Marylanders!

Look out little ladies of Maryland...the Dickinson boys have arrived! We are finally getting settled in after our moving odyssey. It's been so long since I posted and so much has happened that I hardly know where to begin. Hold your calls and clear your schedule for this one...

Around the third week of July we had the moving company come start packing our house. We moved into a TLF (Temporary Lodging Facility) on Lackland and it was every bit as glamorous as it sounds. Tiny does not even begin to describe the place. One bedroom, one bath, tiny kitchen and living area. Most hotel rooms have more breathing space. But, we made it work. We were there for five or six days while we wrapped things up in Texas. David took care of the movers and the house for the most part and I took care of the kids, shuttling them around town to doctor appointments and other activities. Luke had his hip ultrasound and appointment with orthopedics. There is no major problem with his hip but the socket was a bit shallow and the angle was off by just a couple of degrees. The clicking was likely due to a loose ligament. He didn't need a brace but we were told to follow up with a pediatrician and schedule a 12 week ultrasound to make sure it heals properly. Turns out they don't do infant hip ultrasounds at Andrews, where we get our other medical care, so we are going to Bethesda Naval Hospital in mid-Sept to follow up.

Despite our well-organized and thought out plans for our cross-country road trip, we were thrown a curve ball when the moving company indicated they would get to Maryland much sooner than we had anticipated. If they beat us here, they would have put our stuff in storage and it could have taken weeks to have it redelivered. Anyway, we changed our plans and left a few days early. We took a full five days to make the trip from San Antonio to Dunkirk, with stops in Dallas, Little Rock, Nashville and Wytheville, VA. The boys were perfect little travelers in the car. It really was amazing. As long as Luke was fed and changed, he was usually happy and slept most of the way. Will loves traveling in the car and he enjoyed graham crackers and Pixar movies the whole way here. In fact, they did so much better in the car than they did in the hotel. Especially at the beginning, Will would get a little anxious in the hotel rooms. Usually within the first half an hour he'd pack up his toys into his Elmo bag and ask to go to the car. They would have traveled all day and all night if David and I could have handled it. We drove two cars, so there was no rest for the weary. David and Zoe took his car and I was in the Sienna with both kids.

The first couple of nights, David took Will to the pool so he could burn off some energy. He even tried to pick up some older gals at the pool in Little Rock (Will- not David). We stayed near the Opryland hotel (where David and I got engaged) in Nashville and had dinner at a steakhouse there. By the time we got to Wytheville, we were well into the mountains and the drive and views were very scenic. I especially appreciated getting out of Texas and seeing green landscaping again. Texas is very brown this time of year. Anyway, we drove past a lot of the Davy Crockett historical sites in Tennessee, like his birthplace. We also passed several Civil War sites like Shenandoah and, of course, Manassas and places closer to DC. We wished we'd had time to stop at some of these places, but we just didn't have the time. Though we didn't travel more than 6 hours driving time in any one day, they were still very long days. I was amazed that by that time we got everyone up, dressed, fed, packed and back in the car, we were never able to be up and on the road in less than two hours. Lunch time stops were at least an hour or hour and a half. Then we had stops for Luke's feedings and diaper changes. We usually got to our destination just before dinner time.

We brought along an air bed for Will to sleep in, which he did ok with. He still preferred to sleep in bed with us. We held our ground early on but by the end of the trip he was at least falling asleep with us, then we'd move him to his bed if we could. On the fifth travel day, we made it to Dunkirk and were able to take a look at the house we had rented sight unseen. Talk about some nervous moments! We were very happy to find that we'd made a very good choice! It's a little older and not perfect, but tons of space for the money and in a great area. The house is in a rural part of southern Maryland. Very close to the Chesapeake Bay and what they call the "western shore" (east of the Bay is more of Maryland and Delaware before you get to the Atlantic). We are just minutes from groceries, restaurants and other necessities in the town center of Dunkirk. The area is very pretty- heavily wooded with lost of slow, winding roads through the trees. We are just 20 minutes or so from Annapolis and have made several trips there already for various things. There are tons of roadside produce stands and we've bought several things from local farms. One farm stand in particular between here and Annapolis is very nice. We took Will and he managed to sneak a tomato off a table and bit into it like an apple. Wasn't what he expected. Being crab country, there are even several areas where you can buy live crabs on the side of the road. We haven't gone there yet...I wouldn't know what to do with a live crab. Anyway, I really love this area and I'm really happy to be here. This is much more my speed than San Antonio.

The house is more space than we've ever had, which is good because we have more stuff than we've ever had. We're taking advantage of all of the storage we have in the unfinished basement. We're not all the way unpacked yet and we still have curtains and pictures to hang and things of that nature. But I've posted some pictures of the first floor so you can see what it looks like. The neighborhood is very quiet and everyone seems very friendly. Some mornings I take the boys and the dog for a walk. It's nice because a lot of the walk is shaded by large trees. There are some hills that are challenging with a double stroller and a dog but I guess that's good for me! We've also had a few trips to the large local park and Will has already made a new friend- another little boy his age. We're going to get together with his new friend for playdates soon.

The movers ended up being a little bit delayed, so we actually beat them here by a couple of days. So we stayed for two days at a TLF on Andrews. It was much, much bigger than the one in San Antonio but it was a bit run-down. Finally, a couple of days after arriving, our household goods were delivered. Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa Dickinson were able to come to help us unpack and help us with the kids. Even with four adults, we still weren't able to get everything unpacked and put away. But, we're getting very close. I think another week or so and we'll have everything put away. And I've hired a babysitter who will start next week so I can get back to work about 8-10 hours a week. We're very gradually finding a routine again and things are finally starting to calm down.

David's commute is pretty decent- 20-30 minutes each way. That's exceptionally good in the DC area. I have driven on the Beltway a few times and don't care to do it again. People are crazy! We managed to hit the Beltway at rush hour on our way into town. It was one near miss after another. It was actually the day Congress passed the debt deal so it was funny to have watched all of that on the news and then to be able to see the Capitol Building coming into town. Pennsylvania Ave, where the White House is, turns into Hwy 4, which goes right to Dunkirk. And we are just a few miles off of 4. Hopefully soon we'll be able to take in some of the tourist sights. We are also planning a trip to Pennsylvania sometime soon. We're going to do a loop and hit Philadelphia, Hershey (for our little Hershey Kiss lover) and Gettysburg. All are just within a few hours of here so we're going to take a few days and do that loop.

We were so grateful that we made it across the country safely and, so far, have held on to our sanity. I've had a few moments of crazy (like when I put Will's diaper on Luke and didn't realize it until the next diaper change) but I'm hanging in there! David and I had some good lessons in patience and teamwork during the trip. The boys have a knack for both melting down at the same time. But we made it! We are very certain, however, that we will not have a newborn baby for any more of our moves!

For the most part, the boys are doing well. Luke is as cute as ever and is doing really well. He had his two-month checkup soon after we got here. He weighed in at 11 lbs, 3 oz and was 23 inches long. He eats very well (sometimes all day long) and usually sleeps well. We do have some days where he only wants to sleep while being held and he'll wake up the second you put him down. I think he learned that trick from his big brother. I try to be persistent in having him nap in his crib or cradle. Some days go better than others though. Overall, Luke is really doing well. He has a lot of awake time in the mornings and loves to look around at everything. He is smiling a lot now and I've even heard a few giggles. He might have a little bit of eczema but not nearly as bad as Will did. I'm holding out hope that his skin is not as sensitive as Will's. He still has his beautiful, thick and dark hair. It's usually the first thing people comment on.

Will had some difficulty with the move. I can't blame the poor guy. In just a few months he lost his crib, got a new brother, left the only home he remembers to live like a nomad for a couple of weeks and then got plopped down in a new and unfamiliar place. Even after our stuff arrived he had a difficult time feeling comfortable here. He became very clingy to me. In his bad moments, I had to be carrying him or he had to be sitting on my lap. But even in his good moments, I had to be within his sight and preferably within a few feet of him. It became rather challenging but I tried to be patient with him. I am very happy to report, though, that he is getting better each week. He is now sleeping well in his own room- falls asleep on his own with little fussing. He has even been taking good naps this week (though sometimes he wakes up from naps in a very bad mood). He still has some clingy moments and some moments of jealousy when I am taking care of Luke, but we're making progress. Will enjoys running around the large backyard, playing in his playroom and (unfortunately) throwing things down the laundry chute that goes from the third floor to the basement.

Will is doing better at picking up new vocabulary too. He picks up new words and phrases much faster than he used to. Just the other day, he was jumping off the fireplace yelling "to infinity and beyond." Just like Buzz Lightyear- his new favorite character. Of course I had to scold him for playing on the fireplace, but it was still cute. Over our travels, Toy Story has replaced Cars as Will's favorite movie. He still loves to play with his cars, but now he asks to watch "Woody and Buzz." He even acts out scenes from Toy Story with his toys or with household objects.

Today, Will got out his animal train alphabet puzzle, one of his favorites, and put the whole thing together by himself! I suspect that he doesn't actually know the order of the letters but rather the order of the animals. But I was still impressed. Each time he put a letter down, he knew what animal he was looking for next. Meaning he has memorized the order of 26 different animals. He can still identify all of the letters but I think he's paying more attention to the animals to figure out the order of the puzzle pieces.

And finally, our very big news from last night- Will has used his potty for the first time!! I unpacked it a couple of days ago and put it in his bathroom. Before his bath last night, he was sitting on it in his clothes. So after I took his clothes off, before putting him in the tub, I put him on his potty and told him to go. He got up and down a few times but, after a few reminders, he went!! We were so excited. He acted like it was no big deal. It's a start. We're still not quite ready for potty training in earnest. I've heard many cautionary tales about starting boys too young. But we'll keep trying to use it before bath time and look for the right window to really start the training- probably when he starts asking to use it.

In other big news, David and I have our first niece, Savannah Hirsch, who was born on August 15th in Evansville. It will be a while, but we are very excited to meet her.

I'm sure there are about a million more things I could write about our adventures over the last month. But I've got to stop somewhere. We made it here in one piece, kids are doing well, we're close to settling in, and so far we really love the area. Couldn't ask for more at this point!