When Life Hands You Lemons

I picked 47 lemons from our new backyard last week!  Some lucky friends and family got a little piece of our new home while we were in Louisiana.  I kept a few for myself, so now I plan to attempt a Lemon Cheesecake.  If you don't read about my bad mad baking skills in the near future then that means it didn't go as planned!

All Work And No Play

Not at our house!  We still have boxes to unpack, but slipped away to the park!  This was our first trip to the park in our new neighborhood.  I prefer wood chips on the ground instead of the dirt/sand this one has, but I blocked the vision of the mess and we had a great time.

Moving On Up

We started moving last Friday.  The girls talked nonstop about the new backyard and bringing Buddy home.  It can't happen soon enough!  Life is like a book and I can't wait to see what this next chapter has in store for us.  

Blake and I moved almost everything out of the apartment on Friday, then Saturday the movers brought all of our stuff from the storage building.  80% of the stuff from storage is still sitting in the garage.  I have no idea where it's all going to go in the house.  It has to fit somewhere!  Honestly, I think if we lived without all of it for 6 months while in the apartment, we don't really need it!  Right?

Mom and Richard came to help with the girls while Blake and I moved and unpacked.  It made the move go a lot faster without stopping every few minutes to care for the girls.

The Closing

The big day finally arrived!  It was seriously the LONGEST 30 days of my life.  I was super nervous about taking the girls with us to the closing and prepared the best I could with snacks and new toys.  Once we got there all of my fears were wiped away.  The conference room we signed papers in was connected to a playroom that had a large window so the girls could see us and we could see them.  The staff made the process so easy.  They played with the girls the whole time.  They watched a movie, baked cookies, colored, and played.  It was GREAT!

The previous homeowner passed away back in May and the daughter was in charge of selling the house.  We met her at the closing and she was very nice.  She lives down the street and gave us her number to call anytime.  I look forward to getting settled in the new house and inviting her over for a visit.  She mentioned how her mom would love to have seen the girls running and playing in the house.

Coloboma Check-Up

Alyssa had her yearly eye appointment this morning with the pediatric ophthalmologist and did great!  Well, except for when she had to get her eyes dilated.  Poor baby!  The bigger she gets, the harder it is to hold her still for the nurse.  But, most importantly - her eyes are perfect!

OH NO!  I just realized that Alyssa wore the same outfit last year that she wore today!  That's one error that can't be photoshopped!  There is no excuse for this huge FAIL.  She has PLENTY of clothes.  Guess this is just one of my favorites :)  It's 18 months and she's now almost 28 months!  Such a tiny little girl.

2012

2011

Daddy reading to Alyssa

They both love the fancy cows in the main lobby!

The Smart Ones

Halloween was the first night that Alyssa went to bed without a diaper!  She has woken up with a dry diaper for weeks, but I was just using up all of the diapers we had left.  My baby is such a big girl!  She can count to 10, say her ABC's, knows all colors & shapes, knows her full name along with my name, Blake's name & Addison's name, she knows the state we live in, how old she is, how old Addison is, sings many songs.

Addison is a pretty smart cookie, too!  She knows her full name and can write it, she knows her birthdate and how old she is, she knows the city and state we live in, all of our names, she knows her phone number, she can count to 100, identify all letters and numbers and shapes, she can add small numbers, there's so much more!

Addison is fixing Alyssa's hair at the salon

Trick or Treat

We took the girls trick or treating last night in the neighborhood where we hope to live soon and they really enjoyed it!  They both said 'trick or treat' and 'thank you' at each house.  This was a sneaky opportunity to check our the neighbors!  I found out today that the seller is bringing the purchase price down to the appraisal price.  Now we are waiting to see if they are still willing to give the repair allowance that they previously agreed to.  We are so very close to either having a new home or not!