Well, what a crazy few weeks these have been! Praise God for a smooth transition into our new place. The move went very well thanks to some church friends as well as my "part-machine" brother-in-law who was able to come over the night before we moved and get most of our apartment into the moving van.
Snack break ;)
On moving day, Zenith was able to bring the truck right over to the new apartment where he, Dan and a friend from church unloaded everything while William and I stayed to clean the old apartment before heading over. We're so pleased with the new place and feel blessed to be in another great situation. Our landlords, a husband and wife who live upstairs, have been wonderful. William has enjoyed exploring the new apartment as well as the backyard. The unpacking is complete and I just need to get some curtains up and finish the decorating and then I will post pictures, which will hopefully be soon.
My flowers from Zenith...a thank you for all the work packing and unpack. Isn't he thoughtful? :)
I decided to plan a picnic for Father's Day on Saturday since Sunday was supposed to be rainy. I wanted to make sure it was a special occasion since Zenith really deserved it. What a great Dad he is...right on changing even the poopiest of diapers (and that's with cloth diapers!), attentive to both William and I, and always ready to step up and take over the kiddo when I need a break. I never have to ask for help, he's just always one step ahead of me. William loves him to pieces and waits anxiously for him to come home from work, squealing when he comes through the door. He always wants to be held by Daddy and likes to follow him around the house. I love how much Zenith enjoys playing with him and always makes time to get down on the floor or take him outside. So needless to say, I wanted to show him in some small way how much I appreciate all he does.
On the menu: Tuscan bread, prosciutto, peppered salami, herb infused cheese, Asiago cheese, gherkins, Kalamata olives, fresh fruit salad, sparkling lemonade, and finished with German chocolate and homemade brownies.
There's a nice park on a lake just a couple miles from our place with lots of trails and a castle that was perfect for our picnic. We had a lovely time relaxing and enjoying our lunch.
Daddy and William
Feet!
Gherkins are the best
"Enough with the photos, Dad!"
"This bread is good"
"...maybe I can snatch some chocolate..."
"See ya later guys!"
Sunday we had Mom and Dad over for a Father's Day brunch to honor both of these fantastic men in my life. How can I not mention what a great father I have, who put so much into raising his daughters and now invests so much of his time and love into his children and grandchildren. I even brought out the china to make the occasion extra special. :)
Menu: Bacon, eggs, diced tomatoes and avocados, homefries, Paleo Zucchini bread and fruit salad from Mom, french toast for Zenith, fruit infused water, orange juice, and of course cuppas.
After breakfast we walked down to the center of town where they have all the shops and restaurants. We're on a fairly quiet road despite all the houses around but we're within walking distance to a lot which makes for nice walks.
William loves to put these sunglasses on and walk around
He's quite the entertainer
Cool dude
So it's been a busy few weeks, but we're finally settling in and enjoying our new home.
It turns out packing can be rather fun...for some of us at least. Well, maybe just for one in particular. Our little monkey has discovered how much fun boxes can be and loves to get in the way help mommy pack.
Very pleased with himself for figuring out how to climb into the box on his own (by diving head first of course)
"Uh, Mom, can you help me get out?"
"Gotta be careful, these things get tippy"
"Ha! I did it!"
(Right before the box went sideways and he fell over)
Good place to store your trucks
"Mommy won't mind if I text Daddy"
(Yes, he's finally figured out how to climb up on things)
He's even figured out how to push this cooler over to the counter and use it to climb up to reach what's up there.
Any box he can get into...he will!
Simon's Cat
(click here if you don't know what I'm talking about)
"What are you looking at?"
"I just need some space, Mom"
His new hidey-hole
At least I have a way of keep him entertained while I'm packing but goodness, this kid is into everything now! After a few hours of my trying to get boxes loaded only to turn around and find them being unloaded by the little monkey, or realizing it's gone quiet and having to run into the other room only to find him climbing on something or happily playing with something he's managed to get out of the boxes, I realized the pack n' play is my best option and he's learning to play quietly in there while I work.
I've been working with him to teach him the sign for "help" to (hopefully) eliminate the screaming whenever he needs help with something. Yesterday while in his pack n' play, I heard him fuss for my attention and I turned around to see him signing help and realized he had dropped a toy and couldn't reach it. Since then, he signs it whenever his toys are out of reach or if he's stuck on or in something. He's a smart little boy and is catching on fast!
That's all for now...must get back to it! Moving day is coming up fast but we've got the packing pretty well under control. Say a prayer all goes well with the move on Saturday!
It's been awhile since I've been able to set up a date night "in" for us since the past few months have been rough health-wise. However, now that I'm feeling better, I knew we were overdue for some quality time. Zenith has been so great with helping me around the house through everything and has picked up on a lot of my slack so he deserved a relaxing, romantic evening at home. This time I decided that the theme would be wine and cheese tasting and picked up a few different cheeses to try with apple slices, crackers, wine, and chocolate dipped strawberries after dinner.
We started out with a dinner of grilled steaks, potatoes and salad, complimented by a pinot noir that would also pair well with the cheese. To make it different, I set it up in the living room (as I usually do with our home date nights), put on some relaxing music and lit some candles. We had a lovely evening together, the best part always being the chance to really reconnect and talk. We always talk during dinner, but there's something about setting up a nice, romantic dinner that sets the stage for in depth conversation to really reconnect.
Dinner (with my new china!)
Post-dinner/dessert
Big News(!!):
It's been difficult to fit much else into our schedule these days because guess what?! We're moving! Yup, we finally found a new apartment (or more correctly, God found us one). On day 8 of our novena to the Holy Ghost, we were officially offered an apartment that we had seen a couple days previously and really liked. We knew that we would be moving to a busier area and were ready (though a little reluctant) to say goodbye to our quite neighborhood and beautiful country surroundings. With our landlords selling this place, it was time to look for something new and we took this as an opportunity to decrease Zenith's driving time by moving closer to the areas where he usually works. I found the new apartment on craigslist and we were able to set up a time to go see it the next day. It's in the Bradford side of Haverhill MA which is the quieter side and I was pretty sold just from what I'd seen online.
It's a first floor (yay!), owner occupied 2 family house, with a lovely little backyard, and is just a bit bigger than the place we're in now (might get a little tight soon, but it'll definitely work!). We both liked it right away and since I was pretty sure this was our new home before even going to see it, I typed up a renter's resume and had all the info we'd need to apply for it straight away. I wanted to make sure they knew we were responsible and serious about the apartment and our current landlords gave us a great recommendation that really helped.
God has been so good to us and we feel so blessed to be guided by Him. We move in next Saturday so everyday has been a marathon of how many boxes I can pack up and how many things I can throw away. We did a yard sale on Saturday and were able to sell a few things and the rest made it's way to either the dump or donation center. I must admit, it feels great to be cleaning out at the same time and know that clutter will not be coming with us.
Here's a picture of William at the park a few weeks ago. (Photo credit to my sister Kaite)
The latest:
I have been very negligent in taking pictures whenever we go and do something so I apologise for the lack of posts and pictures. We had a lovely get together with my family and grandparents when they came up to visit this past weekend. I hope to steal some pictures from my parents and sister and will hopefully post a few soon.
Every weekend has been filled with something and with Tess leaving soon (she has finished her year tutoring the family in the area), we've been trying to take advantage of spending as much time with her as possible. I had an awesome girl's day out a couple Saturdays ago with Tess while Zenith watched William. We went to a really cool cafe and talked for a long time, and then sat in Barnes and Nobles to look through magazines to get some decorating tips for the new place. I didn't realize how overdue I was for a "baby-less" girl's day out. I felt recharged afterwards and realized how much of a better mother I can be when I step out for just a little while.
William:
Not that I have much to complain about with William being such a great baby toddler (can't believe he's not a baby anymore!). Now that he's walking, he's into everything and definitely needs lots more attention to keep him entertained. But despite that, he does very well with quite time in the pack 'n play in the morning or afternoon and keeps himself busy (most of the time). He still snuggles with me from time to time, but I must say, I am so ready for another baby! What a relief it is to know I have another little one on the way and I don't have to lament every time I notice how old William is getting. It's exciting to see him entering new stages, but how I miss those baby stages. He has two molars, and 8 other teeth that I can see. His favorite words are "more," "Dada," and "hi," which he says to every person we pass in the grocery store now while waving at them. His vocabulary hasn't expanded much beyond those and "ah da" (all done), "ah-sye" (outside), "ah-sat?" (what's that? or I see it?), and of course he is still signing.
Pregnancy:
At 18 weeks today (woohoo!), and I am feeling pretty good. If I've had too much sugar or caffeine, I'll make myself feel yucky, but as long as I'm careful to get enough sleep and not to have any refined sugar, caffeine or gluten, I will actually feel pretty normal! I started feeling the baby at 14 weeks and by 15 weeks I could see the tiny bumping from the outside. Zenith felt the baby kick last week which was pretty exciting. This baby is so wiggly, which makes me think I'm going to have a much more active baby this time. *gulp*
I'm finally starting to show though I'm still in that "you can't tell if I'm getting fat or if I'm pregnant" stage. I love seeing my "bump" grow and watching Baby WiggleBug move around. I don't have any particular cravings and not many aversions left. It feels great to be eating much more "whole food" this time around and know I'm doing something great for both of us.
Well, it's time to put William down for a nap and then get some packing done so I must be off. Not sure if I'll be writing again before we move in so the next post might be awhile.
