Everything Gardner sees and points at for a description has gone from his universal, "Deee!" to something that sounds like either "cheeto" or "tito." We just go with the flow...we know what he means. I know in that just a short couple of months, these sounds will develop more and more into real words, and our minds will be blown with his changing.

Gardner has no idea how his world's about to be rocked. My sister was a little younger than he is when we moved across the country while Dad was being transferred by the Army. She didn't handle it so well. (Come to think of it, neither did I at 8 years old. I walked in after school to see Emily's room empty except for her stripped down crib and mattress. "WHERE'S MY SISTER?" I screamed, sure they'd packed her on the truck with the other boxes.)

I sure hope Gardner does okay. At least we're not moving across the country; we're only moving five miles away.

I have already begun to brainstorm ways to make this transition easier. I will pack a special box just for Gardner that he can put into his new room and open when he arrives there. In it will be all of the comforts and necessities of his everyday life at "home." Of course, we hope to have his big-boy bedroom upfitted and ready long before the new baby arrives. He has to be able to stake his claim on his new space before anything else changes!

I am just so grateful for a chance for a bigger yard for him to play in, and the fact that he and his new sibling-to-be won't have to share a bedroom from the start! Little things mean a lot.