Hallie and Travis

We just finished the closing on Hobhouse Circle. After weeks of holding my breath, everything went like clockwork. We don’t get our check until Monday, but it’s worth the wait. Read the rest of this entry »

Hallie’s first loose tooth proved to be quite a tease. It hung in about a week past the point I thought it would be out. Her permanent tooth was coming in more behind it than under it. I actually called the dentist this morning for advice and they said to bring her in by May 5th if it still wasn’t out. I think it lasted about an hour after that phone call. Read the rest of this entry »

This last week has been so busy I never posted about our family TV debut. The actual debut hasn’t happened yet, but it may some day soon. Mark got a call last week from the campaign manager for Janet Cowell, a candidate North Carolina state treasurer. They were looking for families to be in a commercial for her campaign. We spent a few hours on Saturday afternoon doing a lot of waiting and a little bit of filming. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re just back from our neighborhood party. Well, I’m back. We put the kids to bed and Mark’s headed back out again. We’d been looking forward to this since before we moved in, and it didn’t disappoint. The four of us had a great time meeting new neighbors and watching the kids tear around with new friends. Travis especially hit it off with a little boy named James who’s about 6 months younger than he is. And Hallie had a great time with an almost-five-year-old named Luke. I really enjoyed chatting with all the parents. It was way too short! Read the rest of this entry »

The report of Hallie’s imminent tooth loss was definitely a false alarm. That wiggly tooth is hanging in there like it has no plans to go anywhere. We can see the permanent tooth coming in behind it, and the baby tooth will bend almost horizontal. We figure it has to come out sometime soon. Meanwhile, Hallie’s discovered her fourth loose one. So, she’s got two loose on top and two on bottom. We’ve got the tooth fairy in a holding pattern.

Hallie and I have now done her yoga video a few times. Each time, Travis has been eager to watch from the couch but he’s never wanted to participate. But he’s clearly been paying attention. Hours after we’ve watched the video he’ll spontaneously adopt “tree pose,” albeit a bit unstably, and proudly proclaim “Look at me, I’m doing tree pose!” Read the rest of this entry »

We’re convinced Hallie won’t make it through another day with one of her teeth. She’s now got it flipping back and forth where it’s almost horizontal. I’ve tried tugging on it and something’s still holding it in there. But it won’t be there for long, especially the way she’s working at it. I guess we’d better figure out our approach to “the tooth fairy” . . . and quickly!

Hallie said the cutest thing the other morning. She’d climbed into our bed while I was getting ready. When I nudged her to get up and come to breakfast, she said. “I can’t. Cozy’s got me!” We’ve been having a lot of fun with stories and jokes about Cozy, who’s quickly become part of the family. I think Cozy is going to stick around for a while.

We’ve only been here a week and a half, but this house completely feels like home. Knowing the area already certainly helped. And having so many instant playmates available made a difference too. And with Gum here for a few days and Mark taking time off work, we were really able to blitz the unpacking. We still haven’t hung any pictures except on nails left in the walls. And there are odds and ends, like matching floor mats and new bedding, that I’d like to get eventually. But overall, we’re incredibly settled in. And we love it! Read the rest of this entry »

Hallie’s friend Garett came over for a play date this afternoon. Boy were they both excited about it! They had used some of their free choice center time at school to make a list of the things they were going to do here. And at the end of the day, when Mrs. Murphy asked the two of them if they remembered they were going home together, apparently they turned to each other and said, “How could we forget, we’ve been talking about it all day?!” Read the rest of this entry »