I guess I really don't know where to start! I can't believe I've gone more than 2 months without a post (thanks to those who have reminded me that it has been that long, as if I wasn't aware! :)
Anyway, I have a very valid excuse. Let's start from the beginning. Back in March Tyler and I started looking to buy a home. We knew it was a buyer's market and thought we would look around to see what was out there. To make a long story short, we ended up putting in an offer on a short sale (which is an oxymoron) that we really liked. Granted, we would have had to go in and redo some things like the flooring and paint, but it was an awesome deal. Well, we put in an offer at full asking price and waited. And waited and waited and waited. It ended up being 60+ days before we heard back from the bank, and they counter offered for like $14,000 more than what they were asking. We said forget it. We looked at more short sales, but by this time the market was starting to get a little competitive and a lot of short sales were going for more than the asking price. I was ready to throw in the towel and say let's forget it. Then our agent found some homes that were new builds and we looked at a few of them. To make a long story short, we ended up putting in an offer on one that we really liked. Our offer was less than the asking price, but still in our budget. We figured that if our offer got accepted then it was meant to be. It was and we have now moved into our new home that we absolutely love!
Things were pretty crazy... they wanted a quick close so we only had 3 weeks to pack up and get ready. Thanks to the help of friends and family we were able to get it done and now feel pretty much settled. I experienced my first yard sale (with my sister Emily) and did quite well! We have since had another one with the leftovers from the first as well as things that I decided to get rid of when I was unpacking. $300 for 2 Saturday mornings isn't bad! I now plan on having one every 6 months.
In other happenings, Brooke is just learning and growing like crazy! It seems like every week she learns something new or improves on things she has been learning. She is also copying things we are doing and saying, so time to be more careful! Some of her newest favorites: mac-n-cheese (big surprise given that this is all I ate when I was sick during my pregnancy), sliced almonds, graham crackers, strawberries. She still loves playing with her dolls and insists on having a bottle to feed them, frozen berries, going to Grandma's and playing with cousins. Her and her cousin Kyden (only 4 days younger than Brooke) have become such good friends since they moved here in June. She gets to hang out with them one day a week and loves it.
The other day I sat with her on the stairs in time out holding her arms. A few minutes later I heard her say "No no" to her doll, go to the stairs and hold her arms. It was pretty funny.
I'm sure I'll think of other things to write about later, but for now enjoy these pics....
Brooke loved playing in all the things that I had emptied out to move
My newest favorite discovery with moving....vacuum space bags!! Before.....
After! I was able to fit 4 totes of Brookes old clothes into bags that slide neatly under her crib
Our previous home on Huber St. We were there for 2 years and loved it.
Brooke and her berry face. It seems like the majority of the pictures I take of Brooke are in her high chair. It's probably because that's that one time she'll sit there long enough for me to take a picture. Otherwise she just wants to look at the picture on the camera before it was even taken.
Brooke and Kyden (aka BuBa and KyKy)
Brooke and Kaden being pulled around the house on the blanket
Another high chair picture of Brooke
Say cheese! She's getting so big!!
