We have the keys!

With keys in hand, we are now homeowners! We closed on the house this morning by going to the title company and pinky-promising that we'll pay back the $161,000 we're borrowing. After signing on about 400 dotted lines, we left the building just waiting to hear that the money from the lender had arrived at the title company. This afternoon our realtor showed up at Justin's office with keys in hand! Now we just have to change the locks, install fire detectors and a garage door opener, clean the gutters, add insulation to the attic, spray for spiders, etc....and move in! It looks like we have a full but thankful week ahead of us!

All smiles

Parker is growing so fast that we're having a hard time capturing all of his stages. I have a hard time remembering Madeleine going through each of these. By far, his desire to smile and respond to our smiles is my favorite stage to date (besides sleeping longer chunks at night!).

Sing it Bing!

"I'll be home for Christmas..."

The word "home" is taking on so many different meanings right now but in this case "home" means Virginia and Pennsylvania. It is official: we are flying back East for the holidays. Justin requested his vacation last week so we took a big gulp of air and bought tickets tonight. Of course we missed out on some of the best prices by waiting so long but we honestly didn't know if we could afford to make the trip. We still don't know for certain how it will all work out but we couldn't pass up this chance to see family and friends.

While family will always draw us back for visits, the prospect of seeing our best friends (and a few new babies) who will also be in town was irresistible. So here we come Areys, Clines, Johnsons, Whalens, Tippens, and Gabels! And if there's anyone else out there who wants their Christmas wish of seeing the Clines to come true, let me know because we're starting to schedule our time as I speak. The last time we went back East was Christmas two years ago and it will probably be another two before we come again. My hope will be that everyone will want to fly and stay in our NEW house next year!

Birthday bliss

I know I never got around to posting anything new regarding Parker's 1-month birthday. Sorry...things have been a little busy around here :)

He had his checkup yesterday and we found out he's 23 inches long (97%), 11lbs. (75%), and 38l5cm head circumference (50%). So far, he has matched Madeleine's growth curve so my fears about Parker taking after me seem unfounded. He is an incredibly smiley baby who now loves to coo. I'm loving this! I also love that he's now sleeping a 5 hour chunk at night; if only I went to bed when he does! We're working on our scheduling.

As for me (today is my 29th birthday), I will spare you my latest measurements and instead invite you to celebrate the fact that we'll be closing on our house in less than a week from today! Life is good, even if it is crazy!

Breaking Up

Goodbye Nathan; hello Bryon! In case you don't remember, Nathan was my new best friend who was leading me through the loan application process. Well, Nathan and I parted ways today when I found out we weren't approved for our loan through Navy Federal Credit Union. The only hang up was that Justin's on a one year probation with his new job; the underwriters didn't like that. Well hello Mr. Underwriter: all federal employees have a one year probation period! Nevertheless, with the clock ticking, we contacted a mortgage broker here in town we had spoken with a few months ago and he was more than willing to work with us. NFCU dragged out the pre-approval process for two weeks; my new friend Bryon got it done in 3 hours! So we are all set to move forward with closing on the 24th of this month. I'm frustrated that I spent so much time on the phone ignoring the kids to only be rejected but I'm relieved that we're not completely screwed. Things are starting to look better (except we're going to have to start packing soon...grrr).

Meanwhile, I've been tickled watching Madeleine adjust to being a big sister. Seeing as I am an only child, I had no idea as to how one makes a transition like that, but she's been a champ! She loves it when I bring Parker into her room when she wakes up. She always wants to hang out with him in her crib and on the changing table. If he's crying while I'm trying to put her down for a nap, she wants to go and make sure he's okay (I'm trying to help her realize that it's okay for him to cry sometimes though). I love seeing her express genuine affection. I know the day will probably come when she intentionally whacks him on the head with a toy but for now I'm basking in the delight of her gentle kisses, hugs, and touches.

Madeleine and Parker also soak in serious Daddy time when Justin gets home from work. As you can see, they love their dad! More tomorrow on Parker's one-month birthday!!!

My so-called life

Madeleine's currently in her crib crying. She fell asleep in my arms while rocking in a chair before nap time...not usually a good thing because she wakes up as soon as I try to lay her down. She's been in there for 20 minutes now.

Parker's been asleep in the bouncer for about 30 minutes but he's now squeaking. He needs to go back to sleep.

I'm sitting here with a miserable cold. I think I've already passed it on to the kids. We're all sneezing, coughing, etc. In my "free time" (when they're both supposed to be sleeping), I've had to work on all of the paperwork that comes with buying a house. I now have a best friend in Pensacola, FL named Nathan. He's processing our mortgage application. For a little light reading I have the home inspection report to go through and then discuss with our realtor. Nothing HUGE was found but some smaller things (like more insulation being needed) will have to be done pretty quickly. I took a video while visiting the house yesterday but I haven't watched it yet to see how sea-sick I'll make you feel. Maybe I'll get to that later.

Everyone keeps telling me to nap when the kids nap. Have none of these people tried to live with two kids before? They NEVER nap at the same time and considering the other things going on in our life, I don't have that luxury anyway because I have to complete all of the home-buying details according to East Coast time. Besides, napping is for sissies. (I must tell myself this to justify the circles under my eyes and increased number of gray hairs; no offense to those of you who get to enjoy that pleasure.)

I didn't get to post much on JoAnn's visit. She came right as we began the housing adventure. It was really nice to have the extra set of hands around. We tried to do some fun things but it's virtually impossible to get out of the house in less than an hour. As soon as I get Parker fed and changed, Madeleine goes "poo-poo" then wants a snack, Parker barfs on me, I change clothes, Madeleine spills water everywhere, the cat pukes (I kid you not...she's been doing this a lot more since Parker's been born), blah, blah, blah. But here are some pictures from her time here.

Three weeks

Life has not gotten any less chaotic since Parker's birth. This home buying process is quite involved. Nevertheless, I didn't want Parker's milestone to go unrecorded so here are some photos celebrating his ever-growing personality.

First comes love, then comes marriage...

Then comes graduate school, two babies, a new job, and finally a house! The sellers signed the paperwork and faxed it to our realtor just before 5pm tonight. Click here to see the house. We have a closing date of November 24th so we'll be moving quickly from here on out. Please pray for us as we move forward with financing, home inspection, etc. We'll be happy to open our doors to the official Cline B&B just in time for the holidays!