Indy Trip

 

I've been looking forward to this trip to Indiana for a long time. I was even more excited starting about a month before the trip because I found out Sabrina and Allie were going to be there too. We had concocted up this surprise for my parents to have Sabrina and Allie come in for a few days while we were all there. I was nervous because Sabrina has diarrhea of the mouth (she can't keep a secret) and Christina is not a good liar. We pulled it off though. My mom and dad had no idea! We never get to surprise them so we were all very excited to be able to do this.

The week was filled with stuffing our faces with good food, enjoying a lot of family time and catching up with some good friends. I think we had Pizza King (the best pizza in the world, sorry Dave) about three times. We were only there from Saturday to Thursday. And I even brought home some left over pizza. I didn't share it either. I ate it all in a few days. We also had some great Strawberry Pie from Gray Brothers and a great dinner of course from there too. Oh and how could I forget I got some white Queso from the little Mexican restaruarnt. I still haven't figured out what kind of cheese it is, but it is only in the Midwest (not including Texas). Like I said we had some great food.

Chloe & Ella

While Sabrina and Allie were there we went to the park for the kids to play, let the kids run around at my parents house and play, went to the zoo and had our extended family out for a visit as well. They were only there from Saturday to Monday so we packed as much time for play in as we could. Chloe also got her first haircut while Sabrina was there. We had noticed her mullet style hairdo and there were a few people who have confused her with a boy because of her "mullet". So Sabrina looked up what to do to fix her hair and all sources pointed to cutting her hair into a bob. So with a little bribery from sour gummy worms she sat there and got her hair cut for the first time. It was fun while they were there and it was hard to see them go back to Arizona. Chloe kept asking for Allie after she left and everytime we would tell her that she is in Arizona.

Zach and I were also able to catch up with some of friends, which as always was awesome. Then Chloe and my friend's daughter Ella had a play date. We were suppose to go to the park for the kids to run around, but it rained all day so we just stayed at my parents house and let the girls play. It was fun to get the girls together and to catch up ourselves.

One night when it was just my parents and the four of us we went out to this BBQ place, because I love BBQ so much, and my parents saw a side of Chloe they hadn't seen the trip. Chloe can be shy and when there are a lot of people around she just minds her own business and plays by herself as quiet as a mouse. But there weren't a lot of people because it was just the six of us and boy did she think she was funny. She was hyper and silly and just funny. She was her normal self to us, but a side my parents hadn't seen. While we were walking out of the restaurant I said well meet Chloe and then my mom quickly said, "I think I have met her before, but her name was Jenna." Yep, she's my daughter.
We met my grandparents at Gray Brothers for dinner with my parents and Christina, Phil, Sydney and Carter for some wonderful dinner. Then on the way home we stopped by a pumpkin patch for the kids to get pumpkins to paint. It was fun. It had been raining that day so it was a little muddy, but it wasn't bad. The kids all picked out pumpkins even Levi. Chloe really likes pumpkins. Later that evening once all the kids went to bed Christina came back over and we played some Hearts. It was fun, I haven't played hearts in years. I'm pretty sure I won the champion of champions game, but I don't remember so I'm going to take that as I definitely won!
On our last full day we had it jam packed. We first went down to my grandparents house and spent some time visiting with them and the kids were playing. Chloe wasn't much of a talker, but she did give out hugs and kisses so I look at it as it was a success. Then we headed to Pizza King to eat. If you have never been there it is set up with a train theme and there is a little train that delivers your drinks to you. I knew Chloe would love it because she loves the trains at the church we were going to in Texas. When we got there the manager ran the trains a few extra times just so the kids could see it. She got so excited and gasp when she saw the train. It was cute. She even ate their pizza. She hasn't ever actually eaten pizza before. She will want to try it but never actually eats it, but she actually ate a piece.I was plesantly surprised, but I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised since it is the best pizza in the world! After pizza we went down to the square and walked around looking at the scarecrow displays that people had put up and walked to the DQ to get some ice cream. And wouldn't you know it they painted it and added in a drive through...how dare they...hahaha. Then we went home and put the kids down for a nap. After nap we ran over to my grandma's house for a quick visit and came back to my parents for some dinner, painting pumpkins and roasting marshmellows. Chloe wasn't too interested in the roasting marshmellows she was too busy pushing her stroller and babies around the backyard while Carter and Sydney chased her and each other with their strollers. Like I said our last day was jam packed!

Levi trying to make a jump for it!

We came back definitely with more than what we went with. My mom saved everything from when us girls were little. I didn't realize what all she saved. Before we came out I asked if she would pull out some of my Barbie cars and my Barbie dollhouse if she still had it. We were thinking of getting Chloe a car for her "dolls" for her birthday and also possibly a dollhouse for Christmas so I wanted to try it out. I don't want to brag, but Chloe had quite the choice of vehicles to choose from. She had a convertible, jeep, hot rod, van and who could forget the motor home. Chloe loved the motor home for her "dolls" to ride in. She didn't care too much about the house so case solved...she is ready for a car and not a dollhouse. And lucky for us my mom said we could take anything back so we brought the motor home back with us. My mom also brought out some of my old cabbage patch dolls and strollers. She had cleaned them up and washed their clothes and brought them out for Chloe to play with. Of course Chloe fell in love with them so we brought three of those home as well. So our suitcase was a little full and we had to bring another bag back as well to get everything in. 

The Move

October was a great month. We moved into our new home, went for a visit to Indy and went Trick-or-treating. Lets start with the house. We love our new home. It suits us very well and both Zach and I feel that we've lived here forever. We are very comfortable.

I was a little nervous what Chloe would think the first night in the house and if she would be scared or confused or what she would think since we had been living with Zach's parents for the past few months. Chloe is still in her crib, but I went ahead and bought her some toddler bedding because it is the same size as crib bedding and we needed a blanket for her. In Arizona she never slept with a blanket on her because it was never cold enough to have a blanket on. So while we were staying with Zach's parents she had a blanket there that Chloe used and so I wanted to make sure and get her a blanket of her own. I of course picked out a Minnie Mouse set because she LOVES Minnie Mouse. I was all prepared to bribe her with her blanket for sleeping at the new house, but I didn't have to. I had asked her the Sunday morning of our first night at the house if she wanted to sleep at the new house and she simply said "I do". That was easy. I remember driving to our new house after picking up the kids at Zach's parents' house and when we turned off of the highway onto the road by our house she said "go new house". It made me smile because not only was she okay with the fact that we were going to the new house and she understood it was not her grandparents' house, but she also was aware of her surroundings and used landmarks so she would know her way. That is how I would remember to get places. So it made me smile and I thought, yep, she's my daughter.

So the first night went great both kids had no issues and the dogs didn't have any issues. The dogs were really quiet even though there are dogs all around us and a yappy dog behind us that try to get in our yard under the fence. Chloe has never had any issues and whenever she asks if Grammie or Grumpy are here when we tell her, "no they are at their house" she just moves on and accepts it. I've always told Zach that we can determine Chloe's mood by her dancing. She loved to dance in Arizona. It didn't matter if we were out in public or at home, once the music started she danced. It took her a little bit to start dancing again in Texas. I think just with all the change. She would dance, but not like she use to. After we were here for about a month and a half she started dancing again. I knew it was a transition for her and it  made me really happy that she was happy and adjusted so it made me a little nervous for the move, but day one she was dancing.
You may be wondering, wow she worries about Chloe a lot, what about Levi....I can say that I didn't worry about him at all. He's too young to know where he is. He's happy all the time. Sleeping through the night and being mischievous no matter where he is.

We didn't have to do a lot of work on the house like we did our Arizona house. He did some minimal painting and a few other cosmetic things, but we were moved in...well at least sleeping in the house the week after we closed. We are still unpacking and trying to figure out what goes where, but its all coming along and I can't wait to put my Christmas tree up and use the fireplace this winter!

Finally Fall

October is going to be a busy month. We are moving into our new place...YAY! We are getting ready for a trip to Indy...YAY! And then of course there is Halloween...YAY! Oh and how could I forget the cooler weather and change of season...YAY!

A quick update for what has been going on. Levi now has two bottom front teeth and I think I felt some top teeth this evening. He is eating oatmeal and LOVING it. I came home from work a few days ago and he was fussy, when I asked why Zach said it was because he was upset his oatmeal was gone. He is also "crawling". I put it in quotes because it is more like a frog leap. He gets up on his knees and then leaps forward and does it over and over again until he reaches whatever he wants. It is really funny to watch and he can get wherever he wants to go. When we sees something that he likes he goes really fast. Its cute. He is also fascinated with the dogs and his sister. He could be entertained for hours by just watching his sister or the dogs.He is just a bundle of energy that doesn't stop talking. We can't really go to restaurants because he talks so much and is so loud that I feel bad for the people around us. He likes to hear himself talk and yell and scream and make any noise that he possibly can.

Chloe is just as full of energy as ever. She still spends a lot of time in the corner, but is getting better and now when we ask her if she needs to go in the corner she says "no no nose in corner" and then does what we ask her to do. She has her moments of being testy, but I would still consider her to be a great kid....of course she is my child, but still. She loves her animals and baby. She has some small stuffed animals that she mothers. They are always with her and she has quite an imagination with them. Whatever Chloe does either baby or one of her animals has to do. If Chloe is having water pretty soon one of her animals is having water. I could just sit and watch her play for hours like Levi could. She also loves her brother. She likes to help with him whenever she can. Chloe loves to go to the park and go on the "slide slide". Although once we get to the park she will go down maybe once and then is fascinated by watching all the other kids play. She is quite the observer. We went to a park a few weeks ago and there was a little boy probably 3 years old and he was calling Chloe baby and she was calling him baby. They didn't realize that they were essentially both babies. The little boy would also tell her good job every time she walked up a step. It was cute.

Chloe and her winter coat

Silly Chloe!

Levi wrapped himself up like a burrito playing outside.

Chloe and her "baby" Minnie Mouse

Levi playing with Hank

Chloe chasing the camera

Four Generations of Batsches

Levi enjoying his oatmeal

 

We are all doing great and once we are in the house a new update about the house will come, but for now enjoy the quick update and photos!

Overdue Update

I'm a little behind on all my updates and posts, but I guess that is what happens when you have a 4 month old and a 21 month old! Levi is 4 months old now and went to his new doctor in Texas. We asked around to just a handful of people and they all pretty much went to the same pediatrician office. Each used a different doctor at the practice so we knew it would be good.

He was given a good clean bill of health. He weighs 14lbs 3.5 oz and is the 28th percentile for weight. He is 25.5 inches long and in the 64th percentile. Growing like a weed. He is a talker too. He talks constantly. He is a pretty happy boy for the most part. I just can't believe how big he is. We are now going to be starting him on some rice cereal too. We are starting to let him cry it out a little bit at night time and that is rough as we are in the same room with him, but its what needs to happen so we are starting to do it.

Chloe is also just crazy. She is starting her "terrible twos" and spends a few minutes a day in time out. We were doing time out in her crib with the lights off because she didn't like it, but then she realized she could jump in her bed and it became a game, so we switched to making her sit on the couch or a chair and sit still without talking or moving, but Zach thought she was getting too comfortable so she is now doing her time out by standing in the corner facing the wall. It is the saddest thing for me, but she responds to this the best so that is what we will keep doing. She is good for the most part and really silly, but we still have to reign her in a bit.

She loves to play outside and swing. She loves the dogs and well she is almost two and she just loves life. She mimics everything and enjoys putting things together or trying to figure out how things work. She is hit and miss on what and when she likes to eat, unless it is twizzlers or Cheetos or fruit then she would just eat those all day everyday. She is really fun and I like to just sit back and watch her figure things out and just play.

The kids are doing great, we are doing great and the dogs are doing great. Not much more we can ask for. Enjoy all the pictures!

Chloe and Zach at the Zoo

                                               

Levi playing with Great PaPa

Zach and his "nephew" Barret

Yes, that is her nose in the corner

This was suppose to be a bear for Chloe from her Great PaPa, but Levi kind of stole it from her.

Chloe did her own hair :)

Change

Zach likes to repeat a quote that his old boss told him when he told him that we were moving to Texas. He says "Change is not just needed for life it is necessary." We've had a lot of change, maybe a little more than our share. No matter how tough things have been or how small or big the change is we've made it through...so far at least :) We have uprooted our family moved over 1000 miles away, now live with the in-laws, I'm working full time, Zach is at home with the kids and going to school, the sale of our house fell through, and our air conditioner at the AZ house was stolen. I'm pretty sure that I'm missing some things, but still a LOT of change has been happening.

There is a lesson that we are suppose to be learning. We are being taught something, but what I'm not 100% sure. Could it be a lesson in trust, letting go, faith, asking for help or all of the above. I'm sure it is all of the above. I'm sure that in a few months we will look back and see the lesson clearly and see how our needs were met, but right in the thick of it it is hard to see the clear picture.

Like I mentioned above Zach is home with the kids and going to school. When we first moved to Texas he had multiple interviews, but nothing really was what he wanted. So we started exploring all options and it just hit me one day on my drive to work. Maybe he should go back to school. When we moved to Arizona we had talked about him going to school, but he really didn't know what he wanted to do and then the job at Cox came up and it was great so he took that. So now it was round two and we talked about it and he took time to think about it and research it. After a few days or maybe it was a week he decided to go for it. So he is getting his degree in IT. He is really excited about it and I am so excited and proud of him for doing this. He is doing something not only for himself, but for our family.

So while he is going to school he is also taking care of the kids since I am working at an office now. This is a bit change for him, but he is amazing with the kids and it is great for him to experience some of the things with Levi that I experienced with Chloe. Like I've said before it is hard to see him experience some of the things without me, but it is good.

I've never been a fan of change, but I think it is time for me to start embracing it. Maybe that is the lesson that I need to learn. I need to learn to embrace change and trust that it will work out. Only time will tell.

Surprise!

Might not be the best picture, but it is the whole family and that's what matters.

We pulled off a spectacular surprise a few weekends ago. I talked to my mom on the phone and she told me she had this crazy idea. When my mom says she has a crazy idea you never really know what to expect. My first reaction was that we were not going to move again and that we were staying in Texas. She said it wasn't about moving, but it was about visiting. Adam and Sabrina and the kids were venturing their way out to Indiana to spend some time and have a birthday party for all three of their kids as well as a party for Sydney and Carter's half birthdays. The party was in about 10 days and she had enough frequent flyer miles to get Zach and I plus the kids out for a quick surprise trip. And  by quick I mean quick. I had training that ended at 5pm on that Friday and then started again on Monday morning at 8am and I couldn't miss it. So our option was to fly out on Saturday morning at like 6am and get into Indy around 11:30am and then leave Sunday around 5pm. Now remember we have a 20 month old and 3 month old traveling with a layover in Chicago...mom was right it was a crazy idea. My first reaction was "no", but I agreed to talk to Zach about it even though I was pretty sure he would not be up for the idea. I talked to my mom around 2pm that day and wasn't going to see Zach until the evening. So for the next few hours I was weighing the options out and remembering all the yummy food that I could have in Indiana. My mouth was watering, but the reality was that the trip would be like 36 hours and that is crazy with two small kids. So I talked to Zach and his reaction was "sounds like fun, lets do it." I was a little shocked, but immediately ecstatic. Mom and I started texting back and forth that evening around 11pm and then the next morning everything was set. 
It was quite an adventure. We had Levi's carseat and stroller as well as Chloe's carseat. We had a small roller carry-on bag and then a diaper back and over the shoulder bag. We made it so we wouldn't have to check anything. We thought that was a good idea...and it was at first, but it was difficult. Our first flight was delayed about 45 minutes. So our hour and fifteen minute layover soon dwindled to about 45 minutes. It sounds doable, but we had to go to a different terminal and our brilliant idea for not checking any luggage meant that all hands were full and we were on a small plane that they had to gate check pretty much everything except for the diaper bag so we had to wait for the airport people to get us our gate checked items. By the time we got the items we had maybe 20 minutes. We ran to the gate with luggage and all. I guess I should specify that it was more of a light jog as I am not a good runner. I was still out of breath and breathing hard enough that I could feel that sports asthma that I use to have so often. We were one of the last ones on the plane, but we made it.
The party started at noon and we arrived just before 1pm to the party. We walked around back and then it was like a fog. I remember walking around the side of my sister's house and Sabrina was staring right at me. That's really all I remember. I guess Sabrina screamed and almost gave Adam a heart attack and then once Sabrina screamed Christina looked to see what was going on thinking that maybe a bug scared Sabrina and then Christina said something like "Jenna?!?!?". It was a great surprise and even after about 15 minutes our hearts were all beating a bit faster. We pulled it off! I was the most concerned with my dad as he is not normally a good secret keeper, but he kept this secret. No one else knew except for my mom and dad. It was a great surprise. Because they were celebrating birthdays we were able to see most of my aunts and uncles and they were introduced to Levi.
After the party we had some amazing pizza from Pizza King (my favorite), Strawberry pie from Gray's (another favorite), and Zach had some breadsticks from Noble Romans (his favorite). We also had some dance-offs and played some Euchre. This was the first time that all of us had been together in a long long time. All three of us girls were together about16 months ago, but I can't remember the last time everyone in our family was all under one roof. It was a great happy feeling. The next day we played at the house and then went to a little Mexican restaurant that has yummy white cheese that I love....not sure if you are catching the theme but when I go to Indy everything revolves around food that I love and can't get where I live...I think I would be very overweight if we lived there.
It was a great quick trip and our kids did great on the trip and being off schedule out of whack. It was hard to say good-bye, but we are so extremely grateful to be able to surprise everyone and just have everyone together. Good times.

On the plane from Chicago to Indy it was a two-one seater and "lap" children cannot be on the one seat rows so Zach was lucky enough to have both kids. It was only a 30 minute flight.

Papa and  the girls on the swing.

Chloe asleep on the plane from Dallas to Chicago.

Aunt "Tina" with Allie and Levi

The big kids were serving Chloe and Allie in their play restaurant.

Texas Life

Well we have been here for about a month now and we have done a lot! We celebrated Father's day and July 4th as well as took a surprise trip to Indiana. We also went out on a boat ride at the lake. It has been an adjustment, but it has been really great. I think the biggest adjustment has been the fact that I am working right now and Zach is taking care of the kids. A little role reversal isn't all that bad....for awhile. The phrase "now do you understand what I was going through" has been often heard through the house. Zach never understood how little free time I had to get anything done while I was at home with the kids until now since he is taking care of the kids and not getting as much time to himself as he use to. I never really understood how much Zach missed while he was at work. It is hard to be away from the kids as they are doing fun new things and Levi is just growing so much every day. This role reversal has definitely taught us both to appreciate the other much more now. We can understand each others' point of view much better now and we both have a little more empathy for our situations. Zach has a lot of irons in the fire, as you may say, and we are just waiting to hear back hopefully with good news. We are also still waiting to finalize our house sale in Arizona. Things will be much better and a huge weight will be lifted off our shoulders once that is all said and done with. Fingers crossed we will find out any day  now.

Cruising on the lake.

Chloe really liked the boat and didn't mind her life jacket too much. Zach had been doing some dry runs while the boat was parked in the driveway and we think that really helped her enjoy the boat.

Chloe liked to drive in circles. She kept the wheel turned to the right.

Levi did pretty well too. He didn't like the vest rubbing his cheeks, but he still did really good.

Levi briefly had his life jacket off while we were taking a break for some dinner and he was having a bottle.

Not sure how this happened, but I came home to Chloe and her "diaper hat".

I was very excited to find a Steak N Shake and Chloe was excited about the hat.

Chloe watching the wiggles.

Chloe enjoyed "coloring" pictures with her daddy.