Ode to my Life

I feel an itch to blog. Not that I have anything particular to blog about...but it's all the non-particulars that are on my mind.

1) The Relief Society Broadcast last week was fabulous! I had a headache that night and almost didn't go...but I got Mackenzie to bed a little bit early and headed out. I made it before the opening prayer! Yay! I really enjoyed the last talk by President Uchtdorf. Those 5 reminders were exactly what I needed to hear. I love hearing instruction from the Lord's servants that I know is what He wants me to hear. Wow, I'm excited about General Conference!! I just need that nourishment, encouragement, direction, reassurance...whatever you wanna call it, I need it.

2) Caleb. Nuff said, yeah? haha, he's a crazy boy! We've had a few concerns with his development, but since we moved here to IA he's really progressed rapidly! We're so proud! He had his well visit on Monday and the doc (both of 'em) said that there doesn't appear to be any problem, but that if it makes us feel better, come back in 6 months and have him evaluated again. Basically, he's been talking up a storm. I can't believe it. He'll say stuff and I'm just like, "How on earth did you pick that up?" or "Did you really just say that?" And his screaming has reduced dramatically. relief! He is such a big boy...oh! and he hasn't bitten Mackenzie since last Thursday! That's almost a whole week! yay! I'm just so glad and so proud he's made some big steps lately. What a wonderful boy!

3) Mackenzie. My baby girl...she's 4 months old! I can't believe that. I just can't. She's my doll. She's just started laughing and I love it. She was completely entertained yesterday when Caleb grunted at her. He'd grunt and she'd giggle. I was quick enough to catch it on film...but our camera doesnt' upload directly to blogger..so it makes it difficult to share. But she was like 15 pounds and 22 in? I can't remember, but it's written down somewhere. She's long, but even though her weight is up, compared to her length she's not that chubby. She has graduated to the crib. She has no interest yet in rolling over, though. Soon, I'm sure!

4) Justin. He's so busy with dental school. I'm so proud of him. He's working so hard in school and doing quite well and he still has time to spend with us...we went to a pancake breakfast, we went to the fire station, he gives me foot massages (yeah, I know!), he makes dinner...he's amazing. Just plain and simple. I love reading with him, or watching Prison Break (it's addictive, don't start it!); and his Family Home Evenings are always so creative and appropriate for Caleb. He's a great Daddy...Justin is a great man.

5) Church and such: I still have no calling. I'm told that I've been pegged for one, but I haven't been asked to serve in any position yet, even with my approaching the Bishopric inquiring about said pegging. Nothing. I haven't had a calling since Mackenzie was born. Count it. That's 4 months! I'm kind of enjoying the break, though having something to prepare for and contribute to would be nice. I like our ward a lot. The people are so welcoming, and even though there are a LOT of professional student families, there are quite a few of permanent families as well. It's a great mix. There's some ethnicity in there too.

6) Me. Whew. I'm doing great. I have so many projects to work on(thus why blogging doesn't happen as much). I'm making Caleb's Halloween costume (and ours if there's time). Nothing fancy, mind you, but it will still take some cutting and sewing and fitting. He's going to be Nemo! (be sure to watch for pictures) He's so excited about it! We're still working on 'trick or treat' but we've got a whole month! so with that, and the never-ending quiet book...still getting settled, crocheting various gifts and jackets and blankets...I just printed about 300 pictures. Got them mostly put into an album, but I haven't written about them. Gotta do that. Baby book updates. Oh! I grind my own wheat for bread. That's been fun. I'm re-learning how to be a mom/wife/homemaker now with 2 kids. But I have no school. I still completely enjoy it.
I'm still meeting people here. I haven't "connected" with anyone yet, but I'm trying to stay involved and outgoing. There's plenty of people that I can have a good time with. We have a sewing night every Thursday...library visits, volley ball; it's just a great complex I live in. Lots of great families and gals for me to get to know.

Wow. Like you wanted to read a novel today, eh? Well, maybe you did, but not necessarily about me. haha It's an ODE. Anyway, that's me and my family lately. Lots going on. I'm loving it. I love my family!

Baby, baby!

Caleb loves Mackenzie. And when he found this "baby" among some stuffed animals that Grandma and Grandpa brought up for me to go through, he adopted her.

He carries her around and yesterday I gave him a burp rag for his baby. He loves to give her her binky and cracks up when I make sucking noises. Oh I love my little boy. He's getting so big! Grandma and Grandpa also brought up a twin mattress and box spring for when he's out of the crib. Well, for fun, the past few nights we've asked him if he wants to sleep on Mama and Daddy's bed. The response is a little boy flopping onto his tummy and closing his eyes.

Well, last night, he rolled off. By the time I made it upstairs, he'd fallen back asleep. Good thing we have a bed rail that I got off of Freecycle (love it!).

Grandpa Hart and more fun

It's so fun when grandparents come to visit!

Caleb warmed up to Grandma and Grandpa so fast! We'll have more pictures with Grandma Sugar later. He's had tons of fun playing with "papa." I love this cuddly picture. And the bottom right picture...they are walking and balancing and Grandpa showed Caleb how to stick his arms out to help balance himself. He looks like a little bird or something. So cute!

And who doesn't love bike rides with Daddy? I'm so excited for when Mackenzie is big enough so we can all go out together. Caleb's helmet has little flying pigs on it so we call it his "piggy hat" and he snorts every time he sees any sort of helmet. lol, we'll teach him English one of these days!

And my sweet baby girl. I've been trying hard to get some smiles...and I've been a bit successful! She loves to sit up...

And when I blow my lips. I just love her smile. It's fun to me how she still looks so much like Caleb, but she's starting to look so much like herself, too.

Anyone else think they look a lot alike?

What a month!

Well, almost a whole month has gone by since we moved. We're about a week shy. And so much has happened! Justin started dental school officially on Monday, Caleb turned 2 years, Mackenzie turned 3 months...my oven has caught on fire, we've lost power, and I set the smoke alarms off. Can it be any more exciting?!

So, to start us off:

Here is our moving experience. So much stuff! As you can see, the trailer is stuffed, and apparently a few more things were stuffed in there after this picture. Oh, and that's our car. For those of you who haven't seen it. Everyone knows the car not only for it's color but because it stalls frequently at stop lights (we're both learning to drive a stick).


And this is our packed riding conditions: every nook and cranny was filled. Caleb and Mackenzie had things stuffed ALL around them. It was ridiculous! Nothing was spared!! lol It was tight. But we got it all here!

We celebrated Caleb's 2nd birthday while Anderson G-parents were still in town. Iowa City city park has a cool train to ride...and C loved it!

I included the pic above to showcase Caleb's retro outfit: pretty sure his Daddy wore it when he was a kid!

The cake says "1+1". We got creative. :) Happy Birthday little boy!

We took a little family trip to Lake McBride (about 30 mins away) and enjoyed the beach and a nice walk in the shade.

My first outing with the kiddos somewhere where I wished I had had another adult: Kent Park. It was another beach, but we actually went swimming this time. Caleb loved it and Kenzie survived, and all in all it was fun!

And Mackenzie is 3 months old today!! Happy Birthday beautiful baby girl! This is the best I've gotten of her smiles. She hates the flash so it always disappears when I try to take a picture.

Well baby monitor is going crazy and my son is calling my name incessantly and the grocery store must be visited...so this post is over! Hope everyone is doing great. I hope to stay updated just not as frequently. Things are busy, but I feel so happy! Life is good!!

We're in Iowa!

We've arrived. haha, maybe not to the ultimate ending, but at least we've moved on to our next adventure. And what an adventure!! Justin starts school this next week (eeek!). We've been busy unpacking and arranging things and trying our best to get things organized. It's been nice to have Justin's parents hang around so that we can take off and go look for furniture and just leave the kiddos at home. Also, they have a truck which makes getting furniture much easier.

It's amazing how much space we have...and how easily we have filled it with all our stuff that we had in storage and in boxes. We unloaded all our pictures and were amazed to think that we had them all up in our bedroom...it's enough for whole house now! So, yeah, we are living in a 2-bedroom townhouse that has a partially finished basement. It's amazing! We've got our washer/dryer hooked up, we've got 2 couches (one for $8!), a couple of book shelves...and we have so much more to get. All in time, right?

Ah, I'm a bit nervous how I'm going to actually handle being at home along with these two kiddos. Luckily, we live in an amazing complex that has a courtyard between all the units...and the other units are extremely social. So, hopefully I'll be able to go out and mingle and let the kiddos run around so that I can have a bit of a break...and maybe even make some friends. :)

Well, that's about it. We've made it safely! We drove for 3 long days, we've been unpacking for over a week, and we're so tired, but loving having our own space. It's wonderful! More visual updates to come...just wanted to let everyone know we've made it! and we're happy!