The Quiet White House On Court Street...

The boys having a snack at their big boy table

So it's sort of official - we're now the proud owners of the house on Court Street! We signed back on the offer yesterday and sent the offer back along with our deposit cheque to our real estate agent Bruce.  It took just under two weeks and 2 counter offers, but we finally got the house at the price we wanted on the 3rd counter offer!

Of course even though we've signed the deal on Court Street, the offer is still conditional upon financing and inspection and of course right now we're just stressed and hoping that we will get the financing for the mortgage as that will seal the deal on us being the official owners of the house. Michael spoke with the mortgage broker yesterday, and he said that we would most likely be approved for the mortgage since we're putting a fair down payment on the house, but you never know! Cross your fingers for us everyone!

Our next worry is if the house will pass the inspection, with the obvious understanding that the house is almost 200 years old and that there will obviously be issues with the home, but we're hoping that they will be issues that we can afford to deal with right away, and that they will not to run us into more debt.

However, we completely trust our real estate agent Bruce as so far he's been nothing but completely straight forward and honest with us, and has just been an outstanding real estate agent by helping us get the right home to fit our budget and our family's needs, and we know that he wouldn't have found us a home that was a total wreck and wasn't move in ready.

Kicking back with Mommy's hats on...

We're completely aware though, that we still have A LOT to do between now and the move the Bridgetown and of course neither of us are happy that we're going to be homeless in approximately 2 weeks,for about a month before the offer officially closes on May 1st. We're ever so grateful to Michael's mom and step dad to offer us their home for the month,and we know they will do everything to make us feel comfortable and happy, but it's not the same when you don't have your own home. We're hoping that we can push the closing date up sooner, but then again Michael doesn't want to get stuck in an April snow storm while driving down to Bridgetown in a moving truck! It's a double ended sword...

Benjamin's idea of independent feeding

As our lives are changing and developing on this new course, so are Benjamin and Oliver. They've developed and grown so much in the last month that I've been home and I can see how much they needed both parents at home with them all the time and I've learned so much more about my children and their individual personalities which money just can't buy. It makes me feel so much better knowing that we're making this decision to move to Bridgetown to have more quality time with them.

Oliver loves his toy cars, while Bennie loves to draw and he loves to collect and stack things in groups. I find  the great difference in the personalities quite amazing, I guess especially since they're identical twins and share 98% the same DNA.

Ollie has learned more words now, and he can say our dog's name 'Maya' and 'Bye, bye' very clearly, and he's been trying to say 'Car', and his latest new word is 'BOOM!'which he learned from me after a lid for a pot crashed and landed on the kitchen floor while I was cooking in the kitchen.

Oliver having fun in the tub

He watches every movement of our mouths when we talk and tries to mimic everything we're saying. The last thing he did which I found incredible was when he copied me waving my index finger at me and saying 'NO' in a firm voice and he also copied me going 'Shhhh...' and placing his index finger to his mouth to be quiet. I tried not to laugh as he was doing this, but it was so incredibly cute and amazing at the same time. He also knows all of the parts of his face now when you call them out and points to them - 'Nose, Ears, Mouth, & Chin', we're still working on the eyes as he was poking his eyes everytime he'd try. He loves the fish in the fish tank and says 'Night, night' to them every night before I turn the fish tank light off. I think that the most fascinating development for Oliver this last month is his associaion with words, things and actions. Whenever he accidently drops something on the ground he says 'Oh, Oh!' and then Bennie will join in and say 'Oh, Oh! too.

Benjamin's words are 'Fish', 'Door', 'Spoon', and obviously 'Mama & Dadda', and of course Oliver can say 'Mama, & Dada' too, but I find I hear Benjamin saying these words the most as he seems to always coming to one of us to complain about something his brother did to him.
I think that he will be the definite problem solver when he grows up I believe, as he's always calculating and trying to figure things out.

He grabs our keys whenever he can and tries to open up the door with them from the inside, but never-the-less he makes the association, which I find ever so impressive for his age, but then again I'm a first time parent, so everything new that they do at this age I find impressive. Benjamin also loves the fish, and likes to go say hello to them every now and then as well.

He loves to draw, which we discovered recently and he has made his artisitic impressions all over the front of the freezer, and the carpet, and the table! Good thing the crayons are washable!

They both seem to really want to be independent now, which for twins is not a bad thing as when you have multiples you want them to become independent as quickly as possible! Oliver especially just really wants to try eating on his own, and he did a good job eating all his sphagetti by himself with a fork!

Oliver on the left, Benjamin on the right - almost two years ago!

They're both just growing so fast! And I just can't believe that they will be turning 2 years old in less than 3 months time! Where did the time go? Obviously time has passed as I feel so old already! But it just seems like yesterday both Michael and I were these fresh faced and enthusiastically in love couple with no responssibilities in life and full of naive hope for the future, and here we are today, buying a house in Bridgetown and can't wait to move into quiet small town life! How things change when you have your children.