Thursday, April 12, 2007

Signing Off

When we first moved to Orchard Oriole Lane we thought it was such a cool street name. It didn't take long for us to change our minds. We started making calls to connect our utilities and other calls associated with moving to a new address. It seems that from the other end of the line it sounds like we live on Orchard Oreo Lane! That has been a thorn in our sides ever since.

Tomorrow we sign on our new home and will begin moving. We have made many good memories in this home and it is the only home our children know. Here are some things I will miss about this house and our neighborhood:
  • The lake view
  • The wildlife-- blue heron, geese, ducks, bunnies, blue jays, cardinals, blue birds, etc. We have even seen beavers, deer, a bald eagle and a swan.
  • Neighbors with the same-age kids
  • Walking distance to a grocery store, Wendy's and blockbuster
  • Living near a good portion of the ward members
  • My neighbor Sheila (and Skeeter even though she is in Seattle for another year)
  • Close proximity to the mall
  • The neighborhood park and other close parks

We have had many people come to visit us in this house including my parents, Chris's parents, Chris's brothers, Kimball and Cameron, my niece Alyssa, the Johnsons, Derek, and many others.

Although we are very excited to move into our new home, we will miss this place. This is my last blog at this home address. Signing off. . . . .

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Tristan Michael Turns 1

Today is my sweet baby boy's birthday! Tristan has been such a joy in our lives and I can't believe a whole year is up. It must be because he is the second child but it seems like his first year went by way faster than Kennedy's first year.
Tristan is starting to take his first steps. He has a few toys that have wheels and can be pushed. He loves to push those around the house. I often see him out of the corner of my eye zooming here, there, and everywhere. It's hard to tell, but I think he will be saying a few words soon. He definitely says "mamama" and "dadada". Sometimes if I say "ouch" he will try to repeat by saying "ahh".
I have given Tristan a little bit of milk in a sippy cup the past few days in preparation for weening. He loves it. I think he will catch on quickly. He has always been a fast nurser. From the time he was just a few hours old he could take in a whole feeding in under 10 minutes. I worried at first that he was not getting enough but it didn't take long to realize he was growing just fine. He loves to eat and gets very excited when I start making dinner. He likes the real thing. He doesn't like when I give him a piece of bread. That's just not good enough. I think this kid will be big.
Tristan has such a sweet demeanor. He hardly ever cries. I love to watch him play with Kennedy. She likes to tease him and make him laugh and Tristan has the cutest dimples. He likes to tease us too. When he nurses he likes to stick his finger in my nose or mouth. He loves his daddy and rushes toward him when he gets home from work. Tristan loves to play outside and since we have been going out more often with the warmer weather he has a harder time when we stay inside. I love to take him on walks because he just looks around and is so peaceful.
I'm so glad I have this sweet little thing in my life. I don't know what we would do without him.
Here are some things I have learned over the past year:
  • You can love more than one child
  • No matter how hard you try, sibling rivalry is just a part of life
  • No matter how hard you try, some kids just don't sleep through the night
  • There are more important things than sleep
  • Boys are just as fun as girls, just different
  • Resolve is really good for cleaning spit-up off the floor
  • Two kids are better than one (even though one was great for a while)
  • I love having my own fan club (of two)

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter!
We had a nice day today. This morning we snuggled in bed with the kids for a few minutes before going downstairs. We let Tristan play on the floor while we read the Easter story to Kennedy. She loves reading about Jesus on the cross and about his resurrection.
My kids were spoiled by the Easter Bunny. When my mom was here a few weeks ago she bought the kids some things from the Gap and Pottery Barn Kids. By the time we supplemented it almost looked like Christmas. We got Kennedy a little CD player and some audio story books. That was a big hit. She has been listening to it all day. Kennedy said she looked like Sleeping Beauty (with brown hair of course) in her pink dress.
When I was a kid it seemed like Easter was always cold. The Easter Bunny always brought a cute shorts set and a nice spring dress but it was usually a little crisp still. Since moving to NC that has not been the case, until this year. Last Saturday was beautiful when I took Kennedy to an egg hunt. The first part of this week we had beautiful weather with the temperature in the 80s. On Thursday we had a swift change and it feels like winter again. However, I couldn't bring myself to dress my kids in anything but their Easter attire today.
We had our friend Nathan over for dinner. His wife and kids were out of town. We had grilled basil shrimp, orange rolls, lemon rice, salad and raspberry cake. If our friend wouldn't have come we would have leftovers.