Another Week (and a half) Gone By

My big girl! 10 months old!

I really don't know where the time goes. I had planned to post Emma's Winnie the Pooh pic at the beginning of last week and somehow it is now Wednesday the following week! We've been filling our days to the brim I suppose, leaving me too pooped to post.

Last Monday, our movers came to deliver our worldly possessions. We were very happy to have them, especially our bed. (Air mattresses are for the birds!) We thought we had a great plan to have them unload all the boxes into our dining room and just put furniture into place. The plan was to remove wall paper and paint before we cluttered the rooms with everything else. What a great plan! Okay, maybe not! Our dining room was stacked with boxes almost to the ceiling on all sides. We did have the dining room table in place, but that left little room for unpacking ... oops! Then the wallpaper ... have you ever stripped wallpaper? I didn't really want to use chemical peelers and was afraid of using a steamer on dry wall. I'd heard a great way to remove this delightful wall covering was by spraying fabric softener over the surface after using a paper tiger to put a million little holes in the paper. Yeah ... it's a great way to do it if you want to get a headache from the fresh scent and peel it off really slowly in tiny strips. After removing a 4 x 4 section, I threw in the fabric-softener-towel and bought a steamer. I did have one little accident which left two small areas of drywall without drywall paper, but the steamer worked much better once I got the hang of it. It really wasn't my fault anyway. I think the wall had been patched and prepped improperly. So I've now stripped one room of wallpaper and only have 10 to go. Luckily, half of them only have a border. Then I get to paint them, plus all the hallways, wood trim, the rest of the basement and the one room that had peelable wallpaper, which was acutally really fun to peel off and only took 20 minutes. (Why would anyone want to use anything else?) At this rate, it will only take 10 more weeks to get the house ready to put everything away! Maybe, some of the wallpaper isn't so bad after all!

Not the best view, but this is the new color of the playroom and the cute new kid-sized ottoman I bought for Emma. The room's not done yet, but the hard part is. The rest will be fun!

While not painting or stripping wall paper, we were spending time with friends and family. Thursday, Keith, Stacey and their kids - Hayden and Mia - came from Boston to have lunch with us and see our new house. It was really the last time we will be able to hang out for a long time. We will see them at graduation, but that's not exactly a hang-out kind of event. They'll be heading to DC after graduation. It's been 7 years since we met them in CA and have moved together ever since. It was nice (slightly bittersweet) to have them here, but did we take one picture of all 3 kids togther? Of course not!

Saturday, we went to Granville, MA for a surprise 50th birthday party for Jeremy's Uncle Glen. It was the first time most of the Leghorn's had met Emma. They were all happy to see her and she thrived on the attention. Napping was apparently not on her agenda that day. She slept well on the 3 hour drive, but was awake from about 11 am to 4:30. Surprisingly, the excitement of the party kept her energizied and amused. Finally, at 4:30, I decided we needed to get her in the car and make the 45 minute drive to Hartford where we were staying for the night. If she didn't get some sleep, she would have a meltdown at bedtime. She was asleep within about 2 minutes of pulling away from Tom and Claire's house. We stayed in Hartford until Sunday afternoon before making the 3 hour drive back.

Emma enjoying some time with Uncle Brendan.

Monday was spent painting and visiting with our new neighbors. We were invited for a Memorial Day picnic next door. They have a 9 year old boy and a 5 year old girl who are both very interested in Emma. They are often asking if she can come play. Emma seems to enjoy the attention from the big kids. We had a nice time meeting their extended family members and getting to know our new neighbors.

Yesterday, we'd planned a big trip to Home Depot ... are you surprised?? They were having Military Appreciation Days offering 10% off with a military ID. We have quite a list of things to purchase so we planned to take advantage of their sale. Best laid plans though ... Jeremy threw his back out instead. While Emma slept and I finished painting, I heard Jeremy calling for me from the basement. I ran down thinking I'd find him under the giant desk I was afriad he was going to try to move. I found him laying flat on his back with his knees in the air. I helped him and he spent the rest of the day in bed. Somehow, in between brining him ice for his back and taking care of Emma, I managed to finish the playroom. He is feeling better today and although he still can't do much, we did make it to Home Depot today in time to get our 10% discount.

A few of the projects I've completed while not being a diligent blogger - I installed a few racks to organize Emma's jars of food. I also installed this broom older and wire shelf in the laundry room. I'm getting very good with a drill! I love it!

SO ... I'm exhausted! I feel the need to be productive, but my body has other ideas. This weekend, we're headed to Boston again for Todd's daughter's 4th birthday party. I think it will be very odd to be at our old house without actually being in our house. Next Friday is Jeremy's graduation and on the 13th we head to Hilton Head for a much needed vacation with my family! Thank goodness Jeremy isn't going back to work for awhile or we'd never get anything done! It's good to be busy though ... right?

PS Keep scrolling. There's another new post below this one.

More Pictures of Emma

The post I just wrote updating everyone about my lack of posting in the last 10 days was a bit light on the pictures of Emma. So without being too wordy, here a few new pictures of Emma.

Although she tried very hard, Emma has found something she can't quite lift with her feet.

Standing up in our hotel room to reach for her favorite toy - Daddy's Red Sox hat.

Hmmm ... Honey dew! She had her first taste at brunch on Sunday. She had two slices, but after a few bites, they both ended up on the floor. Oh well.

Another Winnie-the-Pooh 10 month shot comparison shot - I can't believe she's almost as big as Pooh!

She is really working on crawling - not quite up on her hands and knees, but a definite army crawl. Until she perfects her crawl, her rolling is getting better and better. She now rolls under things and gets herself into positions like this!

Still have lots of painting and home improvement to do, but in the midst of it all, I'll keep taking pictures and try to keep everyone updated on some of Emma's new tricks!

Mother's Day, Moving Day(s) -Part 2 and a Few Things In Between

We moved! And look what we found in one of our boxes!

So I realize I've been neglectful. It's been 2 weeks without a blog post. Please forgive me. Things have been a little nutty in the Leghorn household! Lots has been happening. I just haven't been able to get a post in. In the last two weeks, we've been in Pittsburgh for a visit and making trips between Boston and New Hampshire to finish the moving process. Oh and I celebrated my first Mother's Day with Emma, my mom, my dad, Andrew, Jen and Jen's mom. Of course, we missed Jeremy and his family, but Jeremy made it special nonetheless by sneaking a Starbucks card and a letter from Emma into my suitcase before I'd left for Pittsburgh.

Anyway, the move went well. We are all adjusting to life away from the city. The house is a mess though so most of our time is spent trying to unpack boxes, figure out what project to tackle next and making trips to Home Depot! So, since I know what you all really want is pictures of my sweet baby girl, here are some snapshots of the last couple weeks.

Emma is learning to stand alone while holding on to something. Still not crawling though.

Emma saw the camera at brunch and just had to perform! 'How big is Emma?' ...


Emma and Grandma Jane at brunch on Mother's Day.


The best way to keep Emma where you want her? Put her in a basket! She was very happy playing in her little toy basket at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Who needs a Pack n Play?

My friend Stacey and I took our girls for a picnic. Emma enjoyed the sun and the nice breeze.

Emma spent a little quality time before saying goodbye with our neighbor, Todd.

Her hair is becoming wilder and more unruly by the day. She won't keep a bow in anymore for more than a few minutes which makes it even more uncontrollable.

Daddy and Emma enjoyed the empty room that was once Emma's nursery.

That same night, Emma had trouble falling asleep in her new room so the three of us enjoyed the peace and quiet of a summer evening on our new front steps.

Saturday, we went back to Boston for an ice cream social with some of the guys in Jeremy's class and their families. No ice cream for Emma, but she liked her Baby Mum Mum. Okay, maybe she had a LITTLE taste of my blackraspberry frozen yogurt. VERY LITTLE!

Last, but not least, I don't have any pictures of the mess that is our new house just yet, but I took this yesterday looking out at the neighbors yards from our back deck. I just thought it looked so peacful and idylic. I can't wait to see Emma playing back there.

Sorry ... you'll have to wait a day or two for the monthly Winnie The Pooh shot. It was packed on Friday when she turned 10 months, but we'll get the picture soon!

Moving Day(s) - Part 1

Saturday was a big day! Jeremy, Emma and I began the move to our new house! (Technically, we started the Tuesday before when we closed on the house, but I forgot to take pictures.)

Jeremy and I decided with our last move that we would do what the military calls a 'partial DITY move' which means you move some of your things on your own and the military reimburses you for your expenses. Why, you ask, would we choose to do it that way when we could have people come in, pack up all our stuff, load it on a truck, and deliver it at the other end all without having to lift a finger until we have to unpack?? Well, after Saturday we have been asking ourselves the same thing, but when we did it before, it was because Jeremy was moving before me so he needed a few things to settle into life in Boston. Then there was the fact that we had just gotten married and had beautiful new china and crystal that I didn't want the movers touching. In the end it worked really well and, as I feared, the movers damaged every piece of our brand new bedroom set. This time, I was worried about Emma's furniture getting damaged. Although, we decided only to take her crib so that she had somewhere familiar to sleep. We'll be watching the movers like hawks with the rest of her furniture! Next move ... we've decided that we'll gladly let the movers do it all!

Jeremy asked Emma to help him load the truck. Doesn't he looks so cute in the Baby Bjorn?

Friday night, Jeremy's mom and brother, Brendan, came and stayed with us. Brendan helped Jeremy load the U-Haul truck, while Emma played with Grandma and I packed the last few boxes of breakables. Saturday morning, the boys took the truck to the house, while us girls followed behind them a couple hours later. Jeremy's dad met us at the house. Between the 3 men, the truck was completely unloaded by the time we pulled in the driveway. How nice it was not having to carry any boxes!

We got Emma's playroom set up a little bit. I already love how much safer and roomier it is!

We spent the day vaccuming, scrubbing, setting up Emma's crib and trying to get everything up and running. It was weird being there. I still don't know that it feels like it's ours. Although, making 3 trips to Home Depot already to fix things that were broken, buy paint and to buy a lawn mower has helped in making it more of a reality! We even now have a Home Depot credit card!

We spent our first night in the house. Although, Emma didn't nap well, she did fall asleep right away at her usual bedtime. When Jeremy and I had decided that we'd had enough cleaning for the evening, we set up our air mattress and called it a night. We both had trouble falling asleep. Not because we weren't in our apartment. Maybe partially because we were on a less than luxurious air bed, but mostly because it was insanely quiet and DARK! There were no street lamps on. No one shouting outside our windows. No sounds of babies that weren't mine. No light pollution from all the city lights. It was eerie! We are truly in the country and it was a bit of a shock. Even Emma was so quiet that I had to check on her a few times to make sure she was okay.

The next morning I made my first trip to the grocery store and found a Drive-thru Starbucks! The barista was super friendly, asked me my name and told me I must be their new regular. People in Dover are SOOO friendly!

Grandma and Grandpa brought us coffee and bagels later in the morning before they headed back to Connecticut. It was so nice to have them there to help with Emma and with the chores of moving. I'm not sure how we would've done it without their help! Moving with a 9 1/2 month old is not easy!

Emma got a new dooway jumper for being such a good girl -or rather in hopes that she would be a good girl -during this whole move. She doesn't jump as much as twirl and swing. Oh well, she seems to like it.

She is already getting into mischief! She tried to scoot over to her car seat and dragged her play gym with her. It was pretty cute!

We stayed one more night at the house. In that time, I painted a room and changed all the locks and door hardware on our 3 outside doors. Jeremy said I was his 'decorating hero' and that I should become a handy woman. I think he saw a side of me that he never knew existed.

This part of the basement will be the enterainment area. Here is the BEFORE. (Well after a scrubbed all the scuff marks, basketball and kickball imprints and drawings off the walls.)

Emma will forever be a part of this house, even when we are gone!

AFTER! My arm was killing me the next day, but I did it. I taped and painted the whole thing by myself in one night. I still have to do some touch-ups and paint the trim (oh and the whole rest of the basement, but I think it loooks pretty awesome! Seriously ... it's amazing what a little paint can do!

He helped the cable guy set up our phone, internet and cable (Yes, we have cable, internet and phone eventhough we don't really live there yet! Oh, the priorities of men!) and he cut the grass. Overall, it was a productive weekend. Aside from Jeremy bringing home a tick, the first either of us had ever dealt with, everything went well. The movers are coming next Thursday and Friday for Moving Day(s) -Part 2, but Jeremy and I will both be making an extra trip in between to get a few other things done. I can't believe it's all happening so fast!

Emma, apparently, decided to get into the whole packing thing and try to pack herself in one of her toy bins. Emma prefers to make sure she color coordinates her outfits with the boxes she will pack herself in.

Jim

I'm not sure how to start. I don't know what to say. I haven't posted in awhile because I couldn't post about Emma before posting about Jim. For those of you who don't know him, Jim is Sarah's dad. I've known Jim for almost 12 years. I don't exactly remember if I met him in Indiana during our freshman year or if it wasn't until, I went to California to visit Sarah for the first time. I'm guessing it was the latter. Sarah and I were roommates for 7 years. She was Made of Honor in my wedding. She has come on vacations with my family. She was with us at the hospital for Emma's first surgery. To say that she and her family are close to my heart would be an understatement.

When I made the decision to move to San Jose instead of New York after college, Sarah's parents, Jim and Margaret, welcomed me into their home until Sarah and I found our own apartment. They let me borrow their car to go to school during the first weeks of the school year before I was able to buy my own car. Jim and Margaret made a place for me at their dinner table as if I were part of their family. Jim, Margaret, Sarah and Holly were my family when I was away from my own. They are still family in my heart. They are good people. Loving, compassionate, honest, good people and I love them all.

Last week, after several days of being in the hospital, waiting and waiting for answers as to the reason fluid was collecting in Jim's abdomen, his family received the news they had hoped they wouldn't receive. Jim was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which has spread to his liver. I don't know what the treatment plan is if there is one. The news is devastating.

I haven't know what to do since I got the news. I want to be there for them, but I don't know how. I don't know what to say. It's just not fair. I want to fix it, but I know I can't. So, at least for now, this is may attempt to do something. I'm asking you to please pray for Jim, Margaret, Sarah and Holly. Pray that their is hope for a treatment plan. Pray for their family to have some strength and peace while dealing with this. Pleas just pray. If you are involved in a prayer chain at church, perhaps you could put their family on it. Please help me in surronding them with love and prayer.

Jim, Margaret, Sarah and Holly - You are in my thoughts, my prayers and always my heart. I love you all! May the Lord watch over you and hold you close during this time.