is there a house in our future? YES

so it's official. we've signed papers to buy our first house. but it isn't built yet. so we have to wait. darn. but it's worth it, and we are super duper excited to go from 800 sq ft (i'm just guessing) to 1730 sq ft... 2 bedrooms to 4. needless to say...it will be nice. it's a mile down the road from where we are now, and we have one of the biggest lots on the very end, so only 1 neighbor to deal with, no one behind us. anyhow. i could go on and on, but i think it may get annoying after a while, so i'll keep it brief. WE'RE GOING TO BE HOMEOWNERS REAL SOON!! yes! ok ok, so i know that it's "not all it's cracked up to be" but in a brand new home, not a whole lot can go wrong that isn't covered by a warranty. so we are making a list of everything you need as homeowners that you don't need as apt renters, and we'll work on saving for that stuff now. i'm a little on edge becuause it's quite a responsiblity to take over, but i guess after a year i'll breathe easier. i'm just that way when it comes to finances. 

besides that, kathryn went to the eye doctor friday, and her glasses haven't corrected the "strabismus" or cross-eyed problem. to me, she isn't crossing her eyes like she was before the glasses, so i dunno, but clearly, if you cover her better eye (the right) her left eye definitely crosses. so the doctor wants to try patching. apparently "bandaid" style patches work best for little kids, as they semi-hurt if they try to remove it, so they are less likely to bother it. this is true for kathryn! after she leaves it be for...5 mins, she forgets it's there. i sure hope it helps. our other options are vision therapy (great, more therapy) or surgery (will it even work?) so i've never been cross-eyed, and i don't know just what she is experiencing, but apparently, she is seeing close to what we would call "double vision" where there are 2 mommies in the kitchen or 2 toys on the floor to not step on...no wonder she is so clumsy! i feel so sorry for her. she has a lot of minor issues that could result in major issues down the road. i dunno. i guess i'm waiting to see what the geneticist says. i'm about 100% sure she has neurofibromatosis. but what does that mean?? it seems like she has what is called a cutaneous neurofibroma (i've noticed 3 so far) basically a benign button-like tumor on the skin (same color as the skin) but i guess the doctor will let me know all that. i just hope she can live a normal life. although, to her, she knows no different.

and last but not least, daniel is incredibly impressive. of course i'm sure i have kathryn to thank for a lot of the skills he is developing, but he is wasting no time getting around. he wishes he could run. poor lil legs just don't quite move fast enough for him sometimes. he wants to feed himself. i should just let him go at it with a spoon, but i am a mess-avoiding freak when i can help it, and baby + spoon + food = huge mess in my eyes. who knows. we'll try it soon enough. he has the grab and turn skill. like unscrewing the screw that adjusts the height of our pedastal fan...or turning the switch to on on our box fan and our dishwasher...he is good at that now. silly boy. oh, and today, he pulled himself up to the door of the dishwasher from  pulling up on the top rack...he seriously did a pull up!!! before john and i knew it, he was in the bottom rack in the dishwasher! crazy daredevil kid...when he gets up on our bed (or any pile that looks temptingly fluffy) he belly flops (for lack of a better term) straight down! seriously, he stands straight up, leans forward, and waits for gravity to pull him flat to the surface! maybe face plants would describe it better. he is crazy! i can ONLY imagine what he has waiting for me over the next year! his hair is getting much darker now. i'm interested to see how he'll look in 6 months. hard to believe a year has almost come and gone!