Friday, August 31, 2012

The verdict is in...

We're having ...
A BOY!!!


Apparently we think blue around this house :)! We are super excited and can't wait to meet him and see Landon as a big brother!

When I reminded Landon that we were going to see a "movie" this afternoon about the baby he told me the movie would involve trains :)! I didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. However, when they turned on the sound so we could hear the heartbeat the ultrasound tech told him (without any knowledge of our previous conversation) that it was like a choo-choo train! So I guess he knew better than I did. Otherwise, he seems pretty oblivious to the whole thing.

We're so excited for this new addition to our family! Let the shopping and nursery decor planning begin!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Boy or Girl ... What do YOU think?

To say that I have a LOT to blog about and catch up on would probably be the understatement of 2012. However, no time today ... so I have a question for you instead ...

Our ultrasound is Friday, where we find out a lot of info on this new little one. And we plan to find out the gender!! We aren't the "wait and see" type. That being said, we genuinely don't care what the gender is. Landon makes us so happy, and little boys are just delightful - so another one would be twice the fun. That being said, I'm sure girls are equally as amazing and we would be thrilled to have one of them too.

So YOU tell us what you think we're having ... Boy or Girl????

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Mommy's Helper

Today I was trying to get a few more things "move ready" since the clock is quickly ticking down to Saturday morning (AH!). And Landon was my little helper - it was so cute! And can I just say - he has an addiction to tape ... I think we went through more this morning alone than in all the rest of the time we've been packing :)! You can't tell from these pictures since it is clear, but I assure you we will probably be finding it in the strangest places as we move out and clean. It was worth having his help and his creativity though!!
I was packing up some clothes for him to wear this week so the rest are read to go to the new house. I told them to put them in the suitcase ... and I walked in and found this instead. They did all make it in something. And he got in the suitcase, so clearly clothes wouldn't fit!
The entire rest of our roll of bubble wrap ... he was quite pleased with his handiwork.
We were taking Jeff's shoes out of the armoire where he keeps them. Landon took them out one at a time and lined them up with their match! I was pretty impressed because there isn't a lot of variation between color or style as you can tell. Also, does anyone else think it is strange how many pairs of loafers Jeff owns. There were two more you can't see.

Despite a couple of these pictures it was a really productive morning!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

It's the little things

The chaos of the last few weeks has been overwhelming. There has been so much to do with both our town home and our new house that in and of itself is overwhelming. And on top of that it's been two of the busiest weeks of work possible. I realized though that I have been getting impatient with everything, in a time when I should be only thinking about how blessed we are.

I mean - doesn't Landon in his two-year-old's wisdom understand that we don't have time to stop and blow on the dandelion-seed plant to watch them blow? I have stuff to do! And it needs to be done NOW! (Parent of the year, I know!)

You get my point. It is a huge blessing that we are so busy right now, and I need to focus instead on all the little things that are wonderful (aside from the big things).

My list:

*Landon running up to me yesterday while we were at our new house and saying "I LOVE new house!" That's his new thing - to "love" things. He has no idea what changes are coming in this next week, but loving the new house is good place to have a new beginning from!

*Paper towel dispensers that just keep spitting out paper towels. I'm not into wasting the environment- please don't misunderstand. But I hate it when I have to wave my wet hand and practically dance in front of the paper town machine to get one little one dispensed.

*Neighbor kids. When we were in Primary today we were learning a song that talks about "trying to love my neighbor, learning to serve my friends" and the picture prompt was someone helping another person move. Our neighbor boy Tyler proudly raised his hand and said "I'm helping MY neighbors move!" Thanks, buddy. Another neighbor, Addi walked up to me after and told me she would miss me. So sweet!

* My family has driven back and forth so many times to help it is ridiculous. And before we had the appraisal done on our town home my dad came over and cleaned our showers and toilets. He didn't want me near the chemicals while pregnant and Jeff's back is bad again and he can't bend over easily. That's love folks.

* All of the friends who plan to come help with the big furniture next week. They know Jeff can't lift things so they are more than willing to give up their Saturday morning for us.

* A boy who was in my primary class a while ago who is now one of Jeff's 11-year-old Scouts coming up to me after Primary today and thanking me for playing the piano each week and saying goodbye. How many 11-year-old boys do you know that do things like that? What good kid!

* Friends who practically beg me to let Landon come play so I can get things done.

* Jeff buying tickets to the "Carpenter's Tribute" at the Scera Theater. I love the Carpenters! I was worried about how on earth we were going to pull off going to that this week of all weeks. But Jeff arranged everything so we can sneak off by ourselves. Which, I don't think we've done for several weeks now, so it will be extra nice!

* And today when Landon stopped to blow on the dandelion weed instead of rushing him along I bent over and took a picture instead. So cute! (However, if there are immense amounts of dandelions in Utah next spring, I'm afraid I know why!)



Sunday, August 12, 2012

The beginning of "see you later" ...

Tonight dear friends threw us a "going away" party. It was such a touching night - to see people who mean so much to us gather in one place to send us off on this next chapter in our lives. There were more delicious treats than I could count (all chocolate ... do these people know me or what?!) and it was at a playground. I'm pretty sure Landon was in heaven - all those friends to play with! We had such a fun time just handing out and chatting while watching the kiddos play. It was so wonderful that I can't think about it too much, or I will burst into tears! While we are excited to move and to have Jeff's drive cut in half, we are so heartbroken to leave Spanish Fork.

But we don't plan to say good bye. We insist we are only saying "see you later" because each of these people mean way too much to us to say goodbye to! But this does make the move seem so much more real all of a sudden.

I don't have all the pictures yet, but these were a few Ale snapped with her phone while we were there.
Thank you Carolyn ... and everyone who came to make us feel so special!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Clap your hands!

This morning I was walking to Landon's room to get him up for the day when I heard him chattering away to himself. So I stopped to listen ...

It turns out he wasn't chatting, he was singing to himself!

"Happy and know it clap hands" [then I could hear his little hands clapping away]
"Happy and know it clap hands"
"Happy face show it"
"Happy and know it clap hands"

Then he did a verse where you "eat dinner" at which point he made munching noises.

So cute! He was thrilled when I walked in and asked him if that is what he was singing! It must feel like such an accomplishment to have someone recognize what he is singing. I love that he is so happy he wants to sing about it for the whole world to hear :)!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Nesting

There is a little phenomenon amongst preggo moms called nesting, where women fix, decorate and get their homes ready for new babies. 

We definitely did this when I was pregnant with Landon - I had a great time decorating his room and loved having Jeff paint, assemble furniture and in general help me spruce everything up (while I sat around eating chocolate and giving orders). 

This time? Apparently we decided to go a little crazy. If everything goes according to plan (and it's looking like it will) we will close on a whole new "nest" in a couple of weeks. 

Seriously.


We have been talking about moving for a long time. Jeff's commute is long, and it has been really hard on him - and the rest of us - for a while. When he got a new job, in the SAME office complex area we decided it was time to get more serious about looking for a new house.

I saw this one come online when Landon and I were in Iowa. Jeff loved it too and made an appointment to see it that same day. We made an offer on it that night (keep in mind I was still out of state!) and we weren't the only offer at that point. We found out our offer was accepted and we went under contract before I ever saw it. Crazy! (Crazy how fast it happened, not crazy that Jeff knew I would love it - he has great taste in houses)

And the last few weeks have moved at lightning speed. Our town home is getting packed up. We've done inspections, appraisals, etc. on the new house. And we had a couple call interested in buying (instead of renting!) our town home!! Blessings!!

Sometimes things just fall into place it seems. We really hope it all works out. Even though we know this is a good move for our family our hearts are breaking to leave Spanish Fork. Breaking. I can't tell you how many tears have been shed just thinking about leaving this community we have become such a part of. Oh how we'll miss it! 

As we move on to a new adventure we plan to keep those memories and people we hold so dear close to us (you aren't getting rid of us so easily!) and meet some new great people along the way.