Zoo Trip, V-Day, Poop, Stairs and Stuff.

I wish I could say Valentine's Day was top on my mind but it isn't. Yesterday we had a third successful open house with lots of traffic, but yet no offers. When we put our house up for sale I knew it's issues. Mainly the lack of a third bedroom and bathroom on the upper level. And the basement ceiling height isn't ideal for very tall people. Still I didn't expect those thing to keep our house from selling, especially after reducing our price by $20,000 this week. Over all the feedback has been very positive.  I'm trying to have faith that the right buyer is out there but as the final days count down to our contingency expiring (on 2/25) I am less sure.

Still if it doesn't sell, it isn't the worst thing in the world, I keep telling myself. We do still have a house that we like. It's not like we'll be out on the street. We've finished some unfinished projects that had been driving me crazy, so that makes me happy. The worst part is that we have 3 storage boxes full of stuff that would all have to come back, and that would not be fun. 

The open house yesterday forced us out of our house, and since it was a clear winter day I thought we would head to the zoo, something I haven't done as much as I'd like these past couple years. Steve was, of course, at work. The kids and I had a great time, even though they were not feeling 100% and were tired. I took Ainsley out in her walker for about an hour so our pace was slow. I was so proud of Evie and Adrian for being patient and for how much they love their sister and show it.

Ainsley still isn't quite sure what to think of all the animals. And maybe they weren't sure about us. These miniature panda cattle were quite vocal. It was really fun for Ainsley to hear very loud cow moos. 

She actually really liked walking through the bug house. 

As usual I got tons of pictures, but will just show a few. Surprise, surprise I have just about used up all my free Blogger photo storage. A fun discovery this week.

Evie had fun pushing Ainsley in the stroller for awhile. It sure was cute, Ainsley would tip her head back and look up at Evie. I wish she could talk. I'd have loved to have known what she thought today.

I almost didn't bother to pull Ainsley out of the stroller for this shot, she was so tired, but I'm so glad I did. These moments, while ordinary at the time are so wonderful to look back on.

I was pretty happy with this one. And these taken at the end of the day before we left.

I caught Adrian kissing Ainsley. It was so sweet. I love their relationship. It's special. But he was mad at me for taking a picture, as was Evie, for catching her standing on the monkey. I think I have a picture of her doing that when she was 3. Time flies.

There have been a lot of other things happening over the last week or so.....

First #2. Hooray!

Ainsley spontaneously cleaning up a spill on the floor. Wow that impressed me. It helps that we are hiding our sponge under the sink due to it's "unsightliness" to potential buyers, making it convenient for her to get to. Not so great when, today, she decided to chew on it.  She still loves to play with the cups.

I've been considering CPAP and doing a little experimenting with where we left off prior to her December surgeries, but decided to go easy until life settles down some.

Ainsley has started drawing circular shapes. She's now giving real kisses that you can hear. She is using her voice a lot and trying to talk, though you still can't really understand the words, other than by looking at context and guessing. But it's improvement and I'll take it!

And the biggest news of all. Drumroll please........

She is now brave enough to go down stairs by herself. (Meaning when we aren't watching.)  One bump of the bottom at a time.

If this house doesn't sell fast, we might not need a rambler.

She has trouble with the angled stair, but can do it.

These are the ones that take a bit of courage.

I actually think we will miss the stairs for their PT opportunities but I think the ability for Ainsley to get where she wants safely is a fair trade. Cross your fingers for us.

Oh yeah, and Happy Valentine's Day!