Birthday Girl!

I can't believe my sweet girl is 4 years old! Where has the time gone? Here are some fun facts and pics of the bday girl!

*Mackenzie is full of energy and is in constant motion. She loves dancing, twirling, spinning and tumbling. 

*She is very independent and prefers to do things on her own.  This can be a bit frustrating for both of us when we are either in a hurry or when a task is too hard.

*She adores her brother more than anything in this World.  Every morning when he wakes up she says the same thing "Hey Brother, did you have a good rest?"

*She is a good helper.  She loves assisting me in the kitchen, entertaining her brother and finding things I've misplaced.

*She LOVES books.  If you take her to a toy stoy she would be as content with a book over a toy.

*She is a natural born negotiator.  She can rationalize anything. I am predicting a future for her in practicing law.

*She is very aware of things beyond her age.  The week of her birthday as I was doing things around the house, she came up to me with tears in her eyes and said "Mommy, I'm going to miss playing with you when I get older."  

*She loves answering the phone and having conversations with people.  If you call, be prepared to have a a 5 minute conversation with her, where she will insist you talk to her brother....She is also very friendly when we're out in public and loves talking to people. 

*She has been speaking "whine-ese" these days.  We are working on not whining, using a big girl voice and asking for things nicely.

*She is very dramatic and knows how to self-induce tears to get what she wants.  She is a master manipulator and has us turning our heads with laughter (and sometimes exhaustion) several times a day.

*She is tender hearted and gets her feelings hurt easily.  She cares about others and doesn't like to see people upset or hurt.  

*She will be starting preschool this Fall and is very excited.  I think she will love school as she loves meeting new friends and learning about new and exciting things. 

Happy Bday, sweet girl!  We love you bunches and are so proud of you!   Thank you for giving me the title of Mommy, a role I cherish!

misc pics:

. . .  and a blast from the past.  .   .

                                                   I love you to the moon and back!

Home, Sweet Home

We are slowly getting settled in our new house.  We LOVE the storage, extra square footage, and most important to us during this process....location.  We moved to the neighborhood behind our old house, exactly 2 streets away.  In fact, you can see our friends house that lived behind us from our new backyard.  We still frequent the playground we went to each week as it is at the end of the cul-de-sac that we live on.  The spray park is located at the opposite end, and our good friend's and neighbor's are only streets away.  It doesn't get much better than that.  Except for the fact, that  as of this past Friday, we closed on our house on Tuswell so we are currently the owners of 1 house and never had to make 2 mortgage payments.  Whoo hoo!

As promised to my family and friends far away, here are some photos of our house.  We are still getting unpacked, pictures hung and are currently waiting on cable service (it's been 2 loooong weeks...I think I miss Nick Jr. more than Mackenzie:), so most of the pictures uploaded are from our final walk through before we moved in.


                                   
                                                          3 car side load garage

Our favorite part of our new yard is that we no longer bake in the sun all day, but enjoy playing in the shade all afternoon!

                              

                           View from balcony of the entry way.  It's the only pic I have of the entrance.

Jeremy's Office

Dining room

View from front door to great room and kitchen

Kitchen, complete with double ovens.....I'm in heaven!

Eat in kitchen

My sweet girl sweeping the floors before we mop

Great room....the staircase to the left leads up to the Master Level. 

Master Bath

We have a 5 level split, so the first floor has the office, dining room, great room and kitchen.  The second level is the Master Bed and Bath.  Then the stairs leading up from the Master level leads to the 3rd level, where the kids bedrooms and baths and guest room are. 

Mackenzie's room and bath, she loves having her own bathroom, but is eagerly waiting for us to paint it

Mackenzie's room far left, guest room in middle, and Caleb's room down hallway far right

View from loft of the 3 bedrooms on the upper level

View from loft area of the main floor/great room

The loft is top left.  We're not sure how we'll utilize this yet, but for now it's going to be a sitting area or extra play room for the kids.

Caleb's Room

Stairs leading down to lower level

This is technically our basement, even though it's not underground. The nice part is that since there's windows Mackenzie will go down there by herself b/c it doesn't feel like a true basement.

Unfinished basement

....and a few miscellaneous pics. . ..

Daddy with the kids after we got the keys to the house

Having a pizza picnic

Just yesterday...once we got the tv hung and access to the DVD's!  :)

Mackenzie playing with dress up dolls from Aunt Sari and Uncle Frank.....you're the best!

Mackenzie and Caleb's first bath together at the new house!  So sweet!

I hope that this home brings us as much happiness and as many good memories as our house on Tuswell.  We feel truly blessed that this house fell into our arms and that we were able to get it for a steal!  We feel like we are on vacation everyday!  It's beginning to feel like home the more we settle in. Thank you to my wonderful husband for being a risk taker and helping us wheel and deal the house of our dreams.  You never cease to amaze me! 

Caleb, 7 months

My sweet boy is 7 months old and changing every day!  This has been a crazy month as we bought a house, moved in and are waiting to close on our old house (more to come soon).   Here's the update on my sweet boy.

*You are a wild man!  I can put out the shiniest, noisiest, most entertaining toys in front of you, but all you really want to play with are the outlets, lamp and computer cords, and stick your fingers in the slats of the vents.  Your other favorite activities include crawling under tables, chairs and onto the stairs.  We cannot leave you alone for any amount of time.

*You can pull up on the bottom stair or on our leg. 

*You have not been a great sleeper these days.  Not sure if we are so out of whack with the whole move, or maybe you are going through a growth spurt, or maybe even teething, but it feels like you are a newborn all over again.  You still require an 11:30 feeding, and then are up around 3:30 or 4, and then again around 6:30.  I am not enjoying this one bit.  Mama likes her sleep and is hoping next month is better!

*You are talking much more these days.  When you get really excited you let out a very loud and girlish like squeal. 

*You are still all smiles, and you even have debuted a new one.  You now wrinkle up your nose and do a smile, accompanied by a snorting sound.  It is hysterical.

*You are near impossible when it comes to changing your diaper.  You turn, wiggle, arch your back and do whatever it takes to make the diapering process a challenge.  You pull the same shenanigans when it comes to putting you in your carseat or high chair.  Now that you can move, you just want down. 

*You LOVE your sister and still give her the best smiles and laughs.  She couldn't love you more either.  I hope this lasts for a while, b/c I know the day will come when your feelings for each other change.

*You usually take 2 good naps, about 1 1/2 hours twice a day. 

*Your appetite had decreased this month, and unless you are really tired, you fight food.

Even though this month has been a bit of a challenge, we still love you!  But could you please start sleeping through the night again?  Mama misses her sleep, but is trying to appreciate the late night cuddles!  I know they are numbered and one day I will miss this quiet time with you.

We've moved. . .

 Goodbye Tuswell Drive.  Thanks for being such a wonderful home...the place where we started our married lives together, where we decorated for the holidays in a Clark W. Griswold fashion, where we brought both of our babies home from the hospital, where we met neighbor's and made friendships that will last a lifetime...

We will carry the memories that we made here with us forever.