Peter, Kristin, Sam & Charlie

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Countdown...14 days

Only 11 days until we close on our new house...and 14 days until we move in! We finally have all the paperwork done (whew!), and our current home is...well, organized chaos. We've been sorting, donating, recycling, discarding, and packing little by little over the past few weeks. It's been awhile since we've moved, and I've forgotten how much work it is! Of course, the work won't end when we move, but it's always a little more fun to set things up in the new place then pack up the old place. I've been busy with the packing, and Peter has been busy with running moving related errands and getting things set-up, such as internet service at the new house. This was a 53 minute phone call today, and I don't think Peter has ever talked to one person on the phone for that length of time before!

Sam excitedly talks about moving every day. He really loves outer space, and there are some space pictures that were in one of the bedrooms that were written into the purchase agreement, so he can't wait to have a "space room". As excited as he is though, he's also a bit emotional about the whole thing. It's a big change for the little guy. He asked where a lamp was from our living room. The lamp was badly damaged, so I had gotten rid of it. When I told him this, he burst into tears saying that it was his favorite lamp. Hmm. I never knew of this attachment. I also realized that he was keeping track of boxes. When I was about to label a box of toys for Charlie's room, Sam burst into tears saying that Charlie already had two boxes of toys with his name on them, and he only had one. He's asking constantly about what comes with us and what doesn't (Is my Batcave coming? The refrigerator? The walls? The tv?). Of course, as mentioned in a previous post, Charlie doesn't seem to have any idea that anything is changing. I'm not sure about Oscar...he has just been barking constantly lately, so I think he senses something strange is going on.

Here is the formal dining room of the new house, though we will instead use it as a den/family room for now!

Well, blogging was a little break from my packing today, but now I better get back to work!

SamTalk

Sam: Mom! I have diet poop!
Mom: What?
Sam: I have diet poop! Look.
Mom: Oh, you mean diarrhea.

Guess that's sort of like diet poop. Sorry - I know it's gross - but it was too funny not to post!

Peter: Mmm. I want some Caribou tonight.
Kristin: Ooh, that does sound good.
Sam: (in a very serious voice) Guys, no. We are trying to buy a house.

I guess he had been listening to us when we decided after the holidays that we were going to take a break from spending money on going out to eat.

While watching the Grammy's with Sam:

Sam: Who's that?
Me: That's Jack Black.
Sam: Is he a singer too?
Me: Well, no. He does some singing, but he's an actor. That means he is in movies.
Sam: Yeah, he was in The Muppets.

Me: (after seeing our new house for the first time) Sam, did you like the house?
Sam: Yes!!
Me: Good! What did you like the best?
Sam: I loved the couches!

Too bad we don't get to keep those!

Charlie is Two!

Charlie, here is a little bit about you, at age two!

You love to play with anything that involves small "guys" or action figures, though you get pretty upset if the hands of these guys come off of the steering wheel of the vehicle you put them in. You love to eat o-gurt (yogurt), gapes (grapes), cackas (crackers), ocket (chocolate), and dirt (dessert). Your vocabulary is exploding and you sometimes speak in three or four word sentences! You ask where someone or something is by saying "Daddy is?" or "Ball is?". Instead of saying "no" you say "no way", though Mommy needs to quit laughing when you do this because other people might think it sounds a little rude! You say "I walk big" and then want Mom or Dad to hold your hands as you walk up the steps like a big boy. You still call your brother "Dam" and copy everything he does, even when you are not supposed to.

You now get time-outs, and you think they are torture. You refuse to hold my hand on the walk from daycare to the car, yet you insist that you are a baby when we ask if you are a baby or a big boy. You do not like to color with crayons or colored pencils. You demand markers. They are messy. You still get up between 5:45-6:15 EVERY morning. We can't even get you to snuggle in bed with us for a few minutes. You just can't wait to play!

You are frightened of robots and talking animal toys, but you love to sing and dance! You are very interested in books and LOVE to read Curious George. You are also a big fan of anything to do with Diego, Elmo, and Batman. You have just recently been interested in playing upstairs in your room by yourself. I think you realize you have less competition for toys that way, but you still peek down the steps every few minutes to make sure that we are still around.

We don't think you have any idea that life will change in a couple of weeks when we move to a new house, but you do love to crawl in and on top of all of the boxes. We will have to find you a new daycare next fall when Sam goes off to Kindergarten and Mommy starts a new school year. It will be a big change for you, but it will probably be a good chance to step out of your brother's shadow.

You are truly funny and make us laugh with your silly antics. You are also sweet, cuddly, and playful and give the best hugs. We love you so much, Charlie Barley!

When you got this balloon on your birthday, you were so excited and just ran around your room with it shouting "Fun! Fun! Fun!".

Sunday, January 29, 2012

A Sneak Peek

As mentioned in an early post, we will soon be moving! Though we knew that we would start looking after the holidays, things came together much quicker than expected. The house we found was a model home in a new neighborhood in a city south of where we are now. Peter and I are excited to have some more space and a yard for our two growing boys (and our dog) to run around and play! I am incredibly excited for my new kitchen....

....and the vaulted ceiling in our new master bedroom!

We'll definitely be all moved in before Sam starts kindergarten, which was one of my goals. We will be living in the same district that I teach in, which was another goal. We will find out in a few weeks if Sam got into the school where I teach. If not, he will go to our neighborhood school. Both are great choices, so we'll be happy with however it works out! We will have to find a new daycare for Charlie, which makes me sad because we love our current daycare provider, but we will make it work. We have just started sorting through things and doing some preliminary packing of some infrequently used things. Sam is a bit concerned about whether or not his toys will be at the new house. He is also concerned because I told him we were not taking our refrigerator. He must think he won't get to play or eat at the new house! Lots of changes are ahead for our family in the next few months:)

Letter Writing: A Lost Art

Sam loves to give us letters that he has written for us. He only knows how to write a handful of words, so they don't say much, but they mean a whole lot to us!

Christmas 2011

At ages four and almost two, Christmas was a wonderfully magic holiday this year.

tree decorating, cookie baking, candycane eating, wish list making, gift buying, gift wrapping, Santa visiting, paper chain counting, Christmas caroling, elf on the shelf searching, holiday partying, Christmas book reading, true meaning of Christmas teaching, happy birthday to Jesus singing

The anticipation of this special day is just as fun as the day itself!

Trying out Juliet's new tricycle!