Big Change Ahead!

For at least the last year we have gone back and forth on the idea of having a bigger house, expanding our current home or just living with what we have. We have a great house - we love our house!  All 960 cozy square feet of it.  Our family of three fits great and we have excellent plans for the upcoming 4th member and for the kids to eventually share a room.  One thing that has been on my wish list, however, is a second bathroom.  Half bathroom.  Ok, just another toilet?  But how to accomplish that in a cost effective way that won't involve changing our foundation or impacting future resale, well we just haven't been sure.
We keep an eye on the local real estate market and even get a heads up on new listings the day they hit the MLS.  We have looked at a few properties that we could maybe have seen ourselves in and some that our realtor asked us to "have an open mind" about (red flag!!) but none were the right fit or location or price.  Good houses have been getting snatched up in this town in less than a week lately so we had to be ready.
On a recent Tuesday a new listing email arrived in our inbox and the house was cute but we disregarded it as it had been purchased recently for a quick renovation. That Friday our realtor called and recommended that we see the home. After a look around we decided we liked what we saw - Saturday we formulated a plan, offer and sweet letter explaining our upcoming family expansion complete with adorable family photo. Sunday we signed the offer and hoped for the best as there were already two offers and an Open House scheduled for that afternoon. Monday afternoon our offer was accepted!  Cue the "You like me!  You really like me!" feeling...or maybe you really like our competitive offer.  But I digress.
Today we signed papers. Tomorrow we pay the big bucks. Friday we get keys! And soon we will be living in a 4 bedroom, 2 (full!!) bath home with an indoor laundry room. What!!?? We feel like this was sort of meant to be since we will be getting in and settled just in time for Baby Sock's arrival and the extra space means visiting Grandparents won't be stuck sleeping in the living room after baby makes 4.  That's not to say that this isn't a stressful time (this coming weekend is the only free one we have for a month - work obligations and conferences are taking us out of town for the next 4 weekends) and topping it off we are going down the path of becoming landlords.  We love our little house so much that we want to keep it for the future - for the kids or for us when we don't need a 4 bedroom house.  So while moving is on the big checklist, so is advertising and renting out this house.  Oh, and getting it ready for someone else to live in by taking care of the imperfections that we don't mind living with.
So hopefully I'll get some good blog posts out about all of these adventures we are about to embark on.

29 Weeks Update!

We had our follow-up ultrasound for Baby Sock (that's the most reasonable name Wren has come up with for baby) last week as we celebrated 28 weeks of pregnancy.  Baby looks great!  On track for growth and all organs are healthy.  The real reason for the ultrasound was to check back on that pesky low-lying placenta. Turns out there has been little stretching (even though my belly is really big!) so the distance from placenta to cervix is still too close for comfort.  We go back again for another ultrasound in 3 weeks and see if there's been any progress.  My glucose test for gestational diabetes came back great so no need to worry about diabetes.
Otherwise I still have sciatica, which has mostly been on the right side though the left has started to be a bit of a pain, too.  But again, everyone is healthy so we have much to be thankful for!

28 week Baby Sock says Hi! (Ignore the creepy reflection of my hand...)

Fun Day!

Last year as a present to the family Jay bought us a membership to The Science Factory in Eugene.  We have only made it down there once but Wren had a great time.  Once a month they hold "Tot Discovery Day" and Jay has been thwarted by the weather on past attempts to go.  But today is a gorgeous day to play hooky and he and Wren went down for a special Daddy & Daughter day.  From what I've heard so far they are having a great time together!  Bonus - one of her friends from daycare was there when they arrived! 
Here's a picture of Wren with the aquarium she made!

22 weeks!

Baby Well 2.0 is 22 weeks today!  Everything is progressing normally - exactly what we want to hear! We had our big ultrasound early last week and baby is looking good.  Our only possible glitch with this pregnancy is a low placenta - less than 2 cm from cervix.  To make sure things are looking good for a natural delivery we will be back at 28 weeks for another ultrasound.  

 In keeping with our preference during our first pregnancy, baby's gender will be a surprise again.  The ultrasound tech told us to look away each time he scanned baby's lower half and we followed directions.  Wren typically says she would like a sister when we ask, though she'll throw "brother" in every once in a while.  I've been feeling good and have again been fortunate to not experience any pregnancy-related illness.  This time around, though, I do have some sciatica issues, but that's the worst of it!  I've been feeling baby's movements for a number of weeks now and Jay felt a kick for the first time during week 20, a few weeks earlier than last time.  

While we have a few months before baby arrives we certainly have plenty to do.  In order to make our house more comfortable for two kids we will be doing a little switcheroo of rooms.  Jay and I will be moving into the spare room and Wren will move into our room and into her new big girl bed - a bunk bed!  Baby will take over Wren's current room.  Before those things can happen, though, we plan to paint.  Stay tuned!

A Breakthrough!

As you may or may not recall Wren received a balance bike for her 2nd birthday back in October. Sadly, she refused to get on it, even after she watched one of her friends happily ride it around our house. So we tucked it away in our room for future use. Occasionally Wren asked about it but otherwise was still disinterested. Then this week, one morning while Jay made breakfast and Wren and I were getting ready for the day, she asked about it and I said "when you're ready to ride it, let me know and I'll get it out for you." To which she replied, "I'm ready". No way I was going to double check on that one! 

Out came the bike and she hopped on. To see Jay's face as we came down the hall - priceless. Jay had been looking forward to this moment for months!! Jay envisions Daddy-daughter bike rides all over Oregon and across the US, so this step toward adventure was monumental. We both took a turn guiding Wren around the house and she has continued to have short spells on her bike since then. Pride! Once we break out of this foggy weather it might be time for an outside ride! 

Most favorite thing

Christmas in our household was very fun!  Jay and I were excited for Wren to react to Christmas and Santa, the whole experience.  On Christmas Eve, following a tradition that Jay enjoyed when he was young, we told Wren that we heard Santa was in the area and had already been to the houses of some of her friends.  Wren happily picked out two cookies and the plate to put them on and carried them over to the coffee table to join a freshly poured glass of milk.  A few minutes later we heard footsteps on the roof - SANTA!  I excitedly said that Santa was at the house and we should go to the back room because we can't see Santa when he comes in.  Then things fell apart.  Rather than shock and joy we had a scared little girl on our hands.  She just wasn't ready for a real visit from Santa!  Santa continued by coming down the....pellet stove... and ho-ho-ho-ing and ringing his jingle bells.  None of this to Wren's delight as she clung to me, terrified.  From my perspective it was something out of a David Sedaris story.  After Santa called out his Christmas wishes to the house, he was gone, just like that.  It took a few minutes to convince Wren we should leave the bedroom and when we did we found 2 wrapped presents by the empty plate and glass.  Wren refused to even touch them, no matter how many times we told her she could open her special Santa gifts. Her reply - I want to go night-night.  Oh, hopefully next year is different. 

In retrospect we should have expected something like this after our Breakfast with Santa outing ended with Wren refusing to even look at the poor guy, but at least she managed to tell him her wish list first - a baby and books. 

On Christmas morning, after Wren slept in for what seemed like forever (as I sat on the couch waiting to get to witness present opening mayhem), she was a new girl and all ready for the day.  The first box she opened was from Santa and it was a new baby doll!  Wren absolutely loves baby dolls - at play dates and daycare she heads straight for the babies and usually has one tucked under her arm in every picture we get from daycare.  So Santa really got this one right!  Wren also got books and clothes, baby accessories, flashcards, ornaments, a grow your own flowers kit, and much more!  She really had a bountiful Christmas!  But it really has been that baby doll, who we have to call Big Baby to differentiate her/him (Wren decides on a daily basis what gender Big Baby is) from Water Baby, Tiny Baby and Soft Baby, that has received the most attention since Christmas.  Below are some photos of how well Wren has been taking care of her Big Baby. 

Tucking Big Baby into her homemade bed, which was later destroyed by Wren. Cardboard just isn't made for big kids to lay on!

 

Wren personally laid out little places for everyone to lay down.  From left: Wren, lamby, little bunny, tiny baby, Abigail and Big Baby. 



Wren gets Big Baby in the high chair and buckled in all by herself before bringing over a huge feast!

Christmas is coming!

Santa's beard received its last cotton ball today, signifying that today was Christmas Eve and Santa is on his way! We are so excited for Christmas with Wren this year and she is excited for Santa to stop by! 

Merry Christmas to all!