Thankful

This Thanksgiving weekend we are especially thankful.

We moved into our own house this past month and we greeted our stuff that we hadn't seen in 15 months. It was a bittersweet reunion. On the one hand, it was wonderful to see old treasures, sit on our own uncomfortable sofa and actually put clothes away in dressers again. It felt like an early Christmas for all of us. On the other hand, we scratched our heads and wondered what on earth we were going to do with all this stuff we'd clearly lived without for over a year....not always easily, but lived without, nonetheless.

We're still unpacking so the "after" pics will come soon...but here are a few pictures of our house and moving day...

New exterior color scheme to come!

Natalie watched the movers from our window seat all morning. She was anxiously awaiting the toy box we told her was on that truck.

THE toy box. This was Corey's (and Amber and Kristen's) childhood toy box and Natalie didn't really remember it from Asheville but she was so excited once we told her she had a toy box coming. One night before we moved in we were at the house after dark when a woman walked by with her dog. Natalie stood on the front walk and shouted, "My name is Natalie and I have a toy box on a big truck!!" What a way to announce her arrival in the neighborhood. Little did she realize that the toy box was filled with toys she'd long since outgrown (sadly) but she was thrilled at each discovery anyway and still tells people about this toy box in passing.

Natalie found the loudest toys first (just can't thank you enough for this little piano, Kelly and Micah!) and the poor movers got to listen to her play and sing in an empty house (full of tile, mind you) almost the entire time they unloaded.

Another exciting part of the move for Natalie was the transition to a big girl bed. Her crib is one that turns into a toddler bed, but, of course, since we only thought our things would be in storage for 30 to 60 days when we packed them up last August, we didn't think to bring along the teeny tiny critical piece that allows the transition to happen. Consequently, this very big and heavy girl has been in a crib this whole time. The first night in our new house she slept in her toddler bed and has been happy as a clam ever since! And our backs are thanking us!

This is one of the only interior shots I have that turned out. We have a really cool wall of niches and we're so excited to light and accessorize them.

Speaking of thankful...we are so grateful that Grandma Lala and Papa Rod were able to come to town on moving weekend. They were such a huge help with cleaning, unpacking, Natalie busying, cat finding, lunch take out pick up-ing...you name it. Thank you both so much for all your help!

Not that we're trying to combine exciting news posts here but it all seemed to fit under the "we're thanking our lucky stars" theme...

We're expecting a baby in late May! Natalie is going to be a great big sister and we think we're up to doing this again! Exciting times at the Brooks house!

Hope everyone had a very happy holiday!

Dancing Queen

A few weeks ago we watched a few minutes of Mama Mia and Natalie was hooked. We agreed to let her watch about 10 minutes every night before bed. At first it was harmless...our little toddler sat glued to the movie right before bed and spent the afternoons humming "Dancing Queen", "Mama Mia" and "Honey Honey". We started to raise an eyebrow, however, when she started asking me, "Mommy, who's your dad?" and announcing, "we have to hurry, I'm going going to be late for my bachelor party." We finally decided it was Mama Mia overload when she said, "oh (pause) my (pause) God!"...a direct line from the movie delivered with just as much dramatic effect.

I tucked Mama Mia away for a while and headed to Blockbuster to seek help from good ole' Disney. We got in the car and what was on the radio?..."Dancing Queen"...yes, indeed. Natalie calls it "Dancing Feen" and she knows almost every word. (side note: yes, I listen to a radio station (occasionally) that plays ABBA and I'm not ashamed!!) She sang her heart out in the backseat all the way to the video store and was less than enthused as I checked out Mary Poppins. She liked Mary Poppins. She likes to pull her pants down to her knees and waddle dance like a cartoon penguin now, but she still asks for Mama Mia EVERY night. Luckily we found the ABBA Gold CD in the moving boxes and that's appeasing her for now!


Yes, she's wearing Mardi Gras beads. Corey picked them up at a garage sale. What has happened to our good judgement?? Not only does Natalie wear them around the house but she insists on wearing at least 3 strands to church on Sundays. It was in her Sunday school class that a friend informed me they are a major lead poisoning threat. Lovely. I just can't take the beads away from her the same month as Mama Mia when M.I.A. I'll convince her to leave the beads for Santa alongside his cookies and milk next month!

Happy Belated Halloween

Okay, so we're a little behind in this house right now. I'm finally getting around to posting Halloween pictures. In lieu of trick or treating this year, Corey and Nana took Natalie to the Fall Festival at our church. I was on a business trip and it broke my heart to miss it, but they did a great job dressing her in her costume and documenting the day.

It was actually a perfect Halloween celebration for her age. There were games, face painting and, as if Natalie designed the perfect fall celebration, a cupcake decorating station. Yes, the girl was in heaven. She asked Nana if it was her birthday. Nope. Just your lucky day, kiddo.

In addition to Nana, Natalie's other grandmas helped with this year's costume as well. Great Grandma Elizabeth gave Natalie this fairy princess costume last spring and Grandma Lala helped to tame the wings with some needle and thread on a recent trip to Palm Springs. Thank you all. She loves dressing up like a princess anytime (and anywhere)! She even got the royal treatment that day when she had a private wagon ride to the haunted house. She promptly declined the invitation at the door to the haunted house, however, and told me later that it was because it was "scaywee" (scary) and "freepy" (creepy).










The princess and her carriage! This was how she could have ridden through the haunted house if she had opted to go in. Maybe next year.

Thank you, Nana!!!

It's been a while since I've posted. Far too long. My only excuse is that life has been beyond nuts here. I promise to catch you up soon on the latest Natalie antics, but until then we wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Nana.

Nana came to the rescue this past month. I had a business trip to North Carolina scheduled and originally she planned to come out to help with Natalie while I was away. Well, "Nanny Nana" was just one of the many hats she wore during her visit, as it turns out. We closed escrow on a house a few days after she arrived (we had been around and around with this seller and really weren't sure we were going to get the house at all) and while I was away (and once I was back) she helped paint, clean, paint, paint and paint at the new place. She even extended her stay by a few days...what a trooper.


Thank you, Nana. We miss you and we can't wait for you to see the house all finished!! Pictures will come soon. And regular blog posts will be back soon, too!