We Survived the Move!

We survived the big move! Barely. I kept asking Nathan during the move, "When are we going to move with small children again?" and he would say back to me, "NEVER". I don't know how my parents did this time and time again while we were growing up. Doing it once about killed both me and Nathan.

In front of new house!

Close up. Nathan thinks it's awesome that this is our best of the family photos. I'm going to have to watch him if I don't want to have an upside down child in every family picture from now on.

Both kids did really well on moving day, although Bradley did manage to fall into the coffee table. The glass top had been removed and he was doing his normal balancing thing leaning against the top and topped right in. Poor child. He didn't get hurt, he was just surprised and a little upset. And it doesn't help to have a mommy that you know is laughing at you just a little bit as she picks you up, even though she is honestly sympathetic at the same time. This kid gets into everything and has no sense of self preservation, I'm continuously scooping him up from new things he's managed to get into.

Doors are next. He can already pull them shut behind them, he just can't open them yet. We are so afraid of when he can open the doors on his own.

Things are a lot better now that Bradley will sleep in his crib again, which he refused to do for about the first five days after we moved. I will never understand people who want to have their children sleep in their bed with them. We have a king size bed and it felt crowded with Bradley in the middle. It also felt very social. One fun night after Nathan had brought him in with us I woke to someone poking my nose and my mouth and eyes. It wasn't Nathan! Bradley was so delighted to be in bed with us and thought it would be a fun time to play games with fun Mommy. Sadly, Mommy did not agree.

Eleanor had one night where she wouldn't go back to sleep either, she just wants to be held in my arms and smile and coo at me. It makes it very difficult to be annoyed with her even at 4am. We had a couple long nights and Nathan and I had to recite our parenting mantra many many times "they're lucky they are so darn cute".

Photo showcasing Eleanor's fatty legs. I live for fatty baby legs.

We have things sorted out now and it's much happier for all involved. I have a lot more energy during the day now which is very good, as I had been pretending not to notice things like Bradley crawling under the kitchen table to eat leftover breakfast Cheerios while I nursed Eleanor on the couch. Now that is a no no once more.

Bradley was quite joyful when he first saw Grandpa. Lots of love!

My dad came out to help with the move and I don't know how we could have done it without him. He helped watch Bradley (no small task) and assisted with packing and moving as well. Although on his first day here Bradley cried whenever Grandpa Steve put him down to help pack. We're pretty sure Grandpa arranged this with Bradley beforehand.

Eleanor was very happy to spend time with Grandpa too

Twice the grandchildren, twice the fun!

And in his spare time he made his granddaughter giggle in the bathtub.

Here's a longer video where I'm making Eleanor laugh by scaring her and Bradley is chewing on bath toys in an adorable manner. Warning: there is a bit of baby nudity. But it's so cute I don't care, it doesn't count when they're this little.

We loved having Grandpa here. Can't wait until he and Grandma Kathy come back at Christmas!

To those who care, the cats did just fine with the move and are happy to reclaim familiar cozy sleeping spots. Grandma Colleen, I promise Bradley likes this chair too ... but so does Sookie. Quite a bit.

Meg loves our couch. I love our view of the park!

We discovered that there's a nice botanical garden near our new house and Bradley and I went there with a little friend of his the other day. There's a cool kiddie play area and a model train area with pretty plants that we like, besides that Bradley and I are united in a belief that a walk in the park would be as nice and a bit more convenient. But it did make for some nice photo ops!

Bradley on a bridge

Bradley running with a tractor through a cute little shrubbery overhang thing. (Showing the extent of how much I know/care about the pretty plants at the place)

Bradley and Eleanor continue to dote upon one another. Bradley likes to roll over on top of Eleanor now when I lay her down on a blanket and she just laughs and smiles and coos at him.

Bradley also discovered the other day that if he puts him arm or hand right up against Eleanor's mouth she sucks on it a little. There was great delight and joy at this discovery and he stuck his dirty little fingers into her mouth repeatedly and cackled. His grubby little hands are probably the dirtiest things in the whole house. This poor little girl, it's amazing she's only gotten one mild cold so far. She's been exposed to everything via Bradley.

But there is great love and that is the main thing a parent could want and hope for between their children. Bradley did have a 10 minute meltdown the other day when I wouldn't let him take a toy away from Eleanor but when I finally let him have a turn with the toy all he wanted to do was to bring it to Eleanor. Very sweet, even though he was shoving it against her face. Note to self: Eleanor only gets soft toys for a while.

And here is a sneak peak of Eleanor's Halloween costume. It arrived in the mail the other day and tried it on immediately over her outfit she was already wearing. She's little red riding hood ... with a tutu. If I have my way every Halloween outfit of hers will be similarly themed. I'm so excited!!