Jessi's First Pigtails

Love!

Construction - Week 15

Drywall, drywall, drywall! Stairs were also installed this week. It's looking great!

Working away

Front porch

Stairs have arrived! (but not yet installed)

The temporary stair solution

 Pocket door opening to basement

Drywallers working hard

Dining room prior to drywall

On the weekend we visited the house with our cousins. Note to self: kids love big empty houses!

Week 15

Locked, but luckily I know the code.

Foyer

Stairs installed!

Dining room drywalled

Great room

Kitchen

Stairs/landing in garage

Exploring the basement

Basement guest room and hobby room

Basement stairs and under-stair storage 

We ended up with a lot more bulkheads in the basement than was originally planned, but not much you can do about it. Duct work has to go somewhere!

Basement rec room bulkheads

Interview with (20-Month-Old) Jessica

Nathalieland: Hello Jessica! It's been in a while.
Jessica: I missed you.

N: Yes, sorry I missed your last interview; I was busy celebrating Christmas (and building a house)! So what have you been up to?
J: Growing, learning, and talking up a storm. Last month after drinking a cup of water I said "More fresh water please, Mommy." Since then I'm little miss chatterbox and can speak in full sentences.

N: You are certainly an amazing talker. How big are you now?
J: I weigh about 22 lbs and am 32 inches tall. I wear mostly 24 months/2T clothes and a size 4 diaper (though a size 5 works fine too).

N: Well you look just great. What are some things you enjoy doing lately?
J: I love to dance, sing, draw/paint, do puzzles, and play with my big sister.

N: How's your sleep?
J: It's not that great, actually. After Mommy puts me down, I talk to myself until way past my bedtime. Then I still wake up early, so I only end up getting 9-10 hours of sleep at night. I've had a couple of days with no naps (which makes my night sleep even worse!), but for the most part I nap for 2-2.5 hours in the afternoon.

N: I sure hope your sleep improves soon. Sleep is a wonderful thing, Jessica! What's your bedtime routine like?
J: Every other night I have a bath, followed by tooth-brushing and pyjamas. Then Mommy reads me 3-4 books while I read/play/walk around in my room. My favourite part is when Sissy comes in to say good night, right before she goes to brush her teeth with Daddy. Anyways, after books, I pick five things to sleep with (stuffed toys, blankies, etc) and put them in my bed. Mommy and I snuggle in a chair and she sings me a song while I drink some milk. We hug for a bit, then she puts me in my bed and says good night! 

N: That sounds lovely! But why five things?
J: Well it used to just be a couple of blankies, but then I kept gathering more and more things that I wanted to sleep with. Eventually my bed was just filled things and I was obsessed with having/finding them all. It got a little out of hand, so Mommy decided to limit it to just five. I actually think it's really fun to pick my five things out of a drawer full of them.

N: That's a good idea.
J: And speaking of my mommy, gosh I love her. I would spend every waking moment with her if I could.

N: That's sweet Jessica. What are your eating habits like right now?
J: Pretty much the same as they were three months ago. Some junk food I eat on a daily basis include half a cookie, one bite of chocolate, and a cereal bar.

N: Any quirks at this age?
J: After every bath I demand to be wrapped up in a towel and rocked like a baby, while Mommy sings "Poor Little Buttercup" (except she says "Jessicup"). I just love it! Also, I've already entered the "why?" stage, so you'll hear me say "Why Mommy?" many times a day. But the thing I say the most is "Mommy play all day!"

N: Thanks for the interview, Jessica! Hope to see you next month.
J: Please, call me Buckie. Or Guy. Or Don. (Just some of the many names I like to be called). Bye!

Building a Home:: Step 20: Selecting Doors & Trim

Doors

We chose to upgrade our interior doors from the traditional-style door to something a little more interesting. We were given a list of doors to choose from and one of them clearly matched our front door and the style we're aiming for:

Craftsman III by JELD WEN

We have three french doors in our home, so I picked a french door that has four rectangular panels in order to coordinate with the Craftsman III.

Knobs

We also selected our door knobs. I love the look of round knobs (reminds me of an older home), but they just don't seem practical for little kids. We found a straight and simple lever that we like (and that the kids will be able to use!):

Woodbridge by Dorex

The best part is that I got to test out all the knobs before choosing the right one. The "thumb dent" on the Woodbridge might seem funny at first, but it handles like a dream!

Trim

I was supposed to have selected our baseboards/casing by December 12th, but I was only able to finalize our selections two days ago. I just found it hard to commit to any of the options available. The trim all seemed too modern, too traditional/colonial, or too expensive. Ha! Not to mention trying to figure out the best heights/widths for each item. I ended up changing my mind several times, sourcing products elsewhere, and getting help from Geertsma's interior decorator to make my choices. In the end, I'm very happy with our selections (except for the fact that we went slightly over budget).

Here are some inspiration pictures I used to help me with my choices:

(source)

(Pottery Barn - The Complete Book of the Home)

(source)

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I seem to gravitate towards clean and simple, mostly flat trim. I also love window sills! I ended up picking a tall (7-1/4") baseboard with just a bit of detail at the top:

Then for windows/doors, we went with flat casing with a small back band on the outside. Windows will have a sill at the bottom:

We also chose to do this crown moulding around the majority of the main floor.

 CTR 512 by Canamould

When we built our first home, I didn't pay any attention to the trim selection, which is something that I later regretted. It's safe to say that this time around, I cared a little too much about this seemingly simple topic. Thankful that I'm done!

Previous posts:
Step 19: Delaying Closing
Step 18: Plumbing/Electrical Walk-Through
Step 17: Selecting Flooring (Part 2)
Step 17: Selecting Flooring
Step 16: Selecting Kitchen Cabinets/Counters
Step 15: Choosing a Fireplace
Step 14: Making Exterior Selections
Step 13: Selecting Plumbing Fixtures
Step 12: Upgrading the Front Door
Step 11: Selecting Windows
Step 10: Owning the Lot
Step 9: Choosing a Front Elevation
...

Laundry Day

Here's what happens when I dump a pile of clean clothes on the living room floor...

My silly girls!

Construction - Week 14

More duct work done and drywall has begun! The entire second floor has drywall now. It feels so much smaller and darker (you know, because you can't see through all the walls). But still loving it, of course!

Week 14

Kids' bath

Jessica's room

Master bedroom

Ensuite window and shower half-wall

Since the laundry room is on the second floor, we decided to get sound insulation for those interior walls. We also ended up putting sound insulation in the wall between the bathroom and Emily's room. Hopefully that will keep things nice and quiet. Here's the insulation in the laundry room prior to drywall:

 
And now with drywall:

Laundry room

View from upstairs, looking down to foyer

Furnace is in!

Lots of air ducts (basement level)

Nana checking out the basement

I can only assume that drywall on the main level is what's next! Meanwhile I'm busy trying to finalize trim selections and kitchen plans.