I wanna hold your hand

When I saw Jack helping Elizabeth walk the other day my heart just melted and I ran to grab the camera. She's so lucky to have such a great big brother. And yes, Jack is in his pj's. He declared last Wednesday a pajama day because it was too cold and snowy to go outside. I think every day is too cold and snowy to go outside and so I'm envisioning many more pajama days this winter.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"...

We spent the weekend putting up the tree and trying to get ready for Christmas. I think this is the first year that Jack really knows what Christmas is about and of course, he's excited about Santa coming. He asks me everyday if it is Christmas Eve yet and how is Santa going to get in our house since we have a fireplace without a chimney (I told him I'd leave the door unlocked). He also asked me if the reindeer will be cold, and told me that Santa won't be cold because he has a big beard to pull over his face. Sometimes it is hard to keep a straight face when he is telling me all his thoughts about Santa. It's hard to believe Christmas is almost here. It feels like it is January outside with the -30 plus windchill and the predicted foot of snow to arrive later this week. I tried to get a good picture of Jack and Elizabeth in their matching Christmas pajamas and after 23 pictures this is the best one I got.

Some very late Halloween photos

It's nap time and quiet now and finally time for me to get caught up. I'm hoping for long naps since both kids (and myself) have caught another nasty cold. Elizabeth was up several times last night because she can't suck her pacifier and breathe from her mouth (since her nose is so stuffed) at the same time. Anyway, Matt downloaded the back log of pictures today from the camera so I can get caught up. Here are a few pictures from Halloween of our spider and pumpkin. It was a gorgeous day and we had so much fun going around our new neighborhood and meeting our neighbors. I told Jack he could have one piece of candy for dinner that night and of course, he wanted the "big one" (one of our neighbors gave out full size candy bars). He's no dummy! Jack was also excited to open the box from Pop Grandma who sent some fun, silly things, including rubber lizzards and his favorite, cheetos.

Another month has come and gone

Elizabeth is now 11 months old and is certainly keeping us on our toes. This past month her two top teeth came in and I already miss the toothless baby grin. She will now stand by herself for a few seconds, but when she figures out she's standing she immediately falls down. She's also begun to take a few steps with Matt. He's so anxious for her to walk and I keep telling him not to hurry, she's still our baby. Her second word seems to be "gaga", our nickname for Misha. I'm proud to say that I have heard a few "mama's" the past few days. Although "mama" has been said in the string of her usual baby gibberish and not when she sees me. It's coming though. Her personality is so strong (I think she gets that from Matt-haha!) and she wants everything NOW, including whatever toy Jack is playing with. I already have to intervene in their sibling squabbles.
Today, Elizabeth found the remote and changed the channel on the TV and Jack hit her on the back. But, usually Jack is very patient with her and always watches out for her. I went to Minnesota for the
weekend and he told me he would "give Lizzie a kiss for me whenever she was sad". I'm not ready for her to be one so I'll cherish this last month of true babyhood.





She finally discovered the central vac outlets. What a great toy!



























Standing on her own!

Pumpkins

We did not take the kids to the pumpkin patch to choose pumpkins this year. The two weekends we were going to do it, the weather was terrible (wind, cold, rain, even snow). Luckily, my parents took them to the pumpkin patch in Iowa so they did have pumpkins on the front porch. Jack chose three small pumpkins for himself, Elizabeth and Misha. I took over 50 pictures trying to get a good shot of each of them with their pumpkins. I took a better picture of Misha with her pumpkin then I did of the kids with their pumpkins. For those that have met our wonderful lab, Misha, you know that is a feat since she, to most, is the craziest dog in the world. Anyway, here are some of the pictures I took. I'll add the pictures from Halloween soon. It is a gorgeous day here today (supposed to be a record high of 75) so we are going to go out and enjoy the last of the nice weather!




Misha can really be a calm, lazy dog.





Elizabeth enjoyed eating her pumpkin (notice the drool on her shirt!).
























Jack with his little pumpkin (for some reason he won't give me a nice smile!).

"Uh-Oh"

Elizabeth is quite the chatterbox and finally spoke her first recognizable word. Not "dada" (much to Matt's dismay), not "mama" (despite all my attempts), but "uh-oh". She has even turned it into a game and loves to drop anything she has and then say "uh-oh". Yesterday, Elizabeth and I went to the outlet mall and several times I heard her saying "uh-oh" and then repeating it. I looked behind us and she had dropped her toys while we were walking. What a turkey. Now, when we are walking Misha, it is a game for her to drop her toys and pacifier and say her favorite word. I'm still working on "mama". I figure for all the sleepless nights I've had the past 10 months that should at least be her second word!

Slowly growing, but growing nonetheless

We met our new pediatrician last week and had Elizabeth's belated 9 month checkup. At just over 10 months, she's teetering on the growth curve. She weighed in at 16.9 pounds which puts her at 5%. I think our new doctor thought I was nuts as I was THRILLED that she was on the curve, even at the low percent. I had to spend a good portion of the visit explaining to her that her brother was even smaller, weighing just 16 pounds at one year and still weighs just 26 pounds. I told her about all the tests that Jack went through at Mayo when he was Elizabeth's age and thankfully all were normal, albeit painful for him. I think I convinced her that our kids are just small.

My how time flies

Our baby girl was 10 months old yesterday. She has changed so much in the last month and I see glimpses of the toddler she is becoming. She can now pull herself up to stand and, in order to get what she wants, she walk around the furniture. She still has only her two bottom teeth but that doesn't stop her from eating everything in front of her. She loves to eat and her favorite food seems to be cheese since she grins with delight when we give it to her. When she is well-rested she is such a happy girl and she loves to play with her brother (who is so good to her and will even share his favorite foods and blanket with her). Her sleeping habits have significantly improved and she has been waking up just once or twice a night. She even let us sleep through the night on Sunday, although that might have been due to the cold she is fighting. It's amazing how happy we all are when we get a full night of sleep! She is a chatter box and she has a mind of her own. When she doesn't get her way we hear her baby cursing from anywhere in the house! I hope time slows down so we can enjoy the last two months of her babyhood.


Trying to be just like her big brother














Eating pasta for the first time..What a mess for mommy!












Bathtime with Jack

First day of preschool

Jack started his first day of preschool today. I tried to get some good pictures of him this morning before we left but he was so excited to go that he couldn't stand still (which explains the blurry picture). The kids bring their lunches from home so Jack and I packed his last night. I made sure that he could open all the ziplock sacks to get his food out and showed him that there was also a spoon for him to use when he ate his pears. When I was cleaning out his lunch box tonight I noticed that his plastic spoon was still there but his canned pears weren't. He said that he didn't use the spoon because "the inside of his lunch box was so dark he couldn't see it". I laughed so hard. Jack's teachers for the year are Miss Mary and Miss Jennie. When I picked him up they told me that he has the best manners of any child in the class and used please, thank you, your welcome and even excuse me. I guess our hounding him all summer to use his manners finally is paying off. He's growing up so quickly.

Big bike

Last year for Jack's 2nd birthday we bought him a motorcycle big wheel. He was so short he couldn't reach the pedals but I refused to buy him a smaller bike thinking he would grow into it in time for summer. Well, he never grew last summer and when we got the big wheel out this past spring it was still too big for him. I felt bad and knew that as a three year old he needed to be able to ride a bike so I bought him a smaller one. I came across these pictures the other day and was shocked at how much he has grown since April when the first picture was taken. Now, Jack can reach the pedals on his big wheel and he can also ride the "big" tricycle that I had when I was a little girl. He is so proud of himself now that he can ride his big bike and he refuses to ride the smaller one. My little boy is finally growing.

Crawling right out of her pants

I've been slacking the last few weeks and haven't been adding posts to the blog. Part of the reason is that since Elizabeth is now mobile and crawling everywhere I can't sit down for any length of time at the computer since I'm always redirecting her out of trouble.

I had a good laugh while watching Elizabeth play with her jeans after she managed to crawl out of them (this was the second pair of pants she crawled out of that day). Both of my kids have the smallest waists. In fact, Jack still is still wearing 12-18 month shorts and he is 3-1/2. I think they need to make adjustable waist pants for babies as well!

Shaping up to be a good day

After a string of what I would call 'bad' days (I'm still adjusting to being a stay-at-home mom after grad school/working for the past 10 years), I think today is shaping up to be a good, if not great, day. First of all, we had blinds installed in Jack and Elizabeth's rooms yesterday and it is 8:20 and Elizabeth is STILL sleeping-making the blinds worth every cent I paid for them! I enjoyed a long shower and got dressed while Jack was watching Mickey in our bed and he entertained himself by making a pillow fort. Secondly, after months of waiting for our yard to be done I notice little pieces of grass making their way through the dirt. Yay, I'm hoping for a yard by September (which we were supposed to have in June and have been planning for since April). It will be great to have a place where Jack and Misha can run around in. Third, the last of my furniture order is being delivered today. Yay! I've been waiting since May for Jack's bed to arrive and two chairs for our Hearth room. And best of all, Matt hired a babysitter for tonight so we can go out alone to dinner. Yipeee! I sure do miss our old babysitters Nicki and Derick and knowing I could just have them come 5 minutes before we had to leave because Jack loved them so much, but I'm trying to move on (and no Nic we aren't replacing you!).
So, I'm hoping my day goes as well as it's starting off with no potty accidents to clean up.

Watch out world, here I come

One of my favorite things about babyhood is watching them figure out how to crawl. I love when babies get up on their hands and knees and rock back and forth. Elizabeth has been trying to master crawling for the past few weeks. In fact, she's so motivated to get what she wants she's resorted to an army crawl. Yesterday, she did do a few "real crawls" before she went back down on her belly into her army crawl.

Memory tag

Just saw this on a friends blog (great idea Kristin!), and thought I would give it a try here even though there are only a few people who leave comments. I'm kind of in a state of self pity right now since I can't seem to meet anyone in this city and I wonder when/if I ever will. Anyway, to help with my loneliness follow the instructions below. I can't wait to read the comments and share mine with you.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

"Daddy, I want a cricket"

I just had to post this conversation that Matt and Jack had tonight when Jack was supposed to be in bed sleeping.

Jack: "Daddy do you hear that noise?"
Matt: "What noise? Elizabeth's fan?"
Jack: "No"
Matt: "Elizabeth's music?"
Jack: "No". That noise, it is keeping me up"
Matt: "Where do you hear it at?"
Jack takes Matt to his window and says "that noise, it's scary"
Matt: "It's not scary, it's a cricket"
Jack: "Crickets are scary"
Matt: "No they aren't"
Jack: "Yes it is, it's scary"
Matt: "No it's not, crickets are like earthworms. Are earthworms scary?"
Jack: "No"
Matt: "Crickets aren't scary"
Jack: "Daddy, I want a cricket"
Matt: "No you don't, crickets are boring. All they do is make that noise"

I guess Matt convinced Jack that crickets aren't scary because he was sound asleep probably dreaming of his pet cricket when I checked him :)

A Day at the Zoo

We have been exploring Green Bay and recently decided to visit the NEW zoo. It is a beautiful zoo in a wooded setting. Personally, I think it is even better than the Minnesota Zoo. Anyway, we had a fabulous day and the highlight of our zoo adventure was feeding the giraffes. You can buy 2 crackers for $1.00 to feed the giraffes and I fell instantly in love with them. In fact, I'm now considering volunteering at the zoo so I can feed them everyday. Jack was brave and at the end also fed one of the giraffes and enjoyed riding on the zoo train with Daddy. Here are a few pictures of our day at the zoo. Also, if anyone knows how to add captions next to the pictures I would love to know how.

Little Firecracker

Happy 4th of July! We just finished watching the local show from our bedroom-we had the best seat in town, no mosquitoes, and I could put Jack right back in bed when the show was over. However, we also live in a state where fireworks are legal so Jack just came back down and announced there was another show to watch from his bedroom (one of our neighbors). I told him he could lay in his bed and watch (it's 10 pm now and his bedtime is normally 7:30-8). We are hoping he sleeps in past 5 am tomorrow. Our little firecracker, Elizabeth, also enjoyed the show. She was much happier today (probably because both of her bottom teeth came in today) and looked adorable in her "little firecracker" t-shirt (thanks auntie Sara).

Brrrr

I just put Elizabeth down for a nap and had to cover her up with 2 blankets because her room was so cold. When Jack took his shirt off to eat lunch he complained that he was too cold. It is 73 in our house right now and we have the windows open. I can't believe it is the 4th of July and the weather is so great. Forecast high for today is 75 (with full sun). I love this weather and the free "air conditioning". Is it this nice everywhere today???

A day in Door County

My parents were in town last weekend so we took a quick day trip to Door County. It was a sunny and cool day and we enjoyed a little shopping, walking along the water looking at the boats, and eating fudge and ice cream (Jack's favorite part of the day). I'm attaching a few pictures we took. I love the ones where Jack is sitting in front of the bait and tackle shop "meeting" Nan and Jerry.
He finally warmed up to Jerry by the end of the photo session! We wrapped up the day enjoying a piece Door County cherry pie before bed (don't even try counting the calories we consumed that day!).

7 months

I'm in a little bit of denial that our baby girl is now 7 months old (month sixth of her life was pretty crazy with the move and the unpacking) and am having a hard time moving her into her 6-9 month wardrobe. She is still cutting her first tooth and to put it nicely she is a bear (although I don't blame her, it looks painful). She has figured out that by rolling she can get anywhere she wants and she has no interest in sitting. She will now play contently for a few minutes by herself and loves to look at her brother. She giggles with delight when she sees him. I always wanted a baby that was a mommy's girl but now I am eating my words. Elizabeth is the most content when I am holding her and she refuses to fall asleep on her own. She can be perfectly happy playing by herself but if I walk into the room or she hears my voice she will start to cry. Tonight we tried to let her cry herself to sleep and after 30 minutes I picked her up. Matt commented today that it feels like we have a newborn still because she is up several times (as much as 6) times a night and will only take little 'catnaps' during the day. She still has the craziest hair and the biggest thighs and she loves to be tickled. Here's hoping to more sleep in month seven.

We found a nearby park and spent Sunday afternoon playing there. Here is a picture I took of Elizabeth at the park on her seven month birthday.

Jackisms

Since our house still looks like a bomb landed on it and we have half unpacked boxes everywhere, I won't be able to scrapbook for awhile. This post is so I can remember some of the funny things Jack has recently said so I can scrapbook them later.
1. "Mommy, did you see that patepillar"? (how he says caterpillar. Said on a walk around our circle)
2. "Daddy, I missed you at work" (said to Matt when he was still in MN working and Jack would talk to him on the phone)
3. "I'm not Matthew, I'm Jack Ryan" (said back to me when I called him his full name, Jack Matthew Ryan)
4. "That's my baby" (in reference to Elizabeth)
5. "Mommy, you didn't give me any tention (aka attention) today" (said after I spent a long day unpacking instead of playing with him, poor guy)
6. "Mommy, I want LOTS of syrup" (while he holds up two hands..10 fingers is LOTS!).
7. "Daddy, can I close the lid"? (said when Matt called to wish me happy anniversary the other day. I was in the shower and Jack got the cell phone off the counter and was talking to him and kept asking if he could close the "lid" of the phone. I asked Matt later that morning why he didn't call to wish me happy anniversary.)
8. "wake up Jeff" and then a giggle when we are trying to sleep. He got this from the Wiggles and it is so hard not to laugh when he does it. Of course, when I laugh it eggs him on and he keeps doing it.
9. "Oh Man Pickle". Said when something isn't going his way
10. "I think that is a great idea" "Mommy, don't you think that is a great idea?"
11. "Daddy, will you be a garbage truck driver with me?"

I should have written them down right away because I can't remember the other funny ones.

Finally done

I wanted to take a moment and say congratulations to Matt. After four years of medical school, three years of internal medicine residency and three years of Heme/Onc fellowship, he is finally done with his training and about to begin his first real job at the age of 35. It has been a long, long, long road (yes, three longs is correct--it's been LONG!), and he has never once complained (not even during his surgery rotation in medical school when he was at the hospital at 4 am, not during his Q3 and Q4 call months, and not during his BMT months). He genuinely loves his job and loves taking care of his patients. He has a passion for medicine and his patients are lucky to have him for a physician. He managed long hours at the hospital and still always had time for me and the kids. He often got up early in the morning with the kids so I could sleep in, even when he was post-call and needed sleep more than I did. He would take Jack to daycare when I was pregnant with Elizabeth so I could have a few minutes to myself in the morning to get ready. He added extra moonlighting shifts to his busy schedule so we could have extra money.
Matt, we love you and are so proud of you and can't wait for the next 6 weeks to have fun as a family.

Hard to say good bye

Hello everyone!
I finally got our internet hooked up today, after several calls to AT&T, and thought I would do a quick update. I don't have much patience for incompetent people and so far my experience with our new phone/internet provider hasn't been great. Although, it has been better than my experience with the garbage company (garbage service requested May 20 and I still do not have a garbage can). Have called the 'village' and garbage company countless times and no one seems to know what is going on. Anyway, enough of my venting on that...

I'm getting settled here (and I say I'm because Matt is still in Rochester). I didn't think it would be so hard to get everything unpacked. Elizabeth is teething and isn't cooperating with the unpacking process. My new strategy is to lower my expectations and to just unpack completely one box a day. I forgot how hard it is to move to a new city and not know anyone and drive around with a phone book map for when I get lost. I have to confess I'm quite lonely (and really miss all my Rochester friends) and the people in the grocery store probably think I'm nuts because I strike up an extended conversation as I check out. Matt is coming this weekend and I plan to go to the Sex and the City movie by myself and enjoy a giant tub of popcorn. I also miss SUPER Target. After my first grocery shopping experience at Wal-Mart, which I vowed never to return to, I did find Target, just not a Super Target. I guess my wallet will be fatter since I no longer live 3 minutes from my favorite store!


It was so hard to say good bye to our house in Rochester. When we left the last time, I stood in the entry way sobbing and tried to capture all our memories from the past six years. It was the first house Matt and I bought. I remembered Matt coming home from work his first day of residency a tired, young doctor learning the Mayo system. It was the first home Jack and Elizabeth lived in. As I stood in the entry way, I remembered the day I brought each of them through the door the first time. I could "see" Jack running to greet me when I came home from work each day. I could "hear" the blinds move in Jack's room as he peeked outside to see what was going on when he was supposed to be napping. It was so hard to lock and shut the door the final time and I cried all the way to our hotel as I said goodbye to our first home. I hope I will never forget those memories and am looking forward to making our new house our home.

In memory of Gus, March 2000- May 20, 2008

Yesterday was one of the most difficult days I can remember. I had to put my beloved Gus to sleep yesterday afternoon. He bit me quite badly on Sunday, when I was holding Elizabeth and helping Jack tie his shoe. It wasn't the first time he bit me, it was at least a monthly occurrence. We think he didn't have a good outlet for hunting and that I was his 'prey'. This bite was quite bad leaving puncture marks and bruising in the shape of his mouth on my arm. I took the advice of our veterinarian and decided that I couldn't in good faith take him to a shelter without telling of his biting history. The best thing for him was to be put to sleep.
It was the most difficult decision I have ever made, but I know I couldn't ever risk something like that happening to Jack and Elizabeth or any other kids visiting.
I have always been an animal lover and have shed countless tears over the loss of my childhood pets. I can't watch movies where a pet dies, I cried recently during the Kentucky Derby and I couldn't read Marley and Me without crying. Growing up my parents would only let me have outside cats. When I met Matt I told him that I would have indoor animals and if he didn't want that then we probably weren't a good match. Luckily, Matt is an animal lover as well. Eight years ago, as soon as we moved into an apartment that allowed animals, Matt and I got Gus. He was our first 'child' and boy, did we baby him.
Gus had such a personality and I never will open a jar of green olives without thinking of him (he loved green olives without pimentos and would come running from anywhere in the house when we opened the jar). He kept my feet warm at night when he slept between my legs. I didn't sleep well last night and I know I was waiting for him to meow and jump in our bed. Gus always found the best spot to nap, and his favorite was lying in the sun next to our patio door. I will always think of him on a sunny day and I hope that he found a sunny spot in heaven to nap.\

Tantrums

I was supposed to go with Matt this weekend to the wedding of his good friend from med school, but I decided at the last minute to stay home--figured I should be home at least one weekend before we move (I think it's 9 days from now...and not ready).

Anyway, it's been so long since Jack has had a full blown temper tantrum and of course, he would have to have one today when Matt is away for the weekend. I should have seen it coming since he was still awake 2 hours after I put him in bed last night, was up around 5am, and then we played outside this morning while Elizabeth was napping (was hoping I could run some of the energy out of him!). We took a quick trip to Target at 11 and I promised him if he was good we could get a cheeseburger for lunch (my super skinny kid now LOVES McDonald's and we are all for the mega calories he can eat in one meal). Anyway, it started when he ran away from me in the parking lot and continued when he wouldn't get in the cart. I did what any sane person would do and loaded both kids (sleeping Elizabeth and screaming Jack) in the car and came home with nothing off my list. And of course, no cheeseburger.
I know he was tired and I probably should have been more patient. He did end up taking a 3 hour nap this afternoon and I did cave in and go to McDonald's for dinner-after our 2nd trip to Target today. Here's to no tantrums tomorrow...

I've been tagged

Finally getting to this, Kristin! Lots of little known information about me...

Jobs I have had
Detassle corn (only in Iowa!!)
Lifeguard/swim lesson instructor
babysitting
lab assistant in swine nutrition lab at ISU
graduate student/teaching assistant at ISU
research assistant at U of I
sr research technologist at Mayo
mom



All the places I’ve lived
Independence, IA
Ames, IA
Iowa City, IA
Rochester, MN
and soon Green Bay, WI


4 Favorite Movies
I have seen only 1 movie in the last year and only a couple in the last 3 years so none are current movies..actually I can't even think of 4. But, I'm going to get NetFlix when we move to catch up on years of non-movie watching.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (I think I have it memorized)
Sixteen Candles


4 Favorite Foods
Anything Italian (probably Matt's lasagna is one of my top favorites)
Chicago Style Pizza
a good, juicy, tender steak with mushrooms and onions on top
chocolate and ice cream (chocolate ice cream of course!)



4 Weird Things you didn’t know about me
I don't eat/like chicken. I eat all other meat but I despise chicken.
I don't touch the railings on the escalator (have you ever seen anyone cleaning them?)
I'm afraid of library books-I buy all my books new with the rare exception of buying one at the used book store (but only when it looks really new and has no boogers in it!)
I love to vacuum-it's very therapeutic for me and a necessity with a dog and cat in the house


4 Favorite TV shows
Greys Anatomy
Divine Design
House Hunters
Oprah

4 Places I’d love to go
Italy
China
Africa
Alaska

"Mommy, I still like you lots"

I just have to share this funny quote from Jack. He is such a daddy's boy and every morning he wakes up and looks for his daddy. Matt was moonlighting last weekend and wasn't here when he woke up in the morning. Jack was so upset and was crying for him even after I explained that daddy was working. I told him it made me sad that he wasn't happy to see me and that mommy is just as good as daddy. He said "Well, mommy, I still like you lots!"

5 months old

Elizabeth is 5 months old today. I wish I could stop time as this is one of my favorite ages. I love how she coos, talks and giggles.
We had a busy month (which explains the lack of posts). She was diagnosed with a lazy eye earlier this month so she has to wear a patch for 2 awake hours a day. You can tell the patch (which is essentially an eye band-aid) bothers her as she scratches at her eye when it's on. She's getting very smart and starts to cry when she sees us coming at her with the patch. I have to say she is being a trooper as I know it hurts when we pull it off. We will come back to Mayo in July for another visit to the Opthamalogist.
She is talking up a storm and I swear she says 'mama'. Granted, it is more like mmmmmm, but I'm sure "mama" isn't far away :). She is such a cuddler and loves to snuggle. My favorite is when she reaches for my hand when I'm feeding her so she can hold it. She refuses to fall asleep on her own and still wakes up within minutes of putting her down in her crib-even when she is sound asleep.
She had a big weekend and rolled over from front to back on Saturday-most likely because she hates being on her stomach. We also gave her cereal on Sunday which she loved! She kept opening her mouth for more. Although, it didn't help her sleep like I was hoping! She still has her crazy hair and looks just like Jack when he was this age.

Elizabeth before she rolled over.... and after the big roll

Growing and Growing

After almost 3 years of being off the growth curve (and being the subject of countless endocrine tests when he was a baby) Jack has finally ventured back on the curve with his whopping weigh in yesterday of 26 pounds and is exactly 3 feet tall. I guess his diet consisting mainly of waffles, pancakes, milk and cheetos is paying off (although not winning his parents any nutrition awards!). Matt and I have spent countless hours trying to get him to eat and now at least he is on the curve.
Elizabeth also is growing well and weighed in yesterday at 12 pounds and is 24 inches long. She is 25% on the curve. Still a peanut but not as small as her brother was. Thankfully Matt came to the appointment with us as both kids were due for vaccines. Jack was bribed with M&M's and thought 3 was a fair amount to get after his vaccine. If only he knew that I would have given him the whole bag for getting the shot! He was such a good big brother and gave Elizabeth a kiss after she received her 4 shots. I don't know how my friends with more kids take them all at the same time-lots of M&M's I suppose!

The naming of grandparents

Jack has his own way of identifying his grandparents. It has to be confusing for a little one to have two sets of grandparents so Jack has his own nicknames for them. He has "Pop Grandma and Beard Papa" (Matt's parents) and "Mamaw Grandma and Fix-it Papa" (my parents). He is such a character :)

Jack Ryan is 3

The birthday boy...
Today is Jack's 3rd birthday. In my family we believe that birthdays should be celebrated for a week and so in good Sabin style Jack started his celebrating on Friday. We took yellow (his favorite color) cupcakes to share with his friends at school. Yesterday we had a party for him at a local kids pizza place. If you have ever tried to get a picture of 6 kids under the age of 4 you will understand why I was unsuccessful in getting a picture of the birthday boy with all his friends. We had a good time and were so happy that his cousins Aidan, Keenan, Max, and Lauren and friends Oscar and Kai could celebrate with him. Pop Grandma and Beard Papa and Molly and Ado also came to party. Today, he opened his presents from us and was excited to get a kite, bug flashlight, and a Thomas airplane set for his train. Of course, no birthday is complete without cake so he got both a cupcake and a piece of his birthday cake for snack today. Talk about having a sugar high in church tonight!!

4 months old

It's amazing how quickly time passes. Elizabeth is now four months old. She has had a complete personality change in the last month and has gone from our baby who cried and fussed all the time to a happy, giggling sweetheart. We love to hear her talking in her crib in the morning and it's amazing how she can be so happy at 4am! We often comment about if we are ever going to be able to say no to her in the future as she looks at us with a big smile and giant blue eyes. Babies sure grow up too quickly.

She will be going on her second airplane adventure later this week as we attend the wedding of Matt's high school friend in Philadelphia. We have a direct flight from Minneapolis so we can skip O'Hare (yay!).

First airplane ride

We recently tagged along with Matt to his conference in Hollywood, Florida (just North of Miami). Both kids were fabulous on the airplane (even braver than their mommy) and traveled so well. Jack entertained the gentleman in front of us by saying "Daddy we are going to run out of gas". We even survived O'hare and for once were happy that our flight was delayed out of O'hare because our flight from Miami was delayed getting in.

It's official...

I have been waiting for this sign for 8 days now (and I'm NOT a naturally patient person who likes to wait for things) and surprisingly it appeared sometime today while I was at work. What a great feeling to pull into the driveway after a long day at work and see the SOLD sign. Yipeee! It's official. We have the movers coming on May 27th to pack and they will load the truck on the 28th. We give possession to the new owners on the 29th and we will have our things delivered to the new house on the 30th of May. Matt will be living in a hotel for 3 weeks until he finishes at the end of June.

We have explained to Jack about moving to our new house and we think he understands fairly well. Although he did ask if the "men would break the house into pieces to move it" and "will his toys get dirty in the truck?".

King of the house

I'm making progress and just figured out how to upload pictures so here is a practice one...

Jack came home from daycare wearing his crown announcing that he was "King of the house". He certainly is the "king" of our house. I couldn't get him to stand still long enough to get a good picture. Photo 2/20/2008

SOLD?

I told my neighbor that when our house sold I would start a blog since I would have more free time. We are still waiting for the SOLD sign to go up but we signed the counter offer on Wednesday. I think we are just waiting for the house to appraise at the selling price and then that fabulous SOLD sign will appear.

Since we are moving farther away from our family and friends in a few weeks, I thought a blog would be a good way to stay in contact with everyone. I still have to figure out how to do this and have no idea how to add pictures so I'm sure for awhile this will be a work-in-progress.

Did I say free time? Elizabeth just woke up from her 10 minute nap!