On August 7th, we found out our buyer's financing fell through. By August 9th, our house was back on the market. In that first five days, we had seven showings. None came the weekend after, but four more followed the next week. We got one offer on the 13th from a corporation that hadn't even seen our place, but wanted to buy our house and rent it out. We countered, only asking that they let us keep it on the market and give them first right of refusal, and they turned us down. Because we felt sure they'd pass on it anyway after coming out to see it and it's long-term needs, we decided to press on and keep praying for a "regular" individual buyer. Two to three more showings followed. We got another offer on Friday, August 24th that was so low, we almost didn't counter. But we did. And miraculously, they met our price and we went under contract on the 29th. Two days later, we went under contract again on our prospect house from the first time. Shew.
Throw in two business trips for David, a family day at Lake Lanier water park for us, Preschool Orientation and then Open House (sob), half a dozen play dates and story times, five family pool/movie nights, and a LOT of house cleanings/straightenings for showings and that was August. Funny how I don't consider that busy given what else our year has held!
The kids are doing really well. We've been working a lot with Audrey on doing things independently to prepare her for preschool. She's just about mastered pottying completely on her own (getting her clothes on/off, wiping, etc.), walking up and down the stairs without holding our hands, drinking from an open cup or glass by herself without a straw, and putting on her own shoes. These are all things I probably should've been working on with her months ago, but I definitely am guilty of "it's just easier and faster to do it myself" syndrome. So this month, I've been intentionally taking a step back and letting her do it and she's really come a long way.
She still loves to sing, dance, and read books. She loves for us to make up stories with her, half of which she usually takes over and finishes telling herself, and her detailed network of imaginary friends keeps us all laughing. We've squeezed in as much swimming as we could with her these last few weeks even though the water has been chilly. She still enjoys it so much and I'm incredibly thankful we did lessons this summer.
Since mid-July, we've been back into the routine of going to church each week. Between that and story time at the library every Monday, I think she's starting to come out of her shell in groups a little better. She actually stood up and participated in singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" at story time last week - a rare thing for her to do! Preschool will help with that for sure.
I just wrote a six month update about Luke, so I won't go into too much detail about Little Man. He's just as sweet as he can be, and rolls right along with the punches even if he misses his morning nap (about 2-3 times a week, unfortunately). He loves to observe, be talked to, coo, try to eat your face, and play in his exersaucer or jumpster. His check-up is next week, so I'll be sure to post some stats from that.
The two of them are still so precious to watch. Audrey adores him, but has learned from his outburst of tears that she can't just snatch a toy away anymore. As he becomes more vocal and requires her to share, we'll see if and how their relationship shifts. For now, we still hear her in a syrupy sweet tone ask him "Oh Bubba, what's the matter?" or "It's alright, tell Big Sister about it. I'm here. You're alright" when he's fussing. Too cute.
In other family news, David's grandmother had open heart surgery on the 29th. She's doing very well considering she had two valves replaced and a bypass. We visited her before she had it done, but haven't been back since because she hasn't been quite stable enough for our young brood. Keep praying for a full recovery for her and for David's dad, his aunt, and his uncle as they handle taking care of her.
Some quips, stories, and quotes from this month:
- We smelled some strong perfume or potpourri somewhere and Audrey complained that it was giving her a "nose-ache."
- While she still whines and complains like the average toddler, her word choice in doing so is sometimes hilarious. If we're at the park and the swings are all full, she'll gripe, "A swing is not available!" If she drops food or makes a mess, I hear, "OH DEAR! Now it's ruined!"
- One night while David was out of town and I was giving Luke a bath, I let her talk to David's mom on the phone to keep her busy for a moment. I walk in the hall and hear a detailed explanation about our school supply shopping..."And they didn't have a box of 16 crayons at Target, they only had a box of 8. So we went to the drug store to find a box of 16 crayons and they had them. Can you believe it?!" (Hey, I wanted to follow the list they sent home exactly!)
- She's gotten really into praying lately. It's so awesome to be driving down the road and she'll say, "Mom, I'm just going to pray now, okay?" and then she'll launch into a talk with God and thank Him for everything from her family to keeping her safe. And no, it has nothing to do with my driving, although she has told me several times lately that Daddy is a better driver than me. Ha.
- She'll take a song she knows and sing it with all the same letter, which I've tried to mimic and it's actually really hard to do. For example, "Binkle, binkle, bittle bar, bow by bonder bhat bou bar." She also likes to make up her own songs and sing them to us.
- We've been working on spelling things and sight words with her lately. She's doing fantastic at it and knows about a dozen if she takes the time to slow down and look at the whole word. She knows Audrey, Mommy, Daddy, Luke, dog, cat, cow, bee, love, I, you, and, the, & see all pretty well.
So that's the gist of August. C'mon September with your cooler temps, your routine, and maybe...finally...a closing?! Do stay tuned and check the gallery tomorrow for pics!
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