Two Sides To Every Coin

We are officially relocated to Roanoke.  Its great to be in our new house.  I put "our house" in quotes because its not really ours - we are renting.  Renting is a bit of an adjustment - knowing there is only a certain amount of changes we are permitted to do (i.e.  no painting, no taking down wallpaper, etc.).  But, it will be home for the next couple of years....and it does have our things in it.  So, it feels like our new home.

As with any change, there is good and bad.  The good part is that Katie really enjoys it here in Roanoke.  She is loving the parks , the new playgrounds - especially the Greenway, riding her tricycle, and finally having all her toys back.  She is especially wearing mommy, daddy, and Nana out driving her Trike.  Last week Nana took her for a ride and Katie took off down the hill....a little too fast paced.  Nana warned her to slow down.  Katie's response was "No Nana, I like to go fast!"  Nana's counter move - she got a bungy cord and attached it to the back of the tricycle, so Katie couldn't get too out of control.  Check mate - game Nana!

More good, Matt finished his first week of class!  I rarely post about my hubby (cause I'm so focused on the bug), but I am truly proud of what he is doing....he is a bit crazy, but brave to go back to school at the age of 35.  Even more good - I love the mountains here.  I had almost forgotten how much I loved them.  Now that I'm back I can't wait to go hiking and see the beautiful foliage this fall. 

The bad:  Katie has never been a good sleeper....and the transition of homes/moves/etc. has only escalated her already bad sleep habits.  She has completely given up naps.  Actually, we were lucky to make it to age 3 with her getting a nap.  She was ready at 2 1/2 to give those up, but we forced the issue until she turned 3.  Now she goes to bed at 8 each night and usually wakes up between 7 and 8 the next morning.  The bad part - she's up anywhere from 1 to 3 times each night.  There have been a few nights when she has slept straight through, but that is not the norm. 

More bad:  I'm having to travel between Richmond & Roanoke - sometimes without Katie.  Before this move we had been separated only two times (once for 2 nights, another time for an overnight trip).  I was always there at night and the next morning.  Needless to say, Katie didn't take our first 4 day separation very well.  Of course, when I get back to Roanoke, I baby her - which probably only makes the sleep issues worse.  I've actually resorted to putting a sleeping mat on the floor next to her bed some nights - and just sleeping there next to her.  Its probably not the "right" thing to do....but at least we get some sleep!

One of my friends reminded me that this too shall pass.  She said - Alison, do you know of any teenagers that want to sleep with their parents?  Ha - Good point!  I just hope it doesn't take until the teenage years until we figure out this whole sleeping thing.

Pictures and Videos from this post were taken at the Greenway Park. 

  

Delayed Postings

Sometimes it takes me a good 2 to 3 weeks to get pictures up on the blog....like this set of pics.  I've got multiple things to blog about....and not enough time to get it all done.  The Sunday after Katie's first birthday party, we headed to the pool with Aunt Katherine, Uncle Rob, and cousins Claire and Fielder. 

I think the adults had as much fun as the kids did.  Rob and Kat's pool is AWESOME!  It has multiple kiddie pools, a "sprinkler park" (for lack of a better term), two diving boards, a swim lane pool, a HUGE water slide, and an adult swimming area.  I went down the water slide for the first time in about 10 years.....I had almost forgotten how fun they are.

Caption:  Apparently, Claire said something really funny!

The girls were two peas in a pod....as usual!  And Fielder was just cute!  Its amazing to me how much more verbal and mobile he is now....compared to just a month ago.  His favorite word is "Ohhh!"  I think he sounds like Tim the Toolman Taylor - so very cute!  Anyways - here are some pics from our fun day at the pool. 

Last week, while Katie, Mom and I were in Richmond, we got the cousins together again.  Rob and Katherine were nice enough to keep Katie Wednesday morning.  Katie told me that she and Claire played hide and seek, had a tea party, and dressed-up and paraded costumes for Uncle Rob and Aunt Katherine.  On the way home Katie cried because she said she wouldn't see her "Best Friend Claire" for a long time.  She then asked me the next morning if she could go back to Claire's house again.  They really do love each other....just makes me smile.  These pics are courtesy of Katherine....my favorite is the last one.

Party Time - Round 1

Katie's a lucky girl - she gets two birthday parties this year.  Today was her Richmond party with Matt's family and many of our friends.  Next weekend we will officially be in Roanoke and she and her Papa will celebrate their birthdays together.

Her Richmond party today was at CMOR again this year.  She loves it - and picked the location herself.  So, she was pretty happy.  I asked her tonight at super what was her favorite part of the day, to which she replied "Getting my presents."  After her quiet time (yes, no more naps - this will require an entire post to explain), she spent more than 2 straight hours going through all her new toys and books.  Playing with each, alternating, and going back again to play with each once more.

I want to say a special thank you to all our friends and family who came to the party today.  This is our last weekend here in Richmond - a little bitter sweet.  Thanks for making Katie's birthday a special one!!

A few pictures/videos from the day.

  

These last two pictures are for my friends Whitney and Matt.....and their little Rooster!!!  :-)

 A couple videos too....I know, I know - long post.

Instruments

Katie's Nana has a bit of a habit.  Everytime she and Katie go out to a store together, Katie comes home with a new toy.  Now, the toy may be something very small/simple.  Usually its something from the $1 bin in Target.  But, all the same it never fails that Katie comes home with SOMETHING! 

The most recent purchase by Nana is a harmonica.  A two, almost three year old with a harmonica is.....hmmm....Entertaining....to say the least.  Anyways, here is a video of Katie playing her new instrument.  Also - you will notice at the end of the video that Katie decides to play an entirely different instrument (my leg).  To be clear, her daddy taught her that - not me. 

Pool Day

Earlier this week we made plans with a group of our friends from Richmond to get together at the pool.  We all have little ones close to the same age and thought it would be a good chance to say our good byes and let the kids have a final playdate together. 

Matt has a group of friends which he has stayed in touch with since middle school. I used to say that girls were far better at staying in touch than guys - but its just not true with this crew. Its amazing to me how closed they have stayed. In fact, most of the wives became friends through these men. Such a wonderful group which Matt and I are going to miss tremendously. We just have to make a promise to plan get togethers.....from 3+ hours away. I did tell them that our house in Roanoke is always open for VA Tech game visitors. :-)

Maymont

I'm at the end of my work week and I can't think of anything exciting or interesting to blog about.  So, I'll just post some pictures.  I was going back through some photos from June at Maymont Park and Nature Center. 

 Katie showing her fish face...LOL!

 At the Japanese Gardens....by the pond.

Things to Remember...

Life is flying by right now.  Setting up an apartment in Richmond and a house in Roanoke, working, Matt going to school and working, and of course spending time with Katie.  There are so many things I want to remember about Katie's childhood.  The big milestones and the little everyday things that make me laugh.  At this pace, I know if I don't write it down I will forget it.  So here goes my recent list...

• I love how Katie calls a stethescope a stethescoat.
• I love how she says Mommy I'm "saturated" when she means "frustrated"
• I love how she can take a bath towel, lay it on the carpet, and pretend its her car.  She asks me to get in the back so she can drive me to school.
• I love how she lays down for bed at night, and we turn on her music, and she says...."Mommy will you lay with me for a whole lot of songs tonight."  And then she is asleep by song 3.
• I love (and often hate) that she asks "WHY?" about 100 times each day.
• I love that she is learning the pledge of allegiance at school and gets it right about 10% of the time.  The versions she comes up with are quite entertaining.
• Okay - I don't love the tantrums.  But I definitely don't want to forget them.  Sometimes I want to laugh at her and sometimes I want to scream.
• I love when she says to me "I had fun with you today Mommy" right before she falls asleep.

We are in the process of planning Katie's 3rd birthday party.  The options we have given her are Monkey Joe's, Romp 'n Roll, or the Children's Museum.  Despite the fact that her party was at the Children's Museum last year, she has asked to have it there again.  No matter how many times we ask, the answer hasn't changed.  So, we are going to have a bit of a repeat.  Not my first choice, but hey....its her party.  Oh, that reminds me of another thing I don't want to forget.  Katie's favorite book right now is Franklin's Birthday.....or virtually any Franklin book.

Pictures from this post are from today.  We went to the mall for a bit since it was raining and we couldn't go to the pool or the park.  The upside of being indoors is that Chick-Fil-A had 2 cent sundaes.  YUMMY!!!