On Ode to our First House

Although the house on Longmont isn't technically the first house Steve and I ever lived in, it's really OUR first house. It's the first house we picked out together, it's where we lived when Steven was born and raised him for the first 3 years of his life. It's where we found out Logan was coming and where he lived for the first 4 months of his life. Even though we only lived there a short time, it was a very exciting and eventful time in our life! It's going to be sad to leave. (tear). SO I wanted to make sure to pay homage to this house and remember it for posterity.

This is the front. We got new siding in 2010 after a major hail storm. I think we did a good job picking the siding and shutter colors. One thing Steve and I actually agreed on, design wise. I'll never forget the ordeal we went through getting the roof over the carport fixed when we moved in, two words: Redneck contractors. LOL Besides that, there was that time that the sewer company tore up our front yard for months and left it looking like total crap, only to come back right before fall and plant sod that didn't take. Steve tilled up the entire thing and reseeded. He was so proud of that lawn. Hopefully the next owners appreciate all the work we did there.

Our living room, Steve and I really loved the floors in this room. Too bad Steven spilled an entire jar of car touch up paint on them. Not only did he spill it, he "painted" with it. You can't see it but this room has a vaulted ceiling and up lighting. Both Steve and I loved that architectural detail.

This is the kitchen. Steve and I really worked hard in here to make it look more modern. We did a renovation over the summer of 2011 and I think we made some really great improvements. Steve put in the back splash tile and took down the existing tile that was there. We repainted the cabinets and added new hardware, and painted the walls. It was a big project and Steve and I did not enjoy working on it at all but in the end I think it was worth it. The little dining room on the right is an addition that the previous owners put on the house. Steve's mom made me curtains for that room and I really loved how it turned out. Very cozy. Steven at his first meals at that table.

  

This is the Master. It was really too small for the giant bed Steve has to have but oh well. We had some great times throwing Steven on the bed and him giggling and saying, "Again!" Or hiding in our covers and watching TV. I can remember sitting up with contractions when I was in labor with Steven in that bed and timing them and listening to Steve snore next to me. ha ha! I also remember nursing Steven and Logan in this bed late at night. I spent a lot of nights watching them sleep in the bassinet attached to the bed too. Lots of good memories.

This is the nursery. It was first Steven's nursery and now Logan's. It is really the perfect size for a cozy little nursery. This picture was taken before all the decorations were done in Logan's nursery, but you get the idea. I'll forever remember playing with my boys in this room, changing their diapers, watching them both roll over for one of the first times, etc. Lots of great memories here.

This is Steven's big boy room, which was formerly the guest/junk room. It's been so fun watching Steven grow and make this room his own. It's down the hall from the nursery and when we first moved him he would accidentally turn into the nursery all the time instead of his room. Eventually that went away and Steven adopted this as his "room". All kinds of shenanigans have happened in this room. One of his favorite games is to hide in that teepee in the right corner and pretend the dinosaurs/big bad wolf/dragon/bad guys are out to get him. Then he will get up and chase them out with a sword (or 2) in hand, screaming of course.

 

The downstairs living area. It was supposed to be a play room too but it's so dang cold down there in the winter that didn't work. Also, Steven was also very into having us right by him so having him down there by himself didn't work very well either. But when we did get to play down there with him that was always really fun. I will always remember the look of excitement on his face when we brought him down to the train table that Steve and I stayed up till Midnight on Christmas Eve putting together. We had a lot of fun with that. Now it's mostly destroy the train tracks, but still fun.

This is the carport that the previous owners converted into a screened-in porch. When we moved in the entire roof and all the trusses over this had to be removed and replaced. There was some AstroTurf flooring in there and it was pretty gross. The wonderful contractors we had doing the work decided to not come back for a few days while the roof was exposed and then we had a horrible storm and everything was soaked and ruined. The ceiling was on the floor along with the ceiling fan they had. So that was quite a project. This was the first home improvement project Steve and I took on and I really think we did a great job with it! We actually did have fun on this one. Steve sealed the floors about a million times, ha ha. I think it turned into a nice play area for Steven and a relaxing area for us. We had a lot of good times here.

Lastly, our backyard. This backyard is epic. I remember when we first viewed the house Steve and I were both like WOW about this backyard. We pictured our dogs and our future kids running around and having a blast and that's what ended up happening. Steven and Steve had so many great memories chasing each other around with sticks. We had Steven's first birthday party out here with one of the giant sheets that the kids run under and we blew huge bubbles off the retaining wall. I will never forget the time Steven drove his little buzz lightyear car off the retaining wall. Steve and I both though for sure we were going to the ER but nope. Not yet at least. Steve had a heck of a time hanging that swing for Steven too. It doesn't quite swing straight and you have to make sure to not crash him into the tree. lol

Our house on Longmont has been through a lot with us in the short 4 1/2 years we've lived here. We've seen a 3 major storms go through the Maryland Heights area that affected our house twice. It's been through the finding out we were pregnant, birth and early years of our two boys! It's been through countless family parties, friends over for BBQs, playdates. and just good times hanging out. I remember I threw Steve's big 30th surprise birthday party a week or two after we moved in! That was crazy and stressful but so much fun. I'm sad to leave a house with such great memories, but happy and excited to be moving onto a bigger house with more room for our family. Excited to see what the next chapter holds!