Dancing

A pretty funny video of Alec and Reid busting a move with their grandparents. Note Alec's artistic dance style in the beginning :)

The move

Here are a bunch of pics from the last 10 days. We are starting to get settled in to our new house, and are loving the fact that we are no longer surrounded by boxes and moving paper. The neighborhood seems really nice - Alec and I have walked to Starbucks and sat outside watching the trains go by, and we also all walked into town for dinner at a cute little Thai place on Friday night. Alec and I have also taken several jogs on a prairie path that is just a few blocks from the house. Plus, we have met several of our neighbors who all seem nice and rave about the neighborhood. Yesterday we actually got cookies and cupcakes from two different sets of neighbors - a nice treat for a sweet tooth like myself. We have also made the transition from Alec's crib to his big boy bed, with the exception of naps. He is sleeping through the night perfectly, but at nap time he gets out and plays with his toys, so we are still using the crib in the room next door a little. And - b/c we are nuts and didn't think we already had enough to deal with, we decided to start the potty training process. Alec has seemed ready for quite awhile and Matt and I are very ready to be done with diapers. So - the first day was a disaster, but we have had a tremendous amount of progress since then and seem to be headed in the right direction. What helps is that Alec has Thomas underwear and he thinks Thomas cries when he gets peed on, so he is doing his best not to have any accidents.....works for us! Anyway - hugs and kisses!

Morning of the move

just a small glimpse of the boxes

Keeping busy while the movers load up

At the new house before the furniture arrived - note our new fave rug!

Alec approves

Dishwasher installation - and the new floor we had put in in the kitchen

Dresser assembly

Taking advantage of his new bookshelf that is built for climbing on. It was actually mine when I was little and my mom saved it, so we painted it to match Alec's new bed.

Alec's bedroom/play paradise

We Made it!

We successfully made it to Illinois and finally have our Internet up and running. It's been an insane week filled with movers, contractors, service-workers, unpacking and a TON of boxes. We are starting to get the house in order though and all love being together again. We have also got to enjoy 65 degree weather all week, which has been a treat for Alec, who has continued to be a total trooper through this whole crazy process. Anyway - I have many pics to upload, but I thought I would add this video for now. This is the debut of Alec's new big boy train bed - he got it from Grammy and Papa for his b-day, but we decided to wait and make it a new house surprise. Looks like he likes it!!

Goodbye Colorado

We made it home last night after an insane week long trip to Chicago. We did successfully close on our house on Monday, and we are all very relieved about that! The rest of the week was spent trying to organize all the work that needs to get done before our stuff arrives next week. As seems to be the case with all contractor work - nothing has gone as smoothly as it was supposed to, and nothing has been done in the timely way we were hoping for. However, the house is super cute and we are all so looking forward to living together again. The movers show up here tomorrow to get our stuff on this house ready, and baring another total mess, Alec and I fly into Chicago for good on Friday night. It's been a really rough 6+ months for us, and it is nice to know there is an end in sight. Even with all that in mind, it doesn't make leaving this house, or Colorado, or our families any easier. I'm not sure if I have ever felt so sad about having to do something in all of my life. We LOVE it here and wish more than anything that we weren't having to make this move. We will have each other though, and hopefully a lot of company, and I hope I can look back on this point at some time in the future with fond memories. So - here are some pics of the last week, and a sign off until we are in IL with a computer that is up and running so I can post. Hugs and kisses to everyone - we love you Colorado!

Posing for pics and then checking them out on the camera

Where did my baby go?

Helping clean up the new house - Alec LOVED mopping!

Matt has to stay in the empty house, among the plethora of workers and mess that are everywhere, for the next week. We tried to make him a little living space in the study and bedroom.

His room

Approved by Alec

Alec's new cheese face

For good measure

Alec has nearly earned his own free frequent flier flight with all the miles he has racked up over the past 6 months!