Lots of Changes!!!

I know that I have totally been slacking on the blog but I swear things have been CRAZY around here lately. Back in March we traveled to Baltimore for a surgical consult with a surgeon for an operation we are going to do on her foot this fall/winter. WHile we were there we got to see my friend Morgen and explored Baltimore and DC! Of course the day we were in DC was the day the health care reform passed so it was crazy!!!
After we got back from that trip Nicks mom came to visit us during her spring break from school. WHile she was here Cally's preschool had their annual pancake breakfast which was Nick was on the committee so he was their cooking the sausage and bacon all morning! But we all had so much fun and it was great to show Rosemarie the school and she easily fell in love with it just like us!
I then took the girls with me to Des Moines solo to spend some time with NIcks Family. We got to go to the zoo, spend time with their Great Grandma, spend tons of time with their cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents! THey were in heaven! NIck met us on Friday night and we spent some time wiht our dear friends Matt and Bethany. Sat morning we went to LIving History Farms for their easter celebration that was so cool! We got to see the easter bunny, hunt for easter eggs, egg rool down hills, pet easter bunnies and the rest of the petting zoo, and of course indulge in candy!! easter was spent at Nicks moms were we got to see the whole fam and then we headed home
During our time in Des MOines Nick got a promotion to regional manager which is HUGE! He is so excited and dove right in! This also meant that I am now staying home full time! No more nursing for me! It has been such a relief and so much fun!
So that is about it, this weekend we are celebrating Reese's 2nd birthday! Here are some pics from the last couple months!
Oh and we went to go and see Disney ON Ice which was fantastic, I highly recommend it I don't know who had more fun me or Cal!

The month of January

The month of January was slightly hectic for us this year, can you tell I only have one entry! Nick's business has picked up and he was in Las Vegas twice this month, lucky boy! Cally celebrated her 1/2 birthday at preschool (they do that for the kiddos with summer bdays!) and she was so excited. At her school they don't allow us to bring treats for the celebration instead I got to come in and read a story to the class that Cal chose and she got to walk around the "Sun rug" 3 1/2 times! She loved being the center of attention! It ended up that they were making animal print shirts that day so Reese and I stayed to help which was a lot of fun.
Cally and I also got to have a "date" and go to see Disney on Ice which was fantastic. We went with a coworker of mine and her kids and we had a blast, I don't know if Cally or me had more fun, I love disney!
In other news I am now officially a stay-at-home mom! I am still working casually which means picking up a couple of shifts a month to keep up my license but I am going to be at home 99% of the time which gives us huge releif, it has been NUTS around here lately between mine and Nick's schudules!
We recently had an appointment with a pediatric neurologist regarding Reese's foot. We had gotten a second opinion for our surgeon's boss upon his request and he was worried that not all of her muscle and nerves were developed in her foot. After two hours of nerve and muscle conduction tests (which were brutal) it turns out that everything is there!!! Some of hte nerves and muscles are damaged and some work 100% but we meet with our osurgeon on Thursday to formulate a game plan from here! We were just so thrilled that all of her muscles and nerves were there!! Such great news!
I also officially started my ironman training and decided to hire a coach out of San Diego named Dirk, Nick loves that name :) Today was my first day and it included a 3 hour workout!! We will see how this goes!!! I promise though now that I am at home we will update some more!!! Here are some pics of our last month

Our anniversary!!!

Nick and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary on the 21st! Needless to say it has been an eventful four years but I don't think either of us would trade it for the world, and our marriage is stronger because of it!
We were spoiled last week, we got to go on a date on our actual anniversary to Tess and enjoyed some adult time! Then on Saturday we traveled down to Naperville and dropped the kids off with my parents and headed down to the city for a night alone! We stayed at the Intercontinental and went to the most AMAZING sushi restaurant called Sunda! If you are ever in Chicago you have to try it. Our evening was pretty uneventful and has Nick reminded me, that is how it should be when you are parents of toddlers!!! Sunday we even got to go to our fav breakfast old neighborhood eatry, Nookies!! WE miss that place so much. All in all it was a wonderful anniversary and thanks again to my parents for watching the kids so we could enjoy some much needed alone time!!!

Christmas 2009

I know that I have been really bad lately about updating the blog but we seriously have been so buzy!!! So, this post is going to encompass some celebrations over the holiday season. Cally went to her first cookie decorating party, which was amazing! We took the girls to go and see Santa, Cally jumped right up on his lap and started listing off all the things that she wanted, Reese on the other hand was reluctant and screamed upon sitting on his lap. However when we were leaving Reese walked right up to him on her own and said, "Bye Santa!" It was so sweet!
We traveled down to Chicago for Christmas and the girls and I were even able to make it to my sorority sisters annual grab bag party, we had so much fun!!! From there we headed to Naperville to spend the weekend with Nick and my parents! Reese was diagnosed with pneumonia on Sat morning, thank god she was fine through Xmas and is recovering on her meds!!! Cally is currently still down in Naperville spending a couple of nights by herself, the house is way too quiet!!! Needless to say we are anxious for her return tommorrow and we know she is in good hands :)
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you all!!!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year going out to Des Moines to see Nick's family! We stopped at Mondos both on the way there and back which always makes me happy and had a blast. The girls did great in the car much of that due to the new DVD player that we purchased, yes we purchased another one because Cally broke our last one!! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast and even got all of the cousins together for a group pic! We went to Nick's home town Perry where is Mom hosted us for dinner and a Christmas light parade and a appearance by the big man himself! On saturday night we were spoiled by Nick's Dad and Dani with a night out on the town were we got some shopping done and got to go out for tapas with Matt and Bethany, such a great time!! All and all a wonderful and memerable holiday with so much to be thankful for! I also included some pics from Cally's Harvest Party at preschool!

Cast Free!!

Last week (I wrote this post originally 11/20 opps!) Reese got her final cast removed and was fitted for her AFO brace! She is now wearing a contraption similar to an ankle brace on her foot and they made her special shoes with a lift in them, quite stylish! to help her walk around! She is doing great, besides one minor mishap of the brace being to tight and having to get it adjusted things have been great! This is the first time in her life that she has been able to walk and bend her leg! She is walking around alot know with her babies stroller and holding onto our hands, she has walked across the room several times on her own but is still more comfortable with crawling although I think that is changing quickly.
UPDATE: She is walking like crazy so fast that she is running at times, amazing!!!

Halloween Festivities!!!

We have had a wonderful week heading up to Halloween, complete with lots of parties and celebration and ending with a wonderful time trick-or-treating with Daddy!!! Here are some pics from the week!

Cally at her gymnastics class Halloween Party

Cally with her friends Hannah and Talia

Cally and Reese all dressed up for the gym Halloween Party!!

One of the many pumpkins at the White Fish Bay Pumpkin Festival

We even found a Hawkeye Pumpkin!

Just some of the pumpkins lit up and on display!

Cally and her friends dancing around the tree FOREVER, who ever knew a tree could be so entertaining!

Off Trick-or-Treating while mom stays and hands out candy!!!

Happy Halloween, we hope you all had a fun and safe holiday!