We're moving in a little more than a month!

And I'm freaking out! I have no packing started and we don't even have a place to live yet. I'm not a person that can just wait until the last minute to find a place and not be stressed. Every other apartment we've gotten we had at least 2 months in advance. Considering we will want to move in 6 weeks, I'm stressing. Big time. I looked online this morning and couldn't really find anything. Ryan swears we will find a good place, in a good area, in our price range with no problem. I have no choice but to believe him. But I will continue to freak out until we have a lease signed.

I'm also worried about moving and Kenna. She learned to walk here and knows our layout. I hate that we have to move and she has to relearn where everything is. And then after we move and she gets settled, we get to bring home the new baby and change her life once again. 2 big life changes in just a few months. It makes me sad. I'm hoping she'll take to our new place super quick. I want to find a place that has a similar layout to ours now but I don't think thats very likely. So she has to learn our apartment while I'm learning how to get around a very big, very different city. Its just all so stressful. Then we have to find all new therapists, doctors, etc. I'll have to re-explain everything about her to all these new people. And she has to get use to them all.

Its not going to be great moving away from all of our family. My support system is going to be 2-2.5 hours away. No more just dropping her off when we want to go to dinner or a movie. No more having my mom come after work so I can go to the doctor. I'll have to take her everywhere with me. Fun stuff. When the new baby comes and Ryan is out of vacation time (about 2 weeks after he/she is born) I'm left to take care of 2 kids alone. With no help. In a new city. In the middle of winter. Lord help me. Its definitely going to be an experience for sure. I know a lot of families that live far away from family so this is nothing new to them. I'm sure some people will read this and think "psh I do that and more every day!". But when you are use to having all the help you want (and don't want sometimes) its hard to do it all alone. She isn't going to get to see her grandmas and grandpas every weekend. Its a huge adjustment for everyone. The grandparents aren't too happy about it all either. I see a lot of tears being shed on moving day. Which, I remind you, is in like 6 weeks. I just keep saying to myself "We will find a place and we will get it all packed" because we have to. We literally have no choice in the matter. And thats both reassuring and ridiculously stressful.

I'm sorry I suck at blogging

Its been almost a month again. Whoops! :) Sadly, not a whole lot has changed really.

Easter was fun. We saw most of the families and Kenna got some toys and stuff. I didn't take a lot of pictures sadly so I don't have a lot to post. My step-mom did but I'm too lazy to get them. Just imagine her being cute and thats what they'll look like. ;)

Mother's Day was busy. We celebrated on Saturday. Ryan took me out to lunch at OG while his grandma watched Kenna and then we had dinner with his grandparents. It was nice. He bought me a calla lily plant, candy bars and a mother of pearl rose ring. I picked out the ring. Kenna's birthstone is pearl and her birth month flower is a rose so its perfect. I can wear it on my ring finger since I lost my e-ring a few months ago. It was delivered to his work, so I have to wait until this weekend to get it. I'm excited! Sunday we had breakfast with his parents, lunch with my mom and dinner with my stepmom. It was crazy busy but I'm glad we got to see everyone. And Kenna was very well behaved which helped a lot.

Her second birthday is in about 3 weeks. I can't believe she'll be 2! Ugh. She's not a baby anymore. :( I need to send out her invites still, order her cake and buy decorations. I'll probably do the shopping the weekend before because thats how I roll. Plus we don't have a theme so I just need bright and fun tablecloths and plates. It should be easy.

We had a great day at school today. She didn't cry at all and was really attentive to everything. We also found out she loves jumping on a trampoline so I may have to get her a small one. Add it to her birthday list.

Apartment searching will have to happen soon. We only have about 3 months left until we move. Its hard to believe its already been 6 months. It went by pretty fast. We have a lot to do this summer before we move, so hopefully we get it all done and have a easy move. I'd love to hire a moving company to help but it may not be in the budget. We'll see.

Thats my quick recap. I'd say I'm going to try to update more but we all know that probably won't happen. I'll try though. We may start getting busier since its getting nice out and we can go out and do more. Plus by the time she goes to bed I'm just as exhausted so I clean up, relax a little and go to bed. I make no promises but I'll see what I can do. :)

My bad yo!

Its been a long time since I last wrote. Thats not entirely my fault. Our internet has been going in and out over the past 2 weeks making it increasingly difficult to do anything online. Its up now but still really slow so I don't know whats wrong with it. I may just cancel it all together for the next 3 months. I'll have to call Time Warner to complain and see what they can do for us.

Not a whole lot has really happened. I cut my hair. Its adorable. We spend most of our days inside still since its the middle of April and still in the 30s-40s. I can't wait until its nice enough to go for walks and play at the park.

This past Saturday I took Kenna to an Easter egg hunt for her school. It was fun. They hide very large beeping eggs for the kids to find. She wasn't really all that interested. We found 2 eggs and she was over it. After she got comfortable, she just walked around the room the rest of the time. She made a few friends and people kept commenting on how cute she was. I got a few pictures but they were hard to get since she was constantly moving.

She got a bag of candy and a stuffed bunny. It was nice to hang out with parents that are in a similar boat. A lot of the kids were older so it was interesting to see how they all adapted to vision problems. It was a good day.

Thats about the most interesting thing we've done. This weekend is Easter so I'm sure we'll have more pictures of her opening her basket and such.

We should be moving in 4 months. We need to start looking at apartments seriously soon. I have a plan to start slowly packing up the house room by room. I'm hoping that makes it easier than trying to do it all at once. I want to go through everything and toss what we don't need and pack away things we don't need right now. I may start in our room and go from there. We'll see. Also with this crazy weather changing, I think I'm getting sick. I really hope not. I don't want to be sick and I don't want to get her sick. I hate this insane midwest weather. Its almost lunch time so I should go get that ready. I leave you with an adorable picture of her that I took this weekend. :)

Leaving on a jet plane!

I'm headed to Nebraska in May to visit my bestie. I'm so excited! We got our taxes back and after we paid off 2 (2!!) credit cards, I get to spend a weekend in NE. I get to see my bestie and sleep. Its going to be amazing.

Nothing else much has been different. Same old crap. We went out on a date night last Monday to see the Plain White Ts in Chicago. It was fun. The House of Blues wasn't as great as I thought it would be. The seating arrangement was kinda lame. The concert was good though. I got a picture with the lead singer of Parachute. He was so nice.

Tuesday we walked around Michigan Ave and did some window shopping. It was fun. This weekend we had an unplanned baby free night. We originally dropped her off at my dads to just go to dinner as a celebratory we paid off 2 CC bills dinner but they insisted on keeping her. So we went to Applebees and saw Hall Pass. Apparently Saturday night is not a good night to go out to dinner. We tried 3 places and each had a 1-2 hour wait . Luckily Applebees wasn't too busy. It was fun. The movie was hilarious. We got cherry beer and I drank all of the bottle but one glass. It was delicious. I want to get more.

This week has been the same. She is having some sleep problems. She still gets up in the middle of the night for some rocking. We're working on it. Some nights she'll randomly sleep all night and then she'll get up again. She has started to resist naps too. Except the past 2 days. She has fallen asleep once on the floor playing and yesterday she climbed into my lap and went to sleep.

 This happens at 4:15 and she can't sleep long so I have to wake her up after an hour. Plus if she sleeps longer, she won't go to bed at night. Right now she is in there jumping and talking. I thought she may be getting ready for naps again but it seems like I was wrong. I'd love to get at least an hour break. Oh well. She just loves me too much to nap. ;)

I suppose I should go get her out since it sounds like she won't be napping. She is singing so nicely though. I think she just loves to hear herself. Hopefully this means an early bedtime for her and me. I went to bed too late last night and she was up earlier than normal so we both could use some sleep.

Its Wednesday already?

This week is going by fast. Probably because Ryan had Monday off so he was here an extra day. It hasn't been that much of an exciting week. Monday I got my birthday/valentines day present and it was a hot stone massage. It was amazing. It was my first massage so it was a little awkward at first but after a few minutes I just laid there and enjoyed. I really want to go back and get another one. That my be my holiday present to myself every year. :)

Last week was pretty boring. My computer has been acting up and we were going to fix it but then Ryan found a good one for a good price so we bought it. I love it. Its so quiet and never gets overheated like my other one. We're going to fix my old one and hopefully give it to my sister. If we can't fix it then we'll just trash it. We did our taxes this weekend and we're getting about $3500 back. Most of it is going to pay off our credit cards. I wish we could do something fun with it but we need to be responsible and pay off debt. Being an adult sucks.

Tomorrow is school. Hopefully she doesn't have a lot of breakdowns this week. Last week wasn't as good as the week before but it wasn't terrible. She ignored music which usually is her favorite part. It was a bit strange. She kept walking out of the room to roam the halls. So I'd follow her to make sure she wasn't getting into anything. I kept trying to get her to sit and play music but she wasn't having it. We'll see what this week brings. Her sleeping was getting better then she had a relapse this weekend. Last night she was up til almost 10. She took a 2.5 hour nap and when I tried to lay her down at 8:30, she was not ready. She jumped, yelled, cried and talked for over 30 minutes. Then just started crying so I tried to rock her. No dice. Finally at 9:30 I changed her, gave her another small bottle and rocked her for 25 minutes and she went to sleep. She slept until 8:30. I haven't tried to get her to nap today yet. She hasn't acted crabby or anything yet. If napping makes bedtime a 1-2 hour fight, I'd rather her just give up her naps. When she doesn't nap, she takes her bottle and goes straight to bed at 8ish.

Well the laundry should be done soon so I should pick up the house and put it away. Such an exciting life I lead. ;)

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!

I hope everyone is doing well. Its been a long 2 weeks since I last wrote. A lot of nonsense has happened. It snowed 20+ inches, our internet went down, I turned 25, our power went out and now its Valentines day. Its been busy.

Ryan took Kenna out to play in the snow but I guess she didn't like it much. I didn't think she would. She isn't a cold texture fan. Maybe next year.

My birthday was on the 6th. I went out shopping with my stepmom, sister and mom for it. It was fun. I got some clothes and a Nook. I love it. Ryan got me something that he is giving me this weekend. Its a birthday/valentines day combo gift. Its a secret so I have no idea what it is. I have a few ideas but he isn't telling me anything. I'll find out Saturday. I'm really excited.Oh I got this super awesome poster from my bestie. I hung it up across from my bed. I love it.

I got a surprise bouquet of flowers today. Ryan kept saying that I wasn't getting anything today and that the surprise was this weekend. That was fine with me but then around 4 today someone delivered a beautiful flower bouquet. I love it. I have something being sent to his work Wednesday. He had to one up me and give me something today. Jerk. ;) Here are my flowers.

Kenna also learned some new tricks. She now loves opening and closing doors. Sometimes she'll close it too hard and get stuck. Usually she doesn't push it too hard though. Here are some in action pics I got. Ignore her wet shirt. She was chewing something right before deciding to play with the door.
Peeking through:

I see you!

Here I am!

And a smiley one for good measure

She has also learned to clap her own hands. I've been working on that for about a year and she finally did it. She use to just clap my hands together but wouldn't do her own hands. Now she does. I was so proud when she just started to clap her hands that I cried. :) She does "so big" too. That started today. I tell her I love her "sooo much" and she raises her hands above her head. Its so cute. Here is a video of her clapping. Please ignore my messy bathroom.

She is getting so big. 4 months until shes 2! I already reserved her birthday party location. I just have to send them a check. Its at another park so hopefully it doesn't rain or its warm this year. I can't believe she is almost 2. Time has flown by.

This weekend is a 3 day weekend for us. Ryan has Monday off for some national holiday. I'm excited to have more time with him. Then next Monday is our Plain White Ts concert. We get a night out in Chicago. It should be fun. I'm looking forward to it.

Well since Kenna decided to get up at 6:30 this morning, I'm hoping she goes to bed a little early for me. Its almost 7 now so I may start getting her ready. Now I just need her to sleep til 8 or so tomorrow. She peed through her jammies this morning which is why she got up but then wouldn't go back down after I changed her. I may need to move up a size for her night time diapers. We'll see how this week continues. Its good that we may need to though. That means she is gaining weight and getting bigger. All good things when she is under the 5% for weight and height. :)

Time to get ready for bed! Its going to be an early night for mommy too. I'm exhausted.

Near moving experience

Its been 2 weeks (again!) since I last wrote. We really haven't done much. Just the usual. Kenna school, hanging out at home, visiting with Ryan on the weekend. Nothing much has changed.

We almost had someone come look at our apartment but they canceled. :( I put up another ad on CL and one person contacted me for a March 1st move in. I was very excited. Then they emailed me and said they have a "conflict of interest" with the management company so they bailed. We were so close but yet so far. I'm kinda sad but kinda relieved. Moving out by March 1st would have been ridiculously stressful. After that, we pretty much decided to wait until August to move. That gives us time to thoroughly look for a nice apartment in Chicago, get all of her medical records and referrals and research for doctors, pack and save up for a security deposit, etc. I'm sad that that means 6ish more months of this but it'll go by fast. The past 3 months have gone by pretty fast already. I started looking at places down there and got excited about all the nice places I could find in our price range. I think we're going to get a great place. :)

I did also reserve her space for her 2nd birthday party. I know its not until June but I wanted to beat out the graduation and wedding crowd. We reserved a sheltered park area in Kenosha. Its the park that me, Ryan, my sister and some of her friends had a picnic at the day I broke my leg/ankle. Its a great park. I love it. I'm excited for it. I've decided to be laid back about her party this year. Last year I was pretty stressed and crazy about it. This year I won't do all that. She won't remember it anyway. I also pretty much picked out her outfit and invitations but I won't order anything until closer.

Oh My sister and I went to the Plain White Ts concert Thursday night. It was so much fun. My stepmom watched Kenna for me. I'm so glad we went. We were like 3 rows back from the stage and got some pretty awesome pics. I also got a guitar pick. The show was amazing. The 2 bands before the Ts were good too. I bought their cds from the concert. I like them. Ryan was sad he couldn't come. The same 3 bands are going to Chicago on February 28th so I'm thinking I may get tickets to that one. That way Ryan can experience it and we can have a night out in Chicago. My mom is most likely going to watch her for us. :) I hope it works out. I'd love to see them again and be able to go with him.

I think thats the lastest and greatest from the past 2 weeks. Nothing too exciting really. Our lives are pretty boring. :) I can't wait to start doing more when it gets warmer. Next weekend is my birthday so on Saturday my mom, sister, stepmom and I are going out to lunch and shopping while Kenna and Ryan spend quality time together. It'll be fun. I get to get out of the house and he gets Kenna all to himself. Its a win win. Then Sunday, my actual birthday, we're probably going over to the ILs to watch the Superbowl and have cake. Not too exciting for the big 2-5 but it'll be nice. I'm not a fan of huge, over the top birthdays anyway.

Well its 10:15 and Ryan is still sleeping so I think I'm going to send Kenna in. ;) Time to wake up daddy!

Man I'm such a slacker

I can't believe its been almost 2 weeks since my last entry. I really need to step it up. Anyway..nothing different has really happened. Kenna has went back to school. She is finally learning what its for I think. The past 2 times she has done amazing. Less screaming and more interest in playing. It makes it easier to take her when she isn't crying for 2 hours straight. It does make me sad that she is getting into it and we're moving away in 7 months. We'll see how that goes.

Last Friday we took a trip to Chicago. Ryan's mom and brother were going down to visit him and pick up his sister so we went along. It was Kenna's first train ride. She did very well for the most part. The first hour on the train there and back was good. The last 30 minutes on both rides were a bit tricky. She was getting antsy so we had to take turns walking her around on the train. Luckily it was pretty empty and quiet on both trains so we weren't disturbing too many people.

The walk from the train station to Ryan's work and back was another story. IDK if it was coldness or if she was hungry or what but she screamed the whole walk. It was only a mile walk but she screamed bloody murder the whole time. We had to stop at a CVS on our way to his work to warm her up and redress her to get her warmer. She was much quieter after that but then screamed the whole way back to the train when it was time. But while we were inside walking around and shopping, she was perfect. She stayed in her stroller and played with her toys quietly. We hit Macy's and her grandma bought her some outfits and 2 pairs of shoes. I picked up one outfit that was adorable. Then we just hung out in the pedway until Ryan was done working. I feel bad that we didn't get a whole lot of shopping in because we didn't want to take Kenna outside. It was still fun. While we were waiting for Ryan to be done, we all went down to a bar/restaurant and had a drink and some food. It was delicious. I do want to go back there and eat something more than appetizers. Here are some pictures from our trip. You'll be able to tell the difference from the train ride there and the train ride back.

Then last Saturday we went out with my friend and her boyfriend. We've had a bit of a strained relationship because of my PPD and life in general so it was really nice to go out and have a good time. We went to a restaurant in Milwaukee called Transfer Pizza. It was good. The atmosphere was awesome. I'm sad that we didn't know about it when we lived close to it but we will definitely go back. Then we went to Bryant's Cocktail Lounge.  Its a swanky place for sure. Its still set up like it was in the depression era. There is no menu and the bartenders know like 400 cocktails. We just went in and told the waitress the kinds of flavors or drinks we like and they would have recommendations. I had 2 fruity drinks and they were delicious. I can't remember the names but they were yummy. I would have had more but I was the DD so I stuck to water and soda after that. Ryan had quite a few drinks and they were all different. Everyone loved it. I really really want to go back.

Other than that, we've been doing nothing. Kenna has limited my computer access so I usually sit here and watch her play or chase her around to make sure she isn't destroying my books. Thats her new favorite thing. If shes been too quiet in our room shes almost always ripping apart my books. And if I give her one of hers, she just sucks on it until its wet enough to rip apart. We have a book hater. Which is funny because we both love to read. I'm hoping she starts warming up to books and story time. I'd love to be able to sit and read to her.

On that note, shes been awfully quiet for a few minutes...

Happy New Year!!

I can't believe its January already. 2010 went by so fast. We had a good new year. We went to our family friend's house for their annual party. It was a great time. I didn't take pics but I was tagged in some on FB so if you're my friend, you can see them. Kenna went to my moms and she did good. We're hoping for a great 2011.

I also had lunch with one of my old friends last week. Kenna did awesome. I was scared to take her out. She usually just yells and cries because she doesn't like being in the high chair. I tried a new strategy. I fed her while we ordered. Then I brought her favorite portable toys to play with while we ate. It was fun. I'm glad we got to go out to lunch. I really missed having her as a friend. We're going to double with her and her bf this weekend. I'm so excited.

Thats pretty much anything new. She had a 2 week break from school so Thursday so goes back. I hope she doesn't sit and cry through the whole thing. I really hate when she does that. It makes me so sad that I can't help her. I know she isn't hurting or anything. She just doesn't like being forced to do something when she doesn't want to do it. Its angry, frustrated cries but it still hurts my heart to watch her. She'll be graduating from them soon when we move. Maybe the therapy in IL will be better for her. Who knows. We'll have to wait and see. I'm getting pretty excited about our move this fall. We looked at some listings and found some great apartments in our price range. I wish we could move now so we don't miss out on the good ones. We'll just have to wait. Fingers crossed that someone wants our place in spring so we can get down there sooner. Until then, we're stuck here.