Latest on the house: Our second set of buyers fell through. No joke. They had a bad debt on their credit history that didn't turn up during the initial review and couldn't be overlooked by their lender or several others they tried. We were upset, but in a completely different place then we were the first go-round. We were...well...fine with it. But, seeing as how we still had half of a garage full of boxes and had put forth all the effort to prepare to move and find a new house, we wanted to give it one last shot. SO, we went back on the market on Tuesday, September 18th. On that Wednesday, we had four showings. On Thursday, we had three. By Friday, we had THREE offers. We asked all parties to provide a bit more proof of their pre-approval status and waited to make sure no other offers came in (Since two of the offers were for asking price, I'm not sure what we were waiting for exactly...someone to show up with cash?!) Anyway, when Saturday night rolled around and we had no more showings or offers, we chose what we believed to be the most qualified individual and countered. After a little back and forth, she accepted and we went under contract on the Tuesday September 25th with a closing date set for October 26th. And, we got our sellers to agree to an extension. Time will tell.
What else happened this month? Let's see...quick list: We took a day trip to Alabama. Audrey started preschool. We ran a 5K (longest distance I'd run non-stop since May of 2011). I colored my hair after chopping it off last month. Not really a fan of either the cut or the color, but it is just hair. We finally used the passes my Dad gave us for AJ's birthday and went to the zoo with them. We went to the fair with sweet friends. Bible Study started back and I assumed my new role of "Calendar Girl" for the class. ;) I am planning play dates, ladies nights, and David and I are hosting monthly events for the couples. David sweetly pulled out my fall decor from storage (even though it made no sense to do so with our current moving situation) and I got to decorate for fall. We had a family photo session. We went to two local fall festivals. David went to Montreal for two days. I started Christmas crafting and shopping. We had our first real date in forever and enjoyed hiking around Stone Mountain and eating some good home cooking at a restaurant in the park.
Those are the highlights that I can recall. And the house junk, of course.
Now on to cuter things:
The kids currently have colds, but are otherwise doing really well. At seven and a half months, Luke is a joyful roly poly. He is sitting up for very long periods of time. We got out Audrey's old Leap Frog table out of storage to begin working on his standing - he can do that for quite a while too as long as we're nearby to spot him. A few days ago, he dropped his nighttime feeding. I woke up to the sound of him fussing at 5am, realized he hadn't eaten yet, and decided to stretch him with a pacifier. It worked and so I decided since he'd proved he could do it, that was that. He's nursing six times a day, eating oatmeal and fruit in the morning, and then oatmeal, fruit, and a veggie for dinner. I need to add something in at lunch, but haven't yet for convenience's sake. He takes about an hour nap in the morning and a two hour one in the afternoon. He's showing signs of genius already, of course, but also sports a mean temper and a serious back arch when he doesn't want to do something. Most of the time, though, he's a happy-go-lucky laid-back baby. He is ticklish on his tummy, under his cheeks, on his thighs and on his feet. He's huge and he's adorable.
His big sister is also doing great. She loves, loves, loves preschool. And I love, love, love a) that she loves it and b) having the break and the one-on-one time with Luke. It does still kill me not to know what she's doing every second and I'm dying to meet some of her little friends that she talks about, but I'll count it as yet another lesson on letting go and trusting. :) She has gotten to do some really neat things so far, including pet a hen and baby chicks that her teacher brought into class and make butter and chocolate milk for "Farm" week. Each Tuesday and Thursday, she brings home a folder full of painting creations and crafts. She plays outside, gets to do chapel every other week, and music class once a week. So, what's NOT to love?
Our biggest struggles with her are her whining and disrespectful tone when she doesn't want to do what we're asking her to do. I checked out a couple of Dr. Dobson's parenting books last week and will let you know once they're read and I have it all figured out (HA!) We are also desperately trying to instill a sense of gratitude and a heart of service. And, of course, we want to teach her to have a kind heart and manners and generosity...and on and on it goes. Parenting is no joke, I tell ya. In an effort to cultivate at least a few of those character traits, she'll be helping me with a food drive for church, but more on that in next month's recap.
She is still as sweet as pie to her brother, though we did have one "incident" about a week ago where she accidentally got too carried away pretending to gnaw on his arm and really bit him. I'm not sure who was more hysterical - her or him, but I have complete confidence it will never happen again! One of her regular sayings when he's fussing is, "Awww, Bubba! It's okay. You're okay. Momma and Audrey are right here, Bubba." Love it.
To close, here are some more cute quips and quotes:
- As Audrey was pushing her baby stroller out of my room one day, she said, "Bye, I'm going to the beach!" and then yelled, "Baadduuu" or something equally strange. I raised my eyebrows and said, "What was that?" Serious as she could be, she said, "That's French for 'goodbye.'"
- I looked up from washing out Luke's cereal bowl at the sink and saw her hanging her head at the breakfast table. What's wrong?" I asked. "Mommy," she said, sounding sad, "I just wish I had some curtis way." It took me a minute but then I guessed, "Curds and whey?" "Yes," she answered, frowning.
- On the way home from school one day, Audrey said "I only played for just a minute on the playground. Then I sat on the bench with Jacob and we talked about how we missed our families." Good grief. Then, when we got home, she told me she was "too exhausted to read a story. Can I just go straight to bed?" Old soul indeed.
- I took AJ to the doctor earlier this week just to make sure she didn't have strep because she'd been exposed to it. The doctor asked how she'd been sleeping and I said, "Not well." The doctor raised her eyebrows and asked, "Why? What do you think is keeping her awake?" Before I could answer, Audrey interjected and said, "I'm having trouble sleeping at night because my nose is stuffy and I can't breathe very well." The doctor laughed and said she understood. The child is perfectly capable of carrying on a conversation and speaking for herself!
- When asking Audrey what kind of treat they had at school today for a classmate's birthday, I deciphered they ate Rice Krispie Treats. I described them to her and she said, "Yeah, Mommy! How did you know that?" I told her because I'd had them before and that I even knew how to make them. Disbelief, anger, and shock crossed her face as she asked, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I didn't know that!" Apparently I've been withholding the nectar of the gods as far as she's concerned.
Big month ahead in October! A visit to the pumpkin patch, Grandparents' Day at AJ's preschool, Halloween, and, who knows, maybe an actual move. :) Stay tuned for more adventures and check out the gallery for September's pics.
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