The Big Move

Thanks to our growing family, need for a yard, and desire to be closer to the lake, we decided to move a few miles east to Lakewood (still in Dallas, for those of you non-Dallasites).  Since we sold our first house without having found a new one to move into, we spent 2 1/2 months in an apartment before The Big Move into our new place.  Two moves was not fun, although I didn't really realize what we were getting into.  The first move lulled me into a false sense of security, and I somehow forgot how much stuff we moved into storage at the beginning of the summer.  When box after box of stuff (that we had clearly survived just fine without for 2 1/2 months) kept coming off the moving truck, I felt a bit faint.  But thanks to my tireless, sweet husband, amazing (and also tireless) parents, and cheery little boy (ok, not really thanks to him, but he did make it all fun), we got completely moved in and unpacked over Labor Day weekend.  I still cannot believe how much we got done--we even got the house child-proofed, hung paintings and photos, and installed cool little organizational things like lazy susans, a pot rack, extra pantry shelves, and a pull-out pot lid shelf. :)  My parents really were incredible--I woke up one morning to find that my mom had stayed up until 3:00 a.m. getting my kitchen completely organized!  I am LOVING our new house, new yard, and new neighborhood.  If you ask me, the move was worth it...just don't ask my parents... :)


The apartment on the night before The Big Move.  I was not in a good place when I took this. :)

Poor Charlie was a trooper for the week leading up to the move.  There was LOTS of time spent packing and running between the apartment and the house to meet repair people, a handyman, painters, etc.  Charlie liked observing (and assisting with) all the work, but was exhausted by our busy schedule.  He hasn't fallen asleep in his car seat since he was about 3 months old, but I found him like this 3 times during our move week. :)

We made it to the house bright and early on Friday morning...

Charlie's favorite part of the move was the truck.  He LOVES trucks right now and was so excited to have one at our house that he could not relax unless he was outside exploring the moving truck (it didn't help that you could see it from the windows inside).  We were so happy when Uncle Sam came over.  The two boys share a love of trucks, and so Sam patiently stayed outside with Charlie until he had gotten his fill.

There was also some fun with bubbles in the backyard.  LOVE having Uncle Sam around! :)

Once Sam left, the fun was over.  We put Charlie to work!

Here's Charlie "fixing" the microwave.  He developed a love of stepladders during the move, and has fully mastered the concepts "up" and "down."  He spent a lot of time on that stepladder during the move--especially when he was "helping" Papa fix and install things.  Poor Papa somehow managed to complete a huge number of tasks despite all the "help" he was getting. :)  Charlie hasn't yet let me put the stepladder away--it is a favorite new toy.

I will post more pics of the new house when we are fully settled, but here's a sneak peak.  Can you find Charlie?  :)