We are grateful to have lots of good friends who sent presents and well wishes after Ellis was born. The weekend of May 2nd, we had 2 sets of friends come to meet her!
On Friday the 2nd, our friends Brad and Audra came to the house for dinner. Brad was a college friend of Kyle's and they were both in each others' weddings. They live in Austin and we enjoyed getting together with them often! Brad brought steaks, chicken, and veggies to grill and we had fresh fruit for dessert! It was nice to be able to sit back and chat while Brad did all the grilling work! Along with a yummy dinner, they brought some thoughtful gifts for all of us! With our upcoming move to Chicago, Audra picked out all Texas influenced presents. 2 Texas books for Lane, a handmade Longhorn onesie for Ellis, and a Texas tea towel to be proudly displayed in our Chicago kitchen!
The next morning, Lane had his very last soccer game. There were some definite highs and lows this season, but overall, Lane enjoyed it and we really enjoyed watching him.
I was really hoping to see a goal, since I missed his only scoring game, but I'll have to wait till next season! His team did get a win, though!
One last team huddle. Goooo Tigers!
A team pic after the game. We only lost once all season!
On Sunday, we had our second round of visitors! My college roomie Riley and her husband Brandon came to meet Ellis. They brought their adorable son, Carson. He and Ellis are 3 months and one day apart, but it seemed like I was meeting him as a newborn just the day before! Time goes by too fast!
I love that I only see Riley a few times a year, but we ALWAYS pick up right where we left off. I really wish we lived closer to each other!
Future lovers????? Ellis does like a "muscular" man!
Practicing their dance moves for prom!
Just napping in my bouncy chair.
Love those smooshy lips!
Wearing her "Little Sister" pajamas from Aunt Kori.
Posing with big brother. He loves her so much!
That same day, a home stager came to arrange our house before it hit the market. She had come out the week before to give us a list of things she thought needed to be done and it was OUTRAGEOUS. Some of her requests were over the top. She wanted the TV in our bedroom gone, the formal dining room emptied, the upstairs extra storage room cleaned out, and only a couple of Lane's toys in the playroom, among other silly things. We did as much as possible, including moving nearly all of Lane's toys out into the garage, moving furniture to the garage that she wanted out, and over-all de-cluttering the house. So much, that we could no longer park our cars in the garage due to all of the stuff she made us relocate. It was a huge undertaking, and thankfully, the owners of the house were super grateful that we did so much and did a lot for us. They had the house professionally cleaned, bought us meals, and gifted us gift cards in appreciation. They even had us over for dinner in their home to say thank you!
When the home stager left after doing her thing, the house was pretty unrecognizable! She replaced almost all of our decor with her own items, and made us take down most family photos, which was a lot! I didn't care for much of the decor she brought in, but it wasn't up to me...
Fake flowers EVERYWHERE, fluffy pillows and throw blankets on the couches, and breakable decorations on the coffee table are not what I would call kid-friendly!!
This was the one room that I did actually like. She brought in everything in there, including the place settings, table/chairs, and art work on the wall.
This was possibly the most drastic change. The furniture in the playroom was completely re-arranged, and all of Lane's toys were either moved to the garage, or placed in the shelved area only. Poor Lane was not a fan of this change!!! His train table was converted to a coffee table, and he was angry about the decorative candles that were placed on top!!! He told me numerous times "Just don't listen to that lady!! We like our house how it is!"
Lane's bedroom pretty much remained the same, but with less toys and baskets not the floors.
The extra bedroom was stripped down as well, with some furniture moved out and no picture frames or decorations. It looks so bare to me, but the stager said that is good and it makes the room look bigger. She claimed that family photos make the potential buyers distracted from looking at the actual space. Whatever!
It took some adjusting, but Lane learned to just ignore his new surroundings and to try to not mess anything up before showings.
Ellis' outfit pretty much sums up how we all felt about selling a house.....CRABBY!
