Our New Home!

Luke and I bought a house today! Our offer was accepted at the end of August, so we've kind of "had it" for over a month now! I'll admit, when we first realized our offer beat the others for the house, we were really surprised we got it and were doubting our decision. We kept feeling like maybe there was something better out there for us. But I've continued to look over the past month and still have not seen anything else that would fit us better- so that's good!

I think we kind of got the house at the perfect time because it's coming to the end of our contract with our apartment, so we won't have any early termination fees or anything. And it's towards the end of the year but before the deadline- so we qualify for the $8000 stimulus! Actually that was our real motivation to really buy a home, but now I'm really excited to have a real house!

So this morning, we did one more walk through of the house. We had thought it would be empty and we wanted to make sure it was all still in good condition, but they hadn't moved out yet. But it was ok, they are actually a very nice couple with a 2 year old and 3 month old. It was a nice opportunity for them to answer all our questions and they gave us all kinds of info on the house which was helpful.

We found out though that the house they were planning on buying didn't go through, and they found something else last minute but wouldn't be able to close for another 2 weeks and were planning on staying in a hotel. And I felt so bad because we weren't planning on moving into the house for another month! So we agreed to have them pay us a portion of our mortgage for the 15 extra days, so that worked out well for both of us actually. Oh, and they were so grateful they said we will get us a free meal at their moraccan restuarant he owns! It sounds really interesting, and I love free food!

The only downside was that I was somewhat looking forward to having a month to make the move in. I figured the transition would be a little easier, I could move a few boxes and things over every few days, and I could paint the bedrooms and get things ready! And I still will have about 2 weeks to do that now, so it will be fine, just a little more condensed time. It's probably better that way anyway so we don't have to leave the house alone for so long. The main reason we are waiting is because Luke also started busy season today and will be through October. And our apartment contract ends in November, so it just made sense to wait to move until the first weekend in November. It just makes everything simpler, as long as I can handle the wait!

So anyway, here's what everyone really cares about- pictures of the house! (Just note this is how the house has looked before we move in)

close up of house

right side of front yard, very private with bushes

left side of front yard

stairs to front door- check out all the plants!

front entrance and closet

front living room- i love the big windows

wall diving living room and kitchen

view of kitchen from stairs

kitchen

comes with all kitchen appliances!

dining area in kitchen- excited about the tile and not carpet!

stairs

stairs from kitchen to family room

family room

family room

family room, has door to backyard

family room view of kitchen

master bedroom

master bedroom and closet

love the closet organizers in our room

master bathroom... not exactly everything I hoped for, but it will do :)

two bedrooms across from our room

this one on the left will be Jacob's room

closet organizers in Jacob's room

3rd bedroom upstairs- we'll use as a guest room for awhile

hall bathroom upstairs

stairs leading to basement

finished basement, will be used for office, play room, or a 4th bedroom later on

basement bathroom

laundry room in basement, the 10% of unfinished basement

crawlspace in basement closet- narrow but long

garage, lots of shelving

back of house

shed

cement patio in backyard

spacious backyard

backyard

cherry and peach trees in the backyard!

backs up to open space, including walking trails and a stream! we love the privacy and that we won't have neighbors behind us!

lots of garden areas and plants already! We're most excited about the rhubarb plant!

fenced side of house- supposed to be for a boat or something. I don't know what we'll do with it yet- but I have to think of something before Luke buys a pig pit to put there!

So that's our house! I also realized that we are planning on moving in on Nov 7 and on that day last year we had our ultrasound and found out we were having a boy! It's crazy to think how much can happen in just one year, and so far 2009 has turned out to be an amazing year! :)

Half a Year Old!

I knew summer would fly by! Jacob's already 6 months, but I'm actually glad to see him growing up a little bit! I know people are usually supposed to get sad when their babies grow up so fast but these past 2 months he has grown and changed so much it's been exciting! It's fun to see him do something new practically every day it seems, and I love that he can do so much more now! I know someday I'll probably look back and wonder why I wanted him to grow up faster, but for now I love watching him grow and learn new tricks!


At about 5 months he learned to roll over from his back to his belly, so now he can roll over both ways! At first I was a little nervous because this means he rolls all over the house and gets himself into places he shouldn't, but it kind of cute just watching him go!

When Jacob was about 5 1/2 months he learned to sit up by himself with his hands propping him! For some reason I'm really excited about this one, I can't wait until he can fully support himself sitting, it just seems it will make some things a little easier!

Here's Jacob sitting up again at his first Redskins experience 8/28, and looking so handsome!

And after a couple months of teething Jacob's first teeth cut through when he was 5 1/2 months- unfortunately I don't remember the day! But here is the most updated picture of his little biters.

Jacob has also gotten lots of new little toys and things. Well not a lot- there's soo many more things I would love to get him if I wasn't trying to be so careful with our money...

I got him these little books at the dollar section at Target and he loves to lay down and "read"!

My latest splurge was on this exersaucer. I actually had been waiting to get it for months and finally did. I think Luke and I were more excited for it because it meant we finally had another place to set him down and more toys to play with. He seems to enjoy it! He doesn't quite bounce or jump in it yet though, hopefully soon he'll learn how much fun that can be!

The best thing I did though was hit up another church yard sale- I love those! Church ones are the best because they always have such a large selection. And I was really bummed because my friend referred me to these huge childrens sales they have here in Denver, but they're only twice a year, and I forgot the date and missed it! But when I saw signs for this yard sale, I was hoping I'd at least find something, so I went and found exactly what I was looking for!

I got Jacob a temporary seat so that he can sit at the table and eat his babyfood, which he is just starting. And it was only 50 cents!! I actually like it more than I thought I would, so maybe I'll use it for longer than I planned.
Then I found him a little play mat with jungle toys and makes music and animal sounds- very cute, in good condition, and only $5!

And then I got Jacob another little animal sounds toy that he's still a little too young to play with, but it makes music so he likes it- and only $3!

And I was also hoping to find a helmet so that I can make a turtle shell out of it for his halloween costume. Well I found one for $2 so I figured I will at least try to paint it and we'll see if it turns out!

So the yard sale shopping was a success! Stuff like that always makes my day. And since Jacob is growing quickly out of his clothes I also went to Kohls and got Jacob 2 shirts and pants for $13- I love Kohls sales too!

And I've tried video taping Jacob playing lately, because he will spit and razz and laugh at himself and make soo much noise! But the camera still amazes him to the point that he will stop whatever he's doing, so I can never quite capture his cute noisy moments. But here a few pictures where you can tell he's being loud and silly- reminds me of Luke!

So here's Jacob the morning he turned 6 months old!

I love how cute he looks when he's done with his bath :)

He looks so long here! He's almost too long for the changing table, I'll just have to move his wipes off so he can fit!
So when he went to the doctor for his 6 month checkup they said he was:

15 lbs, 11 oz (about 45th percentile or something) - I actually thought he weighed more, but oh well.

27 inches long (about 75th percentile)- which dropped from 4 months when he was in the 90th!and his head, which no one really cares about, was 43 cm- (about 50th percentile).

Soo for his age he's kind of a tall but lean baby. He's not very chubby, which is ok with me, because he's still squishy- or fleshy as my sister would say, haha.

And the doctor said he can start eating baby food, so that's another exciting change! He had been eating rice cereal almost every night- sometimes we get too lazy, or forget, or sometimes he'll go to sleep early and we still haven't had the chance to feed him "dinner". I like to feed him at night though so that Luke has a chance to feed him every now and then.

So his first babyfood was Sunday and we gave him carrots, and this time I mixed it in with the rice cereal. I was thinking he wouldn't really go for it, but he did really well! I guess you wouldn't be able to tell by the picture, but the new taste didn't bother him and he ate it all up!

Anyway, I'll have to be better about posting when new things happen, it seems like now that he's getting older, he just changes so much every day! But it's been exciting and we've been having so much fun!

Labor Day weekend

We had been planning for months to go camping on Labor Day weekend and were looking forward to a little break. We had all been a little sick before the trip- Luke had just recovered from his bronchitis, and Jacob and I had really bad flu/colds which were still lingering. But we decided to go camping anyway since we never seem to get out and do anything fun anymore.
We went with our good friends Kim and Steve and his son Mykie- they moved out of our ward in April so it was fun to get back together with them, and another couple in our ward James and Christina and their one year old Hailey.

So we made the drive into the mountains to Kenosha Pass, luckily it was only a little less than an hour away. We got there way after dark on Friday- we were a little later than planned, but we set up camp, and then sat around the fire with everyone the first night. We had a good time, but I was not feeling so great around the smoky campfire and then sleeping in our freeeezing tent and up being up sick all that night.
But Saturday we woke up and made a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast. Then we all went on a little walk up the Colorado Trail.



The trees were really pretty and we had a couple views, but Luke and I turned around before we got to the top of the hill. We didn't realize we were only about 100 yards or so from the top, but we were tired-(ok, I was tired!) and I was still not feeling great so we turned around and went back to camp for lunch.

My parents got us this grilled cheese maker thing for Christmas so we finally got to try it out!

And it was good!

Jacob all bundled up watching the campfire.

So we stayed and made dinner for everyone that night since it was our night- we made tacos in a bag! And we had a good time again, but the clouds started coming and it finally started sprinking so we decided to end the trip early and Luke and I packed up and left once it got dark. I was too sick to stay another night and it ended up raining that night and on and off the next day so I was glad to get home. And I was even more grateful we left because as we drove out of the mountains coming home my ears hurt soo bad! They like exploded with pain- it was awful! So I went to urgent care Monday and found out I had an ear infection along with my flu/cold. A few days later I took Jacob in and thank goodness he didn't have an ear infection, but was finally starting to get over his cold too.

So after the long doctors trip on Monday, we decided to go to Chick-fil-A since they were having a special for Labor Day- if you wear your favorite sports logo you got a free chicken sandwich! And we're cheap, so we went and represented DC!

Washington Wizards

Washington Redskins

And even Jacob got a sandwich for wearing a Washington Nationals baseball outfit!

Luke ate Jacob's sandwich by the way- don't worry. And I got some anti-biodics and started feeling better the next day and Jacob quickly got better too. So it may not have been the Labor Day we planned to have, but we had a good time just spending time together! :)

Now we're just looking forward to the next break- Thanksgiving!