And... We Are Moving

I remember  when Owen was five days old I was sitting in bed nursing him and Sean asked me how I felt about moving to Connecticut... I remember bursting into tears.  A couple of months later, he asked me again and expressed how much he would like to participate at his company's National Office-with the groups he is interested in being in San Francisco or Wilton, Connecticut - and starting this summer.  I was in denial for awhile and tried not to think about it.

Well, here we are at the end of April...  Sean spent three days last week in Connecticut doing interviews with different groups within National Office and he found out yesterday that he was accepted into his top two choices of groups!  Great news, but makes it SO. REAL.  Time for me to stop denying that this is happening and trying to accept [and be happy about] it.

It is really hard because I absolutely LOVE our home, neighborhood, and have made some awesome friends who are also stay-at-home moms.  I know that I will meet other friends in CT, but it won't be the same.   Also, we are so close to my family right now - it will be weird not seeing them every week.  I know that I have been spoiled by living so close to them for so long, but I enjoy it:)  And it is really weird to think about someone else living in my beloved home!  I am praying and hoping that we find someone that will care for it as much as we do and that they will take good care of it for us while we are away. I also hope that we are able to find a nice place to call 'home' in Connecticut.  It is hard trying to find a home in a different state that you don't know anything about!  I have contacted a Realtor up there, and we are relying heavily on their input as well as Sean's knowledge about the area (he lived in CT before he met me).

We are planning on take a trip to Connecticut in early June; and move there sometime during the last week of June.  That way we can rent out our home starting on July 1st.  Yes, that is Owen's birthday.  Much to my sadness, we won't be here on his special day to celebrate with family, so we will celebrate the week before.

I am really, really trying to be positive about this and be supportive of Sean and his career, but this is really hard.  Each time I really think about it, I almost start crying (as my eyes have watered up while writing this post!).  I know that it is only about 6 hours away (depending on where our 'home' will be), and that we will be able to come back and visit often, but it just won't be the same at all.  And, it is for only two years until we come back home.

Two years. 104 weeks. 730 days.

I can do this.  I can do this.

It Makes My Heart Smile...

When I watch how excited Owen gets when he sees Ethan!  He gets this huge smile on his face, his kicks his little legs so fast, and "coos" with excitement - especially when Ethan gets home from school.  This is reciprocated by Ethan runnning up to him and talking to him all excited.  It is quite honestly one of the sweetest, happiest moments of my day:)

Easter 2012

On Saturday (the day before Easter), we went to my parents house to celebrate Easter a day early.  It was the first time all of my parents grandkids were together at their house!  It was a home full of babies crying, adults laughing, and good memories:)  As always, Mom made a wonderful meal that we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Sunday after church, the McQuivey's came over to have Easter dinner with us.  It was the first time I have hosted Easter dinner, but I think it went well.  It was so nice to see the McQuivey's again!  We definitely need to have them over more often - they are such a wonderful couple whom we love so much!

Spring Break 2012

Monday:  When I went into the city a couple of weeks ago, I told Ethan that I saw real mummies, so he really wanted to see them, too.  So we planned a day trip to go into DC and Jill joined us!  We first went to the American History Museum - where we saw the hat and shoes of the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, along with exhibits of slavery.  We didn't stay there long because it wasn't very interactive and Ethan was anxious to see the mummies.

 Next, we went to the Natural History Museum, where we spent a lot of time looking at (you guessed it!) the mummies and their 'bones' section.  Ethan was so interested in it!  I gave him my camera and he took a lot of pictures of the things he liked:)  We spent a short time looking at the gems and then enjoyed some lunch at their cafe.

We then hopped back onto the metro and went to the National Geographic Museum to check out their Titanic Exhibit.  It was pretty interesting - they had some really cool interactive parts that we enjoyed, and they had some artifacts from the movie as well.  Included in our admission, we went through the Samuri exhibit - they didn't allow pictures to be taken, and it was OK.

Overall, we had a fantastic day in the city!  It was more crowded than when I went last, but I guess that's what happens when you go during Spring Break;)

Tuesday:  On Tuesday, we met some of my friends at Ticonderoga Farms in Chantilly.  They had huge slides set up as well as a pet-a-pet farm, playgrounds, a tractor ride, etc.  One of my friends, Paula, came with her four kids so Ethan had a blast running around with them!  Afterwards, we went to lunch at the Chipotle that Ethan and I would go to every Monday night for dinner back in my bachelorette days:)  Then, we went to my parents for a quick visit since they live really close.

Ticonderoga Farms Fun!

At Mom and Dave's... We found out that Owen does NOT like the grass-he cried when he was sitting on it and then when we put a blanket under him, he would not get off of it!  Dave and Ethan had fun playing a game of baseball and being silly:)

Wednesday:  A day at the zoo!  We joined my friends again for a day at the Reston Zoo.  Ethan liked looking at the reptiles and also the big animals that came right up to us on the tractor ride!

Babies from left to right: Owen, Liam, Emery, Christian, and Tori

Thursday:  Owen had physical therapy in the morning so Ethan was able to meet his therapist, Julianne.  After Owen's therapy and nap, we then went on a hike at the Red Rock Wilderness Park (this is the same park I went with my friend Michelle and Josie got covered in mud!).  I had forgotten how steep some of the hills are and how exhausting it is climbing up (and down) them with Owen in the Beco carrier!  We hiked over 2 miles and enjoyed being in the middle of nature:)  Ethan picked out walking sticks and would toss it back in the woods when he found a 'better one.'  Everything is turning green and the Potomac River looked so beautiful!  We then dyed our Easter Eggs and Sean surprised us by coming home early (4:30) from being in Richmond since Monday!

Our Hike To The Potomac River

Owen Supervised Ethan Dying Easter Eggs... and the final products!

Friday:  Dad, Meghan, and baby Hannah came over for a visit!  It was so fun having them over and we took tons of pictures to capture the kids together with Poppa John!  Afterwards, we went out to lunch - what a great visit!

Love Having Family, Kids, and Babies Around!

Overall, I think we did a good job at staying busy during Spring Break!