the story of the new house

what a crazy ride this has been!  i shared before how we "accidentally" sold our current home.  when we decided to do that, we had no idea what a challenge it would be to find our new home.  it is definitely a seller's market out there and what IS listed for sale goes VERY fast.  i am shocked at the low inventory to choose from...there are just not that many house to choose from in our price bracket and in the areas we were looking to move.

our ideal criteria for the new home was:
1) location, location, location!  we wanted something closer to school, thinking about athletic practices as the boys get older.
2) square footage!  our current home is 1563 sq ft and we are using every square inch of it!
3) a pool!  we really wanted a pool for the boys (and us!) in the hot texas summers but we've never had a pool before and now that we have a baby, i was willing to give this one up if we had to.
4) either a cheap fixer upper or a house that needed no upgrades that would allow us to feel more comfortable about spending more

well, as our search began, we quickly discovered that we needed to prioritize our wants and needs.  the first house we fell in love with was huge (2700 sq ft) and had a pool (and was mid-century!) but not in our ideal location.  it was a hud home so we made an offer but ended up not being the highest bid.  we were disappointed but we knew going into it that the home would need some major work, so we moved on without much regret.

we looked at a few more houses (one had huge holes in the sheetrock and smelled like urine and one was super dark and dreary) and started to feel really discouraged.  there was one house that declined our viewing and then sold it the very next day before we could see it (and had 4 offers on it already!).  houses were being sold before they even hit the market, often for more than what they were going to be listed at!

so here's the story of our "new" house:
it hit the market on a tuesday evening.  we did a drive by and liked the neighborhood, but noted that people were doing the same and also already looking at it.  john had taken off the next day (a wednesday) to close on our current home.  we had that meeting early wednesday morning and were set to view this house at 12:30.

so we're talking middle of the week, middle of the day, house just went on the market....

we roll up and there are people inside viewing the home before us and before we leave 20 minutes later, there are two more sets of people waiting their turn to view it.  we quickly realize that this house was listed at a low price to encourage lookers and start a bidding war.  we fell in love with the home and knew this one would be perfect for our family so we decided to make our best offer and hope for the best.  our realtor called the listing agent to let her know we would be presenting an offer, only to find out that she already had 4 offers on the table and would be ending the listing at 5:00pm that day and going with the best one!  it was discouraging to us because we knew that our best offer would probably be easily outbid but we submitted one anyways and tried not to be emotionally attached to the house.

we found out the next day (thursday) that we were not the highest offer and we did not get the house.  i was so bummed.  there were no new listings to look at to try and distract myself with either but it was easter and we decided to focus on that instead.

so a week goes by and there's still nothing out there to even look at and we're beginning to wonder if we made the right choice in selling our home.  don't you hate that feeling?  when lo and behold my agent calls and says, "i hate making this kind of phone call but i have some news..."

(and i should insert here that she hated it because often you get your hopes up again, only to be crushed again later when you don't get the house the second time around)

turns out the listing agent contacted her because the highest bidders were acting funny about the house and she didn't think it was going to work out.  we were the next highest bidders (a miracle!!!) and she wanted to know if we had found something else or if we were still interested.  well, our agent of course told her we would be thrilled to get that house, that we were going to be homeless and living in one bedroom at my parents' house and that our 3 boys would love that house!  so we had to wait a few days to see what would happen but found out yesterday that they've accepted our offer!

the best part about it was telling the big boys that we got the house.  they were yelling and fist pumping in the car when i picked them up from school!

so here's the skinny on the house:

it's quirky, like us.  it's a split-level home so when you enter, you can either go downstairs to the basement which has the two bedrooms for the boys, the boys' bathroom, the laundry room and a living area.  if you go upstairs, you will find another living area, a formal dining, an awesome kitchen, and the master and master bathroom.

it's still in the same city where we currently reside so we didn't get much closer to school but we got square footage (2150!) and the house is already upgraded, so we can just move in.  a huge plus with a baby!  there's no pool but the backyard is huge and there is a huge wrap-around deck that will be great for hanging out on and playing under (i can see the boys having a clubhouse under here).  the best part is that we will have the space (and a great layout) to entertain which is something we really want to do!

when john and i first viewed this house, it just felt like home.  we thank all of you for praying that the Lord would provide the perfect house for us and that this specific house would work out!  we are thrilled and a lot more motivated to pack now, ha!

inspection is set for this friday so we are praying that nothing funny is found.  if all goes well, we will close on june 4.  we have to be out of our house on may 25, so there will be a couple of weeks where we will be at my parents' and our stuff will be in storage, but we are just so thankful to know that there will be a house waiting for us!

8 months!

salsa, i just want to cry when i look at you in your crib now.  you are SO BIG!  i am trying to treasure every second with you because in a blink of an eye, my baby will be a toddler.

my quiet baby is getting more talkative and i love to hear you growl, blabber, and even fuss.  you are sitting up really well on your own now, but have no interest in learning to get on all fours or crawl.  i think it is because you have 4 people catering to your every need!  you still just have to two teeth on bottom but you've been chewing on everything in sight so i keep waiting for some new teeth to pop in.  your hair is very blonde and getting a little thicker but you are still my almost bald baby.  so different than your older brothers!  and we can see your hair now because you are done with the helmet, hooray!  we are all so happy about that and you seem to be sleeping a little better now that it is off.

you are eating lots of foods now!  you love to have baby yogurt every morning for breakfast and then a veggie for lunch and oatmeal with a fruit for dinner.  you have finally put on a little more weight!  your favorites are bananas, bananas mixed with anything, oatmeal with any fruit, and sweet potatoes.  you are learning to appreciate avocado mixed with a little greek yogurt.  you still do not like anything green.  we tried the sweet potato puffs but you still gag on anything that is not super smooth and you gagging=freaked out mama!

sleeping is getting better!  you now are sleeping from 7:30 till 4:00-6:00 in the morning which is a VAST improvement!  you had a little cold last week that messed up sleeping for a few days but you are back to this schedule now.  i am so THANKFUL!!!  naps seem to be improving now too.  you are taking 3 naps a day, with the first or second usually lasting an hour.  much better than the 40 minute catnaps, but you still have some of those every now and then too.

your favorite toys change almost daily now.  you really like to drum and bang.  you've learned how to splash in the tub.  you love going for walks in the stroller and you chew on your lion teether the whole entire time.  even though you don't take a paci, you sure do love chewing on them and i find them all over our house!  you're still rolling all over and spinning on your belly so i will put you down and in about 5 seconds, you are already somewhere else!

i love watching you take everything in and marveling at the simplest things.  your doctor said you were an introspective baby and that sounds just like your dad.  there is plenty to watch and hear in this house, that's for sure!  we love that you are a part of it!

Happy Easter!

happy 10th birthday burrito!

burrito you are 10!

it is such a joy watching you grow up into a Godly young man!  i love your inquisitive nature and wide vocabulary.  you are FULL of energy and love every sport.  you think your dad is the coolest and want to be just like him.  i am thankful for the fun, simple things you still love too, like climbing trees and digging in dirt. you and noodle like to use your imaginations outside with your "weapons" (a.k.a. sticks!) and dress up like pirates and bad guys.  you are a great big brother to salsa and you are always quick to help me when i ask for it.  you love noodle too and get worried when he's not there sleeping beneath you in your bunks.  you are still a social butterfly and you love watching people.

your family fun day this year included donuts for breakfast, lunch at panera, and dinner at cafe brazil.  we visited the perot museum for the first time and went to the lego store to buy a star wars lego set.  it was a full day of fun and we enjoyed spending the day celebrating you!

outside the perot museum and the cool escalator

dinosaurs!

salsa had a good time too!

burrito, your dad and i are so proud to call you our son and to continue to teach and love you.  thanks for making us parents 10 years ago!

love you!
mom and dad

no more helmet, hooray!

after 8 looooooooooong weeks of not sleeping, we are celebrating freedom from the helmet today!  we actually stopped wearing it on saturday because he had outgrown it, but today was our official graduation from the cranial band office.  we are pleased with the results.  his head is still not perfect but vastly improved and we are happy to be DONE!

he looks pretty happy too, huh?!?!

how we accidentally sold our house

yes, you read that right.  what did we do over spring break?  we sold our house that wasn't for sale!

if you know me, then you will know that i am always looking at houses online and always ready to move.  there is a real estate site called zillow that has an option where you can list your house with a "make me move" price.  i did this a couple of years ago at an outrageous price but then lowered it to a more reasonable price when we found out our family was expanding.  i've had numerous inquiries from different people wanting more information but then they would never follow up with a phone call which indicated to me that they weren't really that serious.

well that all changed over spring break.  i received an email from an agent indicating that she had clients who were interested in seeing our home.  i responded back explaining that we weren't really ready to put our house on the market because we didn't really want to move until after school was over in mid-may.  i thought we would be more serious about taking those steps in april, but i offered to show them our home if they were really interested.  the agent responded by saying she thought that timeline would be perfect for her clients as well so we set up a showing for saturday.  this was a thursday.  you can only imagine the rapid cleaning and decluttering that ensued.  i am normally quite the housekeeper but with a baby that doesn't sleep, lethargy usually wins out over deep cleaning.  but i am proud to say we got our act together and got the house in tip top shape by saturday.

so to make a long story shorter, the couple came with their agent, liked the house but were seeing several others that day, and then made a really good offer on our house that evening.  we countered, they accepted and here we are nearing the end of the option period and we just may have sold our house without it being technically for sale.

john and i think this is the best way to sell a house, ha, ha!  he's even come up with a business venture and named it "not quite for sale."  i think he has something, except that zillow has already done it!

so now our great house hunt begins.  and packing. and box collecting. and moving! but really, all i want is sleeping.

p.s. we are really thankful to God for this unexpected blessing!

7 months!

salsa you are 7 months old today!  as i watched you play in the bath tonight, i was so thankful to observe you discover the fun, simple things of life like splashing in the water.  it is so satisfying to watch you discover new things and it makes me appreciate those moments that i take for granted.

so what's new with you?  food!  you are a tiny little thing so we have been pumping you full of homemade baby food and you are loving it!  your favorites by far are sweet potatoes and bananas, but you have also tried pears, carrots, oatmeal, peas, apples, green beans, turkey, and chicken.  the strangest combination? bananas and turkey!  i can't hardly shovel it into your mouth fast enough!

you now have both of your bottom teeth and you like to use them occasionally...we are working on that!  you have also gone through a stage that while nursing you would attack my face with your free hand.  you put your fingers in my mouth, up my nose and everywhere else!  it is so cute (most of the time!).  your latest trick is growling.  it is the funniest thing!  you growl while eating, you growl while jumping, you growl outside.  there is no limit and it cracks us up!

you love being outside which is a good thing with your two older brothers.  we will take your jumper or exersaucer outside and you will happily play while they shoot hoops and run around.  we have had some warmer days finally and it is nice to watch you take it all in outside.

your favorite mode of transportation is rolling!  you roll everywhere, even getting stuck under the couch thanks to your helmet!  i will put you down in one spot and find you in another in a matter of seconds.  you are appreciating some different toys now that you can grasp and handle them with ease.  your favorites right now are maracas, a piece of plastic mail, baby mirrors, anything you can bang and any non-toy (i.e. napkins, straw paper, etc).

the big appointments this month included getting your helmet professionally wrapped and a follow-up with your cardiologist.  the helmet appointment was fun and interesting.  we had picked digital orange camo and they already had it printed out on this vinyl sheet that they then blow-torched to your helmet.  very cool!  and we loved the finished product, and so did you!

your cardiologist appointment had me anxious all week.  the first echocardiogram you had as a baby was a bit traumatic.  the tech was not very patient and expected you to be perfectly still while she did the procedure.  i was nervous about the same thing this time around, but i was hoping since you were a little older it might be a little easier.  we scheduled it for cooks downtown so that if they also wanted to do a chest xray, we would be in the right place to get both done at once.  the staff called us back right on time but then after waiting in the exam room for an hour, i stepped out to see if it would be much longer.  well, to make a long story short, the tech didn't know we were there, but everyone else thought we had already seen the tech and was just waiting on the doctor.  come to find out, the tech had gone back over to the other side of the hospital and had to come racing back to do the echo.  we were there for a total of 3 hours and we were both DONE.  it was worth it though because the two holes in your heart had closed!  we knew this was likely to happen but it was still sweet to hear that they indeed had closed.  while your heart will always be a little different, it is functioning perfectly and we were released from cardiology care!  and after an appointment like that, i never want to go back!

salsa, i love being your mom and watching you grow up!