorgeous couple of days in Seattle and I lived vicariously through the view out our hospital room window. On the second day Kyle snuck home to take care of a few things…like moving the IKEA boxes out of the nursery. Of course, we thought we had another day or two so the house was in a state of slight chaos. Laundry on the bed, dishes in the sink. DIRTY FLOORS. It was very important to me that Kyle mop the floors when he was home. He did. =)
As soon as we got home we gave Avery a quick tour of the house that ended in her room. All of a sudden, things got very real and that crib felt very big.
Yeah, we didn’t finish the basement in time either. Fortunately, Kyle is at home this week as well and has been spending part of his days priming and painting (zero VOC for both) in preparation for my mom’s arrival this weekend.
For those that have been wondering how Bailey and Avery would get along, I think this should sum things up:
Some friends of ours watched Bailey while we were gone and Kyle waited to pick him up until after we were home. We started with a slow and controlled introduction, but once we knew that he would be calm we let them get a little closer. And then a lot closer. As predicted, Bailey was a gentle giant and Avery seemed oblivious to what was happening.
There’s just a coat of primer on in these photos, but it already feels so much better. We hired out the drywall work and they finished only two days before Avery’s arrival.
Although it seems to be gaining in popularity, Avery has been our “girl name” since Kyle and I first started talking about marriage and babies when we were still in college. In the part of Tulsa were Kyle grew up, there’s a scenic road called Avery Drive. It’s the type of road that you might drive down with your girlfriend on a nice fall day.
Though it’s traditionally a boy’s name, we liked that it sounded feminine without being too girly…that it was unique but not weird. I hadn’t looked into the meaning behind the name until a few months ago while thumbing through a baby name book at the doctor’s office. I think the definitions vary, but this particular book said that Avery meant “counselor to the elves”.
WHAT? Done and done. I think about that now every time I see her swaddled in her fairy blanket.
Meanwhile, progress in the basement continues and the finished stair no longer feels so out-of-place.
We debated different middle names, but ultimately came back to Elizabeth. It’s a family name, a classic middle name, and we liked the way it all rolled off the tongue. We held off on telling people her name (besides family) until she was born. Although Kyle may disagree with me, it was fun to have one little surprise. We also thought there was a chance she would look like a Lillian or a Hazel instead. But she didn’t.
[Also, that girl had some fingernails! I waited a few days to trim them (hence the mitts) but when I did it was easier than I expected. Easier than trimming a kitten’s claws at least.]
To make the space as bright as possible and match the rest of the house, we’re going with BM Natura paint in “super white” for the basement. Except for the doors, More on that later.
Upstairs, a lot of this has been happening. This baby likes to sleep!
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, we finally decided to just buy a sleeper sofa from IKEA. We’d been going back and forth between getting a real bed, a sofa bed, or keeping our comfy (but only sleeps one) couch. Since the room will be used as both a guest room and tv room, we really needed a sofa bed. Aesthetically and functionally, I thought the Karlstad would be a good choice, but we were disappointed with the sleeper sofa version. So we came up with our own IKEA hack of sorts and will share that in the next post.
More brother-sister bonding. Although we never leave Avery unattended with Bailey, we feel comfortable that he won’t try to jump on her or aggressively lick her. She’s also just not that interesting to him now, but I know that will all change before we know it.
Although originally optimistic that we could maybe somehow get the second bathroom and laundry room done in time, we soon accepted reality and only had half of the basement drywalled. I like to think that once we get the itch to start on a project again, we’ll have a nice little one downstairs, ready and waiting.
Avery isn’t quite ready for 0-3 months clothes yet, but not knowing how big she would be I cautiously only bought a few “newborn” size things – mostly little wrap tees and white onesies. I did receive this dress from a friend and remember thinking at the time how itty bitty it was.
Another thing I wanted to do pre-baby was clean up the laundry area in anticipation of an onslaught of baby laundry. Well, clearly that didn’t happen either. But y’know…it doesn’t really matter. Clothes still get cleaned and I just have to be a little more careful not to drop tiny wet baby socks on the floor.
This is our new normal and we wouldn’t trade it for anything. [Side note: the nursery layout and connection to the living area has actually worked really well for visitors. We moved the LCW in for extra seating and impromptu laundry holding.]
Finally, thank you for all your wonderful comments. Even though it took me a few days to respond, I read every single one. Speaking of, if there is one piece of gear that has been invaluable this last week it’s been my iPhone. I don’t know how new parents survived before. I text photos to family, FaceTime with my mom, moderate comments, take about a bajillion photos and even use it as a night-light to check on her in the middle of the night.
Diapers, swaddles, iPhone.
Now that we’re into our second week with a newborn, we’re feeling better adjusted to this new schedule of days broken down into 2-3 hour chunks. I also feel very fortunate that (so far) I’ve had a speedy recovery and almost full nights of sleep. I know this probably won’t last, so we’re enjoying it (and, err…finishing the basement) while we still can.
the nursery
The nursery is done! Well, mostly.
Back in February, we found out we were having a girl and shared with you where the nursery would be and a sketch of a floor plan we had in mind. In March, we posted two different nursery design directions and ultimately chose the darker scheme. Since then, there’s been a lot of talk about paint colors, fabric, decor and furniture. There are a few original ideas (including the low bench/cubby and floating shelf above the dresser) that I hoped to have complete by now but they fall under the category of “hey Kyle, can you build that?” and he has been putting all of his time and energy into the basement (with a looming baby deadline, we decided it was better to divide and conquer). Besides, they’re not exactly critical elements for newborns so I don’t think she’ll notice.
All in all, I really love how the space turned out. It’s not as frilly or styled as the nurseries that permeate Pinterest and baby blogs, but it fits our style and will continue to evolve as our little one does. Admittedly, it still feels a bit empty but I imagine the guest of honor will soon change all of that. I’ve also come to the conclusion that putting together a nursery in the months leading up to one’s due date has a small functional purpose and a larger psychological purpose. For us, the room is ready and we are ready.
One reason we chose to paint the walls a dark color was to make the space feel like a cozy enclave off the main part of the house. The two large sliding doors can be easily shut for privacy and some acoustical separation.
The room had no built-in closets, so we installed a free-standing IKEA Pax wardrobe hidden by two hand-sewn(!) curtain panels on a ceiling-mounted track. A used dresser serves as a changing table and holds diapers, wipes, clothes and other frequently used baby items. In lieu of a more traditional mobile, we had the idea to hang air plants in glass vessels above the changing pad. The floating shelf mentioned earlier will eventually go to the left of the vessels.
On the opposite wall, we located the glider and ottoman, with a lamp and small side table for nursing and rocking. The side table will eventually be replaced with the cubby/bench that will extend the full length of the window and serve as book and toy storage.
The yellow stool is hanging out in this corner temporarily, but it’s already come in handy to reach things at the top of the wardrobe so maybe it will stay.
I’d been looking for a way to use these West Elm glass vessels and a new interpretation of the mobile seemed like a good opportunity. The delicate air plants add some greenery and a nice compositional element to this wall. [Note: the vessels were hung at a height that should avoid head-bonking during late night changes. As with everything else, if it doesn’t work for some reason, we’ll change it.]
Aside from the dresser, the wardrobe currently holds all the baby gear we own. I know things will shift around as the room evolves, but I feel good about the amount of storage we have and the potential to modify the interior fittings as our needs change. [I know, I know…once toys come into the picture things will be drastically different, but we have some ideas for that already.]
True, I may not be reading Wuthering Heights aloud anytime soon, but I love the redesign of the Penguin Classics books and have long thought about building a collection for our daughter to read. Also, I like the idea of including elements in her room that she can grow into or look forward to. [These will likely not stay on the dresser, but it was fun to arrange a few items for the photos.]
The dresser is just deep enough for the changing pad (which is fastened to the back of the dresser by two small straps). I splurged on a Simple Human slim trash can for diapers, rationalizing that I could also use it with a wet bag liner for cloth diapers down the road.
The photograph above used to sit on the picture rail in the dining area, but after we found out we were having a girl it seemed like a no-brainer to move it into the nursery. The photo (taken in 1920 or so) shows five generations of women in my family. The baby is my grandmother and the woman holding her is my great-great-great-great grandmother! The same photograph hung on the stairwell of the house I grew up in and I always loved looking at it and imagining the lives these women had. After our little girl is here, we plan on taking another photo with my mom, me and the baby to carry on the tradition. The squirrel coat hook is just for fun. We’re still not sure what will hang from it, but it’s playful and cute and Kyle and I have an odd history with squirrels (like when a pack of them nearly tried to attack Kyle as he was proposing to me years ago).
We have been fortunate to receive several homemade gifts for our little girl. This is Hazel the hippo and was a gift from a friend/co-worker. It’s modeled after the stuffed hippo she carried everywhere as a child and has become her go-to baby gift. Of course, the colors coordinate with our nursery. Of course.
Due to safety concerns, cribs are fairly minimal these days. But that’s ok. I like the simple and under-stated appearance of our IKEA Gulliver crib. I’m sure she’ll add her own accessories as she gets bigger.
Finally, to visually fill in the space to the left of the crib, we framed and hung this sweet and modern fairy tale print next to baby photos of us.
We generally don’t include cost breakdowns for our projects but I thought it might be helpful to list specific info and general prices. It always feels like cheating a little bit if I don’t include prices for things that weren’t purchased specifically for the nursery, but then it’s a matter of where to draw the line – do I include the flooring? The insulation? The windows? Going into this project, we tried to limit both the amount of money spent and amount of “baby stuff”, giving priority to simple yet quality pieces that we’ll hold onto for many years.
Glider + ottoman: Land of Nod Monte Luca in charcoal (ottoman, $385 and glider, $995. The glider was a gift from my siblings, but we also took advantage of a 20% off sale.)
Crib: IKEA Gulliver in birch, $129
Crib mattress: Naturepedic ($260) and Aden+Anais sheet ($30, both gifts)
Wardrobe: IKEA Pax (already owned)
Curtain track: IKEA Kvartal, $20
Curtain fabric: Texas Susannie Fabrics, $60
Dresser: Craigslist ($100) with white plastic laminate at about ($30) plus yellow paint (already owned BM in “luminous days”)
Changing pad: Naturepedic ($100, gift) and yellow cover, $3 (consignment sale)
Small lamp: “vintage” IKEA (already owned)
Yellow stool: IKEA (already owned and painted in BM’s “luminous days”)
Side table: “vintage” IKEA (already owned)
Lamp: IKEA (already owned) plus new IKEA shade, $10
Chevron rug: West Elm (already owned)
Hanging vessels: West Elm, $43 (used gift card)
Air plants: Air Plant Supply Co., $30
Squirrel Coat Hook: Land of Nod, $29
Frames: IKEA Ribba, $15
Christian Jackson “Princess and the Pea” print: Imagekind, $32
Roller shades: The Shade Store (already owned)
Fan/light combo: Modern Fan Co. (already owned)
Paint: Benjamin Moore Natura in “Baby Seal Black”, about $40
So there you have it – a sweet and sophisticated room for our little girl. Can’t wait to show it to her.
basement progress: prepping for inspections + drywall
First and foremost, thank you all so much for your sweet and comforting comments about Felix. Maybe it sounds crazy since we’ve never met most of you “in real life”, but your collective support truly helped us through this last week and we’re feeling better about what happened and are learning to focus on the happier memories.
Progress on the basement has felt like a slow burn this past month, but we’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Here’s a recap of what we’ve been up to:
Several weeks ago, Kyle poured the thin leveling slab at the bottom of the stairs. To compensate for a sloped basement floor, we decided to treat each space independently with its own floor height. This strategy maximizes the head clearance in each zone and saves us from lowering the floor throughout the entire basement.
The sewage ejector pump is in the background (with a cardboard ring around it for protection) and will eventually be part of a small closet space.
Once the slab had cured, Kyle installed more dri-core subfloor panels and moved on to framing the surrounding walls. Between the guest room and hallway, we opted for a 36″ pocket door (seen in the pocketed position above). We decided that this would provide the privacy needed while also allowing visual and acoustical “flow” for more casual use.
This is our first pocket door at chezerbey so the install took a bit longer but was fairly straight-forward once Kyle got the hang of it. Basically, the door comes as a kit. The pocket is composed of a metal and wood assembly that fits within a 2×6 framed wall.
A track at the top (mounted to the ceiling framing) and guides at the bottom allow the door to slide without swinging about all willy-nilly. The door itself is a hollow-core paint grade door with flush pocket door hardware.
For the closet and bathroom doors, we chose simple paint-grade hollow-core swinging doors. Hard to believe, but these are the only interior swinging doors in our entire house. Fancy!
The photo above illustrates the small step up to the bedroom on the right and step down to the laundry room on the left. We’ll have a simple threshold at each transition when it’s all said and done.
Bad remodel humor. I apologize. (This is just a note to the drywallers that we need a butt strip at this location to flush everything out.)
The closet housing the sewage ejector pump will also provide access to the storage area under the mudroom. We still have to install the inlet and outlet pipes from the pump, so the closet will probably be best suited for vertical storage (like our vacuum, which has never had a real home).
Did you know our house only had 9 windows total when we moved in? Yeah, this will be number 13 (not counting the mudroom or 4 skylights). We wanted some form of natural light in the basement bathroom, but due to existing vent pipes we were limited to the future shower wall.
So we went as big as we could.
Kyle carefully worked around the new landscaping to install the window. Because the window would be in the shower and exposed to water, we went with an Andersen (100 Series) fiberglass window. The outside is the same dark brown as our other windows, but the inside is a white fiberglass finish that will stand up to moisture. For privacy, we chose an obscure glass finish.
The existing dryer vent had to be removed and relocated a few more inches away. The existing hole will be patched and Kyle plans to salvage some of the cedar shingles that were attached to the removed wall panel.
To allow space for the venting and larger plumbing lines, Kyle framed out a furring wall with an airspace behind (there’s a 4×4 PT ledger behind the top plate). This will create an extra deep sill at the window, perfect for storing shampoo, soap, etc. (Kyle still has to frame out the other walls, but this is far as he got today.)
We have framing and electrical inspections scheduled for tomorrow morning (just for the bedroom and hallway) and if those go well we’ll finish insulating tomorrow night before sheetrock starts on Tuesday! We’re using the same recycled denim insulation that we’ve used throughout the rest of the house.
While things are coming together in one half of the basement, chaos ensues elsewhere. Our garage (and backyard in general) continues to act as a lumber yard and workshop…
…and the laundry area has been overtaken with tools and materials. My biggest challenge lately has been to transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer without dropping anything on the floor (wet clothes = sawdust magnet). While the laundry room probably won’t be done by the time we’re waist-high in baby laundry, I’m optimistic that the power tools and 15+ containers of fasteners will at least be gone.
Let’s be real people – this is what happens during a remodel. To make matters worse, we have effectively backed ourselves into the remaining unfinished portion of our basement, which is comparable to a large closet. So this evening, we took about an hour to organize and move stuff around to restore sanity and prepare for the drywall delivery tomorrow.
…much better!
Still a bit chaotic yes, but more organized chaos. To maximize our work area, Kyle is waiting to frame the rest of the bathroom wall until we absolutely need to. After the basement is done, I think our next big project might be to organize and purge the garage and carport. It is amazing what two people can accrue over 6 years.
So that’s where we’re at. Kyle has been working weeknights and all weekend in the basement and that pattern will likely continue this week. Fortunately, baby Zerbey seems comfortable where she’s at (phew!), but it’s still going to be a race to get things done in time. Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn’t be savoring our last days of being DINKs in other ways, like going to a concert or a movie on a whim or out to a fancy restaurant without any pre-planning. Then again, I’ve heard that spontaneous two-person remodeling will also be a luxury of the past so we should just enjoy it right? Ahh yes, the freedom to do manual labor late into the night, frequent 4 hardware stores in one day and subside solely on coffee and PB&Js. Yeah, we may be going from one crazy lifestyle to another, but we’re so ready.
felix
The main focus of this blog has been to document the remodel of our home, but for anyone who has been reading for a while you know it’s about our family too.
Last Saturday, Felix was hit by a car. We weren’t home when it happened, but the driver (who was absolutely devastated) got a hold of us by calling the number on his tag. It was a quiet drive back and when we got home we buried him in the backyard. We wanted Bailey to try to understand what had happened so we included him in the process. Afterwards, the three of us curled up in bed where we stayed most of the day.
We had Felix for less than a year. He was an abandoned kitten who had spent the first several weeks of his life outdoors before we adopted him. As much as we tried, he was just not meant to be an indoor cat. As he grew into a mature cat he became increasingly destructive and unfriendly, with too much energy to stay inside all day. So a couple of months ago we started letting him outdoors and despite everything, I know that those few months were the happiest of his life. During that time, we watched him become a sweet and playful cat who mostly stayed in our yard and no longer picked on Bailey. He had just started chasing birds, so maybe he followed one into the street. Or maybe the driver was distracted. We’ll never know for sure, but we’re definitely going to miss that little guy. As a way to say goodbye we decided to repost some of our favorite photos from his short life…
We’re doing better now, but the sadness is still there. It’s so incredibly hard to lose a pet.
basement progress: electrical + subfloor
I’m just going to say it – June in Seattle is depressing. While the rest of the country is swimming, sunning and generally embracing summer, we’re still wearing sweaters and crossing our fingers that our tomato plants don’t keel over due to lack of sun. (The joke is that summer in Seattle doesn’t start until after the 4th of July and that’s usually about right.) But, if there’s a silver lining to the gray permacloud at least it makes it easier to work in the basement.
So with the crappy weather on our side, last weekend was a productive one and Kyle was able to finish the framing and electrical and get started on the subfloor.
For a small project like this, we just talked through where we would want outlets, switches and fixtures instead of producing an electrical plan. Our main goal was to come up with a layout that would provide the most flexibility whether the space is being used as a TV room or bedroom. Because of our short ceiling height, the biggest challenge to figure out was lighting. Obviously, you don’t want anything hanging down and recessed cans wouldn’t work with our exposed joists. So the plan is to install a couple of wall sconces (you can see the round electrical box for one in the photo above) that flank what will eventually be a built-in media/storage unit.
Kyle also framed out the little closet that contains the sewage ejector pump and access to our under-the-mudroom storage.
To make the space feel taller we’re leaving the joists exposed but the actual detail is a bit trickier. Unlike our living room ceiling, in the basement we have to contend with all the exposed nails coming through the subfloor from the old oak floors above (that are now covered with plywood and cork). Our solution was to furr down with 2×4’s and then attach sheetrock to that. Finally, we’ll sand up the joists a bit and then paint everything super white.
Here’s a shot looking back the other direction. Above the window, we’ll have a soffit with three recessed cans. There is likely to be a couch or bed against this wall so a little direct lighting made sense. The round electrical box in the foreground is for a smoke detector (required in every bedroom!) and the rectangular duct goes to the nursery above. When we had our new furnace and ductwork installed nearly 4 years ago, we had a feeling this space would eventually get finished out and made sure that any ductwork was as minimal as possible (same goes for the electrical, which is run only along the perimeter where it will be covered).
On the opposite wall Kyle roughed in power, data and cable. The TV/DVD/Xbox are in the living room for now, but the plan is to eventually move everything downstairs. I’m hesitant to use the words “media room” or “man cave” but we do see this room as a cozy space to watch movies.
Poor Bails, spending his weekend watching Kyle work. He might be the only dog that willingly will nap next to an air compressor.
Before the weekend was over, Kyle also got started on the Dri-Core subfloor (he’s actually installing the last pieces as I type). The 2’x2′ panels are comprised of a layer of OSB over a black dimpled plastic. Even though we installed a moisture barrier under the new topping slab, the plastic backing provides an airspace and keeps any water that might find its way in from coming up through the floor.
The panels have a tongue and groove slot on all four sides so they click together and form a floating floor system. They can be easily cut on a table saw and the whole process took a couple of hours max. At the edges, Kyle used wood shims to hold the panels away from the wall (to compensate for any future expansion and contraction).
For a snug fit, he whacked each panel in place using a few 2x’s and a mallet. (It’s hard to tell in the photos, but the seams are staggered for a more uniform installation.)
At the edges, he used a pry bar pushed against the sill plate to ensure a tight fit.
Naturally, Bailey was on hand to supervise. (I know, he is SUPER shaggy right now and is going to the groomer on Saturday!)
“A little to the left dad…hey, watch my paws!”
Kyle finished the subfloor tonight so the next step will be to frame the rest of the small hallway at the bottom of the stairs and pour a leveling slab. This weekend he’ll insulate and install the interior doors and then we’ll be ready for inspections and sheetrock. My mom has a feeling that zerbebe will come a week early and she tends to be right about these things so no dilly-dallying for us.
[Random side note – we were in the basement tonight hashing out a few details when Kyle nonchalantly tossed a pry bar on the floor. The sound made zerbebe jump, which is the first time that’s happened. Better get used to that kiddo. =) ]
