Our First Home

The weekend before we moved was General Conference for our church.  Since we didn't have regular church meetings that day, we made a special breakfast of french toast with bananas, strawberries, syrup, and powdered sugar.  Coop was so excited.  It was the last "special" event in our rental home.

 The next weekend, 4/12/14, we got to move in to our first "real" home; you know, the kind where WE pay the mortgage.  Cooper was a big help the night before helping load all the small boxes into the moving truck.

 He was excited on moving day to sit in the big truck.  It wasn't a long drive, since we moved about a mile from where we had previously lived.

We happened to move just across the ward boundary, so changed wards back to the one we attended when we lived in Charlotte a few years ago.  So with having two church wards to help, we ended up with THIRTEEN men/boys to help us load/unload the truck.  The night before Nate and I had been so nervous about whether we were going to get even one or two guys to help for a couple of hours; you just never know what you're gonna get with volunteer help.  Imagine our surprise when the guys just kept spilling in the morning of our move.  We had everything packed and in the garage except for the big furniture, so all they had to do was load/unload.  It only took them two hours to load, drive, and unload everything--AMAZING!  Then to top it off, I had friends help in so many ways.  The night before the move my friend, Natalie Gleaves, who happened to also be one of my visiting teachers, brought us dinner, complete with plates, utensils, cups, you name it.  It was SUCH A BLESSING to me when I was in the middle of packing my kitchen, and completely exhausted, to have a delicious, hot meal brought to our home--no wrestling tired kids at a restaurant, spending money we didn't want/need to spend, or eating fast food.  This was one of the biggest blessings to me, and I will certainly try to pay it forward in the future when I know people are moving.

I also had friends who babysat the boys, two all day long, both on moving day and afterward so I could help move, and then so I could clean the rental house.  Then my amazing and wonderful friend, Stephanie Davis, helped me earlier in the week by taking 5 hours one day to drive as many loads in our cars as we could while the kids were at preschool.  This saved us a lot of packing, being able to move clothes on hangers from closet to closet, move fragile items I didn't want to pack in boxes, etc.  Then, as if that wasn't enough, she helped me the Monday following our move for 7 hours of non-stop cleaning at our old rental house, including filling in nail holes, etc.  I mean, I could NOT have done it all without her.

We felt SO BLESSED by the outpouring of love and service from our friends and fellow church members, some of whom we didn't even know yet in our new (old) ward.  I mean, wow.  I would have loved to have taken pictures of each of these people, but asking for a photo of them providing service seemed over-the-top annoying, besides the fact that we were all so busy.

Moving day was a perfect 75 degree day with low humidity--a first in our moving history.  We usually have really hot weather when we move, so we were also thankful for that.

 Here is our new home in Indian Trail, NC.

 We live on a nice street with lots of nice neighbors.  Everyone came over within the first few days to say hello, and the morning after we moved in, Cooper was already surrounded by new friends, playing in our backyard.  I love having a big yard for my kids to play in.  But see the hill back between those two trees?  Picture a future terraced vegetable garden...I CAN'T WAIT for that!!!  Little by little we'll be able to do the things we want to do to the yard/house.

 Unpacking amidst two crazy children was no easy task.  So two days after we moved it, being tired of living in boxes, I decided to tackle the kitchen.  First it needed cleaning.  The house had been rented for a year after the owners moved, and then sat vacant for 6 months after the renters left, so it was QUITE DIRTY.  I mean, everything.  Before I could unpack each room, I needed to clean.  The kitchen took me 5 hours of straight cleaning/unpacking, but I did it!

 Ta-da!

 That night before Hudson went to bed, he decided to be my little destroyer helper.

 Several weeks later I finally purchased some storage units for the playroom, which right now is in the formal dining room so that the boys can be close to me when I'm cooking and such.  Cooper and I put the shelves together ourselves, and once we were done, and got everything put away, Cooper said, "Wow, Mom.  I think I can play in here now."  That made me smile.

Many of you have been begging for pictures of the house.  Here it is already June 9th, and I still have a few decorative items to put up, but other than that we're finally "done" moving in/decorating for awhile.  So you can expect some pictures sometime in the not too distant future, as I catch up on this blog.

I am so happy to finally have a home we can call our own, and to be in a place where we know we'll be for at least 5-7 years, maybe even permanently.  That is a long time to me since we've been married 9-1/2 years, and have moved 7 times during our marriage--never in one place very long, and always having to start over with friendships and such.  This time we stayed close to our previous location, so other than missing our great friends, the Blantons, who were our neighbors, and changing wards (we miss you, Monroe Ward!!!), life hasn't changed much.  We already know a few people in our neighborhood from Cooper playing sports, and from the community.  It's so nice to finally feel settled.

We are both a little sad that our current residence isn't near family either in Utah, in New England, or on the coast of NC, but after praying about it, we felt this is where we need to be for awhile even though we have no family near (since Denise is soon to abandon us join our family in Boston), so here we will stay.  I have grown to really love the weather in Charlotte.  I have a hard time imagining moving to a place with long, cold winters.  The weather here gives me a lot to love.

I couldn't be happier in our new home.  I feels good to be home.

Palmettto Sportsmans Classic Expo 2014

Every year since we've lived in Charlotte we've been able to support Nathan's Aunt Denise at the Palmetto Sportsmans Classic each March in Columbia, SC.  Denise is the one who plans the whole expo, and we always enjoy it.  She does a fantastic job.  This was her last year :( since they'll be moving this fall.  We are SO SAD to lose them, but happy for their future adventures.

This year the Classic was as entertaining as ever.  Cooper always has a great time.
What more could a little boy want?

What??

 Catchin' fish

 Denise, Hudson and Allison

Denise and the celebrity attraction this year: Troy Landry of Swamp People

 Cute photo of Nate and Coop.  Can't get it to load the right way...

Thanks for a great time, Aunt Denise!

Cooper Selfies

I'm often finding selfies of Cooper on my phone, both pictures and videos.  Most of them I delete because there will often be 50 or more similar pictures, or pictures of the house or something.  Some of them are worth keeping and sharing.  Here are the latest.

There's this...

Cooper Silly Selfie 3-24-14

And sweet messages to Grammie...

Cooper Message to Grammie 3-24-14

Another cute message to Grammie and Ellie...

Cooper Message to Grammie and Ellie 3-25-14

Lastly, here's one from a day we were playing games.  I used to play Farkle with my brother, sister, sister-in-law, and niece, who all lived here in Charlotte for a year.  I happened to see it at the store one day, and decided Cooper is old enough to learn to play.  So here's my new Farkle buddy...

Take Me Out to the T-Ball Game

Last fall Cooper played soccer, and every time we walked to the soccer fields, passing the baseball fields, he begged to play baseball instead.  So this spring he was very excited to play t-ball for the first time.  His team was named the Rockies, after the Colorado Rockies.  The team was made up of kids ranging in age from 3-6 years, some who had played one season before, and most who, like Cooper, were entirely new to the game.

He was very excited for his first game.

Opening ceremonies (baseball in the South is NO JOKE).

Up to bat at his first official game.

There he is (#3) on second base.

Good game, team!

We spent many hours watching games and practices.  They had games twice a week, lasting at least 90 minutes each.  Their championship game lasted 3-1/2 hours--crazy for a 4-year-old to do anything for that long!  But I'll leave my opinion about all that aside.

We had invited our neighbor, Braden, Cooper's best bud, to play t-ball, and they were able to be on the same team.  Here they are at their end-of-season team party at the local frozen yogurt parlor.

Go Rockies!

Cooper's first trophy (which he dropped and broke about 5 seconds later before I could get a good picture--nothing a little super glue couldn't fix later.)

Cooper did really well, especially for his first time ever playing baseball.  Many times he still preferred to play in the dirt, dance around in the outfield, or chase butterflies, but there were times of extreme focus.  For instance, he NEVER failed to slide in to home plate, even when not necessary.  There was one time, however, that his slide actually saved him from getting out.  He played pitcher once--the ONE game I missed because Hudson wasn't feeling well--of course.  His coach gave out a game ball to the MVP at the end of each game, and Cooper received two during the season, which he'll proudly show you.  He even took them to preschool to show his teacher, and recently to Poppy's house when we went for Memorial Day weekend.

 

Cooper's team did very well, taking second place both in their season games, and in the championship tournament.  Here is the big guy with his tournament trophy.  It was almost 10 pm on a weeknight by the time their championship game ended, so he looks a little bleary-eyed.

We've asked Cooper what sport he wants to play this fall, and right now it's a tie between t-ball and hockey.  I look forward to him playing whatever he enjoys, and watching him learn new skills and excel at what he does.  Go Rockies, and go Cooper!

Bib Shots--Comparing Cooper and Hudson at 11 months

One day I was feeding Hudson and remembered a picture of Cooper at about the same age, wearing the same bib.  Thought it would be fun to compare.

The top picture is Cooper, the bottom Hudson, both at just shy of 11 months.  People tell me all the time how much they look alike, and while I see the similarities, I also see how different they are.  Cooper looks more like Nate's mother's family (Gunnings), while Hudson looks more like me.  No doubt they're related though.

Hudson 10 and 11 Months

Quite some time has passed since my last blog post, due to moving to our new home in April.  The packing, moving, and unpacking, house work, and yard work have consumed nearly every spare minute I've had since March, not to mention making time for my boys.  Things are finally getting settled, and I am determined to post about Hudson's 10 and 11 month milestones (and catch up on this blog) before he reaches 13 months.

Just chillin' and watchin' tv

A sick but sweet baby boy

Sleeping on Mommy's shoulder

Hudson had yet another ear infection two weeks before we moved.  Poor guy.  That made 6 ear infections in 6 months, enough to start talking about getting tubes in his ears.  Thankfully (and fingers crossed/ knock on wood), he hasn't had one since, so we may have dodged that bullet.

Driving his car

Bedhead

Hudson LOVES books.  It started with pulling ALL the books off the bookshelves multiple times a day.

First official haircut.  Our neighbor, Tammy Blanton, is a retired stylist, and did the honors in her driveway one evening.

Breakfast--yay!

Hudson helping Mommy unpack the kitchen in our new house.  Guess he thought this cabinet needed rearranging.

Hudson 11 months

Playing with the water table in our new backyard.

Hudson has CURLY hair!

Who, me?

Playing in the sandbox at our friends' house (Stephanie, Ethan and Adison Davis).  We play with them several times a week.

What, sticks aren't yummy?

How about sand toys, are they yummy?

Spaghetti is YUMMY!

A few videos:

This first one was taken 3/7/14.  We were reading "Pat the Bunny" for bedtime.  It's Hudson's favorite book thus far.  At the end it says to wave bye-bye.  This was the first night he'd ever done it on his own.

Hudson Waves Bye-Bye

Hudson started walking at 10 month, 3 weeks old.  It was hard to get a video of him, but here is a short one of some of his "first" steps (video taken 4/4/14).

Hudson Learns to Walk

Hudson thinks it's hilarious to splash water out of his sippy cups (4/11/14).

Hudson Water Humor

Lastly, Hudson also likes to swing (4/22/14).

Hudson at the Park

People tell me all the time what an "easy" baby Hudson is.  They're right!  He doesn't cry unless he's hungry, tired, scared, or REALLY hurt.  He smiles all the time, and goes with the flow.  He self-entertains most of the time.  The hard things with him revolve around eating: 1.  He WILL NOT let you feed him, but insists on feeding himself, no matter how messy; 2.  He doesn't like fruit, not even bananas.  But with all the other things that kids can be difficult about, I'll take it.  We love our little Huddy Buddy!