wordless wednesday

feels like home

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

I’ve really neglected the before&after pictures of the house, I know.  But mainly it’s because they wouldn’t really be “after” pictures yet since nothing’s totally done. (I’ll let you steal a couple sneak peeks in the pictures below).  However.  As I mentioned in my Halloween post…we DID officially move in!  We started staying at the house on Sunday 10/28.  Three months + 1 day after closing.  After we made this decision I started thinking it was super dumb because Theo is transitioning to a big boy bed AND both boys are transitioning to sharing a room with each other.  On a Sunday night.  Genius.  Seems like something you’d want to get a handle on starting on a Friday, right? Eh.

As it turns out, so far it has been fine.  Our big boy really has proven to be just that so far by staying in his bed, not partying all night, and not keeping his brother up all night.  They are fine if we put them to bed at the same time, but they will talk/yell to each other for about 30-45 minutes.  It seems to work better if we put Dexter to bed about 20-30 minutes earlier than Theo.  He has been really good about staying quiet when he knows Dexter is asleep.  Theo is a pretty sound sleeper, so even on the days Dexter wakes up early for milk (yes, we still heat up milk for Dexter at 5:45 am most days), Theo sleeps in.  Saturday both kids slept til almost 8.  EIGHT!  Couldn’t believe it.

So the big bed and room-sharing is great.  The mom/homemaker/nurturer in me has been happy as a clam for the past week.  Theo and Dexter have been getting along so well.  My heart bursts every time they hug each other.  Every time I catch Theo trying to teach Dexter something.  Every time I sneak a peek into their room because it’s too quiet and see them sitting on Theo’s bed playing with something together.  It feels amazing to just cook their dinner and give them a bath here and do the most normal, ordinary, mundane, boring things.  That’s all I wanted.  They love this house.  It’s far from done, but it’s home.  It’s already our home sweet home.  Blood, sweat, and tears have all been shed here to make this place our home.

The OCD person in me still sees unpacked boxes and piles of tools and unpainted cabinets, etc.  But those things can wait.  We’re home now.  We’re with our kids every day.  I never have to miss a bedtime or dinnertime or storytime.  It’s all I’ve been wanting for the past 3+ months.

Best friends.  Two peas in a pod.

It’s home.

xo,
~C~

greetings from Ohio

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

We traveled to Ohio over the weekend to visit R’s sister Michelle, her boyfriend Bob, and our nephew Spencer.  What. FUN!

It was weird to see Theo going up and down the stairs with no problem.  I was hovering like a helicopter the first few times but tried to back off over the course of the weekend as I realized he’s got this.  What I wasn’t expecting was to see Dex climbing up the stairs with NO trouble at all.  Yes, I remained hovering helicopter with Dexter.

Theo had the most fun playing in Spencer’s room, in Spencer’s super cool bed.  I have to admit, I’m a little jealous of this loft bunk from Ikea. All weekend Theo was announcing “I wanna play in Pencer’s room!” And play they did!  They were basically adorable in their matching McQueen slippers. 
Dexter took a little snooze on Daddy’s shoulder…
then we took a short ride to the local fire station for some exploration. 
still sleepy, mama!
hello, brown eyed boy!
Michelle’s neighbor, Chief Tony, welcomed us inside. 
both boys love their Aunt Chelle

jaws of life!
Official Freddie Firefighter badge.  And yes, Theo always wears a band-aid, boo boo or no boo boo.
We had a great, great time. 
There was more playing back at the house (in Pencer’s room of course)!
Theo was exhausted, as evidenced by him sucking his thumb for 5 continuous hours or so. 
See?  Coolest bed ever.
Sunday morning it was time to pack it up and head back home. We loved our weekend and spending time with family.  Can’t wait to see them again in a couple of weeks for Theo’s birthday. 
xo, 
~C~