Today was our first full day as Homeowners! To celebrate we packed up some sandwiches, yogurt, & chips & had a picnic at our new home. The girls LOVE the house & Kaylee keeps asking when we can move in. Soon, my love. Soon.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Big Little Baby Girl
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| Family picture at the Winter Quarters Temple. We had an impromtu visit on a rainy day. |
With a new baby sister in the house, Kaylee and Lydia love to help me out in any way they can. Mostly it involves giving Elsa a pacifier to calm her down or grabbing something I have requested. But what I really appreciate is when the girls are able to entertain themselves without being distructive.
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| Kaylee is giving Elsa her pacifier after I had to clean up a messy blow-out. |
Lydia absolutely LOVES being a big sister, but she finds herself still wanting to be the baby. It's hard to tell her "no" when she's being so cute, but it has to happen. Just after I take a picture.
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| Nothing like kicking back in a bouncy chair with a binkie! |
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| She had just gotten out of the bouncy chair but kept the pacifier. But notice she is wearing Kaylee's underwear. |
Not only does Lydia act like the baby, but she loves to get into Kaylee's things. She's constantly trying on her shoes, backpack, and anything she can get her hands on. Today she found some of Kaylee's underwear and insisted on wearing it. After getting her a clean pair, I helped her out.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Free, Fun Entertainment
The girls absolutely LOVE animals from holding to watching to pretending to be animals. Since we don't have any animals of our own (yet!), Rachael lives far away, and Jordan can't spend time at my parent's house since the cats might kill him we have to find another outlet for our animal needs. We have ventured to the zoo several times this summer, but the free entertainment is visiting the pet shops. The girls love seeing the fish, snakes, gerbils, rats, guinea pigs, turtles, mice, ferrets, cats, and birds.
When we can't be around live animals, their favorite pastime is pretending to be puppies. Lydia quickly learned this game from Kaylee & will randomly decide to play it. So while we're out visiting the pet stores, we let them indulge in a particularly upscale form of the game. They have so much fun. I have actually considered getting them a doggie pillow bed for their playroom or for movie watching.
When we can't be around live animals, their favorite pastime is pretending to be puppies. Lydia quickly learned this game from Kaylee & will randomly decide to play it. So while we're out visiting the pet stores, we let them indulge in a particularly upscale form of the game. They have so much fun. I have actually considered getting them a doggie pillow bed for their playroom or for movie watching.
Do You Have the Imagination of a 4 Year Old?
Kaylee has always been one smart cookie & it's always interesting having her around. Yesterday she was playing with her hands; they were little people who were arguing. One hand was trying to feed her all the chips & the other was saying they needed to share & take turns. They did take turns now & then making a Frito last 8 bites, an amazing trick in itself.
Today, while eating her Tootie Fruities she was finding all sorts of pictures as her few cereal remains floated around changing shapes. There was a boat, Christmas tree, dog, camel, car and so many more.
This activity was a slightly different version of Pictures in the Clouds that we all have played at some point in our lives. Kaylee has been a fan of this game & always shares her findings which I can sometimes see & sometimes just agree.
So, what do you see?
Sunday, May 27, 2012
A Dress for Lydia
Back when I cut out Kaylee's pink dress I also cut out a dress for Lydia. With the deadline of Easter approaching I set Lydia's dress aside & of course forgot about it. This past week I had been thinking about packing & moving which brought to mind the unfinished dress. So I pulled it out & got to work. Little dresses are nice because there isn't as much to sew together, but can be difficult maneuvering the tiny spaces. To save myself a few headaches & hours of pulling out failed stitches, I adjusted the pattern order which really helped. my mother-in-law suggested sewing in the sleeves then stitching up this sides which saved me hours of frustration. Thanks Janet!
Friday, May 25, 2012
House Hunting
With a new baby on the way, Jordan and I have been looking for a place to live with 3 bedrooms and room to grow. We have rented these almost 5 years of marriage which has worked for us. We gradually moved into bigger spaces when the occasion called for it, eventually renting a house so the girls could have a yard to play in. Now as we get ready to welcome our third baby girl, we have found the price range for renting a 3 bedroom house or even a 3 bedroom apartment for that matter is quite a bit more dinero than we are willing to spend. I have found some homes that have been in our price range, but let's face it, a 6x8 bedroom isn't going to cut it. Honestly, once you've lived in a house, moving back into an apartment isn't the most desirable move.
A few months ago, Brynna, my sister-in-law, suggested we take a look down the street from her. Jordan knows I LOVE looking at houses, so he agreed to go. This house was a foreclosure for $60,000 which is well within our price range and would actually be a reduction from our monthly rent. Before visiting the house I looked at the available pictures and researched information about that particular foreclosure company. Based on the pictures, the house needed work, but I was willing to do some work over the years.
The time finally came to visit the house and my dad was nice enough to come with us since he has more of an eye and knowledge for home structure and repairs. My mom also came along to play with the girls at the park across the street. Jordan, Dad, and I joined the realtor in the house and I instantly knew it was not for us. I am willing to do work, but I'm not going to completely redo a house. The floor was so wavy I was afraid I was going to trip unless I high-stepped through the place. It looked like the last resident had contemplated starting a fire with the floor boards, but resolved to use them to gouge holes in the ceiling.
The renovations needed to make the house livable for a young family were flooring on the 1st floor, ceilings, air conditioner, furnace, roof, foundation, and the 2nd floor bathroom. The master bedroom had been recently switched up. But I should tell you, the house had been made handicap accessible. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but the way the last owner did it was not the best move. In the corner of the bedroom, they closed off a section and put in a toilet. Once again, not bad, but it was just a toilet, the sink was on a different wall so I could wash my hands from the bed if I wanted to. Finally, the took a walk in closet and turned it into a walk in shower. The shower that look nice in the pictures was poorly assembled. Since the shower was not in a bathroom, you could walk straight into the shower from the bedroom and shower for all to see. That's not really my thing.
Even thought this house was definitely not what we were looking for, I will always be grateful because it got Jordan interested in our house hunting process. We have since found a realtor and are in the process of taking a NeighborWorks class to help us be more informed home buyers. We have visited many houses and I have looked at dozens more online trying to find the right home for us.
Kaylee has enjoyed visiting homes. Every house she likes is accompanied by the comment, "I want this house so I can get a dog." Although, yesterday we visited 8 or 9 houses and only one was occupied. The family had a couple little girls and a lot of barbies and dolls. Kaylee's comment turned it to , "I want to get this house so I can get a dog and these barbies." After a few laughs and "you're so cute" remarks I explained that we don't get to keep their toys.
Jordan and I are realistic in our search. We realize we that we can either afford a small house that needs cosmetic updates or a larger house that needs more work. Since we're planning on having more kids, we would like a place large enough to sustain us.
The houses we looked at have been in every condition and size. Something people need to realize is that if there is a room with a closet, it qualifies a bedroom, no matter the size. A couple of the houses we have looked had a nursery type room where you have to walk through a bedroom to get to it. Nursery rooms are also smaller than other bedrooms because they need only hold a crib instead of a bed. One of these houses also had a TINY staircase. So small that Kaylee kept saying it was her size.
The worse house we visited would be one that we visited yesterday. It was turned into 3 apartments, which was not the issue. The owner made some renovations but didn't complete the whole process. He put in new cabinets, but the flooring wasn't fixed before they were put in. That wasn't the issue. Upstairs there were still beds and desks, games in the closet, books and stuffed animals laying around. It felt like a creepy horror movie where the people just disappeared.
Out of all the houses we have looked at we there is one that has felt like home. It was the first house we looked at (besides the foreclosure) and every house we look at makes us like it more. Hopefully by next week we can get the process started and be in a new home before the baby comes.
A few months ago, Brynna, my sister-in-law, suggested we take a look down the street from her. Jordan knows I LOVE looking at houses, so he agreed to go. This house was a foreclosure for $60,000 which is well within our price range and would actually be a reduction from our monthly rent. Before visiting the house I looked at the available pictures and researched information about that particular foreclosure company. Based on the pictures, the house needed work, but I was willing to do some work over the years.
The time finally came to visit the house and my dad was nice enough to come with us since he has more of an eye and knowledge for home structure and repairs. My mom also came along to play with the girls at the park across the street. Jordan, Dad, and I joined the realtor in the house and I instantly knew it was not for us. I am willing to do work, but I'm not going to completely redo a house. The floor was so wavy I was afraid I was going to trip unless I high-stepped through the place. It looked like the last resident had contemplated starting a fire with the floor boards, but resolved to use them to gouge holes in the ceiling.
The renovations needed to make the house livable for a young family were flooring on the 1st floor, ceilings, air conditioner, furnace, roof, foundation, and the 2nd floor bathroom. The master bedroom had been recently switched up. But I should tell you, the house had been made handicap accessible. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but the way the last owner did it was not the best move. In the corner of the bedroom, they closed off a section and put in a toilet. Once again, not bad, but it was just a toilet, the sink was on a different wall so I could wash my hands from the bed if I wanted to. Finally, the took a walk in closet and turned it into a walk in shower. The shower that look nice in the pictures was poorly assembled. Since the shower was not in a bathroom, you could walk straight into the shower from the bedroom and shower for all to see. That's not really my thing.
Even thought this house was definitely not what we were looking for, I will always be grateful because it got Jordan interested in our house hunting process. We have since found a realtor and are in the process of taking a NeighborWorks class to help us be more informed home buyers. We have visited many houses and I have looked at dozens more online trying to find the right home for us.
Kaylee has enjoyed visiting homes. Every house she likes is accompanied by the comment, "I want this house so I can get a dog." Although, yesterday we visited 8 or 9 houses and only one was occupied. The family had a couple little girls and a lot of barbies and dolls. Kaylee's comment turned it to , "I want to get this house so I can get a dog and these barbies." After a few laughs and "you're so cute" remarks I explained that we don't get to keep their toys.
Jordan and I are realistic in our search. We realize we that we can either afford a small house that needs cosmetic updates or a larger house that needs more work. Since we're planning on having more kids, we would like a place large enough to sustain us.
The houses we looked at have been in every condition and size. Something people need to realize is that if there is a room with a closet, it qualifies a bedroom, no matter the size. A couple of the houses we have looked had a nursery type room where you have to walk through a bedroom to get to it. Nursery rooms are also smaller than other bedrooms because they need only hold a crib instead of a bed. One of these houses also had a TINY staircase. So small that Kaylee kept saying it was her size.
The worse house we visited would be one that we visited yesterday. It was turned into 3 apartments, which was not the issue. The owner made some renovations but didn't complete the whole process. He put in new cabinets, but the flooring wasn't fixed before they were put in. That wasn't the issue. Upstairs there were still beds and desks, games in the closet, books and stuffed animals laying around. It felt like a creepy horror movie where the people just disappeared.
Out of all the houses we have looked at we there is one that has felt like home. It was the first house we looked at (besides the foreclosure) and every house we look at makes us like it more. Hopefully by next week we can get the process started and be in a new home before the baby comes.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Easter Dresses
I finished the Easter dresses for the girls right on time, but I'll have to make an adjustment or two. The bows have to be fixed. I made them so they could be tied, but i am constantly retying them as they slip apart or Kaylee pulls it apart to chew on it. That is another reason why I'm going to sew them into permanent bows; Kaylee has chewed a little hole in her ribbon.
Overall, they turned out nice. The girls look really good in those colors. They are big enough they should be able to wear them for a while.
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