Upstairs

Apparently we picked the right weekend to move--it was the ONE day in about 2 weeks that it didn't snow! The Cruiser is parked in front of the attached garage. . .If you enter the house through the garage, you walk right into the kitchen:



If you walk through the kitchen, you'll find the hallway that leads to the bedrooms. . .and to one of my favorite things in the house--the built-in cupboards in the halls (though I do like that cute curly-haired kid quite a bit too)



Main bathroom. I'm too happy not having to schlep laundry up and down the stairs to comment on how odd it is having the washer and dryer in the bathroom. :)



Master bedroom. It seems like every time we move, our master bedroom gets a bit smaller. This time we also lost *gasp* a closet. We were spoiled in that our apartment and our previous house both had two closets in the master bedroom; now we have to learn to share. Or maybe I'll just make Jared store his clothes in the master bathroom shower.


There are two bedrooms across the hall from the master bedroom, for Elizabeth and New Baby:



Behind the kitchen is the living room. That's Jungle Book playing on the TV, in case you were curious--Elizabeth wanted me to take a picture of her watching the monkeys. . .


The stairway at the back of the living room leads to the basement---but we'll save that for another post. :)

Home, Sweet Home

As many of you know, we've been looking for a house closer to Jared's workplace for awhile now.

As some of you know, about 2 months ago we FOUND a house closer to Jared's workplace. . .went through the whole shebang and became the proud new owners of this charming brick rambler at the beginning of February.

And as you all will now know, we're officially moved in! We've spent this week hanging blinds, unpacking, and getting to know our new hometown. Oh, and doing home repairs, of course--as charming as our home is, like any older house it has its fair share of "quirks". . .plenty to keep Jared busy for awhile, that's for sure!

That'll have to be all for now--Jared just informed me he's got to turn off the electricity on this circuit for a few minutes. ;) Stay tuned in the next few days to see some pics, though!

Overheard

--Daddy is hard at work in the basement, with Elizabeth sitting at his side. She looks up at him and sweetly says, "Thank you for working, Daddy." (As it turns out she was just buttering him up in the hopes he'd give her the hammer he was using. . .)

--After church one Sunday Elizabeth runs down the hall shouting, "I FASTING, Mama!" (Actually, it was Fast Sunday, appropriately enough.)

--We're snacking on sliced apples one afternoon. Elizabeth wiggles her last apple slice around the plate and announces, "It bein' a snake. . .a very CAREFUL snake."

--Mom gives Elizabeth a ball of yarn to play with while she crochets. Elizabeth carts it off saying, "Come on, yarn, don't be sad. . .Let's go!"

Other Elizabethisms:

you = me (yes, it does get confusing!)

YER do it! = I wanna do it!
louding = yelling

moneys = coins

wiper towel = something to clean up spills

VERY kinda yummy = delicious!

hon = all-purpose word with which to end a sentence, e.g. "Help you, hon."

What's In A Name?

More than you might think. Here are just a few anagrams of Elizabeth's name:

three million ameobas

a real zombies hotline

sizeable manhole riot

bohemian zealots rile

liberals haze emotion

Lowell or Lola?

Option 1: Click on the picture above for a bigger view. Solve the cryptogram to find out whether we're having a boy or girl!

Option 2: Forget the puzzle and just call Holly's mom. (Okay, fine, so Jared and Holly might tell you themselves if you called them too. . .)

System Update

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

That's right, our little bug is TWO YEARS OLD. We celebrated her birthday by taking her to Temple Square to see the "oh, so beau'ful!" Christmas lights. It was a bit chilly, but Elizabeth had a grand time--she especially liked all the nativity scenes displayed around the plaza.

It's hard to believe that two years ago at this time Elizabeth was just a teeny bundle who did little more than sleep, eat, and poop (though she did PLENTY of those three things, for sure!) Now it seems every day we say goodbye to another part of that baby-ness as she barrels full steam ahead into kidhood. It's bittersweet, really. . .It's so fun to eavesdrop on the conversations she has with herself while she's playing, watch her determinedly try to get dressed "all by'self", and see her zeal for life grow with each passing day. But I find myself eager to rock her to sleep so I can look at that sweet face and think back to those early days we spent in the rocking chair together when she was just that sweet little armful of baby.

Most of the time, life with a toddler is equal parts hilarious and exasperating. Phew. . .I could write a few more volumes on the subject of parenting a toddler, but this'll get you started: