CA Update

Things have been crazy as ever at the Eatherton household the past few days. We had been calmly planning our move out to CA the past few months, as it originally seemed so far away and there wasn't much we could do until we made a trip out there and found a place to live. Well, we made that trip this past weekend and basically came up empty handed. It's amazing how small the rental market is out in Palo Alto, especially for town homes or single family homes. And the very few properties that are available are DISGUSTING! I knew I was going to have to lower my standards because the overall cost of living is much higher in CA, but c'mon people, your appliances from 1950 need a little updating. Not too mention the cabinets, counter tops, carpet, fixtures, etc... We currently have applications in for two properties in Mountain View-- one condo and one house. Neither match all our "criteria" and worse yet, we do not agree on them! So now we are working to see if the owners of the house will do some updating to make it "live-able", because as it is now, it is not. And we're hoping, as a fall-back, that the condo will let us do a 6 mo. lease so that we can use it as very temporary housing while we continue to look when we get out there. Fingers crossed that something pans out soon, as all the waiting and not knowing has me thinking and obsessing... into all hours of the night. I just can't wait for all this to be over!

Time to start packing though, as our tenants are moving in here March 1. I hope Mom and Dad are ready for 4 house guests!

A little pink in the family!

On Tues., 1/12 at 10:30pm, Matt's sister Lindsay and her husband Jason welcomed into the world a baby girl... on her actual due date! Aubrey Marie Ellerman was 8 lbs. 12 oz., 20.5 inches and has a full head of hair (already more than poor Brady!) Matt and I went to visit the little beauty yesterday and below are a few of her first glamour shots. Unfortunately, Brady wasn't allowed into the hospital, so he'll have to wait til the weekend to meet his little cousin. Can't wait for that introduction!

Snap happy

We bought a new camera this week and I've gone a little snap happy trying to figure it out. Got a few good shots off (still learning), so I thought I'd share a some from yesterday.

The Tin Man

"Have your people call my people!"

Snow day!

Brady was very excited as he watched (from the window) the snow fall and fall yesterday... and this morning, Mom and Dad took him in the snow for the very first time. He was definitely amazed, but irritated that he couldn't walk in his snow suit. Such is life!

Veggin' like Mom!

First Christmas and Birthday

Hard to believe that today is Brady's first birthday! All day Matt and I have been recounting the events of this day one year ago and it feels like it was just yesterday. So much has happened in the last year, yet it went by in a flash. How is that possible?!

Post-birthday dinner at home, Braden is 1!

The last week has been both a blast and a disaster... Last Sunday we had Brady's birthday party at my parent's house; just a small gathering with immediate family. Brady loves animals, so the theme was farm/barnyard. Brady was an adorable little farmer! But later in the evening, Brady started sniffling and his nose has been running non-stop ever since. Our poor baby was sick for his first Christmas and birthday... hopefully he'll start feeling better soon!

Got cake on his pants so they had to go!

We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Stetzer family and Brady had his first encounter with Santa (aka, Dad). He wasn't sure what to make of him, so we couldn't get any good shots with the Jolly guy. Maybe next year!

"Hmmm... Santa, you look really familiar..."

Christmas Day was spent at Grandma and Grandpa Eatherton's new home and was very relaxing. Matt's sister Lindsay is due on Jan. 12th, so next Christmas will be a little more crazy than this one, in a good way of course!

Brady received tons of gifts from all his relatives; Mom and Dad don't know what to do with everything! Our condo looks like a Toys R Us exploded in it... we could definitely use a basement right about now.

"What should I play with next?!"

Now that the holidays and Brady's birthday has passed, we are hopeful that we can slow down a bit and just enjoy our toddler! That is, until it's time to pack and move... more to come on that later!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Long Overdue- Nov & Dec Update

It was much easier to update the blog before Brady was mobile! But now he's constantly on the move and so are we. Before we get into the rush of the holidays, I just wanted to share some pictures from the last few weeks and most importantly, Brady's first Thanksgiving.

Brady's curiosity is growing and growing, so he's into absolutely everything! I'm starting to worry that he'll think his name is "NO!" :) He is starting to test his words and can identify almost everything by pointing. His first real word was "hot" and he uses it to describe everything, even the snow! We're working on "cold", but that might take awhile. After "hot" came "out" and "up", which sound very similar to "hot", so maybe it's just the same word... but we think he means different things! He is getting very good at animal noises and his favorites are cow, monkey and horse. Hopefully we can get them on video and posted on here soon.

Brady, aka "Young Frankenstein", has been taking steps for the last 6 weeks or so. It started with one or two, then progressed to about 8-10... but as of today, we officially declare that we have a walker! Not 100% sure when you can use that label, but he is choosing walking over crawling as his main form of transportation, so I think that qualifies! We are tickled to see him on the move in the upright position and couldn't be prouder. More trouble lies ahead now, I'm sure!

Hard to believe his first birthday is in less than two weeks. We are excited to celebrate this amazing milestone with our family, as well as Brady's very first Christmas. More pictures to come soon!

Thanksgiving 09