Soo … we did it. In the hopes of halting our high speed life for a good while and finally settling, we bought our first own house. It’s a townhouse (Reihenhaus) in a very lovely little community pretty close to where we used to live. After seeing about 20 houses, this one was clearly the best choice and we are very happy with it. What we were really looking for was a spacious place that we wouldn’t grow out of too soon, but is also manageable for our small family now. And we wanted good location. We learned pretty quickly that those are the two things that have to be right, because everything else about a house can be changed. Luckily, the house is in pretty good shape and does not need any immediate work, although in the long run we will definitely change some finishes.

The outdoor deck needs a new finish, the wallpaper in the basement has to be removed, the wood floors refinished, the carpet in the dining room has to go (stupid! whoever puts light colored carpet in a dining room must not have any children), replace the old brass light fixtures, and in the course of changing the kitchen sink we might as well get us some nice darker counter tops.

We moved in in February and have kind of arrived, even though a lot of details are still missing. It’s just a lot of space to fill and we are trying to get more pictures, curtains, and rugs piece by piece. Right now the living room is still pretty bare and empty (which makes for a great play room), but soon our highly anticipated sofa that we ordered two months ago will arrive. As you might imagine, the amateur interior designer within me is bursting of ideas and projects right now to make this plain canvas truly ours. It’s interesting how Lincoln’s and my role changed in this aspect. I used to be the one holding our budget together and keep spendings low. Now he has to hold me back not to go shopping for home goods every day. But hey, this is what I’ve been waiting for all my life. Confessions of a homemaker. Enjoy the tour!

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll skip the caption and get straight to the meat.

It seems like only a few days have passed since Milo was a tiny and helpless baby. Today in this new year he is such a grown infant who is taking anything but baby steps towards becoming an active participant in this world.

Just three weeks ago he lost most of his baby hair and now his brand new thicker hair is already a quarter inch long. His deadly grip has gotten even stronger and whenever he gets hold of two adult fingers, he pulls himself up to a sitting or standing position. We used to be able to just lean him against the back of the sofa to mind our business for a few minutes, but now that he discovered his abs, he comes to a sitting position within a minute, eventually kisses his feet, and rolls to the side. Now Milo plays contently with all his toys for hours. He paralyzes the toy with his eyes, then quickly grabs it with both hands, and shoves it in his mouth, looks at it once more, and shoves it back into the mouth.

Since Milo can sit in his high chair now and used to get really jealous about us eating dinner, we started giving him some oatmeal. Most of it – if not all – still ends up on his bib, but he is having a blast with the mess.

This year is going to be a big one for Milo. Not much longer and he will be unstoppable exploring the world. He will move into his own room and be our little big boy. So many people say that they miss their tiny newborn baby and are sad seeing the kids grow up so fast. But honestly, as cute as he was as a newborn, I love seeing him grow up. I’m honored to be there with him in every new thing he learns. Seeing him grow up and learn so fast makes me nothing but proud.

We wish everyone a very merry Christmas. Have fun and be joyful in your celebrations with friends and family. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and we hope to see you all personally soon! Cheers! Here are some impressions from Milo’s first Christmas:

Lincoln, Nicola, & Milo