We passed a weird milestone on Wednesday. On the surface, it just marked seven months of living in this shouldn’t-call-it-new-anymore house. Then we realized it also marked the point at which Clara has spent more of her life living here than at our first home.
We always knew our first house would just be a foggy blip on Clara’s memory radar, but passing this milestone feels like it’s actually happening. The house that we spent renovating/loving for over 4.5 years meant so much to me and Sherry – it wasn’t just our first home, it was our wedding venue, our DIY testing grounds, our inspiration to start this blog, and where we took our baby home from the hospital. But it’s already becoming “that place I lived for a few months back when I was a baby” to Clara. Sigh.
Here’s her almost seven-month-old self checking out her new room back on moving day.
And here she is over seven months later. Such a big girl. Still pretty bald though.
We’re really glad she (and Burger) took so well to the new house. And we’re more than a little fond of it ourselves. It’s just funny to think that a house that meant so much to us won’t be much more than “oh yeah, that place” to Clara. Thankfully she’ll have no shortage of photos and videos to remember it by.
Do any of you have a childhood home that you only remember vaguely? Or do you get most of your memories jogged by pictures and your parents’ stories? I lived in the same house for my entire childhood, but Sherry moved around a few times, and only remembers “the drop ceiling in the basement that she and the boys would ‘accidentally’ break all the time” from her first one. At least Clara’s memory of her first house won’t involve destruction. Unless you count all the DIY that she witnessed.
Update- We just got Clara’s monthly pic done, check it out here. We’ve got a walker!!
Kyle Layne @ Kyle Not Really a Dude says
OMG, the only memory of my folks house when I was a baby (we moved at age 3) was putting a Jell-O Pudding Pop in the VCR. I am just as destructive as Sherry!
Christine says
I, too, lived in the same house for my entire childhood. But I am the youngest, and all three of my older siblings lived in a couple of other houses. Although I never laid eyes on any of those other houses, I have an image of them in my mind’s eye, just from hearing their stories.
LovesOurDogs says
Your post reminded me of something my fiance and I always comment on about our dogs. Until we have kids, our two dogs (Lola & Owen)are our babies right now. We got them right out of college (6 years ago!) and they are a big part of our family. Every once in awhile we think about how someday we’ll have kids but by then our dogs will be old and our kids will grow up and only have faint memories of their first fur siblings. But my fiance and I will have years and years of photos, memories, stories that make up our first few years not only as a couple but as true adults! And all will have involved our first fur babies! That just seems SO crazy to us!! Makes me sad to think that one day we’ll be reminiscing about a funny story that involved Lola and our grown child will turn to us and go “Lola, now which one was that again? She was your dog, right?? The one you got right out of college?” UGH YES!! HOW COULD YOU NOT REMEMBER?!? :) Thanks for sharing!
Jessica says
My parents live in the same house I grew up in….when I was in high school, they added on a den and a deck in the back. We were preparing for it and my mom was raking leaves and lost her wedding ring….it had been my great grandmother’s ring. I remember digging through piles of leaves and using a metal detector, but we never found it. :-( I have a feeling it is buried under the den somewhere….
LoriD says
I moved from our first house when I was four. I remember the front door (it had circle and crescent cut-out windows down one side) and my tiny room (my dad built all the storage into the walls and there was still only room left for my single bed). The coolest thing was that to get to the basement (which was gross and scary, but also where the washer and dryer lived), there was a door in the kitchen floor that you propped up, then proceeded backwards down a rickety wooden ladder/staircase.
Lauren says
Sherry & John – I think you guys would really enjoy this website I found yesterday: dearphotograph.com. With all of your before’s and afters, I’m sure you can have a lot of fun preserving memories!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah I love that site! So much fun! We should do our version of that with the snow pic of John holding Clara in the front yard in ten years or so!
xo,
s
MIranda says
I’ve noticed a few other people commented on this, but I wanted to chime in. I, too, was bald until I was two and then just had fine, wispy strands. Now I’ve got plenty! Clara will get her hair-a! :)
Claudia says
I remember my home in Peru. Now that my dad is gone, I remember all the memories involving him, and someday I would LOVE to buy that home and be able to have it be our vacation home in Peru and rent it out the rest of the year.
Sarah P.H. (Freestyle Home & Life) says
Hmm… My parents moved into the house I grew up in when I was over a year old, and I never had the foggiest recollection of the home they lived in before that. It may be sad, but having left it at seven months, I’d honestly be a little surprised if Clara remembered anything at all of the first house.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, John and I don’t remember anything before about three years of age, so we think she’ll just have photos and vids to keep the memory alive!
xo,
s
Pip says
What a sweet vid for Clara – and a rockin version of Baby in the Mirror! I love how you guys take time to mark special times together :) she’s a lucky little lady and will have her unique memories of your place
Jenny says
I grew up in San Diego, which is quite expensive…so it’s common for people to buy a house after they have started a family. We lived in an apartment in Pacific Beach until I was 2.5, and then we bought the house I lived in for 16 years. I can remember little bits and pieces of the apartment- it had green carpet and my curtains had frogs on them. I can remember asking to take the frog curtains when we moved. I also remember visiting the new house a few times while it was being built-mostly because I misplaced my doll at the construction site. The apartments are torn down now and replaced by town homes. My parents sold my childhood house when I was 23, I drove through the area with my boyfriend a few years ago and he convinced me to knock on the door and ask if I could show it to him. A father of some kids I used to work with at the neighborhood school was living there! He was just renting from the owners, who had done weird things like put slate tile throughout the entire house, but didn’t touch the 1984 bathrooms and kitchen. It was still cool to see the house and get to show it to my boyfriend. I also showed the renter how to change out the heater filter things (he couldn’t figure it out) and warned him that my crib was in the attic! :)
Megan says
I was a military brat, so I don’t have many memories of a lot of the houses we lived in. But it’s funny the things kids do remember. Like, I remember the awesome driveway that went all the way around our house in Kentucky because I loved racing my trike around it, and I remember the stairs because I loved to slide down them. And the cow pasture next door because I loved to pet the cows. In Maryland I remember the woods and the tent caterpillars that my dad would get so mad about. And the one wall that was a giant mirror that I always used to practice my ballet.
My daughter is a little bit older than Clara (and a baldy, too, who is finally starting to have some hair- baldies unite!) We moved right around her first birthday and I’m actually glad she won’t remember her first house because it was not very nice.
Anne @strawberryjampackedlife says
I have no memories from my first house (we moved when I was 2.5). However I have vague memories of my grandparents house on the farm. My grandmother sold it after my grandfather died in 1986 (I was 4.5). I really, really want to go visit it and see if it is the same as in my memories, but I think that the people who bought it weren’t very nice or something like that. It’s so weird to have these vague memories that you can’t really verify if they are true.
goldensarah says
absolutely priceless video, john and sherry! what a treasure for clara!
Michelle says
I understand the nostalgia! I’ve lived in 10 states and countless houses. My husband lived in only one house – his parents are still there. I love that I can look at his baby pictures and recognize the surroundings! But it’s really more about the people than the space – you guys know that!
Question: Are you concerned at all about Clara pulling on the curtains near her crib? I ask because we have a similar setup in our nursery. Our baby is only 6 weeks old, but I’ve wondered if we’ll have to rearrange the room as he gets bigger.
YoungHouseLove says
Right now Clara can’t reach the curtains since we lowered her mattress, but once she gets tall/limber enough to even touch them we’re planning to move her crib further into that corner and bring the curtain rod in a bit (so there’s about a foot of space between them that her baby arms can’t traverse, haha).
xo,
s
Becky says
We are in the same situation with our daughter. We took her home to our first home together that we diy-ed (not as much as you) and she has no memories of it. She was only 18 months when we moved. On of my favorite pictures of her is her popping out of the little coat cubby in our mudroom when we first moved here. Funny those cubbies are still here (now white) but everything in that area and the kitchen has changed. It is a little sad to know she won’t remember her first home, but she loves this one.
Kristin says
We lived in a house together with my grandparents until I was 10. It was great to have my grandma just downstairs and I have great childhood memories of this place (a home decor- related memory would be, for example, the 80’s olive-green tiles in the bathroom – together with dark brown(!) toilet, shower and sink. And not glossy rich mocha brown – matte finish, sprinkled with at least 3 different shades of brown. On the positive side, you didn’t see any stains there, except dried toothpaste).
The story of this house later became a very sad one, but I learned a lesson: I have my memories, but my children will someday have own memories of other houses, and there is nothing bad about it. I do not need this house to be happy, I will make another one a home for my family!
Amanda says
I think I’m going to have “Whose that baby in the mirror??” stuck in my head for the rest of the day! Very sweet video!
Holly says
We moved around a few times when I was younger, and I remember bits and pieces about our house, but not too much. I was born in Minneapolis, but we moved to Melstone, MT when I was a baby. We lived there for 3 years. I can vaguely remember playing in our kiddie pool with my older sister, and I remember our church. Out next house was in River Falls, WI and I remember my bedroom, our garden, our backyard and our dining room very well. Other than that, I don’t remember much, and we lived there until I was 8!
And I was a very bald baby — no hair until about age 2.5!
kathy says
I don’t remember the first apartment we lived in (from when I was born to about 2 years old). I was lookg through some photo albums and my parents have pictures of me while my childhood home was being built but I don’t remember that either. The first few memories I have in my childhood home are reading books with my mom and jumping on my parents bed (and crashing into their glass headboard which necessitated a trip to the hospital….)
It’s great that Clara has this medium to explore in the future when she wants to “visit” her first home.
Mindy says
My parents bought the house I grew up in when my mom was pregnant with me. She’s still there and now my kids get to spend time where all my childhood memories come from. It’s pretty crazy. I did a post about it here:
http://rindymae.blogspot.com/2011/06/yard-crasher.html
Lindsey @ A Pear to Remember says
When my parents adopted me (and got the surprise call that I was here—the agency warns you to simply Be Ready at all times), they were in the process of moving to Burke. My brother was three and a half, and had grown up in the Springfield townhouse, made friends and had fond memories there. I spent only three months in the townhouse, and I think my room was boxes the entire time. I only know it by photos.
Grateful for a three-year-ol’d perspective, Jason picked the smallest bedroom in the new house for his own and baby Lindsey got the best, biggest one. We lived these until I was in college and my parents retired to Delaware : )
Suzanne says
We moved around a lot too, so there are several homes I lived in that I don’t remember at all, but the ones I do are all special in their own way. Actually, what ended up be the MOST special was my grandparent’s house, because no matter where we moved they were always in the magical (to childhood-me) old house.
When they couldn’t maintain it anymore and had to sell, I cried a lot harder than I ever did over moving around as a kid. Oh jeez, now I’m all sappy all over your comments. Just wait until we have to sell the house we own now that I’ve brought 2 babies home to already.
Allyn says
I lived in the same 1915 craftsman style house from age 1 to 20. I loved it. I was heartbroken when my parents moved out, though I understood.
Oh, and Clara’s continued lack of hair cracks me up. It’s going to be really weird whenever it comes in.
Yvette Kelley says
I feel like everytime I post here.. it’s unrelated..but I thought of you guys last night while reading this blog..especially you Sherry with your love of pillows, spray paint and discount/antique stores… YOU HAVE to read it!! It’s HILARIOUS!! like so hilarious and random that I was SNORTING and crying all at the same time. :) It was so funny I HAD to highlight it on our blog. :)
And THAT’s why you should learn to pick your battles.. :)
http://kelleyfoodies.blogspot.com/2011/07/snort-laughing.html
or straight here..
http://thebloggess.com/2011/06/and-thats-why-you-should-learn-to-pick-your-battles/
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah I love that post. In fact, I believe it’s the single best post on the blogosphere. Ever.
xo,
s
Stephanie Phillips says
It is absolutely the single best post on the blogosphere. I cannot begin to tell you how hard I laughed or how many people I shared it with. I’m laughing again just thinking about it.
And I NEED a Beyonce.
Lindsey @ A Pear to Remember says
I sent this to my husband asap.
Meagan says
its a slow day at the office so i was reading through all the comments today…thought id click the link…laughed so hard my nose was running and i had to get up and leave the room. this could be because the post was super funny (and i am sure that is part of it) and also because i am a little sleepy-drunk from the limited sleep i got because of the midnight premiere of harry potter. regardless…bless you for posting this…i might save it forever and read it when i need a laugh. hilarious.
Tonya says
A few years ago I had the chance to walk through the home I lived in from age 2-8, which my parents had built by their own two hands. Up until then I did not recall a whole lot about that house, but let me tell you, walking through and seeing details that remained unchanged in 25+ years opened the floodgates of my memories. I cherish those memories that I was so blessed to have brought back to me by the kindness of the current owner. It showed my the importance of recording even the most insignificant details of a home because it is those small details that took me back to a very positive time in my life.
Denise says
How about House Crashing your first house to see what the new owners have done or have not do ne?
YoungHouseLove says
We left the ball in their court about that at our closing. Here’s hoping they invite us back someday!
xo,
s
Debbie says
I still have a lot of memories of the first house I lived in. We lived there until I was 6 or 7, when it was hit with a flood in 1993. I remember my clouds-and-rainbows wallpaper in my room, making ‘tree forts’, the corn field that was on the edge of our property and playing “the ground is lava” on our swing set. I even vaguly remember my older sister trapping me under my crib (apparently I got upgraded to a big girl bed not to long after that… haha)
We jumped around places for six months after the flood until my parents had a house built. They are still living there now.
But whether Clara remembers the house or not, I bet she’ll love hearing about it. My younger sister wasn’t born when we moved, but she loved the stories we would tell about the old house.
Tracey says
We moved when I was 4, so I just have vague memories of things and the layout. I don’t remember the kitchen at all, but I remember sitting on the floor for what seemed like forever while my mom was on the phone one day. I remember the scratchy, hard, olive green 70’s couch I used to rock back and forth on. And I remember how incredibly tiny the closet in my room was. (Was I a clothes horse at the ripe old age of 2? Why do I even remember that?? LOL) I also remember trading stickers with my sister on our screened in porch, but sadly, that’s about it….
Jess says
I think all of my memories of the first 2 houses I lived in are from pictures and videos (moved from the 1st house at age 2 and the 2nd house at age 7). Clara is lucky to have so many pictures and videos to look back at someday!
hillary says
We moved when my daughter was 6 months old. She was actually born in that house because we had a home birth! So it holds a lot of memories for us, even though it was a rental. She’s five now and doesn’t remember it at all (obviously), but we try to drive by and point it out occasionally so she will have some connection. I still visit the house where I was born (another home birth, but in the 70’s!) and lived in until I was eight.
StyckyWycket says
My parents bought their first home in the early 80’s, and lived there until ’92 (I was 7 when we moved). To me, that house is little more than a memory: I have some memories of growing up there.
Most of my formative “this is my HOME” memories are from our second house, where I lived from 2nd grade until I graduated college. My mother still misses that house/neighborhood, and if anything happened to my dad, she would definitely move back. Their third house is in a more rural area of the state, and my dad is in absolute love with the location – I think the only way he’s leaving is on a stretcher.
I, on the other hand, am to the point where I don’t really care where I live, just as long as I have a roof over my head and a decent Internet connection.
Hannah says
“Still pretty bald thought.” LOL That cracked me up. I think she is adorable with her short hair… she is the only baby I’ve seen who can have short hair and still look like a girl :o) She is sooo cute!
ellen says
i’m still in the same house but, would like to get a new house feel by updating things. my house now is painted with tuscan colors and wrought iron accent wall hanging and of course plenty of crosses and willow branches.I think others are in the same boat. do you have some ideas on how i can use the things i have mixed with some new things.(have painted 2 bedrooms quiet moments and love the simplicity)tia ellen
Stephanie says
I lived in the same house from birth – 20. When my parents moved my sophomore year of college, it was really difficult for me (even though the new place was only about 5 miles away!) because nearly all of my childhood memories were in that old house.
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
Aww that is kind of sad :( At least you guys were great at documenting videos of that house and your life there she can look back at one day.
I grew up in my childhood house until I was 9 and then we moved to the house my parents still live in today 20 years ago so I remember both quite well.
Megan Brewer says
How much do I love that first photo of you and Clara in front of your house! So precious! Congratulations! Home is where your family is. My daughter is loving her new closet that she’s had now for 3 months:
http://cottagebluedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/07/princess-closet.html
Happy decorating & living. I hope everyone has a great summer weekend-
Megan
Amy @TriangleHoneymoon.com says
Congrats baby Clara!
Mary says
We rented a house when I was three that I remember- only the brick patio, though. (Must have spent lots of time out there) But I remember some adults coming to talk to my parents and then we had to move, and I felt really thrown by that, because I thought the house was ours. I just remember feeling really insecure and totally confused. Then we moved to the house we lived in until I left home (they still live there)… and I got over it. Hahaha.
Amanda says
I lived in my first home until I was almost 3 years old. This was the home my parents built and lived in for several years before I came along. I have very few memories of the house from that time (later every time we drove past “my first house” on the way to my cousin’s house I got filled in on all of my parents memories hehe!), but the memories I do have is the yucky green (1983-84ish era) carpet in the kitchen, and sitting on the couch facing the widow watching the garbage men on Tuesday mornings! That’s about it on the memories, and it cracks my family up that those are the memories I have!
alg says
My Mom & Dad lived in a basement apartment when I was born. I spent about as much time there as Clara spent at your first home. I have to admit, I don’t remember it, but I just LOVE seeing pics. I imagine Clara will greatly appreciate that you guys thought to make her a remembrance video of the first house.
That said, I remember EVERYTHING, every tiny detail about the “green house” (my family’s second house — where we spent most of my childhood). Clara probably won’t ever be as attached to the first house as you two were, but rest assured — the memories you’re creating in your current house will live in her heart forever :)
Angela S. says
Awww. We moved at the beginning of April and I know that my little baby (who really isn’t so little) will not remember the other house. My big two kids however still remember the house. And, I have to say I cried as we were prepping the house for the renter and I had to paint over the stencil I did in the kids’ room when I was 9 months pregnant with my oldest. I was so happy to get the new house, and we love it, but oh so hard to leave the house full of memories and hard work, and diy projects.
janie says
There are worse things than bald – have you seen the hairpiece the Duggars use on their current youngest baby?
We just took the kids to the city they were born in on vacation and they remember nothing at all, even the one who was three when we moved.
Lana says
Ahhh CLARA! YOU GO GIRL!
Amy V. says
My family’s first house was my home for 12 years and my sister’s for 10 years, but my brother’s for only 5. I always forget that he doesn’t remember the house like we do. Just the other day we were reminiscing about the back entryway that my mom had painted white and had us put our handprints all over in pink and blue. Brother was just a baby and didn’t remember! It made me a little sad.
Lindsey says
WOW that is such a great idea!! We are moving out of our home that we’ve lived in for 4.5 years in about two weeks. We also brought our first baby home here and I’m feeling super sad and nostalgic. We will definitely be making a video like this!! Thank you!
Tami says
Like Clara I lived in my first house for just a few months..my dad built the house but he also built our next house where I lived for nearly the next 27 years of my life, came and went through college etc. My mother sold my childhood home and I had moved on to live with my boyfriend, now husband. The. We married and had a house of our own. Then I got pregnant and had a baby. Soon aft I heard my childhood ome was for sale so against everyones better judgement I went to the open house…I knew the house had changed, they bult 3 more HOUSES in my awesome yard and cut down all my trees. Let’s just say my husband had to exp,ain to the relator was I was sobbing as I walked around the house. I wish I never went
Kim says
Home really is where the heart is. No matter where you are, what house you are in, or what it looks like, home to Clara is the two of you. Kids will want to hold on to things, but in the end they are resilient. I think it’s good for them not to hold on to things too much, whether it’s toys or houses if you need to move for any reason.
Care says
I only grew up in one house. My parents bought it right before we ( I’m an identical twin ) were born and they stayed in the house until my mid 20’s. I was so sad when they moved – I loved that house :(….however…my dad was born and raised in San Francisco where he lived in a row house, I had always kind of wished we had lived there instead. Oh well. The house that we did have was on the outskirts of SF – I just always loved the hustle and bustle of the eclectic downtown.
On another note….I have always heard the the lighter the hair, the longer it takes to grow/fill in. Maybe that’s on old wives tale??
Elizabeth C. says
I lived in my first house until I was 5. After living across the US and in foreign countries as an adult, I ended up moving back about a mile from that first house, and sometimes take a detour on my jogging route just to scope out how the house is looking. I’m dying to see the inside but can’t work up the nerve to knock on the door and say, “I used to live here!”