Ahhh.... Thats Nice

Here is how Wyatt handles big events like moving. He sleeps and eats and smiles. Then he sleeps some more.

Tidbits

It took almost a whole week for me to be to a point where I could sit down and write a little bit, but here I am! We are slowly but surely getting unpacked and settled in our new home. As I unpack boxes I am wondering how we ever fit into our apartment. I am filling this house quickly, and there is still a lot in the garage.

Ezra is getting more comfortable here, which is good. Until today he hadn't napped in a week, and it was taking a toll on both of us. He is really enjoying having some space to play.

It was hard to keep him contained in the apartment, and I am very glad to be here on days like today. It has been 20* all day, and the wind is blowing at around 35 mph. The overnight high is supposed to be 14*. The weather folks are predicting this will continue all week. Another reason I'm thankful we moved this past weekend....

As usual, Wyatt is just as happy as can be. He is still at the point in life where he is adaptable and doesn't even know it. He has been working on sitting up today, which makes me sad. He's getting big too quickly. To tell the truth, he wasn't sitting up so much as balancing on his belly. Really, when you're that cute, who cares?!

Wyatt got to camp out on the floor for a few days, and Ezra loved it. He would snuggle with him for about two minutes, but not usually any longer. He's a busy, busy man.










Getting the table moved in made it look like we almost live here now. The pile of stuff in the corner is proof though.

Moving In

This is the first picture taken, with our first load of our own stuff being brought into the new house. Ezra has taken it upon himself to be the doorman. He's very enthusiastic.

If you're not all the way out the door, he'll give you the push you need......

Ezra is a nice brother, or so he'd like us to think.

The kitchen table is VERY heavy, so Ezra and I ate on the stairs for a few days, until we had men to help move the big items.

A Night In The Big House

Last night was our first night in the new house. It was ummm..... Scary. It has hard wood floors, and we don't have that much stuff, so it echoes, and is loud but very quiet at the same time. It makes all the noises that houses make at night, that I'm not used to yet. After I finally went to sleep (on the floor!) at around midnight, Wyatt got up to eat, and then around four I swear on everything Holy, an airplane tried to land on the roof. The entire house shook, and it was about the loudest thing I've ever heard inside a house. So Ezra woke up scared to death (not that I was really surprised). There was no putting him back in his bed, so I took him and we tried to go back to sleep on my little bed on the floor. Apparently he's not the kind of kid who goes back to sleep after finding out his bed is on a runway. So, lets just say it was a very short night, and first thing I did this morning was dig through boxes like a raccoon in the garbage 'till I found the coffee...
Ezra is in quite the mood now, since he's been up since four, and I wouldn't let him take a nap at 8:00am. Not that I would have minded taking a nap myself, but I don't really want this to keep happening. We're working on making it to our regularly scheduled naptime. It's hard to be inspired to keep moving boxes after about three hours of sleep- on the floor.
So, another word of advice from me-- make sure you pass out ear plugs if you move onto an airport runway, and get help moving your bed even if it means selling your soul. After a night or two on the floor, you won't have much use for one anyway.

Hellooooo Uncle Levi!

As I've mentioned before, Ezra likes to pack his little photo album around with him. Well now it seems that He's developing favorites. The pictures of his Uncle Levi are usually the ones he talks to. He was being particularly sweet when I took these. He always says his silly little "Helloooo!" when he opens it, and then waves when he's going to close it.

I thought I'd do a little back tracking here~ I mentioned in an earlier post that we are moving in a snow storm, and then posted a picture of Wyatt in his short shorts. The snow was Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Monday it was back up to 35-40, and yesterday it was 65. So there is no neglect, or frostbite here, just crazy South Dakota weather. I guess checking the weather channel is a good idea if you live somewhere else.

Thunder Thighs

Why is it that the many rolls on baby's thighs are sooo cute in their short shorts, but it doesn't work for moms????

Hooked On Phonics

This isn't the greatest picture of Ezra ever, but I didn't want to leave him on the box long enough to get a good one. If You'll notice, the box says GLASS in big letters right under him. I hope the guys helping move us can read better than Ezra........

Yet another picture of Wyatt in a good mood. He managed to wiggle his little head out of the hat and that made him happy. Like most things do.

Now There's The Uncle You Gotta Watch Out For...

I took this picture this morning when I found Ezra telling Wyatt about the pictures in his photo album. I'm not sure what he was saying, but they were very sweet together.

My mom made Ezra a photo album with pictures of all the family, and he packs it around with him all the time. I thought it was great that he was showing his little brother.

A Few Thoughts On Moving

So yesterday was our first day of moving into the house. That was a nice thing. We took all of our kitchen stuff over, save two cups and one plate for each of us (Ezra and I that is). Today we are planning on moving all the furniture to the garage, so it's easier to move next weekend. I can't exactly move the couch down the stairs by myself, and I want to be able to clean. I'm planning on camping out on the floor for the next few nights 'till we get my bed moved. I suppose I should call it 'our' bed, but Ben is never here and I'm going to be the one on the floor, so it's mine. I'm looking forward to being done, and I've barely started.....

We seem to pick the best times to move, when it is freezing rain- Greenacres to Liberty Lake, when it's 20* below with 45 mph wind- Liberty Lake to Newman Lake, when it is 90* and I'm 8 months pregnant and we don't know anyone to help us- WA to SD, and now, while it's 30* and snowing. We are good at this. I would recommend checking the weather before you move. You think I would have heeded to that advice myself after a few past experiences, but no not me! So learn from this and watch the weather channel.

Sugar High

Ezra likes cupcakes. I don't really think it takes more than that to explain this picture. Maybe that he likes frosting too. A Lot!

Hellooooo!!!

We took the child locks off all the cupboards that are empty today, and Ezra is thrilled. He's spent a lot of the day popping out and saying 'Hellooo!!' to me. It's a nice break from "Bah?!"

Wyatt's Helping Hand

As you can see, Wyatt is not stressing over the move at all. This is pretty much how he helps, and I'm not kidding. This is the best way he could lend a hand. If I had a crying baby in the middle of trying to move I'd cry too.

Take Five Everyone

Ezra has become quite the climber recently, and with all the boxes around these last few days he is in climbers heaven. Fortunately most of them are too heavy for him to push up against counters so I'm mostly safe that way, but he's also very smart. He's learned he can climb from a dining room chair, to the table, to the high-chair, to the counter. Which always results in a spanking. He doesn't seem to mind the punishment too much these days. I think he thinks it's all worth it. When he lands on his head he might think(or cease to think!) differently.

Boys And Boxes

Well, this was the first official day of packing. It was tedious and exhausting. Two boys in the house and I'm out of boxes. Plastic bags are great, but you can only put so many plates in one before you start to get nervous. I'm out of bags now as well. I've decided it doesn't have to be the best packing job ever, after all we are only moving about fifteen minutes away.

Ezra hasn't caught on that there is a reason that I am putting things in boxes, and it's not just so he can take them back out. It makes it fun. For some of us anyway..... Just think, I want a dog too. No one has ever accused me of being overly intelligent.

About A Dog

In response to the comment about the puppy, I'm calling him Boris.
When I get one of my own though, if it's a male I'll call him Emmit, and if it's a female I'll have a suggestion box!

My New Best Friend

This is my new friend, even if he doesn't know it yet. Forget my front teeth, this is all I want for Christmas.

Can I Come In?

This is just a random picture of Ezra. He was staring at me through the gate between my room and the hall, and was very cute doing it.

Wanna Play?

Ezra loves to play peek-a-boo, and if you are shorter than Ben, which I am by quite a bit, you get knocked over. It's one of his favorite games.

You can see the way he looks at Ben he adores his daddy.

Mark Your Calendars!

Here is the earliest invitation most people have probably had for Thanksgiving. Next year, 2007, we want everyone to come to Rapid City for Thanksgiving. Don't make any other plans, because we'll be more fun anyway. By then I'll even have a dog for you all to meet. See how convincing I am? Not that there are grandkids/nephews/children/siblings to visit, but I'll have a dog.

Here is another view of the kitchen/dining room. I think this will be pretty much where we live in the house. I can't wait to decorate for Christmas!

Another super exciting picture, the laundry room. It has a half bath, and lots of storage.

Here is the master bedroom. It's pretty nice, and you can see Rushmore out the windows.

Here is the master bath, it's very nice.

This is our street, its very nice. There were lots of people out walking with dogs and kids. Our house is on the very end of the street, next to cows. That is also a good thing, because I love cows.

Here is a bedroom, it looks out at the cows.

This is Ben and Ezra on the stairs. Upstairs is two kid rooms and the master bedroom, and down is a pretty good sized family room.

This is the Family room downstairs. Eventually we want to add a patio out the door you can see here. You can actually see Mt. Rushmore from the south facing windows here! Our Binoculars will have permanent residence in the window sills.

This is another veiw of the family room. The door on the left is an office/guest room, and the door on the right is another bathroom. To the right of the bathroom is another set of stairs to a basement full of the owners stuff.

A Place To Call Home

This is our new home. Yes, a house. We are very excited to be out of an apartment. The outside of it isn't really much to look at, but the inside is great. It is 3100 sq ft, with four bedrooms (that means we can have company!), a very nice kitchen, and A YARD!!! That is one of the things I am most excited for. Ezra is going to be a much happier kid, and I can have a dog!!! It would take a really long time to give a whole picture tour on here, so I'll post a few at a time.







This is the kitchen, obviously, taken from the stairs.











This is the entry/dining room. to the left of it is the kitchen, and the front door is to the right.












Here is the kitchen again, and you can see the front door and stairs. Ben loves the dark wood..... I can live with it :0)

Hide And Seek

Kellen came to play the other day, and we made a fort under the table. They boys weren't as impressed as I'd hoped, but we had fun anyway. Kellen is shorter than Ezra, and Ezra couldn't figure out why Kellen could walk under the table and he couldn't. He has a few bumps on his head.

On top of getting his head beat up on the table the other day, yesterday he fell in the bathrom and hit his face on the toilet. He bit a pretty big hole in his little tongue and has a VERY fat lip. He looks like we hit him. A lot. At least he's smiling about it!

My Boyfriend

I keep telling Amy (and everyone else I talk to on a regular basis really) that I've got a boyfriend. She says that's ok as long as I don't get too serious or move in next to him. (she has boyfriends too. Heath Ledger) Well, here he is. This is Trent Willmon, my new favorite country singer and just all round good cowboy.

He is coming to Rapid City next weekend, and you can bet I'll be there. Don't worry, Ben is going too.

There are lots of pictures on his website, if anyone else wants to fantasy date him too. trentwillmon.com

My Siblings

This is yet another picture from our recent trip to Spokane. This is me with my brother and sister. Whitney looks like my dad's side of the family, and Levi and I look like my mom's side. The odd thing is that they look alike. I've heard people say Whitney and I look alike, but I don't think so.
Levi looks like a slightly more masculine version of me, but gosh he's cute.
Oh, and yes, those are golf shoes he is wearing. You'd have to ask him why.

One Of Life's Great Lessons

One thing they don't think to tell you when you get contacts for the first time, 'Put the contacts in your eyes before you put makeup on.' So, this is a picture of me this morning. It only took twenty five minutes to get them in my eyes this time. When I got them yesterday the doctor put them in for me, and it was more of a wrestling match than anything. I hate having things in my eyes.

My Little Ham

Alright, I was overcome by Wyatt's cuteness the other day, now it's Ezra's turn. He's such a ham.... A very cute one though. Look at all those eye lashes~ can any of the women out there say jealous?!

Here Is My Brain On Crack

I'm posting this because my good friend Beth said she would only look at my blog if she could see pictures of my brain. So, Beth, here you go.
(This is one of the MRI images from when I was in Spokane)

Don't Make Me Undress

Alright, nobody leaves comments here, so I thought I'd change my settings so now you don't have to be an iblogger member to post comments. Ben's suggestion was to post a few nude pictures to see if we couldn't get some comments. I think I'll try just making it known that we'd like feedback before we go public.

Snow In October

Here is another picture of Ezra in Wyatt's furniture. If I thought I'd fit I might get in this too, it just looks so comfy!

It is October 11, and it snowed last night. I talked to my mom this morning and she said it was supposed to be 70* in Spokane today. I'm like a kid about snow, and it makes me giddy. I was up at 2:00am sending Ben text messages, simply because I love snow! He wasn't quite as excited about it as I was. We only got about an inch and a half, but it's enough to be pretty. I can't wait to go see Rushmore in the snow. I'm just guessing it's beautiful. Don't worry, there will be lots of pictures!

Some Random Thoughts

We're settling back into our routine now that we're home from Spokane, and life is back to normal. Normal plus friends. That makes a big difference actually. We had dinner at Tim and Ashley's tonight (Kellen's folks). That's the first time I've tried to do something like that alone. It was ok really. The boys are so funny together. Mostly they do normal kid stuff and all the parents sit back and sigh with relief that our kid isn't the only one who bangs his head against the wall just for fun. Surprisingly enough, Kellen kinda beats up on Ezra, even though he is about half his size. Kellen is scrapy, but Ezra out-smarts him. Kellen will push Ezra, and then Ezra convinces Kellen to get in the closet, and then he'll shut the door because Kellen isn't big enough to open it. It's pretty entertaining.

Ben is back to work and out of town, but we are looking for a house in Gillette. I've found a few to look at, so that is encouraging. We should know pretty soon. It will be nice to live together again.

It is 8:30 and time for this crazy lady to go to bed! I'm sure I'll post more soon......

Try Some Of Mine!

Ezra likes to share, as I've mentioned before, so yesterday when he was sharing his cup it was a perfect Kodak moment. If you click on the picture below you can see how big Wyatt was smiling.

He is a very nice big brother.

I'm Too Sexy For This Chair....

This is Wyatt with Kylee, Kellen's little sister. She is so tiny, he looks like a monster next to her. He was pretty happy about getting hooked up with a cute girl at first, but judging from the picture below it didn't take her long to break his heart.

Bucket Head

Here is Ezra with my dad. They were discovering. Mostly Ezra was discovering the inside of that bucket, but he sure was enjoying himself.

(notice the big red star on the barn~ someday I want one too!)

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

This was Ezra's first hair cut. Yes, after a year and a half there were about half a dozen hairs that needed trimmed. He was very good. It helped that he was tired and a little dazed, and that Rachelle is pretty. He likes pretty girls. A LOT. Like father like son....

I'm Overcome By The Cuteness

This was the same day as the other pictures I recently posted, but I just keep looking at him and thinking 'Gosh he's cute!!!' so I'm putting yet another picture on here. I just love his wrinkled up nose and squinty eyes.

This is very typical of an afternoon with Wyatt. Even if nobody is talking to him, or taking his picture, he's just a pretty happy camper. The day I took this set of pictures we sat on the couch and just talked and laughed at each other fot about an hour. I took something like 98 pictures in that time.... What can I say~ I like the kid!

Cage Fights

This is how stay at home moms entertain themselves when nobody is watching. Yep, cage fights with the babies.

Now don't go calling CPS, it was humane. Mostly Ezra tried to pet Kellen, and Kellen pushed him away. They were only in the 'cage' for a few minutes, long enough for me to take a few pictures and feel bad about doing it.

Big Ears Or Short Legs???

This is up at Ben's friend Tom's place. This mule has ears almost as long as Ezra's legs.... He wasn't impressed.

Details

Well, it is 7:34 in this beautiful Tuesday evening and I am applauding myself for having put three boys to bed without a scene. Yes, three boys. Our friend Kehlan got a new sister a little earlier than expected, so he is staying with us for the evening while his parents get acquainted with the new little girl.

I haven't really posted any details about our trip to WA, so I thought I'd fill in a little bit.
We left Rapid Wednesday morning about 10:30, came back to the apartment to get a few things we'd forgotten around 11:15, left for Gillette again to go get daddy and get on the road. He wasn't off work yet, so we waited a little while for him to get back to his hotel to shower and pack (for some reason it wasn't done yet...Boys!). We finally got on the road, only to realize I'd left the pacifier on the roof of the car at the hotel and it's the only one we've got. We went back. There it was, right in the parking lot, so we got it, washed it and once again, left town. The trip was going great, we were making really good time, the boys were happy, everything was great. Then we got to Big Timber, MT. I-90 was closed for 100 miles, indefinitely. There was a forest fire that was threatening to jump the road and they didn't want a bunch of people getting killed or something. So we turned around, AGAIN! We wound up taking a 300 mile detour around it. That put us in Spokane at about 6:00 am. So after almost 24 hours in the car, we finally made it.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, right up until the part that I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Yes, a brain tumor. I went for a routine eye exam to get a new RX for my glasses and through a series of tests the doctor decided that I had a tumor that was pressing on my pituitary gland and I would go blind and/or die if it wasn't removed ASAP. He ordered MRI's for the next night and I went through the next 24 hours about two breaths away from hyper-ventilating. After MRI's that caused me to miss the Season Premier of Grey's Anatomy, there is no tumor, no dying, and no going blind. There is on the other had a second opinion in the near future. (Don't worry, I had my DVR set to record Grey's Anatomy at home!)

Ben flew in to Spokane and drove home with us, and thank goodness that trip was uneventful. I did notice however that the part of I-90 that was closed had NOT been affected by the fire.... Oh well. All's well that ends well.

Larry The Cable Kid

I'm pretty sure this is what Larry the Cable Guy looked like as a kid.