Grady's Baby Book

He smiled at me today...a few times! Melted my heart to see him react that way. I can't believe he's already a month old. Its been such a busy month, and will continue to be so, I just hope I don't miss his "babyhood."

Where are our phones???

Ok, so not everything is going smoothly. The packing, slow, but making progress. I'll be so happy when we actually find the box that has the phones in them. It's probably in the up-teenth box marked "spices." I feel so out of touch with everyone. My phones are missing, I've lost my cell phone charger and the battery is dead, and my computer having major issues, so I have to take it in to get wiped clean (read: no internet for awhile). So...some of you might be wondering if we're still alive. We are, but just back in the days before instant communication! =) I will be in touch...soon...I hope!

Daddy's office

While Joe's dad was here visiting, Joe took him into the office so Pat could see where he worked. The girls went with them, to give mommy a break. Joe has a beautiful view to the South of green rolling hills from his floor to ceiling windows. The girls love to climb up on the ledge and look down from the 15th floor. (Apparently its true that a person's fear of heights gets worse with age, because now it freaks me out!) Anyway, Molly was over at the window looking out and exclaims, "Daddy's office is higher than anything!"

Our new home

Today we closed on our house and moved in. Well, moved in is a very general term. All of our belongings are on the premises. I've made sure to finish the girls rooms first, then the playroom (game room as they're called here), although somehow? not all of their toys have been found! =) This is a brand new house and surprise, I have projects already lined up. Some major, like putting in a pool, and some minor like installing toilet paper holders, but projects, none-the-less. Will it ever stop, Joe asks? Most likely, no.

My goal with unpacking is 1 box a day. At that rate, I know I'll get done before our next move, but I also won't be disappointed that I won't finish by this weekend. Things will go much slower with three little people to take care of and that's ok.

Ellery wants to go home...so do I

We're still homeless. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to move in. Poor Ellery. This morning she says to me in tears, "mama, want to go home." Bless her little heart. With everything going on, no one stopped to explain to HER what was going on. I'm setting up the girls room the exact same way it was in Bellingham, hoping that familiarity will help ease the stress of all the change. Tomorrow "preschool" starts for both the girls, so they'll get immersed right away...and I'll get a chance to unpack a box or two.

Ellery gets into the pool

We at the motel for the second night due to the whole movers being behind. I thought Joe could take the girls swimming this evening. Great idea, until Ellery realized swimming meant getting into the pool. (She's still scarred from the hot tub incident =) Joe and Molly were having a blast and Ellery would pace back and forth on the edge wishing she could be having fun too. Joe kept asking her if she wanted to get in and she would excited say yes, walk over to the edge, look at Joe and say, "no, I don't want to." Over and over and over. Finally, somehow, she musted up the strenght and went to Joe (with a death grip around his neck). I'm hoping to break the fear of water with her because we're putting in a pool and I'd like her to be able to actually get in it! Ellery was so proud of herself. For the rest of the evening she kept telling me about how she went swimming.

We made it!!!

Well, only 10 hours later than planned, we finally made it to Bartlesville. 48 hours straight in an RV...that sure curbed my dreams of ever going on an RV trip. In normal circumstances it would probably be fun, right? The girls did do pretty well and thought it was fun...the first day. By Sunday night we were all a bit bruised and really for solid ground. (Those things sure do shake around a bit while you're driving...while Mario (uh, Joe) is driving! Can anyone say speeding ticket in Kansas??? In his defense, I did bring us across the Kansas border at 3 in the morning, then pulled over to sleep. He got up a few hours later and took the wheel assuming the speed limit was the same as what he'd been driving (not sure if he even knew we were in Kansas). The cop really didn't seem to care.

Anyway...back to my thoughts on RVs. Who's bright idea was it to drive all the way??? Thanks Pat! In hindsight, it wasn't too bad, but I won't be getting into one anytime in the near future!!!

It's what time in the morning and we're where???

In theory, this should all go smoothly and work out as planned, right? I’ve laid out the time table, planned movers and calculated the miles so that we arrive just in time to close on our new home and start unpacking. Well…not going to happen. Are you surprised? I guess I knew this was a long shot to have everything go perfectly. Amy, I should have tape recorded your words. “I have a beautiful baby, healthy children, my family is together…” something like that, right? Well, its 3:30 in the morning on Sunday, and I don’t suppose now would be a good time to call for a reminder?

I have no idea where we are, somewhere between Washington and Oklahoma. All I know is that I'm tired, its dark, I want to sleep, but Joe is driving and I'm keeping him company in between feedings and diaper changes. Is this trip ever going to end???

My Cousin Maggie

Our first stop was in Corvallis, Oregon, to visit my cousin and her girls, Maggie and Hallie. Molly calls her "My Cousin Maggie." I was happy to find out that my Aunt Fran was going to be there too. It was wonderful to see the girls hit it off from the start. Erin and Fran, thank you for a wonderful dinner. Miss you guys!!!

Picking up the RV

We picked up the RV this afternoon and then met my sister to pick up the girls. We had Paige take them out to lunch and play, because I knew I was going to be a mess saying goodbye to my family. I don’t want the girls to see me crying like this. I want them to be excited and look forward to our adventure, not worry about why mommy is so sad. (Side note, I’m not fooling myself thinking I can’t ever let them see me sad. I know that its healthy and normal to cry, especially in these circumstances. I just want them to think of this experience and move as positive) Anyway…my point about picking up the girls. They think this RV is the coolest thing ever. Molly is more excited about riding in this than anything else. We’ll see how long that lasts....

I should have bet

Well, I knew I should have bet against the movers. It did only take one day to pack, but loading was a different story. Come to find out that they packed and loaded 2 1/2 times the original estimation. Yes, I did show them the whole house. =)

The girls are headed to Nanna and Poppa's house and the movers cancelled today. A free day for me??? What am I to do??? The movers seem to think they can pack up our entire house in one day. Those of you who have been here know the volumes that this house contain. I was about to wager with the team lead from the moving company, so we'll see.....If this is the only problem during the next few weeks...I'll take it! Probably a blessing in disguise as I need the time (and quite) while the girls are away.

The Adventure Begins Tomorrow

This is our family's last day here in our house. Although we've only been here for a little over a year, it just feels like home. The movers will be here first thing in the morning to begin packing for our move to Oklahoma. We've said a lot of goodbyes, but I know the emotional ones are yet to come. I cry just thinking about leaving my family and friends behind. (Plus...I've got that post-partum hormonal thing going, too!)

Wow! It's been a busy month. I'm not much of a procrastinator, but I don't know if I'm up to packing our things tonight. I've waited until the last minute, it seems, maybe subconsciously trying to put off the inevitable? I know that good things await us as we begin this adventure. Part of me is holding onto the what we're leaving, while another part is anxious to begin our new lives.

The Doctors Visit

Today was a fun day. We had Doctors appointments for Grady and Ellery...shots! Grady had his second PKU heel prick and Ellery had a shot. Grady went first (Ellery knew she was next) and he screamed the whole time...mostly because the nurse was holding his heel. As soon as he was done, Ellery hopped on the stroller and said to the nurse, "tomorrow, I see you tomorrow, I go home now."