Tutu from her Godmother Christine

How freakin' cute, right?!

Matt and Yu-Chen

My best friend's older brother, Matt, was one of the reasons we ended up moving to Philadelphia -- he threw a great New Year's party when I was visiting from Seattle and it convinced me of what a great town Philadelphia is -- and we find it interesting that he is now moving cross-country to marry his love at the same time that we are moving out of town as well.  While we didn't see Matt as often as we would like while we were living in the same town, it was always nice to know that I had a Yoder Brother around the area. 

Best of luck, Matt and Yu-Chen on your new life in California!!

House Getting Married

When folks in our neighborhood get married, they decorate their house.  I love this tradition.

House Hunting

Alma hanging out with our real estate agent.  She has been a trouper -- I'm referring to both our agent and Alma.

Canasta!

Looking out the back door

Spray ground love

Grocery store

Bark

Simon is protective of the baby. Especially from the evil postman. Occasional barking helps to alert us that the postman might be in the area.

At the skate park

10SNE1?

Quick Update

Life has gotten busy. Between prepping the house for showings (we've had 7 in 7 days -- hooray and whoa!), researching new homes/living arrangements in the Lehigh Valley, celebrating fun stuff (engagements, birthdays, babies, etc) and our usual shenanigans, I lost my my stride of posting on this blog every other day. Bummer. And it isn't going to get any better. 

So here you go, some photos (taken with my Blackberry) from a recent trip to the spray ground just to tide you over. 

Small footnote: Alma can sit up on her own.  However, with her excitement for water, we worry that she will kick her legs and fall backwards, hence our hand on her back.  Safety first, that's always been my motto ... or not.

Private Blog

Since we are selling the house, I am going to temporarily make this blog private.  Don't fret, we aren't going to stop posting billions of photos of Alma  ... you will just need a password to see those billion photos.  I'll send out an email with the password (or however it works) to folks I know who read this blog.  But for you wonderful lurkers, feel free to post a comment asking to be included.  I'm happy to include anyone I've met in person.  And if you are too shy to ask for the password (honestly, this is the category I fit for reading blog), you will just have to wait a few months until we get settled in our new home, then I'll open up the blog again and you will have access to all the content. 

In other news: Alma is crawling!  Army crawl on her belly but also a crawl that consists of her knees and the top of her head!

Splash splash

Did we mention she likes the bath?

Beautiful South Philly Rowhome

We love this house so very much.  It's sad to think of leaving it.  As the person visiting us said today, "This house is beautiful.  And it has such a great vibe."  How true!

Do you love it too?  Make us an offer and we will give you the keys! 

Seriously, buy our house!

Okay, before we officially list our house, I wanted to offer it up on here again.

We love this house and would continue to live here if Philly had cheaper Montessori schools for Alma. It is in great move-in condition. You can see lots of photos throughout our blog, along with photos of all of the major work we did with my father (a contractor) in May, June, July and August of 2007.

We were thinking of listing the house at $209,000 but if we can avoid real estate fees, we could sell for as low as $194,000.  That is a steal because we want to sell it quickly.  Joshua and I were even teasing that we would leave all of our furniture for you for an extra $1,600.

If this seems like a possibility, I'd love for you to come over and see the house. I'm currently meeting with real estate agents so that we can get the house listed as soon as possible. But if you think this looks too good to pass up, I'll delay a day or two so that you can have first dibs! Contact me throught the comments on this post.

Lehigh Valley, Here We Come!

Exciting news around these parts....

Joshua was officially offered the director position in Allentown at Congregations United for Neighborhood Action (CUNA) and we have decided to accept, sell our house and move up there.

We are thrilled (and a little nervous) about this move! We had been toying with the idea of getting out of the city to be closer to nature and better schools for Alma, then this opportunity came along. We already looked into the Montessori School in Allentown, which is just a few blocks from Joshua's new office, and it seems ideal. For example, they have a Interfaith Chapel for the Primary! This past weekend, we spent a day at Lake Nockamixon, which wouldn't be too far from where we would live, and learned about their sailing fleet and racing club. I was in love. Plus, the proximity to the countryside (lots of trees and grass) was making Joshua drool. We will miss our Philadelphia friends, but we are still close enough to visit often.  It is a tiny bit closer to my parents in Carlisle and an easier drive to Brian and Bridgette's.

CUNA is part of People Improving Communities through Organizing (PICO) which Camden Churches Organized for People (CCOP) is part of too. Therefore, Joshua will be in the same "network" of non-profit faith-based community organizations.

We are nervous about the process of selling our house and buying a new one, so, if you have any suggestions, we are all ears! Moreover, if you know anyone who is interested in a cute South Philly rowhome or know of any great homes for sale in the Lehigh Valley, let us know!  We have a friend who is possibly interested in purchasing our house from us directly and we are super excited about this prospect.  Saving all of that money by not using a real estate agent = yes please!  But we are going to officially list it with the MLS late next week if she decides to bail on the idea.

We will keep you posted as we make more decisions about this move.   But in the meantime, email me soon if you want to see (and then purchase!) our house.  We will make you a great offer!!!

Little Firecracker

Seven Months

Our wonderful little babe is now seven months.  Here's another list of random updates on Alma....

• Starting to roll multiple times in a row, thus moving across the floor. Can also scoot forward and back on her stomach a bit.
• Learned to close her eyes and mouth before going under water. So neat to see how quickly she learned this!
• Doesn't stick out her tongue nearly as often as she used to, although it still seems to be out more than other kiddos her age.
• Two teeth -- both on the bottom in the front
• Gets the giggles around 5 p.m. daily
• Likes trees and pulling out grass
• Gets tired of watching the dog play fetch (didn't think it was possible!)
• Three naps a day (each at least an hour long)
• Still nurses every two hrs along with learning how to eat solid foods

• Loves to swing
• Seems to know her name
• Claps vertically (flaps, really)
• Loves water/pools ... she even got excited when Joshua poured a glass of water yesterday
• Roars like a dinosaur often, especially when excited
• Seems to have stretched out in the last month. Now she can reach the top of her head!
• Likes the book Where Is Baby's Belly Button? and books with photos of babies. She smiles and flaps arms while I read.

She is full of such joy and love. Being her parent is the best!

Happy Fourth of July!

Alma eating sweet potatoes in a Christmas bib.  (She doesn't know any better, right?)

First Bike Ride

Ohmygosh, can anything be more adorable than Alma during her first bike ride?!

My dad and I rode about seven miles along the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail near my parents house.  Alma -- although tired and in need of a nap -- had a great time and the new bike seat was beyond awesome.  I foresee lots of rides in her future!