Starting to Feel Like Home

It's taken a couple of weeks but I finally got our bedroom in order and all the decorative pieces in place to make it feel homey.

It's so nice to see the house coming together so it starts to feel like ours.  I even picked out some fabric and ordered a few samples so I can start making some curtains.  The only thing missing is changing the paint color but that will have to wait for now.

Cake Shenanigans

Today was fairly laid back compared to all the busy action of this month.  I spent time with Julian and while he napped I started looking at baby names.

As the only female in the house with two little boys I'm very excited to know there is a little girl that will be joining our family.  I'm sure this little girl will keep both of her big brothers on their toes when she arrives.

Isaac was very excited today since he'd finally be able to have a piece of the cake he helped make yesterday.  While he had a small piece earlier in the day I had told him he couldn't have any more unless he finished his dinner, which he didn't do.

Once the boys were in bed I was working on laundry and started hanging pictures in our bedroom.  While I was measuring I heard some clattering in the kitchen which was strange.  Frazer had gone to Nashville for the evening to attend an alumni event at Vanderbilt University and I knew it was too early for him to be home.

I went down stairs to investigate and couldn't believe what I found.  My clever boy, Isaac, had snuck passed my bedroom door and made his way downstairs.  He went and got the step stool, moved it to the counter so he could open the cabinet door and helped himself to a small plate.  Then he opened the silverware drawer and selected a proper cake fork.

Next, he went to the kitchen table and removed the glass dome from the cake pedestal and cut himself a piece of cake.  He was thoroughly enjoying himself.  The entire situation caught me off guard.  On one hand I couldn't believe a two year old was capable of such shenanigans however with Isaac I should have known better.  On the other hand, he was so precise and careful it was kind of impressive despite the fact he was supposed to be in bed.

Isaac wasn't happy when I interrupted his late night snack.  It took some convincing to give up his piece of cake to save it for tomorrow and get him back in bed.  

It's A....... (Gender Reveal)

Yesterday, Frazer had just left for an overnight trip and no sooner than he was driving out of the neighborhood I received a call from my OB.  They were calling to review the results of my genetic testing and everything came back clear which was a huge relief.  However, they also had the gender results if I wanted to hear them.  Of course!  Since this is baby number three I didn't want to wait at all this time to find out.

I was super excited to know the gender and I wanted to do something special for Frazer to reveal the results to him.  So, I decided to make a cake and Isaac was my helper.

Isaac helped with each step of the baking process and sampled everything along the way.  I added coloring to the cake and made sure it was properly concealed so the color would reveal the gender when Frazer cuts into the cake.  Once the cake was finished it was hard to keep Isaac out of it.  He was ready to cut into it himself and wasn't sure he could wait until papa got home.  

I'm very pleased with the way it turned out and I was very excited for Frazer to get home so I could share the news.

It's a Girl!

Video

We're both so excited to be having a baby girl!!!

Savoring Cuddles

There's nothing I love better than cuddling with a sleeping baby.  This is a moment I wish I could bottle up and pull it out any time I wanted to revisit this feeling.  I love the closeness I have with both my boys.  I loved cuddling with Isaac when he was small and would still cuddle with him daily if he'd let me.  I'm certainly going to savor the moments with Julian since I know as soon as he starts getting mobile he'll be more interested in exploring than sitting quietly with mama.

Completed Haircut

Yesterday I started to trim Isaac's hair with the clippers but I wasn't able to finish his bangs because I couldn't find the scissors.  Well today I found them and was able to finish little man's hair cut.

Isaac was very pleased with the results!  We had to take a picture and send it to papa.

Unpacking Progress

The kitchen counters have been found!

It feels great to finally be getting the kitchen in order and having everything unpacked and functional.   It certainly made breakfast much more enjoyable.  Isaac enjoyed having his spot back at the table so he could play with his milk this morning.

And Julian......well, he was apparently too tired to finish his bottle.

Isaac's Jam Session

This evening our budding musician performed for us.

Isaac is the cutest little guy ever and he loves this guitar.  Who knows what the future holds for him.  Perhaps he'll develop a love for music.

Video:  He's got great rhythm.  :)

Creative Way to Meet Neighbors

Today I had an experience I hope I never have again.  It all started with a simple task of needing to go to the basement to get a tool.  Julian was playing in his bouncer and Isaac wanted to come with me.  As we walked into the basement garage Isaac closed the door and locked us out of the house with Julian locked inside!

I remained as calm as I could on the outside but on the inside my head was swirling with what to do and quickly.  I opened the basement garage door and ran around the house checking all of the other doors and they were all locked.  I left my phone and keys on the kitchen counter because it didn't occur to me that I might need them in the basement.  So, I picked Isaac up and ran to the neighbors house searching for someone to be home with a phone to borrow.  Finally, after the fourth house someone was home.  I called Frazer twice before he answered and told him what was going on and I didn't have the code to the keypad on the garage door.  After getting the code Isaac and I ran back to the house and got the garage door open only to discover the door to the house was locked.

I could hear Julian crying inside so I picked Isaac up again and ran back to the neighbors to call 911.  While we were waiting for the sheriff to arrive Isaac and I hung out on the back porch so Julian could see us through the glass.  As soon as Julian saw us he calmed down  Isaac started playing peek-a-boo with him and he kept trying to open the door saying it was stuck.  He was so cute and couldn't understand why we couldn't go inside.  As long as Julian could see us he remained calm.  I kept reassuring Isaac everything would be okay so he didn't get upset either.

When the sherif arrived he was able to get the basement door unlocked.  I've never been so thankful in my life.  This was a true motherhood first.  Not once did I yell at Isaac because he simply didn't understand that the simple gesture of closing the door would cause us to be locked out.  It also didn't occur to me to check all the locks after the locksmith yesterday.  I never imagined the doors could be unlocked from the inside but locked from the outside.

Needless to say after today's event, copies of the keys will be made and available in the garage.  We always have spare keys but just haven't had the chance to get our system in place since we just had the keys sorted out yesterday.

It was certainly a creative way to meet new neighbors.  Once we were back inside I got the boys settled and down for a nap.  Then it was my turn to decompress.  Mama bear instincts are real and the panic of being separated from a child is scary.  At least I knew Julian was safe but I hope I never have this experience again!

Kitchen, Locks, and Coffee

Isaac has enjoyed pulling out all of his toys that have been packed away for a while.  To him it probably seems like Christmas getting to pull everything out.

While the boys were busy I continued unpacking.  There is still a lot to do but the major progress today was moving the breakfast table into the kitchen.  I'm sure it sounds like a simple task but given the amount of boxes that were staged in the kitchen I thought it would take much longer.

It's still a bit cluttered but at least we have a place for meals now.  The other major accomplishment of the day was the locksmith.  The house came with multiple keys for different doors so the locksmith was able to streamline all the locks into one key for everything.  So much easier and much less hassle.   And the most important event of the day was finding the coffee and coffee maker!  Yay for coffee!

Unpacking with the Boys

The boys are home!  They were so excited last night it was hard to get them down for the first time in the new environment.  Isaac ran through the house examining every square inch.  This morning they were both recharged and ready to investigate some more.

Julian was a little less than cooperative when it came to letting me focus on unpacking.  I can't say that I blame him since he's been away for a week.  However, he's super cranky and teething.  Poor thing finally stopped screaming and surrendered for a nap.

While Isaac was exploring I did my best to satisfy Julian.  He simply wanted to be close to mama today.  I tried the carrier for a bit with him and got a few things unpacked but that didn't last long.

My next attempt was the pack-and-play.  He seemed to tolerate it a little bit more but he would have preferred to be cuddled.

Julian was a hard one to please today but we made it work.  Isaac on the other hand had fun "helping" me unpack.  He had a ball playing with the packing paper and boxes. 

Progress might be much slower over the next few days but it's so nice to have us all home and together.  Moving is such a challenge but it's so worth the extra effort to keep us all together.

Boys Coming Home

The boys are coming home today! I'm so excited to see them. This is the longest I've ever been away from them. We've been so busy getting the house settled and we've missed them so much. I can't wait to show Isaac his new room. I know he's going to be excited to explore the new house.

Nana sent pictures of the boy's as they were headed our way.  Isaac kept himself busy on the drive with his new lightening McQueen car courtesy of nana and grandpa.

And both boys napped to make sure their batteries were recharged for mama and papa. 

Tennessee Trash Service

When we purchased our new home we knew there was a home owners association.  It's a very nice gated community complete with an overnight guard.  Not once did it occur to us that this nice community, only a few miles outside of Chattanooga, would have a home owner's association that restricted trash service.

Our old service provider from Alpharetta also serves this area however they've been informed by our HOA they're not allowed in this neighborhood.  Apparently, traditional trash trucks are not allowed on the neighborhood roads.  This is crazy considering all of the large vehicles that drive through the neighborhood.

Today....I got a glimpse of our fancy trash service....

A pickup truck and a trailer is not what I expected.  I was shocked.  We were shocked.  We are certainly not in Kansas anymore.  :-/

More Unpacking

The boys will be home in a couple of days and we've been working really hard to get as much unpacked as possible.

The first priorities are the bedrooms and getting the boys rooms functional.

Isaac's Room

Julian's Room

Progress is slower on the main floor.  The kitchen boxes have been less than enjoyable to unpack.  Like items were packed across several boxes.  So, it took unpacking three boxes to find all the silverware.  It seems like a common sense approach to me to pack like items together to make the unpacking process easier but apparently this crew didn't agree.  

The foyer became the staging area for empty boxes.

Toys were accessible but not unpacked.

The dining room.....well it's another staging area and doesn't look likes it will be functional any time soon.

Papa was busy going through the house childproofing all the essential items.  Frazer made sure to anchor our dresser to the wall since the television would be on top and Isaac is constantly playing in the drawers.  It will probably be a short amount of time before Julian is joining him.  It's actually time consuming to cover all the electrical outlets, install baby gates, cabinet locks etc but it's worth the effort to keep our babies safe.

When ever we need a break it's so nice to look out the windows to this view.

The ducks came across for a visit too.  The boys will love this when they get here.

If only there was a magic wand to get everything in place with ease.....

Unpacking Woe's

The positive side of having packers come and pack all of your household goods is the convenience especially with two little one's at home.  The downside of unpacking items that someone else has packed is the lack of organization in which said household items were packed.  I've moved several times in my life and several of those moves included packers.  However, this was the worst pack job I've ever seen and it's created an organizing nightmare when it comes to putting items away and getting settled in our new home.

The packers loaded the bottom of the wardrobe boxes full of items that had to be dumped out since it's impossible to reach the bottom of the box.

All of our bathroom toiletries were also packed loosely in the bottom of the wardrobe boxes.  It was a mess!

Whenever the items were too overwhelming to sort through I'd move to another room.  The guest room was a lot less stressful to unpack and it was all put together in a cinch.  It was nice to see something accomplished.  

While Frazer and I were unpacking it was nice to receive a little pick-me-up from Nana with updates on the boys.  Julian was having a great time playing with Nana and Grandpa.

He clearly enjoyed his new toy since it was just the right enticement to get him to start sitting up on his own.  He's been working really hard to build those muscles!

Move In Day & Update from the Boys

The movers arrived and the first functional room was the back porch.  I love the covered porch and the view of the pond is wonderful.  The sound of the water feature splashing is so relaxing.  All I have to do is close my eyes and pretend I'm somewhere else.  The view with all the trees is going to be beautiful this fall too!

I also made sure we have our priorities in order.  Once the boys come home for the first time I want to make sure all their toys are out and accessible.  We can worry about organizing them later.

Meanwhile the boys were hard at play with Nana and Grandpa.  Isaac even surrendered in all the excitement for an afternoon nap in the middle of the floor.

Julian got lots of attention and cuddles.....

and ended his day with a bath and then he was off to bed.

I think it's safe to say we all had a busy day and I think everyone is going to sleep very well!

Closing Day

Frazer had a busy day as he shuffled to close both the house in Alpharetta and the new house in Tennessee.  By the afternoon it was official and all the necessary transactions were completed.

Hello Tennessee!

Now all we need to do is wait for the movers to arrive tomorrow morning.  The fun is about to begin!

First Overnight Trip for the Boys

Despite being in the throws of moving house it didn't stop me from checking in with Nana and Grandpa to see how the boys were doing on their first overnight trip.

Nana sent me lots of pictures and Isaac appeared to be adjusting just fine as he was stomping away in the leaves.  I can just imagine him enjoying all the crunching sounds of the leaves beneath his feet and hearing him giggle at the same time.

Julian didn't seem too bothered to be away from mama and papa for a few days either.

Isaac had fun spending time with Grandpa at the farm.

And Julian started to sit up all on his own too!

I love seeing pictures of the boys playing together.  :)  With the boys well taken care of and having fun it certainly helps put my mind at ease so papa and I can focus on moving in and getting settled.