Last week Cohen met a little girl named Megan at the park. They played for an hour and then saw each other again at Free School Lunch (the best thing ever by the way). While they were playing he came over and told me, "Her is a little bit older than me and her is a little bit cute." Good to know.
Later that day we were driving in the car, and he had obviously been thinking about her a lot because he kept on talking about the next time he would see her and how much fun he had. . .when out of the blue he exclaims, "Oh man!!!! I forgot to show Megan my muscles!!!!"
So, we are moving. . .aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!! We've been looking at homes for a long time now, and were getting our house ready to put on the market. About a month ago we found a home that we finally felt excited about. It is a Short Sale, and we were not the first offer, but we went ahead and put an offer on it, because with a Short Sale, you can basically back out without any repercussion for any reason at any time until you get into the thick of things I guess, which normally takes a lot of time (the SHORT in Short Sale does NOT refer to the amount of time it takes. . .quite the opposite).
About a week later, we finally had our home ready to put on the market. We signed with some limited representation agency because of my background in 'the biz', but we knew it was important to be on the MLS. Anyhow, after a little mix-up where our home got listed as a 3600 sq ft home with 8 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. . .(see why I think I'm smarter than most Real Estate agents?) the guy finally got it right with all of those numbers being 1/2 of that. . .duh. . .1800 sq ft, 4 beds, 2 baths. We had some pretty good pictures of the house, and I think that was what made our next 5 days pretty successful. We had 7 showings in 5 days, and then an offer!! And at ALMOST our asking price. Nowadays, I would consider ALMOST asking price in 5 days to be just as good as full asking price, right?! So, we signed as fast as we could, and now we're just 2 weeks away from getting kicked out!!! And the Short Sale has. . .well. . .sat wherever it is sitting for 4 more weeks, which makes it 4 weeks closer to coming to somebody's attention, right?! Well, actually some things on that front have progressed, but . . .well, I'll get to that.
So, here are the pictures of our lovely little house. The one where all of our children have learned to walk. . .The one where 2 of them first came home to. . .the one where we have such great neighbors that I want to take them with me. . .so many things about this home we are going to miss. But we really are feeling the pull to be where we are going to stay for a long long long long long long time. . .Nobody's dream-home is a split-level, is it? Well, it's not ours, although this house has been good to us. . .
So, on to a bigger and better home, right? OK, the short sale, the short sale. . .We had a pretty good idea that our offer was higher than that first one, and eventually we knew it. Last week the seller sent that first offer (who was an investor by the way, so don't go feeling bad for them or anything) a letter requesting that they either up the ante, or step aside. Well folks, they stepped aside!! So we are now in first position, with our closing date on this home looming ever nearer!!! It's a good thing my mom and dad live so close. . .yep, now we're really going to be living the dream - moving in with mom and dad!! Whoopeee!!! I keep telling myself 'Just think of the money you could save the longer you stay there. . .' It's a way to look on the bright side, right?! No, really it's going to be great and we're lucky and thankful that we have them so close by so that we're not left in the streets while the bank gets its crap together.
I'll post more details about the new house soon. It's great. We're going to love it.
As crazy as that is, it's true. My little baby is 1 already. This last year has gone by so fast I can hardly believe it! Will has been such a great baby. I don't know how I did it, but all of my babies have been pretty good. I was sure that after Cohen and Evan both being good babies that I was in for it with this one, but he has been just as good, if not better than the other two! (I'm sure it has everything to do with my amazing parenting skills.)
He's already talking a ton. He loves to babble, and is starting to copy a ton of sounds. His first official word was 'clap'. Not mom, not dad, but clap. It is more like caa caa caa, but he does it when he claps his hands so that counts. He also now says mama and dada, and just in the last week has started saying bahh for ball, wuh wuh for woof woof, dah or ahg for dog (he's been saying that one for a few weeks), and rrrrrrrr for roar.
He's doing this fake laughing thing that cracks us up. He'll put on his biggest, cheesiest grin, scrunch up his nose, and throw his head back and laugh. It's so funny!!! Honestly, he is the happiest kid!!!
He's getting close to walking, which makes him the slowest so far on that front. Cohen started walking, I mean real, actual walking, the day after his first birthday. Two days after Evans first birthday he was walking 5-6 feet between us but took a few weeks more to where he was using it to really get around. And now we have 3rd baby syndrome. . .we just haven't spent the time making him do it I guess!! He's getting close though.
So, being born the first few days of April is going to be bad for planning this childs birthday parties for his whole life. Because even if his birthday isn't on the Saturday or Sunday of General Conference, Conference will always be the weekend that you want to have the party!!! His birthday was last Saturday, so to celebrate, we watched conference!!! Super exciting eh?!! Yet another tragedy of being the 3rd child - your parents know that you don't know it's your birthday, and they no longer care to celebrate it for themselves. Cohen wanted to have a Pirate Party for Wills birthday and invite all of his friends because Baby Will doesn't have any, but I said no.
Between sessions I got up the nerve and made the cake. I didn't know when the heck we would eat it because we had plans in between 2nd session and Priesthood session. But I made it in faith that we would find time to eat it. I made it in the Elmo cake pan that I had from Cohens 2nd birthday and figured I'd just frost it with chocolate frosting and make it look like a bear. I asked Melissa to pick up some chocolate frosting on her way, but I failed to tell her that I was trying to make a bear-cake. To her credit, she did call while she was at the store and ask if she could get cream-cheese frosting instead. In the mayhem that generally rules my house, I said 'sure' and so. . .we have a POLAR BEAR cake!!! Ha!
Super fancy eh?! If you sort of cross your eyes and imagine Elmo, you can see that his eyes are where our polar bears ears are. . .see it? Oh yeah.
All I had was this black tube frosting to decorate with, so this is what you get. A Chinese looking polar-bear. Maybe we should have made it into a panda. . .
Happy Birthday little baby!!! We love you so much!
Tonight at dinner, Evan starts singing:
"Follow duh pwahfet, follow duh pwahfet, follow duh pwahfet, (now shaking his finger at me) don't go a-stwaaaaaay"
First of all, I didn't know he could sing that song, so I was totally impressed.
Then Cohen joins in the singing and the way he's saying 'astray' sounds funny, so I ask him "Don't go a-what?"
C - "Don't go a-STRANGE."
Evan pipes up and in a very reprimanding voice says to Cohen, "NO! It's don't go a-STWAIT!"
So, either way you look at it, just follow the prophet.
Cohen turned 5 last week!!! Can you believe it? FIVE!!!!!!! He'll go to kindergarten in the fall, and before you know it he'll be leaving me forever. . .my baby, gone!!! WAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
I had all sorts of grand ideas for this Batman/Superhero party, but Baby Will was super sick last week and wanted to be held every waking moment so most of these grand ideas got simplified and simplified until they were. . .well. . .actually just right. Perfect!
After cake we played games and let the kids just go crazy in the AWESOME Bat-Cave. I think everybody left happy. Success.
This morning I'm getting ready, and Cohen, right out of bed, comes in and says "Mom, I need to tell you something." OK. . . "Will you get me a computer for my bedroom?" What?! I say "No, you're not old enough for that." C - "Ok, will you get me one when I'm 6?" By now I'm just chuckling. . ."No, we have a computer for our family, we don't all get our own. C - "PLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAASE?"
Really? A computer in your bedroom at 5 years old? I don't know where he comes up with this stuff.
And then, later, when we're eating breakfast, I'm talking to the boys about what they will be learning about at PreSchool. They have Show-And-Tell every Tuesday, and every week is a new topic, so the rule now is that you bring something to Show-&-Tell that actually has something to do with the subject rather than the same toy over and over and over, which is what was happening from my house at least! This week they are learning about our Country and Presidents, because it was Presidents Day yesterday. I ask if he knows what country we live in. "Yep, Woods Cross." Well, he's got the idea, but nope, that's not our country. I ask if he's ever heard of the United States of America, or the USA? Nope. Have you heard of Mexico? Nope. I knew he'd heard of China because I have threatened to send him there, and have also warned him not to call there when he's playing on my phone. Anyhow I say, 'But you've heard of China?' Yep! Yay! I haven't taught him NOTHING, right? and he says "I know how they talk in China." How's that? "Oo-ya-ka. And they say Oh-yee-sa-ha."
There you have it. Cohen is bilingual. Isn't TV great for educating your children?!
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| Naked babies in the bath. . .always cute. |
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| Baby Will in December. . .gosh. . .there just aren't very many pictures of baby #3 are there?!!! |
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| Decorating the Christmas Tree. |
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| You want a Christmas Card? Here's your Christmas Card!! |
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| The first snow of this year. It was a big one! |
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| An awesome game called "Ring Around the Nosey"!! Thanks Lauren and Justin!!! |
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| Cute Baby Will - 10 months old |