Resourceful...

Molly loves being outside. Recently she's figured out how to put her own shoes on. The other day she found the biggest book she could and placed it in front of the door. Then she put on her red crocs, and grabbed some play keys. She was so proud as she stood on the book waved at me and tried to open the door. Hopefully it will take her a long long time before she figures out the deadbolt.














Gabe's first time eating cereal. 8/18














He's smiling, but not swallowing.














Molly loved the cereal too.














Gabe is getting so close to rolling over. It's going to be sad when I can't leave him on the couch unattended anymore.

Week in review

I feel like it's been forever since I've blogged. So here is a random update about the past week. We've been in Chicago. I know, it's the second time in a month. We got back on Friday. We had a good trip and a lot of fun.

Last Sunday 8/10 we blessed Gabe in the Orland Park ward. It was so nice that so many family and friends we able to be there. We planned for that Sunday because Beth (my sister), Kurt (my brother in law), and Ethan (my nephew) were going to be in town. It was the first time that we've seen them since Ethan was born last year. It was fun watching Molly and Ethan play. Molly is very territorial. Since we spent so much time at my parents house last month she wasn't always the nicest sharer with Ethan, but they had a good time.

We went downtown and did all the touristy things ie. millennium park, navy pier, the beach, magnificent mile. Molly love love loves the water. She didn't want to leave the beach and she had a lot of fun in the splash area at millennium park. She also loved the bean. We pushed the stroller right next to it so that she could admire herself. We put Gabe's feet in the water, he smiled, but wasn't that impressed.

We went to Brookfield zoo. Molly loved all the kittys (every animal that she sees is kitty). She liked the petting zoo and the play zoo. She dressed up like a bird and walked all over carrying an egg. Gabe slept through most of the zoo.

We took family pictures with Drew's family. Gabe never sticks his tongue out, but in one of the pictures he looks like Gene Simmons. It was really funny. Molly being true to self didn't really smile. My favorite picture was one with Suzie (Drew's mom) and all the grand kids. No one was looking at the camera and Molly was trying to crawl away.

We took advantage of having a babysitter. Drew and I went and saw The Dark Knight. I thought that Heath Ledger did a great job. I was a little disappointed with Aaron Eckhart. I loved Aaron Eckhart in Thank you For Smoking, I was hoping to see a little more of that character. I also thought that they were setting it up for him to be in the third movie, so I thought they rushed his part. All in all it was a good movie. I think I let it get built up too much before I saw it. But what a great opening scene.

Assistant Drew

I'm always really proud of Drew. We are both eager for graduate school to start in a few weeks. This afternoon they offered Drew a teaching assistant-ship for the fall semester. So that means that he'll get a small stipend and we won't have to pay tuition the first semester. Maybe we will make it through this with less debt than we anticipated. It's exciting to see things fall into place. He'll be teaching calculus for a couple hours a day. Then I guess he'll have some office hours and grading that he's responsible for. So now when people ask what brings you to Nebraska, I can tell them that my husband works at the college. :)

Come Come Ye Saints

Today was the first day we were able to go to our new ward. Its been 3 Sundays since a couple guys helped us unload, so they were beginning to wonder where we've been. It is possibly the friendliest ward I have ever been in. It seemed that everyone wanted to say hello and see who you were. It is probably about 100 people or so. The building isn't the typical LDS square around the chapel and gym. It has has hallways that branch off to the sides, and so far, our investigations show that in order to get from one side to the other, you must cut through the chapel or cultural hall (gym). There's no hallway connecting the two. Very odd. I'm getting set apart next week as Bishop, so that is exciting. Just kidding. That's for all our friends in Mesa who were sure that we would instantly get big callings since we went to BYU-I and lived out west (lots of Mormons in the west for those of you trying to piece that together). (By the way Sean, I didn't get your texts with the juicy stories of our mutual friend, seeing as I don't text. Call me, the number is the same still).
Anyway, here are some pictures to hold you over...

Molly doesn't really know how to play Wii yet, but she thinks it is important and likes to hold a controller while you play.

Playground at Pioneers Park. Molly cried while getting on Clifford and when it was time to get off.

Molly's first Pony Tail (80's style on the side)

Gabriel napping before church, trying to stay a float on the memory foam.

Gabe enjoying some time with us, while Molly got an early night to bed.

Happy Pioneer Day!

I was thinking that I should post something because its been a while. I'm kind of a blog junkie and I hate it when people don't post for a long time. To me a week is a long time. Drew makes fun of me a lot. It's kind of pathetic, but what are you gonna do. Things have been pretty mundane around here. We've finished all of the major unpacking and are slowly putting the little things into place. I have to admit that I've been a little preoccupied. Drew bought me a book that I've been thinking about for a while, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I'm almost done with it. I probably would be if I didn't have to do other things, like take care of my children. :)
We went to Minnesota over the weekend. We visited our friends the Cutts. We had a lot of fun which would have been documented better if we had brought our camera with us when we went out. Ahhh the joys of having an overflowing diaper bag that seems to contain everything and nothing at the same time. So you should go to the Cutts' blog to see pictures of the trip. Julie is much better organized than I. We went to The Mall of America. It was amazing to be in a mall that big and at the same time I couldn't imagine anyone actually shopping there. It was like a zoo, but we did go on a Saturday. Drew and Tom went to a Twins game. Drew isn't a big Twins fan, but being true to his Cubbies he cheers for anyone who rivals the Soxs. We also went to a really fun Park. There were big slides that went down a hill. Molly had fun going down on our laps. One of the slides was enclosed and as we took turns going down you could hear the person in front of you thudding against the wall. It was great even though it hurt a bit. I don't think it was designed for full size adults. The ground at the park was just like the floor in the swamp building at the Brookfield zoo, very cool. We had a really good time. I wish that it could have been a little longer. The kids barely had time to settle before it was time to head back.
We are really enjoying Lincoln. Everyone is so friendly. The most impressive thing this week has been the Steve and Barry's store. It's two floors and has to be at least double the size of any other Steve and Barry's I've ever been in. Which is funny because the mall isn't very big. It's comparable to Idaho Falls. So needless to say we found our place to buy Husker apparel.

(PS for those that don't know, Pioneer Day is the day that the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley, July 24)

Welcome to Lincoln population 225,581...

We are finally in Lincoln and have our Internet hooked up! Exciting huh? Well, we're happy about it. We got here late Sunday. So far we have about 75% of the apartment unpacked. Mostly we have to get the kids room together. It's a work in progress. I'll post some pictures once we everything together. I really like our apartment. We are the second people to live here. Everything still looks very new. We are also on the first floor. It's nice being able to walk out the back door and let Molly run in the grass. The one thing that I'm not fond of is the smell. The person who lived here before us was a smoker. So we're airing it out. Our back door faces the pool. Its been in the 90's here, but I haven't seen many people swimming. There are about ten people who go tanning everyday all day. Even if it's cloudy they are out there looking for a ray of sun. It's entertaining. The demographic in Lincoln is a lot different than Mesa. When we went into Wal-mart there were all kids of people. The college kids, the overalled farmers, and people in camouflage. And literally every other person that you see has a Nebraska shirt on. The Corn huskers stadium is amazing. It has to be one of the biggest college stadiums.

Changing the subject. Molly is loving her big girl bed. She has been going to bed around 9 and waking up at 8. For anyone who didn't know Molly isn't the best sleeper. She preferred to sleep in between Drew and I . As you can imagine three in the bed was a little crowded. She must have just hated her crib that much. She is even going to bed a lot easier since she's gotten her own room. Wahoo for that.

Gabe is growing bigger all the time. He is so happy. If he's crying and you talk to him and smile he can't help but smile back. Very sweet. When I was in Chicago I was looking at some of my baby pictures. Gabe and I look identical. So did Ben and I. I think he'll look like uncle Ben. Well hopefully with shorter hair :). (We love you Ben, in spite of you having the longest hair in the family)

Drew and I have been spending most of our time unpacking. However, we did take a break yesterday to celebrate Drew's birthday. Another trip around the sun completed. What an accomplishment. :) We love you Drew.

Gabe right after he woke up. Just being cute.

Molly chatting it up on her cell phone. She likes sitting in Gabe's bouncy chair.

Molly and Drew taking a walk.

Drew's birthday.

Tomorrow we are off to Minneapolis to visit some friends for the weekend. Lots more pictures to come I am sure.

Still in Chicago...

It's true, we are still in Chicago. We're having a friend of a friend do some work on our car. It's taking longer than we had hoped and anticipated. I can't complain too much because we're saving a lot of money, but we'd like to get home. I still haven't seen our apartment. I'm excited to get everything unpacked and settled. I've really enjoyed the time we're spending here, but it will be nice to get back to normal.
Gabe is getting so big. He is in size two diapers and probably is around 15 lbs or so. He is the happiest baby. He smiles all the time. He's such a joy. He also sleeps really well. When he's tired he likes to be laid in the crib and left alone. I wish that Molly was like that...
When Molly sees an animal she gets so excited. She would make the funniest noise. I'm not sure how to describe it, she would make a loud noise as she breathed in. Since we've been at my moms house Molly has started saying Kitty. At first she just said it for the cat, then the dog and now every animal is a kitty. She doesn't make that noise anymore and I miss it. I'm sure that most of you know the noise I'm talking about :). She's started eating with a fork. She gets really offended if you don't offer her one. She also loves straws, yogurt covered raisins, balls and anything outside. It's amazing how much they have grown since we have been here.