Settling In

We are starting to settle in here. Our renters are in our house after a LOT of work to get it ready. Ninety-five percent of this work was done by Kurt with the help of some family and friends. I kid you not, that man can get his game face on and work some consecutive 16 hour days when push comes to shove. Thank you Love...you're my hero!

The hardest part of this transition has been the kids sleeping. They're sharing a room now and Weston moved into a big boy bed. I figured I should get him in one before Kindergarten. He's being quite the pickle about taking an afternoon rest (and by pickle, I really mean disaster). He's just in that phase where he's testing all his boundries to see if they're still there and, while I know this is normal, it is exhausting to argue and discipline all the time and even harder to do it unemotionally without getting angry. And finding the balance of graciousness in transition. I think we're all just tired and trying to grapple with change. As I type, Lily is currently throwing a lengthy bedtime hissy in her crib (Kurt is gone) and somehow Weston has fallen asleep in the midst of it. I would really like to join him. She'll probably also be up at least once in the middle of the night and, if we're lucky, sleep past six. I know in the grand scheme of things families across the globe are dealing with much more difficult situations, so hey, whatever (note to self: WHATEVER).

The rest has been really sweet. Lily started saying "Papa" within two days of being here and is working hard on "Noni". She's saying a whole slew of other words, blowing kisses, playing with baby dolls and is the funniest little tot girl I know. Here she is enjoying some of Noni's homemade jam...


This afternoon Weston watched part of a John Wayne movie with my dad (his early movies are NOT scary my mom assured me :). I just think this is hilarious for many reasons. At first I thought he was just hanging out, but then when I told him that Daddy was home and wanted to play hide-and-seek (his FAVORITE thing to do), he passed it up because, "I wanna watch a little bit more of this, mom."



Noni is great with taking a kid on some errands or enlisting their help with something...


On a somewhat unrelated end note, my mom made some Summer Beer to go with dinner tonight. Ever had that? It is as sangria is to wine. Go make some. It's delicious.

Grateful for...

#33 How Lily twirls the back of my hair when she's sleepy

#34 Summer beer outside after a rainy afternoon

#35 An unsolicited apology from my little man

#36 The immediacy and completeness of a child's forgiveness (which I've seemingly needed to ask for frequently these days)

#37 Free Cardinal tickets for the hard-working hubby tonight