April 29, 2013

or not

saturday we found out that the place we were super excited about moving into a month from now just sold. and the new owners plan on gutting and renovating it over the next year. 

what luck!

so they've cancelled our lease and we have 4 weeks to find a new place before we're homeless.

heartbreaking and frustrating.

here we go again...


on a happier note:
it was gorgeous this weekend. 
so we went to the zoo and ran around the park.
and took a few pictures of it all.
 (Clara's latest obsessions: sunglasses and walking)




April 23, 2013

moving

not wanting to stay in our current situation (impending construction), we started looking for a new place
the rental market is crazy here and anything decent is usually too expensive or immediately taken
well, last week we were super lucky (blessed) and found the perfect little home

we had a real estate agent e-mailing us a few properties
this one popped up and I told him I'd love to take a look
Brooke just happened to be in town to watch Clara so I could drop by
and I happened to be the first showing of 20+
and I took it before anyone else had a chance




so we've signed a new lease
June 1st we'll be living here
on the first floor (the owners live above)
with a white picket fence
a fancy new kitchen (with a garbage disposal!)
and a backyard!!

it's smaller cozier than our current residence
but newer and a bit less creepy

in a cute neighborhood called Roscoe Village
(sadly in a new ward)

dreading the packing
but excited for the new start!

April 21, 2013

with Brooke

My youngest sister had a break between semesters at BYU and flew out for a short visit. We all know she really came to get her fill of Clara. (The two of them are adorable together. Lots of love and giggles. We've always thought Clara looks the most like Brooke.)

 Clara has five teeth coming in right now... hence the sideways chomping smile

 Brooke was patient and kind enough to spend half her trip walking jogging Clara around 



We promised her a trip to the Art Institute. We'd be meaning to check it out ourselves. Just needed an excuse to drop the $$.

It was incredible. Worth every penny. The museum is huge. We only made it through a fraction of the exhibits. But loved it and will return.


 We grew up on this game and every painting from it is housed at the Art Institute. Brooke and I had a grand time trying to find them all.







boo-boo, we miss you!!

April 8, 2013

she swings (among other things)

this past week was the first hint of spring we've felt so far. the temperatures were still coat-worthy but we took advantage and strolled to the park. and clara had her first encounter with the swings.


when you have a child you get to experience everything again for the first time. slides and swings and tulips blooming- it all takes on new meaning when seen through the eyes of your baby. you get excited about and intimidated by and find adventure in the littlest things. and feel the need to document them even if nobody else is likely to find them interesting. 




it's one of my favorite parts about being a parent- feeling more like a kid again myself.
and seeing the world differently. 



on a more frustrating note...

cubs season begins today. baseball season might officially mean spring. but it also means impossible to park on streets and noisy drunken fans. if I could do it all over again I wouldn't live anywhere near Wrigley.

 (I snapped this as I was driving by the other day- yes my windshield was disgustingly dirty)

or house is about to become a construction zone. or not- if there's anything we can do about it. our original owner sold the place and we thought we were lucky when the new owners decided to continue renting it to us. until they informed us of their plans to renovate the back staircase that connects the basement to the attic, to create a room in the attic, and to finish the basement. work is supposed to start next week. well, my upstairs neighbor (with three kids and one on the way) and I have decided to put up a fight. we might be forced to leave, but I'd choose that over living through the noise, dust, debris, loss of storage, and complete loss of privacy. 

plus, the apartment complex next door likes to party all night long and prevent us from sleeping. (I love being startled awake to "chug, chug, chug...") we finally called the police at 2 am sunday morning. which did nothing. 

do I want to move? not really. but it might be happening. 

April 2, 2013

first easter










*thank you to nana (Grandma Davis) who sent Clara's dress*

April 1, 2013

11 months

she says "mama"!!
(and "dada" but that's old news)
and sometimes "hi" and "bye-bye"


 she's scooting around on her butt and belly, pulling up to stand, walking along furniture as she holds onto it but
STILL NOT CRAWLING


she's willing to try eating just about everything (including anything she finds on the ground), but is definitely becoming more opinionated about what she likes

not her favorite? it'll usually end up in her hair or on the ground


tooth #3 finally made an appearance


favorite activity? emptying out her bookshelves

(if it keeps her occupied for a while I don't mind the mess so much)


after our trip to VA she got sick again

the last week looked a lot like this:


still taking two naps a day

and nursing 4-5 times (in addition to her 3 meals)


started throwing mini "temper tantrums" 
(when we're changing her diaper or forcing her to do anything similarly abhorrent)

which we do our best to ignore

most of the time she's sweet
and funny
and crazy.

March 29, 2013

at work

I should make Dustin write a post about what actually goes on in a pediatric dental residency. 

From what I hear it involves a lot of screaming/bucking kids (they call it "rodeo dentistry"), toddlers with rotted out mouths, occasional nighttime calls to the ER to salvage a broken tooth, and trips to the OR when all other methods fail.

Does he like it? 
Some days.

It's a tough job. 
But extremely satisfying when a kid who was completely traumatized at the beginning comes back happy and excited to see him. 

Which happens.
Because he's good.

this photo ended up published somewhere... 
this peaceful momement is not the typical day I usually hear about


the commute


 his gown ripped apart by a patient


he's also taking classes and doing research (and getting a master's degree... I'm still unclear as to why)


with his co-residents