Winter Wonderland Welcome, a Wonderful Weekend, and a Wee bit o' Walking

Last Tuesday night, the Welcome Wagon blessed the Heimer family with a beautiful fall snowstorm.  The locals were less pleased at it was their second in as many weeks, but it was beeeyoootiful!!  We spent Monday and Tuesday running around getting Ben snow boots and a suitable hat and waterproof mittens and every minute of errand was worth the joy on his face as he played in the snow.  There was supposed to be a similar dumping this morning, but we awoke to green grass and clear streets.  Won't be the last missed forecast of the season.

We started the weekend at the CU vs. USC game in Boulder with Tante Mollusk and JPizzle, and ran into several college friends of mine.  Though the game was brutal, it was beautiful and lots of fun, and great to be back in Boulder.  MeeMee watched Ben as it was a cold night game but I was surprised at the amount of people that had little ones at the game.

With friend Ty from college

Sissies

baby in a bag

Saturday we stayed at MeeMee's and headed out for lunch at Blue Bonnet and some house hunting in Wash Park.  Of course we loved the neighborhood and I actually loved one house but we are in no position to buy until our house sells and we are in the midst of the great urban vs. suburban debate which has no clear resolution at this point.

Ryan headed south to Colo Springs Sat night for a guys night leaving Tante, MeeMee and I to watch Crazy Stupid Love and have a girls night of our own.

Sunday I met my very tired husband at Cole, Amy, Grace and Sara's for lunch and a trip to a beautiful local park.  We closed the afternoon with some suburban house hunting where, of course, Ryan found a house HE liked.

my boys

Grace manning Anna.  Notice the big boy totally stuck in the baby swing.

Sara posing

The appeal of the western 'burbs

In the midst of all of this Ben took more and more steps.  He still hasn't taken more than one and a half, but has done it several times, and stood for almost a minute last night.  I'm not convinced he'll be running to The Turkey but certainly to the tree on Christmas morning.

A Welcome from Tante

From:     edwards.molly@gmail.com
    Subject:     CO
    Date:     October 31, 2011 1:53:33 PM CDT
    To:     benheimer@me.com
Nuggs!

You are in the car with you mama at this very moment about one hour away from Denver.  Vacationing in CO again you say?  Nope nope nope - you live here now!!!!!  My life could not be more complete today than to have the two of you back and living so close to me.  Words just don't even come close to describing how happy and content I feel. 

We are going trick-or-treating tonight in dada's old neighborhood and you are going to steal the show!  Rawrrrr!!!

In other super exciting news....you totally said "Tante" today.  I know you don't really know what it means but it was the sweetest thing to hear that tiny little voice say a name that means so much to me. 

Love you to pieces, my little Denver Nugget!!

xoxoxo,
Tante Mollusk



Ben has actually said Tante on queue several times since!! Though it's a close tie with go, it's officially his third word :).

2nd Halloween

Ok, I promise that at some point I'll stop with the 2nd this and the 3rd that, but Halloween was Ben's first major holiday to experience for the second time.  And yes, per the last post, Ben was the tiger on the loose.  As Halloween loomed, (in July) I thought about what Ben would choose to be if he could.  The answer was quick and clear-a tiger, just like his best friend Jellycat.  He also makes a cat hissing noise quite often that I hoped he'd keep up through Halloween.  Although he still makes the noise frequently, getting him to do it on queue was laughable.  There is a video here.  I found an amazing deal on a costume on Zulilly in August never dreaming he'd be trick-or-treating in Colorado. 

We drove in from Wichita and quickly freshened up and put Ben into his Tiger best.  Our first stop was great Grandma Lola's assisted living facility where all the residents that choose to line up in chairs around the lobby and hand out candy.  It was very busy and noisy and chaotic and Ben took it all in stride and quickly wanted to set off on his own to explore.  I was a bit worried as he has screamed at the "hello's" of well meaning older ladies in the grocery store several times, that the older people might frighten him.  He loved every minute and I think Grandma Lola was quite surprised and thrilled by our visit.

Visiting a little pup

Ryan telling his Grandma that we live here now

Walking up to surprise Great Grandma

We met up with Tante next and looked at a couple houses before heading back to Nana and Grandpa's for trick-or-treating.  After a quick dinner, we headed out around the cul-de-sac where Ryan had done the same MANY years before.  It was fun to see neighbors we knew and meet new ones.  Ben enjoyed himself though was totally clueless the whole time.  He did enjoy the Grandpa who counted four treats into his treat bag, but other than that, I think Monkeypants Nugget Tiger was just happy to be outside surrounded by his doting family.  Some playing with Tante capped the evening and we all fell into bed EXHAUSTED!!  After reading about our friend Cadyn's Halloween experience in the great white north, I am excited for how fun Halloween #3 should be.

I think the pumpkin patch last year had lasting effects :(

This was the sweet counting Grandpa

Waiting patiently

rrrrrrawwwwrrrr!! Hissssssss!

a happy Tiger

3123

3123 was our house number in Wichita.  We always called our Longmont house, Pratt, as it was on Pratt St. and the Wichita house in my head is always the address.  Technically both houses are still ours, but Pratt is rented and 3123 ready to sell, baby, sell!

The last week has been nothing short of a whirlwind so I'll apologize upfront if I repeat myself.  Because of benefits and paid vacation at Ryan's job, we made the insane choice to finish the house and get moved so he could start today, November 1st.  To make that happen we had to.........

-cut, paint, and install baseboards for most of the top two levels of our house

-paint and regrout the tile in our masterbath

-finish our door trim package on 3 doors

-order and install a new range and microwave

-have a garage sale 

-winterize lawn and house

-finish lots of very tedious finish carpentry on our stairs

-finish several little tasks in the newly remodeled hall bath

-pack all our personal belongings and Ben's life and crib

-say goodbye to all our friends and neighbors

-leave the house spotless and staged and ready to sell

Jess Istas (and Jason) planned a well-timed brunch at Newport Grill

Crinkle Nosin'

 

For those who knew the before,  MB after

Cuddling with Grandpa doing Donald Duck

locked and loading with the sign in the yard

Most of that list was accomplished in the last 4 days!  I've posted about Nana Pat helping paint and Grandpa Jim made two trips to help.  MeeMee also drove out to drive her SUV back to CO for us filled with most of Ben's world.  She also watched Ben so I could get the house clean (twice) and ready for pictures and then to leave "show ready."  We are forever grateful for everyone's help and hard hard work!

It was an incredibly trying time for me, and Ryan and I certainly yelled more than we ever have.  I was never upset with him, just with the situation and our different priorities.  I can only compare the stress level to waiting for Ben, but that was out of our hands and filled with hopeful anticipation.  This week was filled with back-breaking work, not enough sleep, and a tight deadline all within our control and completely up to us to accomplish.  As I knew we would, we did it!!

3123 taught us A LOT!! We learned a lot in terms of little changes that make a big aesthetic difference, and big changes that even we can handle with ease.  We learned about what we will and won't pay someone to do in the future. I learned that just like if you give a mouse a cookie....., when you give a man a power tool..... Over the last year in particular, we learned how much time a kiddo can take away from house project progress and I hope we remember that in the search for our next house.

Ben and I delayed our drive to Colorado to yesterday so I could make the drive on a good night's sleep and do a final clean after the messy boys were gone.  The drive seemed the quickest ever and Ben couldn't have been better.  He talked and slept and talked and slept and with a couple stops for diaper changes and lunch, we were "home" in no time.  There had to be a higher power at work in our welcome home:).  As you come west on 1-70, the mountains come in and out of view as the road curves back and forth.  On this day there was not a cloud in the sky, not an once of pollution, and a perfect 70 degrees where the sun on your cheeks was wanted but never hot.  I cried.  I cried and cried each time the purple mountains majesty came into view.  I had dreamt of this day for most of the last three years and it felt better than I ever imagined.  To cry tears of joy with the mountains ahead instead of tears of sadness with peaks in the rear-view was incredible.

So, we are settling in at Nana Pat and Grandpa Jim's house and hoping 3123 sells quickly.  We will begin the search for our new home surrounded by a warm welcome from our friends and family.  We have already had to remind ourselves and lots of our friends that we are here for good (we hope) and there is not the usual need to see and do everything in a week.

We also arrived in Denver to news that there was a tiger on the loose and may have spotted him last night!!!.....................................