So much for posting one-a-day until I am caught up....Anyway, October was busy, to say the least. The lease on our current crappy duplex rental was quickly approaching it's deadline. We had decided that although we felt better about continuing to rent, rather than buy, we definitely wanted to get into a better place than the one we were currently living in. So began the painful task of calling on rentals, scheduling visits, looking at places, etc., etc. You can see how "over-it" Sam is by his milk-drunken stupor as he lays on the floor finishing off his last bottle for the night.
So beings the moving. We found a place that we both LOVE! It's a historical home, with what seems to be a LOT more space. Ironically, it only has an additional 100 sq. ft. than our last rental, but feels like 1200 because it is laid out so well. Also, it has lots of windows and built-in's, so there is also a lot of storage space inside the house. It is a historical home on a busy street, but our back yard is fully fenced and the original hard-wood floors were just too charming to pass up. I L-O-V-E it. This is the outside. Maybe one day when everything is nice and clean I will take some pictures of the inside. Until then, isn't this just about the cutest white house with bright blue shutters you have ever seen!?!
This is Sam monkey-walking around on the concrete drive of our old rental while we are loading up the car with boxes. At this time (already 1!) he wasn't able to walk, but loved being outside. Instead of crawling and scuffing his knees, he found this suited his needs quite well.
Elsie refusing to let me pack her "like-new" winter boots. She trotted around in this little number for several days.
Sam on the phone. It seems like he started "talking" on the phone much earlier than Elsie did. Perhaps because Elsie only saw me on the phone, and Sam sees both me and her, and doesn't want to feel left out. At any rate, I love how he shoves that phone right into his chubby little cheek.
Here is Sam grabbing a quick snack and visiting while I pack boxes. Such enthusiasm...
Elsie finishing off her Popsicle while we make trips to and from the car with boxes.
We had officially moved by the time this picture was taken. We visited the Nature Center in Boise. The kids loved it.
Here is Sam in our new backyard. He is enjoying the fall weather while Elsie & I rake up the leaves. Which, by the way, there were a lot of. I had no idea the "joys" mature landscaping could bring to a family.
We did have fun, though. Playing in the leaves and working outside together. Elsie insisted on helping, so I grabbed an old broom and let her sweep up the leaves I missed. It was fun to have her working outside with me.
Oh! Here is a picture from inside our house. This is a small peak into our front room. The window seals are just low enough that Sam can peak outside and watch the traffic go by. He loves looking outside, and will give a hoot and wave to anyone he sees walking by.
Ahhh. This is a fun one. Elsie's cousin was spending the night. After a big, fun day of playing, we gave the kids baths. Sam was first. Once he finished up and was dressed for bed we let Elsie & her cousin get in. I walked into the other room to throw all their clothes in the laundry hamper when Elsie and her cousin start calling for me to please "get Sam out!" I went in to find him like this. He had crawled over the side of the tub (thank goodness the tub wasn't full) and he was playing in the water - fully clothed. I called Tyler in to keep an eye on all of the kids so I could grab the camera. Sam was so happy, and thoroughly disappointed when we pulled him out, dried him off, and quickly put him to bed for the night. Needless to say, we keep an even closer eye on the kids when they are anywhere near the bathroom now. Much too ambitious.
Awe. Here are the Halloween pics. Too long in coming, I know. Sam was a dragon. A very sleepy dragon when I took this picture. His regular 6:30 p.m. bedtime routine just isn't conducive to late-night holidays.
And here is our precious butterfly. I made the skirt, then braided some of the left-over tulle from the skirt into Elsie's hair. Turned out pretty cute for my first home-made Halloween costume. Elsie loves playing dress-up in the skirt with her cousin, who was also a butterfly.
Seeing that I was taking a picture of his predicament, he was able to dig deep into his reserve of strength and balance, lift his awkward mass and make his way toward me so he could see the picture I just took.
After seeing how cute Sam looked, of course our little Elsie wanted her picture taken too.
Here are the little trouble-makers bundled and buckled up. Ready for the big drive, 2 miles up the road. It was VERY exciting.
The light show was pretty impressive. So impressive that I told my sister-in-law she should definitely drag her kids out to see them. Shortly after telling her this, my brother was taking some people around the city of Boise on a helicopter tour of the city's Christmas lights. My brother commented that he needed to get over to the Boise Botanical Gardens and see the lights with his kids. The customer's on the flight told Shaun the Botanical Garden lights were pretty nice, but if he wanted to see some good lights he should take his family to see the lights in Caldwell. And there you have it. Caldwell really is up-and-coming. Here we have Elsie & Dad by a snowman. Elsie kept asking Tyler where the snowman was - expecting to see an actual snowman. Finally Tyler was able to help her understand it was a snowman made out of Christmas lights. She was even more excited when she realized that was even possible!
A friendly citizen took this shot of us. It was a fun night. The kids didn't complain (too much) about the cold, and we had a great time checking out the local city lights. Yes, that is Sam under all those blankets in the stroller. Might be time to invest in some winter gear for that little guy.
