A year in review....at least since the move.....

As I sit here on Mother's day without a peep in the house, as Alex & Olivia spent the weekend with their grandparents, I find myself thinking about all the things we have been done since we moved here and how I have completely neglected the blog. But I guess all of that comes with us both working, Alex & Olivia going to preschool everyday, and trying to keep our lives sane all at once while 2 3 year olds are peppering with questions all day long and over and over again. But in the end, as crazy as our lives are on a daily basis, I would not change it for anything - - there is nothing greater than being a mom and nothing greater than seeing your children grow and develop every day.

So with that said, here is my attempt to "catch up" from neglecting the blog and filling in what we have been up to since we moved here.

About a month and a half after we moved here, we went on our first beach vacation with Alex & Olivia. We stayed at a condo on Isle of Palms, South Carolina which is just outside Charleston. It was such a wonderful and relaxing vacation - - the only downfall is Ben wasn't able to join us as the trip was just as school started here and he landed a job interview the day before we left and was unsure if he would be getting a job and would have to start the week we were on vacation. Luckily for me, Ben's parents had already planned to go on vacation with us, so I did have some help. Alex & Olivia loved the ocean and loved swimming in the pool! We also hit up the Charleston aquarium in which the kiddos loved seeing all the fish and animals! We'll be heading back again this summer, with my parents this time, and Ben will definitely be joining us this year!

After vacation we finally decided to take Olivia to get her first hair cut! She was always jealous that Alex would get a hair cut and she wouldn't. We use to tell her that boys get hair cuts and girls where "prettys" (her word for pony tail holders, bows, etc) Starting out with very little hair, I must say it has taken a long time to grow! But now as Ben would say, it is pretty much a "hotmess" of hair at times due to the curls! Now she is happy to get a hair cut about every other time or every third time that Alex does.


Uncle Dave came to visit us in September. Alex & Olivia LOVE Uncle Dave! In fact, whenever we have anyone staying with us, they ask if they will be sleeping in "Uncle Dave's room". He's a legend in our house! We had a fun weekend with him playing in the yard, going to the Louisville Slugger Museum and making our first trip to the Louisville Zoo!

Unfortunately the job that Ben stayed home for when we were on vacation didn't work out. But he did get a call in the middle of September (school started mid August) and he landed a job 4 weeks into the school year! I believe he said it happened right after he had convinced himself he would be home with Alex & Olivia for the school year! So off we went to find a school for Alex & Olivia. A number of places we called only had one spot open! :( But we ended up at a wonderful school that Ben's cousin Carrie's children went to and they made space for us (since we knew Carrie!). Every day they have to bring their own backpack to school and it is so cute to see them carry them! Here they are on their first day of school - - they were so excited! And they have learned so much!

I was sad to have left Connecticut around Halloween as last year we found the perfect place to get pumpkins with the kiddos. But this year, we did find an even better place. We found a great place about 45 minutes away in Indiana, Huber's. The scenery was absolutely beautiful on the way out there, and then we got to ride a tractor out to the pumpkin fields and pick our own pumpkins. Afterward we were able to enjoy a great meal of pulled pork on the grounds! Can't wait to go back next year!

Halloween was bitter sweet for us this year. We were so excited for Alex & Olivia as it was probably their first Halloween where they understood a little bit and they learned a lot about it at school. At school they had a day where they had to dress up in their costumes and they did a Halloween parade for all the parents. Alex was dressed up as a Purdue football player (thank you Zink's for the costume!) and Olivia was dressed up as a Purdue cheerleader (thank you Zink's for the outfit again!). They had a such a fun time getting dressed up and get candy from their friends at school! We were excited to take the kiddos out for Halloween around the neighborhood, but were so disappointed when they both took a super long nap (never a good sign) on Halloween and both woke up with a fever! We were so sad for them as we had been talking about it all day about getting dressed up and going out to the houses. I think we were more upset than they were, but we let them pick a piece of candy from our bowl we were handing out and Ben went to the neighbor's house and got some candy for them. But when we put them to bed, Olivia said to me "don't be sad mommy, I told daddy that one day I will be able to hand out candy with him!". It broke my heart as she thought all she was missing was handing out candy! We are hoping next year is more of a success!
And I can't leave out that since the Zink's were nice enough to lend us the Purdue football outfit that we let them borrow our Tigger costume from when A&O were little so they could use it for "baby Joshua" (as he is called around our house). But before we gave it to him we felt the need to try it on! I was a little disturbed how well it fit Olivia (besides being short in the arms and legs!) as it was size 6 - 9 months, I believe! It was fun though and made for some good pictures!
Thanksgiving we spent in Michigan - - it was great to be able to hop in the car after Ben's last day of school and drive up there for the long weekend. Something we could never do in Connecticut! Although we did miss spending Thanksgiving with the Healy/Morrison clan! We spent Christmas Eve at our house as we had Ben's parents, grandmother, and his Aunt and Uncle over for dinner, and everyone except for his aunt and uncle stayed the night and watched the kiddos open their gifts! It was a great night, and there is nothing better than seeing Alex & Olivia's reaction when they saw the presents under the tree. They were really into opening their presents and enjoying every minute. We drove to Ben's parents for lunch/dinner on Christmas and then back to Louisville the next day to meet my parents who stayed with us for a few days and we enjoyed Christmas with them. This highlighted exactly the reason we wanted to move closer to family. It was so nice to be able to see everyone for the holidays and I know Alex & Olivia absolutely enjoyed every minute. I love seeing the relationships they were building with their family and it is amazing to see the family dynamic when there are two little kids in the picture.


And Dudley's favorite gift....his very own Purdue jersey!
Alex & Olivia turned 3 in March - - so hard to believe my little babies are 3! I will do a separate post about their birthday (and I promise it will be in the near future!) and about Derby!