Saturday, November 23, 2013

And we're in!

Well, it has been almost 14 days since we began the moving process and this will be our 8th night sleeping here.  Each passing day we continue to settle a little more, and by tomorrow night, our friend and finish contractor, Samer, will be done working in the house.  As anyone knows who has built a house or moved from one home to another, it's quite the process.  But fortunately for us, we have the best family and these people have made it possible for us to have this experience.  Randy's parents graciously welcomed all of us into their home over 4 months ago.  An empty-nester home is quite different when you have a 4 year-old and a 2 year-old living in it!  God Bless them!  Not only did they welcome us with open arms, but they also hosted my family and friends that were in town visiting when we were in transition.  My parents spent a total of 9 days in the last two weeks working in the home and helping watch the kids.  They literally worked from 8 in the morning to 8 at night everyday to help us meet our moving deadline.  Our first night in the house my brother made the trip to offer his help and let us borrow his truck for some last minute purchases.  The kids were so thrilled that Uncle Nate was sleeping with them the first night in the new house.  And then we had Aunt Abla, literally a life saver.  Between last minute babysitting calls and her fabulous cleaning services, she was the glue that held this all together for the last month. But, we finally made it, we're finally here, and the company can start coming to see us!!!  

This poor girl spent the first week in the house sleeping on the floor. Her brand new mattress had a tear in the bottom, and it took awhile to get a replacement.  She was a trooper though!  

And then there's this guy.  I could write a book about our moving experiences with Zach, and people would not believe it.  He is just too much.  Our first night in the house was his first night sleeping in a big boy bed.  Usually you prepare your kids for these kinds of transitions, but nope, not us.  Other than the occasional conversation about Zach getting a new bed in the new house, we just kind of tossed him in the bed and told him good night.  At this point we were sleep deprived and exhausted, and from my point of view, he should have been thankful he at least had a bed to sleep on (see previous picture).  Anyways, he did well.  I'm still praying he doesn't fall out of bed, because I really don't want to spend money on those side rails that we never had to purchase for Helaina.  Other than some new nap struggles and jumping out of bed a bit earlier in the morning, I'd say our transition was pretty much a success.      

This is what we do on a Saturday night when Daddy is at the hockey game.  Homemade smoothies, a Batman movie (because our cable still does not work, thank you very much Comcast), and a lot of cleaning and organizing.


Our mudroom!  I just love it.  Our bench is made from reclaimed wood from a barn that was built in the early 1900's, and just look at all those baskets under that bench! If you know me at all, you know that I put anything in a basket and am really happy about it!


This about sums up our last two weeks.  This particular day, Zach was inside, literally inside the fridge while I was helping Samer hang a shelf upstairs.  Earlier in the month, Zach thought it was necessary to grace the new neighbors by peeing off the front porch.  And then today, Randy took both kids with him to the "hardware store".  That's pretty much all our kids know these days is the "hardware store".  We don't shop anywhere else.  Anyways, Randy was talking to an associate about an item he wanted to purchase when to his surprise, three Home Depot employees with safety gear and walkie talkies came running towards him.  Turns out, Zach had climbed the Home Depot ladder (those things are quite tall if I remember correctly) and positioned himself on the very top shelf of the aisle.  Randy said that the only thing Zach kept repeating after the incident was, "I am a good climber Daddy."  Yep, buddy, you are sure a good climber.    

Friday, November 15, 2013

School Pictures

These sure do make us smile.  For some reason their hair looks so dark in these photos but in person, it's definitely more brown. However, these pictures capture everything that is perfect about our two kiddos.  

Helaina's 4 year-old preschool picture

Zachary's First school picture from our Parent/Child class

AND WE'VE MOVED!  After a long day, we now have boxes up to our eyeballs.  We won't be sleeping there for at least a couple more nights, but we're well on our way to being in our new home!

Monday, November 11, 2013

The countdown is on...

2013 has been a year of change and transition for our family.  We almost forgot what it feels like to have our normal, "everyday" routine.  We decided to put our Livonia house on the market back in February and ever since, we've been focused on selling, buying, building...all things house.  So in just 3 days, the movers are coming and we'll begin our last transition and start to settle into our new home!  
Just a couple pictures of the kids and what we do to keep ourselves entertained during these cold, grey months.  Did I mention that I really dislike winter and the fact that we won't see the sun until sometime in April (if we're lucky).
Helaina LOVES to be the teacher and for now, her brother gladly accepts the role of student.       

Helaina's "Thankful Turkey".  She is thankful for coloring, turkey, friends, swimming, Special K, and grandparents.  And yes, she did write those words all by herself!  And yes, she did her hair this morning, all by herself!  Gotta love our sweet and sassy little girl.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

More Fall Fun

This past week, we started a new round of fall classes for the kids.  Helaina has been wanting to learn how to ice skate for awhile now.  It's a popular activity over here in Hockey town and several ice rinks offer "learn to skate" programs as early as 3 or 4 years old.  I was not sure what to expect for her first class so I prepared her that she will probably fall often, but just keep trying and eventually it will be easier.  Much to my surprise, she did great!  She had good balance and was able to glide across the ice relatively well, so within 10 minutes they bumped her up to the next level.  We'll see how she progresses each week, but I know she is excited to attend.     


Little guy ended his swimming and started 2's on the move, because that is exactly what he is...a 2 on the move!!!  This was a class that Helaina and I were able to take together at this age and it worked well with our schedule this fall, so here are a few pictures from our 30 minutes exercise class.



Pajama Dat at school...

Making a special glove for our 5 little pumpkins song.

A rainy day so we rode tricycles down the hallway.  This kid needs a helmet, you should see him take those turns on 2 wheels!


Our actual Halloween picture.  What terrible weather we had that night.  We braved the rain for about a half hour and then spent the rest of the night at the Khoury house.

Seedy, Teta, Roscoe, Ariel, and Batman