The Latest

What's new with us? It seems like we have lots of crazy things going on right now! Here's an update -

1. We accepted an offer on our house last Wednesday, 3 weeks to the day from listing it. It just took 7 showings (really 6 since one didn't even go in the house), and we got what we felt was a fair offer. After 1 round of counter-offers, we are "under contract"! So, in related news...
2. We now need to find a new house. We hope to find one and close on November 17th, the same day we close on this house to avoid temporary housing. We do have a contender in the Wescott neighborhood of Holly Springs that we are going to see a second time tomorrow. We'll keep you posted on that!
3. The Taurus X started having transmission trouble on our way to Concord last Saturday, so it's in good hands at Hilbish Ford in Kannapolis. Grandma and Grandpa A. were gracious enough to let us borrow their Camry, so we still have a car...and the X is still under warranty, so luckily we will not be paying for a new transmission or any portion of one. Whew!
4. Anna tried cereal for the first time last Thursday, and I think today was the first time she has really swallowed any of it. She is enjoying eating like the rest of us!

5. Anna also has started "crying it out" at night as of this past Sunday...but it hasn't really worked. She keeps ending up on her tummy, the wrong way in her crib, with her face smooshed up against the bumper and is inconsolable because she will not sleep on her tummy. Oh dear. But, she has only been waking up once in the 11:30-12:00 range, then sleeping until about 7am. I definitely don't mind feeding her once at that time...so maybe she will train herself!
6. Erin got a new molar tooth on her bottom right. We couldn't really tell, except I happened to notice it when she was yawning. She has not been any different from her usual state of fussiness!

So, that's a quick recap from here. The girls are doing great, and Bella is hanging in there. Me, I am glad to not be constantly cleaning for showings any more! There is the small task of packing ahead of me though...at least I have a good little cleaning helper. We are ALL looking forward to being reunited with our TV since we are done "staging" the house. Life is good!

4 month stats

Here are the stats for our giant baby:

Weight - 16.5 lbs., 95th percentile
Length - 27", off the charts!
Head - 16", 85th percentile

She is bigger than Erin was at 6 months! We got the go-ahead to start cereal and then other foods gradually, and also to let her cry in the middle of the night. She does not need to be eating every 3-4 hours at night! She has done better the past 2 nights, so hopefully we won't have to do that. But, it is nice to have the option if it comes to that! With Erin, they told me to keep feeding her during the night until 6 months since she was thin. She is doing great and showed off her ticklish side when he examined her. She is just so sweet!

We had another showing yesterday, and somebody is coming back for a second look tomorrow. We went to see 2 houses on Sunday and really liked one of them, but the garage could probably not hold both cars and the mower/tools. That is a big negative for one of us. The yard wasn't super big either, but it was very nice and flat and had a swingset. We are keeping it on the list and will continue searching!

4 months old!

Guess who is 4 months old today?

We can't believe how fast these 4 months have flown by. I, for one, am happy for that because the first few (6, ok...12) months are definitely not my favorite stage. Anna is doing great - eating VERY well, sleeping ok (but a little better this past week, mostly only getting up once in the 12:30-2:30 range), and practicing all her tricks. She can now roll from her back to her tummy, but it is a slow and multi-step process. She's got a lot of weight to overcome! She also likes grabbing things and putting them in her mouth. She goes on Monday for her checkup, so we can't wait to see what she weighs. She loves to watch Erin, and can now turn herself in the exersaucer to look for her. She is generally happy, but is following in her big sister's footsteps in taking 30-minute naps during the day. So, by 3pm or so, she is exhausted and cranky, but Erin outgrew that, so hopefully Anna will soon too.

No thumb (or paci) yet, but we keep hoping! We love her so much, and even Erin is starting to interact with her a little bit....when it is convenient for her.

The House Hunt

So, our house has generated some interest in the 2 weeks that it's been on the market. We've had 4 showings so far, and the last people to visit put us in their top 3! That's great, and now we are starting to think more about where we want to end up. Thus, we have been contemplating The Dilemma of House vs. Location.

We saw a beautiful house on Saturday morning (in Mill Ridge, for those of you who know these parts), but it's further into Fuquay and further away from Bob's work. This particular house was also a little more than we really need/want to maintain/can afford. But it was gorgeous, 5 bedrooms and a bonus room, fancy kitchen, 3 car garage, monstrous master bath, and a huge flat yard. Then, we saw one in Oliver Creek (off Rouse Road, off Cass Holt Road, off Avent Ferry Road, off hwy 55 in Holly Springs) that was a little too far from civilization. It took 5 minutes just to get through the neighborhood. Again, it is further from IBM. But it was a nice house with a big yard, shed, and the neighbors had a great bonfire going at 10am.

Then, we got to thinking that maybe we should consider where we will be living instead of just what we will be living in. And, sure, 0.75 acres is great and quiet and pretty and fun for running around, but who wants to spend extra time mowing and maintaining all that after driving an hour each way to work? Not Bob! And who wants to take care of 2 cranky girls by herself while all this driving and mowing is going on? Not me!

So, we drove through Abbington yesterday after church. I can't find a good website for it, but it's between hwy 64 and Kelly Road in Apex. Yes, the lots are smaller, yes, it has city taxes, and yes, houses are a little more expensive than the same house in Fuquay, but being 5 minutes from church and Beaver Creek and 25 minutes from IBM (even less once 540 comes through in 2 years) sure sounds great.

Maybe we are destined to be city folk after all! Thoughts? Comments? We would love to hear your opinions!

Weekend fun!

We had lots of fun this weekend in Concord. Erin had a great time playing with her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents (and great-grandparents)! We got to see Uncle Chris and Aunt Leslie's beautiful new house and we got to celebrate Uncle Dale's birthday too. Everyone did great! Bella managed to adapt to Grandma and Grandpa's new hardwood floors with the help of a blanket that Grandpa laid out for her.

We also had 2 showings on our house while we were gone, and one yesterday, but no offers yet. One said they don't want to live in a subdivision (so why even look here?!?), one thought our house was cramped (sorry, we are not getting rid of our beds and the couch), and we haven't heard back from yesterday's, but we figure they aren't going to make an offer if they haven't by now. So, we continue. Our realtor said the average is just 10-15 showings now with online listings, so by that logic, we are 20-33% done! We are going to see our 2 favorite houses this weekend just to be prepared if ours does sell :)