Still Movin'!

We are currently in Alabama and are enjoying our time in my parent's new home immensely. Obviously, Noah has continued to be the star of his own show and has begun saving the tantrums for only me when he's not getting the attention he thinks he so deserves! Just last night, when I wasn't handing him his sippy cup quickly enough, he threw himself down face first onto the kitchen floor and started kicking and pounding his hands. OH MY GOSH! Toddler Alert! So, I know Dan and I are going to have a time of it when we get to Louisiana and Noah's fan club has remained behind in Virginia and Alabama.

We had a great couple of days at the condo in Panama City Beach and then headed up to the new house. When we were here in March, the home was still in boxes. Now I am convinced that my parent's home could be featured in an interior design magazine. It is remarkable and so beautiful.

Last night, we drove the golf cart down to the docks and hopped on a pontoon boat for a sunset ride around the lake. We are going to do the same thing again tonight with some of our family friends that live a few houses up the street after we grill steaks and watch the sunset from the porch. It is really so wonderful being able to experience some of the summer nights I was so accustomed to growing up: hanging out with the family on the porch and grilling out. Oh how I have missed the south these last several years!

I don't yet miss Hawaii like I thought I would. Maybe because I am having so much fun in the new house or last week in Virginia. We do miss our friends immensely and I am sure once we start the moving in process in Louisiana, we will really begin to miss our Hawaiian home.

We start our house hunting process on Tuesday and Dan checks into his new work place in LA that day. It will be really great to finally get to our new town and get acquainted with it. We love the military way of life: always a new place to call home!

Noah is 17 months now and is talking up a blue streak. He literally repeats everything we say so we have to be very careful with our words. He even mimics our tones of voices. He also has zero fear of the water so we had to be very careful while at the condo because he wanted to run headfirst into the very stormy Gulf of Mexico. And now we are back at my parent's home which is lake front and he has begun CRAWLING OUT OF THE PET DOOR to try to run to it! Not kidding: he literally crawls headfirst out of the pet door when you take your eyes off of him for a few seconds.

He's still obsessed with cleaning equipment. If he's around a broom or vacuum, you better believe that he will be using it. He even turns the vacuum on and off! His favorite foods are brocolli and cheese and blueberries. He's not a fan of junkie foods which thrills me. He loves soymilk and any kind of fruits. When I have tried to give him pizza or anything with tomato sauce, he throws it. I am proud of my healthy eater!

Noah's clothes are size 3T and he's pushing a size 8 in shoes. Talk about a huge boy! He's going to be just like his daddy and massive. His hair continues to grow so fast - he's working on another curly mullett that desperately needs a cut. It will be his 10th trim/cut and I think it is time for a professional to take over!

We are not looking forward to the drive to Louisiana. It will take about 6-6 1/2 hours and Noah's not used to being in the car for too long - he was used to driving the width of the island which was no more than 30 miles! So, we are charging up the travel DVD player and packing lots of snacks! He's still working on the top 2 molars that have been cracking through for months now. They are almost cut and are causing him a great deal of pain - he was up several times last night which is unusual for him. But, he's still a great sleeper and is still taking his 2 daily naps. He goes back down about an hour and a half for a 1-2 hour nap then goes back down again after lunch for about 1.5 hours. It is a great relief for me that he's sleeping so well because when he's up, he's full force and into everything! Noah cannot sit still!

Maria is happy that we are in Alabama with her for a little while. She's sitting here next to me as I type and watch a movie with my sister on this Saturday morning. She got a bad report from the vet about 2 weeks ago - she is definitely suffering from chronic kidney disease so she's on a special diet and has to get extensive blood work done every 3 months from now on to make sure that she's stable. The doctor says that we will know when she's not comfortable anymore but for now, she's really happy and comfortable.

Once we get to Louisiana, I will try to update as much as possible. I have tons of things I want to write about from day to day but have such limited internet access until our stuff arrives to our new house. We will start househunting on Tuesday and CAN'T WAIT!!