Thanksgiving Weekend

This past Tuesday Cori turned 18 months, and as if on cue, we entered into one of the most dramatic development periods in early childhood (read more here). Things can really turn upside down. "Real" language takes off, they understand simple rules and family members' roles and they get the idea that they are expected to follow rules and respect those family roles. Most parents report this stage as the most intense emotional period in their child's life, fraught with buckets of neediness, moodiness, tantrums, meltdowns, and general crazed vulnerability. Oh, and established sleep routines can go out the window, and sure enough for us, it has. It's been a long sleepless week!

Cori had her pediatrician appointment which fortunately only involved 1 shot (her second H1N1 shot). Her weight was a little over 25lbs (which is the 76th percentile), 34 inches long (96th percentile) and a head circumference that put her in the 99th percentile (explains why none of the hats her size fit).

We had a great Thanksgiving with lots of family (probably 40 people!) and lots and lots of kids. Cori decided to crawl into the fireplace with her cousin Emma and wait for Santa.

On Saturday Cori went to her first Christmas parade!

No Christmas welcome is complete without a visit to Santa. Sad how we subject our kids to trama just for our entertainment. We did tell Santa Cori wanted a puppy though!

More New House Pictures

Today we went out to place the SOLD sign on the lot!! We're already meeting some of our new neighbors and everyone is so friendly. At least now they will know who the crazy lady is and why she keeps stopping by the big lot and walking around smiling! I think I've been out 4 times this past week! (Hey, work is close and I do get a lunch hour....)
Here's some pictures of interior details. We've also taken to stalking other people's homes that have features just like what we'll have. We'll bake them cookies or something to make it up to them.

Our hardwood stairs - I just love the curve at the end of the steps!

The upstairs hallway - we'll have the hardwood floors but the spindles will be natural brown stain / wooden, not the white wood as shown here.

2nd floor laundry behind the double doors - convenient!!

Kitchen (minus the appliances which will be included and the cabinet pulls & counter top.) The door shown leads right out to the garage. No more lugging groceries up stairs, etc.

We're trying to decide if we want to upgrade the kitchen with the more detailed trim on the cabinets, corner glass cabinet, and surround to make the fridge look built in. Like this:

Here's the breakfast area that will open to the future deck, and you can see the family room here too. It's all one big open view from the kitchen.

We're going to have an opening between the family room & living room like shown here. And we're thinking of putting the fireplace in the living room instead of the family room like they did here.But we're doing a different fireplace. This is the stone fireplace we're doing. It's a direct vent gas fireplace - flick the switch and the fire in on! We can get whatever color mantle we want.

Here's the master bathtub- trying to figure out if we should spend the extra money for the jetted tub. Even though I shower daily and not take baths, the option of having it seems soooo nice! And what's a few extra hundred when you're spending this much right? (you can see which way I am leaning! ha ha) We will NOT be doing the funky ferns flanking the tub.

Here's the other full bath upstairs.

Master bedroom with the "sitting room" (we're thinking of making this a reading area & computer desk for us) and walk in closet.

Front guest bedroom

The garage door we are kind of lusting after. Unfortunately not standard; we're checking into the cost.

The week in pictures

We've been busy - Cori was sick from Halloween and then the next 9 days. Just something viral; thankfully she checked out fine. But we've been swamped with work and kiddo illness and lots of home fixes prior to listing our home for sale. Once Cori was better we went to the Children's Museum and then played in a big pile of leaves!

playing is hard work!I just love the look of joy on her face below!