7 QTs

--- 1 ---

The view from our condo

 

A week after moving into our new home The Smoky Mountains became our temporary home as our little family joined Ben's extended family for a wonderful vacation. I had never had the privilege of seeing the Smoky Mountains before and the visit, while brief, was filled with beautiful sites and lots of fun!

--- 2 ---

 Leo has developed a few new talents over the past few weeks. His chubby little fingers can now deftly remove his pacifier from his mouth. He cannot figure out how to put it back in however so this new talent has been a little frustrating. The best part? He looks at me like I'm the one taking away his happiness!

--- 3 ---

The new talent of Leo's that I happen to like is how he tries to give me kisses. Whenever I give him a kiss he puts his hands on my face and presses his mouth against my cheeks with a sweet little coo. I'm covered in drool at the end of it but I wouldn't miss it for the world!

--- 4 ---

Leo can now roll from his back to his tummy! He has been busy rocking from side to side the past few weeks but never quite made it all of the way to his tummy until a few days ago. Of course he hates tummy time and immediately became very cross but Ben and I were there to see it and oh so proud!

--- 5 ---

Ben and I returned from vacation vowing to eat more healthily and exercise. We decided we'd start off with a bang and try out the "Military Diet." We conquered breakfast with ease! And then gave up by lunchtime. Seriously, diets are the worst. Exercise is far more doable. Maybe. 

--- 6 ---

This has to be the most rainy summer of all time. My poor little baby boy is obsessed with being outside and we finally have plenty of yard to explore and BAM! Virginia enters monsoon season. When our A/C was broken that first week I decided to make the most of it and took Leo out in the rain to play for five glorious minutes! The novelty seems to have worn off, however, because we went out in the rain to get the mail today and Leo was not amused.

--- 7 ---

One of the biggest surprises of motherhood for me has been that I am a complete and utter sap. I talk a good game but when it comes down to it my emotions tend to lead the way (my poor, poor husband!). After Leo was born but before we came home from the hospital I tearfully asked my husband if he could move the bed so that I could have the baby's Pack 'n Play right beside me instead of a few feet away like we had planned originally. Being the great sport that he is Ben said OK and had it all set up for us when we came home. Four months later we now live in a space that is big enough for the baby to have his own room. The nursery is all set up except for the crib, which did not arrive until today (courtesy of my previous coworkers!). Now that the crib has arrived I now have no excuse whatsoever to keep Leo beside me at night. Still, I am a bit of an emotional wreck when I think of him sleeping in a different room (though it is only separated from us by a thin wall). On top of that the time really has come for us to introduce a nighttime routine that does not involve us walking and shushing him for 30 min - 1 hr every night. More on that in a later post.....

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

~  Happy Friday ~

7QTs

- 1 -
We Moved

As I mentioned in my previous post we finally made it down to Virginia as of last Saturday. I must confess to shedding a few tears over the last few days when I have thought of Indiana and all that we have left behind. Front Royal is beautiful and I am sure we will be better off for having moved and lived here, but the pangs of a sort of homesickness are there all the same.

- 2 -
The Good

Thanks to my amazing, incredible, fantastic in-laws, there are almost no boxes left to unpack less than a week after arriving. I know, I know -- you wished you were related to them too. Sorry, they're mine! Our house is slowly becoming a home thanks to the countless ways they poured themselves out while they were here and as I mentioned to Ben, each room already holds a wonderful memory because of them. In our previous home we considered ourselves savvy to have managed to get our main piece of artwork up. It's an entirely different ballgame post-in-laws visit -- yes the artwork is up but so are the sconces, the hallways mirror, and several pictures that did little more than decorate our closet before now! There simply isn't enough room to describe all of the ways they transformed our week and helped out.

- 3 -
The Bad

We have no AC. Or rather, we possess the raw materials for air conditioning, but lack the benefit(s). It's been hovering at around 84 degrees inside these past few days and while that is admittedly doable, it sucks in a big way when you have grown accustomed to keeping things at 70/72 degrees. Honestly it isn't even that bad for me - I always run cold and I am fairly comfortable with the fans going and a window open here or there. You know who isn't happy? Leo! That boy is like a tiny (or not so tiny) space-heater and he does NOT particularly care for the current situation. Which leads me to......

- 4 -
Bathtime

Leo now loves bathtime. I guess being an overheated, sweaty mess will do that to you. Still, it's a real boon for me and so much fun to see him splash around happily and get to cool off. I really need to make a video and post it because he absolutely cracks me up in there. Leave it to Leo to make playing in the bath an intense and somewhat serious endeavor......

- 5 -
Bugs

Our welcome party

I. Hate. Bugs! Arachnids, ants, spiders, bees -- I hate them all! And to think that I used to complain about our previous situation with the ants!!! After two days of dealing with copious amounts of these guys (and a few others I did not include in the collage) my amazing mother-in-law called Orkin and got us a year of service (!). They came out and sprayed and not only was the guy super nice and friendly but the inside of the house has been virtually bug free and the front stoop is far better! Thank God!

- 6 -
Gratitude
 

Our house needs a lot of work. But it's our house. That makes us one blessed family! And if I learned anything from the time spent with my in-laws it's that gratitude and a positive attitude go a LONG WAY! Whining and complaining come too easy for me, as do self-pity and anger and a whole host of other issues. So yeah, our house needs a lot of work but you know what? I need even more work if I ever hope to be the woman of God that I want to be, that my family needs me to be, and God calls me to be. 

- 7 -
Vacation

Speaking of gratitude, I am super grateful that tomorrow our little family is hopping in the car and driving to Tennessee to vacation with my husband's family! I have never been to the Smoky Mountains before but I can't wait to experience their majestic beauty for the first time and soak in the fun and family time. God is good! 

~ Happy Friday ~

Virginia

Well we made it to Virginia folks! We arrived Saturday afternoon after a fairly easy drive from Indiana that was split between two days with my husband's parents and brother. There simply aren't enough ways to express how grateful I am that they came down and for the tremendous amount of help and support they provided. Seriously, they are the BEST!

This really isn't going to be a long post. It's just me saying SURPRISE! We made it. Speaking of surprises, our new abode has presented us with several. Not all of them are bad but it certainly has been an interesting few days. I imagine many a blog will be devoted to our adventures as new homeowners, to say nothing of life in the Shenandoah Valley! I will close with a quick photo that I took from our back porch last night...

Yes, those are trees + mountains

~ Happy Wednesday ~