FINALLY!

We FINALLY moved into our house this past weekend, after crashing with my (oh-so-generous) parents for over a month! We moved the family over on Saturday evening, after Ryan and I had spent countless nights and weekends readying it for the kids (we were waiting for the contractors to finish some important work before we could move in, so it made sense to get things as ready as we could in the meantime.) I feel like so much has transpired since living here in Jersey - including Zoey turning 6 months after we first got here and then turning 7 months just yesterday, on Easter Sunday. She had been sick with a fever and was rather fussy on her special day, but she still hung in there and was able to pose for a few photos:

She hasn't started crawling yet, but she is practicing a lot, and just yesterday she started babbling "Dadadada" (between crying fits). Ryan is so lucky; she already knows his name!

We went back to my parents' house on Sunday for Easter dinner, and Ellie got all dressed up for the occasion (she even wore her "dancing shoes," which inspire her to immediately tap dance whenever she puts them on.) She had so much fun reacquainting herself with her old toys here at the "New Jersey house," that she was beat by the time we got to Gramma and Pop-pop's. You will see from the pics that she had a good nap on their couch that afternoon:

The kids are adjusting well to their new home, and Ryan and I are loving it. It's good to get settled again and to just enjoy being together as a family. Elliott and Zoey are actually now sleeping together in the same room, and so far they haven't disturbed each other too much. Let's hope it lasts, because it is really nice having our own bedroom again and not having to tip-toe around after 7:00!

I will post some "after" photos of the house this week, but speaking of my bedroom...I'd really like to be hitting the sheets right about now:)

leaving a place

It just dawned on me the other day that, in the course of our one year and nine months here in Washington, DC, we saw one daughter grow from a one-year-old baby who shuffled around on her knees into a full-fledged little girl. Our second daughter didn't even exist when we moved here, but now here she is, going on half-a-year old. I can't help but get a little emotional when I think about leaving a place where so much has happened. Huge, monumental stuff, like making an entire person! Even though we are super excited to begin again in a new home and a new (or old, for some of us) place, there is so much we are going to miss dearly when we leave "The District" (yeah, I never got used to calling it that, and always felt like a poser when I did.) Time to pay homage to some of the things we will miss the most...

OUR LITTLE FRIENDS (AND THEIR MOMMIES & DADDIES!)

 Dominic, our apartment neighbor, was Ellie's first good friend here in DC.

 Lily and Elliott met at the library, and have been friends ever since!

Ellie's other best bud, who we met at the playground, is yet another beautiful Lily!

THE DINOSAUR WALL

A neighborhood house has a ton of dinosaurs on display in the front yard. We visit all the time to sit on the wall and play with them.  Raaaar!

THE (AWESOME) NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYGROUND

Elliott and I (and now Zoey) love the Forest Hills playground that's just a few blocks away. Don't know how we would've survived without it!

THE NATIONAL ZOO

I can't even count the number of times we went to the Zoo. So fun!

ROCK CREEK PARK

I regret that we didn't visit more often, but this National Park, with access right down the street from us, is simply gorgeous!

ALL THE OTHER DC SIGHTS

There are so many amazing things to do and see here, and almost all of them are free. (This town is good to your wallet!)

PICNICS ON THE MALL

Can't think of a cooler place to have a picnic. We sure took advantage whenever the weather cooperated!

AND A PLETHORA OF CAROUSELS!

Elliott formed quite an obsession with "carousefs" while living here. Good thing they are all over the place in this town!

It's almost time to bid you adieu, Washington, DC. Thanks for treating us well during our stay. Now, enough of the sentimental stuff and back to the packing!

sweet sisters | feet & phalanges

Let's see, where did we leave off? Things are just the same around here, except for our two rapidly growing children and an apartment that is now void of pictures, books, and other odds and ends we could pack up ahead of our move, scheduled for the end of February (thanks for the temporary garage space, Mom and Dad!)

In the past week I shot some really cute pictures and videos of Ellie and Zoey "playing" together, because whenever I see them interacting, my mommy-heart melts and I compulsively document the moment for posterity. Ellie cracks me up with the special voice she reserves just for Zoey (lots of squeals, oh's, and baby-talk), and Zoey astounds me with her flails, contortions, and wiggles, all in an attempt to touch and ogle her big sis.

 Ellie often asks to hold Baby Zoey. So sweet!

 A typical sisterly interaction in the

Smiddleton Middlewartz household!

Zoey also learned to grab her feet the other day.  She hasn't done too much of it since, but every now and then I catch her earnestly pulling on her pant legs and pulling her feet into her hands. Here she is right in the middle of her new discovery:

I'm so excited, I could drool!

And though she isn't really into sucking on things like Elliott was, just this morning she mastered the two-middle-finger suck that Elliott was so famous for:

Mmmm, tasty!

Remind you of anyone?

Ellie's famous finger suck (at the same age)

settling in & loving it

We are now here in DC, and after just a few days, almost every box has been unpacked and every household item organized. Phew! I love my husband for being just as anal as me (yet much more driven and calm), and I love his brother Steve and my mother for helping us out so much with unpacking, cleaning, and entertaining Elliott. Now all our helpers have left and it's just the three of us here, starting our lives together in the big city.

Just the three of us (and our new wagon!) (6/5)

I have to say, I am enjoying it here very much already. Today was Ryan's first day of work, so Ellie and I were on our own. Though I'm not yet brave enough to take her on the Metro and I'm also a little wary of driving through the city just yet, we spent a good part of the day exploring our neighborhood, and I'm officially in love!!! Every street off the main drag (Connecticut Ave.) is absolutely gorgeous and lined with beautiful, quaint old houses - mostly brick houses, brownstones, and Tudors. There are hills and flowers and big huge trees everywhere! (Yes, I missed trees back in Texas, so I am fortunately being paid back big time.) I could walk for miles and miles around here and never get bored looking at all the gorgeous sights (though the same can't be said for Ellie, who nearly fell asleep during our walk.)

Of course, when you feel like being amongst people, you just head down Connecticut and there they are - reading the paper, sipping on coffee, hustling to the Metro - and many of the young ladies looking far too cute for 9:30am, by the way. Though it's not the most hopping downtown, our neighborhood does have its share of restaurants and shops and a Starbucks (of course), and even a University thrown in the mix. Our building itself it filled with friendly people, and there is always someone to chat with or at least exchange a hello with.

There is also a playground just a few blocks away. I took Ellie there this afternoon to check it out, and man - this isn't the usual playground we're talking about here. In addition to the typical play equipment, there are a zillion toys and trucks and little tricycles that people donate to the park, and there's a HUGE sand-box to play in. I talked with a few other moms, and Ellie watched all the kids play. Since she's still too young to participate in much playground action, I thought she might be getting bored, but when I packed her in the stroller to go home, she threw a hissy fit. She didn't want to leave!

I should also mention that Ryan had a successful first day of work. He's undergoing all that fun orientation business that happens when you start a job. Lucky him! He is also happy to report that his commute on the Metro is less than 30 minutes.

Here are a few cute pics of Elliott, since I haven't posted many in a while (have to keep my readership happy!) By the way, she sprouted a bunch of teeth up top (for a total of six) and is also standing more and more with no hands. Her new favorite thing to do is whine until you pick her up, and then point to everything she wants to see and say "this" (sounds like "dissh") over and over. She also clearly said "Fudge" today, in reference to our crazy cat.

Just being cute and playful (6/6)

It was all clean. (5/7)

Coming back from the grocery store in her wagon (5/7)

we made it!

My dad is my absolute savior. There is no way I would have been able to drive from Texas to New Jersey with Elliott all by myself. Even following Ryan would have been a challenge. I sat in the backseat with her while my Dad, always a driver and never a passenger, took over the steering wheel. Four days and three Hampton Inns later, we landed at my parents house where I completely crashed after breathing a huge sigh of relief!

Elliott did pretty well, considering she was cooped up in her car seat for so long and grew a brand new tooth on the way. She cried a good deal of the time, but also slept quite a bit, probably because she'd stay up until 11:00 every night before plopping herself down to sleep. Of course, whenever we took a break (and there were many), she cheered right up!

We stopped at a lot of Cracker Barrels.
Those chairs were great for bottle breaks! (5/20)

Thank goodness for the frequent napping! (5/21)

One of the many rest stops we visited.
She loved being able to move around! (5/21)

Good morning, world! No cars today, ok, Mom? (5/22)

Well, if I must, I might as well sleep! (5/22)

Here is a rather hilarious video of her in our hotel room on Saturday night, when she rediscovered the joys of kissing herself in the mirror. It was obvious she knew she was cracking us up:

Elliott kisses Elliott (5/22)

Anyway, we're both really glad to be settled in at my parents for the week. The official move to our new place in DC will occur next week, after Ryan and his brother haul the trailer up and do all the manual labor it takes to move into the ninth floor of an apartment building. Poor boys!

we found shelter! | videos for kristen

So we flew up to NJ last week, dropped Ellie off with my parents, and drove down to DC to embark on a whirlwind apartment hunt. After trekking what felt like 10 miles up and down Connecticut Ave. in Northwest DC, we found a (relatively speaking) affordable apartment in a suitably cheesy high rise building just a mile north of the Zoo.

The building boasts no bells and whistles like some of the ones we looked at (no gym, no billiard, no roof deck, and certainly no pool), but the actual apartment is bigger than the majority we saw for a few hundred less a month, and all utilities are included. The management and tenants seem really friendly, and the location is absolutely perfect, with shops and restaurants close by and a Metro stop just two blocks away.

The big move-in date is June 1, though Ellie and I will drive up to my parents about a week prior to give Ryan a chance to finish up some work on the house. Another plus - we have a tenant lined up to live in our Frisco place starting July 1. That's two tenants for us; one, a business, in the front and one in the back.

Of course I took a bunch of pictures of our new home. We signed a lease before we left, so it's all official! Welcome to our place:

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And here are some videos of Elliott for my sister, Kristen, who keeps bugging me for more. This one is just a typical afternoon of cheese eating:

Say cheese! (4/25)

This next one was taken last night. Ellie's being silly and showing off some of her new skills - showing us her tongue and waving bye-bye. That's not the only way she's growing up, by the way. Over the past weekend, one of her top teeth finally came in (three more are also working their way down.)

Mad new skillz (5/2)

dc here we come

I finally got a job I applied for in DC. I had been applying for months without any luck. I apparently wasn't qualified for most of the jobs and ended up only getting one interview - over the phone. Luckily they liked me well enough to hire me and it happened to be the job I wanted most. I know everyone is used to cute photos and videos so I'm sorry for the boring post, but this is very exciting for us. We will be around for another couple of months trying to stay sane planning and executing the move. We will miss it here, especially being close to my family and our friends, but we plan to visit often and hopefully a few people might come see us as well. Next steps are finding an apartment, finishing the last few touches of house construction, packing, and hitting the road. Leaving the house we worked so hard on will be very hard, but getting further north before the hot summer will be a big plus. I absolutely love DC. Steph will be pretty close to her parents. Elliott will get to experience all of what DC has to offer. And I will be doing work I can be proud of. Stay tuned for more adventures of the life & times of smiddleton middlewartz.