Grandma and Grandpa Stephens visit for Aunt Candace's Birthday...

Munching on Cheerios with Grandpa

Relaxing on couch post dinner

Harrison can't get enough of Grandma's buttons

Cheerios and boats...

This is where we like to go to sit and watch the boats come back in to the harbor. Also, a lot of Cheerios are consumed on these visits.

Nap time on the couch...

When you're tired, you're tired.

Walkin'...

Harrison enjoys walking with some help...

Goodbye to Summer...

So, we are settled in, for the most part. There are still some boxes to unpack and a few rooms to better set up and figure out. But we are loving it here. The extra space, the interesting downtown neighborhood, the amazing smell of the ocean (everyday!), the yummy Italian bakeries and tea house - we're loving it here. It's been a crazy summer with the move. It's so hard to believe that it's over.

This week Jeremy starts up with school again. It will be a change for him in a few ways. While he's at the same school, he'll be in a different building on campus - which will probably feel like a different school in some ways. Fortunately the building he's moving to has air conditioning. Anyway, besides the change in classroom he'll also be starting up with soccer again and then on top of all of that will be the longer commute to work now that we're living in Gloucester. It will take some adjusting to for him and also for Harrison and myself. We think it will be worth it though.

Harrison is growing up so fast. In the last two months he's turned into the busiest little boy. He's a master crawler. He likes to help me call the kitties. He acts interested in things we are eating but when he's given the chance to test it out he's not all that interested anymore. He seems to love the new house. In the last few days he's discovered just how much he loves to climb the stairs. We take walks just about daily (sometimes more than one a day) and usually end up in our new favorite spot - a little place down by the docks where we like to spend time watching the boats and eating Cheerios.

Here are a few photos from our day at the park today. We got him a new red ball on the way but was much more interested in the pine cones and grass. He's a little bit of a nature kind of guy.

Goodbye Summer...

Here are some photos from the last week to hold you over...

Movin' on up (to Gloucester)...

Waking up

Those eyes somehow get more and more stunning each day

Hard at play

Serious face

Ready to crawl

Pre-fireworks on the Fourth of July

Standing

He was enthralled by the fireworks - he loved them

Crazy kid in crib

See?...crazy!

As you may (or may not) know, we are moving.  In exactly two weeks we will be moving up to Gloucester.  We came across a rent-to-own opportunity with some folks we know from Gordon.

It's very exciting for many reasons - 

- It's a house, a real house!  We don't have to share a building with neighbors or landlords.  It's our "own" space.

- It's bigger  (much, much bigger) than where we are currently.  Huge living room/dining room area, nice kitchen, great deck, 3 bedrooms, 1 and 1/4 bathrooms (yes, it sounds strange...there's a "closet" with just a toilet - you've got to love old New England houses), and a full basement.

- Location, location, location!  The house is in downtown Gloucester, an area that we both really love.  It's only a few blocks from Main Street and walking distance to the harbor and beach.  We'll also be close to the commuter rail and grocery shopping.  There's lots of great walking to be had.

- Jesse and Kaedra (the folks we are renting from) put a lot of hard work into renovating the house.  From the room colors, the flooring, to the gardens outside - everything feels just right.  One especially big deal to us is that when they bought the house they took special care to make lead-free adjustments to the best of their ability.  That is very important to us as Harrison just started to get really mobile this last week.

- Oh yeah - and our own washer and dryer!!!  Yay!

As there are a lot of great things about this place, there are also a few changes that we are going to have to get used to.  First off, just being in Gloucester.  While we do love it there very much, it is a bit isolated and is a distance from Jeremy's work (miles and gas).  Unfortunately the house is heated by oil - a bummer of an expense in today's economy.  And since it is a house and larger than we are used to, we'll be needing to get used to the difference in cost of utilities.  But, we are up to the challenge and are looking forward to getting creative with saving money and energy.  We are so thrilled to have more space for Harrison.  This house is a place we can definitely see ourselves being at for a while, raising our family.  

Other than moving news...

Harrison has had a few big changes in the last week or so.  As I mentioned before, he's crawling now!  Or so, he can when there is space.  Unfortunately since we are in the middle of moving (boxes and stray furniture everywhere) and our current apartment is so small (and dusty with lead), he doesn't really get on the floor here.  We have been taking him to The Common or the park at the end of the street to let him move his little legs and arms.  This last week we went to his friend's, Atticus, house to play.  It was amazing to watch him.  I set him on the floor in Atticus' nursery and Harrison crawled straight to the toys and started to pull things out of a basket.  It was like seeing a different kid.  I didn't know he had that in him - just being a regular baby who crawls to toys.  That probably sounds strange, but really, it was my first time seeing him be "independent" in a way.  He and Atticus had a great time with each other.  They were both quite tuckered out by the end of the experience.  

Also this last week his speaking voice has kind of changed some.  He's sounding more like he's trying to say something.  His favorite word seems to be "ba-ba".  I'm working on "da-da" and "ma-ma" with him as much as possible.  He seems very interested when I say these words, he studies my lips and will often smile while watching me.  He also gets really excited when I call the cats.  He gets the biggest smile on his face when I call for Madison or Dewey.