new digs

It was an appropriate Independence Day this year, as Thad and I moved into the new place (Nate arrived a couple of days later), and my cousins Dave and Jenny had their first baby, Anthony.

While we were at the new house unpacking, that darned ice cream truck, loudly playing "Turkey in the Straw," stopped right in front of our new house to ask for directions. No joke.

We're now officially living in our new house (and have working internet!) We have decorated the place in cardboard boxes, which are quite stylish. It's kind of an earth-toned look. U-Haul chic. Along with Thad's parents and sister and my dad, we spent most of last weekend cleaning and unpacking. The house was dirtier than we had expected, and we were so thankful to have Shirley "Supercleaner Extraordinaire" Carlson on our team. Thanks in large part to all the helping hands, we now have a working and baby-safe family/dining room, a safe but clean and disorganized kitchen, and part of a living room. Nate's bedroom is in decent shape, although it needs some sprucing up to make it fun. Our room has a comfy new bed (hooray!) and duffle bags full of clothes strewn around. So we've got lots left to do, but are making great strides at making the place livable. This week we've been inundated by plumbers and electricians (and the nice Verizon internet/tv/phone guy), but will hopefully have the house to ourselves by the end of next week.

Nate seems to be settling in well. He loves to jump on bubble wrap and he really likes the electrician, and really likes the plumber. He keeps pointing at them and saying, "man," and he sometimes calls the plumber, "buddy." And we had Julia over yesterday for our first new house playdate, sharing a formal snack of raisins, crackers and milk.