Garrett's first piece of chewing gum

For those of you that are wondering, I was in the back seat of the car with him. Garrett had fun with a really small piece of gum.

I like to floss my teeth!

Grandpa showed Garrett how to Floss his teeth. Every time we are in bathroom now he wants to brush and floss his teeth. Do we have good hygiene or what?

Fun new photos of Garrett

Daddy is so proud, sitting and playing with my new tools.



Yes, Momma I am playing in the box. All those expensive toys and I like this one best!



Sitting in my box talking to my Daddy



Not so Happy, when Grandpa put Grandma's sunglasses on me!



Eating some corn on the cob, my new favorite food!



Cleaning up the corn from my face.

Home ownership here we come!

Ok, so after lots of looking and no building...we put a contract on a house and it was accepted. We will be moving to Apopka, FL about 10 minutes from my parents but still near a little country (what can I say Arkansas rubbed off on us). We will be closing on July 17th. We have lots of fun ahead of us with painting, hopefully new counters (as they include colors like white/white in the kitchen, bright blue in the master and Steeler yellow in the guest bath) and maybe new carpet (pretty please!). We may be able to make one counter into a positive but the others will have to go...maybe when we get our taxes back. Our house will be three bedrooms and two baths, 1800 sq ft in a nice neighborhood. I will post pictures when we have some but HERE is the street view, our house number is 1878 Needham Road!

News on the Home search and more

So we found that amazing buy, right. Well it currently has a contract on it. We went ahead and put in a back up contract, we know that the other contract was sent to the bank but it is less than asking. We should find out next week if there offer was accepted or if the bank counter offered and if they chose to take that. If all of this does not happen we will have an opportunity to bid again, maybe.

I guess our patience is a little thin. We have scheduled appointments to go to look at about 14 houses and by the time that we look at them they already have a contract. This stinks. We have been trying to go out each night and feel like we are still behind the curve.

However, there is still positive news. When we were here for the wedding my mom took us to a brand new neighborhood behind the one that we have been looking at. We decided to visit it again knowing that we could build a new home for about what it would cost to find a foreclosure and spend the money to fix it up. Why buy a used home that we have to sink a ton of money into, when we can have exactly what we want. The neighborhood is filled with kids, young professionals, and is close to a brand new Elementary and Middle schools (apparently they are A+ schools too). We will also still have a little bit of a country feel as the area is still developing. We are about to throw our realtor out the window and go for the gold and build. I think Bill wants to go this weekend and pick out our lot. If we start the process now if will be done by the end of November and we can still get the $8,000 first time home buyers tax credit. Wish us luck, I will keep you posted as decisions become more solid.

Other than the insane home search, things are still busy. My mom and some of the ladies from the neighborhood are throwing a baby shower for one of the girls that grew up on the block with me. That is tonight, so I have been running errands to get ready for the shower, since everyone else works.

Garrett and I have been going on a walk or a bike ride each morning to visit the ducks or just play on the playground. Yesterday he surprised me and climbed up the ladder to get to the slide, verses using the stairs. He did it so many times that he perfected the climbing. We also visited with a little girl that was at the park and played in the sandbox. She rolled and dug in the sand and Garrett did not know exactly what to do. He just sat there and pushed the dirt around. Lets just say that if he doesn't like the sandbox, I am ok with that. Less mess in the long run.

We went to Toys R Us and bought Garrett some new toys on Sunday, while we were out looking at neighborhoods. With all of this home construction going on he has found a new love of tools, Daddy is so proud. We went looking for some toy tools at Toys R Us and found him a small tool station from Playschool it has a drill and saw, hammer and a screw driver. He sits and plays with it forever. We also found him a small couch that pulls out to a play mat. Now when the family is watching tv he has his own chair to sit and relax. I would also like to say that boy toys are getting cooler, than they used to be. When we went looking we found that there is a line of tool toys, by Home Depot. I was very proud, when I was little the girls could have the kitchen play station and there was not anything for the boys. However, thank you Home Depot Toys because now they make a work bench and station for boys. Check it out.

Here is the whole line. Let's just say that we have a new wish list for birthdays and holidays.

What else? Garrett's vocabulary has grown by a few new words including: bink (binki or nook as some call it), coffee, thank you, hahhh (hot), no no (we are loving that one), dogie, kitty, yeah, and mnnnnn (when something tastes good). These are just a few, it has been so fun to watch him grow and learn all of these new words and the things he can do.

Hello again to those who follow our blog. Sorry. Things here have been going fast. So as many of you know that when we arrived in Florida my parents decided to make over the side of the house that we were going to live. We finally moved in last week even though the house is not finished, we are just thankful for a steady place to lay our heads.

For Memorial Day, we left and went to Deerfield Beach to see Bill's dad and step Mom. We had a great weekend, Garrett enjoyed going to the beach and seeing the waves and playing in the sand. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures, since it was a quick stop at the beach. Let's just say we ended up being "those people" who put their child in the public shower naked. Yes that was us, but Garrett was so covered in sand from head to toe and even in his little ears. We just had to get him cleaned up before he got into his car seat. Bill just shook his head and laughed at me. While we were at Bill and Mary's we discovered a new activity, Texas Hold'em. We had so much fun and died laughing with Bill and Mary. We stayed up until late just playing cards, talking and laughing. We had a really nice visit.

Garrett and I have been having fun venturing out and about each day. This week we have been taking care of my grandmother. This morning we went to the park early, like 7:30 am and played on the slide and swings. Garrett did not want to swing in the baby swing he wanted to swing with Mommy on the big kid swing. He was so sweet leaning back on me and just enjoying the wind. I had a moment just soaking in the moment and enjoying the fact that I have time to spend this time with him.

Exciting news, we applied for and got approved for a home loan. Yeah, so last night we went to look at houses. We found a great one and would like to put in an offer if there is not one already. We are trying. I know that it is insane for me to say we want to make an offer the first night that we look, but this one is to good to pass up. It is a 275,000 for 150,000 4/2 and 1800 sq ft. The buys are great out there, but they are moving fast, the good ones anyways. We will see, wish us luck as we venture into home search mode.

Each day that Bill comes home, he says I have a new full time job for you, one day it was day trading, one day it was thank you note (yes, I am still writing them, I am so sorry), now it is finding us a place to live and a job. Let alone take care of a little one and my grandmother. Anyways, the search is going well for the house, jobs not so much. We will see, wish me luck and if anyone has any contacts. Let me know.

Life In Florida

So as you know, we arrived in Sunny Florida late last Saturday. We have been non-stop since we arrived.

Bill started work on Monday, with the Wolek Family business, Brite Electric, Air Conditioning and Heating. Learning a whole new business is fun and exhausting. As he puts it he is on the AC (Air Conditioning) Rip Out diet. He has been working in the record high temperatures, mid 90s all week, in attics and outside changing out Air Conditioning Units and learning everything there is to know. Even if he eats everything he wants to, he will still probably drop 30 pounds this summer, just from the heat.

I am enjoying some much needed quality time with Mr. Garrett. We have had so much fun. We are starting to get into a routine, each morning we get up eat breakfast and go for a walk or bike ride to enjoy some sun. We stop along the way at the park and climb all over the place. Garrett learned how to go down the slide by himself, climb up the playground and has even had some fun swinging at the park. In the afternoons we have fun exploring the city, running errands, and even taking a dip in the pool some afternoons. I have to say that I am enjoying staying at home with the little man. I hope/wish this could be long term. Anyone have any suggestions of part time jobs, that would bring in some income and let me stay at home?

FYI... Thursday we have an appointment to meet up with our Wedding Photographer to receive the final pictures. I will keep you posted on where you can view them all. Check back on Thursday afternoon.