After spending 25 years of life in the Army, Colin is retiring and beginning his second career, which is taking us to New Mexico. So, we are packing up our lives in Maryland and are set to travel on December 22nd with a pit stop for Christmas with Colin's family in Clemson, SC. We will leave the family on Boxing Day and head west to Los Alamos, NM. It will be a 3 day road trip with the babies in my car and the dogs and all our important possessions in Colin's vehicle. Even though it was challenging having Lilly early, we are really lucky that Lilly and I are both ready to travel longer days, which may have been a problem if she was born on her due date. Another potential glitch that we have been lucky to overcome was Colin's knee surgery on November 30th. Fortunately, it went well and he will be able to travel without causing too much pain or difficulty. So, this week we are tying up loose ends so that we can pack up and be ready to go when the movers pull out of our driveway. We have our house up for sale and have had plenty of interest, but are still no bites. The market is looking better in this part of the country, but I don't imagine many people will be looking to buy a house this close to the holiday season.
Finn and Lilly are doing really well. I am amazed at how well Finn can understand, even though he is only saying a few words. The other night I asked him if he was ready for bed and he got off the couch, blew a few kisses and walked to the gate, waiting for someone to open it. When it was open, he walked to the stairs, climbed them and crawled into his room. He went to bed without another word. Tonight he did the same thing when I suggested he take a bath (but crawled to the bathroom!). He's becoming a little boy!
Lilly is growing like a weed. She had her two month check on Thursday and weighed 9 pounds 11 ounces, which is over a 4 pound increase from birth! She was skin and bones when she was born and now she has lots of baby fat around her arms and legs, so cute!
Due to all this chaos, we have decided not to mail out holiday wishes this year, but we do want to wish everyone this blog reaches a very Merry Christmas and a most fruitful New Year! We will hopefully be settled in Los Alamos/Santa Fe area by mid-January, so may be out of touch until then.
Peace and Love Always,
Karen, Colin, Finnian and Lillian
Colin and Finn in front of the White House Christmas Tree
Finn and Lilly in the only good picture that we have of them together by themselves. Finn still cannot be trusted!!
Annie babysitting Lilly. She is so good with the kids!
Just the three of us.
My friend Marybeth made these shirts for Finn and Lilly. I love them! This one says, "Finn loves his little sister Lilly"
This isn't the best picture, but this shirt says, "Lilly loves her big brother Finn"
Colin's retirement luncheon with Kristen and the boys celebrating with us.
Colin receiving his retirement gift, a lithograph of the White House, from the Director of Security.
We did a two month photo shoot of Lilly. Here are some of the keepers:
And an outtake:
Finn test driving a mini cooper...he was a very unhappy boy when we pulled him out of the car.
