New home!

We are excited to report that we have started to settle in to our new home! We still have a lot of organizing to do, but at least we have unpacked enough of our things to get by for the time being. Vanessa seems to be handling the transition to a new home pretty well. We've visited friends in our old neighborhood and Vanessa walked right past our old house several times without even looking at it. And it took her about a week to really feel comfortable with the slightly different environment at bedtime, but she's adjusted now. There are many things about moving that are really exciting for her, such as re-discovering all of her toys and books as they get unpacked, and having so many empty boxes around to hide in!



Vanessa has mastered the art of crib bouncing and she practices daily to keep up her skills.

Vanessa enjoyed the new experience of clambering all over the bed before I'd had a chance to locate the sheets for it. So many new experiences for her!

Vanessa has always had the habit of finding her own snacks when mommy was too slow to find them for her. After a recent experience in the grocery store when Vanessa got hold of the Kix box that I had opened to appease her appetite while I was shopping, I always make sure to only leave mostly empty cereal boxes on tables or other places within reach.

Vanessa has really enjoyed exploring the outdoors in our own back yard.

Uncle Brian, Joanna, and Kyra came to visit last weekend. We enjoyed our visit with Brian and Joanna, and Vanessa REALLY enjoyed Kyra's visit. I don't know if you can see Vanessa in this picture (she's kind of hiding behind a tree), but she and Kyra are running outside to explore the back yard together.
Vanessa especially likes the benches near the fire pit. We're excited about having a fire pit, but I think it will be a few years before we use it while Vanessa is around!




Vanessa compares tongues with Kyra.

Vanessa and Kyra lounge in the kitchen together. Vanessa never wanted Kyra too far out of her sight!

In this picture, Vanessa is trying to see if Kyra is awake. She's been fascinated by the sleeping/awake pair of opposites for a while, but lately she's taken it to a whole new level. Now any kind of inanimate object might take a nap in her crib or on a bed.

My favorite example of Vanessa deciding to help her toys take a nap is when she put her large green lego block down for bedtime (actually a Duplo, but I always call Duplos legos). She made sure to cover it with a blanket and rub its back. She's also put her magnetic letters down for a nap, and always flips them over so that they are backwards, on their "tummies!" Her legos also had a chance to have a snack in the high chair and to go for a ride in the stroller. I wouldn't be surprised if Vanessa's legos get a good tooth-brushing one day soon.

Vanessa especially enjoys this particular box because she can step in and out of it by herself. It doesn't hide her too satisfactorily, though, so she uses other boxes for hiding in.

Uncle Brian attempted to keep Vanessa from squishing her toes with my software engineering book (which Vanessa enjoys flipping through from time to time). Vanessa actually managed to bring the heavy text all the way over to me without dropping it.

I told Vanessa she was strong, and she agreed. "Strong" is one of her favorite new signs. Her other favorite new sign is "fix." The other day, Vanessa found a nail in a box that had found its way into a box that hadn't finished unpacking. She decided to take the nail and "fix" her cardboard box (the one in the picture above) because it had a tear in it. For safety, I should have immediately taken the nail away from her, but I was fascinated by the fact that she understood that nails were for fixing things! When had she seen that? I did take it away in just another minute, when she decided that a nail would also be really great for "fixing" the CD player!

Vanessa has also started being a whole lot more verbal. Just this week, I have noticed her talking more and more in phrases, such as "blue eyes," "mommy's hair," "need more," and "no diaper," for example. I'm pretty sure I've heard her say entire sentences, including "I want to read this." It's amazing how quickly that happens!

In news of Elizabeth, the doctor thought I might be measuring small again, and I was worried that I would end up being induced early like I was with Vanessa, but an ultrasound this week showed that Elizabeth is doing just great, no reason to worry at all! I have some pretty good ultrasound pictures that I'll try to post soon. I am so very glad that Elizabeth is doing well, and I am glad that I have the extra time to get organized before welcoming Elizabeth into our lives!