Catching Up

One of the bad things about moving and trying to get settled into a new place is that picture-taking, blogging, or even desire to blog pretty much get thrown out the window. Now that we are finally pretty well settled into our new place, I suppose it's time to take some pictures of the kids and write a few things down before the baby comes and I totally forget everything.

We are all enjoying life back in my hometown of Cedar City, or more specifically, Enoch. At first, it was kind of a weird transition for everyone, even me. I have never really lived here as an adult, and had gotten accumstomed to living in big cities over the past 10 years, so learning to live with only Wal-Mart to shop at was a little strange at first. But now I don't mind at all. We take trips down to St. George fairly regularly, so that gives me my shopping fix often enough! Having most of my family close around me every day is a dream come true for me, and I don't know how I survived without them for so long. It also makes the prospect of adding another baby to the family a lot less nerve-wracking. I know I will have all the help I could ever need, and that is good to know.

The kids are happy, and adjusting quite well. Drew loves his preschool class, and is getting ready to start kindergarten in the fall. I took him to the pediatrician last week to get his shots- poor kid had to get 5 separate shots all at once. He handled it pretty well though. (It's nothing that a tiny plastic toy alien from the prize machine at the Dr.'s office and an ice cream cone can't fix!) Kindergarten registration is next week, and he is really looking forward to starting in the fall. He is so ready for it. The elementary school is less than a mile from our house, which is nice. He is trying really hard to find new kids to play with; he is really cute about wanting to make new friends. He is a super social kid, and isn't afraid to make the first move, which I think is cool. There are tons of kids that live in the area, so I am thinking once the weather warms up then everyone will start to emerge and we should have lots of little people around. In the meantime, he is trying to learn that playing with his little sister isn't so bad after all. They are getting to the age where they can play together, at least in theory. Most of the time they have fun together.

Allie is doing great as well. She is growing so much and changing every day. She loves building towers with her blocks, and playing with Polly Pockets with Nana. She has a little tea set with pretend food that she pulls around in a little toy wagon, and likes to have spontaneous tea parties around the house. She is super smart and always says the cutest and funniest things that crack me up. I can't believe she will be turning three in just over 2 months. The time just flies by. Then again, I can't really remember her baby days very well, either. I was looking through the bin of newborn baby girl clothes the other day, and I just can't believe how tiny they are. It's strange to think that they will be in use again in only a few short months!

I am doing well, and still feeling relatively good and active. I am one of those lucky ones who don't mind being pregnant all that much. I think the round belly looks sort of cute and it gives me an excuse to wear sweats and eat more...he-he! The kids are excited to meet their new baby sister, and Drew has even been giving me some name suggestions, which I think is so cute. (Some of them are actually under consideration!) I don't have any prego pics of me at all, which is not surprising since today I finally pulled out the camera to take some photos of the kids for the first time since we moved in, like 6 weeks ago. It is amazing how much more relaxed I am with this pregnancy, as opposed to the first one. It is nice knowing more or less what to expect, and that I am happy being a mom, and am confident with my parenting abilities. All the unknowns the first time around were enough to make me crazy! I love being able to sit back and relax, enjoy this time in my life, and know that things will be great. Here are some recent pictures:

The cutest kids ever.

Yes, he is still attached to the cat and dog (and blanket!) of his babyhood. Who am I to put a stop to it?

Love those brown eyes.

My baby is getting to be such a big girl. It is amazing how fast that happens!

We were taking the kids swimming for FHE and I told Drew to wear something warm over his swimming suit and he got too excited and mixed them up. It was so cute and I was laughing and had to take a picture. (I swear he really does have common sense!)

The other day the house was quiet, and I went to look and I caught Drew in his room just sitting, reading his Transformers book. He is a pretty good reader, actually, especially for being a pre-kindergartner. I am so happy that he loves books and reading.

Well that is the update for now. Hopefully now that we are mostly settled in, I will be able to return to blogging, at least semi-regularly (assuming there are any readers still left out there that will see this...)