July 2009

This was a BUSY month for us, beginning with Abigail getting daring enough to try walking/running on her own. We went with friends to the Boardwalk in Shreveport on Independence Day to watch the fireworks, and while we were waiting for it to get dark, she took a shot at it, and then practiced for the next couple hours, it was fun and the perfect day for her first "Independent" steps!





















































She worked up a good thirst :)














Watching the fireworks with Daddy

We also puppy-sat for a week, which made me so grateful that we don't have a dog... yet.
Abby absolutely loved it though, and couldn't wait to get out of her crib each morning to see Daisy.
Despite a few nips here and there, Abby was very forgiving and the two kept each other very entertained :)


























After a ton of searching for a place that was reasonably priced, safe, and comfortable enough to ideally live in for the next 3 years while Nate finishes his schooling, we found what we thought was the best option:















We signed the lease, packed up our fancy little condo, and just before moving in (pretty much immediately after the tenants moved out), we found all sorts of extra roommates (cockroaches), and projects that needed to be done to meet what I assume to be our high standards of living. I had no idea that such big inconveniences to me were no big deal down South!! Now don't get me wrong, I don't consider myself a snob, but now that we have a baby, I want things CLEAN and maybe a little extra, extra sanitary.
Nate did some searches and learned that the house had over the years been quite the college party house, and we keep finding evidence of that, such as quick patches to holes in the walls and doors which have been simply painted over, liquor bottles left behind as proud souvenirs, and best of all, a bullet hole in the main front window. Crazy as it sounds, we do feel safe here. I think the party days ended long ago, the realty company that rents it out has tried to clean it up a bit, and Terminix has become our new best friend in helping to get our (sometimes HUGE) little friends under control.
We've done a lot of little projects on our own, and everyday, it's feeling cleaner, safer, and more like home.
Here are some pics of just before we moved in:














The jungle that surrounds our backyard














Kitchen and laundry area














Our huge living area- the chair was left behind, but we tossed it once we realized it had been through more partying than we wanted to imagine.














The front room which now serves as our office














Abigail's room - love the shelves :)














Our roomy room :)


















And best of all, our beautiful pepto-pink bathroom!! Yes, even more gaggy in real life.

Despite the inconveniences, the more we clean it up, the more we love it here, and look forward to staying until we move for Nate's internship. It's a great size for a good price, has a lot of light, a ton of privacy, and a fabulous carport. We'll post more pics once I have things more unpacked and in place.
Once we moved everything in, and finished cleaning out the condo, with Nate full throttle in school (now averaging about 80 hours a week, no kidding), I had one week to get as settled as possible before Abby and I were to head to Utah. Thanks to great friends here that helped watch Abby so I could make that happen, it all went pretty well, and we took off to play in Utah while Nate stayed back to rough it through 2 weeks of finals. Sorry, babe!!