Happy Thanksgiving

What a crazy week this has been. On Sunday night we finally got word that the movers would be here Monday between 12 and 2. Hurray, we thought!! We were so excited... until 2pm came and went, as did 3,4,5,6,and 7pm. At 8pm the driver finally showed up...solo. Nick and I wondered how on earth this man was going to unload all of our belongings on his own? Did he have some sort of Herculean type power which was not visible to the naked eye? Seemingly confident, Allan our driver made his best attempt to unload as much as he could (in the pouring rain) but sadly even with Nick and I helping we couldn't finish the job. So we gave up at about 1am. After spending the night parked on our cul de sac in his 18 wheeler (which took down a few of the neighbors telephone lines), Allan the driver (and the 2 little elves who arrived Tuesday morning to help) quickly got the truck unloaded (in the pouring rain).

I think as far as moves go this was the worst...but I say that every time. Perhaps our choice in moving companies has gotten progressively worse. This time though things have gone wrong...bad things. Besides being ridiculously late with the delivery of our goods, the movers #1) put a few nice deep gashes in my newly refinished hardwood floors (I'll say no more on that subject), #2) destroyed a book shelf (no big deal it was a Target special), #3) lost the screws to Annabelle's crib (quickly solved with a trip to Home Depot, but the poor child had to be relegated back to Nana & Papa's for our first night in the new house), #4) broke Jack's swing (OK, he's getting too big for it anyway), #5) and this is the most annoying- lost (read stole) a box which contained our entire DVD collection AND my Christmas CD's (nice timing)! I guess I deserve it for actually labelling the box properly.

That being said, there are worse things in life than an unpleasant move... like waking up Thanksgiving morning with a tropical rain forest in your basement. Or giving your daughter a bath only to find that when you drained the tub all of the water came up through the downstairs toilet (resulting in a very smelly wading pool in your kitchen and bathroom). Then having to clean up that very smelly wading pool without the use of running water...or gloves. Like I said, there are worse things in life than an unpleasant move and this year on Thanksgiving I am very thankful. I am thankful for my health, and that of my family and friends, but most of all, on this day, I am thankful that my Uncle knows a thing or two about plumbing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Master Jack

Although Jack has been pretty grumpy about the whole move situation it hasn't stopped him from reaching life's little milestones. This week he has mastered sitting up on his own and he also waved goodbye to his daddy for the first time this morning!!

Move Update

First off, it still hasn't happened. When "early next week" came and went I phoned the movers (Globus Moving Company- incase you were wondering who NOT to use in the event of a move) and I was told "we'll be with you either Thursday or Friday morning". Here it is Friday morning and still no truck. Nick had a phone call yesterday from the driver who apologized for this most recent delay and then went on to explain how he had fallen ill the day before and needed to take a day off from driving....that's acceptable, people get sick, but here it is November 18th and we were expecting our things on November 5th. Having driven across the country once or twice before (although never in an 18 wheeler) I know that it normally does not take this long...even with the slight delay when the truck broke down. It's all just very annoying. So the latest claim is that we can expect delivery either Saturday night or Sunday morning...but I will not be betting on that!

Local Shoppers

A lot of the stores we've been going into lately have these great shopping carts that double as cars. Most are a pain in the butt to maneuver but perfect for transporting two kids and all of your shopping...this particular model was found at the Home Depot. Although Jack did eventually have to be relegated to the baby Bjorn because he kept flopping forward and bumping his head on the wheel, he was good enough to pose for this picture (which was taken with my cell phone).

Arrrrrgh.

I am beginning to wonder if we will ever get our stuff. Will we ever move into the new house? If our moving company has it their way the answer would be NO! They have been taking their sweet time with our move and now the moving van has apparently broken down somewhere in middle America! According to the dispatcher the driver got a flat tire and rather than pulling over to the side of the road like the rest of the world would do decided that it was a good idea to drive the van to the next rest stop, which resulted in a broken axel. Now we must wait for a part to arrive so that the truck can be fixed. They are now estimating that we might get our stuff early next week... looks like another weekend at Bob and Donna's. On the up side: maybe we'll be able to finish painting before the furniture gets here.

Happy Halloween

These pictures were taken yesterday, the day after the first snow fall of the year...it was 70 degrees and all of the snow had melted. Because it was such a nice day (& knowing the kids would spend the real Halloween at the doctors getting Flu shots) we took them out for a trial run of the costumes.

On Halloween (after the shots) they dressed up again and went to the playground. On the way back we ran into a crazy neighbor lady who insisted that Annabelle "trick-or-treat" at her house and gave her a straw...I think that was a trick.

Annabelle calls her costume "the Rah" which I'm guessing is her imitation of a dinosaur. She even chose the costume herself!

The First Snow Fall

October 29, 2005 - Boston MA

Jack Jack

No, Jack is not becoming a "Rapper" with his fancy sweat suit and fashionable bandages. He actually had to have some blood drawn today to check for allergies so that he can receive a Flu shot...if I knew ahead of time that they would be tapping into his veins for this blood I think I may have reconsidered him getting the Flu shot. As it was the Nurse missed his vein twice in the left arm before giving up and trying the right arm. After a couple of stabs there she was able to hit the vein and extract a few viles of blood. Jack was a trooper, he only let out one little squawk during the whole process. The real tears came after this photo was taken and I removed the bandages. As for the sweat suit, well what can I say, it was a gift.

Daddy's Little Girl

What exactly did Nick say to Annabelle to elicit such a great response? We'll never really know but I bet it has something to do with Granny buying her a pony for Christmas!

A Week of Firsts

If you look closely at this photo you can see the tiny white slit that is Jack's first tooth! It was discovered earlier this week...I think it's neighbor (aka tooth #2) should be appearing any day as well. Another first for Jack this week was his first cold which he has has for 2 days now...poor Jack is all stuffy and sounding like Darth Vador. First #3 for the week is that rather than inching along on his belly like he's in boot camp Jack was able to get up on his hands and knees and sort of rock back and forth...next step crawling!

Brick House

Everything is still going ahead with the house and we are scheduled to get the keys in 10 days. Today the kids and I went over to the brick square to meet Chuck our realtor (aka The Real Estate Wizard) and "Dave" the hardwood floor guy (the floor guy really has some great Chinese name but I guess thinks it is too difficult for us to pronounce so he has asked to be called Dave). Anyway, "Dave" gave us a reasonable quote for refinishing the floors so I have booked him for October 29th. It should take him a few days to do the job and another few days for the floors to dry completely. We are hoping the movers will be able to deliver our stuff on November 5th.

"Uh Oh, Boo Boo"

For the past two weeks Annabelle has had a cold, nothing serious just a runny nose and slight cough, no fever or anything, but just generally feeling a bit under the weather. This past weekend she started tugging at her ear so I thought it might be time for a visit with Doctor Pam. This afternoon I loaded up the gang and headed over to the medical center. Dr. P. gave her the once over and it was determined that Miss Annabelle does indeed have an ear infection. One prescription and a toy theft (see pockets in photo) later and we were on our way.

The New House

Hopefully I'm not jinxing it by posting a picture too soon but we are scheduled to pass papers on October 28th! We've already had the inspection and the house seems pretty sturdy. It needs some updating and decorating help (and new non-yellow shutters) but nothing too major. I'll be holding my breathe for the next 3 weeks!

Action Jack

Jack is becoming a real "swinger". He usually likes to hang out on the swings and keep an eye on things when we're at the park. I have a suspicion he might be running around before we know it though.

Motorcycle Madness

Where has the time gone? It seems like just a few months ago Annabelle could barely walk! She's now mastered all of the obstacles at the playground, including a rock wall (small plastic and tot sized but a rock wall none the less) and this motorcycle, which she couldn't ride a month ago. It's all happening way too fast. Annabelle is 20 months old today!

Marital Status??

Today Jack had his 6 month well visit with the new pedi. As it was our first visit there we had to fill out all of the usual paper work and make sure all of the info they had on us was correct. The girl at the desk handed me a piece of paper and had me check it over for any mistakes:
Name: Jack Henry -check
DOB: -check
Address: unknown -check
Parent/Guardian: Jennifer -check
Marital Status: Single -oops
When I mentioned to the girl that there was a mistake and that I was infact married and not single her reply was "oh, no, that's asking about Jack".
So Jack's new stats are:
Marital Status: SINGLE
Height: 26 3/4 inches
Weight: 18 lbs 3 oz.
Head Circ: 43 centimeters

BAAALLLL!!!

Annabelle is so funny these days. She's talking more and more and starting to put words together...real words, ones we can understand. Yesterday we were at the park and she was chasing a group of older boys who were kicking a ball around (I find it funny referring to 5 year olds as the "older boys") anyway, at one point they were looking for the ball and Annabelle was of course helping by screaming at the top of her lungs "BAAALLLLL, WHERE ARE YOU" "BAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!" The ball never did answer but when she finally spied it hiding out under a slide she screamed "I GET IT, I GET IT". Unfortunately the "older boys" got there first.

Dada

Last night I was sitting across from Nick with Jack on my lap, it was pretty quiet in the room when all of a sudden we hear Jack say Dada!! His first word. Clear as day. I must admit that I was a little sad that his first word wasn't Mama as Nick is now two for two with Dada being Annabelle's first word also.
That's right Jack, you just keep that pacifier in until you're ready to say Mama:)
By the way, Jack is 6 months old today!!

House Inspection, Not So Good

After seeing the inspection report we decided that we shouldn't proceed with the purchase. As it turns out the house has some major foundation problems, among other things. Looks like it's back to the drawing board for us. Sorry little green house, you can become someone else's problem.

Home Sweet Home?

There is a good chance that this little green house will become our new home. We went to an open house there this past Sunday and decided later on that evening to make an offer. After a week long of negotiations and counter offers the current owners finally agreed on a selling price. The house inspection is set for tomorrow morning so if all checks out we should be getting the keys on October 15th!