All Moved In!

Yes, we are now in our new house. We feel like we've just taken the biggest breath of fresh air since moving in. We are in a newer, cleaner home much like our home in Denver. The views are beautiful and the voices of the neighborhood kids laughing and playing make us feel like we are in the right place. Yes, it has been quite busy since we closed on the house a little over two weeks ago but we have made great progress in unpacking and organizing our home. Much credit goes to my parents who arrived on Good Friday. We were lucky enough to have them spend Easter with us as well as spend the whole week with us afterwards. My dad was our own little handyman and helped put up decorations, unpack, build shelves, caulk our shower stall, you name it, he did it! My mom, on the other hand, relieved me of all my kitchen duties by cooking all week! It was so nice to not have to worry about what was for dinner that night and I was able to run many errands to Costco, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target (much to those store's delight).
There are a few more boxes to unpack but we are now just taking it slow and taking it one step at a time. My main concern was the kitchen and I really could not sleep well knowing that it was utter chaos. It is now all set up so I can relax a little easier.
In other news, Mike was recently recruited to be the head coach of Alex's soccer team. Yes, our own Mike who has no soccer experience whatsoever has taken on the task to herd 2-4 year olds every Saturday morning for the next 8 weeks! He is excellent with kids so I have no doubt that he will succeed in this new adventure :) Alex is gradually learning soccer skills and how to work with a team. He does tire easily and isn't too keen about actually "fighting" for the ball. He is excellent when it comes to drills though :)
My mom took a million of pictures during their stay so here they are!

Blowing bubbles with Grandpa!

Our little fish during his swim lesson

Don't quite know what this pose is about

He got the "Hustle" medal during soccer!

Eva and Grandpa

My girl with flowers in her hair :)

Someone's getting tired!

Go Alex!

Coach Mike talking to his players

Dinner at Jak's Grill

Ready to go out for dinner!

Yep, that's me huge as can be

Playground fun!

Alex is apparently a bunny rabbit of some sort

Terrific Two's

We celebrated Eva's 2nd birthday yesterday and quite frankly, I am still recovering from it. No, there were no shots of tequila or late-night partying (okay, okay--it was a late 9:30 bedtime for the kids). The day started with chocolate pancakes for the birthday girl, a romp in the mall playarea, Build-a-Bear, Gymboree clothes shopping, lunch at Mickey D's, Top Pot Doughnuts, and finishing the day off at Maggiano's. Quite eventful since I flew solo the whole day up until dinner time. The kids were great but signs of exhaustion were definitely showing by the time we were driving to the restaurant.

Mike and I can't help talk about how Eva has grown into such a sweet, lovely, funny little girl. She is a constant source of entertainment and is never short on telling her brother how to behave or be careful. She loves loves to tell her "Kuya" what to do. When dinner or lunch is all set on the table, she's the first to say "C'mon Kuya! Eat!" or "Oooh careful Kuya!" after he jumps off the couch. I am always laughing at her antics. She talks A LOT! This is quite a difference from Alex's verbal skills which truly didn't develop until he was well past 2. She can repeat most if not all of the words we say to her. She communicates her thoughts and needs in complete sentences. She loves reading much like her brother does. I've often caught her sitting on the glider with book on hand and describing the pictures she is looking at. There are moments that she even repeats the sentences verbatim (obviously from memory but impressive nonetheless). Her favorite books are from the Disney Princess series and Henry and Mudge readers. The Henry and Mudge books were bought specifically for Alex but Eva took a real liking to them and now has claimed them as her own. We have had this blog for over fives years and it really has served as a journal of our life. Mike and I always talk about how we need to write down the milestones and funny anecdotes about the kids and this really has been our way of documenting those moments. So a few things come to mind that I've been meaning to write down and here's the perfect opportunity. So bear with me. Feel free to skip!

1. Eva refers to a spoon and fork as "Rice". Why? Because what is most served on the spoon/fork in our house? Rice!
2. Eva loves to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "Happy Birthday", and has most of the ABC song down.
3. As of 4/7/11, Eva can count 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,7,8,9
4. She can identify the colors red, black, blue, pink, purple, and white
5. She knows most animals including hippos, penguins, koalas, etc.
6. Loves to twirl around with her hands up in the air like a ballerina :)
7. She loves to jump.
8. Favorite past time is snacking. Pirate booty, Z-bars, crackers, apple juice. Dinner? Lunch? Not a big fan.
9. She says "Buy that" when she wants something. I'm guessing she's repeating what I say when she asks for something in the grocery store. "No Eva, we need to buy that first before we can eat it."
10. Prefers Mommy to put her to bed at night. I'm flattered but man, sometimes I just want Daddy to take over!

So, that's our girl in a nutshell. She is an absolute joy to be with. I can't believe she's two years old but sometimes I'm surprised she isn't already because of all the milestones she's reached. She will no doubt be a great big sister because I see the caregiving/nurturing side in her. Happy Birthday Baby Girl, we love you!

Eva- One Month Young

Eva- One Year

Eva- Two Years Having fun with Daddy Beautiful Girl

One Year Later

Yes, it has almost been a full year since my last post. It's been quite a year packed full of adventures. I've tried writing posts about it but it just seemed so long-winded and honestly, I just got too tired of remembering what happened. So, here is a quick review of the past year.

2010:
April- Eva's 1st birthday
May- Melissa's college graduation and Bridal Shower
June- My mom's surprise 60th birthday party, Melissa's and Cameron's Wedding, Mom and Dad's Church Blessing and Wedding
August- Mom and Auntie Josie visit so Mike and I could have a quick get-away to Las Vegas. Had an absolute blast. Can't wait to go back!
-Alex's 4th birthday.
September- Alex starts his first year of preschool!
October- Discovered we are expecting our third child! Due June 20th. Visit from both parents. Weekend trip to Vancouver and Victoria BC.
December- First Christmas in Seattle

2011
February- Found out the baby's sex---BABY GIRL!
March- Purchased a house in Snoqualmie, WA

So, as you can see. It's been quite a ride so far. Adjusting to Seattle has been far more difficult than we anticipated. We missed Denver immensely and the weather affected us more than we thought it would. It was hard not being in our own home and the rental home we are in needed a lot of work. There were many instances where Mike and I just looked at each other and asked, "What the heck did we get ourselves into?" I just kept reminding him that our journey here has to have purpose. We prayed for guidance every step of the way and we knew that God played a big role in where we found ourselves. Things started to unravel when we enrolled Alex in preschool. School definitely let Alex blossom into a very intelligent and articulate toddler (is he still considered a toddler?) Anyway, about one month into school, he knew how to read on his own and write his name! We couldn't believe how fast he was progressing. His teacher spoke very highly of him and despite a few "re-directions needed", she thought he was a very bright boy!

I also joined a local Mommy group called MOPS. It is a national organization that has groups throughout the country. This particular group meets at our church and I have never met such a wonderful, warm, and inviting group of women. I felt so welcome and made some great friends over such a short period of time. It has definitely helped me settle into our new city by knowing such a great women who are so supportive of each other.

As I type this, I am in my 27th week of pregnancy. Although I felt a lot of nausea and heartburn during my first trimester, this has been quite a smooth pregnancy so far (knock on wood). I have been trying to stay active the third time around so as not to gain so much weight. I'm hoping the third time is the charm because man, losing the baby weight is hard! The baby is doing great and I am so excited to have another little bundle of joy in my arms again :)

Our second biggest news is our new home purchase! Yes, Mike and I are absolutely giddy about this. We had decided to start looking just to learn more about the market and keep our eyes open. We didn't expect to purchase in such a short amount of time. We found a great realtor and one of the first houses we saw just kept calling our name. There were even subtle signs that the house was meant for us. For example, the current owners are ASU alumni and their little boy had a ASU hoodie hanging on a coat rack (identical to Alex's own). A detail that immediately caught our eye. Also, in the little girl's room, there was a framed Denver Post newspaper from the day the girl was born. It was too much of a coincidence. After seeing many, many more houses, we just thought--hey, it's the right price, the right school, right everything! So we put in an offer and after a little negotiation, it was accepted! We are scheduled to close on 4/14 and are hoping to move in as soon as the carpet is cleaned and the housecleaners are done.

Here are a few pics of the house:

The front of the house

Entry

Second Floor

Girl Room

Kitchen

Family Room

Sold Sign!