The Starting Place

We've been in the house for just over a month. There are no longer boxes that need to be unpacked with any urgency. In fact, the boxes that remain packed up will stay that way until we get some more storage. We'll get around to making improvements but it's always nice to note where you're coming from. Without further ado, here is a quick, unedited, unstaged, glimpse-of-real-life house tour of our Starting Place. 

The living room serves as our laundry room. Don't hate. I'm planning on moving this activity to the basement. Sometime. 

My step-dad is refinishing our dining room table (Merry Christmas to me!). 

From the kitchen, I can see into the playroom. But, I would like to be able to see more of the playroom. So in a couple of weeks, we're going to open the doorway by at least four more feet. Peter and I both thought it would be a good idea then our neighbor, who has a home identical to ours, told us it was the one thing they wish they had done right when they moved in. That was all the nudging we needed. 

Here, in her natural habitat, you can see my diaper-clad first born enjoying an enriching episode of Curious George while sister naps and I snap a few pictures of the house. We love having a playroom!

This is the office. Yes, that is wallpaper designed to look like a cork board collage. No, we will not be keeping it.
Cole likes her new room. She also like "the friends" that adorn the border. I haven't had the heart to tell her that "the friends" are coming down.

Ibbie's room is always the most presentable! Maybe because she barely has anything. 

Our guest room is a holding pen. 

Now the master bedroom room is half awesome and half pit. And since the girls have been sick the top of the dresser is serving as a medicine cabinet. 

Together Again!

We have met some wonderful people in Delaware, but man, do I miss our friends from Memphis! When we realized Erin and Will would be with her folks in South Carolina on the very day we were planning to drive home from Georgia, we made stopping a top priority.  

We took two-hour playdate/lunch/pit stop so that we could visit with Erin, Will and Kristen, another friend who once lived in Memphis. Before we moved, Will gave Cole a little picture book of their times together. It is one of Cole's favorite books! She "reads" its nearly every day. She has asked for Will and Erin to come over on multiple occasions which is so sweet but also heart wrenching. Since moving the kids have seen one another on FaceTime, but nothing is the same as being with a friend. They picked up right where they left off! The rest of us chatted and ate and chatted some more. 

Our Week in Georgia

We spent last week in Georgia soaking up all the family time we could get. Due to the move, we didn't spend Thanksgiving in Georgia as has been our tradition. While the girls and I passed through on our way to Delaware, Peter hadn't seen our niece and nephew since July. We were long due for a visit.

Cole was reunited with her Strider bike! We left the bike in Geogia last time we visited because Cole was just a hair too short to really use it. Now its a perfect fit! 

We made the most of the nearby parks and had two picnic dinners. One just because and the other to celebrate my brother-in-law and Peter's birthdays.

One afternoon, Peter, the girls and I ventured to Stone Mountain Park for a train ride. Cole is really into trains right now so we thought it would be a hit. And it was. In no small part, thanks to the candy we let Cole buy as a peace offering for the loud noises the train made.

Our little water bugs had a blast splashing in the backyard and a local splash park.

Of course, the best part was just getting to see everyone. Recently, Cole's language has taken off so she was able to name and identity her grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins.

I should point out that since this was a vacation, Peter got to rest. For a whole 20 minutes on the couch, which may, in fact, be the longest nap he's taken this year.