Allie's 2 year stats

So whew knew that it would take 6-8 weeks to get a well-visit with the pediatrician when you can take a sick kid within the hour?!? I mean, don't get me wrong, I definitely appreciate being able to get right in when the kiddos are sick but 6-8 weeks? Really??

For this reason, we just now had Allie's 2 year check up. She's doing great. Dr. B once again commented on how sweet she is... but we all knew that! Let's get to the good stuff, shall we??

She now weighs 25 pounds which puts her all the way into the 25th percentile (she was in the 9th percentile for a long, long time) and she is 34 1/4 inches tall which puts her in the 75th percentile (up from the 66th percentile last time). So our tall, skinny girl had a growth spurt! All I can say is, I hope she keeps this metabolism for a long time!

Right now her favorite thing is to draw. But not with a crayon, no.... our feisty little girl likes to "write my name" with a pen or pencil! She'll scribble a bit, hold it up and scream "I write my name!!!!" over and over again. She also likes to draw circles and she's pretty good at it! The one thing that surprises me, though is that she doesn't grip the pencil in her fist like most kids her age... she holds it properly! Any time she sees a pen or pencil she demands that we let her write her name. I had to fill out some change of address forms at the pediatricians office so, of course, she had write her name too. Here she is drawing a picture for Dr. B as we waited for him Look at how she's holding that pen!

The other interesting thing from her doctor's appointment:  Her heart whistles! The doctor kind of freaked me out at first. He listened to her heart for a very long time and kept coming back after checking her lungs. He laid her on her back and listened again for a long time. Finally he sat her up and told me her heart makes a whistling sound but when she lies down it goes away completely. He wanted to make sure I knew and understood that not only is it nothing to worry about but it's actually fairly common! He did warn me, though, that if I ever had to take her to the ER or another doctor that they might try to tell me she has a heart murmur.... but I should ignore them because that's not what it is! I came home and told Dave that she has a happy heart... so happy that it whistles!

So she gets smarter and smarter. She sings her ABC's, not perfectly but she's trying really hard! She counts to 10, she knows a lot of her colors and she loves school. We are a little stumped though. She has started talking about "Pee Wee" at school and says it's a friend. Her teacher has no idea what she's talking about and neither do we but if you ask her what she did at school, she'll say "Play Pee Wee"...??? An imaginary friend maybe??

She continues to be 100% a Daddy's Girl. She absolutely adores Dave. She also continues to do absolutely everything that she sees JD do. She loves him so much and they still give each other a kiss and hug in the morning before they go to their separate classes.

She's adjusting to the new house okay. I put the bed rail back on her bed yesterday and she slept through the night for the first time in a week. I think it will stay! She loves to ride bikes on the enormous driveway and play in the dirt with JD. She also thinks she's big stuff being allowed to go up and down the stairs by herself! She has also started using the potty a little bit. She will wear her Minnie Mouse panties for hours at a time without an accident and she likes getting two Reese's Pieces when she's successful. Looks like it's time to actually potty train our girl and say goodbye to diapers altogether!

So that's it! That's Allie's update. She's getting bigger and bigger. She's cuter than ever. Especially now that she's talking so much! Dave and I are so incredibly blessed by this little girl!

So Much!

The excitement of the past few days is quite overwhelming.

On the 17th we all woke up knowing it was the day to say goodbye to Kent, Sarah and Jasper. They're moving to San Antonio, TX. I took the kids to school and headed to the house to help Dave work on the road widening project. Jeff, our builder, arrived and informed us that he had the inspector coming out to look at the other little things that didn't pass inspection the last time so I busied myself getting the house ready and then went out and helped Dave smooth the road. In the back of my mind I was hoping that the inspector would see that we had made an effort to comply and, even though the road wasn't quite finished, would possibly, maybe pass us..... NAH! This is Georgetown County and the inspector had about zero personality. Nothing is that easy!

The inspector was driving in as I was driving out to get the kids from school. I brought the kids home and fed them lunch at my parents house. Jeremy (my cousin) and his girls were there hanging out with Kent before he hit the road..... As I was making sandwiches my dad came in and said Dave was on the porch and wanted to see me.... i walked out and he handed me a piece of paper. All I saw was the word "PASSED"!  We passed our final inspection! We finally, finally, finally  were allowed to move in to our house. I literally screamed as I jumped up and down on my parents' front porch!

Inspection Type: Final
Inspection Status: PASSED!

FINALLY!!!!!

After the excitement wore off we said our goodbyes to Kent, Sarah and Jasper (and Merv too who came from GA to drive out to TX with Kent and the dogs.... but we'll see him again in about 6 weeks). It was hard. I've never lived more than a few hours from Kent but I know that he's very excited and this will be a great thing for him and his family. Before they left they asked me to snap some pics of Jasper for his half birthday (he turned 6 months on the 15th). I think I got some good ones....

Just look at that chunk! Who could possibly resist.... my babies were skinny so I quite enjoyed snuggling this squish for a week before they left!

Baby toesies are the best!

When I set out to edit this pic my intention was to just smooth the skin. Half way through the editing process I stopped. I don't normally leave my photos this fuzzy. I usually like a nice crisp photo but the dreaminess of this just captured me. I think it perfectly captures the relationship between a mom and her little one!

So that night we slept in our new house as a family and the next day we sold our old house! We got a full price offer about a week after listing it. We have the most awesome realtor in the world! So we close on March 16 and then the past year will be nothing but a memory! The last 6 months were a bit tough. With Dave living with my parents (I'm sure that wasn't easy for them or for Dave) and me living in Myrtle Beach with the kids, doing the single parent thing during the week... then every Friday I would pack a suitcase and head to Pawleys with the kids for the weekend. It was A LOT of packing and unpacking! But all totally worth it.

Our last visit to our old house (see the For Sale sign??)... we're gonna miss that little house!

I think I walk around the house with a perma-grin now that it's complete and we're in. I love, love, love my new kitchen, especially the convection oven. WOW! What a difference that makes! Meats are juicier, cupcakes are moister and fluffier. I was skeptical at first but now I'm a believer!

The kids are getting used to it. Allie keeps falling out of her bed because we wanted to try it without the bed rail but it's going back on today. I'm tired of going up and down stairs all night to tuck her back in. JD sleeps through the night but getting him to actually go to bed is difficult. He's stalled until after 9:00 PM for the past 2 nights and has been a clingy, grumpy, whiny mess in the mornings. So we're thinking about cutting out his naps... which have also become a struggle. So what's worse? Taking a nap, going to bed too late and grumpy in the morning or no nap and becoming a disaster around 4:30 PM and then praying that we are able to retain our sanity until 7:30 PM when he will go to bed easily?? That's a L-O-N-G three hours, folks!

As with anything when it comes to little ones, it's all a guessing game and once we get used to one routine they change it up!

So that's what we've been up to! Lots and lots of stuff amid the unpacking process..... Oh! I also took Allie for her 2 year well visit and JD to his first dentist appointment... those get their own posts, though!

Still not in....

So we've moved out of the Carolina Forest house and put all of our furniture in the new house. We planned to stay with my parents for a few days until the balusters were installed on the stairs. Well, there was a delay in ordering, painting and installing. Finally, they were installed late last week. Installed wrong, but installed well enough to pass inspection. They'll have to be fixed later....

So the inspector came out on Friday and failed us. There were a few minor things with the house that needed to be corrected but the biggie is the stupid road. It's not wide enough for the fire trucks. And we have to talk to the Fire Marshall before we can start cutting more trees. So no CO (certificate of occupancy) until we can do that and have it reinspected... At least a week.

So we're still living with my parents (2 weeks now) and making do until we're allowed to officially move in to the new house.

In the meantime, the kids have started at their new school (more on that later) and we've been doing what we can to unpack.

Unsettled

Hi! Remember me??

We're still a little unsettled. Okay. A LOT unsettled. While we moved all of our stuff last weekend we are still not "in" the new house. There was a delay on the balusters for the staircase and I refuse to move a 2 year old and a 3 year old into a house with no stair rail... not to mention the balcony on the third floor that is wide open!

So, my incredibly welcoming parents have let us bunk with them for the past week while Dave spends most of his time at the old house painting and fixing things so we can get it on the market.

Last I heard, the guy will be here on Tuesday to start installing the balusters so, God willing, we will be able to actually sleep at the new house and not have workers in and out by the end of next week.

So what have I been doing? During every sleeping moment (when the kids are sleeping, that is) I have been at the house unpacking, cleaning and trying to at least have a functional kitchen.

The kids are handling it well. Neither one of them have asked to go home and they're both sleeping great at grandma and papaw's house. They have been hanging out with me this week and start at their new school on Monday morning.

Pictures soon, I promise.....