home sweet home

After our Minnesota vacation, which I still need to blog about, we headed to California to find a rental house. Yesterday afternoon with D day quickly approaching, Gus calls me and says, "you can stop looking, this is our house." It's the perfect little (emphasis on the little) house for all members of the Chunglund family. The neighbors (who also happen to be the landlords) are a very nice couple with two kids, ages 5 and 8. Juliet was already playing with the 5 year old. They have lived there for more than 12 years and love the area. We also met our across the street neighbors who have a 1 year old and a 4 year old.

The neighborhood is great. Close to work, close to Trader Joe's, close to a park and close to two great daycares that I'm hoping I can get Juliet into. Julie, our neighbor/landlord, said she would write up a little guide and give us ideas for restaurants, things to do, etc. After seeing how much fun Juliet was having at her house with her daughter, she even suggested that there was a date night in a future. Yippee!

The little bungalow is perfect for us right now 3 BR/1.25 BA. We've been living in a small apartment so don't have that much furniture anyhow. It comes with all appliances where some of the places we looked would have required us to purchase our own refrigerator and washer/dryer. Landscaping service is included so we will not have to mow the lawn. Most importantly, I have been wishing for a yard for Carleton for several months now as he seems a little anxious to get out and run. The back half of the garage (which was converted into a shed) has been finished into a room, which is climate controlled, and as a dog door to the fenced in backyard. I'm hoping Carl can use that room as his "dog house," while we are at work - instead of being crated. That way he can go in and out as he pleases and have a comfortable inside area when the weather is warm.

We only had three days to find something and I think we did a good job. This will be a great place to live for the next year and explore our new city.

our new home

wordless wednesday ... on thursday

three things

The most recent best three things that Little Miss J can do:

1) Fist bump. Nothing like getting knuckles from a 1 year old. Way better than a high-five (which she can also do by the way).

2) Hugs & kisses. Little Miss J is so sweet about giving kisses and she's an equal opportunity kisser making the rounds from Daddy to Mommy to Carl. Not sure Carl appreciates it as much as Daddy or I. One of my favorite things is when she's in bed with me and climbs on top of me to give me a "bopo."

3) Sleeping (sort of). Little Miss J has stopped eating in the middle of the night. Developmentally appropriate or not, I'm a fan. Of course, she's back to sleeping in our bed but at least she is sleeping.

beat the heat

For some reason our second summer in the desert is much more unbearable than the first one. It could be because Little Miss J is much more mobile and goes a bit stir crazy having to stay inside when it is oppressively hot. Or it could be one of those things where you managed the first one because you really didn't know what to expect - kind of like having a baby. I was a little scared about having a baby, but really I didn't have any idea what it would be like. Now that I know, I think I am even more terrified to have another one. But anyway, in an effort to beat the 100+ degree temps in Phoenix, the Chunglunds headed to Flagstaff.

Little Miss J slept most of the way there so it was a nice chance for us to catch up after a week of me being in California. The drive there was breathtaking and once you get there all the pine trees reminded us of living in Duluth. Flagstaff has a cute little downtown area so we had some lunch and did some walking around. Little Miss J liked seeing the "choo-choo" (aka train). Later on we hit up the Pioneer Museum, which is free so don't expect much.

checking out the engine

caboose. choo choo.

posing with dad by the Model T

The best part about the Pioneer Museum? The playground next door to it!

not sure this was a kids' swing, but it worked.

Flagstaff was 20 degrees cooler than Phoenix and we enjoyed being able to walk around and explore. I think Little Miss J appreciated that we weren't at home telling her that it was too hot to play outside. What she didn't really appreciate? The 2+ hour car ride home. Just a taste of one life's ubiquitous lessons - everything has its price. But at least we can now say we've been to Flagstaff.

after hours

In my mid-20s, after hours meant what happened after the bar closed. These days I can barely stay awake until 11:00 p.m. let alone long enough to shut down a bar. If I am awake at 2:00 a.m., it's more likely a result of Little Miss J's inability to self soothe rather than a night out on the town. Luckily, the Phoenix Zoo has after hours with lots of activities for little ones. Last Saturday, Little Miss J had a fun time at Prowl and Play.

First, Little Miss J fed a giraffe some lettuce leaves. She gently held out her hand toward the giraffe, who in turn leaned over and took the leaf. With as much as she loves salad, I was a bit surprised that she didn't just eat the leaf rather than hand it over to the giraffe.

Little Miss J giving up the lettuce leaf.

The giraffe looks like he's ready to push Gus over.

We walked around and saw some of the other animals that were out for the evening - the lion, tiger, and some tortoises. On our way to the splash pad, we stopped to play some drums.

Then it was time to cool off!

Given the proximity of the carousel to the splash pad, she did try to make a break for it. So we took a carousel ride before heading home.

We've definitely gotten our money's worth with our zoo membership! Little Miss J was so tired after a couple hours of running around she slept the whole way home. It is so much fun watching my little girl enjoying new things. 

20 months

Dear Little Miss J,
I think I might have skipped 18 months, so we'll talk about 20 months instead. You continue to be most entertaining except when you are crying in my face at 3:00 a.m. because you are unable to fall back asleep independently. Luckily, you try to make up for it during the day with your cuteness.

Your vocabulary continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and you will try to mimic almost any word that we say - including the four letter ones (Bad Daddy). You've got "yes" and "no" down pretty well, but sometimes I think you just say one or the other despite not understanding the question. We typically set the baseline by asking if you want to go night-night, to which the answer is always "no," with vigorous head shaking I might add. Dad figures if you understand that, then the fact that you said "yes," when asked if you want something else, like a camel ride, you must actually want that. It's clearly not scientific methodology, but you're not even two years old yet. Yesterday, your new words included - "giraffe," "watermelon," "broccoli," and "carousel."

If I ask you your name, you will say "oo-ee-et." You know how to ask for, "cheese," "crackers," "Elmo" (Sesame Street) and "Why" (Super Why). You have recently started playing with your American Girl baby doll. I did find you pile driving baby's head on the kitchen floor the other day, which made me question your desire for a little sibling. But at least when it was over, you patted her on the head and said, "nice." When you are being naughty, we ask if you are a good girl or bad girl - to which you typically reply, "good girl." Then I am forced to explain to you that actually you aren't being all that good and good girls don't behave like that.

Your typical strategy for not doing what you are asked to do, whether it is clean up your crayons, change your diaper, or go night night, is to hide under the table. You love to go for walks, so you'll roll the umbrella stroller out of the closet, bring it to me, and yell, "walk." Other favorite things to do include wearing Mommy's shoes, swimming, splash pads, and dancing. You just learned a new dance move, which is hard to describe, but is much better than your previous ones. You like, hip-hop, country, and trance/electronica/house (or whatever it is called) music, but you aren't so interested in gangster rap - which is fine by me. Yesterday, you and Dad did the chicken dance for me.

I must say, I absolutely love to watch you have a good time. But I hate the fallout, when it is time to leave. You are always having so much fun, that screaming and kicking is involved, when we tell you all done. I guess you'll figure it out someday.

Best close this one out. It's almost 6:00 a.m. and I'm blogging on borrowed time. Any minute now, I expect you will come trotting down the hall into the living room with crazy hair, rubbing your eyes, asking for milk and Elmo.

Love you to the moon and back,
Mommy

wordless wednesday