This time.....

This time last year, well, yesterday 12/27 to be exact, we packed up our SUV and left our home in Vermont to move to Nebraska. We left every single thing exactly where it was since S's company was paying to have it all packed by our movers, and we loaded our two nut dogs, a bag of clothing, 2 sleeping bags, our top tier of our wedding cake, some books, all important documents and some munchies into our car and we left.

S cried for about 3 miles. I waited until week 2 in Nebraska, when, after a long day of unpacking, I discovered our movers had destroyed our brand new carpet in our basement. And then I sat down and I balled for 30 minutes.

Now, we both knew everything would be fine, and now, 12 months later, it is. But what we also knew was that we had a very uphill battle facing us. We have lived and traveled outside of Vermont and the US. We have gone months without seeing our families. We have been lonely and we have survived. However, moving to Nebraska was the hardest thing we have ever done.

Essentially, we left our jobs (which we both loved), every single person we knew, our home (that S built), and our wonderful lifestyle, all for S to pursue a job he hoped that would bring him professional success. Thankfully, S loves what he is doing, and without moving he would have never gotten many of the opportunities that have been allotted to him in Nebraska. But that doesn't make life easier.

We are learning to lean on each other more than we ever imagined we would. We are learning what our strengths are and where we are weak, and we are trying so hard to be stronger and "better" for A. We have finally, and I mean FINALLY, started to see our home in Nebraska as our house, and we are ready to take the next step in our lives, which right now means growing our lives here and realizing that looking back is not a good thing.

And, we have learned that somedays, it will just suck. Flat out suck. Living 1500+ miles from all that you have known and being aware that there is no "summer break" to go home to will suck a lot.

And on those days, I am thankful we have a very well stocked wine cellar.

Hello December

how is it December already? I hate to say it, but it as been almost a MONTH since I had 5 minutes to sit down and blog....yep, I am a blogging failure!

In life news: Thanksgiving was a bust-S was getting over the stomach flu, A had a sinus infection and I had a nasty little cold. We all hunkered down with our turkey and caught up on our DVRed shows. Sad, but true. We went to Florida to visit S's parents and grandmother at their homes down in the sunshine. It was a great way to spend a cold December week, and it was wonderful to finally get to fly with S for a full trip! Right now we are all getting ready for my parents to come out for Christmas-which means that it may actually be time for us to finish decorating our house. We are so behind in all things home/life related simply because since the first week of November one member of our family has been sick with one ailment or another.

On the baby front: Anders is 6 months old! Woohooo!!!! He is becoming more and more of a "real child" (as S likes to say) every day. He can sit unassisted, he has outgrown his bouncer, swing and infant car seat, he eats a boat load of "real" food and he is learning how to self entertain.

One of the cutest things is to watch him eat solids. He loves pears, apples, peas and anything mixed with cinnamon. He's indifferent to green beans and sweet potatoes. This kiddo loves his food.

Oh yeah, and he is huge. Here's our stats over the past appointments:
Birth: 7 lb 8 oz, 20.5 inches
2 months: 12 lb12 oz, 25.5 inches
4 months: 17 lb 12 oz, 27.5 inches
6 months: 19 lb 9 oz, 29 inches
We are in 12 month clothing. Sadly for A, they are all too wide, so we spend the day pulling his pants up...which, of course, he hates.

Last weekend we went to see Santa, and A was wonderful.

He loved Santa's real beard, and Santa loved that A only touched it instead of pulling it....just you wait one more year!

Hiding under S's golf hat

Family shot at S's family Christmas in Florida.

Jolly little 6 month old!

Finally!

Anders rolled over this morning, for the very first time! Yes, he is 5.5 months old and lots of younger babies have been rolling over for a while, but I think each kiddo will hit his or her milestones when they are ready. Anders was just chilling on the floor on his belly while I was putting his clothing away this morning, and next thing I know he's on his side. This has happened a lot since he was about 3 months old-he gets to the side, chills there for a moment then rolls back to his belly. This morning he did his side roll, chilled for moment, and then flipped to his back. All the while with this look on his face like "Hey mom, I could have done this months ago, but I just didn't feel like it."

The only thing I can equate his look to is that of our dog, Bogey, who wouldn't "shake" at all, until one day about 2 months ago (yep, he was over a year at that point, and we have been working on this since day 1) when he just picked up his paw and was staring at S with this look of "I was born doing this, I just didn't feel like letting you in on in you measly human."

I wish I could say I am kidding, but I truly think our kid and dogs have a conspiracy to take over our house...they are just waiting for A to learn to walk.

Back in action

This was the first weekend in a long time where we were all home, healthy and rested. And it was SO needed. Highlights of the weekend included:
-Doing a little bit of Christmas Shopping
-Sleeping in until 8
-Drinking a bottle of champagne and feeling "mature", even if we did go to bed at 7
-Lots of cooking: Beef Pot Roast, Butterscotch chocolate chip cookies, Canadian Meat Stuffing, and lots of baby food-peas, pears, squash and green beans
-Cleaning up after the first snow storm. Yep, we now have a 5 foot high pile of tree branches outside our home waiting for our garbage day
-4 runs to Whole Foods (we totally need to write down a grocery list instead of trying to remember things sans paper)

In Anders news, A is starting to love baby food. For a bit he would just munch on the spoon and ignore the food, but over the past week he has become passionate about eating. He loves pears, peas and apples. Right now, he is iffy about green beans and will be trying squash tomorrow. I make all of A's food with organic produce, and he loves sitting in hs highchair in the kitchen and watching me.

A is also huge. At 5 months he was 28.5 inches long. We have our 6 month (yep, 6 months already!) appointment on the 10th and I can't wait to see how huge he is! He is a baby that very obviously grows out then up, one week he is chubby cheeked and the next he is a little rail. S is thinking he will be 6'5", I think about 6'4", but either way, I'm sure he will have as many issues finding pants to fit his length as I do. Can I just mention that I have a 36" inseam....poor kid is doomed to a life of highwaters.

S and I are both working a lot and getting ready for our first Thanksgiving without our extended family present. Thanksgiving day we will be delivering turkeys for the Salvation Army for 4 hours, and then we will be having our own small Thanksgiving and enjoying a day of rest and togetherness. "Black Friday" we are planning on remodeling our downstairs hallway and guest bath. This involves lots of painting, a new ceiling, tons of trim work, a new light fixture, and remodeling our pink bath. Pictures to come.

Here's a few shots of A from our most recent trip to Vermont:

Halloween

Smiley-4.5 months

I'll be back....

Eventually.

We got back Wednesday night and I have been super busy at work, and then A and I were plagues with a stomach virus for the weekend...joy.

Plus, I'm in a total life funk. Just a funk, nothing major.

So, give me to Friday, when I finally will have a few moment to catch up, unpack, and re-arrange my hott mess of a blog.

I promise, I'll be back.

October Updating...

Okay, so I can admit, I have been really, really bad the past month (okay, maybe 2 months) in updating our blog...but I can explain!!!!

Excuse #1-I am working...it may ony be 25-30 hours/week, but after spending all day at a computer Monday-Wednesday (and occasionally Thursday) I am sick and tired of the computer screen! Plus, I want the time I am home to be spent with S and A, even if the little guy does only stay awake until 5:30 on day care days.

Excuse #2-We are trying to spen more time with the dogs. S and I have been taking them to the dog park 3-4 times a week, which takes away from my blogging time.

Excuse #3-The house is "under construction", again. We are getting ready to remodel our first floor hallway and guest bath, and paint our master. Therefore, free time is spent taping.

Excuse #4- The most honest excuse... I am fried. S and I have been dealing with some stressful work scenarios (on S's end mostly), trying to remodel some of our personal goals, and we are trying desperately to have a social life. Sadly, there are hundreds of factors that seem to play into every decision we make, and every time we feel like we are getting our feet under us, the proverbial rug is pulled out again. At the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is sit down and revisit the good, the bad and the ugly, especially if it mas seeing it on paper.

Solution....we are heading off for a nice long vacation bak "home" in Vermont. S can only go for 5 days, but I know the 5 will be wonderful for him. Anders and I will be gone for almost 2 weeks, and I hope that he and I come back feeling refreshed.....

4 Month Updates

Anders got to experience his first time eating this week. S and I plopped hm down in his highchair and broke out the Earth's Best Organic Rice Cereal we had bought the previous week. Anders actually enjoyed it, he brought his head forward to the food and eventually wound up smiling between bites.

Hum...

Okay, I'm not sure about this, Dad.

More? Really??

Anders also had his 4 month appointment this week. Turns out, he's huge! 27.5 inches long (in the 98th percentile) and 17.12 lbs (in the 89th percentile). He also had 2 shots, and while I know some Moms say it breaks their heart to see their baby get a shot, it really doesn't bother me. I think that the alternative (illness) is much worse and painful for all involved. Plus, he only cries for about 30 seconds and then totally forgets about what just happened and is back to smiling at the nurses.

At this appointment, A also decided to poop on the thermometer as his temperature was being taken, and to pee in the face of the nurse taking his temp. Nice.

When we got home I popped him in his pack and play to chill for a moment while I took care of the pups. When I came back to check on him he was out, and has been asleep for over 2 hours! Here's a shot of the little kiddo post-shots:

And here are the pups waiting for him to wake up so we can go for a walk: