deluxe apartment in the sky

The moving schedule was pretty tight-- Rob was removing the last items from the basement as the new owners were arriving-- but we are now settled into our temporary condo. Our movers showed great care with our furniture and didn't scratch a thing, though the move took about an hour longer than estimated. We're still feeling a bit sore and haven't quite figured out where everything is located, but at this point we can report: condo life, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good: It is Sunday and Rob doesn't have to mow! Plus, the condo has an open floor plan that makes it much easier to watch Ally.

The Bad: Ally's bedroom is next to the television. And being on the third floor and with windows facing west, the A/C has to work pretty hard to keep it cool when the temperatures reach the 90s.

The Ugly: In the townhouse we kept the cat food on the stairs so that a baby gate stood between it and Ally. With gates yet to be installed in the condo, Ally has discovered that cat food is a tasty treat available on the floor! Mmm, crunchy! And did we mention that the litter boxes have to go in our bathroom?

au revoir, jostaberry

We are busy packing and saying goodbye to our first "real" home together. It's bittersweet. We'll be offline for a little while as we move and wait for our new cable connection to be enabled. Wish us luck!

packing continues

As we have packed our house into boxes (and more boxes, and then more boxes) we come across many items we used when Ally was first born that are now being stored for the mysterious and elusive "number two". Today we extracted from Ally's closet her bouncy seat, where she spent the majority of her first two months. Ally was delighted to see it and after I checked the weight limit (25 pounds! Whoa!) we allowed her to climb in it. She climbed in and out of the seat and played happily with the toys.

the difference between 6 and 7

When Harry Potter 6 debuted, we were celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary in New York City. At midnight we went to a release party at Books of Wonder where our copies were signed by illustrator Mary GrandPre and we enjoyed a collection of owls from an owl sanctuary, commemorative mugs and tote bags, and general happy vibes from the legions of fellow HP fans. When we returned home from the trip, we dove into the book, spending every bit of free time reading.

It probably goes without saying that we did not attend a midnight release party this year. Instead, HP 7 arrived snug in its special Amazon mailer. I hope to begin reading this weekend, but let's face it, we move in a couple days and things are a little hectic. Rob will probably begin reading when he finishes his research project on August 7. So people... no spoilers!!!

construction begins

Just in time for our move, construction on our new house has begun! Unfortunately by "construction" we mean, there are little markers and flags on our lot that indicate where excavation will occur beginning July 24. Hey, it's progress.

the mom-of-a-toddler diet

  A few months ago my sister sent to me a funny e-mail called the toddler diet about the extraodinary ability of toddlers to survive on lint, lollipops, and crayons. Ally really hasn't reached that phase of eating yet, and instead continues to consume food like a vacuum cleaner. She is in particular interested in food that we are eating, so while attempting to feed her lunch she will more often than not eat about 1/4 of my food. This pattern began months ago and persists today. So I introduce the mom-of-a-toddler diet, offering weight loss options because your toddler eats your food (portion control!) or causes you to chase her around a restaurant (exercise!). A two-pronged approach that guarantees success!

debut

Ally makes her cinematic debut in the Simpsons movie. My attempts to upload a photo to the Simpsonize Me tool didn't result in a great character, but with some work we have Ally Simpson.

creativity

  On Monday when I picked Allison up from daycare I was told that she had sustained the "most creative injury" our provider had ever seen. You see, Miss Ally has been walking more and more, which could also be read as "falling more and more." So on Monday when she woke from her nap she tried to walk around the pack n' play where she sleeps, fell, and imprinted on her forehead the mesh of the pack n' play sides. So perhaps from Rob she has inherited creativity, and from me she has inherited clumsiness.

what big feet you have!

 

Sometimes the things our children do are kind of gross, but we let them do it anyway because it's funny.

luv

Very few toys seem able to keep Ally's attention for long these days. But there are certain things that always make her happy, and she has become quite affectionate with certain stuffed toys like her duck (Mr. Duckie), her doll (baby), and her stuffed puppy (Mr. Puppy, who you may recall had to be replaced after a diaper incident last fall). When we show these items to her she hugs them, rolls on the floor with them, and gives them kisses. A few days ago she decided to put Mr. Duckie on her rocket with her and take him for a ride.

packing

With settlement a mere 3 weeks away, the packing has begun. We've run across a few amusing finds, our favorite being:

baby walking

About a week ago Rob called me at work on a Friday morning with some exciting news: Ally had just walked across the office in the back of our house, about 5-6 feet! She had been taking 1-2 steps for awhile, but this was the first time we could say with confidence that she was really walking. It's a funny thing, parenthood. For thousands of years babies have grown and learned to crawl, walk, and talk. Yet when you see your child do these things the world stops and there is your baby, wobbling on her toes, amazed with the world and walking to you. And it is the most extraordinary thing.

Every hour or so she seems to have a walking moment and she will walk for 10 steps or so, but it is pretty unpredictable so we haven't been able to capture a good picture or video yet. We did get a kick out of this scene from this past weekend, though. We call it Allison, intrepid girl reporter. She's investigating our HVAC system and calling in her concerns.