We moved!

After several months, we finally got the official word on the house that we put in an offer for in August (as they say, "nothing short about a short sale!"). Just before Christmas, and I mean days before Christmas, we learned that we were closing on the house on Jan 6. Since the holidays, it has been a whirlwind: house inspection, furnace breaks in existing house on coldest day of winter, Charlie gets sick, closing on new house, Mike and I pleasantly and maturely negotiate paint colors, dry wall repair/plumbing update/carpet cleaner/cable installation/alarm system installation/termite inspector, Granddad and Mike spend 7 full days painting every room in new house, Charlie gets his first tooth, pack, move, unpack, Charlie gets 4 new top teeth on the same day, clean old house, Henry gets sick, Charlie gets sick again, and take a breath, that brings us to now. Since we closed on the new house, we have made 14 trips to Lowe's, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware, considered 62 paint colors, and have visited the pediatrician 4 times. I am quite tired, and I am sick of living out of boxes, but slowly, the house is coming to together. On the morning of our last day in the old house, Mike and I reflected on leaving the rental:
M: Bye old house and so long to getting trapped in the master bath
J: So long to getting trapped in the main bath... And while I am on the subject, so long to getting trapped in the office for several hours and resorting to taking the door off its hinges and busting out the door knob to escape (true story)
To clarify, the rental had several doors but only a few of them worked properly.
M: Bye tall condo complex in our backyard that blocked out the daylight and whose tenants peered at our every move like we lived in a fishbowl.
J: Bye rickets!
M:  Bye colony of crickets living in the basement
J: Bye family of squirrels living in our attic
M: Bye dangerous storm drain in the front and back yard
J: So long to extensive, intricate 17-pt turns just to park the car in the driveway

Of course, there are also a lot (really just 3 that I think of) reasons to miss that house:
1. Henry learned to walk and to talk in that house.
2. It was Charlie's first home.
3. The oven was so small that it didn't take a long time to preheat.

 Despite donating two pickup trucks' worth of stuff, we still filled up an entire moving truck. In fact, there wasn't enough space in the truck and we had to make several additional trips by car.

Although they can easily fit into one box, these two items come with their own clothes and accessories that require storage space.

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We have space and a guest room so please come to visit!

Sharing their DNA

Although this was filmed several weeks ago now, here is a short video of Henry and Charlie playing together (one of the very first times!) and, yes, literally and symbolically sharing their DNA.

Happy Halloween!

I feel horrible that so many wonderful childhood milestones have passed without any updates. I keep planning on writing about significant family memories like summer trips, weddings, 3rd birthday parties, apple-picking, and hand, foot and mouth disease, but I never seem to find the time. I would love to write a funny, little anecdote about Halloween, but instead I will just post a few pictures.

My little honeybee. When I was pregnant with Henry, one of my first thoughts was: Now I can finally dress a baby up like a honeybee! Henry's birth date made him essentially honeybee ineligible - he was just a few weeks old on his first Halloween and he was well passed the tolerant stage of being stuffed into a thick, fleece, round, immobilizing costume on his second Halloween. Is a honeybee an original costume? No. But, come on, just try not to smile.


He may have been passed honeybee territory, but Henry was still interested in being a winged creature. Henry's costume preferences changed frequently during the month of October. His costume preferences included (in approximate order): A prince ("A cape, crown, and boots!"), Tinkerbell (yes, the very one... how?... I don't know...), an ice cream man, Arial (yes, mermaid princess... how?... I don't know...), and finally he settled on a bat. Just a bat. Although in the picture above he looks like a crow. Well, not any crow. The Crow.


Henry's costume choice made it fairly easy on me. We got a black cape for his wings and pinned the cape to his sleeves for a wing-like action. We covered his rain boots in black duct tape. He wore all black clothes. He was fairly clear about his expectations for a bat costume: cape, black clothes, and black boots. I tried to get him to wear an eye mask but that didn't last too long. He became quite adept at wearing that cape so it billowed with just the right dramatic flair as he walked.

The Artist Currently Known As The Prince Who Lives In The Castle

When we got in the car this morning, the song "Landslide" was on the radio. After a few seconds, Henry said, "Mommy, this song is too sad. Please listen to a happy song."

"Like what?" I asked. He said, "Like the red car song! The one that man sings. The Prince who lives in the castle."

Translation: Little Red Corvette by Prince.

Sweet peas

Charlie is starting to try baby food. He really enjoys rice cereal, bananas, and sweet potatoes. Here is Charlie's first experience with peas.


What's this? Another new food? Peas, you say? I'm curious.

What?! Yuck - what are you doing to me?

What's this? Another new food? Peas, you say? I'm curious.

Blech! You did it again. Curse you, Woman!

First Day of School

Yes, I was warned, and yes, it is true. Poor Charlie is the victim of second child syndrome. There is very little photographic evidence of his existence (compared to first child Henry). I have some posts in the works regarding are truly wonderful family trip to Wisconsin as well as some general summertime fun pictures. In the meantime, here are some pics of the boys first day of "school." The new year for their daycare begins in June.

Henry started out once like Charlie... fresh-faced, ready for the new school year in his sweater vest, eager to impress with his prep school insignia. Alas, now that Henry is an upperclassman, he is slightly disheveled, prone to rolling out of bed and just throwing something on. The bold, impertinent colors - where are his conservative blues? Note the ironic t-shirt (imagine, a boy of his age liking Spider Man). Why, I don't think he even combed his hair!

Little Turkey

In a wish I had my camera moment, the other night, Henry spontaneously put his favorite shorts (red ones) on his head and began singing "Turkey in the Hay" while square dancing.