The house I had a dream about.

So, I think I already mentioned that we listed our apartment with a realtor. We figured it was time to get serious, start trying to make things happen.

We were a little unsure of what we were going to do if the house sold. Do we buy a new house? Do we try to save money and rent? We even tossed around the idea of moving out of the area. But, since I have such a good job, we figured staying in Wheeling and being close to our families was the best bet for us.

We figured it would be wise to start looking at houses as well. When the time came that our house sold, we would have to decide quickly what the plan would be. If we did end up buying a house, I wanted to know what all was on the market, so we would be prepared and be familiar with all the houses in our price range.

Last week, we had looked at one house in Bethlehem that was decent, but overpriced and needed a little work. I told our realtor, Bob, (who I love), that I wanted to see a few more houses later in the week. I gave him a list and he said we could look at two that Friday, one in Warwood and one in St. Clairsville. Meanwhile, we have had probably 3 or 4 groups come through our house, which even though that's a small number, I was surprised we had even that many. Someone came to look at it last Wednesday.

Thursday night, I had a dream that we bought the first house we planned to look at the next day. I had looked at SO many houses on all of the real estate websites in the past few weeks. This particular house didn't really interest me, except that it was in our price range and had the right number of bedrooms in a decent neighborhood. So, I was surprised it made an appearance in my subconscious.

Friday morning, a lot of stuff happened. We went to look at the house I had a dream about. It was built in 1920, it's pretty big, and it has been recently been flipped. Everything in the house is new. New kitchen, new bathroom, new paint, new carpet, new windows, new furnace, new air conditioner, new water heater. There are a couple of drawbacks. There is not a single appliance in the house. While the majority of the house has either a caramel color carpeting or ceramic tile, the living room has bright blue carpet... The most important thing was that Clint and I both really liked it. We have looked at 8 houses total now, and that was the first time where we were completely on the same page.

Moving along, we go to look at a second house in St. Clairsville that was built in 1995. On paper, it should have been the better house, but we kept thinking about the first house in Warwood. We started talking hypothetically about the profit we will make from the sale of our house to be the down payment on a new house. (Not new of course, but new for us...) Our realtor, after having spent at least an hour with us, comes out of nowhere and says, "Well, that's something we will need to think about, because you have an offer." WHAT? The house had only been on the market for 23 days. We were thinking it would take at least six months to sell. I was talking about what it would be like to spend another winter in this apartment, and the freaking house gets an offer after Twenty. Three. Days.

He low-balled us, of course, but we countered back, and the next morning he accepted our counter. We are moving out of this house on September 24. (If all goes as planned, and please pray that it does.)

So... now what?

We tell Bob we want to look at more houses. We looked at three more on Monday and hated every single one of them. They were overpriced, they were old and outdated, they were remodeled poorly... they were... weird....

Meanwhile, in conversation, we start referring to the house in Warwood as "The House." We went to look at it again. And again with my mom and our handy man.

This morning, on the third visit, we take our handy man and tell him everything we want to change. Get everyone's opinion.

We made an offer.

Now, we are waiting. We fully expect them to counter. How much will they counter? Will they accept our terms? Will they cover our closing costs? Let's hope. The whole process makes me giddy and nauseous all at the same time. I'm not sleeping... like at all...

Please keep us in your prayers and cross your fingers for us. I'm hoping to hear back from the seller this evening.

We really want this:

The House

For Sale: 1800-sq. ft. Victorian Co-Op Apartment. 2 bedrooms. 1 bath. River View. You know you want it.

Most rooms recently painted. Crown moulding throughout. Baby toys scattered throughout not included. Unless you want to clean them up twice a day.

Living room.

Bedroom. Currently used as nursery... obviously.


View.

Kitchen. Appliances included. To the right, butler's pantry and dining room. Through the door in the center is a laundry room that was originally the "servant's quarters."

Inner Stairwell. 3rd floor.

Front entry and hallway to dining room. Notice the hardwood floors throughout.
Husband doing dishes in the kitchen not included. Sorry, he comes with me.

Dining room. Cat not included.

Where the magic happens. Room proven to increase fertility. Fantastic river view and built-ins.

Said built-ins.

If anyone knows anyone looking to buy something like this, give me a holler!

I will let you down, I will make you hurt.

Emily and Krista were in town a few months ago. We went out to dinner at Olive Garden, and Emily took this picture of Owey. I love it, he's so cute. He's got a dirty little face, but he was so tired he had to snuggle that puppy. Whenever he's tired, he puts his face down on something soft and sucks his thumb.

The monkey seems to be developing his mind rather quickly these days. I think his size is pretty similar to where he was a month ago, but he's doing things that surprise me every day.

• He gives me five.
• He says "all done!" when he is done being changed.
• The other day I caught him swiping his hands together like he was cleaning them off after touching something dirty.
• If he doesn't want to eat something on his highchair tray, he will hide it under his sippy cup, or grab it and stick down in the seat beside him.
• If he wants me to hold something, he grabs my hand and turns it over and puts whatever it is in my hand.
• He stacks blocks like a champion.
• He treats everything like a telephone when he sees me talking on my cell. He holds remotes up to his ears and says, "hi daddy." The video below is from when he first started doing this - his phone skills are much more sophisticated now.
  

Having a baby is the hardest work I've ever done, but it is also the most rewarding and adventurous experience in the world. Thumbs up for having kids.

Thumb Suckers

If you spend any time with my kid, you know that he is a big fan of the thumb. He sucks his left thumb. Mama sucked the right thumb. And this picture also features the ribbon, which was rubbed against the nose. Very integral part of the thumb sucking.

I think he looks like me.

The Little Things - There's Nothing Bigger.

Favorite things about my son's first year of life:

• His left thumb is almost always wrinkled up like a raisin, because of how frequently said thumb is inserted in the mouth.

• His eyes are so very blue.

• He's a good eater.

• He likes to swim already.

• His curls are turning into tiny ringlets. I think of him as always having a lot of hair, but even looking back at his 8 and 9 month pictures, his hair is ridiculously long now. He has little wings on the side.




• He's such a good sleeper. I know how thankful I should be about this. He has slept about 12 hours every night since he was 3 months old. I attribute this to the thumb and his bedtime routine.




• He always smells like Neutrogena Rainbath. I bought a ton of that Johnsons Bedtime Bath and all that stuff. They used Rainbath on him in the hospital, and he smelled SO good, that I went and bought an enormous bottle at Sam's Club when he was a month old. It's still 25% full. The Johnsons Bedtime Bath is still in the linen closet.



• Since he has been born, he's only been really sick one time. When he was seven weeks old. I had to spend the night in the hospital with him. Longest night ever. When I think about all the things that can go wrong for children, I thank God that I have a healthy child.




• He hits all his milestones. He has teeth. He talks. He plays. He walks. He bangs stuff together. He's perfect.



• Watching him walk is like seeing a little tiny drunk zombie. It's priceless.

• When he's sleepy, he likes to curl up on something fuzzy and soft, like his polar bear. Or his back-up polar bear that he got for his birthday in case anything ever happens to the original. (that's the polar bear under him...)

• He's so ticklish. Making him giggle from tickling, it reminds me how happy I am to have him. His giggle is infectious.
  
  
• It appears as if his favorite food is meatloaf of all things. He also really likes pears, noodles, carrots, broccoli, graham crackers and gnocchi.
  

• When we read to him, he follows along and "reads" too.
  
  
• His favorite show, (really the only show he pays much attention to) is Little Einsteins. I know all of the songs. They get stuck in my head at work at 3am. I love how he raises his arms when Rocket blasts off. He loves it.
  
  
• He just learned how to give kisses. It's more of an open-mouth head-butt to the face, but... he's learning. And he gives kisses away on demand, so.
  
• He flirts with random women. He still has stranger anxiety, but if he doesn't get too worried, he is all smiles and shy glances. Already a ladie's man. He's going to give the girls some trouble. (Especially that Lily Dilly)...

• Some days he looks like Clint, some days he looks like me. He's the perfect hybrid.

• His learning to walk has been a crazy adventure.

It's been an awesome year.

My little man.

He's making some serious progress. He can pull himself up to standing at the coffee table and at the ottoman. Most days now when we get him out of bed he is standing in his crib. He's also starting to crawl like a champion. It also appears as if he is trying to stand from a crawling position. It's like he is crawling and then he tries to push straight up on all fours. Not quite there yet.

Some cute little things.

This video could be a lot shorter, but I don't have any way of editing it!

He has his 9-month doctor's appointment tomorrow. I can't wait to see how much he weighs.

It's been awhile.

So, it's been a long time since I have updated the blog. I apologize to my faithful reader(s). There have been things going on, but I just haven't felt compelled lately, I don't know why.

Things are no better on Clint's job front, and we are losing our insurance at the end of the month, so that's that.

Owen has been making major strides lately. He says "DaDa" consistently. In fact, we slept in the same room with him last night for the first time in months, and the first thing he said this morning, -- and for several minutes after that -- was Dada. This was earlier this week. The video gets pretty good around the 45 second mark.

He has four teeth now. Top and bottom two. The top two are kind of far apart, and it looks so freaking cute, I can't stand it. They aren't far down enough yet to see unless he smiles really big. I'm sure they will get closer together as other teeth come in, but it looks so funny and cute now, I love it. I want to take him to get professional pictures done soon. Maybe I can twist Laura Jackson Roberts' arm into taking a few artsy ones for me for a small fee.... ?

He also has started standing. I think he is a little late in this development. His buddy Alexander has been standing for months, I think. However, he finally has it, and now he never wants to sit. He will also stand against something by holding on to it. And yes, that's my blue bowl that I made that he is gripping. Everything must come off the coffee table now.

He also loves to roll now. Clint always puts him on his play mat, which I object to now, because it restricts his rolling. But him on a big blanket on the carpet and away he rolls. This means we need to do some serious baby-proofing now that he is on the move. I had him on a blanket on the center of the rug, and when I left the room, he was under his swing. He made good time. I wasn't gone for more than a minute...

Nothing is too exciting for me. I got new glasses. They have zebra print on the inside of them, but I won't hold that against them.

New favorite music - Bon Iver. I love For Emma and Skinny Love. Just over a month before I head to Iowa for the BIG DAY!! So excited! Still reading Cormac McCarthy - The Road. Slow moving, not because the book is slow moving. I am slow moving.

Also somewhat exciting, I'm joining the Wellness Bridge again. I got my old coach back, who I love. I have my first meeting next Wednesday. YES.

ALSO - we went to Columbus to visit Scott and Cristie again yesterday and we figured that Owen was old enough to stay overnight somewhere. Well... although the visit was great, I don't think we will have him spending the night anywhere else for a good long time. They have four (beautiful) kids, who all love Owen, and they are so attentive and interested in him, and they love to play with him, which is so adorable and fun to watch. However, sometime around early evening, after a day of high stimulation and one twenty minute nap, taken completely against his will, he had just had enough. He started crying and didn't stop until he was asleep (about an hour later...) He cried all through his sink bath, all through his getting dressed, took a short break to have his bottle and then I had to let him cry himself to sleep, because he just did not stop crying!! Then, we about had a heart attack when he woke up around 2:30, we were terrified he was going to be up for hours, but it turns out that he had peed out of his diaper somehow (I really need to buy those overnight diapers), and his whole leg was wet. So we got him out, changed his clothes and then put him back to bed, and he went to sleep. Thank God. Then this morning, he reached the end of his fuse right after breakfast, and in an event to calm him down, and give the Kimmins' some peace and quiet, we high-tailed it out of Columbus and Owen was dead asleep in the car after 15 minutes and slept until we were crossing the bridge into Wheeling. UGH. Otherwise we had such a fun time. Clint played with the kids all day, and Cristie and I played with the babies. This morning and all day today I was so exhausted. Clint actually drove home from Columbus (gasp!) and I fell asleep in the car! And I promise, I only had a little bit of Jack Daniels last night! It was just a long fun-filled day.

And today, Steeler (pre)season begins, so if no one hears from Clint until January, that's why...

Big things.

May 24, first tooth.

May 25, sat up by himself for a good 30 seconds.

Wow. He's only four and a half months old, and he has a tooth. It's still mostly under the gum, but I can feel it, and if he opens his mouth wide enough you can see the little top of it sticking up. He had been drooling and slobbering and sticking EVERYTHING in his mouth for a few weeks now, and boom. Yesterday morning, I stuck my finger in his mouth, and there it was. My mom said I got my first tooth when I was five and a half months old, and I was under the impression that was early. He had been so crabby last week, totally skipping naps, crying way more than he usually does. One day I even gave him a tiny bit of baby tylenol, because he seemed so uncomfortable. Even his teething rings didn't seem to help. He would chew on them for a few minutes and then just continue to whine. But now that the tooth has shown up, he seems much happier.

He also is so smiley these days, it makes me laugh! He loves having his cheeks kissed loudly. His armpits and neck are extremely ticklish, and he discovered a new favorite thing:

I can't wait to put him in a swimming pool. Before I do that, I need to get him a sun hat to match his crab swim trunks and surf shirt (!), I need to get swimming diapers and baby sunblock.

He is also getting really good at sitting up. He was holding on to my fingers sitting up today and I let go and he didn't topple over. He actually sat up for about 30 seconds. The trouble is he leans forward to get to his feet. In the tub as you can see, he will sit and splash for as long as we let him.

We have also started eating solid foods. His doctor said two weeks of one serving of cereal, and then two weeks of two servings of cereal and then start introducing solids, starting with yellow and orange veggies and then green veggies. I kind of broke the rules. After a few days of plain cereal, he never seemed really interested. After consulting with mom-extraordinaire, Cristie Kimmins, I decided to start mixing veggies in with the cereal, and that, he adores. So far, he loves sweet potatoes and squash, and he isn't sure about carrots or green beans. I'm going to try peas next. I'm going to hold off on fruit for as long as possible, because I heard that once they start fruit, they don't want veggies anymore... He's such a good eater! I thought he was big for his age, but after his 4-month appointment, I guess he is only average size. His BFF Alexander was born 4 days before him, is long and skinny and outweighs Owen by a pound and a half!

Squishy face!

My little blondie.

And, I got a promotion. After two years of being a legal proofreader and document processor, I got promoted to a supervisor. It's not what I thought I would be doing - because it's actually midnights, but it's on the weekend. I work Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8pm to 8am. I trained this past weekend and will start on my own next Friday. I am off Monday at 8am and don't have to be back to work until Friday at 8pm. Clint does his bedtime routine for three nights, and I take a couple naps throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. My mom will watch him only on Mondays, from 8-5, Clint will take him and bring him back, so I can sleep.

I'm ecstatic. As soon as Clint gets back to work full time, things are going to be so fantastic.

Owen's future girlfriend, Lily Dilly, future daughter of Virginia, is being super stubborn and won't turn head down. If she doesn't flip around, Virginia's going to have a c-section on Tuesday, June 2. I'm thinking and praying for you guys! I can't wait to come see you and baby Lily, even if I have major anxiety about driving in Morgantown!!

And Clint and I have decided that Jon and Kate are totally getting divorced.

Ok, Clint is tired, and wants to go to bed, so it's lights out.

Goodnight!

Remember this day!

First, the most important thing:
Owen laughed for the first time yesterday <3 href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTth_plwqPxxulepSDNOEZJbPAyOcQIamgO9ozEXYwz4PJPgv4cl7QIhRtqXSz2MdMhIowvkgdWcXi0t5Lv7G2ZDfqgI6k0OSY2P_mSY0zvIq4j8a1JO1qW-epsqsqf-7RfdFaulRu7rE/s1600-h/the+best+friends.jpg"> The boys telling secrets.

After a night of heavy drinking.

What's that mommy doing?

Alexander posing already!! Their professions? Being adorable!

And then, Erin took a couple pictures of me and my boy, which I am so excited about!


I think this one looks a little sultry. Maybe I should print it out for Clint?

Lovin on him.

How about some pictures?

Owen on his first walk, which he loved. He took everything in with quiet contemplation, feeling the breeze on his chubby cheeks. And then....

He fell asleep and slept through the rest. My mom making him smile and trying to get him to make noises. So cute.

I love his expressions.

Playing in the bumbo.

He's not sure about this....

Frank does his share of babysitting time...

So silly.

Good times.

Drum roll, please.

Owen slept through the night last night!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back story: We have been doing a bedtime routine for less than one week. We have been trying to keep him up a little more throughout the day, as long as he stands it and doesn't get too fussy. Just sort of prolonging things. For example, if he wakes up at 1pm after a nap, we will play for a little while before we feed him lunch.

The routine consists of me getting home from work at 9pm. Loving on him for a few minutes. Having a nice calm bath with Johnsons bedtime bath. (We only wash his hair twice a week because that's his least favorite part, and his hair stays magically clean). Then, he gets rubbed down with Huggies Soft Skin lotion. Gets a fresh diapey and a nice terrycloth or fleece sleeper put on. Then he has a warm bottle and is rocked until he falls asleep.

The first night he slept five hours, and we were thrilled. Even after he woke up after 5 hours, I changed his diaper, fed him another bottle and then he went back to sleep within a half an hour. He woke up about an hour later, but we thought he was getting better at telling day from night.

The second night, he slept something like 6 and a half hours!! That was even better!! But, the downside was that he went to sleep a little earlier because I came home from work earlier, so he got up earlier. That was a hard day that started at 4:45am.

Night before last, we thought the past two nights had been a fluke. He woke up at 12:30 after going to sleep at 9:30. We were so sad. But, he still was only up for about a half an hour, and went right back to sleep and slept for like 4 hours. We think he may have had a tummy ache because it had been more than 2 days since he pooed. (His usual is once every two days).

But last night!!!! He was in a good mood when I got home (most times he is so sleepy that he is a little cranky), but he was in an awesome mood, smiling for 10 minutes at us, and carrying on a conversation! We talked and he made little cooing noises back at us!! He had his bath, and even tolerated having his hair washed without crying! He had his lotion rubbed on, which made him fuss a tad, but once we got to the bottle, he was fine. He fell asleep around 9:45pm and didn't wake up until a few minutes before 6am!!!!!!!! I attribute this success to routine, staying up longer during the day, gentle sounds and lights around and after bathtime, and of course, the thumb. When he woke up, he fussed for a second, and then I heard him start sucking his thumb and then silence for another half hour. When I looked at him right before 6, he was still sucking his thumb. Shortly after that he woke up for good. Thank God for thumbs!!!!!

Here are some pictures that Clint has taken with his cell phone and sent to me at work, so I don't miss him too too much.

Adorable, right?

We have also definitely decided on April 26 for his baptism! Yes! My Aunt is coming from North Carolina, and it's good with both of the God-parents. In other church news, we are working in the nursery this weekend for a little extra $$ and because the new girl can't do it this weekend. I told our minister that if she ever can't do it, we can come back to it.

Speaking of money, I am turning into quite a bargain shopper!!!! It gives me such a thrill!! I got a one day pass to Sam's Club thanks to our Allstate Insurance and my friend and fellow bargain shopper, Erin. They had our brand of formula, Similac Advance Early Shield, in 33.4 ounce containers for $27!!!!!! Usually it is $23 dollars for 23 ounces! I bought two for a total of $54 which will probably last about two weeks! Also at Sam's I bought an enormous package of chicken for $11, and an enormous package of western style pork ribs for $8. Since I am still on my mandarin orange and canned pineapple kick, I bought a case of each (8 and 6 cans, respectively), for a total of $15. Along with a couple other little things, I spent $108. (Considering half of that was formula, and I got at least 6 meals worth of meat, I feel excellent about it.

Then today, I went to Kroger for other essential things. I had a list of about 15 things, but came home with much much more. I got some veggies, english muffins, potatoes, etc... Then I realized that Kroger was still doing their promotion on certain brands, where if you bought 10 participating items, you got five dollars off your grocery bill. Just so happens, tons of the participating items were things I usually buy anyway! Including 4 Powerades for Clint at $1 each. Also, I don't usually buy frozen meals for myself, but Clint takes them for lunch a lot, and there a couple that I enjoy and will occasionally buy. Well, Stouffers frozen meals were on sale for $2 each, AND I had two separate coupons for Stouffers, saving over $2. So, with me back to work and Clint home with the baby, sometimes all he has time for is a frozen dinner. So, I bought like 12 of them!! ALSO they were a part of the promotion where if you bought 10 items you got $5 off!!! I also had a $5 coupon for complaining about Cottonelle toilet paper, so I bought a 12 pack of mega roll toilet paper for $1.49 after a sale and my coupon! I got a roll of paper towels for $.59, and Huggies were on sale for $10, and I had a $2 off coupon that expires in May, so I bought some in the next size, because I still haven't had to buy diapers yet!! So I got 40 size 2 diapers for $8!!!

So, I was excited to see the total. I put all my stuff on the conveyor belt, and the total was $138. Then, I used my Kroger plus card, saved a total of $10 because of the promotions, and used my coupons and the total was.......... $74!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's almost half!!!!! Clint was so proud of me. We also have been finagling our bills around so that our payments are manageable while Clint is laid off, and once he goes back to work and is at full salary, we will be able to pay off his car by the end of summer!!! Then, we want to put all that extra money towards other bills! We have a good plan.

Ok, this is like the longest post ever.
Today is a good day.