the memory house

It's with mixed emotions that I say, it's official, our house is on the market. We've been looking for a new (bigger!) house for about 18 months. PJ and I finally decided that it was stupid to just look, and look, and look, but never commit to anything because we hadn't sold (or even tried to sell) our house. We decided last year we'd wait until this summer to put the house up, but when the interest rates dropped in November, we decided it was time to go!

Emotionally though, it's like a roller coaster. I'm so excited to get the boys more room to run and play, and essentially start the next chapter in our life. But it's so scary to consider leaving this house, this home. PJ and I kid that we have done a lot of growing up here. We moved in when we had only been married 7 months, and kids weren't even a thought yet. It was our dream "starter" home and we could hardly wait. We had the house built, and watched it every step of the way. We came every day to see the progress, and I remember being so excited when they finally poured the foundation. We picked out cabinets, paint, tile, carpet, and grout. It was our house.

And now, I get so excited to leave in one minute, and in the next I choke back tears thinking of all the memories we've made in this house. We brought Mia here as a two month old puppy. We lovingly painted walls, laid wood flooring, and dug flowerbeds. We found out kiddos were on the way in this house, and one rainy New Year's Day we brought home our first sweet baby, Britton Kasey. We've laughed, cried, and loved being a family in this house.

I know it's just been 7 years, which is so very far from a lifetime. I know the next house will hold many more memories just as special. But there will never be another "first" house, and this one will always hold a special place in our hearts. And I hope the next family loves it just as much as we have.

hold on to your hats

We're mobile! By "we" I mean Leyton, and I guess the term "mobile" is really negotiable. :) The big development is that he's pulling up now! So we aren't too far from complete mobility I'm afraid... He pulled up on Saturday morning, right in front of all of us in the Pack-n-Play. We were getting ready for Britton's big birthday bash and I glanced over at Leyton and he was standing! He is also crawling a little - he crawls about a foot, then backwards about three. He hasn't quite got it mastered, but hey, we're thrilled with his progress! He also has decided that his reflection is the coolest person around, and loves to give himself kisses!

In other news, we are currently a "house of germs" so don't come near us. More specifically, my kids are; PJ and I are fine (at the moment anyway). Britton has strep (AGAIN! - 2nd time in less than a month), and Leyton has an ear infection. Fun times at the Garcia house. Be sure to come on by and pick out a disease to take home with you. We've got plenty. :)

Britton and Leyton "Happys"

"Happys" is actually a term my Dad uses when buying the kids gifts. To him, it refers to a small gift, not necessarily something they asked for, but something that brings a huge smile to their face. Each year, he buys each boy a few "happys" for Christmas or Birthdays and it just makes me (and them) smile. So in this case, I'm using "Happys" in a completely different sense. To me, happys are those little things my boys do that make me smile or laugh for just a minute. Nothing earth-shattering, but those things I want to remember in years to come.

Britton continues to use some huge words that just keep me in stitches. This past week, he apparently told my Mom that dinner was "decadent." Not a word we use (EVER really), but apparently he used it correctly. He picks up the darnedest things. Over the weekend, PJ and I were kidding around and I told PJ I was omniscient, so he couldn't get away with anything. Of course Britton asked what 'omniscient' meant, and I said "all knowing." I told him that he was pretty omniscient these days. He looked and me and without missing a beat said, "Yeah, I know lots of stuff."

Leyton has realized that he can see me in the mirror in the car (you know, the mirror mounted in the backseat so that I can see him when he's rear-facing). He will lean towards the mirror, and go "AHHH!" As soon as I look, he starts laughing at me. It's the cutest game you've ever seen, but a little tricky to play and drive at the same time.

the big 4 year old

So Tuesday was a big day for the Garcia household... The biggest reason being that my first baby boy, Britton Kasey, turned four! I can hardly believe it. Of course we are thrilled with each birthday, but it comes with mixed emotions as it's a reminder that my babies are growing up. FAST. I know he's still relatively young, but the idea of the great milestones to come is a hard pill for me to swallow. Right now, I can keep him safe, cared for, and sheltered from the world. Once we enter the realm of kindergarten (fall of 2010), it's a whole new ball game, and that really scares me. He's a wonderful, caring, intelligent (smart as a whip), happy four year old that I love with all my heart.

He made a list of things to do for his birthday, and we did just about everything! He requested a vanilla scone for breakfast, so I went to Starbucks first thing to get that. We went to Red Robin for lunch, rode his bike to the park to play, and I made him all his favorites for dinner. We had our little birthday party at home after dinner (just the 4 of us), and enjoyed homemade chocolate cake (at his request), and opened presents. He also finally had his first piece of gum (as promised for well over a year now). All in all, I think Britton would say it was a wonderful birthday. :)

The other big event of the day was that Leyton's cast was taken off! We have never been so excited to go to the doctor, and we made it a family event. His leg is healed completely, and he's back to his old self, happy as ever. We are of course a little behind now on the gross motor stuff (no crawling or pulling up yet - all things he was starting to do when this happened), but he's made up for it with fine motor. He's saying several words, does pattycake along with us, points, waves, etc. We are so proud of his resiliency. Here's some pics from the big day!

The long anticipated first piece of gum:

The birthday boy with the cake, with sprinkles, as requested! On a side note, my cakes sure are ugly, but they taste good! There's got to be a class or something I can take - I just don't have the gift of making "pretty" cakes...

Lunch at Red Robin:

Happy 4th Birthday Britton! We love you!!!

more christmas festivities...

I feel like I should do all the Christmas posting in chunks or it's going to be incredibly long. :)

Probably my favorite tradition is making Christmas cookies in the days before Christmas. (Probably because my favorite activity is eating, especially anything sweet. Britton tends to take after his mother.) We did this every year when I was growing up, and I feel like it's a tradition I definitely want to pass along to my children. Jill made us the CUTEST little Christmas bag with all the "fixins" for gingerbread cookies. Britton, Leyton and I had a wonderful time making (and devouring) the little gingerbread men! Thank you Jill for the wonderful surprise!!! You truly have a gift of creativity.

A few nights later, after said gingerbread cookies were long gone, we made homemade sugar cookies! This activity generally keeps Britton's interest until his tummy is full, then PJ and I are left to frost the remaining cookies after the boys' bedtime. And PJ's a willing participant, although we never seem to have as many cookies in the end as we started with when he's helping. Hmm...

The supervisor of the entire operation:

Waiting not so patiently for the cookies to finish cooking...