Hi ya'll

A few pictures to start with.... Andrew - practicing his swing at the Louisville Slugger Museum.

Dave and Beth celebrating the Packer victory over the Lions!

Silly Annabelle!

Annabelle helping me unpack!

Andrew helping me unpack! He said the packaging reminded him of leaves. So he had to jump in the pile.

We are finally starting to settle in here in Kentucky. The move went well. It was very quick. We had the movers at our house on a Thursday and a week later they met us in Louisville to unpack us. We are still living in a sea of boxes but that is to be expected until we find a house. We are eagerly waiting for our house in Minnesota to sell before we buy down here. We have been out looking and are looking forward to the process this time around. Your dollar goes a lot further in Kentucky!

The kids and I are enjoying our time at home each day. We have our routine. We've been going to storytime each week at the library. It gives Andrew a chance to meet other kids and show off his arts 'n crafts skills. I was so impressed the first time I watched him cut things out with scissors. I didn't know he could do that. He told me "Mommy, you have to stay inside the lines, just like when cars drive on the road." Such a smart kid!!

We made a trip down to Nashville over the weekend to visit Aunt Katie and Duffy. Andrew enjoyed the trip and meeting their new puppies. We also went to the Humane Society they volunteer at and got to play with a lot of puppies and kitties. No - we didn't bring any home! Not this time :)

More pictures soon....

We're heading south for the winter... (and not coming back)!

We are grossly overdue for a family update. Since our last post Dave received a promotion/job offer for a position in Louisville, KY. He accepted the offer and we are well on our way to Louisville. Last week we put our house on the market, packed up our belongings (or rather, sat as movers packed everything), loaded the moving truck (again, sat and watched), made the 5 hour drive to Green Bay for a New Years/Christmas celebration with our families and tomorrow we make the 8 hour drive to Louisville. Dave drove down on Monday to start working today. It has been a fast and exhausting month. We are looking forward to slowing down a little in January. We found a townhome to rent in Louisville and it's working out so I can stay home with the kids while we get settled and learn the area.

Our new address is: 1178 Whetstone Way, Louisville, KY 40223

We would love to hear from you! Do us a favor and say a little prayer in hopes that we sell our Minnesota house fast!!

We have lots of pictures from our moving adventure and we'll post them soon (need to get internet service at our townhome first!)

Lots going on!

Over the past month we had a trip to Green Bay, Grandma came to visit for a week, Halloween, Andrew's 4th birthday party, 3 doctors visits, 2 trips to the emergency room, and a partridge in a pear tree. haha! We'll explain through the following pictures.
Halloween - here's Daddy, errr I mean Clark Kent or Superman saving a baby from a burning building.
We had a birthday party for Andrew while we were in Green Bay for the weekend. The kids had a blast. This was the best picture of the 3 kids together. Nikolas, Maya and Andrew.

Andrew and his monster truck birthday cake.

We went to the Zoo Boo while we were there too. Lots of fun and LOTS of candy! Andrew dressed up as Buzz Light year again this year. He loves that costume. I'm sure he'll wear it every year until it gets too small.

Annabelle was our little flower. So cute! If you look closely you'll see evidence of our first trip to the ER. Annabelle fell from a standing position to her tush and in doing so bumped her chin and her wrist. She was in so much pain from her wrist that we took her in for some X-rays. Thankfully, nothing was broken, just bumps and bruises, which are healed and gone today.

Andrew got a BIG monster truck for his birthday. It's remote controlled, but he won't let us or anyone use the remote. He just wants to push it around. Maybe some day we can race it with our other remote controlled car.

We did a little photo shoot in the park a few weeks back. The kids (and adults) had a blast playing in the leaves.

Our second ER visit was a result of a stomach bug Annabelle had. No fun! Andrew ended up at the doctor's office this past week with pnenomia! :( Other than some common colds, we are pretty much back to normal.

We are looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year and watching the Packers beat the Lions (...yeah right...)! Go Lions!

Apple Picking & Corn Pit

We made our annual trips to the Corn Maze/Corn Pit and apple picking. We had to enjoy our last bit of nice weather so we crammed both of these excursions into 1 day. It was a busy day, but lots of fun.

Miss Annabelle found her pumpkin.

Peek-a-boo!

No smiles from Andrew.

Annabelle loved apple picking. Her apple was like another nuk, just yummier. She took a little bite of it and spent the rest of the time sucking on it.

She wasn't too sure about this Corn Pit idea. Very strange. She had corn in places corn shouldn't be... (I'll leave it to your imagination to interpret that.)

Here she is having fun watching the kids run around the maze.

Annabelle and Milena!

Mr. Andrew in the corn pit. He had a blast. We all did.

Here's Andrew trying to find his way out. He did... eventually! And turned right around to do it again.

Mom and Dad had fun too. Since the theme of the day was corn, we had roasted corn... yummy!

Let's see ... what else is new with us. I started my new job this week at Hanover Insurance. It's going well. Lots to learn. My brain hurts at the end of each day, but I'm glad I made the change. It's a great office with really nice people and good management. Way less stressful!

It's Andrew's 4th birthday next week and he is eagerly awaiting it. I think this is the first year he really gets what it means to have a birthday. In his mind it's his day to do whatever he wants, have a party, eat cake, and get lots of presents. He's right! He knows his birthday is on Friday next week, but he didn't understand the next week part, so when he woke up today and heard it was Friday, he was very disappointed to find out it wasn't the Friday of his Birthday. Try explaining days vs. weeks vs. months to a 3, almost 4 year old. Not easy. The whole concept of time isn't easy to understand or explain.

Annabelle is growing... slowly! She pulls herself up all the time. While we know we're supposed to be excited for her to start walking, we are just fine if it takes a few more months. The more mobility from her ,the harder and more exhausting our lives get!

Dave is well .... the same. As long as his Brewers and Lions keep winning, he's happy! Guess he won't be so happy come Thanksgiving.... he-he-he!

New hobby!

Well, I have a new hobby that benefits everyone - photography. And guess what, I already have my first model... Miss Annabelle. She's definitely not camera shy, but I'm sure she thinks I'm less of a photographer and more like paparazzi. I'm learning to use my new camera and she has been very patient with me. She's always got a different pose to try out. Her eyes just seem to pop in pictures. She's got dark brown eyes, just like me!She's about 9 months old in these pictures. She's a growing little girl, just not growing too fast. Despite the appetite, she's still only in the 8th percentile for her weight. No concern from the doctors. They say she'll just be a petite girl - not a bad problem to have! I love this picture below.
And here's my other "model"... we'll use that term loosely. Andrew never gives me a nice smile anymore, just silly ones. Here he's helping Daddy clean the fish tank.
Another pose.
Well, what else is new with us...
The big news - I quit my job this week. I've been with RJA for 7 years, but I felt it was time to move on and try out something else. I accepted a position with Hanover Insurance. While I enjoy what I do, I am excited to learn the insurance industry from another point of view. I start with Hanover on 10/3. I already know a few of the people that I'll be working with so the transition should be smooth.
Dave is staying busy with his work. He's been traveling a lot lately - North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Kentucky. Phew! While he doesn't like being away from home so much, I am envious of his sleep-filled nights in a hotel.
Andrew is a busy body. He started a computer class at preschool a couple weeks ago. He is learning to "upload", "download", "surf the web" and God only knows what else! He has so much to tell us about after each class.
We recently converted our guest bedroom into a playroom for Andrew and Annabelle. Andrew told me the other day that he "loves his new playroom". So cute! It's nice to have a centralized place for all the toys.
That's it for now!