Buddies

Now that Hazel is at school all day Eliza and Lenora are becoming little buddies. I love watching Eliza play with Lenora and keep her entertained. A lot of the time, I feel like Eliza gets too rough smothering her with kisses, hitting Lenora on her "belly drum", etc. But as you can see if the video, Lenora usually loves it!

That's not to say Hazel and Eliza aren't still best friends. From the moment Hazel gets home from school they play and play and play. They're also in my room like clockwork each morning at 6am asking if they can turn on the light and play. Last night Eliza woke up in the middle of the night sick and immediately started asking "Where's Hazel?" As soon as she looked over and saw Hazel asleep in her bed she was fine and went back to sleep. 

I love watching the different friendships develop between these sweet girls! 

Conversation with Eliza

I love talking to Eliza. She says some of the cutest things sometimes and other times comes out with these crazy, off-the-wall comments. Here was my conversation with Eliza this morning:

Eliza: I know Pill-ah-tahs (Pilates). I learned it at work.

Me: Cool. Where do you work?

E: At my work.

M: What do you do at your work?

E: You know – I see you!

M: But what do you do? You know, like daddy is a professor. What do you do?

E: Prince Phillip teaches at ICU like daddy. (Prince Phillip is Eliza's pretend husband)

M: ICU? You mean ISU.

E: Yes. ISU.

M: What does he teach?

E: Lessons.

M: Oh, that’s good. And what do you do when you go to work?

E: Um, coloring and stuff. And someday I want to work as a princess. 

Too cute! Another adorable thing she told me recently. I gave her a kiss and she wiped it off so I gave her another and she wiped it off again, and another, and so on. Then I asked her, "Why are you wiping off all my kisses?" to which she answered "I"m not wiping them off. I'm rubbing them in." 

Love you little E!

Train Song for Grandpa

Hazel's train song from Kindergarten.

And now Eliza's version.

Adventures in Iowa

When we moved out here Michael had never been to Iowa in his life and I had only driven though once years ago. We literally had no idea what we were getting in to. But everyone we talked to told us two things about Iowa. 1) The weather is terrible! and 2) The people are the nicest people you'll ever meet.

The weather... it is humid and we've had a few really hot days. If that went on for a month straight I could see how people would call it terrible. And it rains way more than I expected. Oh and the bugs! Oh my the bugs. Since we've moved here I feel like I need a bug atlas. This place goes way beyond fly, worm, spider, rolly polly, bee, ant, and earwig. There are so many more types of bugs than I ever knew existed! The girls are constantly asking me, "What's that bug?" and I never know. It's funny because both of them are pretty afraid of bugs, but they sure are curious about them. Despite the bugs and humidity everything here is beautiful and so, so green. I love it!

As for the people.... We have been surrounded by the nicest people. Everyone is friendly including strangers. Our realtor, Kelli (who is also in our new ward), is simply one of the kindest, most giving people I've ever met. She showed us house over Skype, provided an interpreter for Michael without us even asking, found us a rental to live in until we close on our house (yes, a house!!!!), and is currently letting us come to her home every week to do laundry. Who does that for total strangers!?! We feel so blessed! And we meet nice people everywhere we go. Michael's co-workers have been wonderful.  Two of them sent emails to me about fun things in Ames. Strangers in the store help me with the kids whenever it seems I need an extra hand. Our neighbors have taken out our trash can for us. There are just truly some amazing people here!

Now for some of our adventures. First up was hunting for fireflies. I was the only one who has seen a firefly before we arrived and the girls were so excited to find one. We took a Friday night and hit up a park on our hunt. For the girls it was like fairies come to life. It was a magical evening for them and they loved it!

Walking around until dusk. 

They've got one! 

Next up we found Hazel Avenue!

We've also been hunting Cy birds. The city currently has about 25 statues of the ISU mascot placed all over town. The girls have loved searching for new ones as we're driving. 

Last Saturday we headed over to the football stadium to check out some of the pre-game festivities. Wow, tailgating is a HUGE thing here. We headed over early on family day while things were still nice and family friendly:) It was fun. The girls got free face painting and we got free lunch!

So far Iowa is treating us well! One last story... My mind is still blown away about how things grow here. No one has sprinkler systems because you don't need to water your grass. And all the corn and soy bean fields have no sprinklers or irrigation systems! It is so foreign to me that things would grow without being watered! I know, natives laugh away:)  

First Day of School

It's official, we have a daughter old enough to be in school. And here in Iowa, Kindergarten is a full day. I was so not ready for full day Kindergarten! Hazel on the other hand was thrilled.

The morning after we arrived in town we were off to Hazel's school to meet her teacher. It was neat because the teacher met individually with each student and family before the start of the year. Can I tell you how much we already love living in a smaller town?

Mrs. Stroot and Hazel

Hazel and Eliza in front of Hazel's locker

You can see how Eliza and I felt about the whole thing, haha. 

Monday morning she was off! I walked her up to her classroom that first day but she didn't need me there. She was so excited. And seeing her so happy helped me make it out the door without crying. The first few days were actually the hardest on Eliza. She just didn't know what to do with herself all day. But after a few day Eliza realized being the oldest at home and getting all of mom's attention is pretty fun too:)

Kindergarten here she comes!

Iowa or bust

 Our 1200 mile move was the best kind - uneventful! We started off with one last sleepover at Gram and Grandpas house Tuesday night....

Then early Wednesday morning we were off. Michael and Kiara drove the truck towing the car through Wyoming and Nebraska while the girls, my dad and I drove down through Denver then on to Iowa. It was so thankful my dad wanted to make the trip with us since I didn't have to drive and could just entertain the girls!

The five of us stopped and saw my aunt Jennifer, my grandpa, and our dear friends Doug and Cristy while we were in Denver. Thursday morning we were on the road again to finish up our drive. It was a long time in the car but we survived.

Eliza in the silly hat and baby sweater she picked up from Aunt Jennifer.

My dad was able to spend Friday and Saturday seeing our new hometown before he flew home. He felt the same peace we have felt all along as he dropped us off here. This is where our family is meant to be for the moment. And so far we love it here! It's green and beautiful and we've never felt so welcome. Seriously people have treated us like family and we already feel loved. The goodbyes were sure hard, but here's to making the most of our new adventure. 

Last few weeks in Utah

From the time Michael was offered the job at ISU to the time we moved from Provo to Iowa was six weeks. Let me tell you, it was a jam packed six weeks! Michael and I were working up until the bitter end and of course there was lots of packing. On top of it all, we had to squeeze in all our last adventures and goodbyes in Utah. Our kids stayed up WAY too late so many nights in a row. But thankfully we were all blessed to make it through without too much stress or exhaustion. In fact, we still managed to have a pretty nice summer despite it all. Here are just some of the highlights...

Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit!

Pioneer Day Temple to Temple Run

Mini mission reunion for Michael

My parents took Hazel and Eliza to the family camp out in Colorado for a few days. They had a blast and it gave us a few uninterrupted days to pack.

Wicked! Before each show you can enter your name in a lottery for "obstructed view" seats for just $25 a piece. My dad and I put our names in and were lucky enough to win tickets! It was fun to get in my own daddy daughter date before we left town.

Angel gave the girls a trip to the zoo for their birthdays (and my parents had to tag along).

Swimming lessons for both girls

Splash pad play date with Gram Holly (I never did get her in any of the pictures!) Lenora's first time on the swing and she loved it! Meanwhile the big girls decided to get soaked fully clothed after telling me it was too cold and they didn't want their swimsuits. Silly girls!

Museum of Natural Curiosity: Grandma Great (Craig) gave Hazel and Eliza tickets to the new children's museum for their birthday. It was a blast and even Lenora enjoyed it!

We also had a few going away dinners and get-togethers. Like I said it was a busy, busy, busy few weeks! But we were glad to spend as much time as possible making precious memories with our friends and family. I purposely didn't take any special good bye pictures because it was just too hard. Plus we plan on making a nice, long visit to Utah each summer to soak up the family time. See you next summer Utah!

Lenora at 6 months

My baby is half-way to turning one! Lenora, you continue to be the sweetest baby we've ever met. You are happy and so loving. Everyone who knows you simply adores you. You are such a light in our family.

At 6 months old you're a nice 14 lbs 6 oz and 25 1/2" tall. You are health and happy for which we are truly thankful.

Hazel and Eliza are so in love with you. They climb in your crib to cuddle with you every morning and bring you toys throughout the day. You love them so much too! At the moment they are off on a camping trip with Gram and Grandpa. You are loving all the extra attention without them here. But I also think you're getting a bit bored because it's so quiet.

When it comes to eating baby food you're really not much of a fan. You do enjoy gnawing on soft or juicy foods. You like to sit in your highchair while the girls and I cook, and I like having you close.

At about 5 1/2 months old you learned how to sit. You love to sit up and see the world. Now that you're sitting we've noticed you have the most beautiful, long neck. It is just so sweet and I kiss it about 100 times a day.

 

 

Last month you got a nasty double ear infection. You had been a bit grumpier than normal but that is how normal babies act all the time so we didn't think anything of it. But then one night you were up every hour crying and even had fluid coming out of your ear. Poor girl! I felt terrible I hadn't taken you to the doctor sooner. Lesson learned, when the happiest baby in the world is slightly grumpy something must be up.

You love attention, your monkey lovey (aka Chunky Monkey for now), being outside, and taking baths. The only things I can think of that you don't like are being smothered by too many sister kisses and when you can see everyone leaving a room without you.

 Yesterday you started saying "mama mama" and I of course came running. Today you've been saying it all day! Both Hazel and Eliza said and signed "dada" first. I'm so happy to finally be the first word:) Love you so so much Lenora-Laura!