Marital Milestone

There's a lot of things we've done together in our almost seven years of marriage and over ten years together, but until yesterday, buying and/or selling a home together was something new.

After nearly 14 years, it was time to say goodbye to "our" first home today. 

Scott sold his Mustang Cobra and put the money down on the house on Sunland Drive in preparation of becoming a dad. He and Katie first moved into the house in November 2001.

Sunland Drive. Fall 2001.

The front bedroom (window seen the photos) was painted a bright royal blue and was Katie's first bedroom in her first home. The excessive amount of stray cats in the neighborhood gave Scott a reason to get Sally, the dog that would later be called "Wonderdog." The giant backyard gave young Scott something to do on the weekends (pour an extended concrete patio, install sprinkler systems and grass, mow, weed, fly kites, catch scorpions with a black light and salad tongs).

In later years, the home allowed Scott the chance to occasionally show off his culinary skills while we were dating. It was a place where I learned to love dogs. It was where I loved to sit in a lawn chair on a Saturday afternoon with a beer in my hand while staring at the giant backyard dreaming that we'd get married someday. It was where I saw my first scorpion.

Sunland Drive. July 2015.

Goodbye house. Thanks for all the memories.

Nine months and giant

"Mom said today was my birthday and that I've been out in the world for NINE months already. Although I don't know any better, I'd say that it's been quite a good nine months. I got a whole bunch of new jammies the other day because all my other ones were getting too short and too tight in the legs. Mom says these are 12-month jammies and that I need to slllllloooooooow down."

Eloise and George: August 18, 2015

"Time really does fly when all you do is eat (sometimes even in the pool), play (I love to play with my Little People farm) and nap (3 times a day, each for about 2 hours)."

"I got my first two teeth this month and while that was kind of annoying at the time, it means that I've been able to start eating some new things all by myself.  Mommy cuts up bananas, avocado, peaches, pears, watermelon and steamed carrots for me to pickup with my fingers and eat. It's fun but sometimes the pieces are so small that I wish she would just feed me with a spoon again. When I fuss at her, she always says 'It's tough growing up kid -- better get used to it'."

"Mom is confused because I still haven't started crawling yet. I prefer to sit and wiggle around. If I'm laying on the ground I will happily roll around to get to what I want although sometimes I get stuck on a toy or the coffee table and then I get upset because I haven't figured out how to get from laying down to sitting up or the other way around. What mom doesn't realize is that I probably could crawl but that would just make her life more difficult so I am doing her a favor and staying immobile as long as possible so she doesn't get gray hair or worse - pull it all out!

"These new teeth in my mouth feel funny but they haven't stopped me from talking, singing and sometimes even crying.  I don't say many words yet but I am trying. The ones I can say the best are 'da-da', 'Ka-dee', 'dog', 'yes' and 'hi.'  I refuse to try to say 'mama' although mom and dad think I probably could say if I wanted to. The way they talk sometimes I think they are expecting me to be as stubborn and strong-willed as my big sister. I haven't decided if they will be right."

A link to Natalie's 9-month update: http://suburbanhayes.blogspot.com/2012/01/9-months.html

Animal(s) to the Vet

While daddy was out of town, Gus was acting a little unsual and mommy suspected an ear infection. So she hauled Gus, and the other two little animals, in to the vet.

Ever taken an 80lb dog and two kids to the vet before?!?  No?  Well this is what it looks like...

Basically, there's a lot of "no, don't touch that" or "please, just chill out and sit still" going on.

But fortunately, there's also a lot of love.

Happy Birthday to Gus!

Our favorite furry friend Gus turned 4 this year and what kind of dogparents would we be if we didn't celebrate his birthday?!?!  So mommy and Eloise made Gus a cake (peanut butter, apple, carrot, flour, egg) and after dinner, we sang to him and then Natalie and daddy helped him blow out the candles.

It was a good day to be Gus.

Wait, it's August already?

Not sure what happened to July, but we woke up this morning and it was already August. So, here's a photographic recap of July. Please note: After our trip to Flagstaff, Katie spent nearly all of July with her mom, hence why there are no photos of Katie.

Natalie helped Daddy put a new faucet in her bathroom and Katie's bathroom.

 Eloise took a ride or two on the Laundry Express.  Choooooooo-chooooooooo!

Natalie graduated from her carseat and is now in a booster. The unanticipated downside to this is that now she is no longer so restrained and can reach Eloise. Mommy now spends a lot of time yelling "KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF" while driving the family taxi.

 Mommy got bangs.

 

Eloise discovered (and fell in love with) her cow rocker, a hand-me-down from our friends. Natalie and Eloise can now rock together.

Natalie re-discovered the 2013 Consumer Reports Buying Guide and has read it cover-to-cover at least 50 times since then. The kid loves this book so much.... she took it to school for Show and Tell.

 Natalie continues to create her own fashion trends...

 Eloise began to enjoy giving mommy and daddy snuggles.

 

Natalie established a Library-system for puzzle check-out with Gramma Judy and rotates her puzzles weekly.

Eloise figured out how fall over from a sitting position and roll around to get things she can't reach.

Natalie helped Daddy fix his truck, although it turned out to be a larger problem than the two of them could solve.

 Eloise started doing this head tilt/body lean thing. It's super funny, especially when she falls over.

Daddy established a new hairdo called, "Whack Daddy Doo."

Eating our way through July

Despite not wanting to hold her own bottle, Eloise is becoming quite the proficient eater. Mommy even let her feed herself with a spoon (and some assistance).

Here's a random collection of photos of her eating during the month of July.

Clenching a handful of yogurt drops... and then she forgets they are in there.

Gus never forgets though. Lucky for us, he is very patient and will wait for just the right opportunity to help her get them out.

Super proud of herself after mommy helped her operate the spoon at lunchtime.

Front row seats for watching daddy make guacamole landed her the opportunity to try a lime

A spare funnel and puffs make for good entertainment.

Hanging out and eating some puffs at Zipps (she heard Grandpa Huxter loves the wings at Zipps and now she can't wait to go on a date with him in September).

Just another day of lunch with mom.