15 Months

How did this happen? Where did the time go? When did my Little Buddy become a Little Man???

• He talks! Our words right now are Ree (read, said with a book in hand), Bwee (please), Bah (ball), Bee (beep, said when touching your nose), Buh (baby, said when playing with his baby doll), Mommy (SQUEE!!!!), and Dada.
• He is totally into books, bringing us three or four at a time and asking us to Ree (read) with him. Then he crawls into your lap to hear the story. Oh, my heart!
• He can go up the playground stairs and then down a slide all by himself.
• He plays peekaboo constantly when we want him to chill. Car seat, bedtime, and nursing are his favorite times to cover his eyes and get us to play with him.
• He gives kisses! He will close his mouth, lean towards you, and make a MMM sound until you give him a kiss. SO SWEET! 
• His favorite thing is going outside to play! The backyard is the best thing ever and he will happily play out there for hours without getting bored.
• A close second is anything involving water. He loves to play in the fountain in the backyard, water the plants, swim in the pool, get in a bath, and drink water. If he is splashing, he is happy!
• He loves watching Daniel Tiger and VeggieTales. Awesome.
• He loves music! Little Buddy will stomp along with the beat when I'm in rehearsal. He also dances whenever I practice guitar. Woohoo!
• He is currently in the carbivore stage of eating, consuming crackers like it's his job. We finally found an organic, ethical chicken nugget we can make at home that he likes. He wants to use utensils to feed himself but all it does is make a mess and frustrate him. It's a work in progress.
• We have FINALLY reached the stage in the nursery at church where he will stay the entire time without me needing to be in the room. I listened to a sermon in real time for the first time in 15 months last week. WOOOO!

Little Buddy is an absolute joy, constantly laughing and playing. He makes everyone around him smile.

We are "that family" - still breastfeeding, still cloth diapering, still baby wearing, still co-sleeping, still wearing amber necklaces for teething. And I love every second of it!

(Don't mind my pj's, no makeup, and terrible camera angle. It was bedtime.)

A long time

It's been a while, I know. I was on Face.Book yesterday wondering how to ask anonymously for prayer and share some exciting stuff with people I trust, Then I remembered: oh, hey! I have a blog! Not that I write anymore, and not that anyone is still reading, but I have an outlet for these kind of things.

No, I'm not pregnant. Let's just get that out of the way.

R has a job opportunity. His interview was yesterday and we should know something next week. If this opportunity comes together, R would no longer be working from home. Since we live out in the country, the office is 45 minutes away without traffic. At least an hour each way WITH traffic. That's a lot of driving, and a lot of gas money, for a someone who has been working from home for five years.

So, we are looking at houses. Well, house. Single. Because we already know which house we want. It is an absolutely gorgeous home in the subdivision behind our church. Like, this house is within walking distance to our church. Something like 0.02 miles. The front of the subdivision is directly across the street from the turn in to the church parking lot. And, with traffic, it is 25 minutes from R's new office.

We love it. It is beyond perfect for our family. It is on the size of property R wants and has the access to amenities that I want. The very first time I saw this house, I knew it was the one I wanted our family to grow up in. The price just dropped $15k, putting it right at the top of our budget.

Of course, we would have to sell our current home. Our home is great and, while it's felt small since Little Buddy has become mobile, it is the right size for a young family. Our lot is one of the largest in the neighborhood and comes with all the bells and whistles: full privacy fence, deck with pergola, fire pit, vegetable garden, play house, sandbox, and swing set with slide. R has put his blood, sweat, and tears into the yard and is looks perfect.

The inside of our home is pretty customized - bold colored walls, asian art, baby stuff... We would need to pull WAY back on the decor and remove all of the personalization. Hopefully we wouldn't have to repaint, but I wouldn't be surprised if a stager asked us to repaint. We would be looking at almost a thousand dollars of work to get the house ready, just from paint, painting supplies, and a storage unit to empty out the clutter.

But it would be worth it for that house. For that closeness to R's work. For the amazing schools the house is zoned for. To be able to walk to church/work. (Did I mention I'm being brought on at our church as a part time staff member? Yeah, that is happening. Finalizing everything tomorrow! WOOOO!)

So, we could use prayer. As much as we want R to get this job and as much as we want that house, we want what God wants for our family. So please join us in praying for this job opportunity - that R would only get a job offer if it is where God wants him to be. That, if he receives a job offer, that the Lord would clear the way for us to move closer to R's work. And, if we do move, that it would be into the house God wants for us.

Because, you guys, in my head we are already packing and moving into that house. <3