Adjusting...

We have been living with my parents and Sara, for 2 weeks. We officially closed on our house on Friday, April 19th but we moved in here the week before.  I'm pretty proud of  Brian and I that we moved our 3 bedroom house and 2 car garage, essentially all by ourselves, over 2 weeks. We took each room apart one by one, packed about 25 boxes at night after work and on the weekends and then loaded the POD. We got the largest POD and still had about 3 or 4 car loads of stuff that we've crammed into nooks in my parents basement and garage.  All in all, it was an insane 2 weeks but we managed to handle it all without asking for too much help. We felt since we'd need help on the other end of the move, we'd do our best to do it all on the first end. Don't want to burden people too munch, since we're new to town and everything ;) 

The first week here was tough. Brian and I spent a few nights going back up to the house to clean and make sure it was all clean and poor Madelyn and Quigley were SO confused. I got "home" from work and the first thing Madelyn said to me was "Mommy, home?" the way she often does when I arrive at the end of the day. She knows the drill. I broke down in tears because I wasn't picking her up to take her back to her home... right now, we don't have a home. We were so caught up in getting the house ready, packing, and cleaning

that I'm embarrassed to say, I hadn't thought about how hard this would be on Madelyn and Quigley. I felt like such a bad mommy. I sort of thought it would be easy at her age to move and she wouldn't be sad about not being in that house anymore. Then I read some stuff online about how change, i.e. moving, and how it is hardest on toddlers.  They are creatures of habit, especially at a  young age. I know this because Madelyn from day 1 has responded well to a routine. She likes to know what is going on and anticipating what is next.  So, I should have realized that this would be just as much an adjustment for us as it would be for her. It's up to us to make this transitional time as smooth as possible. Because in another month, we'll be moving again. 

For Brian and I, the transition has been great. We're 1/3 of the way there, with 4 weeks to go and it's been a refreshing change.  The biggest change is our commutes are about 30 minutes.  So rather than spending 3 hours in the car a day, we are each spending about 1hr. Madelyn hasn't been sleeping as well here, so she's waking up anywhere from 5:30 - 6am (compared to 7ish). That means that on average we've been spending about 3 hours with her each morning - and that is HUGE! I feel like the 3 of us have spent more time together in the last 2 weeks than in the last 2 months. It feels that different, and its wonderful :) I also can't tell you the last time I got gas, which is such a treat. I was filling up every 4 days, and I think it's been about 8 or 9 days and I still have a 1/4 tank. Woo - hoo!

I realize my parents and Sara might have a different view of things.  Their lives have been turned upside down since 2 more adults, a rambunctious toddler and spunky dog moved in. I think 6 weeks is the perfect amount of time, hopefully they'll still like us by the time we're ready to move again.  We plan to ask them for help moving AND painting, and we need to still be on their good side! :) 

Hope you all are well! Cheers! 

17 months/phone picture dump!

How on Earth is our baby 17 months?! As we've taught Madelyn to say - Momma mia! Holy moly! I knew the second year would be a totally different experience than the first, but I definitely didnt understand, how. The last two months specifically, have brought the most changes in our little munchkin and we are really enjoying this stage.

Madelyn starting saying words kind of early, and by 13 months was starting to communicate with us. Gradually she felt more comfortable with talking and added even more words. Now, she talks nonstop. She says "thank you Mommy" when I feed her, or give her a toy to play with and when we sneeze, right on cue she blurts out "bless u". When she's tired, she lets us know she's ready for bed by saying "nigh-nigh" and when she's hungry "num-num." She calls everyone by their name, and just yesterday learned Auntie's name was Sara. So now it's not just Auntie, but "Auntie Sa-wra"which is just the cutest. Every little word she says is the best sound, even when it's a nonstop ramble for hours :)

Madelyn spent months crawling before really exploring walking. Like flipping a switch, suddenly she was walking pretty well. Now she walks and/or runs, she never.stops.moving. I'm so glad the weather is getting warmer because she LOVES being outside.  It'll be great for her to be out in the fresh air exerting all her energy!

The other big change in Miss M is her abundance of affection! She still doesn't like being coddled, cradled or rocked, but the kisses, hugs and "I wuv you's" more than make up for it.  Actually, she just started saying I love you last week. I couldn't wait to hear her say the words, and lucky-Auntie was the first one that she said it to! She looked up at her after she put her in her crib for a nap.  Later that night, I got one too :) melt.my.heart

Until I upload our real photos, here are some pics from phone from the last few weeks!!