So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye!

One of the huge hurdles we had in our preparations for grad school was to sell our house. With the market being the way it is, we were extremely nervous, but thankfully after only 2 people looking at it, it sold! HUGE relief! This meant, however, that we had to pack things up quickly (with a baby that liked UN-packing boxes) and say goodbye to our wonderful Chicago friends.

To start with, our ward. I don't think we will ever be in a ward that will love and adore Paige like that. There weren't a lot of babies so Paige got all the attention a baby could dream of. We also really enjoyed our callings. I was in the young womens presidency and worked with amazing women and had some really sweet girls. They were so cute to throw me a little goodbye on my last Sunday, complete with sweet notes and Cinnibons! We just had some great families who really looked out for us and made us feel a special part of the ward while we were there.

One of the families from the ward that we became instant friends with was the Jones'. I truly don't know what I would have done without Kristin the past 2 years. She got me through my miscarriage, chatted with me about anything and everything, invited me to the pool/scrapping/etc, threw me a baby shower, visited me in  the hospital, and the list goes on and on. And not to mention, Ben and Nick played basketball together and Kristin's girls are absolutely adorable, and we all enjoyed a good Chilis and Red Robin run. Needless to say, it was a struggle saying bye to their family.

Then the B.A. (business analyst) group. There were a group of guys that started working at Sears around the same time, that were LDS and lived in the same area. We did a lot with this group, from playgroups, game nights, dinners, BYU games, etc. We squeezed in a few last get-togethers, including a bbq at my brother's house, complete with delicious food, soccer, slip-n-slide, and lots of chatting.

And these two little cuties-

I'm starting to realize how much me we took living next to family for granted. What will I do next Halloween or Easter? Who will I make hair bows with? What will Paige do without her little cousins just 10 minutes away? And how will I move again without Camille helping me pack and clean? I think this is one thing I didn't fully appreciate until the realization of not having it, and now North Carolina is sounding very far away from family, and I'm already missing the comfort of knowing the Warnings were just minutes away.

We got everything packed up in the pod, thanks to some awesome friends that miraculously made everything fit! The house sure felt empty...

Last family photo in our house

Then I headed to Washington with Paige, while Ben floated around to friends houses so he could finish up his 2 year commitment at Sears.We'll miss our house and friends in IL, but are excited for this next adventure! Goodbye Illinois!

Girls Trip to Pennsylvania

In May I went with my mom to Pennsylvania to see my cousin, Tad's, mission farewell.

 It was quite the girls group, with my mom's two sisters, my grandma, cousin Leigh, mom, Paige and I.
 The first day we headed to the Hershey Factory, which was adorable!

 We went on a "ride" where they showed you how they make the chocolate- very fun!

The singing/dancing cows were the best part!

Paige was mesmerized 

Whole bunch of crazies

The next day we visited Gettysburg. I had been there before, but hadn't seen the new fancy visitors center. It was very interesting and makes you so grateful for the sacrifices that were made.

That night we went to my cousin, Max's Eagle Court of Honor. My cousins are awesome boys!

Saturday we saw downtown Harrisburg.

Then we headed to Lancaster. It was very interesting seeing all of the Amish farms, and all the darling little kids. We strolled through cute little shops and just took our time driving through the countryside. And of course we had to giggle as we visited "Intercourse", PA :)

Buggy parking at Costco!!

Apparently after a long day of traveling, Paige had some serious "business" to take care of. Yes, I'm a mean mother for posting this, but it's just classic.

Sunday was Mother's Day. Ben did an awesome job on the first "real" mother's day, giving me a cute poem and massage before I left- perfect gift, I was thrilled! My Aunt Lynne was so sweet and had little presents for all of us women there visiting. It was fun to have 4 generations of women there to celebrate. Then we headed to church to hear Tad speak. He did an awesome job! That night we went to Max's voice recital.

It was hard to believe that the mature young man was the same little boy I used to babysit. Argentina is lucky to get Elder Wright!

Paige 9-10 months

Since it's almost Paige's birthday, maybe I should get caught up on blogging. 

Paige 9 months:

19 lbs (50-75 percentile)

28 in (75 percentile)

18 in (90-95 percentile)

She enjoyed waving to the doctor

Camille took some cute 9 month pictures for us (I'm already missing having her as my personal photographer!!)

Thanks again, Brambles, for the dress!

My favorite

Showing her new trick of standing

Little cousins

-At 9 months could stand and hold onto something, 10 months started walking along the furniture

Trying to capture her in her cute room before we moved

-Her crawling became more much effective and soon she was crawling all over the house

Daddy's hat

-She got her 2 bottom teeth!
-Still an awesome sleeper, with 2 naps. Although loved to stand up in her crib

She's a great shopper

-Loves her food. Was still nursing about 3 times a day, but started having more table food
-Started on a sippy cup, which made her seem so big
-Started babbling a lot more, and said "woah" and "dadda" (which I guess we'll claim was her first word :(
-Does ok with bath time, but usually hates getting her hair washed and getting dressed

-Learned how to blow raspberries and click her tongue
-She met Uncle Tyler for the first time! He was in Chicago for business so we were able to meet him for dinner. Paige absolutely loved him!

-At the end of 10 months, right before we moved, Paige figured out how to climb the stairs. We hadn't worried too much about her going up, and then one day we look over and she's 3 steps up! She would get so excited and stop to clap for herself...which would result in falling

Bribing her with a binky

We made a quick trip to Minnesota in May to see the Holms before we moved. Paige was amazing on the drive (slept about 5 out of 6 hours). I barely got any pictures, but we had a great time chatting, seeing a play downtown, and seeing grandparents and some of Ben's friends. Paige loved all the attention from so many family members.

Uncle Jordan

Getting babysat by Aunt Hannah

Paige still loves mommy when she's sad or tired, but there's no one funnier or more exciting than daddy. I would put her at the top of the stairs every day when Ben got home and she would get so excited to see him walking up. We love our little baby, but she sure is seeming older!