Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Quilting

I have never quilted, but am so excited to jump right in and try it out. Brody bought me a new sewing maching for Christmas and it is awesome! Once we get settled in the new place, Clayton's quilt will be my project for awhile. I found this vehicle duvet cover at Ikea and I am going to take it apart and make pillows and other bedding for his new bed. The quilt will be all the solid colors in big squares to fit a double bed. I created the pattern so hopefully it will turn out! Clayton's room is my first priority. I will be painting the room, hopefully doing a car mural on the wall and getting his quilt done so we can move him into his big boy bed before baby is born.

Our new home

We close on our home in 3 days! I can't wait to unpack and decorate. We have been boxed up since the end of October, it will be like Christmas all over again for Clayton.

After Brody was offered his new job in Omaha, I flew out to look at houses with my Uncle who is our real estate agent. We spent 2 1/2 days looking at houses and I didn't walk into one house and get the feeling that it was the right one. So we found a rental with a 4 month lease and continued our house search once we got settled.

We walked into this house and I told Brody and Steve, "Maybe they have cookies for us". They did and they were still warm! Yum! I have to joke now that the cookies sold us.

Here are some pictures of our new place. It is really hard to take pictures to really see what the house it like. I will take more once we are moved in.

This is our living room. I can't wait for a fireplace! To the right is the dining room and kitchen. To the left is 3 bedrooms and stairs to the basement.
The kitchen of my dreams! A huge walk in pantry and lots of counter space to cook and bake. I can't wait to make valentine's goodies in a couple weeks.

My built in desk right in the center of the house. No more sharing an office with Brody!
The basement is unfinished. We are planning on doing all the work ourselves and hope to have it complete before baby is born in July. We will be putting in a bathroom, Brody's office, a guest room and have a family room down there. All you guests that come to visit will have your own private living quarters.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Big Brother!!!

Clayton is going to be a big brother in July! I think he is ready, he is in love with babies right now and stops to see them or points them out in the store. Out of the blue last week he said, "I want a baby sister". Some days it is, "I want a baby brother sister". "Baby in mommy's tummy? Come out soon?"

I just can't believe how much my little man is talking these days and learning. He loves to ride his bike on the hardwood floors. He has rode it more in the house than he ever did outside. He knows his primary colors and it learning to counting to 5 and spell is name. If you ask him how old he is, he will say "four". I guess 4 is more fun that 2? He loves to help me cook in the kitchen and does very well at cracking eggs. One morning I came in the kitchen and he had pulled the chair up in front of the stove and had cracked an egg in the skillet. The shell was sitting nicely to the side in two pieces and he had the spatula in his hand. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "making daddy an egg", "mommy fire on?" Thankfully he hasn't figured out how to light the burners yet! Brody told him to "go make daddy an egg" and he did just that! He is a little sponge right now and takes it all in. He is too smart for his own good!


Clayton loves to paint, color, and play play-dough. It doesn't matter what it is, it always gets tested in the mouth. Him and Brody painted on paper the other night and then it turned into face painting.
He loves to read books. Today he told me he wanted to take a nap in his house (one of our projects during the snow storm last week). I found him laying in there with his blankie, reading books. He is a busy little boy and will find something to entertain him if he needs too, but usually it spells trouble. Today I found him on top of his changing table that is in his closet. He had got the markers off the top shelf and was coloring on his shirts hanging in the closet!!

I am thankful that he takes 3 hour naps; him and I both need that time! He still has his binkie and potty training still seems far off, but hopefully will come before baby arrives. I am excited to transition him into his big boy bed after we get moved and settled. We are starting to talk about giving his bed (crib) to baby and he told me he was going to give his blankie to baby too. Ahh, his blankie is his best friend and goes everywhere with him. This boy just melts my heart. I love him so much! I am so thankful I get to spend everyday with him.

Adjusting

December 6 was our first snow! It lasted for 3 days and amounted to 15+ inches. By day 3, we had to get out of the house, so I shoveled out the car and 2 hours later we were off to my Aunt's house just around the corner.




We were suppose to get another huge snow storm coming in the week of Christmas, so my mom, Clayton and I drove back to McCook with my cousin and Brody followed the next day. He drove in the storm but luckily made it before is was bad and interstate was closed down.

The snow is only fun for a short while with Clayton and then he is too cold! Temperatures have been below 10 degrees for the high since Christmas. This has been the hardest thing to adjust to with us being able to play outdoors almost all 365 days out of the year in California.

I have realized that Clayton and I are just not homebodies! We like to be busy, out doing things during the day. I have found out when it snows, everything closes down for days! We had such a great routine in California: Tues-swimming, Wed-music, Fri-park. We were surrounded by lots of friends. Not having that routine after the move has made me a little crazy lately, but I feel it is coming. I signed Clayton up for gymnastics on Wed. and music on Thrus. We also have the Early Childhood Learning Center that we can drop into any time during the day when schools are open. Lately, Clayton asks to go there about every day. It was been a great outlet for us with art activies, story time, music and a exercise room. I got to know a couple mothers there too with children the same age as Clayton.

We tried out a church the first weekend in January, Vineyard of Omaha. We were at a Vineyard church in California so I was glad to find one here. We like it and are excited to get involved and be apart of it. We have been able to leave Clayton in the nursery the last two times which hasn't been very successful since he has been born.

After church on Sunday the 3rd, we headed over to take some measurement in our new house only to discover we didn't have the house key. It had fell out of Brody's pocket. He retraced his steps back to the place we ate lunch and back to the church only to find no key. Tuesday we recieved a call from the church that they had found our key. I was reminded that day that my heavenly father is the key to helping me through this adjustment period. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding' in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6.