Ah, News

So tomorrow begins another month. I was hoping to close this month without snow on the ground, but alas, it's still there. Still, we did close in a good way on something else - a house. We bought a house, and now it's ours.

We haven't really told many people about it. Mostly because it was a foreclosure, so we wanted to wait for the inspection to go through. Then the appraisal. And now the final closing. So... we should probably announce that we are now homeowners.

We were pretty certain that buying a house wasn't in the cards for us, mostly because the market wasn't showing any houses that we liked (even in price ranges higher than ours). Also because we had cold feet, considering our last housing situation (well, at least the unloading part). We decided to keep increasing our savings, and keep our eyes peeled for a deal.

When this house came on the market, we didn't hold much hope for it. The price was a little too low for it to be structurally sound. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the bones were good, only a couple doors down from a couple in our church, and only a few miles from our daycare worker.

The open floor plan was what sold me. It's nice to be able to cook dinner, plus be able to hold a conversation with L and E, who are generally in the living room. Plus the laundry is on the main floor. Don't ask me why, but I love that we have a laundry room on the same floor as the rest of the house. Crazy excited really.

The house was a foreclosure, so you can imagine the state that it's in cosmetically. It's in need of a really really good cleaning, miscellaneous projects, and the whole house needs to be painted (really, orange trim?). We have A LOT to do this month, so all of our waking moments are going to spent there.

We're hoping that most of this will be done in time for the babe to arrive, which is a good segway in preggo news. My 34 week appt. was today, and everything is looking good. Baby's head is down, weight gain is good, and for the most part, I'm feeling well, even though tired and a little sore.

Six more weeks to go, more or less. Isn't it crazy how quickly time passes?

And the photo above is just a cute photo to pay homage to the kiddo who was carted along to many boring appts, and was incredibly well behaved at all of them. She's pretty amazing.

Could It Be....

that spring is coming? And not just because is the first "official" day of spring? I'll take the sunshine any day, even if it's colder than a spring day should be.

Working four full days has been made my calendar pretty busy. By Thursday night both E and I are pretty tired. Last night was our last bible study for the year, and was also my night to bring dessert (and L also happened to be out of town for work to add to the craziness). I made dessert (with E's help), pulled it out of the oven, turned around and almost tripped into E, and the pan fell on the floor (and thankfully not on either of us!).

I wasn't impressed.

But we made it through, and now it's a sunny, cold Friday in which we're not going anywhere (well, except grocery shopping). Boy I love Fridays.

Things have just been busy here or maybe I'm just exhausted more easily. I can't believe we only have eight more weeks to go before this kiddo is here. Working an extra day has made me tired, but it's given me peace of mind about going on maternity leave with my ducks in a row. We've also committed ourselves to something else that's taking more time, and once the time is right, we'll share that too.

Plus the kiddo is in potty training... and I didn't realize how much time that takes! She basically walks around the house half naked until she needs to go the bathroom. Sometimes she gets a little freaked out though, so I sit next to her and make sure she knows it's okay.

I'm really trying not to push it, because we weren't even planning on starting until after baby was born, so she's faster than my schedule. Still, sometimes I think of how great it would be to have her mostly potty trained by May. She's done pretty well, though. Pooping is certainly easier, which I hear is pretty unusual for kiddos. She's always danced to the beat of her own drum, though. :)

Some pretty exciting news on our front though: we're thinking about having a small garden this year (time permitting of course). Anyone have any great advice for newbies like us? I'm excited to get E involved in this process. I have fond memories of growing up in my dad's enormous garden, pulling weeds, throwing worms at each other (and freaking my mom with them), and eating food that we grew ourselves. Any thoughts that you would have is so appreciated!

And She's Two

Happy Birthday, Eden!! You have brought a richness into our lives that cannot be measured. We hope that you have a great day, and many lovely moments over the upcoming year!

We love you!!

My Girl

Our little girl has added so much richness in our lives. Each day we see more and more of her personality shine through, and I often wonder what God has in store for this little one.

How would I describe her? I see a lot of us in her. Sometimes it seems like she's going to be problem solver like her daddy, and prefers figuring things out. She's also sensitive like I am... brought to tears easily. She likes to be around other kiddos (in smaller group settings it appears), but likes being with just us, too.

She has the ability to defend herself, and is quite independent. She does things on her own time table, and the more you prod her the more she'll resist. It takes a little while for her to warm up to someone, but has only once cried when we left her with someone else.

She makes us laugh every day, and is growing so much. At the moment she's fascinated with money (believe it or not). She loves to put money in her piggy bank or in her play wallet. In fact, she knows Daddy has money in his pocket, so assumes every one else too. We were at a store the other day, and the sales associate who was helping us put his hands in his pocket. E held her hand out and said, "Money. Mine."

Maybe we need to have her pan handling for us?

She also loves playing with her crafts and her dolls. She loves her books, and will let us know which one she wants us to read to her (and in the order she wants). She folds her hands together when we pray. She likes to make silly faces and loves to play dress up. She can't wait to show Daddy how she looks when she wears a dress and has her own "done".

How would I describe her? Amazing.

What the Girl Can Do

It's so hard to believe that our little girl is going to be two this week! Boy time is flying, yet it's hard to remember life without her. She has been such a delight, even though parenting can be challenging at times.

She is talking a lot more now - combining words, expanding her vocabulary, starting to sing songs. She knows certain letters of the alphabet, and will point them out when asked. She's getting better and better with her colors. I am amazed at what she knows - it's so true that their minds are like sponges and that they soak up everything.

Some wonderful progress: she went on the potty twice! Last night she just decided that she wanted to take her diaper off and go. Normally it's just a game, and nothing happens, so we didn't think anything of it. This time was different, and she went. Who knows what sparked the interest, but we didn't care - we were so excited! She went again this morning, and now I'm feeling like that she's ready to start potty training... so pray for us. :)

Oh, and by the way, I love her hair in this picture. She's so silly and cute.