We're Back!

Well, it's been a while. In the last month we've offically moved out of our tiny apartment and into our new big house! We ended up closing on the 19th of January instead of the 22nd which was great because we spent the whole weekend painting and cleaning.

Looking back at all of my pictures over the last month there were many silly ones of Maddox and the cats. Here's a nice series of Maddox playing/tormenting Cooper.
Cooper was out of there quite quickly!

Well, we've been getting away with using 3 different "blankies" for Maddox's comfort item, but he now only wants this one. Man, I have to find more fabric to make another one. There's already a hole in it and the corner is coming apart. Yikes! My blanky from when I was little is in shreds. I guess that's what I get for taking it with me to college. Hopefully Maddox won't use this one that long.
Rowan spent a lot of time with us the week or two before we closed because Angie & Kyle were working on their new house. Here he is snuggling with Maddox's baby in the sling.

Oh, and when I put Maddox down for a nap I have to ensure Rowan is safe. Most days he goes in the intellitainer, but this day he wanted to go in the car seat. Crazy kid!

Post-nap cuteness!

Snuggle!
Here's Maddox taking a seat on his cute little step stool we all painted for his birthday. I'll get this picture turned right-side up when I get home. Sorry.

Ketchup! Well, Corey has introduced Maddox to ketchup (aka "dip" as Maddox calls it). He now likes to dip his chicken, eggs, chicken dogs, turkey or pretty much whatever he's eating in it.

Moving Day! The 19th we were all packed up and ready to move right after closing. I wasn't going to spend another unnecessary minute in that apartment.
Grandma Jane came up to entertain Maddox while we worked. Here he is deep into a good book.
Doesn't he look so intelligent and interested?

Our new house! Here's a shot of our messy kitchen/dining room.
Look at all that counter and cupboard space!

Painting! Saturday morning we got help from Corey's family and painted the kitchen and put up light fixtures. We painted the kitchen a minty sage color. The picture doesn't really show the color well.Amy and Hunter came over to visit too. Hunter's concentrating on picking up cheerios in this picture, but Maddox keeps getting to them first.
Sunday - more painting! We painted the living room and entryway a light mocha color. It's so warm and cozy. Grandma Jane came over to help paint and hang out with Maddox again.
He asked for a bath after dinner, so Grandma was on duty. Thanks Grandma Jane!

Corey took a week and a half off, so Monday I was at it again painting the master bathroom.
Spaghetti dinner on the floor. We're having our hardwood installed on Monday, so we've been eating on the floor in the kitchen until we can get our furniture delivered. Maddox is the only one that gets a seat.

NOODLES! Maddox's new favorite food. And he's getting really good with his fork and spoon.
Slurping in some noodles.

Here he is clapping because he's doing such a good job.
Here's Maddox doing his favorite thing - calling Bumpa Rob. He now takes the phone and chats away. He even said, "I love you" the other day. His vocabulary is getting to be huge. He's now tying words together. What a little wiz, eh?
Homemade chocolate chip cookies! I love baking in my new house! And Maddox loves to eat all the goodies. He calls chocolate chips "chipa chipa chipa".

Oh, and an update on potty training. Maddox asks to go pretty much every day. I usually try to offer when he gets up for the day, before and after naps, and before bed. The other day he only had 3 wet diapers and went on the potty chair 5 times! Here's a shot of him at work. He likes to watch the stream flow. So funny.
When he's done he says, "All done!"Hanging the TV! This was Corey's project later in the week. We're getting things done one at a time.

Helping with the laundry. Yes, we stayed at my parent's again for the alumni tournaments in Cannon Falls. Corey's team took 1st again. That's 4 years in a row! Way to go 1997!

Here's Maddox and Hunter rolling around naked at my parent's house the other night when we had a meeting to plan our fundraisers. Aren't they cute!

All is well with our family lately. We're just working on unpacking and settling in. Maddox is terrific and changing every day. He's such a little busy body and constantly learning new things. He's still obsessed with Elmo, loves to eat, loves to nurse more, and just loves his mommy and daddy. He started calling me mommy now instead of mama, which is just so cute. Sometimes I can't believe how much he's talking. People keep asking me if he's almost 2! I guess I don't realize how much he can say until we're out and about and people say something to us.

Now that we're a little more settled I'll try to update more frequently. Oh, and we still have to move all of our stuff out of Corey's parent's house, so if anyone's interested in lifting lots of stuff let us know!