Good news all around

Our search for a home was very short and we found a great place! It's actually much nicer than we expected to get, considering our price range. It's not a foreclosure or a short sale, so things have been going very smoothly this time around. It is in Paso Robles, which will make both of our commutes to work a little longer, but really, that's the only downside. Escrow is set to close around the end of February, so we are hoping to celebrate Henry's 1st Birthday in our new home.

We are currently living in a bank-owned home, because our landlords let their house go into foreclosure. One day, a real estate agent representing the bank come by and offered/bribed us to get out in a timely manner and the bank will pay us a couple thousand dollars! Pretty awesome! We don't even have to clean! That's my favorite part. This, however, leaves us without a home until escrow closes, so my parents have graciously invited us to stay with them for a while. It will be interesting, since Henry, Brian and I will all be sharing a room for a few weeks - but definitely do-able. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Aside from the cold Henry and I seem to be sharing and packing up our house (for the last time in a long long time) we are doing very well. Life is good. Hope you can say the same :)

P.S. If you are thinking of getting Henry a gift for his birthday - not necessary, of course - but check out his wish list at http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/198L5SY33RXAD
He could also use bath toys and he absolutely loves books! Thanks.

Happy New Year

Henry's first Christmas was a happy one. We actually decorated the house for Henry, which is a big deal, as Brian and I are both lazy scrooges. We were able to spend time with both families, and we even got to see Uncle Eli and Aunt Kimmie for a couple days. Our fun Christmas was somewhat eclipsed by some immediate teething discomfort on New Years though. It's amazing how much that pain can change Henry's demeanor. When he's uncomfortable, he's not the same person - which is really hard for Brian and I to watch. The awful part is that I stopped nursing him on New Years as well, because he was biting me way too often (TMI?) Anyway, I hadn't planned on weaning him this soon, so it came as a shock to both of us and we are both struggling with it (me, more so than Henry). I think I've got crazy mom hormones flowing, because I've been crying about it off and on for a couple of days now. How sad, for mommies to watch their babies grow and need them less and less with the passing of time.

We have resumed our search to buy our own home. Our landlords have decided to let our house go into foreclosure, so we will be living in a bank owned home as of mid-January. We'd rather not move into another rental, so we are getting out there and looking looking looking. Later this month we will head down to San Diego again and see Kimmie and Eli's new house. It will be our first trip since we traveled to SD back in June of 09, when Bizzle was only 3 months old. We have to fight the urge to take him to the Zoo. I don't think he's quite old enough to enjoy it yet.

I hope you all had a great New Year and Christmas/Channakuh/Kwanzaa/Festivus.

Love,
Henry, Angie and Brian

Autumn on the Central Coast

Since the last blog update we has found a house, made an offer, were in escrow for about 3 weeks, and the deal fell through! We are bummed because we really liked the house. However, the owner was selling it "For Sale By Owner" and he ended up being (for lack of a better word) crazy. It turns out he wasn't willing to fix any of the repairs we had requested from our inspection (which were actually very minimal), even though we had offered him his asking price on the home. When it came down to it, that was unacceptable to us. Also, he was rather unrealistic on a few of his escrow closing contingencies. For example, he wanted the escrow closing date to be dependent on whether he and his family found a new house to live. That just didn't work for us. We were hoping to close escrow in time to get in on that $8000 tax rebate. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. So, now that we have that sour taste in our mouth, we are going to take a break for a while, until we can get excited about house hunting again.

On a happier note, our little dude is as always, amazing. He's still trying to cut those upper teeth. They are taking their sweet time coming out (almost a month and still not quite clear of the gums), but he doesn't seem to be in as much pain as he was in the beginning. He is sitting up on his own for short little bursts of time and has a deep infatuation with the remote control. We finally took the batteries out of a universal remote we never use and let him have it. He has started rejecting some foods. After I made a huge batch of butternut squash (a food he previously ate - no problem) he decided he's not that into it anymore. He also would have nothing to do with the pureed zucchini I lovingly mooshed up for him. Luckily, Brian and I don't mind eating the rejects. I made some applesauce yesterday with apples from See Canyon Fruit Ranch (where Brian and I got married). Aahhh, the circle of life......he loves it.

Here are some pics from the Avila Valley Barn. The pumpkins are so big there, they make Bizzle look small...ish.

Tired and busy.

Well, September is flying by, but we have yet to see some cooler weather. It's been a busy month for Team Ivie, and we are definitely worn out. Brian and I are working opposite days (still), but we are in the process of changing our work schedules so we will actually have a day off together at least once a week. It involves Angie working more and Brian working less. I did some intense math one day and figured out we will actually make more per month that way (as long as my work can give me 3 shifts per week).

We are also in the process of looking for a house - this time to OWN!! It's scary, but we are so tired of renting. The house we are in right now is cute enough, but it is poorly insulated so the summer has been very hot here and the two window AC units don't keep it cool enough. Henry's room is the hottest room in the house, so he has to take his afternoon nap on our bed with the AC on, surrounded by every pillow in the house. He has become a rolling expert and can pretty much get himself anywhere he wants in a few seconds with a couple of rolls and his Curly impression.


Henry is also enjoying all kinds of foods. We are making most of his food right now and it is very fun and satisfying knowing exactly what he is eating. His favorites are mango, banana, avocado and butternut squash - although he hasn't actually refused anything else. :)


Brian celebrated his 35th birthday on 9/11 and we had a few friends over for dinner. As we are all parents of small children, and it was a ridiculously hot/humid day, it was a pretty chill (boring?) dinner party. We also watched our best friends get married this month which was super cool. It was a lovely day and we are so happy for Jason and Sara. (Although Sara will always be my lifepartner). Now they can get to making a playmate for Henry.
We are going camping this weekend (cabin camping). It's a belated birthday trip for Brian as he missed out on the camping trip in July. My parents are taking us to Bass Lake for 3 days. We are looking forward to it and hope to get some maxin' and relaxin' in. We are bringing our bikes and hope to get a couple early morning rides in. We'll probably have to tuck Henry in bed with the grandparents, but I don't think they'll mind. We haven't been on our bikes since I was just barely pregnant. And of course the jet skis will be on the water too. Good times all around!

Finally, the much anticipated blog post starring the Ivie side of the family. Don't blame me. I was waiting for Kathy to email me the pictures! j/k Kathy.... Brian and I never bring the camera out at his parent's house because we know his mom will be taking plenty of pictures while we're there....Roll call from top : cousins Marcus and Luke,
and then again being super sweet and still, Grandma and Grandpa with their newest grandson, and Aunt Shannon - all with the main man - Henry. Sorry Jill, for some reason the picture of you and Henry wouldn't work on this blog! We will get you on here soon!

Our Champion Eater

Henry's first "solid" meal caught on video. He ate breastmilk-reconstituted rice cereal and ate the whole bowl! How lame are we, but we can't help but be super proud!

Happy 50th Mom!

We've had a busy July and beginning of August. At least it seems busy when there is a baby involved. Let's see.....we attended Theresa's annual summer party, (Henry included) and Henry and Angie also attended Sara's bridal shower. (Henry slept through a lot of it). We finished out July by going to Bass Lake for (Angie's) mom's 50th birthday. Brian wasn't able to go due to his work schedule - boo for work! So, Angie and Henry headed up the mountains with Grandpa Kevin for 2 nights of cabin camping in the southern Yosemite area. Bass Lake was beautiful, and the water was the perfect temperature for getting thrown from a jet ski into. Henry spent a little time on the beach under his baby canopy being admired by all the girls. He had poo blow out both days we were there, which has made us rethink tent camping next month for Brian's birthday. It was just too nice having the warm water faucet available to clean the surprise mega-poos.

When we got back from Bass Lake, Kimmie and Eli were here to surprise Mom for her 50th, and Cousin Ali surprised Mom with a cake (thanks Ali!). It was a quick visit for Kimmie and Eli, but at least they got to attend the surprise dinner party that Dad had arranged. I think Mom was really surprised and she didn't drop an "f-bomb" when she we shouted "surprise", so Kimberlee owes me money! Even Henry came wearing a tie and shoes (for once), but he wasn't loving his outfit, or how noisy/warm it was in the restaurant.....our little hippy....

The rest of the month should be a quiet one. We don't have any exciting plans. We are finally going to see the new Harry Potter on Monday! Oh yeah, we were given the green light to start Henry on solid foods, so we are getting emotionally prepared for that. We aren't really looking forward to solid-food-poos. Oh, and Henry's current stats are as follows:
Weight 21.5 lbs
Height 27.5 inches
As the doctor showed me the graph they chart babies growth on, he said, "As you can see, Henry continues to make his own curve on the chart" He told me that Henry is the same weight as the average 1 year old - he will be 5 months old on August 8th!

Alright, enough bragging.....next addition to the blog will be fun with solid foods! Rice cereal and sweet potatoes, here we come!

That cake was amazing....

Our poor child needed some floor time while in the restaurant....how far we've come in 5 months.

Bass Lake

Biggy smalls, baby baby!

don't worry, Henry is really laughing in this vid.

p.s. If you want to see more pictures of us, you can go to our facebook pages, and get more Team Ivie than you can possibly handle. (links are on the right of this blog)