Christmas Break

Eric had almost a whole month off from school with nothing to worry about. It was great. Here we are making Christmas treats while singing to some Christmas tunes.

We went to spend the weekend with our friends the Resch's in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Blake had so much fun with Lucas. More good times ahead now that we will soon be living only two hours away!

Blake found himself a new pillow.

We stopped to visit my grandma in Fairfield, Illinois on our way to St. Louis. Blake loved touching all of the breakables found at her house. He woke up in the morning calling "Gamma, Gamma."

We went to Eric's parents for Christmas and New Years. We were there almost two weeks.

Blake woke up extra early on Christmas morning. It was nice of everyone else to get up too around 6a.m. We ate cinnamon rolls and smoothies before opening presents.

Blake holding Baby Doll Suzy. Just trying to prep him for what is coming.

I think Blake was a little overwhelmed by presents towards the end. At first he would have a present and say "open." Once it was opened he would want to play with his toy so he would say "open." Towards the end I asked him to come open another present and he said "no."

Science Museum ("zeum")

Here I am at 35 weeks. Not much more to go! I'm excited to be back home and get ready for this baby girl.

Our Next Stop

Eric has been working so hard at school and trying to find a job and soon it is going to pay off. He got a job offer with Whirlpool and we are moving to St. Joseph, Michigan! I am so proud of him. It is an hour and a half drive from Chicago. Eric will be doing a finance leadership development rotation which consists of three rotations, each lasting one year. When we started his graduate school did I think we'd end up in Michigan? Umm no. But 1) I am so grateful that he has a job and 2) I think it will be great.

When Eric was invited for a two-day second round interview, Blake and I went along for something to do and for a free hotel breakfast. As we first drove through the area I felt like we were going to be moving there. I felt like I had even dreamt about this place before. Those thoughts kind of scared me.

Blake and I had quite the time trying to navigate a new area. We finally found a mall at about 6p.m. on a Thursday. It was empty. I asked a worker at one of the stores if the mall was closing soon and she asked why. I said because the mall was so empty. And she laughed and said "It's always like this. That is why I like it here because it is so quiet." Come to find the population for Benton Harbor and St. Joseph's is about 20,000 people. Small town. The signage for the food court looked like someone cut out letters from construction paper and hung it from the ceiling.

When I saw Eric after his interviews he was just happy. He wasn't always so upbeat after most of his other interviews. He said he enjoyed the people and interactions.

Last weekend we went back to really check out the area. No mall this time unfortunately. Someone that Eric interviewed with invited us over for lunch and also invited two other couples from Whirlpool. It was so nice to get connected with some people. They drove us around and gave us a tour. Then we went to their ward Christmas party and met so many nice people.

I will be honest and say I'm not excited for continued freezing winters. And I'm so sad to still be far from home. But I have felt good about Michigan the whole way. And here are some things I am excited for: a dishwasher, washer/dryer (from Whirlpool no less), cheaper cost of living, and some new adventures.

Sugar Cookies

I found a cute mini baking set for sugar cookies and had to get it. It had a mini spoon, whisk, rolling pin, and cookie cutters. All Blake wanted to do was eat the dough. I kept telling him to roll it and he kept telling me "eat." He would pinch some dough and then smile as he ate it.

Thanksgiving

My camera died after I took these pictures so this is all I have from our trip to St. Louis. It was quite the party of eight adults and ten grandchildren all staying in one house. Blake loved all the commotion.

I try to feed Blake a pretty balanced diet but with treats included of course. His aunts and uncles seemed to think that I didn't give him enough junk so they would slip him donuts, cheetos, brownies, etc. while I wasn't looking. Eric's brother said that I could fix him when I got home. I found Blake twice in a bowl of M&M's (yum yums) with some in his mouth, hands, and chocolate dribbling down his chin. He just couldn't help himself.

Whenever we all get together, the adults play Pictionary, boys vs. girls. The boys roll their eyes when I get it out but always have a good time. We get really into it with a lot of laughing and arguing. I will sadly admit that the boys won 3 games to 1. There's always next year.

All of my family was together in California except for us. I was so sad not to get to meet my younger sister Kim's little girl named Laney. But I am grateful to have another great family to spend the holidays with.

Cheese

Not much to blog lately. But here is another cheese picture. This is what Blake does when the camera comes out.

So Happy

Roar

I have never loved Halloween as much as I did this year. It was so fun to watch Blake love this holiday. We practiced for weeks saying "trick or treat" and putting candy in Blake's little pumpkin. I think he more or less understood what we were doing. He went trick or treating three different times and each time I would tell him we were going he would grab his pumpkin and run to the door. "Goo dee dee" was how he said "trick or treat."

On Friday night we went to Eric's school to trick or treat at the different offices. At some he was shy and needed help, others he went right in, sat down, and asked the person handing out candy to "open."

I bought his costume about a month ago and I swear it fit him then. He must have had a growth spurt because the legs went pretty high. I asked myself if a glittery gold costume was too much for a little boy. Maybe that is why a common reaction people gave when seeing him was laugh. I mainly chose a lion because he could say "roar."

After we got home Blake spent probably 15 minutes taking each piece of candy out of his pumpkin and then putting it back in over and over again. Who needs toys? Just buy candy.

On Saturday night we went to our ward party and then back to our apartment to knock on doors. He went with Simon the Skunk and Spiderman Lucas. They would run down the halls and especially loved it when a bowl of candy was left on the floor. Not only was it fun to watch him love it all, now we have lots of good candy at home. I love Halloween.