We're in the Nuthouse Now!

So..... I didn't think things could get any nuttier here, but I was totally wrong. Again I apologize for not updating sooner, it just seems life gets in the way:O) So where was I... Oh yes, that house that we bid on and lost that we were hoping would fall through for the other people...did!!! We don't have a closing date yet, but we have completed inspections and been talking to contractors for bids- Very exciting! We definitely will be busy with this new house as it is a "fixer-upper" but it has GREAT potential, is on an acre and is in a really good area. About the time we found out we got the house and now had a million things to do with that, we had to fire our daycare provider because she left Natalie with her 15 year old granddaughter and a neighbor while she ran errands. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid woman. There was literally smoke coming out of my ears. She did not end up coming back to her house before David and I decided to leave (we had been waiting to speak with her in person) which probably ended up being a good thing. To make a long story short, our contract with her that we had signed, stated that we would give her 4 weeks notice prior to terminating employment. But given that she was making poor decisions in regards to Natalie's care, we fired her immediately and called licensing and a child care legal hot line, as she was already calling and yelling about legal action if we did not pay for the month of August (the next four weeks). The lawyers said she's an idiot and that she breached her contract with us, by leaving Natalie with someone else, and licensing is investigating her because she has no one else listed on her license, therefore she broke the law when leaving Natalie with someone else. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid woman. We got served with legal paper last week. She is taking us to small claims court for $1,452.69. Not really sure how she came up with that number... We'll find out 9/9/09. Go Team Sowle. We are going to counter sue. and she has absolutely no chance, no leg to stand on so to speak. SO like I said- I didn't think things could get any nuttier, but I was totally wrong. David has been working from home most of the time to care for Natalie because I can't take any time off from my new job (which is going really well by the way, although busy cause it's full time and 30 min away) and then in the evenings we were getting bids, picking out windows, and interviewing daycare people. The good thing is, the bids are in and done, we have childcare lined up for two weeks and then we found a daycare place we really like in Granite Bay for once we move. Hopefully things are settling down for us once again.:O) Well I'm exhausted and need to go to bed, I hope you enjoy the pics I posted, and the little video at the end. Her new dance moves crack me up! LOL

Our New House (almost)
Kool Girlz (love the vest Uncle Randy and Aunt El)

Natalie and Addison during our MI trip

Natalie at Carol Park on the Camel

Visiting Great Grandma Luey

New Dance Moves. So Funny!!!

Sorry it's been so long...

Things have been crazy here in CA! Sorry it's been so long since my last post. We enjoyed celebrating Natalie's first birthday on her birthday with just the three of us and Maizie on her actual birthday. We tried a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles to see if she liked it any better than her cake in Wenatchee... She still went for the sprinkles and the preferred strawberries to cake! Things have changed a little bit for both David and I. David had a meeting with some big wig from his company who advised us to buy a house here because he see's good things in David's future with the company and want's to start having him try some different roles in the company. After talking about it with David and deciding that this move is going to be a little more permanant than we'd like, I decided to take a different job at an acute rehab hospital. I will be working full time again, but I know I will be enjoying it more and it will be a better fit for me. I put in my two weeks notice and start my new job on July 13th. Wish me luck! We also decided to expand our home search to single family homes. We just began looking at single family and found one we liked in a good neighborhood that was a forclosure. We got outbid, but there's still a chance it will fall through and we could get it, so keep your fingers crossed! Natalie is saying more and more everyday. Mary is here visiting and Natalie is enjoying her time with Grandma Mary. We are looking forward to our MI trip to see everyone and have some fun in Northport. We will keep you posted as we continue on our house hunt and of course with new pics of Natalie!

Birthday Kickoff!

It's Birthday time!!! Here are some initial photos from our Birthday Weekend. We are enjoying our time with Grandma Mary, Grandpa Scott and Uncle Nick and will be sad to head home tomorrow. Enjoy the few pictures, I will be posting more on Picasa when we get home. Oh yes- and Natalie is now saying her first words: She says mama and dada but her first word was "Maime" or Maizie! LOL! Pretty bad when your kids first word is the dogs name.:O) We were sure that's what she was saying when she called Mary and Scott's dog and Nick's dog AND the cat "Maime"! Pretty funny!

The Party Decor

First time with balloons

Got it!

Mama and Natalie

Let's get this party started!

Party Time!

Family Photo!


Birthday Girl and Uncle Nick

Time for presents!

Bows are her favorite part!
Lots of books for her birthday

All birthday'ed out- Naptime before cake

Gettin' Ready

Tasting the cake! SHe kept pointing to her fork- didn't want to use her fingers! LOL

First taste of ice cream- not too sure of the cold!

It's my birthday!



Yum!

She really liked the cake:O)

Clean up time:O)

Hope you all enjoyed the photos, we will be posting more photos to the picasa website hopefully this week! Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Weekend!

Birthday Month!

I can't believe Natalie is going to be 1 in just a few weeks. It is unbelievable how time flies! I thought I'd post a video of Natalie playing on the little slide that Grandpa Rick got her. She loves it!!! She is on it just about everyday and is good at doing it all on her own.:O) David and I are figuring out birthday plans. We are going to be traveling to Wenatchee on Memorial Day weekend to have Natalie's birthday with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Scott, and we really hope that Uncle Nick can make it to celebrate with us. We will be doing to whole cake, party hat, streamers bit and I'm pretty excited for it! I know Mary and Scott are excited to have us come. They might change their minds once they have a toddler in the house again! LOL! Just kidding, we have been reminding them that EVERYTHING needs to be out of reach! Then we will be traveling to Michigan over the 4th of July to spend some time with my family and head Up North for a little R & R. (much needed, it's been a while since we've had a "vacation") I'll close with a fun picture of Natalie on our zoo trip- (too funny, she just pointed at everything) and a video of her dancing... I finally got a little bit on tape!

Tiny and Bold

Hello everyone. Sorry it's been so long since my last posting. We've been busy and enjoying the nicer weather- although now it's HOT! Hope you enjoy the photos of Natalie helping with laundry:O) It's unbelievable how much time it takes to do something like laundry when she's awake. I fold it, she unfolds it and gives it to the dog. I put away her books, she rips them ALL out. I put away her toys and she throws them across the room. I do dishes, she pulls them all out of the cupboard. Seriously, it's never ending! LOL She is getting better and better at walking now. She can walk across the room without falling and can stop in the middle of her walking and not fall. She still doesn't have much direction while she's walking though. If she starts to turn while she's walking she generally goes in a complete circle and ends up where she started! We're hearing much more babbling now, just listening for that first word. LOTS of dadadadas. I won't be surprised if her first word is dada though. It must be because I end up spending the most time with her and we talk about when Daddy will be home and look there's Daddy. She is starting to give kisses, especially when she sees me give David a kiss; if I'm holding her then she'll lean in and plant a wet (open) one on me! She also "gives love" and essentially hugs you by putting her head on your shoulder. The funniest part though is that she also pats your shoulder while she's doing it. LOL. I think it's because I usually pat her back when I give her a hug and tell her I love her. So funny. She's still doing well at night. She goes to bed at 7:00 and gets up anywhere from 6:45 to 7:15ish in the morning depending on whether she hears me in the morning. She is still napping twice a day for about two hours total, USUALLY.:O) Well, I need to sign off for tonight, but I will leave you with a little video. Goodnight!

Happy Easter!

Just a few fun photos and a funny video of bath-time. Nothing much new to report. David had a busy week at work, with some big meetings with Union Pacific. I am a little slow at work, so I had a four day weekend this week. :O) We booked tickets to travel to see "Grandma Mary" and "Grandpa Scott" for Natalie's birthday, and booked our tickets to come to Michigan over the 4th of July. It's so unbelievable to me that she will be 1 year old in May. I cannot believe how fast time has flown. Everybody will tell you "they grow up so fast" but Holy Cow! It's like warp speed! At any rate, we are very excited to be spending her birthday with family and I'm sure Mary and Scott can't wait to show her off, as we haven't been to Wenatchee with Natalie yet. This weekend we are looking forward to laying low, going to church for Easter and seeing what the Easter Bunny will bring Natalie!

Walking and Pool-Time

Well, she is officially taking more than just one or two steps. More like five or six. She is much steadier than she was, but still makes me dive from wherever I'm standing/sitting because she starts out slow and then goes faster and faster until she crashes. AHHHHHH! I feel like I need to put pillows on everything! We purchased foam pipe insulation from Home Depot to go around our glass coffee table and we are going to try to put it on the edge of the tile step. We will see. So far all Hercules has done is rip it off and wave it above her head. David bought double stick tape thinking that would do the trick... Yeah right! He seems to have forgotten that our child is greater than the 97th percentile in everything including ripping things apart. We may have to try gluing.... We'll keep you posted! Enjoy the videos. Pay careful attention to Maizie in the pool video. You can tell that it was her pool last summer!