Well, we must be having a TON of FUN, because time is sure flying by at mach 10 lately! I am a bad Mama, haven't taken a monthly portrait of my baby yet this month - I've got just a few days left before she turns 11 months old! Can you believe it? She's rounding the corner to her first birthday, already!?! She stands independently and takes a few steps before falling to her knees because she's lightening fast at crawling and it gets her there faster. It's cute to see her just stand right up in the middle of the room, put her hands high in the air (soooo big!) and then toddle a few steps. It won't be long before she's tearing around the house at full speed! She sure is a sweetheart. She's had a rough go the past couple weeks with all FOUR of her top teeth trying to break through the gums - they're almost there. It makes for some uncomfortable nights for the poor dear. My baby is slowly, yet quickly, disappearing and before I know it she'll be a toddler! With 6 teeth! I'm excited to celebrate her first birthday in June. But like most Mamas, it's a little bit sad to say goodbye to that first amazing whirlwind of a year where they start sooooo tiny and helpless and end up running into your arms with a huuuge smile that shows of their few little teeth. Crazy! Makes me want to just keep on having babies...I really hope I will have a strong feeling when our family is "complete" because right now I'm not sure I'll ever feel that way?
Since she's good at balancing and taking a few steps, the kids decided to "hand down" or give Hazel their old little bike. Hazel was THRILLED to feel like such a big girl, riding a bike! It was so cute! Sawyer and Aspen were equally thrilled watching her and cheering her on!
The warm spring days are even warmer than the warmest summer days in Seattle. Everyone keeps warning us about how HOT summer will be, but in the meantime, we've really enjoyed the weather here. Immensely! Walks to the park, playing in the sand, spray and splash pads, pool, picnics, bbqs - it's my kind of life. The smell of sunscreen and dinner on the grill. A splash in the pool to start or end the day - I LOVE it! And of course, so do the kids!
It's so awesome that because of the wonderful weather, people can have parties outside whenever they please. We attended a birthday party at the park under a huge old oak tree. It was magical! We will have to plan a party outside one of these days...speaking of party planning - we've got TWO birthdays coming up! I don't think they'll be outside this year - but we are planning Sawyer's 5th birthday, which he has requested to be a LEGO party! It's going to be so much fun! And Hazel is going to have a small party with just our family. So fun to have so many reasons to celebrate! We got a head start on party prep and the kids helped me peel a bunch of old crayons and melt them in mold into lego bricks and little lego men (we'll use as party favors). Aren't they cool? I think so!
The big news of the month is that we closed on our new home! Did I mention that we bought a house? We are so so excited! We have a month of overlap between ending our current lease for our apartment so we decided to start on a couple of projects before we move in and have to be in the middle of it all. So, now, we're kind of half way packing and in between and running back and forth -- it's a little crazy. But, it is exciting and it will pass. We'll be moved in soon - the kids are absolutely thrilled!
Someone from our church moved recently, and gave us a ton of boxes to use. The boxes take up 1/3 of our living room in our apartment, or so it seems. They have turned into a climbing wall, ice skating rink, and other various fun things. At first it was fun, and now it's kinda driving me nuts - but hey, just part of the process, right? At least the kids are enjoying it! Even Hazel is amazing at climbing the slippery "wall".
Okay. Call my CRAZY! (because you KNOW I AM!!!) I decided I wanted to start making our house our home, "ours" by starting in the very heart of it - the kitchen! I wanted to paint the cabinets white, add new sparkly hardware, and brighten things up a bit. So, I studied and researched for HOURS and DAYS and WEEKS and came up with a master plan of how that would happen. Let me tell you, it is a TON of work! And it's really hard to do with little children, and a family. And thank GOODNESS we're doing it while living elsewhere. Like most DIY projects, it costs A LOT less to do it yourself. Like under $500 vs. $5,000. So, I'm doing it. Crazy? Definitely! Worth it? I'll let you know once I'm done!
We've also started narrowing down paint selections and putting a few samples up (okay, maybe more than a few) on the walls. We will study them in all sorts of light and live with them for at least a week before we decide on the winners. Although I may go ahead and decide and do Hazel's room because I really want it to be painted so we don't have to rustle her around. She's been in our room, and sleeping with us, up until now, and so I want to only have to make one transition for her. Jacob is also getting me a much-longed for and anticipated super comfortable gliding/swivel rocking chair to put in her room. I'm so excited about it! It will take a long time to get our house all decorated etc. but we're trying to start with the most important things, first. A rocker was pretty high up on the list :)
The kids have been amazing, as always. Wonderful little troopers while I drag them around to lots of errands and attempt to do some things around the new house with them under foot. They are seriously such good sports. And they play SO well together. Sometimes I feel a little bad that we hardly ever do playdates - but we don't really need to, since they're best friends. Something exciting, though, is that I met some of our new neighbors and there is a little girl right next door who is Aspen's age, and a boy across the street who is Sawyer's age. How fun is that?
Amidst the craziness and chaos that is our lives the next few weeks as we get ready to move and get settled, I noticed we have a couple of beautiful rose bushes on each side of our house. And they're all blooming. Good reminder - even during times of craziness, it's good to stop and smell the roses. For reals! We are feeling so so very blessed, yet also a bit overwhelmed with all we have to do in the next three weeks. Let the crazy fun begin (well, it already has!)
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