Our little boy is growing up so fast. His first little tooth finally cut through! It had been on the way up for quite some time (Simon just didn’t seem his usual happy self for a while) then, almost like he wanted to show it off, Simon grabbed my finger and bit it and I felt his little tooth - the bottom-left one. I was so very proud. He’s been much happier since it came through too, although I think he might be getting another one (bottom-right).
No piccies yet though - he’s still very selective about showing it off.
I thought I’d give an update on what’s happened with our renovations considering we had all that rapid progress for a few days then I stopped posting. Well, it’s been one drama after another. Firstly, we found out that the tiler wasn’t going to be able to come in for 3 weeks! It would have been nicer to find that out BEFORE the entire bathroom was ripped out but there you go.
Also, we’ve been having the most horrendous time sorting out our vanity. The builders were about to put the vanity in when I realised it was missing a kick board from around the bottom (it came with legs instead). I spent the best part of two weeks trying to get the bathroom suppliers we used to organize one to be made. First they said their builder was on holidays, then he was stuffing them around, then he had built it but wouldn’t be here until the next day, then once he got here it was the wrong size (by a long way), then it was delivered and the right size but we realised the sink on top had three holes instead of just one, then the bathroom people started abusing me, then they said a new one would be in the following day and they only had one in stock but it was wobbly, then one had arrived and we could come and get it, then when Sven went in to get it it wasn’t there (I can only presume they were going to give us the wobbly one). By this stage we had had enough so it was lucky the owner was working when Sven went in because he was appauled at the mess that had happened and personally organized for a new sink top and then delivered it and tested its sizing himself. It was at this point we realized that the sink didn’t fit in its current position so we need to move some bits around and the tapware we’d bought didn’t fit between the sink and medicine cabinet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAARRRRRGGHHHH!!!!!!!
On a good note though, the skylights were installed in the bathroom and toilet and they look fantastic!
So, as it stands, we need the builder to come in and fix the vanity position, we’ve got new tapware, and the tiler is due early next week sometime. Here’s some pics of where we’re up to.
The skylight…
Problem child vanity…
The last pic was taken with just the skylight for illumination, as was the toilet photo below. We’ve still got to get rid of that toilet at some point before the tilers get here too.
Holly’s been trying her hand at a bit of photography, and can happily look through the viewfinder, and use the shutter release button all by herself… using the digital SLR, of course, with the external flash mounted on top. Her first shots were with the 60mm macro lens, but that’s quite a weighty piece of equipment for a two-year-old to handle, so we switched to the nice light 50mm instead.
I suggested to Holly that she take a photo of Daisy (her doll, for the uninitiated), and here it is:
Nice composition and use of depth of field, I think.
Sven was rejected by the blog software from putting up a post of Day 3 so this really should just become “Veronica’s Baby Diary” 
We had a lovely time at my Mum’s and Holly and Simon both had lots of fun and slept really well. It was really nice to have a little break.
As for the renovations…. grrrr…. Day 3 went ahead with the ceiling and walls being boarded up. Apparently there were a few “words” uttered during the day from our builder, especially when he found out that his people hadn’t left a hole for the skylight in the ceiling. Also, he gave us the news that the tiler (which is the next step we’re waiting on now) won’t be available for another three weeks! If I hadn’t been in a rush to get out the door, and if Holly hadn’t been within earshot, I’m sure I’d have uttered a few “words” myself. Apparently the flu season here is knocking out lots of people in the building industry and they’re all falling behind with their work. The tiler coming after three weeks was the earliest one that was available… apparently.
So on Day 4 we had the waterproofing donen and now we’re stuck waiting with a half finished bathroom, a plastic sheet covering the door, dust everywhere, doors lying in hallways and random bits filling the garage, not to mention having to bath Holly and Simon in a baby bath in the bottom of the shower in the ensuite. Ah well… it’ll mean we love the new bathroom all that much more when it’s finished.
So, here are the pics from Day 3 with the walls and ceiling up.
And here’s Day 4 where we’ll be for a while until either the skylight guy or the tiler arrive. The grey stuff is the waterproofing and it stinks.
Today the renovations moved on to the construction phase. The plumbers turned up early and started work on replacing the old copper pipes with PVC ones which doesn’t really photograph all that well, not to mention that most of the work was done under the floor. The builder had to try and work around them and wait for them to finish but still managed to install the bath, medicine cabinet and floor covering. The board over the floor is used to protect the floorboards from rotting and provides the base for the waterproofing prior to having the bed for the tiles laid.
We didn’t have too many revelations today. We did find out that the vanity we purchased was missing the kick board trim at the bottom that we ordered so I’m having to arrange for one to be made ASAP.
Tomorrow Holly, Simon and I are going to stay with my Mum overnight so we won’t get to see the progress. I’ll try to get Sven to post some photos up though. Here’s todays pics… click to enlarge.
Stage 1: Building the framework for the bath support and replacing the pipes.
Stage 2: Floor laid, bath and medicine cabinet installed
Hooray! Today the renovation on our main bathroom finally started. We had wanted it to be started months ago so we’re very happy that it’s finally under way. I’ll try and put up daily photos of the progress but, in short, what we’re getting done is having everything taken out then new things put back in exactly the same place as the old 
Today was very exciting! They started at 7:30am with a normal (albiet ugly/blandorama) bathroom and ended the day with a completely empty bathroom shell - the ceiling, floor, walls fittings… all gone! We had a few interesting finds too. Behind the power points was GOLD WALLPAPER! I kid you not - glorious, pristine, embossed gold wallpaper. They also found that the reason they were having so much trouble getting the bath out was that it was actually two baths. The second bath had been glued with foam inside the first bath. Very bizzare.
Anyway, here are the pics - click on the thumbnails to view larger versions.
Before:
Stage 1: mirror and railings/fittings gone, gold wallpaper under light switch
Stage 2: walls gone…
Stage 3: Tiles removed (which were cemented into the wall insted of on the boards attached to the walls) from walls and floor.
Stage 4: bath removed, ceiling pulled down, and all tidied up ready for tomorrow. There’s also a pic of the double-bath after it had been removed.
Stage 5: removing the trim in the toilet (not much to see… look at dark lines in corners of walls where there was previously bits of wood).
Not a bad day’s work, huh! Now the next three to four weeks are the construction part (although it won’t be continuous during that time).
In other news, I turned Simon’s car seat around on Saturday so now he’s facing forward. Just in time for his 5-month birthday today. And because we love them both, here are some piccies of Holly and Simon so they don’t feel left out.
