No, I have not fallen off the face of the Earth

I know, I know.  I have lots of catching up to do.  I see a blogging marathon in my future.

I did, however, take some time to update Nathan's Caringbridge website.  We have had a lot going on (some good some not so good) the past few months.  He is having surgery on his hips and feet on April 11th.  Ryan is meeting with the surgeon tomorrow.  You can catch up with things by clicking on the Caringbridge button on the right. At least it's a start! 

More to come soon!

Just to name a few

I have some nicknames for Lucas.  I wanted to document them so I wouldn't forget.

Here goes:

Love Bug

Honey Bear

Tater Tot

Sweet Pea

Bugga Boos

Cupcake

Peanut Butter

Sweet Potato

Monkey Boy

Sweetie Pie

Sweetie Boy

Bay Bay

Sugar Plum

Honey Love

Cutie Pie

Lukie Boo

Lukie Pookie

Yes, I know.  But I can't stop!

Wordless Wednesday

Practice

makes perfect.

Macys 2011

Every year it's tradition to go to Macys (or Marshall Field's as I will always know it to be) and have lunch under the big tree.  This year was fun (and a bit tricky having two new babies with us.  Thank goodness for an expansive furniture floor where two nursing mothers can find some privacy!)

The "big" cousins had a ball running around and chasing each other.

And the "little" cousins had a ball talking baby talk and being dressed alike (thanks to my mother-in-law).

I usually love to take lots of pictures and get all artsy, but with two kids in tow it wasn't happening this year. I'm not sure I even got a proper picture of the tree!

This is Nathan and his cousin Jake.  Nate just adores him (as you can plainly see!)

At least I got some cute pictures of all the cousins together.  We don't see them often enough.

One of the best photos of the day-the Queen Bee with her grandchildren.

The day went by too quickly and we were out of time before we knew it and had to head home so Ryan could go to work.  However, we were happy to have carried on a tradition, spent time with family and made some memories!

The view from here

So now that we've lived in our new home over a month, I thought I should share some photos (er, I mean one photo). 

This is the view from the back of our house, which faces a corn field.  The seller told us at closing that sunsets were her favorite part of this house.  I can see why.  Firework displays (like the one I saw on New Year's Eve) aren't so bad either.  Except I don't have any pictures of that.  Have I mentioned we love it here?

Gramma

and her 3 boys.

Not planned

but still cute.

Sweet baby blues

Some that didn't make the cut

Here are a few goodies from my attempt at the "perfect" Christmas card photo. 

Okay, one out of two ain't bad. (And I'm sorry but even when Lucas is crying he is just so. darn. cute!)

But Moooom, we don't waaaaant to!

Maybe if we act sleepy we can get out of it!

Okay, get that camera out of our faces already!

What? I have to touch him?

Got a couple decent ones in the end.  One year I am going to do a Christmas card with just the outtakes!

3 months

 

Already!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Rockin' out

Thankful for a big move

It's been a long road, but we are at the end of it.

We've known for a while that the house we live in now doesn't suit our family's needs.  We live in a bi-level and with Nate in a wheel chair it has been trying.  Plus, with the addition of Lucas it just seems smaller.  Nate really has nowhere to go here, is constantly bumping into furniture and we have a family room downstairs that we barely ever use.

We've been searching for months and months, considered the idea of building and have looked at several houses.  Along the way we found one we thought would be perfect for our family.  It's actually a long story, but the short version is after a few different tries the sellers accepted our offer and we put our house up for sale. 

I was really overwhelmed with the whole process because it started while I was still in the hospital after Lucas was born.  Having a new baby, showing our house, buying a new one and moving was a lot to think about.  But we knew it was the right move.

The first couple who came to look at our house ultimately bought it.  It wasn't the smoothest transaction but it's over.  We've owned our new house for 3 days now and I just can't wait to move in (moving this Saturday) and get settled.

 I really don't think this new house could be any more perfect for us.   We had very specific needs when we were looking and all the other houses didn't fit them.  Here are a few of the reasons we chose this house:

-It's a big, spacious ranch with an open layout.  Plenty of room for Nathan to get around, all on one level! (Bonus: it has a finished basement!  Someday we hope to put in a lift for easy access downstairs).

-It has a three car garage which is big enough to fit a ramp for Nate.  I am so excited at the prospect of him being able to get in and out of the house completely on his own (except for me helping him in and out of his chair).  This is not only because it will make him more independent, but also because it frees up my hands and saves me several trips (at our current house I have been making several trips up and down the stairs to load him, his chair, the baby, the diaper bag...)

-The bathrooms are large.  Like, really large.  This was a big problem in all the other houses we looked at.  We would like almost everything else about it until we got to the bathroom.  It was always too small for Nathan to get around in.  In this house, he has plenty of room.

-It's 2 miles away from where we live right now, in a nice subdivision.  Not adding any time to our commute to work and still living in the area we are in right now and love.  (Bonus: I called the other day and Nathan will still be able to attend the school he is currently at.  Although his new school is in the same district, I was afraid having to start over at a new school with new teachers and faces would be too much for him with the move.  Plus, the bus service will pick him up and drop him off at the new house!)

It's been a long journey and for a while we weren't sure it was going to work out.  I really feel that God has had his hand in all this, and although I am sad to leave the house we started our family in (I really do love this house!) and the friends we have made here (and we are talking about some awesome people!) we couldn't be more excited to be moving into a home where Nathan can grow and become more independent.  And a big, HUGE shout out to all the friends and family who have helped and supported us during this process.  Watching kids, helping pack, ripping up carpet, bringing meals, and just offering support and encouragement along the way.  We couldn't have done it without you.  SO much to be thankful for this year!!! We are so blessed!!!

Halloween

This was from Trunk or Treat at our church Friday night.  Thanks to Grandma D we were the second ones in line and didn't have to wait in line for 2 freezing hours like last year.

I had fun incorporating Nathan's chair with his costume this year.  It's amazing what you can do with some cardboard and a couple cans of spray paint. It's something I plan to do in the years to come, as long as he is using it.  I kept talking about it in the days leading up to Halloween weekend, but he didn't see it all put together until we went to trunk or treat.  I got it ready while he was still in the car and when I brought him out to show him he was really excited.  He said, "Wook!  It's my digger, like Scoop!"  I was inspired by another mom and was happy to find that there were several awesome wheelchair costumes including a spaceship, ice cream truck, Thomas train, and Batmobile (check out Caleb's Batmobile here).

This was from Nate's preschool Halloween party.  Notice the construction worker with his hands over his ears. 

Baby's first Halloween.  He's growing up too fast!

And the best part of Halloween?  Nathan actually requested to hold his little brother!

Fall fun

Guess who decided to try and eat the paint?

Mommy's pumpkin-he was so excited.  "Mommy it's glowed!"

Nathan's pumpkin

Pumpkin patch