- Move-in Day[s] -

I had to scroll back very very VERY far to find the last "house post;"  hashing out odds and ends in November seems like eons ago!  Sooooo much has changed!  Life as we knew it is back in tact!  It's crazy to say that we've been LIVING in this shiny new house for exactly *6* weeks now, and it's even crazier to say that my terrible memories of the final few months of finishing work are slowly beginning to fade!  What?!  Yes!  Say it again for the people in back:  all of this ^^ is a 2020 miracle!!! 

In mid-November, we passed some kind of preliminary [?] living inspection and were given permission to unload our filled-to-the-brim storage unit into 'da house!  Uncle Blake helped Brian lift the bulky items while the rentsies + Margy and Steve worked on setting up beds and furniture inside. 

[November 2019]

Thanks, all, for your help!

While we were at Disney World, final living inspection #2 was taking place and *drumroll*..................WE PASSED!!!  Or, "Brian passed," I should say.  ;) :)  All of these codes are so crazy and all the rules so strict, but basically, this was the inspection we had to pass to officially be able to "live" inside the house.  [Final living inspection #1 went down the week prior to Thanksgiving, but Brian didn't know we had to have a clean air filter installed AND functioning, so getting all of that coordinated held up the moving process for a few weeks.  Anyway!  No time to air the dirty laundry; that headache is resolved and all is well!]  The day after we returned home from Disney, the kids helped pack up the rest of the junk/toys we had at Uncle Garett's...

[December 10, 2019]

...and just hours later, we were tucking the kids into their beds for the FIRST NIGHT SLEEPING AT THE NEW HOUSE!!!

Weeeeeeeeee, I literally never thought this day would come, but it's officially official:  WE'RE MOVED IN!!!

- Cleaning Crews -

In anticipation of moving in, there was LOTS of cleaning to be done...

8am Sunday Mass to jumpstart the day...check!   

McDonald's coffee...check!

Donuts with extra sprinkles...check!

And letttttt's work the rest of the weekend away...check!

[October 2019]

Very thankful for all of my little helpers...

...and even a few big helpers, too! 

All this cleaning/hands-and-knees scrubbing calls for a break!

I loveeeee these dark hardwood floors, but I already know they're gonna be a beast to keep clean!  Anyone have dark floors and wanna share any good cleaning tips/tricks?!  If so, send them my way; your advice will not fall on deaf ears!!!

- Too TWO! -

TIME FLEW.....

...HOW ARE YOU TWO?!

**********

I was just reminiscing the other day on the first time we laid eyes on this beautiful girl, and now she's a full-blown toddler!  ...AKA "too TWO!"  We celebrated our Peppa-loving princess via a combined birthday party with her big cousin Van!

[Happy 3rd birthday, Van!  Happy 2nd birthday, Scarlett!  Cheers to the cutest cousins around!]

The birthday girl loved all of her gifts [Christmas 2.0?], especially the baby diapers/bottles/accessories to use with her brand new Baby Alive from Christmas! 

The next night, we planned a last-minute dinner with Grammy and Papa and GREAT-Grammy and GREAT-Papa, so of course we re-lit the birthday candle and enjoyed the remnants of the Peppa cake...

...and on Scarlett's [real] birthday eve, there were MORE gifts and cake to be found!  Grammy Penny may or may not know the way straight to Scarlett's heart! ;) :)

Finally, the sun rose on January 8!  We geared up for the culmination of celebrations and kicked the day off with a Mommy/Scarlett breakfast date...

...followed by an EXTRA long nap...

...followed by a few final gifts + singing + cupcakes from The Cup!

If the birthday girl could talk, I think she'd agree that *2* is shaping up to be pretty grand!

Happy birthday, Scarlett Clare!  Your smile and love lights up our lives.  We love you so!

- Annnnd they're hitched! -

Another family wedding in the books... CONGRATULATIONS to Paul and Kimber!  Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day! <3

xoxox

- Disney on Ice -

Last weekend, we cashed in one of our Christmas gifts from Grammy and Papa:  DISNEY ON ICE! 

I loved watching Harper get a little sniff of Disney again after her first trip to Disney World last month!  And Scarlett felt the Disney magic, too, until she snuggled into Papa and fell asleep for the last bit of the show...

...but thankfully, she came back to life just in time to enjoy dinner + dessert at The Fountain on Locust!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a super fun afternoon/evening out!  We're one week post-show, and the kids are still performing their own renditions of the figure skaters' jumps and twirls!

- Farewell, 2019! -

What is this life?!  Reminiscing on 2019 [one pic per month!] just reminds me how CRAZY BLESSED we are...

...but as every good thing must come to an end, we threw a mini-party to bid farewell to 2019!

I had to work 7am-7pm on New Year's Day, so the infamous "ball drop" came a 9:00pm sharp [...how did we live before YouTube?]!  All was swell until two little stinkers stole my New Year's kiss[es]...

Several packs of party poppers later, we called it a night!

Happy New Year, friends and family!  We cherish your friendships and love more than you know!  

Raising a glass to 2020:  may this be our best year yet!!!