Renovations

We have been in the midst of renovations at the Thompson house. These renovations are in preparation for the big move to Florida. We (I say we, but we had it done since our home has 20 feet walls in places) have completely painted inside and out and new carpet throughout the home. We will put the house on the market this Wednesday.

Our home has been turned inside-outside a couple of times in the past week. There was chaos and stress and dust. All of these things my little OCD brain had trouble processing and seeing through. But now that the renovations are complete and I can breathe again, the house looks nice. We have de-cluttered and packed up things that can be stored so hopefully we will have very little that needs to be packed once we are ready to go.

It looks like September will be the moving date. Not exactly sure when since we need the house to sell. It's weird to be talking about this since for so long it seemed like a dream and not at all a possible reality. Having said that we are excited. I am scared too. This is a huge step. I haven't lived outside of Memphis (except for the year I was at Union).


I am looking forward to the end of the week to be heading back to Florida for some house hunting, some ocean air, and some more Dave Matthews! The 15 hour road trip should be an experience. As long as husband and me do not strangle one another, I think all will be fine! The kids will be staying at home this trip. But soon enough kids and dogs will be packed up and headed south as well. Gosh, that feels so strange to say!

So What Have We Been Up To????

LOTS!!!!!

At the end of April (I know, long time ago), we traveled to Florida. I was offered a position with a physician I met a couple of years ago. The timing wasn't right then, but now something told us to go ahead and see what it was all about.

It was a whirlwind trip, but we learned a lot. Like, people in Florida have two speeds when they drive (a) slow (b) fast. There is no medium pace. We also learned that traffic lights last a century there. So what part of Florida, you ask? Well the area I would be taking care of patients in is between West Palm Beach and Hollywood, Florida. This is a good stretch of land! Being so vast the selection of areas to live in is also large. The market in Florida is favorable to buy a home right now, so that is a plus for us.

Though we are still working out Dennis' job, selling our home and buying a new one, and moving, we are pushing forward with plans to move. We are just praying all works out for the best even if Florida is not meant to be.

Lou is now 15 months old and has learned to say "thank you" and "no". We are not as happy about "no" as we are "thank you", but she becomes more and more animated every day! We love that her little personality is blooming and her hair is finally growing! She weighs 21 pounds and is 31 inches long. Landon graduated from pre-kindergarten in May and has been enjoying summer camp and karate. He also completed his first season of soccer in May and won the "most spirited" award!

We celebrated 7 years of marriage on May 30th! On June 15th we took a road trip to St. Louis for a Cardinals game and then to see Dave Matthews Band on June 16th. The game was fun and the concert was awesome (as usual)! We went to the St. Louis zoo and pet sting rays which we really enjoyed. We also visited a local winery called Little Hills and did the Anheuser-Busch tour the day we left. It was a nice vacation but we could have done without all the traffic that St. Louis had to offer. We are talking major traffic jams and accidents at 3 in the afternoon!

So what are our plans for July? We are going back to Florida at the end of the month to look at some homes. Though it wasn't planned, we get to see Dave again! I, of course, am beyond thrilled! Dennis got a call from Reverb this week. This is a company in charge of environmental awareness campaigns done at concerts. I signed up to volunteer for Reverb at the Dave show in West Palm Beach when we are scheduled to be in Florida. We got chosen! Best news is we get to see Dave for FREE!!!! So I am beyond excited to see Dave again this summer since the boys are taking 2011 off! This will be the first time in 20 years that Dave will take the summer off and not tour. Sad though I may be about next summer since we go every year, I cannot wait to see Dave again and volunteer for the green efforts that Dave supports!

So lots of decisions still to be made and lots to do before the fall. Who knows, we may just have a new zip code by then!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lou is a 1 year old!

Lou's party was a hit. I have more pics to share, but that will have to come a little later. See her face-plant!?!

Yes, I know, Lou turned one on 3/2/2010. But, we have been busy, busy!!!!

So we took Lou for the 1 year check-up and shots. She did ok, but gave the nurse who did the shots the meanest look I have ever seen her give. Needless to say Lou's feelings were hurt that anyone would want to do that to her!

Lou weigh's 19lbs 8oz (23%) she is 29inches tall (45%) and her head is huge, but no change from the previous measurement which I have forgotten (79%!!! I hope there is lots of brains in there!) I needed re-assurance about the whole humongous head thing from the doctor. Since I deal with brain tumor patients I am little on edge about those kind of things! The doctor said she was just fine. Whew!

A look at Lou!

1. She still has very little hair, but it is growing!

2. She is walking everywhere

3. She loves playing with her brother

4. We think she says some version of Landon, but we aren't for sure

5. She is off formula and on milk

6. We are transitioning from the bottle to a sippy cup

7. She is now eating (or attempting to try) the lunches and snacks daycare provides

8. She loves peanut butter (we discovered that fact this weekend)!

9. She goes to be bed between 7:30-9:00pm and sleeps until around 7am

10. She has starting loving on her babydoll, Stella. I think it is adorable!

11. She says daddy and mama all the time while walking around the house looking for us or following us

12. Her feet are tiny like her momma's. She wears 3-6 months size shoes

13. She is wearing 6-12 months clothes, but 9 month items fit her perfectly

14. Still is size 3 diapers

15. Lou loves to dance

16. We think Lou is starting to appreciate Dave matthews like her momma and brother do, but can't say for sure just yet

17. She falls asleep to the Beatles at night (love it!)

18. She waves and claps

19. She has 4 teeth with 2 more coming in

20. She loves cheesecake (this was her smash cake for her birthday!)

Until Next Time!

Whoo's turning 1?????

LOU! Lou will be a year old on Tuesday, March 2, 2010!!!! My little sweetie is growing so quickly!

Mommy has been in planning mode for a while (like since she was 6 months old or even before). Even if the planning was just in her head and scouting the internet, plans are now coming to fruition! Yes, it had to be an owl themed first! She is a Chi Omega legacy after all!

Decorations have been purchased and favors for the little ones as well. Though not the grand bash we had for Landon (his 1st was a cookout in the backyard with lots of family), it will be very special!!! Since it is cold and most certainly too chilly for any outdoor fete, we will have a fancy owl party for our girl in our home!!!!!!

I am excited to make the cake and get everything in order for her big day! I know she won't have the slightest clue what is going on, but there will be pictures for later on in life to show her. I am in LOVE with her invites and am thinking of creating her cake and maybe a dress in similar colors/patterns for the day!!!!!

So much to do, so little time. As usual......

Pics to come after next weekend!!!!

Baby Steps!

We have had a chaotic beginning to 2010. First we have had more *snow* in Memphis this year than any year I can remember besides when I was a little girl. When I say *snow*, I mean for Memphis we have had more than the ice we normally see. This is of course does not even begin to compare to the snow the rest of the northern US has seen. However, Florida got some snow a couple of weeks ago and temperatures in Florida have been so low lizards have been falling out of trees due to freezing (weird, huh?)

So our choas was not weather related, but rather illness. Seems once we get one family member well, the other comes down with something. Not long after my Birthday Lou got the stomach virus that never ends. It lasted two weeks! about a week into it, I got it and Dennis had a touch of it. Luckily, Landon was spared. However, within a week or so, Landon got a viral cold and a fever. Ugh! Landon and fevers do not mix! Though short lived, the runny nose/cough has lingered. Don't you just love snotty children??? Last week Lou began running a temperature that landed us in the pediatrician's office. H1N1 was the verdict. She was pitiful and I felt so badly for her. She is now on the mend and we are so happy even if it seems all of us have the southern sniffles!

Baby Steps-Lou's steps, that is! Yes, we have a walker! She is taking anywhere from 6-9 steps at a time and her balance is much improved. Her cute, proud smile is probably the most entertaining as she looks at you like "Hey, I did that. Did you see? I am great!". And it really is great. It is certainly the little things in life that make you happy sometimes!

Onward and Upward in 2010!

Out with the old and in with the new! Happy New Year to everyone!

We have been quite busy in the past few months with holidays, work, and a little play.
Lou enjoyed her first Thanksgiving by eating sweet potato casserole, stuffing, and cranberry sauce!
Landon has begun to branch out and try new foods. We are thrilled about this!
This Christmas Landon got the "big picture" of what it is to be a kid at Christmas. He was spoiled way beyond words by our family and friends!

We are looking forward to Lou's first steps which seem like they will be any minute. She is becoming brave and standing unassisted for periods of time. She uses her little walker with one hand and takes steps. It is hard to believe she will be a year in just a few short months! She still has very little hair and only two teeth.

This year I am waving bye-bye to my 20's and hello to the thirties. I have mixed feelings about this, but it is what is! At least Dennis is older than me!

May everyone be healthy, happy, and blessed this year!

Lou the Peacock!

I have been working on Lou's Halloween costume for a couple of weeks now. It all started when I wanted her to be something girly involving a tutu. You would think simple enough, right? Not really, all infant costumes are bunting or a sack of sorts.

I found an easy way to make my own tutu and thought that a peacock would be unique for Lou's first Halloween.
So I started with the tutu. It was pretty easy. It is so big and fluffy that when Lou sits in it I think it is 2 feet on either side.

I then wanted to make a fancy peice

for Lou to wear in her hair. I looked on one of my favorite sites, etsy and saw these fascinators using peacock eyes and flowy feathers. I went on a search for the peacock eyes and found them at a local craft shop as well as puffy feather peice that was exactly what I wanted.

I attached the fascinator to an alligator clip and will be making a nylon headband from a purple, royal blue, or teal green knee-high (I should be able to find one of those around this time of year I hope).

Next was the peacock feathers themselves (the back peice). I really wanted to use a burlesque type marabou fan with peacock eyes, but alas ebay only had ones from Japan (too long to ship!) and there were no fans to be found in Memphis. So I improvised and found peacock eyes at Micheals craft store. I used a kids foam visor from the kids craft section to attach the peacock eyes. I then used a purple feather boa to cover the rest of the visor's surface. Lou will wear these around her chest with a strechy cording covered in purple satin ribbon.

Last night I put the tutu and the back piece together to see how it will look all combined. I think she will look like a peacock! I hope the weather holds out for Saturday night for Zoo Boo at the Memphis Zoo.

Landon is a train conductor this year (imagine that). He loves his costume and is excited to wear it as he wants to put it on everyday or has something to say about it everyday since he got it.

We will either have pictures and a story to post after Saturday night or we will be posting after Halloween next week!

I am so excited for my little ones to enjoy such a fun-filled holiday season! Right around the corner is Thanksgiving and Christmas.