Moving

So, it's official...we are moving!  It has been a bit of a crazy whirlwind in the past few weeks, but we closed on our "new" house this week.  Between packing and parenting two little ones at home, I have been keeping busy.  We will be moving a little more north (where I grew up), but not too far away.  This whole process has been a mixture of emotions for us both as we are so excited to have more space and be closer to family, but sad to move away from an area and friends that we have grown to love.


Through this process, I have been reminded that I am a sentimental mover.  Moving is always a little emotional for me, because every place I live holds special memories for me.  And, although I take the memories with me after I move, I kind of feel like I am leaving a little piece of me or part of my life behind after I leave.  I remember the townhouse that I lived in before I married Eric.  I have such wonderful memories of spending time with my girlfriends, dating Eric, and enjoying my job.  To this day, it's still a little bittersweet for me when I drive by that area since it reminds me of such a precious time in my life.  I remember when Eric and I moved into our townhouse the first year we were married.  It wasn't anything spectacular, but I have such fond memories of our evening walks, going out for ice cream (just across the street) in the summer, our conversations...it was such a special time.  Truth be told, every time I drive by that area, it still makes me a little sad to think that we will never have that time back again. 


Actually, I have an early childhood memory of my first move ever.  It was the summer I turned eight.  We were moving from our little house in Palatine, and it was the only home I had ever known.  I still remember how sad I felt the day we were moving.  I had convinced myself that the house itself was sad to see us go.  Even though I knew better in my head, my heart was telling me that those walls, the walls that had been a part of our lives for what seemed like forever to me, felt like we were abandoning them.  I knew that they would "move on" and learn to love another family, but I felt a connection to them.  They had looked in on us at all times, they had protected us and kept us safe...they quiety observed our lives, our memories.  I literally went through every room, kissed the walls, and said goodbye.  Oh, I know it's silly, but a little girls imagination is a powerful thing.


And as an adult, I admit that part of this sentimentality has stuck with me.  I am always a little sad when I move, even if it is a good thing.  So, I am certain that (more) tears will be shed when we leave.  After the final box is loaded, and I look back in the empty rooms, I will see the memories that have made me so fond of this place.  Here is where we started our home-buying journey.  Here is where I first experienced the joy of being a mother.  Here is where I heard my son's first words and saw his first steps.  Here is where I saw my daughter's first smile.  Some of the most special moments that I will ever experience happened in this house.  But, even though I can get caught up in the emotional aspect of making such a big transition, I have come a long way from that little girl who believed that leaving a house, that special place with all the memories, was a bad thing.  God is faithful to remind me that it's not really about the house itself.  He gently tells me that it is not the house or the walls that have given me such precious memories.  He's the one who gives me that.  He is the one that looks in on us at all times.  He protects us and keeps us safe.  He is the observer of our lives.  He goes with us when we leave.  He is the provider of every special moment that I experiece.  Actually, it's not about the house at all.                            


So, northbound, we go.  To a new house, with a whole lot of new memories to make.  But, among all the transition and "new-ness" going on, there is one thing that isn't going to change...a faithful, ever-present God who loves me and goes with me wherever I go.     

It's official, we have a thumbsucker

In recent weeks, Eden has found her thumb.  She has liked sucking on her hand since she was born, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before she discovered her thumb.  This past week, I caught her sucking her thumb both while sleeping and while awake (she used to only suck her thumb when going to sleep).  Judah also liked sucking his thumb, but he also took a pacifier, which Eden does not, so I am thinking she might be a bit more of a thumbsucker than he was.  Here are a few pictures of her in the act. :) 

 Here she is sucking her thumb right after she was born!

 Here is Judah sucking his thumb around the same age

    Let's just hope that this doesn't mean braces when they are older. :)

Poopy

There are many Judah moments that make Eric and me laugh, especially now that he is becoming a little more verbal.  Today, Eric and Judah were goofing around on the couch and Judah wiggled himself between Eric and the couch (so he was sitting right behind Eric).  Attempting to make the most of the opportunity, Eric asked Judah to scratch his back.  Eric lifted up his shirt, and Judah started to give Eric a back "scratch".  As Judah was quickly scratching Eric's back, he spotted Eric's shorts, proceeded to pull on them, look, and say..."POOPY?".       

Eat!

This afternoon, I heard Judah saying "Eat...eat...eat".  Assuming he was trying to tell me he was hungry, I went to ask him what he wanted to eat.  This is what I saw...

Apparently, he was trying to feed his lion.  Oh, he's going to love this one when he is older. :) 

Cute Ramblings

Judah has been noticing Eden more now that she is getting a little bigger, and as a result, he has been interacting with her a little more.  He continues to like to kiss her and give her hugs, but now he is actually "asking" for her at certain times.  This makes for some cute moments.  When we are gettting ready to go somewhere and I take him out to the car, he always points to the seat next to him and says "sister, sister?" or "baby, baby?" to make sure that I am not forgetting her inside.  And some mornings when he sits down for breakfast, he points to the bumbo seat sitting on the table and says "chair baby", asking me to put her in her seat so that he can see her while he eats.  He did that this morning and it was so sweet to see him smiling at her and to watch her smile back at him.  He would smile at her, she would smile back, and then he would look at me and laugh, as if to say "Look Mom, I got her to smile!". 

Recently, we put them in the same room for bedtime.  Eden typically sleeps in our guest bathroom (yes, the bathroom) in a pack n' play, but we wanted to clean the bathroom and didn't want her to be exposed to the smell of the cleaning supplies, so we decided to try to put her to bed in Judah's room.  We did this a couple nights, since Judah seemed to like it and would point to the crib and say "baby", asking us to put her in her crib.  One night, we put them to bed and Eden was fussing a bit.  We heard Judah talking and turned the monitor up to hear what he was saying.  He was talking to Eden saying, "Uh-oh...uh-oh....okay, okay, okay...mommy, daddy....okay baby, okay...uh-oh...okay..."  It was so cute.  He was speaking in a very calm voice, and we could just picture him standing up in his crib leaning over trying to calm her down. 

 

It makes me so happy to see Judah warm up to her more and more, and I can also start to tell that Eden is enjoying him, too.  I know these will be only a few of the many cute moments to come as they grow up together.     

Happy Birthday America!

This was a great weekend to celebrate America and how blessed we are to live in a free country!  Today, we tried to tell Judah about what 4th of July was.  Obviously, he is too young to grasp the concept (I think Eric lost him when trying to explain taxation without representation), but we tried anyway. :)  Happy Birthday, America!  

Backyard Fun

I have a feeling that Judah and I will be doing quite a few backyard activities this summer.  It's no surprise that he loves the outdoors, and just simple activities, like playing with the hose, or throwing a ball in and out of the kiddy pool, makes him happy.  I actually prefer playing in the backyard at this stage, since I don't have to pack up the kids and don't have to worry about getting things ready to go somewhere.  Just this weekend, we broke out a fun sprinkler that I got on clearance last summer.  I wasn't sure how he would react to the sprinkler, since it was squirting everywhere, but he loved it!  It was so funny because he liked grabbing the little "arms" that were squirting water and put them on his stomach and head...he even liked drinking out of it.  Silly, silly boy.  It's so fun for us to hear him laugh and see his huge smile as he discovers new things.  And, of course, it's fun for me to document those sweet moments.