Settled In

Well, I've been going to school for about two months now, so you might say we are settled into a routine. Most everything is unpacked and we're adjusting to our lack of space. We've been finding things to do on the weekends. This last weekend we went down to Hannibal, MO and saw some of the Mark Twain sights down there. We toured the Mark Twain Cave. Maren loved it. She had me carry her almost the whole time, but it was probably for the best. Knowing her, she would have run into a dark side passage and gotten lost. Sunny has twice taken the girls down to Petersburg on a Monday, since I usually don't get home until after 8pm on those days.

Eliza is going through a mental growth spurt. We are starting to quiz her on animal sounds/actions. She has elephant and alligator down. She doesn't quite have the growl down for lion/tiger yet. She also knows her signs for "more" and "bath". It's so fun to see her learning and understanding. Her birthday is this Saturday. We're going down to Petersburg for a little birthday party with the family.

Maren has been almost obsessed with these toy animals that we have. They are just plastic life-like animals. Because of the different sets we have, some are smaller than others. She calls the small ones her "baby aminals". She will carry them everywhere, line them up all in a row, and put them in her toy crib when she goes to sleep. Of course, she has the hardest time sharing with Eliza. She is such a funny girl.

Sunny has been working on crocheting a blanket that she had intended to have when Maren was born. Didn't quite happen, but it looks good anyway! She's still keeping herself busy with playgroups, friends, and the park. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days I only have one class in the morning, so I'm able to lighten Sunny's load a little.

As for me: two more months to go in the semester. Right now I'm trying to organize my schedule for Spring/Summer semesters next year, so I can meet the requirements, do my internship next fall, and graduate at the end of Fall semester 2009. I'm probably going to have to take a load of classes that I have no interest in, but whatever. As long as I get the degree...right?

Hot Air Balloons

A couple of weeks ago there was a big event here in Macomb where they launched and landed a lot of Hot air balloons then light them up after dark for everyone to see. To say the least Maren LOVED it. This same weekend we went to Ft. Madison to go to the Tri-State Rodeo thinking there would be some kind of rides, parades, or other events that we could attend knowing the actual rodeo would be too late to attend with two young girls that far from home. Of course, the only thing they had was the late rodeo, soooo we drove down to Nauvoo and toured a little bit before heading back home. A couple Saturdays ago we decided to tour Quincy and have decided this city is the closest with decent shopping to Macomb. There also happened to be a Fazoli’s Restaurant there – the restaurant that we went to on our first date. So we had to drop by and have a bite!

Eliza is starting to use the “more” sign a little and it sounds like she is trying to say it. She has seen us tease with Maren where one of us will say something like “Is he for a boy or a girl?” And another one of us will say “He is for a girl!” Then we shake our heads, scrunch our noses and say “nooo, He is for boys.” Eliza has seen this. She will reach her hand out to give you a partially eaten apple or cracker and then as you reach for it she pulls it back and shakes her head and scrunches her nose. She has also started to spontaneously laugh for no reason. It just comes out of nowhere. No matter what we are doing we crack up after hearing it.

The Sunday after we went to Quincy, about three-quarters of the way through Sacrament meeting, Maren was getting anxious for nursery and decided to lie down on the bench. She was there for a moment and when I thought she was settled she let out one of her DEEP growls that only she can do (but hasn’t done for quite some time) so loud that at least a half of the congregation heard her and several had to comment on the growl after the meeting. The adventures of being a parent...

Can't Think of a Title

I thought I'd give Sunny a break from writing this time. I'm at school in between classes. The semester is going pretty well so far. My classes shouldn't be too demanding and one or two might be enjoyable. Sunny is glad to get me out of the house finally. I feel so old being here. I met one kid in class last week. He was a 23 year old grad student. I just smiled and though, "I'll be almost 31 by the time I get my bachelor's..." Oh, well.

We went to the Brooks family reunion up in Rockford this last week. Saw a lot of family that we haven't seen in many years. I think the last time I went to one was when I was in high school. Maren had a great time swimming in the motel pool. I had a cold, so most of the weekend I was blowing my nose.

We came back home Sunday afternoon and since school was out Monday, we spent the morning lounging around home. We dropped by a little Labor Day celebration at Colchester (about 5 miles west), but predictably enough, it wasn't very exciting. We had lunch at a diner on the square that we had been meaning to try, but we were not impressed. It was nice to be together, though.

The family's doing well. Maren is talking and understanding so well. Unfortunately, she is quite bossy with Eliza. She has been spending a lot of time in "time-out" when she gets in trouble with Sunny. If I put her in time-out, I have to wait too, so a swat on the bum is a lot faster.

Eliza is such a happy baby. She is doing this thing now where she will scrunch up her face and breath really fast through her nose. I don't know if it's her new way of laughing, but it is hilarious! I think it is becoming more noticeable that she and Maren are sisters.

Her birthday is coming up in about a month in a half. Maren's is two weeks after that. Every time we're in Wal-mart, Maren will say, "I can have this for my birthday!" She's excited.

Until next time!