9 months old

The first monthly photo in CT. Same chair new house. He's getting so big and he's so curious. Always standing up, always wants a bite or a sip of what I'm having... He's funny.

Photo Op with Great Grandma

Is it me or does Claire look like she wants someone to save her from Bailey?

We had a very nice visit to the house in Sturbridge and lunch with Great Grandma Virginia.

Proud Girl

This was right after the school bus dropped Jacqueline back at home on her first day of kindergarten. She was so proud of herself! We are proud, too.

A New England Welcome

Here it is. Our rental house under 4 inches of snow. Jacqueline's first day of kindergarten was a snow day. How appropriate. She was totally bummed out last Wednesday and Thursday that she didn't get to go to school. Friday she rode the bus like a big kid and had a blast. More to come.

the new data:
37 August Road, Simsbury, CT 06070
(860) 408-0027
jenn5163@gmail.com
(not sure yet if I can keep the bellsouth email working... we'll see)

FINALLY - I can RANT

I am *SO* exasperated by this whole moving/set-up new services thing that I could cry. I spent, no exaggeration, 1:15 on the phone this afternoon with ATT/SBC Global setting up my DSL service. There's a huge story to go with this that involves a smoking modem, a reorder and the worst customer service ever... but right now I am so relieved to have ACCESS to the WORLD via the Internet that I needed to put something/anything up on the blog.

Note to self: there is no customer service. Stop expecting anyone to do their job and make a customer satisfied.

The Depot Debacle

I've been resisting the urge to rant and rave about our home improvement projects thus far but I can't today. We decided to get a few things done here so that the sale would come more easily and we decided to go with Home Depot thinking that it would be one-stop-shopping and therefore easier on us to manage.

Wow were we wrong. I don't know if any of you have used Depot's design "Services" but I am going on the record with an emphatic "DON'T DO IT!"

Today, with 5 days to go here before all that we own is loaded onto a truck, Depot strikes one final & devastating blow. The laminate flooring we've been waiting for in the entryway CANNOT be installed (without significant cost and time). Yup. That flooring that Kevin had to go to 2 different locations to collect for the job in at a frantic pace on Tuesday night. That flooring. They assured us it could be done. They sent out their measuring crew. They made a special visit to check on things. They failed to recognize the humps in the floor that pretty much limit us to carpet (The installer mentioned it in the first 5 seconds he was in the door!). Had we known that, let's see, 3 weeks ago when we racked-up $8,000 on a HD card we may have done it a little differently.

So, I had to get it out of my system and I am trying so hard to keep focused on packing and moving. I'm really trying, but I must advise anyone that I care about not to make this same mistake. Perhaps if time and money are not an issue, then Depot might be the right choice for you. In the case that you do have too much money and/or time, please let the rest of us know. We can offer you options for disposing of that surplus in your budgets.

The House

We finally set it up and our realtor Marty is going to put the house on MLS Wednesday. It's still a little hard to believe we're selling Our House. But I tell you what, it's never looked so good - well except for the piles of things waiting to be packed. But the new carpet & paint in the living room, the trim painted white, new kitchen counters, updates to the baths downstairs and my room is tidied up. Wow - it's a nice house when you pay it some attention!

More to come.

Little Rock Star

Jacqueline held her own with her older cousins on Sunday when they taught her how to play Guitar Hero. I'm so not cool enough to even know about this game but when I walked in, there she was playing Freebird! OK, she's 5 - how does she know how to "play guitar" like a rock star?

8 months old

Big old blue eyes is already 8 months old! Bailey is crawling and standing at every opportunity. He makes us laugh when he gets stuck standing - he's not so sure how to get back down. I've caught him acting like a hockey goalie on more than one occasion.

Bittersweet News

We are going to be relocating to Connecticut. A mere minutes away from my sister & her family.

Kevin accepted a job in the Hartford area. He begins his new job venture on February 12th. We're taking it step by step as that's our only real option and are moving up the week of February 5th (details pending). Kevin will be working for Jones Lang LaSalle in Hartford. Fortune listed the company at #66 of the Top 100 Companies to work for.

I've been slow to make this news public knowledge. I hate telling my ATL friends and family that we are leaving but on the other hand my NY/PA/CT/MA connections are thrilled at the news. It's definitely bittersweet. And right now it's a bit overwhelming. Packing things, cleaning house, interviewing agents, and all the money talk is such a stress. Yuck. I keep telling myself that it's all going to work out. Big hassle will hopefully equate to big payoff on the other side when we are having a regular old dinner with my sister, brother in law and baby niece. When the grandparents can join us for the kids birthdays the actual move will be a distant memory. Our friends in Georgia will remain close to our hearts.

We'll be renting a house to get a feel for the area over the next few months while our house in Marietta is on the market. Our new address will be 37 August Road, Simsbury, CT 06070. Phone #s will follow. I can be emailed at jenn5163@gmail.com.

Year end wrap up

So I did a miserable job taking any photos on our trip up to CT and PA. We got to see Oma & Grand Dad, Tina & Aidan in PA and in CT we saw Kama, Ryan and Miss Claire as well as Grandma& Grandpa. It was a whirlwind as our trips often are.

We drove - yes, 1000 miles each way. It's either brave or stupid, the jury is still out. But we survived and the kids were really great considering the amount of travel we subjected them to in so little time. Having her own DVD player for the ride home made Jacqueline's trip a little better. And Bailey took a few good long naps letting us make some decent time despite the fog & rain coming home.

So we think we're ready for 2007 to get underway. Maybe we can get a full night's sleep. Ha!

Christmas In Marietta

Jacqueline & Bailey got so many wonderful gifts today - thank you everyone! We had lots of excitement over what Santa brought and then a great day with the Feits, Gainers, Normans and Phillips. Thanks all of you for coming to our place for Christmas. We missed you in NY, CT and PA but look forward to our visits.

Look Out! Bailey is 7 months old.

See that? That's the look right before he makes a break for it and scuba dives in Chloe's bowl or hides in the bottom of the saucer...

Bailey Likes to Eat

At each meal Bailey grows increasingly determined to eat what we are eating. So this weekend I started giving him some real food - a chunk of honeydew melon kept him very busy yesterday at breakfast.

Today he got baby oatmeal and bananas which he will only eat if he has his own spoon to hold and can run his fingers through the food at least once but usually throughout the feeding. This provides a nice goopy coating over his little hands. Afterwards he needs to ram the bowl from side to side over the tray smearing any food over the surface and usually launching the bowl over the edge at some point. (Look out Chloé).

This photo is after the usual mealtime mayhem when Bailey "requested" a segment of my Clementine. See it poking out of his little mouth? We'll be accepting food donations to keep up with our sons hearty appetite.

Silly Me

I thought I'd try one of the organic apples I bought. Apparently, they are pretty tasty. Maybe I can have the next one.

Bailey's New Ride

I was thrilled to see the UPS man with the first Christmas gift delivery today! Bailey upgraded his ride and it's color coordinated to his eyes. Big sis can push easily - of course I fully expect the novelty to wear off before we step foot outside.
I'm thrilled and Bailey seems to be comfortable, too.

Cleaning up the Leaves

What a huge pile of leaves!

Good thing he's cute...

We managed to get to the Santa photos on time despite Bailey's best efforts to sabotage his outfits. We started out with a blow-out that destroyed the shirt that goes with his outfit and wrapped up with spit up down the front of the overalls. Never a dull moment. We managed to clean up enough for pictures and Bailey didn't have to be FedEx-ed up to his grandparents for safe keeping. It's all good.

Biggest Lollipop On Record

After going over the list with Santa with great detail, Jacqueline got to have a sweet treat.

Santa Visit