we're back...sort-of

hello everyone!

i have been craving some computer time and i finally have it!

as you know, we moved from our first home after two years to a small town at the shore.  we had grown tired of mike's commute for work and how little we got to see each other.  so we up and sold our home and moved our family down to the beach.  october was filled with packing and sorting and tossing and stressing and crying and anticipation.  we rented the most ridiculously huge truck and filled it to capacity because we are apparently closet hoarders.  we put all of our furniture and most of our things in storage and  relocated to a 500 sq ft beach cottage for three months.  sounds like a dream at first but the reality is that we stuffed way too much crap into that teeny place and quickly began crawling up the walls to have space once again.  i will say that it was pretty great to be staying right behind my in-laws, two blocks from the beach, one block from the bay, and to have barely any house to clean or maintain.  quinn and i walked on the beach most days, visited all the playgrounds in walking distance, dropped by mike's work to say hi and surprise him, visited the local (and free) zoo, spent time with grandparents, and just sort-of chilled for a bit.  it was a simpler way of life for awhile.  quinn got four new teeth. he got his very first cold which lasted only a day or two but it is disgustingly amazing the snot that can hole itself up in such a tiny nose.  and damn if he wouldn't let me suck it out without feeling a little like i was a WWF fighter.  he began nursing even more frequently and the night-wakings increased as well.  blame it on the parenting, the move, the teeth, whatever.  we spent most nights snuggled in a very small double-bed, the likes of which remind me of the movie elf.  but he was happy all the while.

i started work at my new job at a small community hospital.  often it feels like opposite day when i am at work because of how vastly different the place is from my other big-city, big-university hospital.  and being new sucks and is kinda scary but the people are great and helping me to get acclimated.  because i only have experience with labor & delivery, i welcomed the opportunity to broaden my horizons to post-partum and newborn care.  i still feel like a fish out-of-water but i will get my ish together eventually.

halloween came and went.  quinn was the cutest damn duck ever.  maybe he was actually a chick, but the boy was saying duck by that time so we went with it.

thanksgiving came and went too.  we surprised bridget by driving up to MA to visit her and share in the holiday with her family and my other sister meghan and her brood.  parker was just dreamy and we got to spend some time getting to know him more. bridget's dog gracie took to full-on make-out sessions with quinn but he didn't seem to mind...too much.  quinn would point at parker and say "baby" but was not all that interested in this little person who just sort-of sat there.  being up there was great...visited some fabulous little towns, had great meals out, drank wine and talked, drank coffee and talked some more.  and yes, bridget, the below pictures are totally stolen by me from you!  loves ya!

we found and settled on a new home at the end of november but couldn't quite get into the house by christmas.  so christmas came and went in the beach cottage.  let's pretend we had a christmas tree...

quinn slowly and painstakingly opened his presents piece-by-red-and-green-piece and handed each off to be thrown out.  i believe this ocd has come from watching me pack and unpack for months on end.  he got trucks and a triceratops (he now says "roar" each time he plays with it), some clothes, puzzles, a tricycle, a fire station, muno (hells-yeah yo gabba gabba), and a bunch of other things from our family.  we spent the holiday with my other sister erinn and family and her brand new baby boy samuel.  he is freaking adorable (proof below).

a few days before the new year, we finally moved into our new home.  it still looks like a sh#t-show up in here but it is coming together.  quinn is into e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g these days so it is a slow-going process to get things unpacked with him.  we did some painting and ripped up some carpet but have tons more to do.  it is a great old house with a front porch, windows at the kitchen sink, creaky wooden stairs, tubs that won't drain, funky little nooks, and just so much character.  i will be sure to post loads of diy mishaps and successes and hopefully some pictures of the progress.  

we are home and it feels good.