Signed Papers

Yesterday afternoon Scott called me at work to tell me our plans had changed for the evening. We were going to go sign papers for our house! The bank accepted our counter offer. The price was still more than we originally asked, but less than the listing price. They agreed to pay all closing costs and up to $1200 in termite damage. We were very excited that it went through. So last night we sat down and reviewed all the paperwork, signing our lives away. It was totally worth it! We hope the papers will be signed by the seller by the end of the week and we can start escrow right away. The goal is for the house to close by April 10th.

I am really glad that we got the bid in when we did. The seller's realtor said that he received 3 calls on the house yesterday. I know that at this point it is not finalized and something could still go wrong, but we are getting closer to being Home Owners. It is quite a step in our lives but we feel that God has really taken care of us and we can make this next move in our lives. It is exciting and yet, opening up a whole new level of stress!

7th Month Pictures

This weekend, Scott and I took Brendan to get his 7th month pictures taken at Sears Portrait studio. This was actually suppose to be his 6th month pictures, but we are a little behind. Here are some of the looks we captured on film! Sorry there are a lot of them, he was being so good, the photographer just kept taking pictures!

House Update

Our realtor called Scott yesterday afternoon to let him know what was going on. We received a counter offer from the bank raising our price $5,000, which we were already prepared for. They also lowered the price of closing costs that they would cover. Our realtor sent another counter offer back saying that we would pay the higher price, but asking them to cover the full amount of closing costs. We are now waiting to hear back from the bank of whether they accept our counter offer or not. They may just come back saying they will not cover the whole amount of closing costs, and we are prepared for that. In our opinion, it is still less than we were originally looking, and so the price is still worth it! So, I am trying not to get too excited, but it looks like we pretty much got the house! Of course, you never know what is going to happen, they may change their mind at this point. I will continue to keep you updated as we hear.

Scott is very excited to be getting his family into a house with a backyard. He wants to provide the best for his family, especially for Brendan. The apartment was a great place for us for a while, but we were wanting something more and are excited for this opportunity. Hopefully we will know soon, otherwise, it will be a long weekend!

By the way, if anyone is looking for a realtor, we have a GREAT one we can give you the information to!

Puppy Love - My Nephews

Those of you who know me, know that I am not a huge dog fan. In fact, I don't really like dogs at all. I am actually afraid of dogs as well. It probably started when my sister and I were young, walking our aunts little dogs through a campground when a HUGE (not even exaggerating) black dog with blue tongue (seriously) started chasing us with his chain lease dragging behind him. I remember picking up the little dogs and running like crazy...I'm not sure what happened after that, we apparently lost the dog or he got tired of chasing us, but it still scared the tar out of me! I have not liked dogs ever since.

Don't get me wrong, there are a few dogs that I do like. I love my parent's dog Abby who has finally calmed down in her old age. Scott's cousins have a dog, Wendy who is a great dog that I would love to have. But as a whole, I don't like dogs. They smell, they jump, they lick, they bark, the slobber...they chase you...

If you have read my sisters blog at all, you know that she and her husband have become proud parents of Two puppies. I LOVED the puppies when they were brand new, now they are getting really big and are not as cuddly, but I think I still love them. Charlie will lay in my lap, Bubba will let Brendan play with his tail, and they both love to run and play. Bekah is training them to NOT jump, lick, or bite. I am sure they will become well behaved dogs that I will grow to love.

My sister just sent me a couple pictures of her babies. So here are my Nephews! Charlie & Bubba.

Here are the puppies when they were brand new, they were so little!

Brendan 7 Months Old!

Well Brendan is now 7 months old, I can't believe it. He turned 7 months on Valentine's day. Speaking of Valentine's day, I wanted to apologize for such a LONG post yesterday, to make up for it, i will keep this one short and sweet with bullet points and pictures!

Brendan is:

• Still growing although he has slowed down, but he is developing like crazy!
• Actually crawling on all fours - for the most part. (see Video below)
• Loves his baby food, despite his first encounter with squash
• Will sit in his high chair and just play for longer amounts of time.
• Has learned to hold his own bottle at feeding time
• Has started drinking from a sippy cup, although right now he just likes to bang it on the tray, he is getting better at it.
• Can pull himself to a standing position when seated
• Has very strong legs and loves his jumper
• Babbles like crazy in this high pitch baby voice (very cute)
• Is increasingly aware of his surroundings.
• Still loves toys of all kinds, especially ones he can put in his mouth!
• Still the cutest baby ever in my opinion!

Pictures!

Hope you enjoyed the update!

Valentines Weekend

Last weekend was Valentine's day, it was also a 3-day weekend, Scott and I had no plans. We have never really celebrated much for valentines day. Our first year I planed a nice date but since then, it has gone down-hill. This year, Scott didn't even get me a card, I bought him a card, but left it in my car, still haven't given it to him. Valentine's day is just not that big of a deal for us. Being that it was a long weekend, we tried to make plans.

• We thought about going camping with friends - but it was raining.
• We planned to go to a cabin at Big Bear instead - it was snowing.
• We were going to go visit Scott's grandparents - they already had plans.
• We tried to make little plans with friends to go bowling - the timing wasn't right.

Somehow, all our plans kept getting cancelled. So instead we stayed home on Friday night just the two of us, and on Saturday, decided to go looking for a new house to rent.

On Saturday morning, we were going to go drive by a house to rent, but instead decided to go get pre-approved to see if we could get approved to buy a house instead. We went to Bank of America while Brendan was sleeping hoping to meet with someone before he woke up. Unfortunately, we waited over half-an-hour and Brendan woke up. We finally got to see a representative, sat down at the desk and she basically told us that she couldn't help us. If we wanted a FHA loan (which we did) we would have to speak with another loan rep over the phone, but she didn't work on Saturday.

We left, frustrated that we had to actually wait that long to hear that we couldn't be helped. While we were loading up in the car, I remembered that my Boss (rather my boss's Boss) had just bought a home and had given me the business card of her realtor. I gave him a call just to get the ball rolling, we gave me the number for the guys he works with to get us pre-approved, said he would be in touch.

Not 20 minutes later, he called us and said "I have a house I want you to see" and that was it, all of the sudden we were house hunting! On our 5th Valentine's day together, Scott and I started planning our next big step for our family, purchasing our first home. We looked at about 6 or 7 houses together, There was a nice two story house that I loved, needed some new paint and a lot of cleaning, but I loved the potential, Scott did not love the train that went through the backyard. Scott loved the one story home in the corner lot with a nice back-yard. I didn't love the large "great-room" that would count as my living, family & dining room. We went home that night excited, nervous, and indecisive.

On Sunday we had dinner with friends Jenni & Dave (picture of Dave, Jenni & Brendan above, Brendan & Dave below) and discussed our options, what to expect, and what quetsions to ask about the money portion.

Monday afternoon, we had an appointment with our realtor again. I took a long lunch and we look at another few houses. This time, we found one that we both loved. No offers had yet been made, we went right to work and made an offer on a house!

Happy Valentine's day to us!

Friendship Friday - The Monkey

Normally I talk about one of my friends on Friendship Friday, but today I wanted to show you Brendan's Best Friend. The Monkey. The Monkey was a Baby Shower gift from my Aunt Norma, Aunt Mary & Aunt Dar. Attached to the Monkey was a gift card that we were able to use to get Brendan's stroller. While Scott and I appreciate the stroller, Brendan LOVES the Monkey. He is soft and cuddly, with a rattle inside, and washes up nicely I might add. He is just the right size for Brendan to hold, chew on, and carry with him. Everywhere we go, The Monkey goes too.

It started when Brendan was about 3 months old. He rides in the stroller with Brendan, sleeps with him, and is even in the Family Portrait! I would like to present to you, Brendan's Best Friend...The Monkey!

If you are reading this Aunts Norma, Mary & Dar; Thank you so much for The Monkey, Brendan just LOVES him!

The 100th Blog

Today I write my 100th blog. I can't believe I have actually kept this up this long! Many times I start to use these communication places, and I tend to get bored and stop. Much like myspace and my recently added Facebook (which I rarely check). This blog has been a great way for me to share my life with other around me and those who aren't near. For me, it is a place to show my mom and my mother-in-law new pictures of Brendan and keep them current in my life. It is a way for me to connect with friends that live in other places, most importantly, it is a way to document our life in general.

I originally wanted the 100th post to be something great, like the 100th episode of Friends. However, as I sat down to write the blog, I started looking back at previous posts. I love that so much has been documented and that I have the ability to look back at what we have accomplished and what my family has faced together. I realized that the important things in my life are all documented here. Thank you all so much for reading. The comments and encouragement from all of you, as silly as it sounds, is what keeps me writing. It is my Mother-in-law calling to ask why I haven't posted lately, my mom who tells me I should write articles and be published ;) all the comments left from friends that remind me to keep documenting my life.

There is a country song that I have heard for several years now that I just connect with. Today's post reminds of the song. "Who I am" sung by Jessica Andrews:

I am Rosemary's granddaughter
The spitting image of my father
And when the day is done
My mommas still my biggest fan
Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy
But Ive got friends that love me
And they know just where I stand
Its all a part of me
And that's who I am

This song makes me stop and think of how grateful I am to be me, and the people around me define who I am. I am a granddaughter, a mother, a child, a wife, and many other roles. I guess I really just want to say thank you to all of you around me. You support us, love us, and pray for us. It is because of you that I write this blog. Thank you for making me - ME!

SO MAD!

Today I took an early lunch to go and see a house for rent. I made the appointment yesterday afternoon, it was for a nice 1 story, 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with new appliances, new carpet, Central AC and 2 car garage. It sounded like a great place for us to rent. Like I said, I made the appointment yesterday afternoon for today at 11:15. I left work a little before 11, it was suppose to take me 10 min to drive but of course there was road work so it took me 20 minutes which was a bit frustrating. I get to the house, look around, NO ONE IS THERE! I try to find the phone number to call the lady, and my phone dies! I wait another 10 minutes and STILL NO ONE! Mad as can be, I drive back to work. I have now just wasted my lunch hour and didn't get anything to eat. I call the agent that was suppose to show me the house and her response? "My boss rented the house out yesterday." THAT'S IT?? I tell her that I drove all the way there and waste my lunch hour and you couldn't bother to tell me it was already rented out!!??!!?? Her response to me was "Well, my boss just told me this morning at 10:00...

AHHHHH!!!!!

Tagged for picture

So I have now been tagged 3 times to past this picture (I'm sure you all have seen this on blog everywhere). Bekah was the first to tag me, so this is for her! Since I have pictures both at home and work, this picture comes from those I have at work.

This picture was taken at Disneyland, if you couldn't tell already, this is me with Daisy Duck. This was one of my favorite days. Shanda, my first roommate in college, won free tickets for Disneyland's 50th celebration. The day Disneyland was closed to the public and only special ticket holders (Park employees and their families, the press, and a few others) were allowed in. Shanda took me along! We were so excited, even though we both had Disneyland passes at the time. On this day, there were characters everywhere, really short lines and new things all over the park to commemorate 50 years. Shanda and I had a great time, one of my favorite memories with her! I really miss going to Disneyland with her, every time I go, I think if her.

Anyway, that is my story! I think almost everyone has been tagged, but I will tag Casey, My mother-in-law Darla, and Melissa Lamberth. The rules, in case people are unclear, you have to go to where you store your pictures, select the 4th folder, then the 4th picture. Post the picture on your blog with a story explaining the picture.