Zoo & Tree

These are not related, but both are worth noting!

We ventured to the zoo on Thursday, it was a perfect day. The tulips still looked beautiful and the weather was just right. Sophie loves the zoo! She loved saying the animals' names, and making their appropriate noises.




Here is daddy working out in the backyard cutting up a dead tree that has been taking up about a quarter of our backyard. He did a great job!

House, Life, etc.

We are finally moved in to our new house! It has been about 2 and a half weeks and each day we feel a little more settled. No more painters, plumbers, carpet installers coming and going. Just us. That has been nice. We are far from done with all that needs to be done, but I'm sure we'll feel that way for some time to come! Like I said, each day brings a little more progress towards making it feel like home.

Some highlights from the move:

~So far our neighbors seem wonderful! We have received cinnamon streusel cake, banana bread & warm greetings all around! Ok, it's not all about food but I am pregnant :) There are so many kids here too - which is going to be great for our growing family! A couple of our neighbors go to our church, another neighbor is a co-worker of Bill's - so we already feel "in" with the neighborhood. We're also looking forward to the use of the pool this summer!

~Sophie has made a fantastic transition, praise God! She loves her playroom and is now sleeping in a big girl bed! I was a little worried about transitioning her to the bigger bed, but she is really doing great so far. Hopefully it will remain that way... now if we could only get potty training to be that easy!

~I really love my kitchen. It's spacious, and open, and I have a gas range - woohoo!

Now for some things that will take getting used to:

~Being farther from church and many friends.

~Not having a good place to grocery shop nearby. The Kroger here is worthless so I have to make the trek to Meijer. Meijer is mostly great, minus the drive, randomly weird clientele and no organic lettuce.

~ No good ice cream places nearby! Is it just that I'm pregnant and it's that time of the year? But a little ice cream shack somewhere close would be nice. If I am unaware of some secret gem please let me know those of you who reside nearby.

Ok onto some pics:
Here are a couple "before" shots:




"After" -- decorating/organizing/putting things away is still in progress :)






Onto other news, my c-section has been scheduled for May 22nd, exactly a month away from today. Exactly 4 weeks from this Friday. Scary and exciting all at the same time. Thankfully, the Lord has really been good to me - sustaining me physically and giving me strength to do all that needs to be done. Some of the things I am freaking out about currently are:
- I will be 38.5 weeks along and I worry on and off if it is too early. I am praying that if it is the right day that God will allow it to go smoothly and provide peace.
- Leaving Sophie. It will be my first time spending a night(s) away from her. I'm sure she will do fine but I'm not sure I will :)
- I am also feeling like I'm going to abandon her because she won't have all of my attention anymore! It breaks my heart to even think about it but I am praying that God will really give me grace (and control my hormones) to be able to handle that without too much trouble. Please pray too!

Happy Sitter

She means Happy Easter, but apparently is a little dyslexic!

craziness

Today is a special day, because I actually have time for something like blogging! Woo-hoo! Our lives have truly been crazy and busy these past couple of weeks, and will probably continue to be so for a little while longer. We moved out of our condo last Sunday, and have been residing in a hotel ever since. We've made it a week so far in our cozy little hotel. :) Sleeping has been a bit of an adventure as Sophie's pack n' play is right up against my side of the bed. We call her our little gopher because she likes to pop her head up and say hi to us - even at random times in the middle of the night when she might wake up. She also likes to ask for "col milk" and "neat" (which means eat) and "ice wa wa" and "watch elmo." Last night she even asked for "ice elmo." We couldn't stop laughing and clearly see our child continues to be obsessed with the furry red monster. She also had the flu last week which brought about a whole new level of crying and whining that was not that fun to deal with. Thankfully there was a reason for her acting the way she had been though. She has been a trooper throughout all of the confusion and likes going to our new home or new house as she calls it.

Speaking of our new house, this week it is getting painted - yay! Right now it looks kind of like McDonald's inside, with interesting shades of yellow and maroon throughout the place. I can't wait for new paint - I think it will do wonders. I will post pics once we have it done. We hope to get ourselves and our stuff moved in this Saturday!

here are some random pics from the last couple of weeks:
Sophie amidst all of the packing that was going on

She has really enjoyed sitting in laundry baskets and reading books in them - her play grocery cart was a little tight but apparently it did the trick too!

our last hours at the condo

last belly pic in the condo - 29 wks

hair cut

My mom graciously came this weekend to help us out in the midst of our sicknesses. She was so so sweet and willing to come. I called her at 7:30 on Friday morning and she was here by 2pm. She made the 5 hour drive in 4.5 hours without ever stopping! We were very thankful to have her around. On sunday when we went to church, she stayed home with Sophie and did all of our laundry! Amazing!!! And while she was here she decided that Sophie really could use a hair cut, or at least have her bangs cut. So I obliged, somewhat reluctantly, but we did it and here is our new little pumpkin:


We think she grew up over the weekend!

Funny Girl

Sophie has enjoyed wearing my Uggs lately. They're a little big on her, but comfy I'm sure!

This morning I asked Sophie to throw her dirty diaper in the trash, but this is where I found it hours later.

And last but not least, Sophie sitting in her doll's stroller. Who needs a Maclaren when you have can have your doll's stroller?

Our week in Park City

We spent last week in Park City, Utah with Bill's family. We had a great time being with them! Sophie loved her Nana & Papa. At the beginning of the trip she didn't really have a name for her Grandma, simply because she couldn't say "grandma." She would just point to her and say nothing. We decided Nana was an easy way Sophie could identify her, and that stuck. Unfortunately for Grandma, she shares the name "nana" with a banana because that is what Sophie calls a banana too!

Here is a little re-cap on all of the excitement that happened during the week! And I use the word excitement in all of its forms.

1. Sophie decided she would remain on the Eastern time zone throughout the entire trip. Her naps were pretty short and the latest she ever slept in was 6am...once. Who needs rest anyway? It didn't end up affecting me too much because I have become an insomniac. Can't sleep. Awake from 3-5am pretty regularly. Yes, it stinks. This may have something to do with pregnancy and point #5. See below.

2. Prenatal Massage. Ahh. I spent a glorious hour getting pampered at the spa thanks to a Christmas present I had received from Aunt Joyce. It was fabulous.

3. Sickness. Sophie and Bill both got sick. Bill had to miss a day of skiing because he was down and out. Thankfully it only lasted about a day and a half for him. Sophie on the other hand is still recovering. She had an eye infection, a cough and lots of green boogies everywhere! She has been a trooper through it though and has been in a great mood.

4. Auntie Susie (Bill's sister) came to visit us for the last couple days of the trip. We enjoyed spending time with her and celebrating her birthday a week late. It was quite the event too. We went to eat at Loco Lizard, a great little mexian spot, and right after we ordered dessert, the power went out. And it didn't come back on. Sophie was a little scared, she kept saying "dahk, dahk." So we enjoyed our ice cream chimichangas in cell phone light :) It definitely made for a memorable occasion!

5. So what else happened on the trip you ask? Well sunday afternoon we received a call from our realtor telling us that
someone was interested in buying our condo. Sure enough, on Monday morning we had an offer. We were very excited! We have been praying about this for a while now. Selling of course, also meant that we needed to buy something. So we put an offer in on a house on Monday night. Now we are pretty much waiting and waiting to find out what may come from that. There has been a lot of back and forth, uncertainty, date changes, you name it! It is keeping us on our toes and keeping us praying for God's will to be done, regardless of the outcome. So please be praying for us too. We will be homeless in a few short weeks so we would love to know where we are going next!

And finally, some pics from the trip:
Nana & Papa

Bill & his sister Susan

Sophie hanging out on the couch. She spent A LOT of time watching Elmo last week. She needs an Elmo detox this week.

Sophie loved sitting with Papa and reading her book!