House Hunting

Three years ago, I started this journey on my own. And then I met Matthew. I knew from the beginning that our relationship was different. I put "house hunting" on hold. After a whirlwind courtship, marriage, and birth of two babies, here I am again.

Matthew and I decided it was time to buy a place of our own over spring break. We went through the pre-approval process at the bank shortly after, and I began looking at houses after work. We had decided it would be best for me to "pre-screen" houses. If they had potential, then Matthew would take his lunch break at work and look at the houses I deemed worthy.

I looked at 14 houses on my own. Matthew saw 3 with me. Number 14 was the lucky place. It was the third house I'd looked at that day, and although I liked it, I left my realtor and went to pick up my girls. My realtor called me shortly after and told me that there was other interest in the house. I in turn called Matthew and soon afterwards, we were walking through the front door of that house less than two hours later.

What was supposed to be "looking" at the house turned into writing up an offer at 10:00 p.m. I'm not sure how I slept that night. Maybe because I didn't get home until 11:30 p.m. and couldn't go to sleep until 1:00 a.m. The next day at work was so long anticipating a call for my realtor. Finally it came, and our offer was accepted!

Matthew and I had to go in and initial 19 more pages of paperwork. Our new place was inspected on Saturday, and things went pretty well. Now we are just waiting on the test the plumbing company runs on the pipes and sewer, and we will be closing on our new home by May 17th. I can't speak for Matthew, but I am so excited! I think he is too!

I am posting some pictures. No one has lived in the house since at least November, so it needs a little love, but we will make it great with time!

Quickie Update...

Addilyn and Ella went in for their 12-month checkup on Friday. My poor little girls both got three shots in their legs. Ahh, the noise, NoIsE, NOISE! That was most unpleasant, but mostly for them. I imagine just about everyone in the office heard them holler! Their pediatrician has finally realized they are going to be petite! Addi is 29 inches long (average) and weighs 17 pounds 11.5 ounces. Ella is 28.5 inches long (also average) and weighs 17 pounds 6.5 ounces. They are both still able to wear some of their nine month size clothes and some 12 month sizes although they gap a bit in the waist.

They are healthy and happy and still good sleepers! We really like that. Addilyn's top tooth on the left has finally popped through the skin and her right top tooth is getting close to breaking through as well. Ella is still sporting just her two front bottom teeth.

Neither of them are out right walking, but both are cruising along furniture. It's a matter of time! Thank goodness I'm running! More on that later.) Today Addi stood on her on without me holding on to her and maintained her balance for a good 15-20 seconds. Ella decided she wanted to walk and took off pushing her lion at my parents and walked down their hallway holding on to it. I can't believe how much they have grown since we brought them home from the hospital a year ago. I will blog later this week and post pictures of their first birthday party.

About my 5K training...I have surprised myself. When I began this 5 weeks ago, I could hardly run 1/4 of a mile without feeling like I was going to die! Now I can run 2.5 miles without walking and I have finished week 6 of the C25K training program. I have also started strength training with Jilllian Michaels' 30-Day Shred DVD. I already have plans to train for an 8K when I finish this program. I plan to actually run my first 5K in April. I have come to enjoy running more than I thought I would. It's a great way for me to lose tension and stress and clear my mind. Matthew told me last night that he could see me training for a full marathon someday. Who knows...maybe!

Catching up...

I've fallen off the blogship. Sorry to all of my followers. I guess I needed a break, I assure you in more ways than just blogging. Since I haven't blogged since November, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were a whirlwind. Christmas was a bit stressful. Ella ended up getting Croup. We ended up in the ER the Saturday night after Christmas. Ella had a fever of 102.7. She was feeling better after a few days, and thankfully enough, Addilyn did not get it. I took the girls to see Santa. I was shocked that neither of them cried!

I enjoyed being home with my girls over the break. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it so much, that I am now looking into starting my own website. (More on that to come at a later date.)

January 9th my babies turned 11 months old. I can't believe the last eleven months have gone so quickly. Here's what they are up to:

Addilyn ~

• pulling herself into a standing position (has been for about a month)
• opens her mouth and lets her food fall out when it's something she doesn't like
• takes toys away from Ella
• loves our cats and gets excited to see them
• talks gibberish more and more everyday
• has actually said these words: mama, dada, Ella, Elmo and hello
• weighs 17 pounds 13 ounces and is over 27.5 inches long
• wears a size 3 shoe and size 3 diaper
• still wears nine month clothing; 12 month fits, but I have to roll the waist down
• has two bottom teeth
• likes to play Indian, complete with sounds
• races me to the bathroom when she hears the bathtub filling with water

Ella ~

• just started pulling herself into a standing position
• eats anything we giver her (thank goodness!)
• also loves our cats and meows back at them when they meow
• has said these words: mama, dada, nana, papa, meow, hello, baby
• shakes her head "no"
• weighs 17 pounds 3 ounces and is over 27 inches long
• wears a size 3 shoe and size 3 diaper
• wears the same size clothing as Addilyn
• also has two bottom teeth
• also likes to play Indian (with sounds) as well as Peek-A-Boo
• likes to play "I'm Going to Get You." Momma pretends to let her crawl ahead and then I tell her I'm going to get her and she laughs and laughs!

Tonight I began replacing an ounce of the water in their bottles with whole milk and mixing it with their usual amount of formula. I'm hoping this will make the transition from formula to milk easier.

Anyhow, It has been a busy day, so I'm off to relax and watch a little TV, something I rarely get to do. One more thing before I sign off. I'm training for a 5K in April. Yes, I know! I'm crazy...maybe! I feel better though since I've started running and have even gotten Matthew to do it with me!

Playing Hooky...

pictures from my two days off...

My little girls are changing daily. I want to capture everything they do. I wish they'd slow down...just a little.

H1N1

So, two Fridays ago Matthew comes home from work and tells me he doesn't feel well. Ugh, I think as I grab my pillows and head to the spare room to sleep on the crappy bed. This didn't sit well with Matt as he wasn't happy that I didn't want to sleep with his germy self. Oh well, it was a wise move on my part. Saturday morning Matt woke up feeling really bad and had to go to work. By Saturday afternoon he was running a fever and made to finish his shift at work. My parents were gracious enough to keep the girls Saturday night since Matthew came home with a fever. His fever remained Sunday morning and by early Sunday afternoon I was driving him to the health clinic in Canyon to see the doctor.

I got as far as the door tot he clinic with hubby only to see a sign saying I'd have to wear a mask beyond that point. I wish hubby good luck and pertly returned tot he car to browse Facebook posts and play Bejeweled 2 on my iPhone. Whoo-hoo for some source of entertainment! Around an hour later Matt returned to the car to inform me that he has Type A Influenza, or H1N1, or the Swine Flu, whatever you want to call it.

I called my parents to inform them of the bad news. They were fantastic in telling us they would keep the girls until Matthew was fever free for 24-hours. We also wanted to make sure I didn't get it. Which, by the way, I didn't! I think that's because I sprayed enough Lysol to taste it for a week in the back of my throat, and I wouldn't let Matthew sit in the same room as me.

Matt's fever was up over 101 until Tuesday afternoon when it finally broke. He spent most of that time sleeping. I've never seen him look so bad and so pale. Poor guy. I did take care of him. Made him stuff to eat and kept his meds on a schedule for him. On Wednesday I called my parents and asked them to keep the girls one more night for us so I could go home and disinfect the house. I took Thursday and Friday off work so I could bring the girls home. I knew Matt wouldn't be up to keeping them on his own. I missed them so much! I took like 100 pictures on Thursday! I am glad to say that Matthew is feeling much better! Thanks Mom and Dad for helping us out and keeping our little girls away from all those nasty germs! We are so thankful!

8 months

Wow, I'm behind! Addilyn and Ella turned eight months old on October 9. Life is busy juggling two little girls and working full time, so forgive my delay! Anyhow... Here's what they are up to.

Addilyn

* becoming more talkative (still only says momma when she is upset)

* not a big fan of baby food meat (not that I can blame her) but still manages to gag it down!

* can sit up all by herself

* is getting her first tooth (and is thankfully taking it well)

* able to turn her entire body around in every direction and roll from one place to another

* claps and is starting to get the hang of waving

* gets up on her hands and knees for a split second before toppling over

* loves to watch Ella and talk to her (and squeal!)

* doesn't care for noodles!

* loves her bath seat

* just started wearing size 3 diapers, but they are still a little too big

Ella

* I can't even keep up with the noises coming out of this kids mouth! everyday is something new.

* loves food! she will eat anything you give her!

* sits up by herself

* waves and claps (a lot!)

* is also rolling and turning all over the place

* has not gotten up on her knees yet

* loves to squeal back at Addi

* loves her bath seat and splashing Addilyn

* is also getting her first tooth (and doing okay too)

* also wearing size 3 diapers

Both girls are wearing 6-9 month size clothes, but they are still a little too long and a bit big in the waist. Six month size outfits still fit them best, but I can tell it won't be long before they are too long.

Both girls had their flu shot last week. Matthew and my mom took them and claimed they were troopers and barely let out a cry.

They are both sleeping well through the night. Their usual bedtime is around 7:00-7:30 and they sleep until 8:00-8:30.

They are both very happy little girls!

Sleeping Arrangements

This picture was taken about a week ago when we had our first overnight temperatures in the 30s. Horray for fuzzy, warm footies...AND...sister's foot just in case Addilyn's nose got cold!