The Zorio Family

Monday, January 19, 2015

Our New Home

(disclaimer: I typed this up back on December 22, but didn't get it posted since we were without Internet for several weeks during the move. so read it as if it were typed Dec. 22!)

We have exciting news! We are moving!

We are moving from Alcoa to Maryville. Our new house is only about 15 minutes away from where we are living now!

In January it will be THREE YEARS since we moved to Tennessee. The past three years have gone by SO fast! When we moved up here we still owned our house in Alabama, and thankfully we ended up finding great renters to live in it! BUT we knew we did not want to own two houses in two different states, so we have been renting since early 2012. The house we have been renting, definitely feels like home since we have gone from a family of three here to a family of five in this house. When we moved in I was pregnant with Carter, and so we got to bring two babies-Carter and Nora Kate-home to this house from the hospital. The layout of the house was perfect when John was working nights and sleeping days because the playroom is on the opposite end of the house from the master bedroom! This house was equally convenient to our family and church in Maryville as it was to John's job in Turkey Creek. Now that John's working in Vonore though, there's no reason to be on this end of town. Since March when we sold our Alabama house we have just been keeping our eyes open, but not necessarily actively looking for a house. After John got his new job in October and we knew we were much more permanently in Tennessee, he started looking around and discussing the possibilities of moving a lot more seriously.

THEN at the beginning of November we found a house in Maryville that would cut about 10 minutes off his drive to work, be closer to church and our family, and was in a school district we liked. We also really wanted 4 bedrooms plus an additional room that could be used as a playroom and to be in a neighborhood. We had a much longer list that this, but these were three of our "big" wants. The house in Maryville met all of these qualifications, and it was in an area we really liked. We looked at it the first time in early November. Dawson immediately talked about how he loved it because "it's a house of living rooms and it has stairs!" Silly boy! The house was empty so I think all the rooms-dining room, living room, family room, and sunroom seemed like living rooms to him--hah!! When we were looking at the house the first time it was hard to see past ALLLLL the blue flower wallpaper and border EVERWHERE!

We went home and started thinking about how we liked the layout and would be willing to update the house ourselves to make it ours. We decided it would be fun! We decided to take John's dad back to see the house to get his opinion just to make sure we weren't getting in over our heads with all of the updates it needed/we wanted to make. He liked it. Over the next few days we took my parents and John's parents to see the house. We were getting more excited about it-cautiously excited though! We decided to put an offer in on it. At this point a lot of things seemed to fall in place with the house. We decided that if we hit any major hiccups and it didn't work out that we just weren't meant to have a house that we were going to have to put some work into updating and making our own. Well, everything fell into place!

On November 14, we signed the contract with a closing date set of December 19. So on Friday, December 19-the house was ours! We signed the papers, got the keys, snapped a quick picture in the front yard, went through the house to take "before" shots of each and every room so we could remember our progress.

We packaged up Christmas cookies that Dawson had helped make and delivered them to our new neighbors so we could meet them-they all seem very nice! Then we started ripping up linoleum and attempting to steam off wallpaper. Whew! It was a very busy busy weekend, and I think we are all still recovering from working all weekend on the house. We are going to get as much done this week as we can, since we are moving in next weekend!!!! We are trying to get big things done this week-wallpaper removed, linoleum ripped up and new flooring put down, walls painted, add shelving to a pantry with no shelves, install overhead lighting where there is none. Hopefully we get get most all of this done before next weekend when we move. There will be other renovations/updates we do after we move in and really over the next couple of years. We LOVE the idea that we get to update this house and make it our own!!!

Big changes like this are always exciting, and we cannot wait to move in!

Our new home!!

Nora Kate is 16 Months!

Nora Kate turned 16 months on December 14th! Time is absolutely flying by, and Nora Kate is growing and changing so much! Her vocabulary is ever-expanding and her personality is becoming more noticeable every day. It's funny when kids start realizing they can show preferences on what they do and do not do! Nora Kate has seen a few fits thrown (ahem, older brothers)-not a lot, just a few, and it seems she stored this away for a rainy day. A couple of times over the past month when we have told her "no no" that she could not do something she has thrown herself to the ground. It's hard not to laugh because she's so young to be doing this and because she's really smart about it-rather than throw herself down on the hardwood, she walks to the carpet and slowly throws herself down. It is really hard for John and I not to laugh, but the couple of times she has done this we found that if we have no reaction at all she gets up and goes back to playing. Silly girl!
Nora Kate is continuing to grow-I can really tell she's gotten taller this past month. It's always funny to me how kids grow out then up, so she seems to have gotten slimmer this past month as she has gotten taller too. She still has plenty of sweet little rolls, but not like she did just a few months ago.
Our sweet baby girl loves books right now more than ever!!! She will sit and read books on my lap for over 30 minutes if not interrupted by Carter or Dawson. Nora Kate is so sweet to just bring one book after another. Her favorites are still touch and feel books or books that make noise. She also loves any books with animals in them. A couple of her advent gifts this month were books that are shaped like purses (like My Little Pink Prayer Purse Book), and she loves to carry these around by the handle and sit and look at them.
Boxes are everywhere in our house right now as we prepare to move, and Nora Kate loves to climb in these empty boxes with a book or toy and just sit and look at it! She's so cute with her head just peeking over the box edge!
Nora Kate loves her brothers, and she always wants to be right with them! This month I have really noticed how much she loves interacting with Carter especially! With these two only being 16 months apart, it really is like a built in playdate every day-as I remind myself that some of the boys friends we regularly do playdates with are 16 months or more apart from them in age. Carter and Nora Kate have started playing really well together-and it's amazing! I'm so happy for Carter to have Nora Kate, especially on Dawson's school days, because he used to get so upset and cry when we would leave Dawson at school-and, of course, I'm happy for Nora Kate to have Carter as well. Don't get me wrong-Dawson is awesome with Nora Kate too! Dawson is really good to help her and watch her for me if I have to be in another room for a minute or two. He's very helpful to her and me in this way. He's also so sweet to sit and read to her. Nora Kate is a very lucky little girl to have two big brothers that love her!
We didn't have a check up for 16 months-the next one is at 18 months, so no official stats on weight and height this month!

Nora Kate is 15 Months

Nora Kate turned 15 months old on November 14 (I typed this up in November, and I was waiting on the stats from her checkup and a forgot to click "post" after I got them, and then we got busy packing and moving and I never clicked to upload! So, rest assured the info was all written down back when it was fresh in my memory when she was 15 months!!). :)
Nora Kate is a great walker now! She has also learned to walk backwards which she thinks is HILARIOUS! And she's learned to spin in a circle-I'm pretty sure Dawson and Carter taught her this. She usually makes two circles, gets dizzy, and falls down laughing.
Speaking of Nora Kate's big brothers-she would do anything to get a laugh, smile, or attention out of them--sound like Carter? I can see Nora Kate and Carter getting into some mischief in the future! Knowing everyone's personalities though, Dawson will let me know what they're up to! Haha!
In addition to loving her big brothers, Nora Kate loves he Grandad! When Grandad is around, Nora Kate wants him to hold her or follows him around constantly! Good thing Grandad loves her and is happy to hold her.
Nora Kate's vocabulary is ever expanding- now when she says "uh oh" which is quiet frequently, she says, "uh oh.....getti oh" She learned that "uh oh, spaghetti oh" from her brother! She knows several animal sounds. The other day we were in Kroger and there was a stuffed horse (that I didn't initially see), and she kept saying "neigh, neigh" over and over until I saw it!
Nora Kate is still an awesome eater-I think she's the least picky eater of the three kids right now!
Nora Kate LOVES reading books. A week ago, John took the boys to run errands and just the girls stayed home-Nora Kate sat on my lap for 45 minutes without even trying to get up and just let me read her book after book. It was so sweet!
Nora Kate had her 15 month check up and the doctor said she was healthy! At 15 months she weighs 26 pounds 3 ounces and is 31 inches tall! She's growing so fast!

Fall Family Pictures 2014

Back in November we had some professional pictures taken at one of the kids favorite spots to go for walks-the Maryville College Woods! It was a chilly morning, but everyone did great-you can see a few pink noses from the cold here and there! :) We have had the same photographer do our pictures since Dawson turned one, and she's great and SO patient with the kids! Here are the pictures...

Friday, December 12, 2014

Dawson is Five AND A HALF!

On November 14th, Dawson turned 5.5!!! You know what this means, just this week-Dawson has started talking about what kind of birthday he wants to have when he turns six! (Yes, yes...it's still 6 months away, but he's a planner! AND I can really appreciate that haha!)
Dawson really seems like such a big kid these days. Some of Dawson's friends he plays with at 5.5 are Carson, Charlie, and Colt. Carson and Dawson are big buds because they're in the same class at school and at church, so he talks about Carson all the time! Two other friends from his class he frequently talks about are Evan and Rowan.
Here are a few of his favorite things:
Favorite Shows: Curious George, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Super Why (Super Why is really Carter's favorite, and Dawson always complains that it's "Carter's Show" BUT then I catch him watching it and spelling the words right along with them. We think he secretly likes it!)
Favorite Toys: Trucks, Tractors, Bruder trucks, his cash register, his play kitchen, and his workshop. He is really into pretend play right now. So his play kitchen is regularly a bakery, a restaurant, or specifically, Olive Garden! His workshop used for a workshop, a barbershop/Sports Clips, a "girls haircut place," a bookstore, a tool store, and Bass Pro Shop. Dawson still LOVES his John Deere Gator and is happy to ride on it no matter the weather-although it's been WAAAAY too cold here lately! Oh, and Dawson has always and continues to love art! Anything he can color, draw, or paint he's happy with! He keeps a pen and paper in the car and in several spots in the house and he is regularly writing letters or words and drawing pictures!
Favorites Outings: Loves going to the zoo, Dollywood, Nana and Grandad's house, Lolly and Pop's house, and walks or bike rides in the neighborhood down to a house on the corner to see the cat named "Keelie" or the other corner to see the dog named "Riley" (I'm sure that these neighbors don't know who were are much less that we remember their pets from one-time interactions, but these pets are regular parts of our conversations, haha!)
Favorite Topics of Conversation: "Do we have plans for today?" (and if the answer is no, we must immediately make plans!) "Carter/Nora Kate doesn't know ___, because he's only two and I'm five!"
Other things I want to remember about Dawson at 4.5:
-He makes his bed like a champ! Each day Dawson has 4 chores to do. He has to make his bed each morning, take his water cup from his nightstand to the kitchen counter, and put his pajamas in the hamper. His fourth chore is in the evenings, and we have to pick up EVERYTHING in the playroom. He is such a wonderful boy about his chores. Many mornings he does the morning chores without me reminding him. Dawson usually always has such a good attitude about making his bed, that just here lately Carter has started begging to make his own bed!
-He still takes a nap...most days! Any time friends with 5-year-olds hear this, they say they cannot believe I can still get him to nap. This is my reply:
-I deserve it! This kid didn't sleep through the night until after his 1st birthday, so I'm being rewarded now.
-Dawson is on the go constantly! From the time Dawson wakes up at 7:30 on the dot every day, until he goes to be at 8:00, Dawson is moving! Even when we have at home, relaxing, pajama days...Dawson is still always moving, jumping, crawling around with Nora Kate and Carter, etc. He has full-time entertainment in me, Carter, and Nora Kate-so it's constant stimulation. Even though I mentioned favorite tv shows, he never sits and watches tv for long at all (he has always been this way!), and if he does sit and watch it he is usually doing something else at the same time-coloring, writing, building legos or a train track.
-Even though I say he naps, his nap is only about 45 minutes. BUT he NEEDS these 45 minutes. He always falls asleep quickly-so I know he needs it! AND when he wakes he seems rested.
-We let him skip his nap about 1 or 2 days a week, and he does find on those days too. However, by 7:30 he's VERY sleepy on those days!
-Dawson is a great helper to us! Dawson has always LOVED to help, and I try to take advantage of this. It makes him feel good to help and it obviously helps me-so it's a win-win! He loves to swiffer the wood floors, vacuum the playroom carpet, help me cook, get the mail/put mail in the box, collect sticks in the yard and put them in "the stick pile," and so on.

-He is a great big brother! I won't act like we don't have our moments when Dawson and Carter (usually it's these two and not Dawson and Nora Kate----yet, at least) are arguing or upset with each other, but all in all Dawson is a GREAT big brother! He's helpful, kind, and encouraging to Carter and Nora Kate! He shares in their victories: "Look Nora Kate just learned how to spin circles-Nora Kate that's so good! Good job!" And as he says these sorts of things, you can tell he is genuinely happy. I just love that Dawson and Carter have each other, I think their brotherly love is so sweet. They LOVE sharing a room. In fact, in a recent conversation about sharing a room Dawson told me they were "gonna share a room forever...until we move to my farm!"

-...speaking of his farm. He has big plans! Dawson has talked forever about how he's going to be a farmer when he grows up. He is very specific, and talks about this EVERYDAY!! He knows what veggies and fruits he will grow, what animals he will have and won't have, he has names for some of the animals, he knows what kinds of tractors he will have, he wants Nora Kate and Carter to come live on his farm too, and he says his farm will be called DC FARM because Dawson and Carter will be there. I love to hear him talk about his farm! SO sweet!

While it's hard to believe my sweet baby is already 5.5 years old, he really is a joy each day to watch growing, learning, and changing!

November 2014

Now that we are over a week into December, it is most definitely time to get our November blog post updated! We have had a lot going on lately-I plan to post about that next Friday the 19th! Exciting times!

But in the midst of all of this, we had a really fun November!

Nora Kate rarely falls asleep anywhere other than her bed these days, but this particular Sunday on the way home from church she was extra tired and fell asleep in her carseat. Look how relaxed and sweet!!!

There's something about watching your kids sleep that's just so sweet! I went to check on Nora Kate during nap, and just had to take a picture! She either sleeps on her tummy with her bottom in their air (like this) or on her back with one of her legs propped up on the bumper pad-hah!

We had a fun playdate at Gym Bugs one morning while Dawson was at school. Nora Kate loved the trampoline!

Harper and Carter had fun on the trampoline too!

Nora Kate like the caterpillar tunnel!

Harper and Carter preferred the top of the caterpillar tunnel!

See Saw with Harper, Carter, and Nora Kate! These kids crack me up!

One of Nora Kate's newer favorite foods...black beans! Look at that face-can you tell she's been feeding herself black beans?!

All three kids still bathe together every night, mostly for convenience but also for fun for them! We hadn't done fizzy bath colors in FOREVER, but bought some at the store this month and they still LOVE them! This was our green bath night!

Girl clothes are SO fun!

Playdate with the Gibsons at the Discover Center Muse!

Our friend, Alana, had a rockstar birthday at the beginning of November. We were all supposed to dress as rock stars. I was pretty excited about how our costumes turned out...oh yeah, and we were BY FAR the most dressed up people there! haha!

Dawson has been begging to run with me, so this month I let him a few times. He's really a good runner!!!!

Here we are on our first run together!

I'm not sure who had this idea, but Carter and Nora Kate love to get in the toy cabinets in the playroom, just like this! With no one telling them to!

Swinging after church!

Dawson and Harper at Salsaritas!

In November, Dawson's class had a field trip to the library. Dawson's the one in the red shirt! (They could either wear their green school shirt or pirate attire-Dawson had a lot of pirate attire because of his birthday party!) The learned all about the library and then the librarian read them pirate books!

A favorite this month for Dawson was helping rake leaves. He helped Grandad and Daddy!

One Friday we drove to Vonore to have a pizza lunch with Daddy!

In November we celebrated Mamaw's 85 birthday!!!!!!

Dawson had an Open House at his school. Here he is with Daddy in his classroom and some of his crafts.

They also had a program at the open house! So sweet!

Dawson and Carson at the program!

Pop, Nana, and Grandad came to Open House.

(Yes, Carter is wearing a headband. He loves this Doc McStuffins book that came with a headband and he absolutely.could.not.part.with.it.

Dawson loves having grandparents at his special things!

This is a kind of odd picture, but Nora Kate's hair has really gotten curly in the back (yes, just in the back!) here lately. It's hard to get a good picture, but you can kind of see it here.

Dawson LOVES helping me cook!

Excited to start another chapter book together while "the littles" (Dawson's name for Nora Kate and Carter) nap!

Everyone loves trains!

These three..oh my!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving Dawson's class had a Thanksgiving Feast. Every child was supposed to bring their favorite food to share at the feast. The teacher instructed us that it was okay if it was "an eclectic mix of foods," and that it was! Dawson picked grilled cheese, so that's what we took! There was also go gurt, graham crackers, pretzels, mac n cheese, Chick fil a nuggets, brownies, and pumpkin pie! Thank fully the teacher made turkey for the kids!

Now that I'm posting these, it seems like Dawson had a busy November more than anyone else-haha!

One day at Dawson's school was "Dress Like a Family Member Day" and Dawson, of course, chose Daddy. John surprised him by bringing him home a work shirt that was his size! Dawson said Daddy wears a work shirt, khakies, and a belt! Here they both are in their work clothes!

I caved and we decorated our Christmas tree a couple of days before Thanksgiving this year. I have NEVER decorated before Thanksgiving. Dawson hid and found this pickle probably about 12 times on the first day we put the tree up!

Dawson's friend, Bailey, got to come play the day before Thanksgiving! She's so sweet! Having Bailey here was SO easy-she and Dawson just happily played-sharing perfectly, and enjoying playing together-so nice! While she was here we baked bread and made a pie for Thanksgiving!

We started our Christmas festivities the day after Thanksgiving by going to the Fantasy of Trees. Nora Kate loved the cookie decorating station.

I think Dawson did too!

Fantasy of Trees Selfie!

Carter looked so sweet walking around the Fantasy of Trees in his little sweater vest. He enjoyed looking at all the trees. Nora Kate and Nana are checking out some of the decor in this picture too!