First of all, our girls are growing up so fast. Everyone says, they grow up so fast, and you hear it all the time - as it happens it doesn't feel fast - but then I look back and think, I can't believe we have been married 7 years, and have a 3 1/2 and a 2 year old.
Our sweet Natalie is just quite the character. I love our conversations and her questions. She's always asking why, how, and what for? But it just means she is growing and thinking. She is now going to preschool two days a week for a few hours each day. She LOVES it. She never had any issues with me leaving her there - which of course makes me think - does she not care to be away from me? but at the same time I am glad she is not afraid for new and exciting adventures. She loves making new friends, and isnt afraid to make conversation with new adults. She is learning to write her name now, loves to talk about her friends - and of course play with them - and LOVES her cousins and grandparents. She has beautiful blue eyes and long curly blonde hair. It's just about to her waist now - we keep telling her it's time to cut it - but she's just not up for that idea. In addition - she was a breeze to potty train! about a month before she turned 3 I said, ok, no more diapers. She had 2, maybe 3 accidents the first day, and then after that, she has been dry (minus maybe 2-3 accidents since then). She has never wet the bed, and is always really good at just getting up at night and coming to get us when she needs to use the toilet at night. She has gone through some difficult spouts of going #2, but it seems that is all worked out now - and she is a great example to her younger sister. I am proud to have her as a daughter.
Emily has been so much fun to watch grow. She loves her sister so much and just wants to do everything Natalie does. Even when Natalie is not so nice - and she gets hurt (physically or emotionally), within minutes she is back at her sister's side playing with her. She LOVES music, and she loves to dance. Anytime a music comes on, she is bouncing, dancing, twirling, and even break dancing on the floor. Even in the car, I will look back when an up beat song comes on, and she has her hands in the air, or her shoulders bopping up and down. Love that girl. She is a VERY happy girl, and very well behaved. Lately she has found a thrill in running away when it's time to get into the car - which yes, can be very dangerous - but we're teaching her. She loves her purple blanket, dolls, stuffed animals, horses - or she calls them YeeHaws, and she loves playing with Natalie and their friends. When her friends come over, or we are going to one of their houses - she gets so excited and screams, shrieks, dances, and jumps up and down. She also does this cute thing with her eyes where she is playing with you, and kind of looks to the side to think she's not looking - but really is. Hard to explain, but she's quite hilarious... I can't believe I am the mother of such a sweet and hilarious little girl.I am still staying home with them, which I love, but also working from home 2-3 hours a day. I love that I don't have to leave them with a babysitter or daycare to get some extra income - but it's really weighing on me , especially since Natalie doesn't nap anymore. So I usually work while Emily naps, and then have to keep Natalie occupied while I get work done. Her attention span doesn't last very long with books, craft projects, or even movies - she really just wants me to play with her most of the time. But I am still grateful I can be home with her. I am getting used to Cleveland. It's been quite an adjustment from California. Mainly the weather, which isn't SO bad (yet!)... but the people are different (in good and different ways). Most of my friends who are here are just here temporarily, like 3-5 years, and really they just don't like it here - so that makes it difficult to like as well. I am really trying to look for the positive while living here - but I just don't find Cleveland to be very pretty or attractive. BUT, I am grateful that I made friends, and so quickly, and that my kids have great friends as well. I work with the 8-11 year old girls at church, and I LOVE that... I have also been substituting a lot at church in the children's Sunday School classes - so that's been fun too. I have taken up running again, and will be running a 5k with Logan, and some other ladies at church in December. It's different running here in Ohio, mainly because it's so cold - so I have been getting a lot of use out of our treadmill, which is great. I have some great friends who make me laugh though, and we get together often for Bunco, girls night out, craft nights, and lots of playdates - so that makes my time here a lot of fun.
So to our moving story -we've been trying to get out of California for years - mainly because of the cost of living. We LOVED living in California. The weather, the diversity in people and activities, but we could never buy a house there - so we decided the next opportunity that came up for Logan to get out we would just take it. Cleveland was an option, and because his mom was only a 4 hour drive away, and his Grandma 3 hours, we decided, why not. Well, they couldn't find anyone else who was interested in the position - I wonder why???? :) - so Logan got it, and it was a fast move. They basically wanted Logan out here within 3 weeks. That meant packing up, moving, and finding a place to live in a short amount of time.
We decided to just rent for a year, so we could find what area we wanted to live in, and make sure we wanted to stay here - but we can definitely afford to buy a home here - so we are really excited about that. So we packed as much as possible, looked for rentals online, and had to say goodbye to so many lifelong friends in a short period of time. Logan had to fly out to open his office (and find us a home), while I would finish packing, and get the truck loaded and out to Utah. Long story short - we hired a moving company that would come take apart furniture, load all of our stuff, and move it out to Ohio - but when they showed up they told us it would cost us 3 times the amount they quoted - so I turned them away (keep in mind, Logan is in Ohio, and can't do much about the situation!!!!! ) So I sent them off, and got a trailer from ABF delivered that day. Our ward and friends selflessly showed up that night (about 50 of them!!!), and loaded the trailer, and my mom, my two girls, and I headed out the next day. We drove to Utah over 2 days drive, and met Logan there. We got to spend some time with my family in Utah - and then headed on to Denver, (one days drive) and stayed with my sister there. we spent a couple of days with here, and then headed off to Iowa and spent a couple of days with my sister there. And then one more days drive to Cleveland.
We arrived and had a team of about 10 guys from our congregation here to help us unload, as well as Logan's mom, grandma, and uncle. It was a great welcome to our new home. Speaking of - Logan found a 3bed 1.5bath home for us to rent for a year. It's small - but will be fine for a year. We had some issues with our new fridge when we moved in, cat hair in the carpets (I'm allergic), and a bathtub leak on the second floor - but our Landlord was very friendly and helpful, and we got through the struggles. We have settled into this home well, and are awaiting the time when we can look for a home to buy (IF we stay....!).
Not that we plan on going anywhere - but we just wonder if there might be a promotion elsewhere for Logan in the near future, and wonder if we should buy quite yet... but we have found a house we are in love with, and if it's still available when our lease is up - I am pretty sure we will look into definitely purchasing that one.
Logan has settled into his new job. He's pretty much a one man show at his office - working directly with ICE (which he loves). This office is a lot slower than the SF one, but hopefully when his work contract gets renewed, things will speed up, grow, and HOPEFULLY a promotion... but we'll see. He's adjusting fine to Ohio, the weather, and making friends as well. We've done a lot of adventuring - like we usually do - and I will have to post pics of those soon. We do visit his mom every other month, and she usually comes here once a month - so that's great to have Nana close by.
And we loved the beautiful fall colors that are just stunning and bountiful here in Ohio. So that's a plus :)
