We're Alive (a semi-update)!

Who knew moving required so very much!?  Here we are a month ago at the closing, signing our lives away and SOOOOO ready to be in a house!

Shopping at Costco for the essentials as we prepare to move.  They delivered the washer, dryer and fridge the day we closed so it was nice to have some useful appliances there from the very beginning.

You can see what kind of help we had...I won't go naming names but one of our parental units says they were just "testing" us to see if we'd notice if they put the diaper on wrong...

Nana and Papa came the following weekend right after the painters arrived to help us pack up the rest of the apartment and unload the storage units.  Nana and Phoebe had fun in the basement playing!  Papa shared his expert packing skills and helped us empty out the storage units in no time flat.

I'm awful - it's been a full month since the house has been ours and I've not posted pictures since Halloween.  You'd think I'd have a million to show of the kids, the house, etc.  Lousy, I tell you - but I'll try to make up for it this weekend. I did end up with a horrible case of strep throat the Monday before Thanksgiving so we ended up skipping our trip to Chicago and spent the holiday in our pjs doing a whole lot of nothing.   

Here's a picture of the master bedroom getting set up.  It's painted in "Adobe" something - it's a red/orange.  We got our blinds installed just this past Tuesday so it's nice to not duck every time we get out of the shower or stumble through our room in the dark. 

Phoebe is still attempting to wear her summer clothes as the temperatures continue to drop. 

However, she has enjoyed wearing her winter dresses to church on Sundays!  The problem is now she wants to wear the SAME one every Sunday!  Here she is in the master bathroom pre-installed blinds.

Last Saturday morning we went to the 8:30 Angel Breakfast at church. Perhaps it's a bit too early for us to be out and about on a weekend but we had a good time and it's always a great way to kick off the advent season.

Later that afternoon we had a birthday party to celebrate at the Children's Museum.

Phoebe met up with one of her good friends, Hadley prior to the party so they could run through the museum together.  They had a blast!

Maverick didn't nap prior to the party so Ryan got some quality one-on-one time with him and then took him to the van where he promptly fell asleep. 

We got home just in time to meet YiaYia and Papou at our house so Ryan and I could run up to Valparaiso for the Christmas office party up there.  We didn't get back till 1:30 in the morning and are so grateful my parents pretended to be night owls just for us!

Phoebe's mattress just arrived this past Tuesday so we put together her bed frame and got her to bed just before 9:00.  She told Ryan she wanted the queen blow-up mattress she'd been on the last three weeks and told him he could take the big bed back...  She's adjusted fairly well, we think.

Maverick LOVES tomato sauce - lasagna, spaghetti, pizza, etc.  Only problem is that he gets it EVERYWHERE.  Anyone with tips on how to remove tomato sauce stains from clothes, I'm all ears.  Here's another reason we're so glad to finally have blinds installed.  We felt like the whole world was watching us eat dinner every night.  So happy that's over!  Now we just open them to watch the construction crews working on the next house going up diagonally to our backyard.

Here's the lone picture we have of our house - it's the family room (ignore the random boxes that we just can't seem to make disappear).  I promise to work on pictures this weekend.  We have another birthday party on Saturday but hoping that everyone stays well, we're praying for a more productive weekend.   I'd love to post pictures without totes lining the bedroom walls and without boxes stacked in the hallway, so here's hoping!  We've still got to get our Christmas lights up outside and finish insulating the rest of the garage - I think we'll have our hands full with projects till at least 2014!  Somehow we're going to find a way to slow down and enjoy this precious season before its gone, the house will just have to wait!

Let the Countdown Begin!

I got a package earlier in the week and when I finally opened it, Maverick had a blast playing with it.  Nothing like Styrofoam peanuts to liven a household! 

Phoebe wanted to take a picture for us - not my best side but it does document the nice goose-egg on Maverick's temple that he got this past week.  Seriously, it seems this boy has a perpetual bump on his forehead.

Think she's got the model face down!?  Trying on Daddy's new boots!

Maverick had NOT been sleeping well the past week and when he awoke at 6:15 Saturday morning, he began talking as soon as we made it out into the hallway, which meant Phoebe was up right alongside him.  Here they are watching Phoebe's latest obsession, the "real" Madeline movie (aka the one with people, not the cartoon).

When Ryan STILL wasn't up at 9:15, I decided to bundle the kids up and head to Great Harvest for some breakfast sweets.  I figured since it was right down the street and still fairly early, we'd just go in our pjs.  Phoebe can rock the Hello Kitty pjs, completely coordinated with her pink hat, pink crocs and pink/purple jacket. 

Maverick was a fan of the pumpkin cinnamon roll we brought home until he tasted the frosting (go figure!?) so he switched to a blueberry scone and was much happier!

Later in the afternoon, we were headed to the Harvest Festival at YiaYia and Papou's church so we had to try on our costumes.

This was by far, the largest trunk-or-treat we've ever seen.

Seriously, they were re-stocking cars with bags of candy off the back of this.

This guy was wise to be fearful of Phoebe with a bat!

There were some pretty creative "trunks" but this one beat all the others!  There were kids in the head that sent candy down the trunk into kids' buckets.

It was super windy outside so it felt like winter more than fall.  We took a chance to warm up by going inside.  While the girls took a potty break, Papou and Maverick took to the stairs to burn off the free chips and hotdogs that were consumed.

Then we braved the cold once more so the kids could ride ponies and play in the bounce house.

Maverick took about three seconds before he was sure he wanted to ride a horse or not.

Phoebe behaved like an old pro!

Sunday night, Maverick woke up about 11:00 with a 100.5 fever and proceeded to stay awake till 3 or 4 in the morning.  He'd had a runny nose the day before but it was so cold, we figured it was just due to the weather.  As we dropped Phoebe off at school Monday morning, I stopped by Maverick's class to explain he'd be out, I was told two other kids had been out the week before and another had just called in sick all with the same virus - low-grade fever, runny nose and a cough.  So...he came to the scheduled walk-through at the house with us.  There was a fire burning in the fireplace when we got there.  Hard to believe that THIS is going to be our dwelling place next month!

Playing with my shoes while the guys did the outside stuff.  It was WAY too cold to be out looking at concrete, dirt and siding!  The dishwasher had been delayed but was supposed to be installed today.

This is the view from the family room looking towards the front of the house.  The door to the left goes to the unfinished basement and the door on the right is the garage entry.

This is what will house our home office facing the front door with a coat closet and half bath.

Dining room which is adjacent to the room above and goes into the kitchen.

From the front door, the room immediately on your right has french doors which means it will be the kids' play room since we can simply close the doors if it comes down to it.  I can't tell you how excited we are to not have TOYS in every nook and cranny!  Really, who are we kidding?  We're only going to have them MORE spread out than in the apartment!  Ha!

Maverick checking out the stone steps they were installing.

A view of our bedroom from the master bath.  That door goes to Ryan's closet.

This is the room I think I may be MOST excited about.  It was called "Hobby/Laundry Room" on the floorplan and I think that's exactly what it'll be. 

Maverick fell asleep on my lap at the house (which NEVER happens) and didn't nap well between the walk-through and the appointment with the blinds people so we headed to the pediatrician's office just in case - we figured since he hadn't been sleeping well prior to the fever that maybe he had an ear infection, too.  No such luck, just the virus.  Ryan ran to pick up Phoebe while I waited at the doctor's office.  Once he got disrobed and fought the pulse-ox test, he promptly feel asleep while waiting for the doc to show up.  Poor guy was just tuckered out.  We spent today home as well and other than a low fever when he first woke up, he's been free and clear all day long, without any ibuprofen.  He even managed to take an almost 3-hour nap on my lap.  Luckily I was prepared with my Kindle and iPhone to keep me company. 

Merida and the Cowboy will be making another appearance tomorrow for another Trunk-or-Treat at school, followed by a Halloween party in the afternoon.  Not sure we'll make it to the new neighborhood or not but Phoebe's never experienced traditional trick-or-treating so we may make a few stops just so she can say she did it.  The good Lord knows we don't need any more candy around here after last weekend!

Lots of Pretty

Not a whole lot going on with the Wallis family this week - except doing whatever we can to avoid packing up what we've managed to accumulate in the last year!  We're getting anxious as things fall into place - about everything EXCEPT moving!

Last Thursday on the way home, Ryan suggested we stop by the house to see what they'd been working on that day.  By the time we left, it was 7:00 so we stopped at a little Mexican restaurant a block away for what we were hoping would be a quick dinner.  Let's just say this place isn't as efficient as other traditional Mexican restaurants we've been to - that and Maverick seems to have an aversion to them and is about as unruly and impatient as he can be whenever we eat at one.  Luckily, we had a nice gentleman and his kid sitting in the booth behind us that Maverick found to be quite entertaining.  When they got up to leave he said to Maverick, "Good-bye pretty girl!"  We about fell on the floor - how do you mistake an 18 month old in stripes and cargo pants as a girl!?  Could it have anything to do with these, perhaps?  Don't get me wrong, looking at this picture, I can readily admit he was past due for his first haircut but relinquishing these curls was hard for this mama!

Regardless, we headed to Cookie Cutters on Saturday for a much needed trim! 

And it was all fun and games till the cape went on - then it pretty much went downhill.  The poor stylist did the best she could and got a good inch or two off most of his head.

He was ready to get back to the slide so we weren't able to capture a good "after" shot.

He's definitely looking like our big boy these days and no longer a baby.

This one was a goofball Sunday night.  We got to skype with Nana and Papa during dinner.  Phoebe inhaled her grilled cheese sandwich and huge glass of milk and then put on a show and went a little wild and crazy before bedtime for Nana and Papa.  We're pretty sure the fast eating and large quantity of milk she consumed followed by some roughhousing with her little brother caused her to wake up at quarter til 10 covered in puke.  She did a few Hidden Pictures with Daddy while I changed out her bedding and started laundry and proceeded to sleep fine the rest of the night.  We all got a lovely stomach bug right after we moved into this apartment and I'd like to say that's the only one we've experienced here...praying those words stay true!

While we were out on Saturday I purchased a pair of boots and therefore needed to obtain my first (and probably only) pair of skinny jeans.  It was not my favorite part of the weekend, but Phoebe had fun trying them on and kept the mood light when there otherwise may have been tears!

It's hard to believe that in a week, we'll be doing a final walk-thru on our house and in two weeks, we'll be sitting at a table, signing our lives away!  Here's a sneak peak of what we saw on Thursday.  Lighting is in.  Floors are in and so are some of the appliances!  Can't wait to see what they do next!