Christian Turns 10 Months Old

Christian's just two months shy of turning ONE (my goodness!). Here are the latest updates:

Those Pearly Whites: His top two teeth have finally broken through (how cute!) and in checking those out, I saw a third bottom tooth is also coming up quickly.

Getting' Around: And so it begins. In the last few days, Christian has really learned a lot. Suddenly he was able to pull himself up here and there … and now he's climbing on anything he can – like boxes. Another good reason to get unpacked ASAP. This morning he crawled into the bathroom and when I checked on him, he'd pulled himself up to the side of the empty bathtub and was looking in. This weekend, Liz and I were visiting when I turned around to find he'd started climbing the stairs. Oh my goodness!

Chowtime: I was wondering when Christian would figure out he can put food into his mouth on his own … and then one day he did it. He's now a pro! I've been making food for Christian here and there and he seems to enjoy it. I still use the commercial baby food, too – depending on how much time I have. Sometimes he eats really well, other times he doesn't. It can be frustrating at times, but we get through it.

Location, Location, Location: Christian now sleeps in his own room, which is good for us and good for him. Many times he wakes up … its still dark (he's an early riser) and he's just sitting in his crib looking at whatever book we put in there the night before. He's become quite good with his board books … he knows to turn the pages – if we're with him or if he's looking at a book on his own.

Other Tidbits: Because Christian is so active now, its become quite a challenge for me to watch him during the day and keep up with work. Consequently, most nights are spent catching up on work with bedtime for me around midnight being the norm. I am so envious of moms who don't have to commit their time to an outside job. Christian is at such a fun age right now, and when I'm not working and focuing on 27 different things, I am so relaxed and just enjoy him so much! He's such a wonderful little boy!

Christian has also upgraded to an inflatable bathtub. Its give him a lot more room and he even has bath toys now!

We took him on his first playground adventure:

Crazy, Crazy Weather

Though we live in the "Phoenix area," we're 40 miles west of central Phoenix and get very different weather out here. There are times that cities in the Phoenix area, such as Chandler, get 2 inches of rain in a single storm and all we got out here was a few clouds. So when a weather alert is issued for Maricopa County, I get all excited for something interesting to happen way out here in good ol' Buckeye. After two weeks of hot weather that wasn't particularly exciting, things finally got really exciting last night!




It started with an amazing lightening show across the entire valley ("The Valley" is how Phoenix and all of its many surrouding cities are referred to). Above our home, the skies were clear and stars were shining, but in the distance it was the most amazing display of lightening I've ever seen.

As the multiple storms passed through, TV shows were constantly interrupted with weather reports and warnings. We heard of hurricane-force winds, sometimes reaching 100 mph. They would show a map of lightening strikes, "Chandler has had 800+ lightening strikes in the past five minutes."

Here's part of the story from local news:

Unusually powerful thunderstorms ripped across the Valley on Thursday night, bringing heavy rain and winds reaching 100 mph that broke the windows of a condominium, shutdown two runways at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and downed hundreds of trees, leaving at least one child seriously injured.

Most of the damage appeared to be concentrated in central Phoenix and Tempe, but the storms' violence hit all parts of the Valley.

The storm dumped almost an inch in parts of Mesa, while almost two inches fell near Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. The heavy rains flooded numerous streets across the Valley.

Nearly 40,000 homes across the Valley remain without power Friday morning as utility crews try to get electricity restored.


Scattered debris forced the closure of Sky Harbor north and central runways. By around 7:30 a.m., only the central runway was closed. Street sweepers were working to clear the runway, and the airport had reported no major delays for travelers Friday morning.

Downed traffic lights throughout the Phoenix metro area have forced several road closures, including 40th Street between Cactus Road and Shea Boulevard.

Eventually what was left of the storm made it to our house. We were awake for some of it, asleep for the rest. We lost power briefly and the cessation of the white noise in Christian's room woke him up and we had one heck of a time getting back to sleep - all of us.

You'd think it would have led to Christian taking super-long naps today.

No such luck. Mommy sure does need a nap, though.

Jennifer

That Wascally Wabbit

Here are some current pictures of Christian. You may be albe to click on an image to view a larger version And below the pics are some stories about what the lil' guy is up to these days.

Enjoy!

This last photo is particularly special to me. I took earlier this week after having realized on that particular day that Christian had learned to sit up by himself. I put him down for a nap and didn't hear anything from him after that. I assumed he was sleeping ... but I walked into the room and was surprised to find him sitting up in his crib, quietly entertaining himself with a book. (Fortuantely, a camera is never far away ...) It was sooo cute!

Since he was content, I walked out and assumed he'd fall asleep in a few minutes. However, the next time I walked into check on Christian, I was shocked at what I saw: Christian was standing up at an angle, holding on to his "Buffs Mobile" - imagine the way a water skiier stands. I had no idea he was able to pull himself to a standing position! He lost his balance and fell backwards onto his mattress. He was fine ... I was horrified. Needless to say, the mobile has been removed from his crib.

That night, we watched Chrsitian has he grabbed onto the rail of his crib and pull himself up to a standing position, with his head dangling over the edge. I am so thankful he did that little move right in front of me. The crib mattress will now be lowered to its lowest setting.

I knew these things were coming, but I didn't expect we'd be faced with it so quickly and immediatley. There seems to have been no learning curve for Christian - he's a quick learner!

We tried the local church today, and decided it was time to leave Christian in the nursery. It was only his second time to be in the care of somebody other than Jonathan or me for more than a few minutes. It was his usual naptime, so we weren't sure how he'd do being away from us ... and being tired. We returned an hour and a half later to find him happily playing with some toys next to another baby. We were told he did great and needed minimal attention from the nursery workers. We were so relieved!

As Jonathan noted, it was the first time we actually sat together at church in 10 months (since at Calvary Santa Fe, I was in the nursing mom's room with Christian during the service). It was nice to be together again.

The Long Awaited - and Long Winded - Update

We have arrived and are now Arizonans. More specifically, we are Buckeyes (because we live in the town of Buckeye, which is 40 miles outside central Phoenix). The picture at the top of the blog is the view from our bedroom. NICE!

Our journey here was long, yet condensed into a short period of time. Sleep was scarce and stress was high.

I must give Jonathan special credit. On Saturday, August 9 Christian and I were scheduled to go to the Ashe's for the evening, so we could fly to Phoenix the next day. As Saturday progressed, it became clear that there was still much to do at the house. Mid-afternoon, Jonathan decided it was time for Christian and I to make our way to the Ashe's. I protested, but he insisted. He asked for a list of things he needed to do.

I talked to him later that night, and he was still working on the house. His plan was to go to bed at a decent time and leave early in the morning for Phoenix. I didn't hear from him again until he arrived in Phoenix the next day … and I'm glad because had I know what was going on, I'd have been terribly worried.

Jonathan and Bella left Santa Fe at 3:45am on Sunday … and Jonathan never even went to sleep. He had been up for 36 hours or so, and made that long drive to Phoenix on no sleep and the grace of God. So a huge thank you to Jonathan for working so hard and making it to Phoenix on no sleep.

And a huge thank you to Jon and Valerie who were our gracious hosts. Their home is beautiful and our bedroom was lovely. I felt like I was at vacation at a spa for a night. A home-made dinner and breakfast were wonderful and the conversation fabulous! Christian enjoyed himself, too. The mirrored closet doors in our room provided plenty of good entertainment.







And so here we are. Here are answers to some questions you might have:

Temps: This adjustment is the most obvious. Walking outside is like walking into a blast furnace. As they say out here, "But its dry heat!" And really, its not too bad. I wouldn't want to spend all day outside in the heat, but a few minutes here and there is tolerable. This week the high is averaging 105 and the lows are mid-80s. In Santa Fe, when the sun went down, so did the temps … almost immediately. Not true here. Its just plain hot … day and night.

Windows: In Phoenix, you don’t open the windows in your home. I've noticed most people also keep their window coverings shut all day long … but we don't. The other adjustment to the windows is regarding our proximity to our next door neighbors. We were spoiled in Santa Fe by living in a house that sat high on a hill with views to forever. We didn't have to worry about somebody looking into our house (or being able to look into somebody's house ourselves). Didn't have to worry about closing our curtains/blinds. Case in point: one of our first nights here, I was sitting in the loft/TV room running the breast pump. It didn't occur to me that in the stairwell leading up to the area, was a window that allowed views from our neighbors house. EEEK! It was dark outside and bright as day inside. So … who knows what kind of a peep show my neighbors got. I shudder to think of it.

Neighbors: Rather than living in a house that sits prominently on a hill, we are just one house on a street of many, in a neighborhood of many and therefore have many neighbors. We've met Mike next door, who works for the Sherriff's Department. Nice guy. I met the little girl who lives across the street. I asked her name and how old she is. Her name is "Precious" and she's 7. No kidding … her name is Precious. I think its just too hot for people to be outside, so we haven't seen too many people. But I have already seen a lot of kids around, and that is nice. Christian will have some friends in future.

Shopping: Wal*Mart, Lowe's and some other smaller stores and fast food restaurants are about a half hour away. Nearby towns have more shopping. So, going to Wal*Mart for a "quick errand" ends up being a two-hour roundtrip. That's quite an adjustment.

The House: This house is enormous and we love it! I look at it every day and I'm just amazed. Because there is a sitting room off the master bedroom and a loft area that serves as our TV room, we have two completely empty guest bedrooms. And there is a den area off the living room downstairs that will be Jonathan's reading room when we get unpacked. There are also two places for a dining room: One in the living room area and one in the kitchen. The dining area in the kitchen is huge.

Bugs and Critters: We received a warning from our neighbor about scorpions and rattle snakes. No surprise considering our remote location. Our neighbor has found five scorpions in his house so far. We made sure Bella got a rattlesnake vaccine.

Which Leads Us to Bella … her foot is still somewhat wrapped up, but as of today, she's chewed off most of the bandage and splint. Overall, the broken toe doesn't seem to bother her. Considering the potential for scorpion and rattlesnake encounters, I'm a bit nervous to take her on walks or leave her in the backyard by herself for any longer than a few minutes. She's such a curious dog that I'm sure she'd get attacked by either creature in a heartbeat. The vet has also warned us about Black Widows. We'll just be hopeful that she doesn't encounter any of these dangerous creatures.

Jonathan's Job: Jonathan finally started his job at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. He'll be working four ten hour days and getting the fifth day off. So he works 7:00am – 5:30pm Tuesday – Friday and has Monday off. So actually, when you figure in the drive time Jonathan had getting to work in ABQ, he'll be gone the same amount of hours in a work day at Palo Verde as at Sandia. So its not really an adjustment for us. And, we get the added bonus of having Jonathan home on Mondays. That'll help with my typically busy Mondays at work … and if we need somebody to come to the house (i.e., the cable guy), or if I have a Dr. appt, etc.

And everybody's favorite topic: Christian. As Jonathan puts it, Christian has one setting. And that setting is, "GO!" My goodness, he has endless energy! That energy seemed to increase ten-fold when we moved in. I don't know if the new environment got him all charged up or what … but he's been on high octane fuel since we arrived. Maybe it’s the altitude. Santa Fe was 7,000+ feet and Buckeye is only 800+.

Now that I've posted the full update, we'll go back to more regular, shorter updates. There's lots to tell about Christian and his latest antics. :)

The Santa Fe House is Listed

It choked me up just now to see our house finally listed online:

http://www.santafeproperties.com/vp/ListingServlet?SITE=SANTAFE&ScreenID=LISTING_DETAIL_P&EXCEEDLIMIT=null&totalFound=0&cd_MLS=50139#

The listing price of $309,000 is an excellent deal. Our realtor showed us a list of pre-foreclosures in the area, and there are a lot. So, we have to get interest in our house before potential buyers know there are forclosed homes coming available.

I know lots of poeple have been waiting for an update on our move and how we're settling in. That is a long story I plan to share shortly. But for now, please know that we have arrived and we're all doing fine and dandy ... and we're all exhausted.

Jennifer

The Eleventh and a Half Hour

The plan was for Christian and I to fly to Phoenix today, but we still had too much to do. So we're flying out tomorrow.

Its been a long, tiring couple of days. Bedtime for us on Thursday and Friday night was around 2:00am. And, of course, Christian has been waking up earlier than usual so ... we're very sleep deprived.

Christian is all over the place, eager to discover the exciting treasures strewn about the house. Poor Bella is limping along with her gimp foot, and cone collar. And Jonathan and I are just busting our tails trying to get things done quickly when Christian is either content on his own, or taking a nap.

Our neighbors came over yesterday with lunch for us. We'd been feasting on chips, cookies and soft drinks all day (buh-bye to the weight I'd recently lost ... I'm sure its back now). So it was a welcomed site to have them come over with a home-cooked meal.

Jennifer

The Eleventh Hour

By this time tomorrow, Christian and I will be at Jon and Valerie's in Bosque Farms in preparation for our flight to Phoenix on Saturday. And this nightmare called "packing and cleaning like crazy" will come to an end.

Until then ... tonight is an all nighter. There is much to be done around the house ... and we're stressed. Really stressed.

Our moving situation is compounded by learning today that Bella has a broken toe. Its in a cast of sorts for six weeks, and she has to wear one of those funny looking cone collars. Our poor girl ... but she seems to be in good spirits.

I took some pics today of our house for the realtor to post online. Once again, I am just amazed at our wonderful home, and so sad to be leaving it. Its going on the market tomorrow at a price well-below what it would have been priced in a thriving market. We're hoping the appealing price and amazing views will help to get our house sold quickly.

Please join us in bidding a fond farewell to our home:

Christian Turns Nine Months Old

Christian is now nine months old and as cute as ever! He has two complete bottom teeth, and we expect the next two (on top) are soon to follow. Christian is now crawling all over the place, which adds some challenges to the moving process, as you might imagine. So the key to having a happy baby now is to give him plenty of room and interesting things to explore. He gets such a thrill out of his newfound mobility. Its sooo cute!

He now stands up nicely with minimal support from us, and will even walk backwards or forwrads a bit, depending on how we guide him (while we hold him, of course).

He has a very healthy appetite ... and shockingly so, at times!

On Friday, Jonathan was in Phoenix and I had things to do at the office, so our dear friend Carrie (and her daughter, Madison) took Christian for a few hours. That was the first time Christian has been left in the care of somebody other than us for any longer than a few minutes. Carrie is totally a kid person, and it sounds like Christian had a great time. So Carrie and Madison, we thank you for being Christian's first caretaker!

Weekend Warriors

We scheduled our Realtor to visit with us about selling the house on Sunday at 5:00pm. Which meant that we were racing around the house until 4:45pm getting all of the packing clutter moved to the garage, getting walls painted, stuff cleaned up, etc.

The house looked very different at 4:45pm than when we started at 8:00am. And I was impressed with the the fruits our of labor.

So was our Realtor. She had no idea we'd been working hard all day long in preparation for her visit. She commented several times on how clean the house looked and how we've really kept it in good shape for the past 3+ years. She said it looked like a new house to her. WHEW!

She's coming back Wednesday evening after she's run the numbers to discuss how much we'll list it for. And she is hopeful that with our amazing views, the house will sell in 90 days. But only time will tell.

After she left and I could finally relax after a long, sweaty and exhausting day, I looked at our very clean ... very empty house. And at that moment, I realized what a beautiful home we have.

And soon it will be somebody else's home. Somebody else's dream ... *sigh*

But we're moving onto new dreams ... and new dreams are very exciting!

Jennifer

Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a House!

Jonathan drove his car to Phoenix this weekend, and Christian and I flew out to meet him there so we could find a house.

I was blessed by the kindness of three older men along the way. The first helped me at the security area by collapsing the stroller, putting it through security and putting it together again while I held the baby. The second man helped me get the stroller from one gate to the other after a couple of delays for our flight and a gate change ... Christian was tired and fussy and refused to be put down, so this man's assistance was timely. And the last man was in the seat next to me on the plane and was very kind to Christian and me, and helped me to keep Christian entertained ... and even carried my bag off the plane for me.

The day we arrived it was 113 outside. But, it wasn't too bad. In going from an air conditioned car to an air conditioned building, the intense heat is quite tolearble.

Despite all of my attempts to contact various landlords / property management companies about rentals, I only had one truly responsive home owner, Kuanie. So we drove out to Tartesso Friday night to take a look at the house. We LOVED it from the moment we walked inside. Its 2,600 square feet, with four bedrooms, a large usable loft upstairs and a sitting room in the master bedroom that would be perfect for Christian's crib and changing table. It has really cool carpeting and nice tile in the kitchen and bathrooms, and stainless steel appliances, as well as a washer and dryer upstairs. It has a large, enclosed back yard for Bella and a big covered porch. Beyond the backyard wall are unobstructed views of the nearby White Tank Mountains.

The Road to Tartesso


















The Outside of the House


















The Front Porch




















Views from the Front of the House































Views From Beyond the Backyard Wall















Once we move in, I'll send interior house photos.

There are a couple of parks very close by for Bella's walks and for outings with Christian and I understand the community has a pool, tennis courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, etc. And some of the parks there have "splash pads" which are water area for the kiddos.

There is even a church in this community that we're going to check out. Its within walking distance to our house.

The current plan is for Jonathan to go out the first of August to unload the first of two Pods. Then Christian and I will fly out the following weekend, and Jonathan will drive the car with Bella.

Then the next phase of our adventure will begin: selling the house.

A Quick Trip to Phoenix This Weekend and Other Updates

Trip to Phoenix:

We leave tomorrow for a house-hunting trip to Phoenix. Jonathan, Christian and I were all flying out together. But then Jonathan decided to drive his car and our weekend belongings to Phoenix so he can leave his car at my sister's house and thereby leaving us just one car to drive out when moving day arrives.

So Jonathan will pick us up at the airport tomorrow afternoon and then we'll all fly back home together on Sunday.

I'm a bit anxious about the whole thing. I don't care for Jonathan making that 8 hour drive alone. But he's a trooper ... I'm sure he'll be just fine (and probalby enjoy the break from packing!)

And whenever we've flown with Christian, its been the two of us, so we can tag-team. So I'm weighting the pros and cons of the Baby Bjorn carrier and the stroller.

And Christian is much more active than he was the last time we flew. So ... we'll see how it goes. I'm hoping he'll take snooze on the hour-long flight.

Progress on the House:

At last, it would appear our roof is fixed. We were told the roof was on the verge of being "catasrophic." So we're fortunate that the major problem was resolved, and the persistent leak that we've had in the entryway has finally been found after three years. WHEW!

We got a Wagner Paint Crew sprayer so we could get the painting done more quickly. So Jonathan has a new toy. Its really intended for outdoor use, so that means we have to cover everything. We had to hang plastic sheets from the living room ceiling so as to contain the spray. Had to cover all windows, the kiva fireplace, doorbell, knobs, etc. I do mean everything. So setting up was time consuming, and cleaning up the spayer is time consuming. But it saves Jonathan's back ... and looks great!

We ordered more rock for the yard. It could still use A LOT more ... but at least the most visible areas look nice and uniform for "curb appeal."

Jonathan has been working hard to get things packed up and moved into the Pod. He's truly amazing! He keeps going, and going, and going!

Christian

Christian is crawling all over the place! His latest favorite activity is to push a soft red cube toys out in front of himself, and then follow it. He's able to flip the cube around, so it then moves any-which-way, and he follows after it. Its so amusing to watch! I'll have to try getting a video.

I like to see the way he connects things in his mind. For example, yesterday I was holding him and I grabbed a cup of water for myself. Immediately, Christian reached for it and put it to his mouth and started driking. Previously, any drinks of water in a cup have come to him when he's in his high chair. So I was impressed to see him make the connection that the cup is for drinkiing water ... no matter where he's sitting.

Jennifer

In the Thick of Things

For me, the total excitement of moving lasted about 24 hours. Then reality sank in: We have to pack up a 2,000 sf house, get it into beautiful order for selling, find a rental home that'll take the dog … all in the next few days. I have a perpetual headache and stomach ache.

Here's how we're progressing:

We got some landscaping done on Friday. It looks better than it did, but our money didn't get us as far as the landscaper said it would. I was very disappointed and feel a bit taken.

Jonathan dedicated a lot of time to packing this weekend. I did what I could … but there is much to do, and a baby that needs tending to.

Jonathan painted our TV room so as to remove the cool metallic yellow border and stenciling we did when our goal was to transform into an old fashioned movie theatre look.

We now have a Pod (www.pods.com) sitting in our driveway. It’s a fabulous way to get things packed up and moved!

Things are looking good for a rental house we'd like to get. It’s a house in a newer master planned community that is just about as close to Palo Verde as we can get. Check it out: http://www.tartesso.com. Trouble is, the housing market crashed hard in Phoenix and this new community isn't progressing quickly when it comes to services (Wal*Mart, grocery stores, restaurants, etc.). So, we could no longer make a "quick trip" to store. The existing community is pretty far-removed from most services. I've always lived a "city life," so it’s a bizarre concept that I can't get a store in 5 – 10 minutes. It will be a huge adjustment for me. But my priority with our living arrangements is to have Jonathan as close to work as possible.

And lastly, I've made the big decision to have my beloved ivory sofa taken to the dump. I think it would be a fabulous sofa to re-cover, but the reality is that we'd probably never do it and getting rid of it makes one less HUGE thing to move.

Jonathan is also getting rid of shelves and some other bigger items. Most go to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. I typically protest, but Jonathan sweetens the situation by promising me a trip to IKEA to get new replacements. And I'm always up for a trip to IKEA!

Stay tuned for more updates!