Home Sweet Home

We have been at our house for nearly a month now.  It's starting to feel like home.  Almost daily though, I have to stop and look around and pinch myself to make sure I'm actually finally here.  What a long process it has been.  100% worth the wait though.  We're loving it.  We still have lots of things to hang up on the walls and we're still in the process of finding just a few more pieces of furniture.  Besides a new bed for Ayla, we haven't purchased any other furniture...so just yesterday, we decided to get a couple of dressers and nightstands for our room and an accent chair for the living room.  We are pretty settled, minus our bedroom.  I was sooo gung-ho about getting the rest of the house unpacked that I kind of just abandoned my own things.  I wanted the kitchen and living room done first and I also wanted the girls' rooms done so they felt like they were home.  I have yet to unpack several boxes in our room and our closet.  It's terrible.  I MUST get it done soon.  It's starting to drive me crazy.

The girls have adjusted so well.  Really, there wasn't any adjusting.  They didn't miss a beat.  We're very lucky that we can go just about anywhere and they aren't bothered by it.  It's so fun to see them running around the house and enjoying their playroom.  That room is a godsend.  At first, the mess that occurs nearly every time they set foot in there, made me a little batty, a little twitchy.  But I've realized that it's so not a big deal.  At the end of the day, I can shut the door and not see a single toy in the house.  Glorious.  I have been trying to pick it up every few days so it doesn't completely get out of control.  Because of that room, they stay occupied long enough for me to get a few things done--cleaning, making dinner...breathing. :)  They have started to actually play together lately.  50% of the time, I have to break up a "fight" at one point or another, but it's great to see them enjoying each other's company even if it's only for a few minutes here and there.  Aubree, of course, wants to do everything her big sister does.  She copies every single move.  It starts to drive Ayla nuts, but I think it's cute. :)

They are both growing up so fast.  I often have to remind myself that Ayla is only four...not fourteen.  She is wise beyond her years.  I can't believe some of the things that she says...she sounds so old!  This last weekend, I had just gotten ready and we were ready to head out the door and she said, "Mom, you look sooo cute."  It took me by surprise the way she said it.  She sounded like a teenager (although, when she actually IS a teenager, I imagine she wont be giving me too many compliments). :)  She still has her sassy days where I swear her ears are broken and her eyes won't stop rolling...however, the crazy, full-blown freak out tantrums have diminished.  I'm extremely thankful for that.  She is still my sensitive, sweet, and serious little thinker.  

And Aubree?  Oh, Aubree. :)  She is the funniest chick I've ever met.  No, really.  She's hilarious.  She has the most care-free, quirky, and I-don't-give-a-sh*t personality.  She's not afraid of anybody, which has made disciplining an interesting thing that I have yet to figure out.  When I give her "the look", she gives it right back.  When I tell her no, she does whatever naughty thing she's doing even more.  If I slap her little hand, she laughs.  Oh boy.  Completely different from her big sister.  She is such a little stinker but is also the sweetest little thing you'll ever meet.  She giggles about the most random things and you can't help but giggle with her.

Life is good. :)

I still, believe it or not, have pictures to post from Christmas.  Yes.  Christmas.  Also, on the list, Ayla's preschool Christmas program, and Dean and my recent trip to Cancun. :)