Thursday: Foundation is started

On Thursday, the inspector was supposed to stop by and the cinder blocks for the foundation were brought in. They laid some of the walls for the foundation.

Standing at the front right edge of the hole, looking towards the back left side.
Another look, from the front right (garage) corner
The cinder blocks arrived!
Tim stands in front of 10 courses of cinder blocks - our basement will be 13 courses so there should be lots of headroom
The foundation below the dining room and kitchen bump-out
Front garage wall, and how the workers get in and out of the hole

Wednesday: A hole and footers

For the last two days, we have been stopping out at the house. On Wednesday, the foundation hole was dug and the footers were laid. Here are the pictures...

First, from the morning - the boards for the footers are laid out.
And later that afternoon, the footers are filled with concrete.
This is from the front right corner of the house. Tim and Cam are standing in the garage to basement stairwell.
Tim is taking the picture, standing where the kitchen window will be, looking out at Cam and I standing in our backyard.
This is from the back left corner of the house, looking towards the road. Closest room is the dining room, and the bump-out in the back is where the kitchen sink will be.
Another shot from the front left corner this time. The double footer near the front of the picture will be the front porch.
Cam standing on the "big truck". Notice Tim and my shadows, waving our arms trying to get Cam to look at us!
Cam, the digger and our house/yard behind it.

Fudgieeeees!

Nana watched Cameron on Monday night while Tim and I were at the cabinet appointment, and he ate a good dinner so he got a fudgecicle for dessert. He really went to town on it, here is the photo proof!

Hmm, what is this?
Cheeeeeeeeese!
Yum, this is good!
Here's looking at you, Nana
What are you looking at?
Hey, I'm busy here, leave me alone
All done!!

It Starts!

We got this picture from the builder's agent, who also lives at the front of the neighborhood that our new house is going to be in. Digging started this morning!

New House: Week 1

Okay, I am going to try and write something every week to document the building of our new house. This week I have no pictures, but we have gotten quite a few things done. On Monday, we met with our builder and his agent. We signed a ton of paperwork for the building contract, the plans, the standards, etc. On Tuesday, we met with the mortgage broker and signed a million more things. It was all to run some reports to show that we can qualify for a mortgage. We won't actually get a mortgage yet, that won't happen until the building is done. Our builder is going to front the money for the build, and he will get paid at the end when we get the mortgage and certificate of occupancy. I don't know if that is normally how it is done, but it works for us. We will put ~10% down up front and the builder will go from there.

On Wednesday, we met with the kitchen layout and cabinet designer. I was really afraid that we were going to have to design everything in the entire kitchen. And then we we got there, the designer said we would be doing kitchen and bath. I almost ran out the door screaming for all of the decisions I would have to make. He then told us that he would only be doing the cabinetry and the layout of the kitchen and bathrooms - we would be going elsewhere for countertops, fixtures, lighting and flooring. So one step at a time... that I can handle. We sat down with the designer for about two hours - explaining to him what we were looking for, what kind of options we want to see, and what our thoughts are for layout. We both really liked the designer so I think that helps a lot. We have another appointment next week to look at the layouts he has come up with.

On Thursday we received the survey of our land, with the house and septic placement. We are going to be situated about 100 feet back on the lot, in just about the middle of the lot. The house will be tipped about 10 degrees, allowing a bit of southern exposure on the back of the house (where the family room and kitchen are). We also went to look around Lowe's to get an idea of what kinds of appliances exist out there, and how much they cost. We weren't there for too long because Cam got tired of looking at kitchens. He did quite enjoy the bathroom section, including sitting in the bathtubs and opening up every single vanity door.

On Friday Tim went to get the bank check for the builder, which we will give him next Monday. His crew will be there and they are planning on starting to dig the foundation first thing, once we hand over the check. Yikes!!

Tim is excited, excited, excited. I am a bit more tentative, worried about spending all that money and worried about all the decisions that are upcoming. I got a little more excited when we were at the kitchen store, thinking about the possibilities for our kitchen... I think it will come in little bites for me, not all at once like it did for Tim. I also think it will be more exciting once the foundation starts and I can actually see where the house will be.

So that is it for Week 1. Please feel free to give us any house tips, especially on things you like and don't like about your kitchen or bathrooms. We are trying to gather every tip we can get so that we can make our house as great as possible.

Cam Cute: Morning Edition

A little background for this story… When presented with two options, Cam almost always picks the second one. Mama or Daddy? Daddy. Daddy or Mama? Mama. Tim and I use this knowledge as an avoidance strategy: Cameron, who do you want to change your poopy diaper - Mama or Daddy? Daddy!!

This conversation took place on Tuesday morning. It still cracks me up to think about, and really makes me wonder what the heck goes through Cameron's head sometimes!!

Scene: Mama and Daddy's bedroom, 7am Tuesday morning. Mama is getting dressed for work.
Mama: Cam, which shirt should I wear - pink or green?
Cam: Pink!
Mama (amazed that he didn't pick the last choice): Green or pink?
Cam: Pink!
Mama: Pink or green?
Cam: Pink!!!
Mama (putting on shirt): Ok, pink it is.
Mama: So Cam, do I look pretty?
Cam (taking a minute to scrutinize Mama's outfit): … No pretty.
Mama (crushed): Mama doesn't look pretty?
Cam (resolutely): No pretty.

Cameron starts tugging on Mama's shirt, trying to pull it off. Mama, still in shock from her little fashion critic's statements, pulls of the shirt. Cam immediately puts his hands up in the air.
Cam: On, on, on!
Mama: You want to put my shirt on?
Cam: Yea.
Mama puts the shirt on Cam. It hangs to his feet like a dress and the empire waistline details of the shirt fall perfectly at Cam's waist.

Cam turns to the mirror.
Cam: Pretty!!

After admiring himself for a minute, Cam wants the shirt back off.
Cam (tugging on shirt): Off, off, off!
Cam (shirt comes off): Mama - on.

Mama puts the shirt back on.
Mama: Okay Cam, do I look pretty now?
Cam: Yes, pretty! Pretty!!
Mama: Sigh...

New House

I alluded to it in a previous post - we are pretty darn close to putting money down for a new house. Actually, building a new house, to be more specific. We have been in our current house for five years, and we always said that we would only be here for five years. We are certainly starting to outgrown this house - we probably have too much stuff, but it would be nice to have more room! For the past six or so months, we have been looking for a new house. We were looking for a house to move into, rather than build, but just haven't been able to find anything that fits everything that we wanted. We started looking at possible neighborhoods to build in and found one that works out really well for us. It is north of our current house but still close to work, Cam's school and Mom and Dad's house. We have worked with an architect to create a house plan that we like, have picked a lot, and are getting everything together for a mortgage and financing.

The neighborhood is brand new, we will be one of the first houses in. It is called Ashley Landing. Our lot has 2.5 acres, most of it wooded. The house plan that we "designed" is around 3300 square feet and has four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. It has a three-car garage, dining room, living room, office, large kitchen, eat-in area, half bathroom, pantry and family room. Upstairs are the bedrooms and bathrooms, plus a laundry room. Two of the bedrooms share a bathroom between them - each room has a door into the sink area, and then there is a separate room with a tub and toilet. There is also a full bathroom in the main hall. The master bedroom has a really nice (and quite large) master bathroom, plus his/her walk-in closets. We are very excited about it, but know that we have a lot of work and decisions ahead of us.

Here are a couple pictures from the lot. Not much to see yet, but you can see what a beautiful wooded area it is.

Here is the lot map - it is a bit hard to read, but basically it is a square lot 250' x 450'
Cameron playing on the lot
This is an easement at the back of our lot - very nice for walking!
Mimi, Grandpa, Mama and Cam walking in the easement
Cam and Daddy!
On the road, our lot is on the left. Kristin (in red) is standing at the starting stake of the lot.
Looking straight back on the lot - the blue post to the left of the sign is the center of the lot.
Looking back up the road, with the lot on the right.
Another look at the lot. The stake in the lower right is the lot line.

Evening at the park

Last Saturday night we went to Onondaga Lake Park with Mom and Dad, and Matt and Gina. We brought a dinner of Thai takeout (delicious), which we ate at a picnic table. After dinner, we played in the grass and then went to the playground. We all had a lot of fun, and Cameron loved having six adults to play with!

Cameron makes friends everywhere he goes - these people had a dog so Cam went over to see it.
Cam coming back to our table with his prize - cookies from the people he was talking to
After a snack, Poppa chases Cameron
Cam gets caught!
Then it is Cam's turn to chase Poppa
One of Cam's favorite activities for the evening - walking to the top of the "big hill"
Then walking down the steps...
And runnnnnnnnning down the hill!
"More more" - Back up again!
Cam on the playground
Going through the tunnel
And crawling back through the other way
Hello smush-face baby!
How many other kids smushed their faces on this that night? I don't really want to think about that!

Update: Potty Time

A quick update from yesterday's post about Cam's potty progress... On Monday morning, Cam sat on the potty first thing in the morning and peed on the potty! Tim told them at school about Cam's new "trick" and so they had him sit on the potty during the day. Once he peed on the potty, and once he pooped on the potty! Back at home, he peed on the potty before going to bed. Granted, he didn't tell us he had to go any of those times, we just asked, but he was very willing to try and went pretty quickly once sitting down. We are so proud!!!

I am headed to San Francisco for business travel today, so we will see if that has any affect on Cameron's progress so far.

Potty Time

For the past couple months, Cameron has been extremely interested in watching Tim and I go to the bathroom. He stands uncomfortably close while we go, pulls toilet paper off the roll and bunches it up for us. We draw the line at wiping, but he watches quite closely to see what is going on. It is a bit unnerving!! After the wiping is done, Cam closes the lid and flushes the toilet.

So we have been under scrutiny in the bathroom. We have talked to Cam about the potty, what we are doing and what is going into the potty. Some very interesting conversations!! We ask him if he wants to sit on the potty, and he has sat on the potty a couple times but nothing has happened. He talks about going potty, and tells us that he has gone poo-poo in his diaper.

On Friday night we bought a little potty from Target. We got one that can either be a separate little potty, or it can attach onto the toilet. For now, we have it as a separate potty because Cam can sit on it himself. Several times on Friday night and Saturday, he has asked for the potty. We bring him up there, sit him on it, but nothing happens. He asks for toilet paper every time, but we have been firm that we only use toilet paper when we go. Otherwise, we probably would have gone through 10 rolls this weekend!

This morning, when Cam was going upstairs to get dressed, he asked to sit on the potty. We sat him down and he said "Pee-pee". We said, "sure, go ahead and go pee-pee." Well, sure enough, Cam peed on the potty! We nearly went nuts with excitement, cheering and clapping. Cam was quite proud of himself. He finally got to use toilet paper, which was very exciting for him. We dumped the pee and toilet paper into the toilet, and Cameron flushed. We were so proud of him!! But we are also realistic, knowing that it was a total coincidence.

Later that day, we were out walking on the land where our new house will hopefully be (more on that in another post), and Cameron kept telling me "potty". There really wasn't a good place to go potty, so I told him to go in his diaper. He wasn't too happy and kept saying "potty", but eventually gave up and played in the woods.

After dinner, I was downstairs putting laundry into the washer, and Cameron told Tim "poo-poo potty". Tim grabbed him out of his seat and went running upstairs. Tim sat Cameron on his potty, and Cam started grunting and squeezing quite dramatically. This went on for a while so Tim figured he was just fooling around. Cam finally said "All Done", so Tim thought he got sick of sitting there. Cam stood up, and sure enough, there was poo-poo in the potty!!! Cam was just as surprised as Tim was. There was much more clapping and excitement and cheering. This time though, Cam wasn't too interested in using toilet paper. :-P Into the potty went the paper and the poo, and Cam said good-bye and flushed it away.

We are ecstatic, but realize that this is just a funny coincidence. Twice, we were able to see the signs that Cam was ready to go, and twice we were able to catch it in the potty. This was even more evident when Cam came to tell me the good news about the poo-poo in the potty, and peed all over the floor! But coincidence or not, a great day for Cam and for us.

Cheese!
Hello Daddy, I am trying to poo-poo here
Let me try reading, that always seems to help Mama and Daddy go poo!

Cam-tionary

Cameron has been saying words for quite a while, but he has progressed on to the stage where he blathers on and on, with no end in sight. The problem is, we can't understand most of it! He obviously is saying something relevant to the situation, but we just can't translate every word. When we are able to, we are always shocked at what he has to say and that he seems to be saying it in full sentences. The other day, he was on our bed and a book fell off onto the ground. Cam kept repeating something, that we finally figured out to be "Book fall off I get it". So he has a lot to say, it just isn't too often that we can figure it out!

For anyone who doesn't spend every day with Cam, even the simple words that he says seem like code. So, here is a snippet from the most current Cam-tionary, with phonetic spelling, of course:

"I do" - Cam's most often used phrase, pronounced perfectly but always smushed together into one word
"Ap-ee" - Open. This is said as two very distinct syllables, with emphasis on the second
"Pippy" - Sippy cup. He doesn't quite have the letter "s" down yet, so we get many requests for "Pip-pee, pip-peeeee, pip-peeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"
"Me" - This is Cameron's response to "What is your name?" or "Say Cameron". He always just says "me", we have only heard him say his actual name once or twice.
"Unck" - Uncle. This is primarily for Uncle Matt, as Uncle Paul is called "Unck-Pa"
"Kewl" - school. I love the way Cam pronounces this, with a drawn-out "ew", so I ask him to say it quite often.
"Na-na" - banana. Emphasis on the second syllable. This is not to be confused with Nana, emphasis on the first syllable, which is what he calls Mom. The two words sound different enough that it is easy to differentiate. Unless he is asking Nana for a na-na: "Nana, na-na, na-na, Nana"
"Tash" - trash. Apparently Cameron is quite concerned with the environment, as he feels it very important to pick up anything on the ground that shouldn't be there. He identifies the object with a shout of "Tash!", picks it up and puts it in the nearest garbage can.
"Feesch" - fish or goldfish crackers. One of Cam's favorite snacks (goldfish crackers) and also one of the animals he can most readily identify. It is always pronounced with a drawn out "e" sound in the middle.
"Buh" - blanket. I think this came from Cam not being able to say the whole word, so he just went for the first part, without the l... buh-lanket. Either way, Buh has morphed into his name for any special blanket that he wants to have in his crib for night time.
"Boo" - book. We get many requests for Boo in the early morning, and let me tell you, Boo and Buh sound a lot alike so Cam doesnt usually get what he wants!
"Ow-tide" - outside. We hear this all the time, whether in a house, a car, or even just standing under something covered. Cameron always wants to go ow-tide. He would play, eat and sleep outside if we let him.
"Tee-too" - Thank you. Cam is very good at using this in the correct context. He also says it when he wants you to say thank you. He will give me something, say "Tee-too" and wait expectantly for me to say it back to him. He also uses the sign for Thank You every single time he says it, and sometimes just uses the sign (like if his mouth is full).
"Peaaaaas" - please. Cam is always very vigorous when saying please, and he drags out the vowel sound. He also does the sign for please (well, his verison of the sign) every time he says it.