Wednesday, October 15, 2008

So, I skipped September...

I've been busy. Let's head back to September...

The day after Labor Day this year, 12 weeks to the day that I had my daughter, I headed back to work. I was definitely less than thrilled, and oddly though I Exclusively Pump, I walked out the door that morning without my pump in hand. And so, I was late my first day.

The landscape of my team changed quite a bit in the 12 weeks that I was gone. The greater landscape of the account team that I'm a part of changed drastically as well. Finally, there are new changes that are on the horizon. I'm hoping for its for the better.

But the big news...we closed on a new home yesterday. On our road trip, we had the opportunity to be in an enclosed space and just talk. My main problem was with the storage unit that we'd been renting for a year. I wanted to stop paying for it and so the challenge was out there: either we invest in a shed, or we're out of this house in a year or less.

Our new home has two master bedrooms. One on the first floor, which is huge and a second on the second floor which is also huge and very private. Two other bedrooms round out the first floor - one for each of the girls. There is also a shed in the back yard, so our space issues have been solved.

Now our main concerns in the coming weeks are fixing up our current home to get it ready to sell, and moving. In the past few weeks, our current home has had foundation repair, a new air conditioning unit installed, and we're planning on increasing insulation, fixing cracks in the walls and cleaning the carpets. I'm not sure how much we'll be able to create a lot of curb appeal, but we've been watching a lot of HGTV, so hopefully we'll get it right the first time, as it is my goal to have this house sold by the end of the year.

Thankfully we're not carrying a mortgage on our current home, so we have a little bit of time to get it ready. And down the line, ideally, we would refinance in order to get a better mortgage payment once we have a bigger lump sum with which to work with.

As for moving, we have been collecting boxes from grocery and liquor stores since our offer was accepted and all the paperwork was turned into the lender. My husband has been packing a little bit each day, and we have two rooms full of boxes ready to go. Go him! We're planning on making the "big" move at the end of this month.

Baby updates:

Em is now 4 months old. Unbelievable. We are delaying and staggering her shots. At two months, she received her first DTaP and IPV. At three she was supposed to have PCV and HiB. After rescheduling three times due to vaccine backorder, we just skipped it. This past Monday, she received her second DTaP and IPV, and we will try for her first PCV and HiB next month.

As of Monday, she weighed in at 13lb 9oz and was 25 inches long. She is now attempting to sit up on her own, and carries on conversations with us, her mobile, the walls...Tummy time is less unhappy for her. She loves to laugh and "dance". She and Daddy have a great time during the day while Mom's at work.

The best news is that she started sleeping through the night all on her own a week before I went back to work. She goes down at 11 pm and is back up again at 9ish the next day. Perfect!

Next post - how we moved with a baby - OUR way.