New House - Part 1

So we finally decided on a lot and house plans.  The lot took about 1 month to find and the house plans a month.  We picked a lot in Montebello which is 2.2 miles from our previous house so we are still close to downtown and almost exactly the same distance to my parents house.  We wanted good school and a subdivision with a pool, tennis, clubhouse, ec.  Montebello has it all.  We looked through numerous plans to find the right one for our needs.  After searching through probably 100 plans and on web sites day and night, we found the Wilshire plan by Living Concepts, based in Charlotte.  It had everything we wanted, a nice size kitchen, huge master suite, 3 other bedrooms, a play room, a rec room (for the adults...pool table anyone?), and outdoor living space.   We have submitted for our construction loan and are awaiting approval for the ARB that the specs on our house will suffice with Montebello standards. We are supposed to close on our loan and lot by May 31st. We will post updates as the building process moves along.

Crawford at 2

 

We have had a fun and busy couple of months in our new townhouse. We have not really gotten "settled" per say but we are living quite comfortably and enjoying our time in Greer for now. I am still only 10 minutes to work and Brad's parents are around the corner helping out all the time! I joined a new gym (the Y) and while it's not my favorite I am enjoying some of the classes there. Brad is about 20 minutes from work and has done fine with the transition. I don't get to pure barre as much as I was before and I am obseesssed so I am missing that the most. As far as being close to downtown we haven't missed it too much yet because it has been cold but once it warms up we will miss being soo close to the fun Thursday/Friday night activities down there.

In the past few months Crawford has just taken off in his speaking. He can say any word you ask him to and he puts small phrases together such as "I want..." or "Crawford do..."

He says "thankyou/welcome" as one phrase whenever you get him something he asks for.

3.2.1 blast off or get ready, set, goooo are 2 of his favorite phrases.

You used to call yourself "wa wa" because that is what Carter calls you but you finally learned "tafford" and that is what you call yourself.

You can count from 1-10 all by yourself and can count to 20 with some assistance.

You can say your abcs with some assistance (you know what comes after which letter you just get lost sometimes on your own)

Anytime one of your trains doesn't work you ask for "battery/screewdriver" in a really fast voice as if it's one word.

You love hiding from us and the popping out to "scare us"

You are beyond obsessed with trains...it used to be just trains as in "CHOO CHOO" and "choo choo tracks" but you got the Thomas bug and you are in love. You know the engines by name and number and seriously wow me because I have no idea how you can tell the difference by their suttle change in shade of color. You always have thomas or percy in your hand. At nana and bom-paw's house you literally have a whole train caravan. You have James, charlie, henry, bash, harold, diesel, gordon...and they have a whole print out of all the trains and you know them all (literally it's a list of like 40 trains and you know their names)

We found a church we have been going to since the fall called Newspring and you love going to it. You always come home with a coloring book page with a verse on it and I never knew how much you were taking away from it. But I asked you who was in the picture today and you said "God" and when I asked what you learned about in church you said "Jesus" (melt my heart)

You love playgrounds and ask to go there to play.

You can tell us when you have sticky diapers so it is probably time to really try this potty training stuff.

You don't make it through a day without asking for nana and bom-paw, hope, car-terr, amy, and bobby. You are so attached to them all and just light up when you see them. I am so happy that you get to spend so much time with them and I know they love you just like you are their own child.

Your eating habits are beyond hit or miss but anytime I ask you what you want to eat you say "chick chick" (we can thank nana for that)

You always have to have the silky part of my pillow to fall asleep (we even have one in your crib now because you just rub it until you fall asleep)

Whenever you get hurt and start crying you say "I want Nana" We don't know why but you do it for me, daddy, and bom-paw

We love having nicknames for you and we usually either call you "crawfy" or "goose"

You are willllld after bath time. It will be like 9 pm and you are bouncing off the walls running around, singing, talking just happy as can be.



 

Here you are devouring a cookie instead of your lunch (since it was Easter we let it slide)

As you can see healthy eating isn't your friend...You looove pizza

(morning breakfast in your second favorite jammies "choo chee jammies"

You just love sweet ---cookies, ice cream, milkshake (again we can thank nana for that) but look how happy you are with these milkshakes

You got to play in the first real snow since the winter you were born. It started coming down so fast and heavy and we just immediately put on warm clothes and headed to nanas house. You and Hope just ran around and had a ball (it was freezing and it didn't seem to bother yall at all)

 Since joining the Y I have talked to you about the pool and you ask to go to the pool almost every day. daddy took you one Saturday morning and you loved it. You start swim classes in a week.

 

You spend lots of evenings with daddy while I am at work and I always love getting these great pictures to brighten my day!

You are at the age now where you request the pajamas you wear. You always wore train pajamas but you kept saying "no I want schoool bus jammies" ...I didn't even know where you got that from but I began the hunt for school bus jammies and since finding them you ask to wear them every night!

 

You play sooo hard and sometimes you try to push through the afternoon without a nap...here you are asleep standing up next to daddy...you are silly

We went downtown for family dinner. You have gotten sooo much better out at restaurants...you eitehr sit and eat what we feed you or watch thomas or mickey on the iphone and stay pretty content

 

 

I love watching you be so independent with your trains and then I love how you will come cuddle and say "love you mommy" and lay with me until you fall asleep. You are soo sweet and playful and happy and just have the best time every day. You know how to brighten my day each morning and you leave me laughing in the evening. You are our best friend and we love you to pieces!

Vail/Beaver Creek Ski Trip

 

Ski trips are Brad and my absolute favorite trip! We have alwaaays wanted to go to Vail and we were so excited that the same Greenville crew from last year wanted to come too! We ended up getting our house in Arrowhead because of the cost of the houses in Vail. We didn't really know what that meant at the time but we ended up loving being in Arrowhead just across the street from the lifts to Beaver Creek. Brad and I got in early Wednesday and headed straight to Vail on our way in from Denver. I had always pictured Vail being the most beautiful place on Earth. When we got there we walked around the village and had lunch. It was not as magical as I had once envisioned but I think that is because I like every ski town we have been too...I can't even begin to decide which one I like the best! After having lunch in Vail, Brad and I drove to our house and I went to check out Pure Barre class out there. We then picked up Zach and Brandi from the airport and we all enjoyed dinner in the Beaver Creek village. We woke up early and ready to ski. The other two couples got in late Wednesday and we all enjoyed eggs and pancakes thanks to Brad and Zach and then hit the slopes.

We decided to ski Vail the first dayto check out the hype and see which day we wanted to come back to Vail. It was the most crowded mountain I have skied at yet. There were lots of catwalks and  just crowds everywhere. We had a great first day all getting comfortable skiing/snowboarding. We followed Tyler (the best map tour guide) and we all stuck tether skiing greens/blues. We took a lunch break for some pizza in Lionshead village. We tried out listening to our ipods this year and we loved it. By the end of the day we were all of course sore and exhausted! We came home and all soaked in the hot tub and played games. Then Ashley made us all a chicken and rice dish and we finished the long day out playing catch phrase.

 

The next morning we were all up early again. I headed to pure barre and then the guys cooked a delicious breakfast again. We decided to ski Beaver Creek (we were hoping for less crowds and better ski conditions). It didn't take us but 1/2 an hour to realize how much better we liked Beaver Creek. The runs were much more open, less crowds, better conditions, and I thought it was prettier there. We could ski greens/blues without having to do a bunch of catwalks and we made our way from Arrowhead, to Bachelor Gulch and then on over to Beaver Creek. We were loving it (despite the lack of any fresh snow). The other 3 girls decided to get massages and hang low but since I don't get to ski much I chose to hit the slopes. I absolutely love this kind of vacation more than any other we take. We are with friends, we exercise, we usually see snow, we sit in a hot tub, cook dinner together, and enjoy a glass of wine.

 

We met the girls for lunch in Beaver Creek village (after spending half the day with the guys taking me down blues where I thought I was literally going to die). We all enjoyed lunch and then sipped a cup of starbucks on the way up the lifts to catch a second wind for the day. We came home this day and again relaxed in the hot tub before getting ready for dinner at a restaurant in Edwards (which was a mile from the house). We were all soo giddy about the expected snow the next day that I think that is all we could talk about and wait for. By 10:00 we were out because the days were long and exhausting!

 Saturday-Beaver Creek (snow day)

Thursday -Vail (sunny and warm)

Dinner -Friday night in Edwards



Lunch-Thursday-Lionshead Village

 

Friday-Skiing Beaver Creek

 

 

Saturday-bundled up and ready for the snow at Arrowhead lifts

We were probably the first 20 people out on the slopes in the snowstorm and it was a whiteout!

On Saturday we woke up to snow everywhere! It was snowing and everything was covered and we were all soo anxious to get to the slopes as early as possible. We ate our eggs an got bundled up! We had such a great morning skiing in the fresh snow. It is so much easier to ski because you just glide down the mountain without being scared out of your mind when you hit a thing of ice. I saw Brad bust and go flying like 30 feet he lost his ski and we had to dig up his pole (glad he finally listened and wore a helmet). We kept going up and down lifts skiing in the fresh snow while our fingers and toes went numb. We again made our way to the Beaver Creek side of the mountain. We took an early lunch break simply becuase it was so cold! I tried to keep up with the boys on our last afternoon but they all seriously fly down the mountain as I slowly go side to side saying a prayer the whole way down. I was finally comfortable on blues by the end of my 3rd day and wish we could have skied 4 more days. We went looking for souviniers (I always like to get an ornament from where we went on vacation.) We then hit the hot tub one last time. We had a delicious spaghetti dinner and sat around talking and playing games the last night. I hope we continue this tradition as I seriously look forward to it all year round.

 

Crawford was in great hands with Nana and bom-paw and we facetimed with him at least twice a day. I wish I could say he missed us but he just looooves him some nana and bom-paw and he probably didn't even realize we were gone. I missed him sooo much and I can't wait till he can come and fly past me on the mountain like all the little fearless toddlers do.

 

We had a great time in Vail/Beaver Creek. We decided on this trip we liked Beaver Creek better than Vail but maybe it was due to ski conditions or crowds (who knows) ...either way both are soo gorgeous and I just can't imagine having those mountains in my backyard...I would looooove to live out there!



Bye to Creekstone Court-Our First House

Well after 4 wonderful years we have closed the door to our FIRST HOUSE! Below are the latest pictures of our house. We had to move a lot into storage in order to de-clutter the house. We also had to keep it in pristine condition for 3 months as we would get a call from the real estate office asking for a showing and we always wanted to be prepared. We baked cookies as often as we could in hopes of increasing the attractiveness (ha-we thought it might work). After being on the market for 76 days and having 22 showings we sold our house! There were 3 houses in our neighborhood all for sale at the same time AND in the same cul-de-sac. The worst part was both of them had gotten jobs in other cities and HAD to move (meaning there were asking a lot less for their houses than we were). In the end we sold our house before both of theirs and it was probably for the best. I was very sad to be saying by to the house, the location, the memories, and the day to day schedule that I had come to rely on more than I realized. My schedule was like clockwork-- wake up-go to the gym around 5:30 get home and showered-get to work in 10 minutes-come home on my lunch break to see Craw- and then home by 6:10 pm. It was all too convenient and comfortable and it was a decision I had a hard time swallowing. I was 1.3 miles to the gym, 3.6 miles to work and 2.4 miles to the heart of downtown. However, we are now about 2 miles to bom-paw (aka the most wonderful man in our life other than Crawford) and 6 miles to work and about 10 miles to downtown. We are still trying to figure out which set up works best for us. We are enjoying some relaxation now and not having to keep our house in pristine condition 24 hours a day! Here are some pictures of our house as it appeared while on the "market."

 

Now I just wanted to document some memories and dates about our house so that I can always remember this special place we called home for 4 years!

We found our house right before our wedding...we were soo excited that we found a brand new house close to downtown. We left for our honeymoon (Oct. 20 2008) we 2 houses in mind.  When we returned we found out that this one was still available. We contiued to look for a week or so before we decided that this was our perfect house. We negotiated for a short time and officially closed on our Creekstone Home on 11.29.2008.  We enjoyed having dinner parties and being close to great restarants in the first 2 years. We traveled all the time those first two years but still managed to keep the house neat. We had fun buying new furniture (a new couch, our king headboard that we had made) and decorating for each holiday and season (think matching plates and table scapes)--oh the free time I had. Brad had his tv downstairs for relaxing and I enjoyed my tv upstairs for my girly shows. Then in December of 2010 we got to bring our first sweet baby home to our house! Oh the wonderful memories we created. We had this emaculate home that where we had only really lived in 3 rooms and then Crawford came. His toys and supplies quickly took over the house. Clutter seemed to accumulate much faster and we asked for help from a sweet cleaning lady to help keep our house in order. We got to see Craw go from swinging all day in his swing to crawling all over the house at 7 months old. He then quickly mastered the stairs both up and down by 9 months. He celebrated his birthday with family and friends and then started walking a month later. The memories I have of him peeping around a corner or climbing his way onto our bed will last a lifetime. He could get into trouble in a matter of seconds and always had his hands full whether toting around a giant toy that was too big for him to carry or sprinkling baby powder all over the carpet after reaching it off the counter while standing on his tippy toes. I have found bowls and silverware in the garbage (thank you Crawford) and he's sweet grimy hand prints all over the doors, windows, and furniture throughout the house. I have memories of him playing in the cul-de-sac in his cozy coupe and wagon and so many memories of pulling him through the neighborhood in his stroller. He loved to close the garage and turn off the lights and even figured out how to move boxes and climb on top of them to reach the fireplace switch. He would greet me each morning with a smile from his crib and then would pull his own chair up to the island to help me get his breakfast ready. Bath time was always a hoot as he would splash, blow bubbles, sing songs, and practice his numbers and alphabet.  He knew where he shoes, diapers, and pjs were kept and could get them for us whenever we asked. He knew where to put his books away and where we kept those cookies hidden in the pantry. I am most sad to leave behind all this precious moments with Crawford. He was always so curious and just a delight to see around each corner of the house. He has adjusted just fine to his new home and is sleeping well and likes taking visitors to "his" room. We are now in the transition period and just renting until we can decide a) what side of town we want to settle down in b) find the "perfect" lot to build on c) build our next home which I am sure we will create just as many memories in as we did our last.

 

the pictures below are from our house back in January 2011.

 

 

Outside our house Halloweed night October 2010

 

Our Master bedroom before our switch to the King bed.



 

before Brad added the deck out back

 

Coming home from the hospital with Crawford on December 18th, 2010

 

Halloween 2010



 

 

Our last picture at our house January 30, 2013. We closed on Thursday January 31, 2013. Crawford is 2 and running all over the place and just the happiest little guy!