We've all come down with some variation of a nasty head cold here, and I was up half the night either blowing my nose, or rocking an infant. Timothy, thankfully, slept sound and hard. He was still sleeping when John left for work this morning, so I stayed in bed and waited for him to wake me up asking for breakfast.

When he did, he was covered in some kind of sticky yellow substance. Now he's taken to sleeping under his bed, and the substance wasn't that different from the color of the carpet, so I was freaking out, thinking our carpet might be poisoning our child. Then I went downstairs, and found this:



Apparently, he decided to fix his own breakfast, and all he could reach was Daddy's powdered Gatorade on the counter...

*Sigh*... At least he did it on the day I was planning to mop the floors anyway...

Baby it's cold outside!

Well, fall has struck with a vengeance here on the prairie. After four years of mild climates in Florida and DC, I guess I've been spoiled. I've never been much for cold weather, and I'm not too fond of socks, so I always bemoan having to put away my sandals. Aside from today, it's been so cold and wet this last week or so, that it seems like we skipped the nice part of fall and went straight for the heavy stuff. Oh well, hopefully it will be nice again for a little while, if not warmer. Not that it's THAT cold. I guess... But high 50s feels a lot colder when it's raining, and you have an infant that gets cold easily. Can I tell you how eager I am for winter? *sarcastic tone*

But enough whining. On the bright side, there are plenty of things to do here as the weather turns. The mall sponsors a "Family Free Friday" the last Friday of every month, and we took advantage of it this time around. There were free carousel rides, free ice skating (We'll wait a few years for that one), and the Children's Museum was free. This was pretty cool. They have a puppet theatre, a kid-sized construction site, farm, and mini-city complete with grocery store, hospital and TV studio (I'm sure there was more, but I ducked off at that point to feed the baby). Timothy LOVED it. When I was uploading the pictures today, he remembered and excitedly told me all about it. =)

Andrew is growing by leaps and bounds. Yesterday, he rolled over 4 times! Granted, it was from tummy-to-back, which is easier than back-to-tummy, but still. It was pretty exciting! I'm a little worried what this means for my piece of mind in a few months... He loves to talk to any and all of us, and has the best smiles, especially for his big brother, whom it's clear he adores. Timothy loves this, and will crouch down to talk to him, or show him toys all the time. I'm so glad they get along so well. We'll see what happens when Andrew starts crawling... =)


Oh, and for those who've requested, I finally had my house about as clean as it's likely to get with small children underfoot, so I took some pictures. Here's a virtual tour of our digs. =)

They grow so fast...

Well, we've pretty much been holding steady here in Iowa. John stays busy at work, and the boys keep me busy here. Timothy loves to go out. Outside, to the park, the library, the play area at the mall... Wherever we go, his joy of life is a constant joy to me. I love watching him learn and grow through his experiences.

He loves to imitate us, especially John. Last week, we stopped by work to see John, and Timothy was completely fascinated, especially by the tool crib. The sets didn't seem to make much of an impression, but the tools! We went home, and he got all his tools out and for an hour was "working like Daddy." So cute!

He also adores his little brother, and loves to talk to him, and help. When we've given Andrew a bottle (to get him used to it should I leave), Timothy has loved to help. He's pretty good at it actually. As long as Andrew doesn't move.. =)

Andrew is 2 months old today. The time has just flown by! Already he wants to see the world, and is rarely happy facing me when in his baby carrier. He LOVES to watch Timothy, and they can coo at each other happily for quite a while.


We've thankfully got him sleeping pretty well too. Mornings are anyone's guess, but he usually takes a nice long nap in the afternoon, and then most nights he falls asleep fairly easily and sleeps from 8pm to 1am before I have to get up and feed him. Then only once or twice the rest of the night. Peaceful evenings are so nice! They make for a much saner Mommy. =)

So much has happened in the last two months though. It's hard to believe all the changes that have taken place. We feel so blessed with this new place, a new job, and our sweet wonderful boys. (Even if the older one is too smart for Mommy's peace of mind... )

Oh, for more pictures, check out our flickr page =)

Us again..

Well, I figured I should post some new pictures and at least a short update on our lives here in Iowa. John has been 3 weeks on the job now, and loving it. He got a bike, and rides it to and from work almost every day (with the exception of the downpour we had last week. For that, we picked him up. I'm suffering from the normal sleep deprivation of having an infant and keeping up with a toddler, so nothing new there. But enough about us..

Timothy LOVES our new house. He loves the stairs, the neighbors, the park, and the new friends he's making (of all species). One of our neighbors has a parrot, and there's a dauschund, and some large brown pony-size dog as well. We've also found the local duck pond, and he and his new friend Tyler chased them all over yesterday (Sorry, I forgot the camera). Here's some fun shots of our little adventurer:

Andrew (the real reason you're reading this of course) had changed so much in the last few weeks. It's crazy how fast they change! He smiles and coos at us now, and while we desperately wish he would sleep more, we love to cuddle him and marvel at the miracle he is. Timothy loves his little brother, and is a great help. He rushes to comfort him when he cries with an "Okay Andew", and the only jealousy he seems to have is that he wants his diaper changed before I change the baby's. I'm glad that transition has been made so smoothly. It's certainly made my life easier... =)

Anyway, here's some shots of Andrew so you can see how he's changed too:

Home Again...

So, the last few weeks have been busy, to say the least. After a nice relaxing stay in the hospital, Andrew and I came home, and John and I spent the next five days finishing the packing of all our worldly possessions. Well, mainly John. I was under orders not to lift anything heavier than Andrew, and I... was pretty good about that... Sort of... I probably did more than I was supposed to, but I didn't feel it until after we loaded the truck. Then I collapsed and watched John and a few friends clean the apartment. This has been a humbling experience for me, but in a good way. I've had to accept a lot of help with packing and cleaning, things that normally I would take care of. But in this case, accepting help was needed, and much appreciated.
Anyway, after we loaded the truck, and cleaned the apartment, we lit up the barbeque, and had a few friends by to say goodbye, and to celebrate Timothy's birthday. (We pulled out for Iowa on his actual birthday, but he seemed happy with celebrating a few days early. =) Here's some shots from loading, and the party.

Sunday, my Mom flew in, and Monday we pulled out at 5:30am. John drove the truck with the cats, and Mom drove our car while I kept the boys happy. Thankfully, everyone traveled well, even the cats. I was a little worried about John losing patience, and tossing them out somewhere in W VA, but they were pretty calm once they figured out they weren't going to the vet. Timothy was fine, and since he got to get out and run around every couple hours while I fed the baby, I didn't even have to pull out the DVD player until an hour or so before we stopped for the night. Andrew, thankfully, slept most of the trip, and only really protested the carseat about and hour from our final destination.

Our new home is great! I will post pictures soon, once we get unpacked. In the meantime, here's a few key points: Two floors (which Timothy and the cats love), a washer and dryer (my favorite part), and our own mini backyard to let small boys loose in when they get antsy. Oh, and John's favorite part: remote control ceiling fans. =) It's the little things. =)















My Dad came out this past weekend, to see our new hometown, and of course, to see his newest grandchild.

While he was here, we explored the university area, and a few tourist destinations nearby. I was surprised to find so much here. I knew it would be bigger than where I grew up, but this is much more than I expected. There's plenty to do here. While it may not be DC for tourism, I'm okay with that. This is going to be a great place to raise our family.













P.S. While my parents were here, we also went and got Timothy's birthday present from all his grandparents: a red wagon. Here's some shots of our excited little boy in his new toy. =)