Big News

So Seth got a job!

It's in Fayetteville.

Which means we have to move from Raleigh.

Which makes me sad.

Because all of Seth's family is here and we've really enjoyed being so close.

But Fayetteville is only an hour and a half away! It's still on the East Coast, still in North Carolina!

But I'm also sad because my sister Amanda is moving to Raleigh a month after I move. And that would have been really fun.

But we are so lucky that Seth was able to find a well-paying job right out of grad school!

And it's a company he loves and is actually a mechanical engineering job! (His current job is computer programming.)

I started doing some research on where to live and everything I've seen says "Fayetteville is the worst! Don't move here! It's the armpit of North Carolina!"

I am really scared now.

But I found an adorable house to rent in a decent part of town. And it has three bedrooms! No more one-bedroom apartment and no more wheeling T in her little travel crib out into the hallway to sleep every night!

But we have to move to Fayetteville.

But Seth has a job! A well-paying job right out of grad school in a field he loves with a company he likes that is still within easy driving distance of all our East Coast family! And I am very happy to start this next phase of our lives.

But I keep going back and forth between excitement and sadness.

Can you tell?

Nine Months

Here are some many highlights of being 9 months old.
I am dreading the day your chunky legs and cheeks thin out. I cannot go out to the store without one or two people commenting on how cute that or your big eyes are.

You did NOT appreciate me trying to take pictures of you. You need to be moving, constantly. You started crawling just a couple of weeks ago and already you are very fast. I have to watch you a lot more closely now - I quickly discovered you like electrical sockets.

Your favorite time of day is when Dad comes home and plays with you. You laugh a lot more now.

You also love to stand up. Especially the coffee table, because mom hasn't yet figured out where to put all the magazines/papers/food she leaves on top of it and you have lots of things to pull off and play with.

Your favorite thing is books. You like to pull them out and turn the pages, multiple times a day. I read to you before naps and bedtime. I can only get board books at the library now since you're a little too enthusiastic about turning the pages. Your absolute favorite book is Pat the Bunny.

Still no teeth.

You actually like to eat now - thank goodness - and your favorite thing to eat are pretzel sticks. I only let you eat them once in a great while because...

...you are not a neat eater in the least.

We taught you how to give kisses, and half the time you will open your mouth big and lick our cheeks (your version of a kiss). The other half you headbutt us, so asking for a kiss is always a dangerous proposition.

You are getting more and more fun and I am really enjoying this season of life with you right now.

Arizona: I miss you

It's days like today (read: loooooooong) that I look back fondly on our trip to Arizona and wish I could go back in time and do it again.

Going for a walk

So sad and so funny

Poor B often got pushed around by her slightly bigger and more stable cousin

T actually taking a nap

Reveling in the fact that T is taking a nap and that I can hold B

Favorite bath toy to steal from B

Grandpa and his great-granddaughters

B and mom

My little family!

Grandparents and grandbabies

Four generations

T getting tired of pictures.

T's Sunday Afternoon

Because I obviously didn't post enough videos yesterday.

She did this for about 15 minutes. It's like a built-in babysitter for me. Very amusing.

Crawling

I told my mom I would put up a video of T crawling a week or two ago and she just informed me today that she has checked everyday to see if I had done it yet.
Whoops.
So in a guilt-ridden panic I quickly took the following video.
Please ignore the crap all over my floor. It's easier to just leave it and pick it up once at the end of the day.

And here are a couple more videos just to make up for the procrastination.

Sometimes crawling is a traumatic experience for her.

Yeah, she's got something to say.

She's quite the opinionated baby.