A Utah Girl

Being born and raised in Utah and living there all my life, I've realized it's been a long time since I've moved some place entirely new....It kind of reminds me of when I went away for college...although, USU and Cache Valley are still technically Utah.  I had some adventures back then getting around in a big new town (ie.getting lost on the bus, finding the grocery store, learning about the area etc). Well after being here almost a month, I've come up with a quick list of...

Things a Utah girl has learned about living in Illinois:

• Watch out for the wildlife here! We live super close to a forest preserve. I love it because it's soooo green and lush it makes us feel like we're out in the country. You wouldn't guess the O'Hare Airport is just 22 miles away.  On the other hand, there are wild coyote that roam through the local neighborhoods. We've been told to keep our eyes out. Also, I've seen little frogs just hanging out on our windows and snapping turtles in the little creek down the street. A little different wildlife than living in a desert.

• Bug Spray is a definite MUST! Let's just say I won't leave home with out it and we've stocked up....We went on a walk the other day and I had (we actually counted) 15 mosquito bites on just one arm. I will never leave home without it!

• Also keeping Change in the Car is an absolute MUST! There are toll roads everywhere. When you're relying on a GPS to get you from point A to point B don't get caught without some spare change.

• Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza .DELICIOUS!!! I really don't need to say much more other than I don't think I could go back and have "thin" pizza (as they call it out here) It is simply divine and a pizza lovers heaven. Stephen and I found a yummy place close to the children's hospital, when we had an unexpected stay there a few weeks ago with Andrew 
• Mileage vs. time to get places are two totally different things. In Utah if some place is about 15 miles away, it usually took about 15-20 minutest to get there...give or take. Well here....not so much. I had to drive into the city for a dr.'s appointment for Andrew. It was only 40 miles away. But yeah, it took over two hours. I've decided that I really hate driving in the city, especially during rush hour.

• Instead of Mountains to help me with my direction and orientation....water towers have taken place. (Although, I miss the mountains terribly!) However, if I'm ever wondering what city I'm driving through, I just look around and the only thing tall enough over the trees are the huge water towers. Whoever thought to put the city names upon them was a genius.

• Everyone warned us about Chicago's weather...well, I haven't been here during the winter months, which I know are crazy. But I love the fact that we've had 70-80 degree weather this entire month. It's been awesome! I think I'd prefer that over the 100 degree weather in Utah.

So far we have been doing great out here in the "Land of Lincoln".  In some ways it seems very surreal that we are even here. We've been talking and planning on this big move and Stephen starting this new job for over 7 months. It was a big effort to get out here and packing up all of our things having our car shipped out here with the rest of our things. The airport and airplane ride were a fun adventure! Flying with an infant is one thing, but flying with one on oxygen is a whole other ball game. We were "those" people standing in the security line that you'd avoid...especially if you were running late. It was quite the sight. Andrew slept through the entire thing. Thank goodness for direct flights. :)

I also absolutely love that we live so close to Stephen's work. When we were looking at where to live this wasn't a huge priority on my list. I'm so glad it was on Stephen's! He has about a 15 min commute each day. It's wonderful to have him come home for lunch every once in a while and he usually goes in early so he can be home by 4:30 or so.  Couldn't ask for any more! It is so wonderful to be together as a family and here with Stephen in Illinois!

This little guy...

Is growing like a weed!

We love seeing how big he is getting. We've been so busy the last little bit with tons of doctor appointments. I think I've driven around the entire outskirts of Chicago the last 2 weeks. Good thing for a GPS to help me find my way. Andrew has loved Illinois! About a week after we got here he was able to come completely off his oxygen. We keep his monitor on him when he's asleep and he really has done wonderful. It's amazing what a few thousand feet in elevation will do.

We've really been hibernating with him the last few months and not going anywhere, or letting many people hold or even see Andrew. We are kind of being "germ-a-phobic" parents. I hope people understand if we haven't brought him places or offered to let you come see him. So I guess...consider yourself lucky if you've gotten a glimpse.
Well last Sunday we decided to give it a try and get out of the house.  Since he's no longer on oxygen, it's a lot less complicated to get in the car and go places. We feel like we have a little more freedom and so attempted to go to all 3 hours of our new ward. It was a success!!!

Stephen & Andrew after his 1st time at church

Andrew turns 5 months old this week and is starting to grow and change so fast!He weighs 8 lbs 14 oz.
He loves to lay on our chest, but not any position will do, He scoots on his tummy and wiggles his way up until he is right underneath your chin. He's getting a whole bunch of new dark hair on top. It seems that as soon as we came home from the hospital, his hair started falling out just like a newborn's would. Well it didn't take long to come back in and it's growing fast....at least on the top.

ummm yeah, just had to document this!

Andrew is a good sleeper, most of the time. :)  Thanks to the hospital he was on a good 3 hour feeding schedule when he came home. Now he's going 4-5 hours during the night. It's just amazing what another hour longer of sleep before getting up again, can do to rejuvenate you.

Over the last few weeks he's been starting to smile on his own. Which is a huge milestone for us! He doesn't do it very often. I can count on one hand the number of times he's done this. And it been kind of funny because he hasn't done it for Stephen yet. It's gotten to the point where Stephen was starting to believe that I was seeing things and not telling the truth. Jokingly he told me to just capture it on camera so I would have proof. Well.....even with proof, he's still not sure it's really "a social smile". I beg to differ. But you can be the judge...

Our MOAB Get-A-Way

We had our first vacation as a little family. We weren't sure we were going to make it or not, because Andrew was recovering from a ear infection,  But both of my brother's and their families were in town visiting for the summer and so we decided to head down to Moab for the weekend before we flew home to Illinois. It was a fast trip but we loved hanging out with everyone one last time before moving. I feel like Stephen and I really haven't had a summer....or a spring...or much of a life the past 5 months. Time is flying by and we usually are outdoors enjoying this time of year as much as we can. Well, this little vacation was so good for us. It finally felt like summer to me (now that it's the end of August.) I will definatly miss the beautiful red rock of southern Utah. Love it....brings back so many memories of my childhood and going to Lake Powell every summer. Well here's a few pictures of the gang! Thanks Camille for sending these my way. Carrying a camera along with all of Andrew's Oxygen stuff was the last thing on my mind.

Hiking in Arches Nat'l Park

Enjoying the nice evening

Entire family...wow we're getting huge!

Missing Ethan

It really has honestly been a bittersweet time to have Andrew home the last month or so. He truly is a JOY to have, but a constant reminder of his brother and how I wish we were experiencing the same things with Ethan too. Oh how both Stephen and I miss him so much. I didn't think it could, but my heart really physically aches at times.  I look at Andrew's sweet face and it brings back a flood of emotions. When they were born I didn't think they looked anything alike. But as they grew and got a little meat on their bones, they started to look more and more like each other. There are many days now that I look over at Andrew and think..."those hands look just like Ethan's did" or "You're starting to get the same chubby checks as Ethan" or "that nose....those lips....those little ears...just like Ethan's" You get the point.  Both Stephen and I have good times and not so good times. We are struggling in trying to not ask the "why" questions. But have a positive outlook on things. Reality sets in and it's hard to hear others complain about their lives/problems...the little things just aren't a big deal anymore.  I often try to read this when I'm starting to feel this way. This week, I've needed to read it a few times. It's been two months today since we said goodbye to our baby boy. Almost the same amount of time that we were blessed to spend with him.

I wanted to share a few pictures we had taken the day before he passed away. These pictures are truly priceless. I will treasure them.

Our Family of Four

 Holding My Boys

My boys together for the first time since they were born

When Stephen was in town a few weeks ago we went to the Alpine Cemetery one last time before moving to Chicago. We were able to take Andrew. It was so good to do this together. This is one huge reason why it will be hard to move, but I am grateful to know I have family here that will bringing us back.