Hotel Keyes

We've had so much company lately!  It's been great to have the non stop entertainment, but I think MJ has gotten a bit spoiled.  He wants to know who's coming to play with him next.  :)  Any takers? 

We're quite blessed with family and friends who travel often to see us and love on our children.  Since Charlotte has been born we've had both sets of parents, Uncle Jeff, Grandma and Grandpa Keyes, The Backes Family, Aunt Kelly, Meg, Mindy and Derek, The Walmsley Family, The Saylor Family....okay, I'm going to feel awful if my tired mama brain left anybody out, but I think that sums it up. 

I haven't been the best picture taker at all of the visits, but it has been wonderful to have so many friends and family visit us.  We are SO thankful!

My dear friend, Kelley, and her three children drove from Lakeland, FL to meet Charlotte and spend some time with our family.  One mom driving from FL by herself with three kids?!  She's crazy, but I love her for it!!!

 Kelley and I met while teaching together in Lakeland.  We'd only known each other a very short time when something just "clicked".  She is such a gem and I am incredibly blessed by her friendship.  I think making friends as adults can often be challenging, but our friendship has been quite effortless from day one.  Working together was an absolute blast!  Her, along with another one of our friends and colleagues, were quite the trio at our school.  We were usually inseparable, and the two of them were by my side and so helpful as I went through IVF and then faced MJ's challenging beginning.  When I think back on that time I wonder how I would have gotten through it all if it wasn't for them. 

I digress though (as always), so back to their visit...

Kelley loves her some baby cuddles!



 Kelley's girls, Abbey and Aubrey, were my little babysitters for the few days they were here.  They were more than happy to hold and entertain Charlotte the entire time and Charlotte was happy to oblige!  When I left Lakeland, Abbey was just preparing for 2nd grade and I was supposed to be her teacher.  Now she's going into 5th grade!! 

MJ is used to having to have "quiet time" (aka nap time on a good day) every afternoon, but he was way to in love with the non-napping big kids to oblige, so the compromise was quiet time on the couch each afternoon while watching a movie.  They were all so cute camped out on the couch.  Robby, Kelley's youngest, and MJ played cars all day long!  They all played so well together and Kelley's kids were great about taking a little break so MJ could be forced to rest.  We had such a wonderful visit and made some great memories!  Kelley and I spent her last night here sitting out on the back deck just chatting and visiting.  How I miss that!! 

I'm already looking forward to when we can all meet up again!  Oh, and I'm also curious to see who will be the first guests at Hotel Keyes, new location.  ;) 

Our New Home

If you're reading this then you probably know us well enough to know that we don't stay anywhere for too long.  Our current home is the longest we've lived in any one home since we've been married.  That just seems crazy to me because I still feel like we just moved here.  In fact, I even say it all the time when meeting people for the first time.  I guess 3 years doesn't classify as just moving here, huh?  I swear, time moves way faster once kids come into the equation!  But, annnnyways moving this summer was certainly not on our radar.  I was planning this fun filled, relaxing summer (which it mostly has been), but we always seem to like to keep things interesting and keep our plates full! 

There's a street in our town called South Grandview.  Since we first laid eyes on Dubuque, we loved this street.  It's a main drag through town and seems like it's right out of Mayberry.  It's so "Americana" and full of foot traffic.  Any time of day there are people out jogging, walking, sitting on their big front porches, etc.  It's known as the mecca of trick-or-treating, a very friendly and safe area, and zoned for a great school.  We have day dreamed about the possibility of one day living on this street if we lived in Dubuque long term.  Last summer when I was pregnant with Charlotte, we'd take walks together on that street and talk about what kind of house we'd want one day and how we'd decorate our porch, etc....all just kind of a fantasy for the long term if that were to come. 

This year, Mat has kept his eye open for jobs that would allow us to move closer to family and friends in St. Louis as well as a couple areas in FL, too.  Things just didn't pan out though and there was never the right opportunity that was tempting enough to pursue much beyond an initial interview.  Mat loooves his job and is totally happy to commit to being here long term.  While I do really like our town, I'm the one that struggles with that commitment.  But, after this year of constantly looking for jobs on his part, continuing to feel somewhat unsettled, we made the decision this summer that it was seeming more and more like Dubuque is where we are meant to be, and stay, for now.  I'm really wanting to feel settled and put down roots and I feel like God is calling us to stay here.  Ya never know what could change over the years, but I'm trying to trust in this plan and have faith that it will all work out for our family and our happiness staying here. We knew that if we stayed here we ideally wanted to be in a new home before MJ begins kindergarten.  We still have time of course, but we do not want him to attend the school we're zoned for, and so we'd begun just keeping our eye out or exploring different areas and neighborhoods a bit more closely. 

There are houses for sale on that dream street of ours, South Grandview, from time to time.  Many are too small or don't have a garage, or way over our budget, but there had been on the market for quite some time...in fact, off and on for the last couple years that was catching Mat's eye.  Once the price began dropping and dropping, it was looking a bit more intriguing.  We went to an Open House quite some time to look at it.  Lots of space?  Yes  Great area?  Yes  Move in ready? Nope....so I kind of brushed it aside.  I was determined our next house would be move in ready and NOT a fixer upper. Famous last words! Fast forward, another open house, more drop in price, a third viewing of the house, some serious discussing, negotiating, inspection, worry, fear, and prayers, and here is the house that we'll be calling home come August...

Helllo, South Grandview; I can't wait to sit on that big front porch and enjoy you! We ended up settling on a price (got an AMAZING deal) and will be closing by August 6th. We're then going to take a couple weeks to remove some very awful wall paper and carpets....case in point:

our future master bedroom

The plan is to remove wall paper, and carpet, and then paint have hardwood floors refinished before we move in.  Luckily there are no huge projects.  No walls to be torn down, no rooms to be gutted, but just lots of cosmetic worse.  Mat's good at seeing a vision, but I'm usually not.  This time though, I can.  I can imagine how pretty this room will look when the wall paper is gone, the floors are shining, and that window bench seat is calling my name! 

Another room I'm very much looking forward to is this part of the finished basement which will become the kid's playroom:



I can't wait to have a centralized place for the toys and for them to play as they grow bigger.  Mostly, I think we're looking forward to much more space (over 3,000 sq ft.), a big porch, and a family friendly area.  I look forward to raising our kids here!!

We're going to be continuing to own our current home and are going to rent it out to college students.  We've already lined up our renters and have our fingers crossed that our first year as landlords goes smoothly. 

There is A LOT to be done in the next month.  We'd already planned to be in St. Louis for 2 weeks, so we're still taking that trip as planned, then coming back to try to pack up our current home, do some major cosmetic changes to the new house, and move all within a couple weeks.  I'm so tired already, but really hoping it all pays off and will be so worth it.  I'll look forward to sharing some wonderful "after" pictures in the months to come!

The Baby Daddy

Mat is so much more than that title.  He is more than I could have ever imagined as a father to our children.  We were so glad to celebrate him on Father's Day!

We had just said goodbye to the Walmsley's that morning, after a wonderful visit (more to come) and were looking forward to a rather low key day, so we spent the day with a homemade breakfast by yours truly, an Open House on a home nearby (more to come on that, too), and a lunch out at Chammp's.  Mat's present this year?  A griddle!  Almost as bad as buying a woman a blender, huh?  He's been wanting one for quite awhile though!  He's our breakfast maker and loves to make french toast, pancakes, omelets, etc. so it's already gotten quite a bit of use.  No complaints from me! 

In preparation for Father's Day, MJ answered some questions about daddy and gave it to him on the big day.  Granted some of his answers are a tad off (like his age..haha!), but it's so sweet to see how he's starting to understand more and more and give sincere answers that are so heartwarming and such an illustration of Mat as a father. 

MJ's answers are in red: 

My dad is 1 years old. 

His hair is brown and his eyes are blue. 

My dad likes to wear jeans.

He likes to eat spaghetti. 

He is smart because he knows play.

My dad works hard at work. 

Daddy always tells me "go night night."

It makes me happy when daddy plays.

I really love it when my dad hugs.

If I could give my dad anything it would be a kiss. 

My favorite thing about my dad is he plays.

Guess Who's Baaaaack?

Seriously, I've been gone so long I don't even know where to start.  I use to like to blog anytime we did some type of family fun activity, a milestone was reached, or there was just something fun, in general, to share.  Well, I guess it's a sign of a great summer, but I feel sooooo behind that there's no possible way to catch up on every fun thing we've done or company we've had, so I'm going to have to lower my blogging self-expectations, I suppose. 

Let's back WAY up to the end of May, so I can share how this summer got started...

MJ wrapped up his last day of school at the end of May, before Memorial Day week.  What a great year he's had at DMS!  He's come a long way since starting the 2 year old class.  He went to preschool 2x per week for 2 hours each day, and it was a great fit for him.  For his last day, parents were invited for a special celebration. 

 MJ showing off his coloring skills on his last day.

 Hugging his best friend, Allison.  MJ adores this little girl.  Their teachers say they are 2 peas in a pod.  They stand at the door and wait for the other to arrive each morning, and spend their entire morning playing side by side. 

Showing off his certificate with mommy. 

I've been so pleased with his school that I decided to run for the Board.  I figured it would be a great way to stay involved in education, while contributing to his school.  I'm now a board member and the  secretary.  I'm looking forward to playing a more vital role in the school!

We then kicked off summer with one of MJ's favorite activities, riding the ferry, or the "car boat" as MJ calls it, which crosses the Mississippi River from Wisconsin to Iowa.  He was so excited to go for a ride this season.  Charlee enjoyed her first ride on the car boat, as well! 



It was a very hot day on the water, so we were glad it was only a short boat ride.  :)

One of our favorite cities to visit is Madison, WI.  Madison is one of the closest large cities.  Lots of diversity, plenty of fun activities for the family, and more amenities than Dubuque.  We also enjoy going there at least a couple times a year, so it also seemed like a great way to spend some of our summer family time together.  We made a day out of it and visited the Henry Villas Zoo and then the Madison Children's Museum.  Talk about MJ's dream day come true!  It was an absolutely gorgeous day...high of 70, which was perfect zoo weather!  We didn't even think about it being the very end of the school year and thus lots of school field trips being there.  Needless to say it was quite crowded at first.  It didn't seem to phase the kiddos though, and we still had a fabulous time! 

 Looking for the animals with daddy.

 MJ took a ride on the train ALL BY HIMSELF.  I'm not sure why, but this brought me to tears.  I can't believe how big and independent he's becoming. 

 Grizzly bears!



Charlotte wanted no part of just riding around in her stroller, but she was happy as can be to be worn in her carrier throughout the zoo. 

Next stop was the Madison Children's Museum.  We love this place!  It's so well designed and just big enough to have a lot to offer without being too big to be overwhelming.  We're actually going back in just a couple days.  MJ always has such a great time, and before long there's a lot Charlotte will be able to enjoy once she's upright and crawling. 

This is by far MJ's favorite spot at the museum.  He could play at this car table for hours!

 Little Miss Charlotte Noelle just hanging out.

 Petting chicks!

Hanging out in the carrier on the rooftop deck of the museum. 

As you can see our summer was off to a great start!  Sometimes I almost feel guilty about all the great family time we are able to share together in the summer.  There's no doubt that we are very blessed.  During the work year, we already are able to spend quite a bit of time together as a family, but summer time is even better!  The end of the school year was quite busy for both Mat and I, so we were really looking forward to reconnecting as a family and enjoying lots of time together.  Mat's teaching summer school on Tuesdays through Thursday, but that leaves four day weekends each and every week.  It's a huge help to have him around the house so much.  It makes it easier for me to keep up with my work load while teaching online, stay on top of the housekeeping (although I still seem to procrastinate in that area), and of course having two sets of hands to take care of two kiddos.  I'm quickly getting spoiled with this new schedule and just enjoying it while it lasts. 



Just hanging out at home on a summer evening.  How lucky am I?  

Five Fabulous Months

I can not believe that Charlotte Noelle has already been a part of our lives for five months.  I feel like it is going so much faster this time around, which seems odd to me, considering at this point with MJ I'd already adjusted to becoming a new mommy, ending a FL teaching career, packing up my home, and moving cross country.  Makes me feel kinda lazy this time around-ha!  All I've done is adjust to becoming a  mommy of two and try to keep my head above water on a weekly basis!  When I look at her, I am just so in love and awe of the little person she is becoming.  The changes happen so quickly and are so precious that I don't want any of them to pass me by unnoticed or unappreciated. 

Charlotte turned five months old on May 23, 2012....just 3 days shy of celebrating our 11 year wedding anniversary.

Happy Anniversary, babe! 

It felt soooo good to put a little effort into getting dressed up and going out for a nice date!  Mat and I went for sushi, to a chocolate bar, and then a movie.  

 She continues to be such a blessing to our family in so many ways.  At five months, she is now rolling both from belly to back and back to belly.  She doesn't really do either all too often though.  She is quite a laid back baby...content to just lie on a blanket and play with a few toys, swing away in her swing, or play on her activity mat.  She seems to like to be upright more and more either sitting in her jumperoo or in her Bumbo seat.  I guess it's a whole new view on the world sitting upright!  She really seems to like to be outdoors.  I'll bring her outside and sit her in the grass in her Bumbo and she'll just look around and watch MJ play.  It's as if she's taking it all in.  She's quite verbal-loves to giggle and coo.  She reaches for your face or mouth a lot when you talk to her and gives absolutely huge smiles!  She's such a happy little girl.  She naps 2-3 times a day still.  She always takes a morning nap after being awake only an hour or so, a nap again in the afternoon time, and sometimes a short nap in the early evening hours.  Night time has been a bit more inconsistent lately.  She goes to bed around 7:30 and will often sleep until around 5AM when she'll wake up to nurse, and then go back to sleep for a few more hours, but many a nights she also wakes up much earlier, around 1 or 2 to eat, then again around 5:30 or 6...obviously those nights lead to a bit more tired mama in the morn.  Overall, it's still pretty good for 5 months old, but she had me quite spoiled by sleeping a consecutive 12 hours so early on, that regressing backwards has had it's challenging moments.  Overall though, all is going well.  She's falling asleep on her own in her crib unswaddled now.  She's sleeping in a sleep sack.  For nap times, she's still being swaddled and snoozing in her swing. 

Of course, one of Charlee's biggest fans continues to be her big brother.  He always calls her "his baby".  He can make her giggle like nobody's bussiness.  Case in point...

  I just had to share this series of pictures, because it was so cute and so typical.  Charlotte has hit that stage of trying to fit everything into her mouth including our hands and fingers.  While trying to snap a picture of her and MJ together, she was way more interested in gnawing on MJ's arm, and he just thought it was the funniest thing ever!

 nom, nom, nom

 mmmmm

 you're yummy

 nom nom nom

Ah, finally a good one!  :)

Charlotte's biggest change is that she's now been joining us at the dinner table.  After a week or so of her giving us the stank eye while we were eating, we felt like she was ready to try to some solids.  I was leaning towards waiting until she was six months old, but she was showing sings of readiness, so we gave it a try, and began with whole wheat oatmeal. 

 Daddy gave her the first bite

 Not too sure about this stuff quite yet

Hmm...

 Mommy and MJ's turn to feed her a few bites

She decided she loves this cereal, stuff.  Gimme more!!

We stuck with the cereal for the first week and she ate every single drop each night.  Just last night we began trying avocado.  She doesn't seem nearly crazy about that, but we'll stick with it for a few more feedings.  As for now, she's just having one solid a day-usually while we are eating dinner. 

More updates to come soon on some of Charlotte's "firsts" as we've begun some fun family summertime adventures lately!  



Too Cute Not to Share

The best thing about having an iPhone (or any good phone, I'm sure) is the ability to capture so many sweet moments on video so easily.  I am so grateful for the little everyday memories I'm able to document.  MJ loves to grab my phone and look at pictures and videos of him and his sister over and over and over again.  I myself love to watch them now, and I know one day I too, will watch them over and over and over again being so glad that I have this memories of these sweet kiddos!  

MJ in his pj's reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear to me.  Mat reads him this book nearly every evening before bedtime. 

Charlotte getting some tickles from mommy at 4 months old. 

I could do a whole post just about this video, but it hasn't yet happened, so I at least have to share this video!  We visited the Iowa Children's Museum recently, which was a little slice of kiddie heaven, and MJ's favorite spot to play was in the grocery store.  He was adorable as he filled his cart, checked out, and paid for his groceries.  It's amazing all the little things he must pick up from his countless trips to the grocery store with Mat or I.  Kinda makes me feel guilty for all the times I prefer to go to the store kidless.  Ha! 

Mama's Day

The problem with not documenting something right after it happens, is I quickly forget the details.  I have a long list of things I keep meaning to blog about, but just can't seem to keep up.  Luckily, Mother's Day is still pretty fresh in my memory as it was truly a fabulous weekend!!  It's amazing to me, when I think back, how this holiday has evolved over the years.  I've experienced everything from longing for a child, experiencing my first Mother's Day as a brand new mom, experiencing a miscarriage, cautiously enjoying a new pregnancy, and this year-soaking up the love of my two precious children while also loving and appreciating my own mother.

What a great weekend it was!  Except for all the grading/school work I had to squeeze in, it was such a memorable time. Besides celebrating Mother's Day, we also had MJ's final soccer game and Charlotte's baby dedication.  My parents were able to come into town to be a part of these events and spend Mother's Day with us.  It was one of our best visits ever!  The weather was amazing, we had lots of great time with the kids, and everyone was nice and healthy at the time, and great memories were made. 

MJ is at the age where he just LOVES having company, especially any of his grandparents.  He was waiting on the porch for Gigi and PopPop to arrive and was sure to invite PopPop up to his room to play within about two minutes of walking in the door.  Anyone who visits us certainly doesn't get to rest much.  ;)  He was so excited to have them come watch him play soccer the following morning. 

That same evening we had Charlotte's baby dedication at church.  MJ joined us in "big church" for the ceremony and stood up on stage like such a good little boy.  Charlottte was a perfect little baby and let the pastor hold her and pray over her and never made a peep.  It was such a special evening!  MJ's baby dedication was on Father's Day weekend a couple years ago, and now to have Charlotte's on Mother's Day was quite symbolic.  Last Mother's Day, I was newly pregnant and so excited, but yet so nervous.  To be holding my beautiful, healthy daughter a year later is a huge blessing that I most certainly do not take for granted!  Oh, and mom was even recognized during the church service as the mother who traveled the farthest for Mother's Day. 

All dressed and ready for church

My heart is smiling just as big as my mouth is.  What a great night! 

The proud grandparents with their grandbabies after Charlee's dedication.

On Mother's Day, mom and dad treated us to an amazing brunch at Hotel Julien.  It has to be the best food I have eaten in a looong time!  Uh-may-zing!  MJ was so well behaved and there were extra hands to take turns holding Charlotte, so not only was the food great, but it was our nicest and easiest meal out since having two children.  Everything from champagne to an omelet station to a huge spread of desserts, and flowers for the mama's-we were spoiled.   The rest of the day was spent shopping for flowers for my yard, and just hanging out with the kiddos and playing in the yard. 



This is one happy mama!