Isaac is crawling all over the place and is GREAT at getting into everything. He knows where the Tupperware is and all the containers scatter so nicely across the kitchen floor. He loves to eat dog food and it's fun to dump Millie's bowl of water upside down on the floor. If he can do this undetected, he can splash around in it for a bit! The books on the bottom shelf are the best toy around because he can pull them off and make a huge mess. He likes to discover what things will fit into his mouth, and has been helping me find the teeny tiny things left on the floor and under furniture - he just stores them in his mouth to see if I will find them.
The pots and pans make an awesome BANG when they hit the ground. The electrical cords are enticing, and he's realized that his interest in them terrifies me, which makes them all the more exciting! He's learned a new game - he drops something on the ground and someone will pick it up. He especially loves the fact that Millie just waits patiently under his high chair, and he loves to share his food with her. He's discovered the fun of splashing around in the toilet, and now he can pull himself up to reach inside more easily. He likes to eat paper. He loves to get caught getting into mischief. My biggest fear in life is when this little boy turns two!
Oh, and have I mentioned that we're moving? Mike spent January interviewing for jobs. He received an offer from the FDA and will start June 4th. We're moving to Washington DC area (probably Maryland)!!!! We're really excited. I spent all of February getting our house ready to sell - I had no idea how much work it takes to get a house ready to put on the market. Mike spent every day and late nights at school, putting the finishing touches on his dissertation. We never saw each other, and it was the busiest, most stressful month of our lives. We put the house on the market on March 5th and Mike successfully defended his dissertation the next day (I want to share more about that in a future post). We were happy when that week was over! :)
Now that our house is up for sale, I spend all my time trying to achieve the impossible with 3 busy kids - keeping it spotless! They're great at undoing all of my work in a matter of seconds. Now I strap the kids into the car for 15 minutes before we go anywhere so that I can wipe toothpaste off the bathroom counter, hide toys and clutter under the bed, remake the girls' beds so that it doesn't like a 4 year old made it, throw dishes into the dishwasher, clean up doggie poop in the backyard, make sure the house doesn't smell like dirty diapers, open the blinds, and make sure it's in somewhat of a presentable condition. Then I wait....hoping to get a phone call from a realtor that someone wants to come by and look at it while it's in its "perfect" condition.
On the other end, finding the "perfect place" to live in Maryland is going to make my head pop off. At this point, we're just hoping for a roof and a couple of walls! The focus is getting a good school and a good neighborhood...and a good commute so we can see Mike once in a while :) I will fly out to DC next week to find us a place to live and then all my anxiety will be eased (I hope!). Mike will graduate on May 12th, and then we'll leave the last week of May.
Things are coming together. If I survive long enough to actually make this move to Maryland, I will be a happy girl! If Mike and the kids still like me by then, even better! :)
