Renovations- First Week

So...Austin and I moved back to Greenville from Charleston last August. His grandmother moved out of her home downtown a few months before. Since we hadn't sold our house in Charleston yet, we moved into her house- it made perfect sense!


Until we got into the house and saw that all her furniture and home furnishings from the 1940's when it was built were still there. I'm talking pink kitchen, green laminate flooring, chairs that have petrified stuffing (I seriously love the chairs, they just need to be recovered and stuffed and would be totally wonderful) wood paneled walls, plaster walls, and less than modern bathrooms. All of our furniture was just chilling in storage since we had a house full of stuff.  We made it work and it turned out being just fine. It was kind of sad when we did move out to a rental property so things could get started.


A little background on Aust's grandmother: 94 years old, VERY southern, VERY old Greenville, 4 ft. 10 in. tall and is a total spitfire. She is hilarious. I'm so impressed that she lived by herself for at least 10 years. With that being said, there really were only a few rooms that she actually "lived" in. You can only imagine what the rest of the house was like when we began living there...not to mention the pool- yikes! But after the 8 months that we lived there, we cleaned up a lot, sprayed a lot of insecticide, threw out a lot of stuff and really ended up enjoying the house, but especially the area. :-) I mean, how can you not LOVE being able to walk downtown and to Cleveland Park?


I think when we decided to buy the house and renovate/ add-on to the house we made his mom, Kathy, so excited. She has so many neat stories of living downtown and all the "Old Greenville" families and their homes. I enjoy listening to the tales of her family's maids, neighborhood friends, and how things used to be. Back to the house, I think she always wanted to redo her childhood home. She has a lot of great ideas about how it should be done, too.


We've been talking about starting this renovation since Christmas when we told everyone we were expecting so we're happy to see that it has finally started! We've gutted most of the first floor and taken down some of the huge trees to the right of the house so we can extend the driveway around the back where our garage (ahh, how I've missed having a garage!!) will be.

The front of the house- the screened-in porch will be part of the laundry room and kitchen once we're finished. :-)

The pool- can't wait to have Hannah's first birthday here! It has a springy diving board that you can't get anymore and a slide...

To the right and left of the bay window there will be additions built on. On the right side will extend the master bedroom and the left will be the new kitchen and garage underneath. The plans also have a porch connecting both sides in front of the bay window, hope the money holds out for that or I find my money tree!



3 Weeks

Here are some 3 week stats-

• Hannah, you are sleeping very well. You get around 3 hours during the night and sleeps strong during the day. During and after you eat, you are very alert-eyes are wide open looking all over. You've been very alert since the day you were born though, so that doesn't surprise me!
• You drink about 60ml to 80 ml every feed. You've started to spit up when you eat too fast...even though we have slow release nipples on our bottles. Whenever we pull the bottle out of your mouth you smack your lips. Daddy and I love listening to it.
• You are still not interested in breastfeeding, so I'm pumping my little heart out. The things you do for love!
• You have started to get "fussy" every night around 7. You refuse to nap after this feed and whine for 3 hours. Whoever says you can't spoil a newborn doesn't know this child...she already knows when she cries she can get picked up- Daddy and I are on to you. Daddy is strong, mommy gives in.
• Daddy likes to call you Hannah Monster and Hurricane Hannah. Not that you're bad or fuss a lot, just something he came up with. I call you Hannah Banana and Nana; so not original- sorry.
• You LOVE to be outside. The hotter the temperature, the better. We just might be able to take you to some September Clemson games. You and I take walks in the stroller downtown and to the park. You go right to sleep when you're in your car seat. Everyone says how cute and tiny you are when they stop us on our walks.
• You have my mouth and daddy's feet- and he's totally obsessed with them. We're still trying to figure out where you got your nose and what color eyes and hair you'll end up with.
• You double sneeze...every time.
• You're in between preemie and newborn diapers.

Hannah, daddy and I love you so much. I am so thankful to daddy for working so hard so that we can stay home together. We are so blessed to have you, our little miracle, in our life. I thank God everyday for the amazing opportunity to be your mother.

I've noticed something- I am not in any of these pictures. This has to change!!

2 Weeks Old

Hannah was 2 weeks old last Wednesday. At least I took some pictures on the right day even if I can't seem to get a post done on time! I was so sick of seeing the same preemie clothes everyday, so I went ahead and put some newborn outfits on...they were a tad wide, but she is so long and almost fits the length.

Your feet are always crossed...such a little lady.

Cute little crab on the hiney!

This picture does more justice to her tiny self. I've got to find a stuffed animal to sit her with.

During this week you got your first bath and LOVED it. Enjoyed the water just like mommy does.

Hello Hannah!

On July 20, 2011, Austin and I welcomed our first child into the world. Hannah Katelyn Watts was born at 11:41 PM and weighed 4lbs, 8 oz. She was and still is, 3 weeks later, perfect.

Here are some pictures that were taken at the hospital. Bella Baby comes by to snap some newborn pics of all babies. The pictures turned out so nicely that I HAD to buy them even though we had another photographer coming to the house when she was 6 days old... I mean there is a big difference between 1 day and 6 days!!

Daddy wanted to be the first guy to send Hannah flowers- so sweet!!

          

Hello world!

He is already the greatest daddy and she adores him.

Yikes! Mommy looks rough!

She's only been here 3 weeks and I can't even remember what life was like before her. I'm way behind on blogging (big surprise there!), but there is so much more to come!! I love you, Hannah!!