Wide Open Spaces

We are finally in our first home! YAY! I know for a lot of people a 1600 sq ft condo doesn't seem like a palace, but for us it feels like we're living in a royal castle. When I wake up in the morning here I smile because I don't feel like the walls are closing in, then I wander into my bathroom and almost chuckle because it's more than I ever wanted and when I make my way downstairs I'm just so happy to see the long hallway leading to Ashley's room, I feel like I can breathe and move around without bumping into something or tripping over toys. With the space and storage at this house we never have to know that toys exist unless we have them out to play. When we started getting the furniture situated yesterday it amazed me because every room started to look even bigger, the amount of space we have to hang out, play and entertain is beyond exciting for us.

Of course our move couldn't be perfect, that would be too easy! We spent the night on Thursday and at 4am Ashley woke up throwing up all over the 8 blankets I used to make a bed for her in our room. She then got sick on our freshly cleaned carpet and her and I spent the rest of the night in the master bath.

Yesterday afternoon we had a big surprise dropped in our lap. As we were trying to take the doors off our old garage fridge so it would fit into the kitchen Peter walked in and wanted to know what we were doing. After watching Jason fiddle with the doors for a few minutes he told us to have the fridge wheeled into the garage and that him and Sandy were going to get us a new fridge. We went and picked it out last night and it will be here by this afternoon! We also have the new washer and dryer that my parents bought us coming on Tuesday, I'm so spoiled! We owe a huge THANK YOU to our parents because those are two amazing gifts.

So, we're pretty much moved in, we still just have some random stuff to get our of the old place but this house already feels like a home and I don't ever want to leave. This morning when we all woke up I thought I was house sitting because it hasn't hit me that I get to wake up here every day.

OH! I failed to mention that the master bath tub might be my favorite spot in the world! Ashley took a bubble bath up to her neck for almost an hour and it just made me smile watching her play and laugh in that big tub of bubbles. After I put Ashley to sleep I made my own bubble bath and I could have slept in there all night. The angle they made for your back is the most comfy thing ever and it's super deep so you stay nice and warm, I told Jason he needs to expect the water bill to go up because that bathtub is pure heaven.

The Great Migration

We're finally done dealing with IRS employees, lenders, etc. We are officially homeowners :-) Our names were put on the title and we received our keys yesterday. We've already started moving in, all of the boxes we packed and the odds and ends are at the new home. I even unpacked out clothes and have them all hanging up in our closets (I'm in love with the space in our closet). We'll be doing more of the same tonight and then the movers will be here tomorrow at noon. It was hard to leave last night, we really wanted to stay and camp out, luckily my tired body didn't care so much once I was in bed.

I'll have pictures tomorrow!

My Little Lamb

Ashley is part of our church's kids choir called The Little Lambs.  We have been practicing and practicing 8 songs for her performances (I'm impressed how well these kids know the songs).  We had a Prince and Princess party the Tuesday before Halloween.  The kids were so excited to get dressed up, then they got to trick or treat from some parents and end the day with a cookie and a drink (Ashley was given a cookie with purple frosting- oh how that made her day!)

Disneyland in the Rain

My brother offered to go to Disneyland with Ashley and I to help celebrate her birthday. I'm so glad he did because it was really helpful to have an extra set of hands with all the rain. The morning started off with quite a bit of rain but it eased up once we were in the gates and just misted on and off for most of the day. We started the day off by going to City Hall to get Ashley a Birthday button and Goofy called to wish her a Happy Birthday. Then we made a quick stop in the store to get a children's poncho since Target only had adult ones. The only rides closed that Ashley cared about were the Tea Cups and Alice in Wonderland but we made up for that by taking her on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Peter Pan for the first time. Ashley was a trooper, she did a lot of walking and standing in line compared to any other trip and Uncle Ian was there to hold her when her legs were just too tired. We ended up leaving the park around 5:30 and when we got to my car I changed Ashley into her PJ's and her poor feet were all wrinkled and cold from her feet being wet all day. I was shocked because any other time we've gone to Disneyland she falls asleep in the parking structure or right when we get on the freeway and she managed to stay awake to feed her baby doll until we were half way home. It was a fun day and all the employees and characters at Disneyland made her feel so special by wishing her a happy birthday and paying a little more attention to her. By the time we got home I was so happy we weren't moving this weekend because I was officially pooped.


Ashley braving the cold rain.

























Ashley getting a phone call from Goofy to wish her a happy birthday.






















Showing off her Birthday button






















Riding Dumbo with Uncle Ian
















Saying hi to Woody and his girlfriend















Saying Hi to Pooh and Tigger. They thought it was funny to play with her hat but Ashley wasn't finding the humor and was a little frustrated that they kept doing it, that's why she has such funny smiles in these pictures.






















Giving Mickey a kiss goodbye.






















Trying to blow something up with Uncle Ian






















It blew up!






















Ending the day with a treat. I let her pick anything out and she said she wanted the big, huge giant chocowate cupcake, it was really a chocolate chocolate chip muffin but it was huge and she almost ate the whole thing.






















A chocolate smile.

Change in Plans

So, you know when you think you've finally made plans, gotten all the kinks out so everything is scheduled and set up just so and then one thing happens that snowballs and ruins it all? Well, that's kind of how our Wed. and Thurs. were last week. Our mortgage broker was dropping the ball after giving us a move in date so Jason and I spent hours on the phone with him, his manager, all the way up to the CEO to get their act together. They finally got the job done, they were late but everything was still supposed to work out. As you can imagine, the stress of moving, packing, living amongst boxes, coordinating the movers, cleaning people, etc and me being pregnant it was an emotional day (kind of an understatement). Supposedly everything was figured out and the move was still going to happen on Friday, then the escrow company called and they had some "bad news" (another understatement), the homeowners had a lien on their home and the IRS is forgiving it. In order for us to clear and record our loan the escrow company has to have a hard copy from the IRS showing that they are forgiving the lien. In true form, the government only has one person in Northern California who can write this letter and send it out and he was sick and our of the office for over a week, so all of his work was piling up and hanging out on his desk. For some reason the escrow company thought they were going to receive the letter Thursday morning so Ash and I decided to wait to go to Disneyland after we signed our loan documents. After waiting and waiting we finally heard back around 1pm that it wasn't going to happen. I was upset, crying, angry and frustrated (if you asked Jason he'd probably say that is an understatement haha). So Ash and I went to Ruby's for a late lunch, then we met Jason at the new house to meet the carpet cleaner. We ended up siging our loan documents theat evening (Thursday) but we aren't closing until next week. We're just along for the ride at this point, we know it will all be done early next week and then we can end all of this and just enjoy our new house! We think we've got all the kinks worked out again so we've rescheduled the movers for Thursday at noon and hopefully we'll be settled in and able to enjoy the super bowl.

Happy 3rd Birthday Ashley!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Although I'm so sad that you're getting older I'm so proud of the little person you are growing up to be. You're my little buddy. Whenever you and I go out I know we're going to have fun. It might be something ordinary like sharing a bag of popcorn while we shop at Target and you tell me stories or as big as going to Disneyland and riding roller coasters together. You always make me laugh, smile and remind me just how much I love you. I remember talking about how I would never do baby talk before I met you and once I laid eyes on you the baby jibberish started to fall out of my mouth. I've loved getting to be your mommy for these three years. You've taught me lots of patience and you've shown me how to find the joy in changing a blow out diaper. I don't like mornings but getting to share the couch or bed with you for a few minutes while we watch cartoons each morning makes it one of my favorite times of day, it's even better when we get to make pancakes afterwards. I've loved getting to hold your hand while we walk around and I promise I'll start to loosen the grip as you get older. You are a special girl, you light up a room with your smile, you make Daddy and me cry with laughter, you surprise us each day with how smart you are and we love how much you always want to help. I'm sad these three years have slipped by so quickly but I can't wait to enjoy all the fun things we have to look forward to in the future. I hope you always know how much you are cherished and that Daddy and I love you too much! Actually, Daddy loves you bigger than Brett Favre and SubMarina and I love you bigger than Disneyland. We hope you have a wonderful birthday!

We decided to celebrate Ashley's birthday early this morning (6am ick!) since Ash and I will be at Disneyland and Jason will be working and getting the new house ready for us. I woke Ashley up singing happy birthday to her and she smiled in her sleep- too cute! Then she ran out to the family room to see her gifts (I had to shop with her at Target and she was obsessed with a rubber ducky which was the only gift she thought she was getting- it was actually the distraction that kept her from noticing the goodies in the cart). Ashley asked permission to rip the envelope of her card and then Jason offered to read it to her and she said, "no thanks, I can do it, I'm a big girl". After opening her new baby doll, baby gear and bath we put it all together and finished the morning singing happy birthday and blowing the candles out from her donut. Just a few minutes ago she came up to me and said,"Mommy, who's my baby's daddy?" it took everything in me to not burst out laughing at her. I asked her who she thought it was and she said I could be her daddy so I explained that I'm a girl and Daddy's are boys so it would be better for her to pick a boy and she would be the mommy, that seemed to answer the question but she looked a little puzzled as she walked away. Nothing like starting off the third year with some tough questions!

Well, we're hanging out at the house until we sign our loan docs this morning and then we'll be off to Disneyland. I'll have Disneyland pictures and moving pictures once we're all settled in.

Pregnant Ambitions

I don't know what happens to my brain but when I get pregnant I randomly decide to take on huge tasks or to learn something new. We're in the middle of packing to move now (not the best time to take up new hobbies). So, after staring at each room for about 15 minutes this morning I decided I better do something about the boxes in the hallway that needed to be filled. In the middle of packing, while I was elbow deep in blankets, quilts, etc. I looked over at Ashley's hair and realized it was just way too long. Instead of making a mental note to make an appointment for her to get a haircut I decided today would be a great day to perform my first mommy haircut (I know you're probably cringing while I say it). So I washed her hair, got the combs, brushes and scissors out, plopped her on her stool and put some cartoons on. After 20 minutes, voila, a more manageable length, healthier ends and a proud almost three year old modeling her haircut for me :-) The good part is her cut is straight and I didn't decide to do something REALLY ambitious- like a bob. Ashley stood in front of the mirror admiring her cool new haircut and I asked if she liked having shorter hair for her birthday and she said, "Yup, I'm all growed up!" It's funny how taking 2 inches off her hair makes her look at least 2 inches taller. For all of you that are mad at me for cutting her hair, don't be! Ashley's hair could set records for how fast it grows and it will rid us of the morning cry while I brush out her tangles (hallelujah!).














While I'm on here, for those of you who haven't been told yet, we're supposed to be signing our loan documents on Wed. and getting our keys on Thursday (while Ashley and I are celebrating her birthday at Disneyland)! The big move will happen Friday and our goal is to be moved in and settled by the end of the weekend, my ambitious pregnant brain would love to be done Saturday night so we can rest and enjoy homeownership on Sunday but I think there's a fat chance of that happening. I'll probably make a quick post on the morning of Ashley's birthday and then I'll be blogging from Ladera Ranch!

A Quick Trip to Disneyland

Ashley and I made a quick trip to Disneyland today. It was so fun going with season passes because there wasn't the usual pressure to make sure we met everyone, rode every ride and saw everything. We just did what we wanted and had a blast. Ashley's favorite ride was the Rollercoaster in Toon Town, I think I enjoyed Dumbo, the tea cups and the carousel the most. Ashley had the giggles on Dumbo and the tea cups and on the carousel she swung her arm around and said, "YEEE HAW!" the entire time and it was so funny. The weather was great, almost too cold at times but it was fun to be bundled up and Disneyland was busy but the longest wait we had was about 20 minutes, for most of the rides we only had to wait 5-10 minutes.

Ashley loved getting to meet the characters and she wasn't really understanding that she couldn't stand and talk to them because other people needed a turn. What a difference from how timid she was a year ago.

We're planning on going back for her birthday which should be fun. If you don't already know Disneyland has a year long promotion giving free entrance to people on their birthday, so if you feel like being a big kid on your birthday this year you can go for free!

Our Ride on Dumbo

























The Carousel, YEE HAW!















Visiting with Pooh and Mickey

























Ashley's favorite ride

















Visiting Goofy at his house


















Saying hi to Minnie





















A Ride on the Tea Cups