Part II: Selling a House

Selling a house is a truly personal thing, as it turns out. 

We were ready to move, don't get me wrong.  We were actively searching for houses that were two-stories and had more space than our current home offered.  Friends of ours kept moving out of the neighborhood, and that made us sad and antsy.  Our home looked like Buy Buy Baby had exploded all over it.  We had simply outgrown our adorable ranch.

Still...it's been an emotional struggle to put the house on the market this week.  We've taken down our personal photos, dismantled two nurseries (as much as possible), hidden away the kids' toys, and Magic Erased our way out of having to repaint anything.  Our home looks beautiful and clean -- ready to be shown and sold.

The house was put on the market on Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday afternoon we had our first showing.  Stephen, Gavin, Baylor, and I hunkered down at BW-3's for dinner, wondering what the people who were looking through our home thought of the Very Hungry Caterpillar-themed bathroom we put together when I was seven months pregnant with Gavin.  (It's Gavin's favorite place to be.)  We hoped they liked the colors we chose for the master bedroom, and that they didn't mind Baylor's baby swing pushed to the side of the living room.  (We should really just move it entirely -- she never sits there.)  I worried, as potential buyers walked through our home, that we were being judged.  Not that our home was being judged -- but that we as people were being judged.  It was unnerving.  The feedback from our first showing indicated that the house showed beautifully and impressed the buyers (who ultimately wanted a home closer to Lebanon, as it turns out) -- so tonight, at our second showing, I'll rest a little easier knowing that we've done everything we can to make our home "marketable" and "fresh" for the people who are taking the time to consider making our first home their next home.  I'm aware that our home won't be perfect for everyone, and I can't expect there to be fifteen people banging down the door with offers -- but I know I will struggle to not be offended by the people who walk through our house and then choose to pass on it.  Isn't our house good enough for them?  Aren't WE good enough for them?!  (I know...it's crazy.  Maybe I'm still dealing with some postpartum hormonal shifts?  Sigh.) 

So here's hoping that this part of the process goes quickly.  Here's hoping we find the perfect new owners for the little house we brought our children home to and created so many memories in.  Here's hoping that someone loves it the way we've loved it.

Part I: Buying a House

As I mentioned in my last post, Stephen and I recently bought our dream home.  It is a beautiful two-story brick home in Mason, located in a quiet, sidewalked neighborhood right behind our favorite park.  There are paths leading all the way into the heart of Deerfield, meaning that when our children are older, they will be able to ride their bikes safely to a variety of shops and restaurants, as well as to the movie theatre and gym/pool.  Until then, we have a nice, flat backyard in which to run around.  The nearby park offers two large playsets, one specifically for toddlers, a big open field, a walking path, a picnic shelter, a basketball court, and a duck pond.  There is so much to do outside, but when it rains or is too cold, we are thrilled that our new home is spacious enough to create playrooms throughout the house while still having space to entertain visitors who don't want to sit on the floor and/or dig through a pile of discarded blocks and balls to find their things.  We have a finished basement and the previous owners are leaving behind a gorgeous pool table, so Stephen officially gets his "man cave" and will undoubtedly love hosting football get-togethers throughout the season.  As for me -- I love the formal living and dining room.  I love that I'll have an area to put things that are special -- like my mom's dreidel collection, which I've gratefully inherited -- without having to worry about little toddler hands breaking them.  I also love the huge great room...and the master bathroom...and the spacious kitchen...  Heck, I really love the whole place.  I can't wait to get our hands on it and make it our own.

We close on the house at the end of September and will spend a few weeks getting a painter, handyman, electrician, landscaper, and carpet cleaner in before moving in ourselves.  As of now, October 9 is the day we will officially change our address and become true Mason residents.  We feel very blessed by this next phase in our lives and are so looking forward to creating memories in our "forever home" as a family of four.  What an exciting summer it has been!

Mason, here we come!

Our Little Princess is TWO MONTHS OLD

I've been terrible about blogging lately.  Granted, I've had some pretty good excuses:

- I have two kids under two.
- A summer cold has swept through our house, and then swept through our house again.
- I started back at work this week.
- Oh...and we bought the home of our dreams.  :)  (This point deserves some elaboration, and I will definitely do that once I've managed to check some tasks off of my ever-increasing to-do list.  For now, let me just say how blessed we feel to have found such a beautiful place to raise our family.  We can't wait to plant some roots and move forward with this next phase of our lives.)

This post is about our gorgeous girl, though.  She's two months old today, which is altogether unbelievable to me.  We've had a big month in terms of her development!  More often than not, she only wakes up once a night, usually after 6 or 7 hours, and then goes back down for another 2 or 3.  She's a bit of an early riser, starting to stir around 6:30 am, so that's something we'll have to work on -- but all in all, she's a much better sleeper at two months old than Gavin was at ten months old.  (And we finally got her sleeping in her own room!)  She's still wearing 0-3 month clothes, but she seems to be filling out a bit and looking more like a "baby" than a "newborn".  She smiles all the time, giggles in her sleep, and loves to be swaddled and held tightly.  Everyone loves her so much, including her big brother.  As for me -- well, I'm borderline obsessed.  Here are some photos I took to commemorate this exciting month:

And some of the budding friendship between brother and sister:

Gavin is a fantastic big brother and is always wanting to help me with Baylor's day-to-day care.  He loves bringing me her diaper caddy and gets upset when she doesn't want to play on her playmat or sit in her swing.  I can't wait to see their relationship bloom as his language skills continue to grow and she gets more animated and mobile!  Having two kids is definitely A LOT more work, but seeing them together makes the extra struggle absolutely worthwhile.

Happy two month birthday, beautiful girl!