O' Christmas Tree

We finally put up our Christmas tree. I think we are the last people on our block to have any kind of decorations up. These Tennesseans go a little holiday crazy...at least that is my observation in our small corner of the state. We got a tree at our local produce stand and it is awesome. Even though we paid a little more for it I think it is definitely worth the money.

Addison had a blast picking out the tree. We couldn't stop her from running up and down the aisles of trees touching every single one. She absolutely loved every second of it. She also loved going inside to warm up and getting a free apple and banana. The girl was halfway done with her apple by the time I finished paying.


Michael did not have as much fun. He was tired and for some reason he did not like the lady helping us get the tree all trimmed up and ready to put on the car. She really freaked him out!

It took a couple of days to get it decorated but it turned out great. This was the first year that Addison helped and she would not let us move the ornaments she put up. She was quite selective of their placement and she threw a stomping and yelling fit when Matt attempted to move one of her carefully placed pieces:)


I am hoping to transform our house into Christmas mode sometime soon but with Michael not having the restraint to leave sparkly things alone we may just settle for the nativity set on a shelf. If we do put up the garland and lights and bows I will post more pictures of that too!

Michael's First Haircut!

Here are some pictures of my little baby boy getting his very first haircut. I cannot believe that he is so big already. He looks like a big boy for real now!




The finished product! What happened to my little baby... he is gone and has been replaced with this handsome little man!


Addison really, really, really wanted her hair cut too so we actually had to pretend to give her a trim and then she showed it off all night:)

Update

Fore those of you that don't know...Matt has been suffering with an allergic reaction to poison oak. This is about 10 days after the initial reaction. The doctor said if it doesn't get significantly better by Tuesday or Wednesday Matt needs to see a dermatologist! The joys of poison oak:)

And these are Addison's arms. She recently discovered tattoos and insists every morning that she receive a new one of her choice to grace her tiny arms for the day! The kid is crazy.

These are a couple of pictures from our back porch. I am not sure that I totally captured just how vibrant and beautiful the colors are here in the fall, but I had to try! I can't tell you how many times I have stood on our back porch and thought about how incredibly lucky we are to be living somewhere so beautiful:)


And last, but not least, this is our basket case. When I can't find the kid he is usually around the corner hiding in the laundry basket. He pulls out all of the dirty clothes and then climbs on in for a fun ride!


Matt is finishing up his first set of night shifts and it hasn't been too terrible (unless you count the poison oak). We have managed to survive it. I think Thanksgiving will find us at home making all of the originals. If anyone wants to come over I am notorious for making ridiculous amounts of food so I'm sure we will have plenty:)

More kiddo pics

This is a picture at Jeff's house with his dog Tinkerbell. She is HUGE! Addison still wanted to love on her so the safest way was with a fence between them. It's not the dog's fault...she is just a 70 pound puppy!

See? Bryson and Addison really do like each other..... They had a great time getting to know each other and then abruptly getting to beat up on each other:)

Further proof that Michael is an exact carbon copy of his daddy! The kid can sleep anywhere. I'm almost positive I have a picture of Matt in the same pose on my parents' couch from when we were dating!

Having a great time at Grandpa and Grandma's house. We couldn't keep the kids off of the little footstools. They made great "chairs" for the kids to sit at the coffee table.

This is Addison at the City Park in Stephenville. We spent many mornings hanging out at the park letting the kids run off some of their endless energy:)


We are all beginning to recover from our multiple illnesses. We may be making another trip to the doctor for the kids today...nothing like swollen tonsils and green snot to start the day:)

Happy Halloween!

Michael with the works of art.


Addison was so proud of her pumpkins. She wants to carve more everyday!


The little monster himself.


Spidey:)


Mommy and all the babies!


A couple of days prior to Halloween we decided to carve pumpkins. I think everyone enjoyed it even though Addison insisted on having a kitty carved into her pumpkin and Matt got to do all the fun detail work on that. Addison even dug in and pulled out some "pumpkin guts". She didn't enjoy the pumpkin smell too much, but I would count it as an overall success!

Halloween night was great! Addison had the best time trick-or-treating. She is a natural:) She had no problem at all running up and knocking on doors and yelling "Trick or Treat!" She got a ton of candy and we got to meet most of our new neighbors. All-in-all it was a very productive night. Michael rode most of the way through our neighborhood in the stroller but his little monster costume was still a hit:)

Sorry it has taken so long to update the blog. The kids and I have been sick. Matt has been Super Dad taking care of everyone. I am pretty sure that he prefers nuclear power to taking care of kids. You just don't realize how hard someone else's job is until you are the one doing it! We have recently visited the aquarium and I will post some pictures of the kids taking in the wildlife there:)

The kids!

The boy getting an early start!






Miss Addison Grace enjoying the thrill ride at the city park in Stephenville.



"She wore an Itsy Bitsy, Teeny Weeny Blue polka dot bikini!"






The very first time in big boy pajamas:)



Grandpa and Grandma have the best amusement park rides around!!!!




These are some pics of the kiddos while we enjoyed the end of summer in Texas. I cannot say how thankful we are for Dad and Sonia taking us in and making our stay in Texas completely wonderful:) Addison still asks for Grandma's tortillas and some menudo everyday!

As promised....

This is my amazing kitchen! I absolutely love, love, love the stove....don't even get me started on the dishwasher. I told Matt that I was considering running away with the dishwasher but since it was attached to the house I would stay put:)







This is our dining room(in case you couldn't tell by the big dining room table). I thought this color was going to be very similar to the color of the dining room in our last house but it turned out much darker. I still love it!













Aaaahhhh, the princess room. In case you cannot see it completely, the comforter reads "It isn't easy being a princess!" The girl is in pink heaven in there. Yes, she is sleeping on a full size bed. Matt and I are kinda jealous since neither one of us ever slept on anything bigger than a twin bed until we got married!



















The little man's room is alot less "busy" than Addison's room. He has a recliner and a toy box on the other side. I figured we could keep it simple until he decides what he really likes. Blue is a good starting place for a boy and he can work on it from there.













And what you all have been hearing about for weeks now....Matt's TV! I decided to have Matt put addison next to it on our mantle so that you all could get an idea of how huge this thing really is. (I wanted Addison to stand next to it but that kinda freaked Matt out a little bit.) It is the newest member of our family and it is awesome (just ask Matt)! We haven't gotten around to mounting it to the wall yet but it will happen eventually. I would've posted pics of the rest of the living room but they pale in comparison to this massive thing on our wall.

I will be posting more pics of the kids in the days to come.  I have a ton of shots that we took while we were staying in Texas.  Now that you all have seen the monster that is our new tv, I expect to have some visitors very soon.  Just in case seeing us wasn't enough of an incentive:)

Our big boy!

We had Michael's one year well-baby check today.  This means that we saw a new doctor, got a new set of rules now that he is one, got all the specs and five shots.

First the good news.... Michael is healthy!  The boy weighs 25 pounds and is 32 inches tall.  To put this in perspective, Addison was 19 pounds 15 ounces at her one year appointment and only 30 inches tall.  The child is in the 90th percentile for his age group.  He doesn't have any lead or anemia.  Everything is good.

The shots...he got five today including his flu shot.  The child did not even wince when they did the finger stick for the blood draw.  He actually even smiled at the nurse after she put the bandaid on.  The shots were another story.  We got through the first one with no tears and the second one was almost done by the time he started to whine about it.  Needless to say, by the fifth shot it took my whole body to keep the kid on the table.  He was fine about 20 seconds after I picked him up and then he slept the whole way home.  

I really like our new doctor.  She seems very laid back and was really good with Michael.  She watched him play and talked to me like she had just come over for coffee or something.  It was probably the most relaxing doctor's visit we have ever had.  

On to the home things.  The fence posts are in and we are supposed to have the rest of it by the weekend.  Matt got his crazy television and is in the process of mounting it and getting the entertainment center together.  

I think that should catch everyone up.  We can't wait to start getting visitors!

We closed on our house!

It finally happened!  We now have a home again.  Addison can stop telling people that she doesn't have a house:)  Today at 4:00pm we once again became homeowners.  I forgot how exciting it can be to agree to making payments for the next 30 years!  

Matt's new television arrives tomorrow and the fence will begin being built next monday.  The moving company is coming to pick up the boxes tomorrow as well and I will finally be able to park in the garage!  I know that alot of people don't routinely use their garages for storage of their cars but with two little ones constantly on the move it is hard to unload them in the driveway.  Not to mention....it gets cold here.  You won't see me chipping ice off of the windshield anytime soon.  

We are supposed to have lows in the upper 40s tonight and by all predictions this nice cool weather will make for a beautiful fall.  I learned today that the trees produce more radiant colors in the fall when the weather gets colder sooner.  Who knew?  Probably my dad who probably told me this fact a long time ago and I will be getting chatised later for not remembering:)

All-in-all things have been pretty fantastic!  The kids are back into a routine and they have a schedule again.  We have a place to call home and friends to share our new home with and a great family to fill it up.  I am feeling pretty fortunate today (keep your fingers crossed that I didn't just jinx myself).  I will post pictures soon, I just have to find that darn usb cable:)

An update....finally!!

I know that it has been awhile.  Everyone keeps telling me!  We are finally in the new house.  We are waiting to close and it has NOT been easy.  It seems like we have have had problem after problem with the lender but I am sure that it will all be resolved very soon.  I was reminded last night that this is an easy problem to solve and that we really are lucky that we have somewhere to live.  As difficult as the past few weeks have been we have always had food and shelter and a very desperately needed hot shower at the end of the day.  Oh well, off the soap box:)

Michael turned one this month!  Can you all even believe it?  It does not seem like it has been a whole year since we were just meeting this amazing little person.  He is walking and talking and yelling at all of his sisters already.  He is looking more like his dad every single day.  I do believe that he has even mastered the mischevious grin:)  

Addison is "officially" turned into a princess.  Her room has been decked out in princess bedding and a matching pink ceiling fan.  I know Matt just shakes his head everytime he walks in there.  You can just feel the estrogen oozing off of the walls.  We have also converted her toddler bed into a full size big girl bed.  She is doing great in it!  She hasn't fallen off or anything!  And I almost for got to mention that Addison is potty trained!  Holy freaking cow, right?  When did my little baby girl grow up?  For those of you reading with kiddos you know what a huge milestone this is and why I just had to mention toilet habits in a public blog:)

Matt and I are just waiting and waiting and waiting to finally close on this beautiful home.  We are so ready to be able to call it ours.  I will post some pictures once Matt's flat screen tv is mounted over the fireplace and the fence is up.  We are actually getting a cedar fence this time because it is going to take so much lumber that the guy building it got cedar for the same price as treated pine...Bonus!  The appliances have been broken in and we had our first brisket in the house last night.  I guess that really makes it home! 

We are so excited about all the things that Tennessee has to offer for family outings and the weather here is absolutely gorgeous!  There are apple orchards to visit and pumpkin patches to peruse.  Matt and I have talked about trips to Six Flags over GA and Dollywood.  There is no shortage of outdoor adventures here.  Make your travel arrangements folks.... we cannot wait to have some company.

I will try to update again VERY soon now that we are getting settled.  I hope to see you all soon!

In Texas

We have been in Texas for about a week and a half and it has been terrible.  The kids have been sick (strep and ear infections) and Addison was very polite and shared her strep throat with me.  Needless to say, we are all on the road to recovery and are almost back to normal.  

The drive to Texas went amazingly well.  The kids were fantastic thanks to lots and lots and lots of help from Disney and Pixar:)  Addison asks about all of our friends in South Carolina and Georgia almost daily.  I don't know what we will do without all of you.  If she asks where Tyler or Daniel is one more time I may burst into tears.  

Matt is settling into his new job.  For the first time in ten years we had to think about insurance and 401K.  Pretty interesting being part of the civilian world again.  I didn't realize how much we were "taken care of" in the Navy.  Not that the level of service or care was always spectacular but it was always already done for you.  

We have officially sold our home in South Carolina to Cartus.  Cartus is the relocation company that is assisting us in our move to Tennessee.  The great part about this is that even though the new home owners don't close until the 29th of August we have already gotten the equity out of the sale!  

Our new home in Tennessee is absolutely gorgeous.  The cabinets are in as of yesterday and Matt says that all of the appliances were there in boxes as well.  We have paint on the walls, the wood floors have been finished, there are sinks and faucets and supposedly we will have countertops sometime this week or early next week!  I cannot believe how quickly things seem to happen once the ball starts rolling.  The builder was even talking about the sod getting laid pretty soon.  We will be in our new home in no time!  I hope you all enjoy the pictures and I really will try to keep everyone updated more often.  Now that we are settling back into a routine hopefully I will have more time to keep in touch!

It was bound to happen eventually

Addison has an ear infection.  Needless to say, we are not happy.  The poor kid has been hacking away since Wednesday night and even though her doctor said it was nothing to worry about I still knew that something was up.  She woke up with a fever and coughing so hard that she started to gag.  After 2 hours of waiting in urgent care we got the diagnosis.  Her first ever ear infection.  She is taking it better than her mom and dad.  We are bending to her every wimb and she is starting to catch on.  She even asked for, and got, Taco Bell for lunch.  I am really glad that we decided to cancel the trip to Georgia though.  If there is one thing I hate more than a sick kid is the emergency room in Kingsbay.  We were pretty bummed out that we won't be seeing Gabe, Amber and Tyler one last time before we leave but at least Addison can recover at home.  

We did discover on Thursday that Michael is a full 4 ounces heavier than Addison.  The baby brother is now the "big brother".  The kid is a chunk and one of the happiest babies I have ever seen.  He is even playing quietly by himself because Addison is trying to catch up on some sleep after coughing all last night.  

We have a huge week ahead of us with the movers coming and driving to Tennessee and then to Texas.  Plus we have so many people to say goodbye to that we don't have any idea how we will get to everyone.  Just so everyone knows, we will be at Buffalo Wild Wings next Thursday night for a goodbye dinner.  I think we will have a ton of fun and anyone who wants to show up is more than welcome!  I really hope we have a chance to see you all before we go!

The Wait is Over

For all of you who have been keeping up with us through our blog you will be happy to know that the house finally has a contract on it!  We got two offers this weekend and had a signed contract by 6 o'clock Saturday evening.  I cannot tell you what a huge relief this is for all of us.  Not only did we not want to have two mortgages but we needed to sell this house in order to release Matt's VA eligibility so that we could get a VA loan on the new house.  In case anyone doesn't know, you don't have to pay PMI on a VA mortgage and it saves us tons of money each month:)

In other news, we spent the weekend at Scott's lake house.  It was our last chance to enjoy the peace and quiet of Lake Wateree near Rock Hill, SC.  It was absolutely beautiful and incredibly hot.  We could barely keep Addison off of the "spaceship", known to everyone else as a jetski!  She ran and played and swam all weekend long.  Michael was very close behind.  He has taken two steps in a row and I have a feeling it won't be long until we can't keep him down at all.  I think that all the fun we have had this summer at the lake has almost convinced us that one day we need to have a house on the water.  Watching Addison run down to the dock and Michael take an afternoon nap while floating in the lake has me convinced that they are truly at home wherever there is water.

The move and travel plans have been finalized.  Dad is going to be flying into Atlanta on August 8th and we will pick him up and head to Tennessee to stay the night.  We should leave bright and early (actually before bright and early) for Texas.  I am hoping that if we leave early enough the kids will get a few good hours of sleep in the car before breakfast and we can get a few hundred miles of highway behind us.  It should take only one day thanks to the DVD player in the new minivan:)  I am still not sure how long we will be staying.  After talking to our real estate agent in TN it seems like we should be closing on the new house by the end of August rather than early September.  I am anxious to get into our new home so that we can hopefully be settled by Michael's 1st birthday.  That's right, I said Michael's birthday!  Can you believe he is already almost one?  Where does the time go?

I can't wait to see all of you!  I will write and update again soon!

It has been a week

To update everyone.  

We just reduced the price of our house... Again.  We have had several showings scheduled since the price change and now the only thing left to do is pray that it all works out.

We will be spending our weekend at Scott's lake house.  This will be the last trip up there since we are out of time and the house is being sold.  Addison and Matt are both really looking forward to the jetski!  I am really looking forward to trying out the new vodka that supposedly tastes like sweet tea.  We may be in trouble with this one if any of you have ever accompanied me to Sonny's you know what I am talking about.  

Next week is full already.  Monday is laundry and recovery from the water and sun.  Tuesday night is dinner with friends.  Wednesday is Matt's getting out of the Navy lunch and ladies' night.  Thursday is the last chance Matt will have to play poker with his buddies.  Friday is Matt's awards ceremony and who knows what the weekend will hold.

To update you all on the plans for our travel arrangements to Texas.  Matt is going to be starting at TVA on August 11th so unfortunately he will not have a chance to get to Texas with us.  The kids and I should be there the week of the 11th for sure.  How long we will be staying is going to depend on the builder of our new house.  

That is what is happening here.  I hope all is well there (wherever "there" is for you)!

Weekend Update

We are enjoying our last few weekends in South Carolina.  We spent Saturday afternoon with Traci, Eric and Daniel at an indoor bar-b-que.  The problem with doing a bbq in SC in the summer is that it is just too hot to be outside.  So the kids enjoyed the air conditioning and the toys while the grown ups enjoyed tons of food.  

It looks like someone is interested in our house.  The realtor says that they like our home the best but the location may make them choose something else.  Our realtor is in the process of convincing them that living here has some real benefits (the schools, the small subdivision, the low HOA fees).  Everyone please keep your fingers and toes and legs and eyes crossed that we get an offer.  It seems like this move has snuck up on us and we are seriously running out of time.

The movers are coming on August 7th to pack up the house and they will be loading the truck on the 8th.  We should be going to Tennessee that weekend followed by the journey to Texas!  I think we may have a lazy Sunday since we have been going like crazy.  We will try to have some time with all of our friends here in Charleston before we go because you will all be missed like crazy.  

The Waiting Game

We are still waiting on our house to sell.  As much as I love this house I am super anxious to see it go.  There are so many things on hold until the house sells.  We have had all positive feedback from realtors showing the house.  I guess it is probably just a matter of time now.

On a more positive note, the house in Tennessee is beautiful!  We picked out all of our paint colors, lighting fixtures, carpet, cabinets and countertops.  I cannot believe how quickly the house is coming together.  Everytime we see it I am amazed by how fast they can build a home.  

The movers should be coming to pack us up the first full week of August.  We are still working on the specifics of who will be going where and when.  It really depends on when Matt needs to start at TVA.  It does look like the kids and I will be in Texas in time for Grandpa's birthday (maybe even Grandma's!)  We can't wait to catch up with all of you then:)

Going out of town...again!

Well folks we are headed to Tennessee for the weekend.  

We are in the picking out everything phase of building our home and we need to get it done sooner rather than later since Matt will be up there and I will probably be in Texas at the beginning of August.  Addison is excited to see Travis and go swimming in the hotel swimming pool.  If I weren't so excited to pick out all of our stuff I would be dreading the drive....okay, I am dreading it a little already.  

Matt and I will let you know when we have finally decided what to do about living arrangements.  Maybe we will be seeing you all soon!

New House Pictures and Weekend Update

Here are some updated pictures of the new house.  The first picture is the front of the house (obviously).  The second picture is right after you step in the front door entrance and the third picture is the living room with French doors and a fireplace!!  Matt made a trip the last weekend of June to get his physical done for the new job and snapped some shots of the progress on the new house.  I cannot believe how close we are to our new life in Tennessee.  It is more than a little stressful keeping our fingers crossed that the house here in South Carolina will sell.  The good news is that we have had all positive feedback and the showings have really picked up as well.

I hope that everyone had just as much fun this weekend as we did!  As soon as I get the pictures loaded onto the computer I will post them on here.  Addison and I had our first ever jet ski ride and we spent alot of time on the pontoon boat.  We had tons of food, tons of sun and tons of fun.  I think we are going to try and make it up to the lake at least a few more times before Matt starts at TVA in the middle of August.  I cannot wait to go back.  I didn't know how much fun the lake could be with the right friends.  Thank you Scott for hosting us for the summer!!

Headed to the Lake

We are headed to the lake this afternoon for the whole weekend.  Last time we went we had an awesome time!  The kids just love the boat and the water.  They are waterbugs for sure.  I can hardly keep Addison out of a swimsuit this year.  

I hope that you all have a safe and happy 4th of July.

On a side note... Matt and I got engaged 10 years ago this 4th.  Can you even believe it?

So Here It Is...

It has come to my attention that the way to get out information about the goings on of our little family is by starting a blog.  So this is it, the McMullin Blog!  I know you all can hardly contain yourselves.  I have been pressured into starting this and now I cannot believe how incredibly easy it is.

We are currently building a new house in Tennessee.  It is absolutely gorgeous (if I do say so myself).  I will be sure to put up pictures as we get them.  The kids are growing like crazy.  Addison is weighing in at 23 pounds, followed closely by Michael at 22 pounds 2 ozs.  I just can't believe how quickly the time passes now that everyday means that my babies are a little less like babies.  

Matt is just a few short weeks outside of taking his permanent leave from the Navy.  I can see the anticipation growing for him everyday!  We are really excited to be starting this new part of our lives together.  I know that Matt is really excited to be able to have a "real" job and not have to worry about leaving to go to sea again.  

I hope that everyone is well.  I will try to keep you all updated on our lives as often as possible!