The House is Coming Along!

We had a wonderful but very busy weekend as our friend Becky from Cincinnati came to visit us and help us get settled into our new house. She's an interior designer and it was lots of fun to hear her ideas about our new place. She's such a great friend and we had loads of fun together. She styled Sky's hair a few times and we all attended Sky's vacation Bible school performance on Sunday. We also took a trip to the beach which was lots of fun. We worked on things like window treatments, landscaping, furniture placement, bedding, and lots more. There is still so much to do but we're trying to just take a day at a time. Our friends, the Denhams, finally got their house which is right down the road from us and Ken is helping them with painting today and moving tomorrow. This week Sky is attending a different VBS connected with her preschool. We've had lots of neighbors stop by and welcome us to the neighborhood. Some brought flowers, cookies, banana bread, sparkling cider, etc. We feel so grateful to be in this neighborhood! Thanks so much to all of you who prayed for us as we searched for a house to buy! We are so happy here!

Quite A Day!

I am so tired as I sit here and write this entry! This morning Sky had vacation Bible school at our church. Then we met some friends for lunch at the BIOLA cafeteria. After that we went to the doctor's for both Sky and Brad (checkups for 2 and 5 years old). Sky screamed and screeched and tried to run away when it came time for the shots. She had to have 1 shot, a blood draw, and a tb test. Honestly, the entire pediatrics dept. heard her. We needed another nurse to help hold her down. It was quite a display. Brad also needed a shot but he didn't cry at all and when I asked him if it hurt, he shook his head no. Sky did enough drama for the both of them. I'm so glad it's over!

Then we went to meet our wonderful friend from Cincinnati, Gary Sallquist. He's in town on business and was able to carve out some time from his busy schedule to see us. He was the headmaster at the school that I taught at in Cincinnati for 7 years, Miami Valley Christian Academy. It was so great to see him! We miss him and his wife Joyce so much! They were so instrumental in getting Ken his job and helping us with Sky after she was born.

Pill Bug?

Sky is totally infatuated with pill bugs ("roly polies"). She tries to make them her pets which usually ends in their quick death. She tries to sneak them into the house and keep them in cups which usually gets her in trouble. Since Brad wants to do anything Sky does, he too is very interested in the pill bugs. Yesterday I was holding him in my lap and he pointed to the large freckle on my neck and said, "Pill bug!" and tried to pick it up. We were all laughing so hard!

Moving Day!

It has been an incredibly busy weekend, week, month... We moved into our new house on Friday, thanks to some great help from friends. Ken rented a medium sized truck and our move was so local that we put less than 15 miles on the truck! You can see in the pictures that Sky and Brad enjoyed exploring the truck. We still have lots of little things at the old house but we have until the end of the month to clean it all out. We LOVE our new house and are having so much fun settling in!

The kids have had some adjustments to make. Sky and Brad are used to having their own rooms. Sky is used to sleeping with the lights on and Brad with the lights off so Sky has had to adjust to sleeping without any light. She's doing pretty well. Brad is used to sleeping in a crib and Sky in a toddler bed but now they both have twin beds. The first night we didn't have time to put the rails on Sky's bed and she told us the next morning that she woke up sleeping on the floor. Since we put the rails on she's doing great. Brad didn't stay in his bed at all. We would put him in and he'd be back out the door in a jiffy. So far he has slept all 3 nights in the pack and play after a good deal of crying (which upsets Sky). But he has taken his naps in his big boy bed. We'll see how long this tranisition takes... We're not going back to the crib though because we will soon need that for Lila. Another difficulty is that our house is a corner lot with a 3 way stop sign and it is a bit noisy. Everytime a motorcycle or loud car drives by, Brad wakes up. I'm sure he'll get used to it eventually.

We're looking forward to a visit from our friend Becky from Cincinnati on Thurs. She is an interior designer and offered to come and help us get settled. Yeah!!!! Ken had a great Father's Day today as we went to Lowe's and he went on a bit of a shopping spree, getting a new drill, lawn mower, and hedge trimmer, along with lots of other goodies for the house. We still can't believe how good God has been to us in providing us with a home to buy in southern California! I'll try to post some pics of the house once it is more presentable.

Birthday Fun

Yesterday was Sky's 5th and Brad's 2nd birthday. I was kinda hoping to have baby#3 on that day too but that didn't happen. We woke up and Sky wanted to open presents immediately. Then we had chocolate chip pancakes (SKy's favorite) for breakfast.

Then we went to the local water park and had a blast. I am so impressed with Sky's swimming skills and love for the water-a very different picture from last summer. She was under the water as much as she was above it and she jumped off the side backwards a few times too. She still can't swim in deep water without assisstance but she's getting there. And even Brad warmed up to the idea of swimming. He doesn't like all the splashy, squirty stuff but he did like floating around the lazy river with me.

At the end of the day, Sky and Ken got passes for the rest of the summer. Brad gets in free and I won't be able to swim for a while after the baby is born so this may be a fun thing for the 3 of them to do, especially considering our new house doesn't have air conditioning.

For dinner we went to Souplantation and Sky wore her birthday hat from preschool and made her own birthday cake. When people would see her hat and say, "Happy Birthday", she would reply, "Happy Birthday to you". Pretty funny.

Busy Times

Well, this week has certainly been a full one and it's only half over! On Monday Sky celebrated her birthday with her preschool friends at school. I made a cookie cake (by request) and brought in ice cream, whipped cream, and goody bags for the kids. Everyone looked very chocolatey as they left so I think everyone enjoyed themselves. That will be the only party Sky will have this year because of all the craziness with the move, new baby, etc.
Today we closed on our house!!! We now have the keys in our hands and the reality of it all is sinking in. We really do love that house and are so happy to have been able to enter the housing market when we did. It's in such a great location, so close to Ken's school, a beautiful park, Sky's school, etc. The for sale sign is still up but will be removed within a few days. But, we've already had 3 people see the sign, stop, and want to look at the house. We kindly tell them that it's not for sale anymore but are encouraged by the fact that it is so appealing to so many people. Good resale value, I think.
Our official move will be Friday night and we are so thankful for friends who have offered to help us. We've been moving things over little by little but I haven't been able to help much because of the pregnancy. I have actually been in terrible pain since Mon. It's sort of a leg/groin pain but I really feel incapacitated and frustrated and I experience the most pain when I try to sleep.
Today was also Sky's graduation from preschool. It was really cute. They marched in wearing a paper graduation cap, sang 8 songs, and received their diploma while telling the crowd what they want to be when they grow up. Sky said she wants to be a ballet teacher. The pictures came out really dark because there is a lot of light in the background but I will post them anyway (another day since my camera is at the new house). We let Sky choose where she wanted to go for lunch and she chose Chipotle for a chicken burrito.
Tomorrow is Sky and Brad's birthday. We will be taking the day to spend together as a family. I was hoping to go to a local amusement park (our Disneyland passes are blacked out for tomorrow otherwise we would go there) but I'm not sure my body can handle a day at the amusement park at this point. So, we may go to SPLASH, the local water park or we may just lay low and relax. We'll see...

Sky's Swimming Lessons

Sky is really enjoying her swimming lessons this year. There was a lot of drama last year but now she seems very comfortable in the water. We are very proud! Today she dove under the water to retrieve some plastic frogs, learning to open her eyes under water! She seems perfectly comfortable with going under the water now. When she gets home she plays swimming lessons with her stuffed animals, teaching them all that she's learned that day.

Brad's Music Class

Brad and I are making the most of the last few weeks that we have together before the baby comes and Sky is out of preschool. We are taking a baby and me music class which also involves a lot of gross motor activity. He absolutely LOVES it. We sing songs, dance, use props and instruments, and also have full use of the kiddie gym which includes a trampoline, balance beams, uneven bars, etc. I would say that Brad's favorite part of the class is helping the teacher round up all of her stuff and clean up. He's such a great helper! Here are some pics of Brad enjoying his first class experience. He's such a big boy. When most people hear that he has a birthday coming up, they guess that he's turning 3!

Baby Shower!

Yesterday some friends from church threw a wonderful baby shower to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Lila. My friend Amy hosted the shower and it was decorated so nicely and the food was so good. Since we are still kind of new to the church, we played a get to know you game as well as a find the safety pins in a bowl of rice game, and design what you think Lila will look like using baby magazine pictures (that's what's on the plates in the pictures).

I received lots of diapers (which is what I was hoping for) as well as some cash to hire someone to help with cleaning (that will really come in handy as we're moving!), some cute outfits, gift card, and some really nice handmade things like a blanket and nursing cover. It was a really nice day! When I was showing the family the gifts I had received, Sky scooped up all the bows and made a collection.