The Move

Due to the chaos, we didn't take many photos of the move.  But I just had to share this one that really shows how much Alma loved rooting through our boxes and pulling everything out for us.  Thanks baby! 

And while we are at it, here's our last photo in front of our last house.  I love this photo and know that I will always look back on it -- and that house -- very fondly.

Happy 5/6 Birthday, Alma! (10 months to the non-nerds)

This past month has been a roller coaster -- super exciting, magical moments to extra sad goodbyes and feelings of being lonely in a new town.  We are so happy to now be in our new house, (mostly) unpacked and off the roller coaster ride.

Alma has had a rough month as well.  Not sleeping as well.  An incredible tummy ache that came from gorging herself on veggies.  A long stretch of time where our houses were messes with packing or unpacking and we spent entire days chasing Alma around to get her to take the newest item we accidentally left around out of her mouth.  Lots of riding in the car -- down to North Carolina and back, daily trips to the home improvement store and more traffic jams than normal -- which isn't always her favorite.  But, as always, she has been a champ and has kept us laughing during all of the stress that comes with moving.

Alma updates:

* If I let her, Alma would happily overdose on strawberries. Getting them in the shopping cart without her screaming for one is a challenge.  In general, she still will not eat mushy foods besides a yogurt/baby oatmeal mixture.  And even then, she refuses to let us put the spoon in her mouth; she does it herself.  Can you say "independent child"?!  Sure, a good portion of it ends up in her hair, but she gets most of it in her mouth so we cannot complain. 

* Alma can say or imitate bye, g'night, dada and barking like a dog. She says mmm for milk.

* The little bit of hair at the back of her head is so soft and I cannot help but to twist the tiny thin curls around my fingers.  This drives her a little crazy.  Welcome to being a girl, Alma!  Ha ha ha.

* Alma's crinkle nose smile is too much. And the raspberries that she blows back at people are equally as charming.

* Before we left Philly, we were taking a trip or two to the zoo each week to see the animals together.  I love watching her watch the animals.  She especially seemed interested in the penguins and the smaller monkeys.  Can't wait until she can tell me what she thinks of them.

* Alma is turning into a serious thumb-sucker.  She has started to give up her pacifier and use her thumb as a comfort for falling asleep and when she is in front of strangers and feeling anxious.  Her index finger is even starting to make its way up and over her nose like I did as a child ... until I was in 4th grade.  Here's to hoping that it is only a temporary habit!
* One of Alma's hats always falls in her eyes when she is riding in the stroller so she has taken to always keeping a hand on it.  It looks like she is tipping her hat to everyone we pass.  Cherrio, chap!

The brightest moment in this month and in this move was our first night in our new house when we let Alma crawl around in the rain on the open part of the front porch.  It was great to see her joy as we started to decompress and begin to realize how many great memories we are going to make in this house.  Alma, as always, was our little instructor as she demonstrated how to be present in the moment and enjoy nature.  Thanks baby girl!

SOLD! (or sale pending ... whatever)/Shanti the cat

We sold our house this week!  Not only that, but we got a fair price that allows us to purchase the house that we like in Bethlehem.  Hooray! 

When we listed the house on the market, we included the piano with the sale of the house (or we said that we would get rid of it ourselves if they didn't want it).  This buyer wants to keep the piano, which makes me kind of happy that the piano will continue to live here.  Even though I didn't play it that much, it was a comfort thing to have around and I will miss it.

Actually, I think it ended up being a major selling-point, which is awesome. The piano and the cat -- those are the things she said she liked about the house. I keep thinking, "... and the house itself?" Oh well, she is buying the house so I'm happy with that!

I'm tempted to leave the cat here.  Shanti, while cute and soft (major pluses in my book), hasn't always been the best cat to us.  Let's take a trip down memory lane to see all the damage she has caused:

• Flooding the kitchen == new cabinet doors ~$500
• Whenever she has the opportunity, she has been opening the baby's bedroom door at 5:30am, going inside and meowing loudly until the baby wakes up == lots of lost sleep
• Peeing in the upstairs hallway because she didn't seem to like all the cleaning we have been doing for house showings -- the whole house smelled like cat urine because she started using the hallway as a bathroom more than once a day (I know, yuck!) == pull up the carpet in the hallway, finish the wood floors by hand, redo the baseboard trim, purchase a rug to cover up the sub-par work we did on the floors == lots of time (in the midst of everything else going on) and ~$100
• Ripping up the beautiful wallpaper we installed on the closet in our bedroom, just a week after we put it up == two years of living with ripped wallpaper and ~$50 to fix it (below is Alma's cousin Hayden posing with the ripped wallpaper; Hayden helped us remove some of it -- such a good worker!)

Anyway, we are fond of her and just hopeful that our next house won't crumble under her impact.

We close on both houses on September 30th.  Now we just have to deal with Joshua commuting for the next month while we also pack the house.  Let's just say that I'm tempted to start peeing on the rug these days in frustration at this move.  And it isn't like we have hit many snags.  I'm just done with the process and ready to be in our new place.

Update: The Move to the Lehigh Valley

Lots of people have been asking us how the move to the Lehigh Valley is going. Well, from my perspective, it is at a stand-still.  Here is the current state of things:

• We found and are under contract with a great house in Bethlehem.  The sale is contingent upon the sale of our own house.
• We have someone who has looked at our house three times and is interested in putting down an offer (or so says our agent) but no word yet.
• Joshua's last day of work at CCOP is this Saturday -- a BBQ to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the organization.
• Joshua's first day of work at CUNA is next Wednesday.
• We are not looking forward to his daily commute up to Allentown and how that will mean that he won't see Alma most days.  I think that Alma and I may go up there once a week so that we can have some time together.  Plus, I hear that Alma's skills as a receptionist are top-notch.
• We are appreciating South Philly in a new way.  Even the parts that we don't like seem charming these days, mostly because we know that we won't have to deal with them any more.  For example, yesterday at the park we saw a fight between two women.  Mid-fight, one lady pulled the other lady's tube top down and the local boys started chanting "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"  We will miss this wacko place that we have called home. 
• We are excited to start a new adventure!  I'm especially excited to get to all the projects I've been putting off since we are showing this house (quilts! toys for Alma! dress-making!) and digging into a new house (a library! a craft room! painting walls! a yard for plants!).

We are hoping to have a grand closing day where we sell our house and purchase the new one.  Hopefully this will happen soon -- September 30th?  Then Joshua will only have to commute for one month and we have a vacation mid-month to break up the pressure.

Offer on a House

We put a bid on this house.  We are hopeful that once we sell our house, this one will be ours!

Life

Somehow this picture seems to sum up life right now: the color is a little off, we aren't quite on the play mat and we aren't playing with our usual toys.  While we keep the house spotless for showings, watch as the days quickly advance towards Joshua's start date at his new job and worry about how the future is going to pan out, it makes me feel off-centered and in limbo.  Transitions aren't the easiest.  But we know we will make it through ... eyes on the prize, right?!

House Hunting

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