Movin In

The first few days at the new house were consumed with painting and cleaning. While we gained possession on a Wed, we didn't end up sleeping here until that Sunday. We had decided it would just be easier to get some things done before we moved in (aka, before X was here full time). Walter and I worked like dogs pulling in 16 hour days Wed - Sunday. We would get up and play with X for a bit, then head over to the house leaving X with my mom. We'd work all day long, then one of us would go back to my parent's house to put X to bed, then come back over to the house to work until the wee hours of the morning. We were only sleeping 4 hours or so a night at that point. We rented a paint sprayer to do all the ceilings. Here's my man with the spray gun. Like the concoction of trash bags I've got going to cover up the ceiling fan??!!

We still haven't painted what were the old owner's kids bedrooms, but I'm torn about painting over these cute little drawings that their kids had done on the wall just above the light switch. See, we knew the previous owners, so I know who these kids are. It's not like they are just random people. What to do?? I've thought about leaving them and having X make a little drawing of his own next to it when he gets bigger.

Here's Walter painting the kitchen. We took it from a golden yellow to a more neutral tan. Can you see all the windows in the background. I love how much light this house gets and how open the floor plan is!

Here's a classy shot. Me balancing between a vacuum cleaner and a step stool with a set of scaffolding on the side. I look like Halloween too with my orange and black paint clothes.

My mom, bless her heart, was nice enough to clean all our kitchen cabinets and put new shelf liner in. It looks so nice and fresh now!

We technically moved in on Sunday. By then the big painting jobs that required massive ladders and scaffolding was complete so it was safe for X to come over. Here he is with his great grandma taking a reading break.

Then he had some lunch and gave a little wave to the camera. Since we now have a finished basement, we were able to set up the pack n play in a bedroom down there and let him nap while we moved stuff in on the main floor. It was great because he was far enough away from the noise that it didn't disturb him. Plus, it was kind of a warm day and the basement bedroom was nice and cool.

A shot of our very messy kitchen on moving day. We have some great slate floors in the kitchen. The door that is open on the left leads out to our screened in porch -- it's soooo neat!

The joys of home ownership....here's me cleaning one of the bathrooms. I had so many different cleaners going it got a little intense so I opted for the mask!

Revived from his nap, X was happy to play in the storage POD on the driveway that was now empty. He thought it was pretty cool that if you jumped up and down it echoed.

I was very diligent in marking boxes with their contents when I was packing up the old house. I came across this when unpacking the kitchen. Kind of an unlikely combination, don't ya think?

Our first morning in the house was Monday, which meant Walter was going back to work after being off for 5 days. He and X decided to share a bowl of cereal on the couch first.

Here's X having some grapes later in the day amongst all the boxes. Poor kid probably wondered what the heck was going on with all this junk lying around.

Actually, he was having a field day with stuff all over the floor. We had to install some shelving in the pantry so for a few days all our food was in Rubbermaid totes on the floor. X took a liking to picking up canned goods toting them around the house, then dropping them on my hardwood floors. Needless to say I quickly remedied that by moving all the food boxes to higher ground.

The remainder of this week has been filled with mostly unpacking stuff. I still have a ways to go, but we're getting there. I'm just thrilled to be here!

The Wedding

Two weekends ago was my uncle's wedding. With the move and all I hadn't had a chance to download my pics. I finally caught up on that today. Despite rain in the afternoon it was a lovely evening. Here's X all freshly bathed and dressed up ready for his fancy night out. Of course puppy had to come along with us too.

I was terrified X would act up during the ceremony. It was a small wedding so his voice would have been heard. We came prepared with snacks, books, Binky's, etc. I managed to keep him quiet by whispering the lines from one of his favorite books over and over in his ear while the vows were being said! After the ceremony, which was inside, there was a cocktail hour outside. We managed to get a pretty decent family photo with one squirmy little boy.

This was during the cocktail hour. The wedding took place at a beautiful old home and they had a really nice back patio and garden area.

Here's mister man with his shirt all untucked after he'd been running around the lawn.

The only problem was that since it had rained earlier in the day the grass was all wet. Well, try keeping a 1 year old, who loves to wander, off the grass. It was impossible. We ended up rolling up his pant legs in order to try and keep them from getting wet. It made for a great look as you can see. By the end of that hour his shoes, socks, and pants were soaking wet. Fortunately I had extra pants and socks in my bag and he just went shoeless during the dinner.

Here's the happy couple just a short while after becoming "Mr and Mrs". Don't they look all in love and stuff!!

This was my fabulous find of a dress. (Ignore my cheesy grin!) I got it at the Goodwill 3 days before the wedding for $4.00 -- and it still had the tags on it! I borrowed a pair of shoes from a friend since my brown shoes were packed away in our storage unit.

I like this "cousins" photo. It's not often that we're all in the same state at the same time!

This was the latest that X has ever been out. I figured he'd fall asleep halfway through the reception, but he stayed awake for the entire thing! We brought his jammies and got him all dressed and snugly in his car seat for the hour ride home. He fell sound asleep in the car and thankfully we were able to just transfer him to the crib when we got home.

Congrats Drew and Susie -- it was a great night for all !

Another Door Opens

One door did close recently, but another one opened today!

We closed on our new house this morning!!! It's been a crazy busy day and it's not over yet. We've been painting ceilings all afternoon. I highly recommend renting a paint sprayer for ceilings -- it's fabulous!! I just came back to my parent's house to put X to bed and will be returning to the new house for some late night painting. I've been taking pictures today but don't have time to post them right now. I just didn't want to let the day go by without giving a shout out to our new place!

Ready for Takeoff

As if striped socks with polar bear jammy pants and no shirt is not a fashion crisis enough.......daddy goes and sticks a lint roller on my back! He says it's my rocket pack. Yeah whatever, you just want me to look like a dork!

Week in Review

It's been a week since I've posted, and my picture collection is getting backed up. We're still staying with my parents. I thought I'd have all this extra time on my hands not being a homeowner and all, but the laundry and dishes have followed me! Also, I was given a puzzle on Easter that is now my new addiction. 1500 pieces of fun! Anyway, here's what we've been up to.....

It was Walter's birthday last week in the midst of the move so we didn't quite get to celebrate as usual. But we did manage to snag his free birthday burger at Red Robin and enjoy dinner with some great friends!

We've been visiting my grandma (Mia) a lot lately while she's working on getting her strength back at the rehab center down the road. Here's X and Mia playing the straw game.

Last weekend while Walter took his gpa to the Cardinal's game, X and I went to the park with "Aunt Lynneee". First we fed the ducks. X preferred to see the ducks from the safety of the stroller rather than be right up there next to them.

Then we had a picnic dinner that Lynn so graciously brought for us. X had his first taste of tuna salad and LOVED it! Since we were just on a blanket and no highchair, X thought it was pretty neat to take a bite, then walk around, then come back for more.

I love this picture for some reason.

X has also been trying out new hairstyles in the tub.

Lord, forgive me - Easter is almost a blur. Unfortunately I didn't feel much of the "Spirit" this year. I've read all these great accounts of celebrating the risen Lord on other people's blogs, and it just wasn't happening for me. We went to church in the morning, and it was unbelievably crowded and we had to stand in the back. X was very restless and a challenge to deal with. Then, I couldn't hardly hear anything that was going on. It was like the microphones were not up loud enough. Since we are in a temporary living situation, we didn't bring all of our clothes and I was completely uncomfortable in my "Easter Outfit". I quickly ditched that after church for some jeans and a t-shirt. X got ravioli all over his cute little shirt so that was a gonner by lunch. I was hoping to get a good family photo on Easter, but that never happened. We did have a nice dinner with family and then X got his Easter basket. He pretty much had no interest in the basket except for the plastic eggs and the wrapping paper from another gift. I didn't get any good pictures ALL DAY!

One morning this week X and I traveled out to one of my favorite places -- GOODWILL. X decided to try on some hats....

I had to be quick with the camera because he instantly took them off once I put them on his head. If it doesn't have a chin strap he won't wear it. That's disappointing because I think he looks so cute in a hat! So, while we didn't get any hats, I did manage to get a steal of a deal.... an adorable dress for $4.00 that I'm hoping to be able to wear to my uncle's wedding this weekend.

Speaking of the wedding, as I was putting together the gift yesterday, X found the packing peanuts to be quite enjoyable.

Hopefully I'll be back with some fun shots of the wedding. And, gosh darn it, I'm determined to get a good family photo of us all dressed up -- even if it kills me!

One Door Closes

We're now homeless...well, sorta. We closed on our now "old home" Thursday morning, and are in transition until we close on our new home in a few weeks. This entire week was filled with mixed emotions as we prepared to leave. The more we packed, the more it didn't "feel" like our home anymore, so in a strange way that was good. But, then I'd look outside across the street at our neighbors (who we LOVE!!) house and saw what we were leaving behind and get sad.

The house took on a very sparse look the last few days as the amount of furniture left continued to dwindle. We moved our bed into the living room to double as our couch. Xavier LOVED that!


This was our last night in the house. I made a nice dinner and we ate it on our very fancy card table/dining room table.

Our attempt at a family photo while holding the camera. Umm...not so successful!

X was fascinated by all the boxes everywhere. I guess he thought they were a jungle gym or something!

The last morning Walter and I went back to the house to get a few remaining things and leave our keys before heading to the closing. We walked around and reminisced a little about the last 6 years. And then, in true Nina fashion, I realized I'd left my garage door opener (which we were also supposed to leave at the house) in my car which was over at my mom's house. So, we had to rush out the door to go get the opener, bring it back to the house, and then get to the closing on time. So much for a leisurely goodbye! Oh well, on to new and exciting things!

Rock A Good Bye Baby

I felt like I was having deja vu yesterday. The same scenario from this post happened again. Xavier woke up crying in his crib about halfway through a nap. So, I ended up in the rocking chair with a warm little munchkin who fell back asleep in my arms. And then it hit me. This is one of the last times that I'd rock him in this nursery since we are moving in just a few days. A flood of memories came over me. Yes the rocking chair will be coming with us, but the room will not. There is so much that has happened in this nursery. I have spent countless hours in there rocking, feeding, changing, and playing over the past 15 months. Walter and I spent so much time getting the room ready for "baby D" as he/she was known as at that time. It will be very hard to leave that room behind. Probably more so than all the others in this house. It makes me sad to think that Xavier will never remember this house. He's just too young. I know good things are ahead though and we will make new memories in our next home just as we have done here. But it will be different, there will never again be another "first home" for our little family.

I've been so busy packing and dealing with the logistics of the move that I think a little time in the rocking chair was just what I needed to make sure I don't forget the things I always want to remember about our first home.

Spring Fling

This morning I took X (along with my neighbor and her little boy) to the Spring Fling event sponsored by Parents as Teachers. As you may remember, the holiday event had its up and down moments. Well, why would I expect this one to be any different??!!

X was a little apprehensive the second we got to the door when he noticed there what a lot going on. I tried to direct him to individual activities so as not to overwhelm him. We started off coloring a picture. Since X pretty much has no interest in crayons yet, the page stayed pretty colorless, except for a few scribbles that I "helped" him with. He was content just holding the piece of paper.

We moved on to another activity where there were beach balls and hula hoops. X decided to let loose and do what he was born to do...roll things!

There were several pairs of bunny ears laying around and I attempted to get a photo with X wearing them. Silly me, I should know by now that he refuses to have anything on his head that doesn't have a chin strap.

Like the holiday event, the stacking boxes were out and that's always a bit hit. I stack, X knocks them down. I did notice him stack 2 together on his own which is a new skill!

One activity was to use tongs to transfer plastic eggs from the tray to the bucket. We are not quite at that skill level yet, so X was happy to just use his hands for the transfer. Putting things in and out of a bucket is another task that X enjoys.

A mock "egg hunt" was set up where you tried to find the eggs under all the grass. X found the grass quite enjoyable. He pulled it through his fingers kinda like he does when he finds my stray hair on the bathroom floor!!

He wasn't really into playing with the balloons that were floating around the room, but I put one in a basket and that peaked his interest for about 1/2 second.

In hindsight, I should have gotten the picture with the Easter Bunny taken care of right when we got there before the sensory overload had kicked in. So, like Santa, there was the Binky and crying. The problem was that X got up much earlier than normal this morning and while we were in line for the bunny he fell asleep on my shoulder (how he did that amongst all the noise I have no idea!) So, he wasn't too happy with me when I interrupted his slumber and turned him around for the picture.

Afterward he happily returned to his cat nap while 100 other kids ran screaming through the gymnasium!

X continued his little rest while my neighbor and her son finished up a craft. Then we all headed out to lunch, played at a park, and came home for a "real" nap. Despite a few mini meltdowns along the way it was a fun day!