Whew! It has been a whirlwind week for sure! After traveling to 3 different cities and then back to Chicago, only to prepare to move in the midst of having terrible colds… I am very thankful to be on the other end of it now!
We are settling nicely into our new place. I’ll post pictures once we get a little more settled. It’s nice to have more space and the boys love being here. They have lots of room to run around and places to hide, etc.
Pictures to come in the next few days!
Both the boys have been under the weather lately with colds. They’ve been a bit stir crazy being cooped up inside. My poor M has a bad right ear infection. He’s been super clingy to me the past several days. He’s now on an antibiotic and is starting to act a little more like himself.
L, on the other hand, has turned to creative games. Like playing hide and seek in the kitchen cabinets.
Has anyone seen L?
*side note- please excuse the crumbs and the fact that he has only one sock on. We find socks hidden randomly all over the house these days… in the trash, in the toy box, under the couch… you get the idea. It’s a never-ending battle.
There he is!!!
Pending good weather and M feeling better, we are heading down to my mother in law’s tomorrow afternoon. I have my first maternity shoot in the morning and then we pack up and leave!
We’ll be back on Sunday evening and then we pack up and move to the new apartment on Monday. We got the keys today and had a look around. Definitely will be missing our nice updated bathroom and kitchen here! But it will be fun to do “before” and “after” pictures in the new place as we add our personal touches.
We’re moving. Again. But instead of moving states, we’re just moving a few blocks. 11 to be exact.
Why are we doing this to ourselves in the middle of winter with two toddlers in the midst of me working part-time and starting a photography business? I ask myself the same thing.
Ultimately it comes down to two things: money and community. We are moving to another 2-flat that is only 1 block away from campus where the Chef attends school. We will be closer to other seminary families, have a bigger apartment, space for me to set up an in-door studio, and will save about $200 a month.
So, the week after Christmas we are moving. Again. Having to settle into a new place. Again.
I’m NOT glad that we will be trading our beloved wood floors for carpeted ones. I’m NOT glad that we will have to pay for coin laundry in the basement. I’m NOT glad to be leaving our current block. I’m NOT glad to be leaving our fenced-in yard behind. I’m NOT glad that we will be in a place that has neutral colored walls.
I am glad for a new palate in which to exercise domestic creativity in choosing NEW colors for those neutral walls. I am glad to be moving to the same building that our friends live in and we can build better relationships with them. I’m glad that our bedroom will be larger than a glorified closet. And I’m glad to be leaving behind an apartment with 3 closets for one with 6! I’m glad that we will have an office with a door that closes. I’m glad that we will have a dishwasher. I’m glad that we purged most of our stuff before we moved to Chicago so this next move will be easier.
So even though it mostly overwhelms me, the end product excites me. I’m glad to get to move with the Chef. I’m glad that we will again learn to make a new place home for us. And I’m glad that our boys are adaptable and secure little boys who adjust well in new environments.
I have to give the Chef a lot of credit. How many dads do you know that can stay home with 20 month old twins, entertain them inside a cramped apartment AND have the house completely cleaned and dinner made by 4:30? Now that he’s done with classes for the semester, he’s able to focus more energy on the boys and the house while I’m working. What a blessing!
My only complaint was finding L’s face covered with chocolate, lol!
The boys were in very silly moods tonight. The Chef went to work out and when he came back we had dinner and the boys had to flex their muscles with daddy.
L was feeling very silly and wanted to cheese for the camera!
After baths, M climbed onto our bed to brush his hair…
And after putting on pajamas, he had a blast with daddy throwing him in the air and bouncing onto the bed!
Okay, I think I’m ready to show some of my work to the public. I’ve been studying, practicing, and working my booty off to try and learn how to use my camera and have had the good fortune of practicing on some beautiful test subjects 
So, if you want to take a peek at some of my work, go to www.hollydalyphotos.blogspot.com
My hope is continue to learn more, invest in a bit more equipment and props, and then start earning some money from it.
I’d love your feedback and constructive criticism!!
Here’s a few favorites from my shoot today with our friends G, K, & J!
For awhile now, the boys have enjoyed pointing to and saying their body parts.
“No”= nose
“III-EEE”= eyes
“Eesss”= Ears
“Ba boo”= belly button
“Esss”= chest
“Eeee”= Feet (or they use Seeewwwsss for Shoes)
“Ha”= hands
“Dat”= hair (which is the equivalent of hat, which goes on their hair!)
*L uses his hair as his security blanket and will play with it whenever he’s sleepy. He’s done this since he was a little baby and it’s the sweetest thing ever!
Other words:
“Chee”= cheeks
“Tee”= teeth
“Blah”= tongue (when they stick it out!)
“Boo Boo”= bottom
“Pee Pee”= Pee Pee
“Neeee”= Knees
The Chef taught L to do the Home Alone pose! It’s pretty hilarious. L is definitely our little comedian. He has a very keen sense of humor for such a young age. Once he warms up in a situation, he can be quite the little spaz. M is certainly a performer and likes to be the center of attention, but L is most definitely the “class clown”!
I come from a family that valued traditions. We would do certain things for certain holidays every year and it was always something to look forward to. Now that I have my own little family, we are trying to make our own traditions.
One thing we love to do is put up our Christmas tree. Usually we buy a real tree from the tree farm, but this year we put up an artificial one. I always love looking at the ornaments because it’s like a walk down memory lane!
Here are a few of my favorites:
The ornament I bought during my engagement scavenger hunt!
A Minnie-mouse from my first trip to Disney when I was 6
A couple of cute snowmen we got our first year married from his aunt
A beautiful angel given by a good friend from her time in Burundi
An adorable onesie ornament given to the boys last year
One of my all-time favorites- this adorable baby carriage given to me when I was a baby
An ornament made last year by their gramma to commemorate their first Christmas. They were sure chunkers, huh?
One of my dad and me when I was little
A classic old truck we bought last year at the tree farm. Makes you feel nostalgic just looking at it…
The boys had a lot of fun looking at all the ornaments and putting them on the branches. Though they pretty much would stick about 5 on the same branch until it couldn’t hold anymore and all would fall down.
And they loved putting on the Santa hat and saying “Ho Ho Ho”!
Here’s to a beautiful Christmas season!
Well, since working I have definitely slacked off in my work-out routine. I still try to do sit-ups and leg-lifts every couple of days, but have not been good this past week. I have continued to count calories pretty faithfully and practice better portion control. After a bout with the stomach flu over the weekend, I managed to actually lose some weight! Though I would rather be chubby than sick.
In the past 6 weeks I’ve lost 4 inches in my waist, 2 inches in my hips, and 1 inch in my thighs. I want to lose about 3-4 more in my waist, 4 more in my hips, and 2-3 more in my thighs. And tone up all over.
Here is my picture from 6 weeks ago:
And today:
6 weeks ago:
And today:
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