First Day of School

Finn will be going to The Children's Garden School right here on the island. When we first moved back I was all worried about finding Finn a spot in a good preschool because I knew we had missed the registration period. I knew how much we both enjoyed his school last year and didn't want to miss out on it this year. So, I called friends and favors and made the rounds of all of the preschools. I met teachers, went on tours, sat through chapel, and so on and so forth. We were put on at least three waiting lists. Then I gave up. Once we had decided to live on Sullivan's, I decided to keep it simple and send him to the closest and easiest school possible, which happened to be the Garden School, and also happened to be 2 blocks from our house. We applied and were accepted within about a week and all over the phone. After all of my trouble and stressing out, he would be going to a school that I had never seen and had never met a single teacher or student. Oddly enough, I was totally okay with it. Probably because along the way I realized that it is just preschool and most likely Finn will enjoy it no matter what his room looks like or what the school's Harvard acceptance rate happens to be :)

We attended a little welcome pool party and Finn had a blast so I knew we had made the right call. Finn was so excited about starting school and getting to play with kids his own age. After a summer spent with mainly adults, I'm so glad he will have the chance to make his own friends. Both Mark and I walked him to his room the first day and he barely even said goodbye to us. I was so proud of his confidence and independence, even though I had to shed a couple of tears over the fact that he is growing up and doesn't need me as much anymore.

Finn will be in school M-F from 9-12:30. I was a little nervous about putting him in five days a week, but he loves it and I have to admit, having a few hours to myself each day is great. We are looking forward to a great school year.

Oh the joys of trying to photograph a three year old

Finally, a semi-decent 1st day of school picture

So proud of our big boy

Lazy Mornings

Oh the joys of having a front porch. Our porch has become our favorite place spend the early part of the morning. We hang out in our pjs, me with my coffee and Finn with his night night, and play with blocks or read stories and just ease into the morning. I've never been much of a morning person so this suits me just fine. We also try to keep Lily from barking at every walker/bike rider/fellow pooch who dares cross her line of sight. I try to enjoy and cherish these slow, easy mornings we have together because I know in the not too distant future we will all be rushing around trying to do things and get places.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures. I want to sear this image into my brain of how he is right at this moment . . . so big, yet still so small.

Men at Work

We have been busy bees around here lately. Lots of home improvements are taking place and Finn doesn't want to be left out. He has his own set of tools so that he can be just like his daddy.

Island life is pretty laid back: no pants required (for Finn, anyway)

Lily either wants to be part of the action or is trying to get away from the action

We learned we had automatic sprinklers the morning we caught Finn streaking through them.

Thank goodness for backyards. This kind of behavior would have been frowned upon in DC.

Reuse and recycle: trash can makes great swimming pool

This is Finn hiding underneath the tv cabinet, eating Ritz crackers. I had been calling him and kept hearing this muffled voice. I was terrified that he was stuck underneath a pile of lumber or locked in a closet, but no . . .

House Hunting

Mark and I have cornered the rental housing market. We have lived in 7 different houses/apartments since we got married in 2004. Some were great and some were not so great, especially the apartment without an oven that had a water feature in the middle of our bedroom (leaking skylight!) But who is keeping track? Along the way, I definitely became antsy and wanted to buy a house and settle down, but Mark always said the time wasn't right. While I didn't believe him then, I do believe him now. He was right and I am so thankful he put up with my whining and nagging because now we have a house that we really like in a place that we really really really like. The whole point of telling you this is because I was extremely excited about beginning our housing search. I have watched a lifetime of HGTV, House Hunters, etc. and knew that we would only need to look at three houses, at most, before we found "the perfect house" and would be homeowners in less than a week, because that's what happens on tv!

Well, I'm pretty sure I could sue HGTV for false advertising because that was not our experience at all. There was a lot of looking, and even more waiting before we settled on the right house for our family. We looked at everything . . . old historic homes in downtown Charleston, new homes in Ion Village, renovated homes in Old Village and everything in between. In the end, it all worked out and we landed in the best possible place. It was definitely worth the wait. I will say this, house hunting with a curious 3.5 year old was not always the most pleasant experience, especially when he wanted to touch EVERYTHING in the house, including priceless antique treasures from who knows what foreign country. He also insisted on inspecting every bathroom to make sure no one left anything in the toilet. You can only imagine the look on the agent's face when he hears Finn shout"ooohhh gross, someone left poop in the potty!" from the second floor.

Now we are officially home and look forward to putting down roots and making a life for ourselves on Sullivans Island.

Here are just a couple of homes we considered, so you can see how different they are:

Finn's Summer Fun

Finn's summer in Charleston started off a little shaky . . . he wasn't so sure about leaving his friends, school and activities for an apartment with nothing to do but hang out with mom. But once he discovered the beach and all of the other fun things here, he quickly changed his tune. It also helped to have Mimi and Bop and his cousins so close by. He spent several weeks in Sumter and loved being spoiled by his grandparents. Mom and Dad enjoyed the break too!

His summer pretty much went like this: beach, pool, water park, spay fountain, repeat! With an occasional pony ride, trip to the library and farmers market thrown in for good measure. We spent most of our summer in water of one kind or another. It's been pretty warm here, so that was always the best option. We also spent A LOT of time (and $) at Chic fil A! We have been deprived from it for so long and when you have someone who only eats chicken nuggets, it becomes your best option for food.

We have throughly enjoyed being closer to some of our friends. We were able to visit with the Benichs, the Hartleys and the Yangs and Finn loved hanging out with the boys (and Bree).

I am almost embarrassed to post these pictures, one because the quality is poor (taken with a shattered iPhone) and two, they are a poor representation of all of the fun we had, but this is what I've got. So . . .

This boy loves ALL water . . . even puddles

Big Easter Egg hunt at Hampton Park

He wanted to be just like his cousin Luke,

with his name on his baseball jersey

Dressing up with cousins: ready for hunting season

I spy two turkeys!

Mixing up some trouble

Reason we love summer #106: Watermelon!

Beaching it

Time out for snacks

Pony ride at the farmers market

Posing with buddies Simon and Jonah

Finn took swimming lessons all summer long and loved every minute of it

I wouldn't call him a "swimmer" just yet, but he is very close! Here he is swimming

to Miss Kathleen

His swim buddies, Elizabeth and Emma

Charleston or Bust!

We landed on the shores of South Carolina in mid-April and after a quick stay in Sumter to regroup and pick up Finn, who had been staying with the Lyles while we packed and moved in DC, we headed to our new {temporary} home in Charleston. On one hand it was wonderful to pack only our necessities for the move to our corporate apartment, on the other hand, a little unnerving . . . what exactly does furnished mean: sheets, towels, dishes, cable television? I have never been good at being "spontaneous" so this move was a little out of my comfort zone, but I was so happy to be going back to Charleston that I didn't really care where I would be living at that point. A card board box with a view? Yes, please.

The apartment, while cramped at times, was a lifesaver. It was wonderful to not have to move all of our stuff twice and pay rent while we looked for something permanent. Plus, I ALWAYS had a parking spot. No circling the block, stalking people for their space or parallel parking required. It was a welcome change from city living. And for the record, sheets, dishes and cable television: check. Towels and Internet service: not so much.

After we realized that we didn't have Internet, I made the choice to take a sabbatical from blogging. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up and would feel overwhelmed trying to catch up with pictures, stories, etc. So I didn't. I maybe took a handful of pictures with my (shattered) iPhone, but my camera never even made it out of its storage box. If Finn ends up in therapy because his mom didn't document his every move for four months one summer . . . then that's the risk I was willing to take. However, I missed it a little bit and I'm happy to be back in the saddle.

Finn really didn't have any idea why we were so excited to be moving back to Charleston. He wasn't thrilled at leaving his friends, school, activities and routine and had no idea what Charleston was all about. We had a few meltdowns in the beginning, but once he hit the beach, he was home. Mark took a few quick videos--this was our first trip to the beach during our first weekend in Charleston. As you can see, Finn was fully dressed which didn't slow him down one little bit. Notice how he tries to "shake off" just like Lily. By the way, Lily was really happy to be back.

Return of the Jedi

We are back! I am just realizing that it has been exactly 4 months to the day since my last post. My blogging hiatus wasn't intentional. . . I happened to be missing a crucial component for blogging: an internet connection!

I have lots to tell you about but that will have to wait a little longer until I am more organized. Most importantly, WE ARE HOMEOWNERS! After a long house hunt that did not resemble anything you see on HGTV, we found the perfect place for us on Sullivans Island. It's a dream come true and an answered prayer. I can't wait to fill you in on our summer in Charleston and new house, but until then, here's a preview: