Our New Home!!!

Here it is...our soon to be English home away from home. After two long days of looking at some very interesting homes in the Peterborough, UK, we found this quaint 4 bedroom two-story home in Glinton. Glinton is a small village on the northern side of Peterborough (it is one of the few villages around that haven't been swallowed up by Peterborough). The town itself has a nice pub called the Blue Bell, a church, a fish store, post office, town hall and primary school. We are very excited about our new place. We got to meet a lot of other Caterpillar people and some very cool British folks that we hope to become friends with. Interesting features about the house are the conservatory and the refridgerator which is seriously the size of my old dorm fridge. We are hoping to buy a washer and dryer - they'll roughly be 1/3 the size of our American sized ones. Also we'll try to buy a fridge/freezer which could be about 2/3 the size of a regular fridge in the US. We'll be buying two cars when we get over there...the Passat we have right now is a large car compared to the average sized vehicle over there. The big question is to try and figure out what stuff we want to bring over and if it will all fit in our new house. The other cool things are that the house is about 15 minutes from Kevin's office, 15 minutes from downtown Peterborough shopping and 3 minutes to the closest McDonald's...also there are some other very nice ISE mom's and kids who live near by as well.

A Week at Grandma & Grandpa Schafbuch's

This week Addison stayed with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Jeff while Mommy and Daddy went to look for the family's new home in England. Not only did Addie enjoy the time with them but I think the Grandparents were just as excited to have our little munchkin invade their space. Addie learned how to do lots of new things that week. Before we left she was just getting comfortable kind of rolling over. After we got back she was rolling over like a champ and now holding up herself on her arms with her head looking all over the place. She also got broadcasted across the internet to see us via web cast through Skype which we have found to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. It is going to be a great way to stay in contact with family and friends. The greatest thing is that it's free and it has video...tough thing is coordinating the conversations for each party during decent times of the day with a 6 hour time difference.

Auntie Crystal's Bridal Shower

We went back to Iowa this weekend to go to Auntie Crystal's bridal shower. She got lots of really cool stuff, but Addie got pretty tired. Only a month until the big day.

Beautiful Spring Day

Today was a beautiful day and I got to play out in Mommy's garden. The lilac bush was so pretty and smelled so good. I also got to wear this super cute new outfit mommy bought for me...see the little monkey. My little shorts say "Cutie Pie" on the bottom. Today we also went to Best Buy so Daddy could buy Mommy a new camcorder for Mother's Day. She was so excited because now she'll be able to make home movies of me to send to my Grandma and Grandpa's as I grow up. The funny thing is that while at Best Buy we met a gentleman who is also going overseas with Caterpiller in their Geneva, Switzerland office. We exchanged emails so that we can meet up with them some day when we move over there. Tomorrow Daddy leaves for two weeks to visit his new job. Mommy and I are going to Grandma and Grandpa Schafbuch's house for a week. We are really going to miss him, but we'll be instant messaging and emailing a lot.

We Sold the Boat :-(

Mom and Dad had a tough time tonight because they sold their Crownline boat tonight from a couple who came all the way from Kansas City to buy it. They really loved going boating and felt pretty bad that they weren't able to bring me out on a ride on it before they sold it. They tell me that we'll most likely get another boat when we get back from England...in the mean time, I'll keep them busy this summer and maybe they won't miss it so much.

We're Selling Our House

As you all know we are moving to England in two months for Daddy's new job. Today our house went up on the market. Mommy and Daddy have been working really hard to get the house all cleaned up...it gets a little tough to keep things clean with all my stuff around the place.

Uncle Casey's Graduation at ISU

Today I made my first trip to Ames to attend my uncle Casey's college graduation from Iowa State University. He's going to be a construction engineer...I'm not sure what that is, but he's pretty smart. We went to Uncle Joe and Aunt Brenda's house afterwards and I got to play with all of my second cousins. We had so much fun and ate lots of good food!

Sleepy Time

I got so tired this morning. After a full tummy and a little time hanging out with Daddy and Mommy, I got tuckered out.

Me and My Jumparoo

My tried getting me to play in my jumparoo a few weeks ago and I didn't like it very much but now it's one of my most favorite toys. I get to play in exersaucers at daycare, but I get to rock and roll in this bad boy at night when I'm home with mom and dad. It lights up and plays music. My little toes just barely touch the ground, but I giggle and laugh as I bounce. The thing is that I can only handle about 7-9 minutes of the bouncing before my little body gets tired.

Hanging Out with Auntie Crystal Jo

This weekend we went back to Iowa so that Daddy could see his old Ag Engineering buddies from Iowa State. Addison and Mommy hung out at Grandma and Grandpa Schafbuch's house so that we could get Auntie Crystal's wedding invitations assembled. Since it got up to 80 degrees, Addie got to wear her new outfit from Grammie Sally. Doesn't she look super cute with pink cow on her bib which comes in handy now days, since Addie is really starting to drool up a storm. Since it was so bright out as well, Auntie Crystal let Addison borrow her sunglasses.

New Suit and Lots of Smiles

This week Daddy finished up his finaly week of Black Belt training. Addison got to get her picture taken with Kevin on the day of his graduation. Last Saturday we helped him pick out this new suit and boy does he look goooood! Addison thought his looked so handsome that she couldn't help but smile ear to ear.

A New Face, A New Toy

Today we went to Target and got a new toy for Addison. It's a Leap Frog Baby mirror with fun little animal shapes that make noises when you squeeze the tabs. Cool thing is that you can hook up a MP3 player to it so we bought another Baby Genius CD so we could load up some fun baby songs for her to listen to. We thought this would be a good toy for "tummy-time" that Addie seems to like for about 30 seconds and then the big lip comes out. She does like to look at herself and if her Daddy and I looked as cute as she did we'd like looking at ourselves all day. Daddy was reassured that we got a good buy because we found a similar toy recommended by Parents magazine.

Back 2 IA for Easter

We all went back to Grandma and Grandpa Schafbuch's for Easter. Addie got to go to the Marengo Easter Egg Hunt and meet the Easter bunny. We showed up a little bit late so we could miss the long line but not so much luck...the line wrapped a long ways around, but she did get 5 tickets for baskets since they were trying to get rid of them. Needless to say, Mommy and Daddy got lots of candy that they didn't need to eat. Grandma Sue got Addie this super cute bunny that says "My First Easter". It was a super cold weekend but it was so nice to see the whole Schafbuch family at Great Grandma Lynn's house.

She's a Trooper

All I can say is that my little Addie is one tough cookie. Today she got 4 shots and never shed a tear. We went to the county health department today to get Addison's two month immunizations. We tried to get there 15 minutes early but by the time we got there, there were 20 other children ahead of us. It was so sad seeing the little kids who knew they were getting shots. We missed our scheduled appointment with Dr. Carlson, so we had to wait in the waiting room for about 40 minutes until they could get us in. Her two month check up went very well. She is growing like a weed. She's is now 23 3/4 inches long and weighs 13 lbs 9 oz - she's gained 5 pounds since she was born almost 8 1/2 weeks ago. She's in the 95th percentile for her weight and 90th percentile for her height. Dr. Carlson said she was doing great!!!

First Night in My Own Bed

Last night Addison finally slept in her own bed in her own room. Mom and Dad picked up that she didn't look as comfortable in the pack 'n play anymore at night. This was a big step for us all. Addie seemed to do great...she slept very well. When we laid her down, we popped on her lullaby CD which Kevin and I seem to really enjoy listening to as much as Addie does. We can hear it through the monitor, but its very soothing for us all.

Camo Bunting

Today we went on two fun walks around the block. With it being a bit windy we had to keep Addie warm so we used the camo bunting that Grandpa Jeff gave her. It's a little too big but she is so cute and fell asleep both times.

8 Weeks Old - Picture Day!

On Saturday Addie turned 8 weeks old and my has she grown. Mommy brought her to JCPenny to get her first professional pictures taken. Before we went Mommy had to test out the "outfit" to make sure everything would look alright. Of course she's very photogenic, but she often gets frustrated with me trying to put her in different poses all the time. The picture session turned our great and Penny's does a pretty good job trying to get you to upgrade all your pictures...you could spend a fortune. I told the gal that I was just going to scrapbook most of the pictures and she said I was "killer" her by turning down all the upgrades.

We Survived the First Week!!!

Well we survived the first week of daycare and mom going back to work. I think the key to starting the week off right for me was making Kevin bring Addie to daycare. Though it helped me, it was pretty tough on Kevin. Getting back to work was actually pretty great for me. I had only been in my new job for a month before I was off for leave so most of the week was catching up but I was so happy to see all of my friends at work. On the flip side when it was time to leave to head home I couldn't get there fast enough to pick up my little girl. Kevin had to go to Michigan really early Tuesday morning and didn't get home until Thursday night. Addie and I missed Daddy so much and I really appreciate all the help he provides and Addie really missed her daddy.

Mommy Goes Back to Work

Today was a feared day for Mommy and Daddy...Mommy went back to work and Addie headed off to daycare for the first day. Addie slept really well and got up around 5:30 when we did and I got off to work in good time. Addie ate breakfast with me and then I hugged her for as long as I could and then I handed her off to Daddy. I headed out and right away called and talked to my mom (Grandma Sue) the whole way to work so I wouldn't think to hard about things. When I got to work I got a call from Kevin whole had the painstaking task of dropping Addie off. It was the toughest thing he's had to do he said. They kept be pretty busy at work to keep me from worrying too much but she was always on my mind. I got to visit with my friend Keith over lunch and we shared stories about Addie and his new little boy Ryan Thomas who's three weeks old. At 4PM I couldn't wait to head out and get home so I could pick Addie up. When I got there she was swinging away and staring off and something interesting I guess. I took her home and didn't put her down for the next hour and a half. Kevin is heading overnight to Michigan for the next three days so it's me and the little one for the next few days. I love having someone to keep me company when Daddy heads out of town.

Last Friday at Home with Mommy

Today was our last Friday home alone together. Monday morning Mommy will have to go back to work. We went to visit Cornerstone and to bring a few things to store in Addie's cubbie. Addie met Miss Flora who will be caring for her while Mommy goes back to school. It was a pretty tough half hour for Mommy because so many emotions ran through my head and it was becoming a reality that my all day at home time with my little one was drawing to an end. Plus I could believe that she was going to be seven weeks on Saturday. I took this picture of her with the Big Bird doll that Uncle Casey gave her and her eyes seem to tell me that, "It's okay Mommy, Big Bird will look out for me while your gone." She is so beautiful and her Daddy and I love her more than anything.