Next Chapter...

Why do good things always come to an end? I guess that's just apart of life...right?  When one door closes, another door opens. When we moved to Chicago, we new that it would be a temporary move. With Stephen in a 3-year rotational program, we have the chance to move each year. With the slight possibility that he could stay in some locations and just move departments. Did I mention the word slight....well, we were hoping we'd get the chance to stay here in Chicago for more than a year. We truly LOVE it out here. A few weeks ago we found out his assignment for next year... That's right, we'll be needing to find our inner cowboy and practicing our "y'alls" 'cause we're heading to Texas!!! The Dallas area to be exact!

With this assignment comes some mixed feelings.  I will always have a love for Chicago. We were able to do and see so much the past year and make some wonderful friends. A year went so fast and our "Chicago To-Do" list didn't quite get everything crossed off. Guess that means we just need to come back to visit. Also, we had originally been assigned to move to Detroit, just two hours away from Stephen's parents in Michigan. About 2 weeks later, AT&T sold the business unit out there, and it took them a week to find Stephen a new assignment. It's been a whirlwind of anticipation the last few months wondering where we'd end up. Dallas will be just as wonderful and we'll still be close to family. My little brother is just 4 1/2 hours away, in Houston and Stephen has two Aunts right there in the Dallas area.

With that said, we are beyond excited to start this new chapter in our lives. See a new part of the country, be closer to family and well....stock the freezer with some Blue Bell. :) In the words of my little brother ..."Let's face it ya'll are riding a gravy train with biscuit wheels!" (Texan translation: you're lucky!)

We'll be moving in about a month, just in time to feel the Texas heat. (After the 50 degree weather each day this month in Chicago, I can't lie, I'm kind of excited) But the next month is going to go incredibly fast and life will be a bit crazy.

Spring Break

As I think about it, I realized this is the first year in probably my life that I haven't had an official "Spring Break" So Andrew and I decided we'd take a little one. :) Well actually, Stephen had a training in central Illinois for an entire week. So instead of being home by ourselves, we decided to jump in the car and tag-a-long. I wouldn't put Peoria, Illinois on my top ten places to visit, but I'm always up for a little get-a-way and love to see new places. While we were there, Andrew and I tried to find a few things close by to keep us busy while Stephen was in meetings. We came to realize there's not much to "do" in Peoria....It's funny because we asked a waitress this same question and it took her a second to respond....then the only thing she could come up with was to go bowling. Goodness. I could go bowling anywhere and just had to laugh at that response. We didn't go bowling, but we did find some fun things to do.

I will admit we had such a relaxing week. First of all we had ZERO doctor appointments. There's something to be said about just getting out of the house and all the daily "To-Do's" that go with it. That was probably the best part for me. Getting a nap  in almost every day was also wonderful. We had lots of fun hanging out at the hotel, playing and splashing in the swimming pool... a favorite of Andrew's.
One day, we decided to head to Springfield, Illinois. It was just a little drive and we got to see some neat historic sights. I have always loved history and loved teaching a bit to my kiddos in school. Abraham Lincoln was a president they knew and could understand...he's on the penny right? That was about their scope of understanding...Well, I've read a few books about his life and really admire this man and what he did for our country. It was neat to see some of the sights.

Outside Lincoln's Tomb

They let us go inside the monument. There were some neat
bronze sculptures and amazing quotes from his time
as president. He was a wise man who was close to God.

Before our tour of the Lincoln's Home in Downtown Springfield

Lincoln's Desk. This is where he wrote his inaugural speech.  Pretty neat.

Afterwards, we walked over to the capitol building and had some lunch outside by the fountains.

Enjoying a day with my boy!

Peoria is right around a bunch a big rivers. They had some neat bridges all over the city. One day Andrew and I went on a walk along the river and went exploring. Here's a view of one of the main bridges into town.

The best part was we were only 40 min from Stephen's sister Meghan and her family. We headed over there lots and saw them a bunch of times during the week. I just love hanging out with them. We had too much fun relaxing and playing we didn't take a single picture. But we've sure have loved living so close to them this last year. I've decided everyone needs a Spring Break...regardless. Here's to Spring Break 2012!

A Passion of His

Stephen got the perfect present for Christmas this year. A model airplane. If you know Stephen at all, you know his passion for airplanes and how he sometimes can be a kid at heart. Almost everyday for two months, we would put Andrew to bed and then Stephen would head down to the basement...not to be seen until bedtime. I never knew how much went into building those model airplanes. It took him a few months to piece together, glue and cover his cloud ranger. Since then he's been dying to go out and fly it. It's a good thing that we've had an early spring. Whenever we have a nice day....meaning no wind....even if it's a bit chilly. He'd come home from work and load the car up with his precious cargo. We have a model airplane field just a few miles or so from our house. Which is a perfect little clearing with no trees to that he can put his skills to test. He's had fun flying it and trying to land it. So far only one major crash and only minor repairs. Andrew and I love going and seeing him get so excited. It's been a fun thing to do this spring and I'm sure we'll be doing lots more this summer. 

Gluing the wings together

An up-close look

Many hours of hard work!

A cold first flight in February

Andrew was a good sport to come see
daddy on a cold day

Birthday Boy

It's kind of taken me a while to write about Andrew's birthday. We've been super busy with doctors around here. It seems as though everybody wanted to have us check back when he turned one. Fifteen appointments the last three weeks has just about done me in. Hopefully now things will slow down and get back to normal.

On March 25th our little Andrew turned one! It sure seems hard to believe he's been in our life for an entire year. What a year it has been. Although he had a rough start, we are sure grateful for all he's taught us and the joy he has brought into our lives. His birthday brought a bunch of mixed emotions for both Stephen and I. Honestly, that day a year ago has replayed in my mind countless times and is so vivid and real and yet feels like a dream at times...I don't know I guess it's kind of hard to explain. nuff said about that.

Andrew sure has grown this year.

Here's our little 2 lb boy!

Here he is today!

Here are his one year stats:

Weight: 18lbs 2 oz   5th percentile

Height: 28 in 7th percentile

Head: 43 cm  below 0

With his birthday on a Sunday, we pretty much celebrated the entire weekend! And why not? You only have a first birthday once! Right? We were super excited that Stephen's sister Meghan and her darling family came up to visit and spent the weekend to help us celebrate! We love hanging out with them and have loved living so close this year. On Saturday, we decided to take Andrew swimming at a near by community pool. They had a fun play area for kids...and adults with waters slides for all ages, fountains and a little lazy river. Andrew loved the water and didn't hesitate for a minute. He was splashing and kicking and just couldn't get enough. It was so fun to see how excited he got. There were lots of kids splashing everywhere and he wanted to joined in the fun. I wasn't quite expecting that reaction from him. I think we'll need to frequent the pool a lot this summer...which is okay by me!

Mommy and Andrew splashing in the water fountains.

Micah...a little kid at heart

The gang in the pool

Our little squirt...could have swam all day if we'd let him

After a long nap and his birthday dinner, we let him dive in and taste his own cake. He had a lot of fun playing in it and grabbing handfuls of frosting and cake and shoving as much into his mouth as he could.

Every time he took a bite his first reaction was something a long the line of this...

Then he would quickly give the biggest grin. He knew he was the center of attention and of course we all thought that was pretty funny.

We were able to Skype with Grandma and Grandpa Holden. I'm so glad they got to join in on the festivities through the wonders of technology!

Striping Andrew down to his diaper before diving into the birthday cake.

We had such a fun weekend celebrating! We appreciate all the phone calls, cards and presents from aunts, uncles and cousins who couldn't be with us to celebrate.

So grateful my sweet aunt took this to Ethan's grave. I really wish we lived closer. Still miss him terribly and think of my angel each and every day! Happy Birthday Ethan!!! I love you monkey boy!