Busy, Busy...

This week has been a little busy, a lot emotional...

Jonah has been in Duluth for the week, so the kids and I are successfully all alone at the house. We have survived. No boogie men have broken in and taken us away...There were some monsters in Logan's room last night, but they turned out to be nice monsters who like Lightening McQueen and Mater, so we were ok.

Last weekend when Mema was here, Jonah and I were able to go shopping for all things Easter...We have all the fillings for 3 Easter baskets, so if by chance the little guy shows up by then, he will not be forgotten by the Easter bunny. Wouldn't life be hard if the Easter bunny forgot about you in your first few days of life?!

We were also able to get the kids removable wall decals, so they could somewhat decorate their rooms. Belli got Disney princesses and Logan got Cars-The Movie! So their rooms are personalized to a certain degree.

This week we have made some headway in all things practical as well. Jonah and I were able to tour Isabella's new preschool on Monday and officially register her on Wednesday. She will be attending St. Ambrose of Woodbury. It is a Catholic preschool! OMG! They also have a grade school thru 8th grade, although the schools around here are great-- I also put Logan on a waiting list for their 2 day program, so if something opens up, he will go at corresponding times twice a week next year. Belli will be in their frog room and her teachers will be Miss Barb and Miss Jan. She wasn't thrilled with her teachers names, but she is excited about being in the frog room. I drove her past yesterday, so she now is referring to it as her "red school" since the building is red brick. Their website is http://www.saintambroseofwoodbury.org/education/ecec/ecec.html if you are interested in checking it out. I was really impressed with the program, yet I still burst into tears when Jonah and I got back in the car afterwards.

I have found my biggest struggle up here comes in the fact that I have a tendency to make decisions based on long term. I decided where Isabella would go to preschool with the intention that all my children would follow suit, have the same teachers, etc. Same goes for the pediatrician, dentist, where we buy their first pair of shoes...I am a planner, and my plans have changed. That is the hardest part for me! Thankfully, everyone I have dealt with up here has made me feel extremely comfortable, which makes it easier.

We also were able to meet with the kids new pediatrician last night. Her name is Dr. Crosby-Schmidt. We really, really like her...And their facility is open late at night and offers x-rays, so with luck Logan and I will be able to go to the office instead of the ER next time he has an incident, because let's be honest, he will break something or cut something open again. :)

Now, we are working on an OB-GYN and hospital for the littlest member of our clan. Nothing quite like putting things off! I have looked at 2 hospitals, both are great. And I have some calls into some dr's offices. At this point, I don't really care who my doctor is. Once I know though, it will take some pressure off.

Also, I wanted to throw it out there to anyone who is looking for a nice little vacation--our house is completely open to visitors the last week in April and first week of May. I will feed and house you. I will even do your laundry. The catch? If I go into labor, you are in charge of my kids! This is the biggest hurdle I am facing today--My dad has thankfully given me free reign to call him as soon as I go into labor, so really we just need about 6 hours of coverage!

As far as our trip back to Illinois, we will be heading back for the week of April 11th, as Jonah has some work function in Chicago for the week. We will also be back in Illinois with the baby the weekend of May 14th for the Paul Smith Celebrity Golf Outing, or as I tell my friends, a charity outing that Jonah plays in each year...

As far as Easter is concerned, we will be missing the bug hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Sanye's house for the 2nd time in my life...(last time I missed it, Jonah and I were in Lyon, France and I pouted all day long!). I haven't asked them yet, but I am going to make a slight request to see if they will host a pre-emptive hunt for Belli and Logan the weekend of April 16th before we head back north. Hopefully, mentioning it here, they will feel obligated! :)

As soon as I know our official dates of travel, I will post them! Hope all is well with everyone. I have loved getting everyone's emails and phone calls. It is great to stay connected!!

No, Logan, we can't get a zebra...

Nuff said.

Oh What a Week!

After the excitement of moving in last week and the elbow issues that followed, who knew that this week would be so fun too! My dad likes to refer to my current lifestyle as more of a permanent "staycation" as opposed to real life...I don't really doubt that is the case. I also feel as though there is so much to see and do up here that we might be in staycation mode for the next 2 years or so...

We started the week with gorgeous weather in the 50s, and somehow talked Jonah into taking about 2 hours out of his day to check out the zoo with us. I am so glad he was able to join us, and I think it is not only fair to say we will return to the Como Zoo but also that we will be visiting frequently. The highlight of our day was supposed to be the flamingos, until we found out that they are still away for the winter. Nonetheless, we found lots of other animals, and all were extremely excited to meet and greet us in very close proximities.

Below is Logan meeting a Tamarin monkey. This little guy would have sat on Logan's lap had there not been glass stopping him!

The lions were not as impressed by our family! ;)
Belli decided that snuggling with a baby sea lions in an igloo was more entertaining than the polar bear exhibit.
Jonah posed nicely with the zebra...But the kids were more interested in the kudus...
This sea lion LOVED Logan!! As soon as we walked up to the glass the sea lion dove out of the water and kept sitting on the edge right by Logan. He did this for about 10 minutes. Logan thought for sure we should take him home!

I was so glad to have a nice day at the zoo, as I continuously feel like my days of getting out alone with the kids are being numbered.

I was even more excited we went when I found out Tuesday night that a winter storm warning had been issued and we were expecting 6-10 inches of snow.

When we woke up Wednesday morning, this was our backyard!

Going from green grass one night to this the next morning was so exciting...for the kids!

And for Noah. He didn't miss a beat. He has played more outside the last 2 weeks than he did all winter in Illinois. No one really has fences here, so Noah gets frequent visits from his "neighbors"--he loves the Shelties on the left, and even the black lab that visits from up the block AND across the street.

Mema flew in this morning, so the kids got a nice surprise when they woke up! We had a HUGE day today going into St. Paul to Caffe Latte for lunch and then heading over to the Mall of America this afternoon. We were able to find Lego Land, which Logan is sure he was born to go to. We also made baby Henry a stuffed monkey we named Banana Split at Build A Bear. We ended our day with a trip to White Bear Lake, so Mema can make all the ladies at work jealous!

This weekend promises to be busy and fun filled as we continue to show Mema what we have already discovered up here, and continue to look around for more...

We'll keep you updated!

Oh what a week...

We are settled in even more than we were, and I am starting to figure out my surroundings. The kids and I drove around for a couple hours yesterday and found all the necessities...Trader Joes, etc. :) We also found our "new" KPW. The city has an indoor playground called Lookout Ridge. It is in the same building as the library and the YMCA, down in the city buildings like city hall and the police station, etc. Everything here is REALLY nice since it was all built in the last 10 years or so. Even the grocery store has an Aveda spa, a Starbucks, and a specialty wine shop IN it! Yes, a spa in the grocery store!!! My trips buying groceries might start requiring HOURS!!

For those of you who haven't heard, we also found the hospital at about 3am on Thursday morning. About a half a block up the street, we have a really nice park for the kids. Jonah took all 3 dogs and the kids there Wednesday evening as I was cleaning up from our corned beef and cabbage dinner, which my dad so nicely walked me thru cooking! They returned home an hour later---Logan crying. Jonah and I both being of the less is more mindset got him settled down and asleep...He woke up at about 3am crying and wouldn't move his arm, so I ended up taking him into the ER. He had dislocated his elbow. X-rays and all...for a kids who has never been to the doctor for being sick even, he was quite the trooper. His elbow is now fine, and he is slowly regaining usage of his left hand, which is either sprained or has a mild break. If he isn't better Monday, we are going to the orthopedics. He does keep assuring me almost hourly that it is getting "much better."

In the ER, they put him in a sling before we left. The tech had barely closed the door before he ripped it off and told me he was "not wearing this." His thoughts about his sling haven't changed.

Isabella has tried it on. Actually, she really liked it, but it pulled her hair once, and the relationship was over. So now we just have an unused sling in size XXS sitting on the counter that I am sure we will get a huge bill for!

Belli woke up this morning, as she does most mornings, all smiles. I crawled in with her and took a couple pictures.

She is really excited because the baby's room is unpacked and his clothes are all being washed. The baby bath sling is sitting by the tub--she knows it is getting closer FINALLY! I was thinking about how funny it will be to drive away from the house in 2 weeks with an empty car seat and return a month later with a FULL one!---Actually 3 full car seats, but who is counting.

Belli and Logan also asked to go to Grandma and Grandpa Sanye's house the other day. Imagine how excited they were when I told them we were going there for Easter. Some how, they remember the egg hunt and cannot wait for another big hunt. With any luck, Henry will also be joining in this venture with us--on the outside. With Easter being so late this year, it would be a great day to have him in the front carrier and be outside. It would not be such a great year to still be pregnant and HUGE! :)

Jonah and the kids are enjoying each others company on a daily basis. Last night they all played in the BIG tub together, and then we all watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and had popcorn. Great choice of movies for Spring!

Below is the front of the house and then one of the backyard. You can see the walking trail to the right of the backyard. That connects to the grade school which is about a block away. They were taken this morning, so it is a little foggy! Weather is supposed to be in the 50s all weekend though!

The Move

We are moved and situated for the most part. My closet is NOT unpacked, but I can only wear about 5% of my wardrobe at this point anyways, so no biggie there.

The garage also still has to be organized...Lots of Christmas boxes in the corner out there. Hopefully in the next week, we will be able to park in the garage. By that time, it will be consistently in the 50s and won't matter anyways. :P

Here are some photos of the house. You can see that the kids have had no problem unpacking themselves and feeling at home.

The living room right off the foyer.

The dining room off the living room.
The kitchen. The first thing we had Papa do is install baby gates to keep the dogs and Logan out of the kitchen. I cannot tell you what a difference this has made in my world. Cooking dinner the last 2 nights was amazing!
The family room off the kitchen. And a big thank you to Minnesota for providing great antenna service. We were going to get cable, but the channels we are getting with just the antenna are better than we had in Illinois, so we can save that $50 a month!!!
The view from the top of the stairs. Overlooking the foyer and living room.

I am so happy to be unpacked, and sort of settled. We are here in Minnesota for the next 3 weeks and then heading back to Illinois to await the littlest member of the Smith clans arrival. Hopefully, he will make his grand entrance sooner than later. Upon packing up things, Isabella and I came across her baby book. Inside was the receipt from my pregnancy test with her. As of next month, I will have officially been pregnant for 27 of the last 60 months. So if you have seen me in the last 5 years, you have a 50-50 chance that I was pregnant! Awesome! The cool thing for me (being a numbers person) is that Isabella's date of conception is approximately 5 years to the day of Henry's due date. Very cool, and maybe a big huge sign that we are done having babies! (If anyone wishes to complain about this, Jonah and I are freely accepting donations to raise the kids. With unlimited financial resources that would include a nanny or 2, or at least afford the "grandmas" the ability to not work and come stay with us for a month or so at a time, we will be happy to add to the brood!)

One thing that has been really fun about the move is seeing what things remind the kids of "home". Logan was happy to point out "Matthew's car" while driving up here. Isabella thinks that Famous Dave's is just like Grama and Papa's house because they have antlers and corn on the cob. Any red barn is immediately Grandma and Grandpa Sanye's house...

So, settled and happy to be together, we are. AND anxiously awaiting the next arrival!