Where we belong...

Our "new" house is 86 years old. The backyard has a lovely garden of weeds and the bushes out front are overgrown. There's not much closet space. The bedroom doors don't quite shut all the way, and the floors creek ever so loudly charmingly. The kitchen windows need to be replaced and counter space is lacking. The chimney is in dire need of repair and the deck is on it's last legs. There is no central air and it's equipped with it's original asbestos wrapped boiler. We are in loooove.

I love that I am surrounded by beautiful windows. I'm in love with the sound of rustling leaves from the old boulevard trees canopying over our street. I adore the gorgeous staircase in the center of everything, and the light that beams into the house at sunset makes my heart go a flutter. The neighbors are so very neighborly, going out of their way to greet us and make us feel at home. There are block parties and bike parades, an ice cream shop, a deli, a bookstore with free-roaming chickens and a friendly cat, and even a trolley! And then there's Norah and Clark's new school... well, I just want to be best friends with everyone there :)

I was afraid that Norah would have a hard time with the move. That she would be scared to sleep in a new room and ask when we would be going home. I thought that she would hate being the new girl at a new school and that we'd have heartbreaking drop-offs every morning for a while. I thought there would be weeks of amplified whining and the need for time-outs. I thought wrong. Instead she has slept in her own room better than she ever has! She never asks about the old house unless it's to make sure we won't be going back there (it wasn't that bad!). She's excited to go to school every morning and we hear from her teachers that she is quite the chatter-bug and loves to check on her little brother. Often. :) 

This house is our miracle on 41st street. We have been wanting to move for long time, but couldn't sell our town home, so we spent that time saving up for a down payment. The house had been on the market for a year, and just when we discovered we probably had enough saved up to start looking, it came down into our price range. We looked at a few other houses before this one (besides the hundreds I had checked out over the last few years!); one was too small, one didn't have the bedrooms all on one floor, and the other was not in the right neighborhood. We went to see this one on a Friday afternoon... and bought it on Sunday! We weren't planning on buying so quickly, but when we were told there were two other offers that were coming in after the open house we knew we couldn't stand to lose it! We were more nervous than we had ever been, but everything was falling into place so perfectly that I choose to think someone up above was just giving us a little push. 

Oh, and to seal the deal that I was indeed correct about this being fate, we were handed a set of blueprints that the previous owner had drawn up for an expansion. You see, this house is small and when we first saw it we talked about what we would eventually want to do with it. How we would want to expand it and what it would look like. Just dreams, like this house had been... a dream. Turns out the previous owner had the exact same thoughts and handed them to us all drawn out and ready to go, as if we were being told our dreams really can come true and that yes, this house really was waiting just for us.

Love ~ Renee
 

Happy 4th of July!

Today we had the most 4th of July fun we've ever had. We went to our very first ever block party and it was a blast! It started off with all the kids decorating their bikes and having a bike race "parade" around the block a few times. Norah did great considering she is the youngest one of the bunch and has never ridden her bike that far before. There were bomb pops and hot dogs, a line to ride on the tree swing and a "who needs to keep their kids up late and risk them being scared when we have this!" fireworks show. Our new neighbors are pretty awesome... I think we picked a good block ; )

Love ~ Renee

The very first "First day of school"

So my sweet little baby girl is no longer a baby, but sometimes I can't help but see her chubby little "just starting to walk" face when I look at her. She looks exactly the same and completely different all at once. She's been growing and changing right before our eyes, but sometimes my eyes refuse to see just how much she's really grown until I see her in a new setting. I realized this the moment she walked into the hospital room to meet her baby brother for the very first time. All of a sudden my baby was gone, and she had been replaced with this little girl whose heart was overflowing with love. I knew there were going to be many more bittersweet moments like this, and her first day of preschool was one of them...





She was so excited to wear her backpack (which was filled with her "Dolly" (a dog), a beach towel, swimsuit and sunscreen) and to bring a lunch in her new lunch box! Of course daddy and I had to add some little notes and a photo along with her favorite chocolate raisins :) Surprisingly there were no tears at drop off as she was sitting at the big girls table waiting to be served breakfast.

After work, Daddy and I went together to pick her and Clarky up, and the smiles on everyone's faces (the teachers included!) told us that they had a fantastic first day. In fact, Norah asked if she could come back tomorrow! Really... who could resist a cheesey toast breakfast followed by a picnic at the neighborhood park, a "game" of soccer, a nice nap with your favorite doggy dolly and more time spent playing outside on all those fun toys. She proudly let us know that she had checked on her little brother many times that day (every time she walked past his room for a bathroom break).




After school we walked to a nearby restaurant to have dinner where Norah showed us just how much she likes her new school :) 





She entertained her brother.  





And ate Mac & Cheese with the minimum amount of broccoli required to stop for ice cream afterwards.  





After dinner Daddy carried them both to the ice cream shop across the street and they got their fill of kisses.  

Delicious... Raspberry chocolate chip; Such a grown up flavor!

Then we walked home in the summer sun... my most favorite thing about our new neighborhood! We can walk anywhere.

When we got home and unpacked their bags we discovered a lunch box filled with lots of leftovers... except the chocolate raisins were missing! :)

Love ~ Renee

Storytime with Daddy

Is the most favorite time of day. After everyone gets their sillies out with high-speed chases through the bedrooms accompanied by squealing laughter, or by a pillow fight initiated with Norah yelling "Hit me with a plillow!!", or with endless tickles on Mom and Dad's giant bed; Daddy reads each book that his baby girl has carefully chosen that night. Complete with cuddles, kisses and in-character voices. Clarky is also intrigued by these stories if he doesn't happen to be having his bedtime snack. 


Oh and the night would not be complete without our bedtime songs! If it's daddy's turn to read, that means it's mommy's turn to sing. Our Repertoire consists of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "I'm a Little Acorn", "ABC's", "Silent Night", "Rock-a-Bye Baby" and a hummed Brahms lullaby (because who knows the words to that?? :), all sung in that very specific order.


After all the stories are read and songs are sung, I kiss my sweet little Norah goodnight and after she has stuck every limb outside the covers so that she can ask me to tuck it back in, she asks "Should I close my eyes?". I say "Yes please, close your eyes and relax... I will check on you in a bit. I love you."  and then I hear "I love you mommy, sweet dreams"... and my heart is melted. 


As you will see, Daddy is sometimes the first one to fall asleep!

















Love ~ Renee

Because Brothers and Sisters Must Be Compared!

I know I know... brothers and sisters just love to be compared to one another, right!? Well I couldn't resist! There are a ton of people that think Clark looks just like his big sister, and a few (including me) think he just looks like Clark :) I'll admit, they do look very similar in these shots, which were taken when they were each about 2 months old, but I think Clark has his own uniqueness. I'll add that his sister had him beat in height and head circumference at this age, but not weight. It's funny how she looks chubbier even though she was longer and leaner :) This proves the theory that men just have more muscles!


Love ~ Renee

Sisterly Love

At the risk of jinxing the peace that we have earned with our blood sweat and tears over the last couple of months (ok, so there was no blood)... I'm going to go ahead and call it; I think Miss Norah has finally overcome the new baby brother syndrome!! We all seem to be living in harmony in our little townhouse now, and I'm beginning to see how wonderful it really is that Norah and Clark have each other. Like little partners who will explore the world together, tell each other their secrets, and dream up big plans for when they "get big" :) Norah loves nothing more than to cuddle with, sing to and kiss up baby Clark and Clark loves nothing more than watching his big sister. That girl is a sure fire way of putting a smile on his face!

By the way, Norah has already been making plans for when she gets big:

On the way home from school, Norah tells me with authority: "When I am big, I will drive. When I am big and you are wittle, I will drop you off, and I will pick you up, and I will bring you home. Den I will drive you to the BIG BIG BIG BIG park. But, but you have to wait 'till you are wittle and I am big."

And a few days later she tells me: "When daddy is wittle enough to play by himself, den I can eat nuts." (we haven't allowed her to have nuts yet since she had both a milk and an egg allergy, but we tell her she can try them when she turns 3)

I LOVE that she thinks we will get little as she gets big! How incredibly smart to think that the opposite will happen to us since we are already big!
Here are some shots of Norah smothering Clark with her sisterly love...
 

Love ~ Renee

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

How's that for catching up? It's not that I have been slacking lately, it's just that I have this baby that seems to have an unquenchable thirst. It is near impossible to take photos while nursing... at least not the way I like to take them, and it is really a challenge to type, eat or really get anything done with one free hand and a baby in the other. Maybe I am just clueless, but I have no idea how other mom's of newborns keep their families, houses and even blogs in tip top shape. I choose to believe their kids are not as hungry as mine, and this ought to prove it; Clark was 8 lbs 10 oz when he was born 6 weeks ago and he is now a whopping 13.5 lbs! That means he has been gaining over a pound a week. So please forgive my lapse in keeping it all together, I have been busy with this cute snuggly baby of mine :) 


So this is what our story has been over the last 6 weeks...


We managed to keep the tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving this year, albeit not as charming as usual. Norah was just starting to display the effects of having a new brother.  

She was oh so excited to trim the tree though! Here is one of mommy's Starbucks ornaments :)

Grandpa and Nona came over and helped her decorate her gingerbread house after they took her on a little sledding expedition down the block. She came home with a red face from the nose down and a story that went something like: "I went down de hiiill and den I felled!! Like dat! (demonstrating how she fell) And den Grampa picked me upped and I was OK! I not cold." 

This year we also got to see The Nutcracker ballet with Grandma. Norah had the time of her life! She was mesmerized for the first half hour or so and continued to watch the entire ballet. She did have lots of snacks to help sustain her, but I was mighty impressed. I hope we can make this a new tradition! I would see the Nutcracker with my aunt Kathy every year when I was young and it always made the season that much brighter :) 

Christmas Eve morning we made gingerbread cookies for Santa 

Stick-on Christmas earrings!

Then we spent the evening with the Landers where Norah played with Grandpa, I nursed Clark and Colin relaxed before we stuffed ourselves silly and opened an insane amount of gifts!

Late that night when the kids were asleep, Santa spent countless hours wrapping gifts and arranging them under the tree just so. He had big expectations for Christmas morning excitement. The next morning, as we were making our way down to the living room we asked Norah if she thought Santa had come. She had no reply, so we asked her to go check. She slowly walked to the living room and looked right at the tree as she said in an irritated tone: "NO! Santa didn't come!!" What!?! What a let down! We asked her to check again and we got the same response so we said "well who do you think put all those presents under the tree and ate the cookies you left?" She took one more glance and finally said "Oh! He DID come!".  

After we opened Santa's gifts we made graham cracker waffles and got all dolled up to spend Christmas day at Aunt Kathy's. We had another wonderful day of Norah playing with Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts and Uncles, me nursing Clark, and Colin... I'm not sure what Colin was doing :)

Norah and Great Grandma "Nana" looking at Aunt Kathy's nutcracker collection

Clark sleeping with his finger in his mouth

 We spent New Year's Eve at a friends house where all the kids went crazy playing a dance party game on the Wii... I now want to buy one of these just because I had so much fun watching the kids! I've never seen Norah go so wild dancing and having fun!

This girl is a twirling fool!

If that wasn't enough fun, we had two more Christmas celebrations! One on New Years Day with Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Leesie and Uncle Joe (of course I forgot to charge my camera battery so I don't have many shots from that day!) and one the very next day with Gram! More fun presents, more outrageously good food and more time spent with family. What more could we ask for!?

We've really had the most wonderful year...  Merry Christmas to you and Happy New Year!

Love ~ Renee