Dinner date with Daddy

This is Maddox and Marshall's favorite way to talk:

It was his day off and he woke up to call us, and then we chatted on the webcam while Maddox ate her dinner. When his picture first comes up she says "Big Daddy! Big Daddy!" until I make the picture full screen. It's easiest to talk to him when she's eating because then she actually sits still and looks at him and talks to him. We've tried it before with her running loose and she just runs away most of the time. Sometimes she tries to hand him things but I say "Daddy is still at work, he'll be home later......". We are so lucky to have the internet and free programs like Skype to help us keep in touch!

Learning how to count

Yes, I am a teacher, and I use bribery.  It works.  Even for my high school students.

We went to the Downtown Hampton Farmers' Market last weekend, which is actually very close to our new house.  It was smaller than I am used to, but I was spoiled with a wonderful FM in Michigan.  I am still looking for a dairy to deliver milk to our house, but unfortunately there are no farms close enough to us on the Peninsula.  There are a few signs around the FM area that show the history of the Langley area.

We were also right next to the Virginia Air and Space Center.  When Mdx is older we will actually pay admission and check it out.

There were about 15 vendors.  Most of them had veggies; There was a Butcher and a Baker...but no Candlestick Maker!  :)

There is a Carousel there...we have tried to ride it and Mdx screamed the whole time.  But, she enjoys watching!

Watching the Carousel.  She has recently decided that she does not want to leave the house without her "friends".  Ducky, Bunny, Froggy, etc.  I try to limit it to 2 at a time, but I admit to leaving the house with as many as 7 "friends" along.

The best part of living in coastal VA- all the harbors around us!  This one is right next to  the Farmers' Market.

Now- the video from the beginning of this post....did NOT happen on the first try.  Here are some of the outtakes:

Ah- this kid is so awesome.  I love her so much!   :)

Maddox's room!

The only room in the house really ready to be seen by the outside world...

Thanks to my Mom for getting the letters I was missing from Target!  They went on clearance, and I couldn't get them all, so she went to the one in Gboro and got the rest.

Come in and play!

The room was already blue, which matches her existing nursery decor pretty well!  I still need to organize the underside of the changing table...I'm hoping to get rid of it soon since we are starting to potty-train!  This is the view once you walk in the door, looking left.

The dollhouse built by Marshall's Dad.  This area has been straightened since I took the picture; I moved some of her books to the living room, and some of the stuffed animals to a secret location. This is the view looking straight.

Her bed- still a crib!  We tried it as a toddler bed and she is not ready for it (okay- I AM NOT READY FOR IT!).  She goes to sleep AND naps without a peep in the crib, so as long as she is doing that, why change it?  You can see a painting I did as a child on the left, and the Steelers Bear that Marshall's Aunts Lisa and Phyllis made for Mdx on the bookshelf.  This is the view looking to the right.  The door is right next to her name banner.

I'll leave you with some dancing in the kitchen:

No way

There is NO WAY that I can remember what has happened over the past few weeks.  Once Marshall's Dad (POOPA) left, the craziness of moving began in full force.  I was blessed to have TONS of help, family, friends, Squadron, neighbors...it was fabulous.  It is such a blur in my memory- so if I forgot to thank you in person, THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY!!!  Rather than trying to recap the events I'm just going to share a few pics and videos that have been gathering dust here in the new house!  :)

One of the last pics taken in the old house.  Maddox and Gramps reading a book.  She's all about wearing hats these days!

We were in the house the first day- the day we got the keys.....and my parents and I were sitting on the floor eating lunch.  I told them I thought I heard running water.  I walked over to the wall and said "It sounds like it's coming from the wall!".  My Dad listened to it, and said he thought it might be the Air Conditioner.  Then I opened the front door and went onto the front porch.  It was even louder there!  I looked through a vent hole in the foundation and could see water bursting out of the bottom of the house!!  We had a major leak!!  It ends up the Water Main was broken...it was repaired....then leaked again, and eventually we got an entire new pipe run to the house. But the first few days (okay, weeks) living here we've been dealing with all sorts of plumbing issues.  Here is the trench for the new water main.

This is how Taylor Anne and Anderson were staying busy.  They really enjoyed wearing Maddox's egg basket as a helmet and riding her schoolbus!  They play so nicely together!

The house was SUCH A MESS!!!  Here Mikey is finishing putting together our new dining room table and chairs that I got 50% off from World Market.  Everyone worked really hard while they were here, but especially Mikey who did everything on the list I made him, and found even more projects to do!

Mdx eating at the completed table...using a fork like a big girl!  She can actually get food on it now, but it doesn't always end up in her mouth.  Baby steps.

T.A. and Anderson were SO excited that our new house is on the water!  Mikey went and got some fishing poles so that they could try and catch some fish.  

I tied a string to a bamboo pole that was left over from my garden's pea trellis and let Mdx use that so she's feel like she was fishing too.  She caught a big ROCK!

One of the only problems with living so close to the water, is that when we get home and I'm parking the car Mdx is always saying "Wawa, walk....ducky quack quack PWEEZ!!!".  It's so hard to just get her into the house without walking over and looking at the water every time.  My friend Tamara had an excellent suggestion: to go and see the water everyday at the same time so when she asks to see it I can say "We'll go see the water after dinner, remember?" and Mdx won't pitch a fit.  Well- it worked!  Tam is a genius!