New Home, New Adventures

It's been awhile since I have posted.  I keep waiting for life to slow down a little but life doesn't seem to be willing to comply.  We are loving the new house (I will post pictures at some point, we are still in the buying furniture, putting boxes away, trying to find a place for everything stage) and we are very thankful that our serendipitous decision to casually look at some houses this summer worked out so well.  While we loved our time in Broad Ripple and our cute 1939 house, it is so great to live in a family neighborhood in a more spacious home.  We love living in the Carmel community more than we ever thought possible and are excited to establish new roots and traditions here. 

 Although it's been a a busy first 6 weeks of living here we have found some time for fun.

• We bought bikes over Labor Day weekend and Carolyn LOVES riding in the bike. She is constantly asking to "biii" and will bolt for her bike carrier as soon as she gets into the garage.  So far we have been able to bike to watch a rain make-up varsity football game, bike into downtown Carmel for a casual Friday night dinner (what a great family friendly atmosphere!), and bike to the park. 
• We have also been able to do quite a bit of furniture shopping to try and fill up some of the empty space that is an obvious consequence of moving to a larger house.  Although Jesse and I aren't HGTV specialists we have had some fun dates shopping for furniture and looking for deals.  
• We have also gained some great new friends who we "picked up" at the nearby park! :) They live just a few houses down and have a daughter around Carolyn's age and we are very thankful for the great new friendship that is blooming.  Between going to the pool and impromptu and an impromptu we are looking forward to making many more memories together!
• We only live about 10 minutes from Conner Prairie now and Carolyn loves to go and run around and see all of the animals.  Jesse and I enjoy learning something new about how life used to be every time we go as well.  

We feel very blessed and are excited to be entering into our first change of season here and all of the new memories that we will create!

18 (well almost 19) month update!

Carolyn turned 18 months at the end of July but we just had her check-up this week so that she could meet her new pediatrician.  She is still in the 90th percentile in height and weight.  The doctor was impressed with her speaking skills, running speed, and her intense energy.  Carolyn even figured out how to open the door and tried to escape in nothing but her diaper! Our CareBear is still just as energetic, spirited, and vocal as she has been since we've known her.  While it can be tiring we wouldn't trade her for the world!

Now for the updates...
She is saying lots of words and starting to put two or three words together.  She can point to lots of animals, body parts, and other objects that she recognizes.  She LOVES Elmo, playing "ousside",  our dog who she has taken to calling "Buddy", getting into anything and everything she shouldn't, throwing food (we do not in any way support this!), saying "NO" (going on 6 months now!), running, reading books, being pushed around in her toy car, playing in the basement in the new house, and MEOWS. Seriously cats may be the thing that Carolyn loves most in her life right now.  She was pretty upset the other night when we were on a walk because she saw a cat and we wouldn't let her go pet it.  (In our old house there was a lady down the street who had 6 outdoor cats that Carolyn was welcome to pet... needless to say she didn't understand why the rules had changed).  Jesse and I always joke that if we do decide to get a cat it will play out something like this-



Carolyn is still the apple of our eye, even if we can't figure out how she is always the dirtiest kid at the end of day care days! Her teachers at school say that she is one of the best behaved kids (she must use up her quota for the week at school!) and even if she doesn't always like drop-off she is really growing and learning at school and has made lots of friends.  She still loves her veggies but won't eat foods like raspberries!  We are very excited to see how much she enjoys the fall and winter festivities this year and are looking forward to watching her continue to grow the rest of 2012!

I promise to post some about the house in the next few weeks!

Here are some pictures of Carolyn!

 Enjoying popcorn for the first time! Made shopping so much easier!

 Out to lunch

 I seriously wish something so small could make me so happy!

 State Fair with Uncle Nicky and Lexi.  C was so tired by the end that she fell asleep literally sitting up in her stroller.

 Playing at Holiday Park

I seriously left her alone for only a minute. This girl has an arm on her. 

 Bath time.  Last bath in the old house.

 First breakfast in the new house.

 First day of school.

 

Poor C couldn't understand why we couldn't brush her teeth or get her milk from the fridge at the old house.  Interestingly she also refused to go into her old room at all.   It was enough to break my heart.  Luckily she loves the new house and has adjusted well.

Seriously... dirtiest kid at day care.

 Enjoying her first ice cream cone at the ice cream shop by the new house.

Farmer Market fun

Blessings, Uncertainty, and Perspective

It's been a weird and great last few months so I apologize for those of you who read this blog mostly to see pictures of Carolyn.  I am not an avid journal keeper.  In fact, I used to try and keep one and it would never last so I eventually gave up.  The last few weeks have been very weird for me filled with lots of highs and lots of lows so I decided to do a different kind of post tonight... a more "what's on my mind" theme if you will. 

In the last few months I have seen friends and family go through extremely hard and sometimes devastating events while at the same time I have been able to share in awesome events and blessings with friends and family as well.  My own life has been filled with both great excitement and great sadness.  While I have been occupied this last few weeks being stressed about the on-line class I taught this summer, the buying and selling process of homes, and how to get my toddler to not throw her food and scream I have had people very dear to me experience extreme heartbreak and fear over situations in their own lives.  Sometimes as a Christian (and a human) it is often hard to comprehend how pain and joy can exist so simultaneously.  When I think of my grandma's last moments and the heartbreak we were experiencing I also often think of the extreme joy some other family was experiencing at the very same moment with that thing they call the circle of life.  After some conversations with people dear to me I think the only way to comprehend everything is by keeping perspective.  Perspective. Such an interesting word.  I was feeling very guilty today about being stressed about our appraisal not being released yet for our closing when so many other people are dealing with much more severe situations.  Luckily a good friend reminded me that it's ok to admit that it is a big deal to me even though others are going through situations that seem more daunting so long as I keep it in perspective.  I wonder how much more civil and caring the world would be if we could all keep that one simple word in the forefront of our minds.  How much more would people feel that I cared or understood if I always kept that in mind?  How much different would the whole Chick-fil-A debacle be if both sides tried to see the other point of view? How many real solutions could our government have created if they kept perspective instead of demonizing their opponents? Perspective.  Something to keep in mind as we go through life. 

For those of you going through a tough time I leave you with a song that has brought me much comfort since the death of my grandma.  While it isn't technically a religious song... I consider it to be and picture God singing it to me whenever I feel lonely or worried.

Jolly good time June

I swear, I blinked and June was gone.  It happens every summer but this year it seemed to sneak by even faster than normal.  June was a hectic month between trips to Ft. Wayne, Jesse's school, and my teaching my online summer school.  Carolyn is keeping us busy as ever and loves to be "ousside" Here are some highlights! - Note picture heavy post!

Charleston, SC 2012

 

We set off for Charleston on a Friday evening about 5.  Carolyn had NO IDEA what was in store for her.  This included her first stay in a hotel!  Carolyn actually did pretty well on the drive thanks to the portable DVD player and nighttime driving.  She wasn't really sure of the beach once we got there but by the end of the week she really did enjoy playing in the water.  We were also really fortunate to be able to see our dear friends Annie and Rob (who live in Charleston) and Annie's parents which made the trip even more special.  We had a condo that we rented on the beach that was also right in the heart of Isle of Palms.  It was nice to be able to walk to everything and we could also enjoy the live music from the restaurant next store but next time we may opt for a more quiet surrounding.  Overall it was a great time with family and friends and we were thankful for the opportunity to get away and relax - even if we did come back for tired than when we left. C wasn't really into the whole sleeping thing when there was so much to see and do and liked to get up early every morning yelling for her "CaCa" - Auntie Erica and "Noni" - my mom.  While cute, it wasn't always appreciated that early in the morning!

C wasn't real into taking pictures while on vacation... I am sure one day we will enjoy giving C a hard time about her lack of cooperation.

C with Noni and Elpa

It rained two days while we were there so for the sake of everyone's sanity we took C to the Charleston's Children Museum.  She had a blast.  We also were able to visit one of our favorite Charleston restaurants Five Loaves.  Our friends introduced us to it on a previous trip and if you are ever in Charleston we suggest giving it a try.

 

Elpa trying to fly his kite (circa 1980s)

This was about .5 miles into the trip home.  C decided to wake up exceptionally early on our last day (4:30 am) and after some time at the beach she was over it.  She literally stood up from playing in the sand and booked it towards the condo and thus our time at the beach came to an end.

Some other highlights from June!

Conner Prairie! C's new favorite love!

Her new favorite toys from CP.

Trying to get a good Father's Day gift pic...  Daddy wasn't surprised that the final picture included her legs covered in mulch.