Kansas...

Well, we have arrived. After 3 very long days in the car, we made it to Kansas! The boys were great and traveled with very little complaining. (Maddie was an angel - the perfect car traveling dog!) I'm pretty sure their brains are permanently ruined from all the DVD watching and video game playing, but I know it made the trip go by faster for us all. Drew even switched to reading books and just looking out the windows on our last day - I think he had enough of technology! We arrived to a winter wonderland. The KC area has experienced quite the snowfall over the past few weeks and the temperatures have kept it around. There is at least 8-10 inches in most places. Our new house has a beautiful blanket of snow all around it just beckoning for play. Alas, it is not an option. For one, under all that snow is mud. Not grass...mud. Due to the weather, the interior of our house is almost complete but the exterior? Not so much. We don't have paint, gutters or landscaping. So no snow play. But that's ok - I forgot to pull the snow boots out before packing so they are on the moving truck. And why are they still on the truck even though we are here? Because we aren't closing on the house until Wednesday and we aren't moving in until Thursday. We are currently on Night 6 in a hotel and I am going a little crazy! But it's almost over...then the real fun begins!! Anyone want to come unpack?

It has begun...

Our movers arrived today to start packing our stuff. Yes, I am completely spoiled by the fact that someone else packs every bit of junk in my house, loads in on a truck, and unloads it at the next house. If we have to move on our own I'm not sure if I will be able to do it! We have the same movers for the third time (in the last 4 moves) and they are so awesome. They are sweet people, super careful with all our things, and genuinely care about us! They brought the boys company t-shirts and die-cast metal trucks like their big rig. The boys are doing great with everything and seem to be excited about at least this step of the move. We'll see if the excitement continues!

On a lighter note...

I love to compare photos when I manage to capture a shot in the same location but at a different time. Here is Drew at the Phoenix Zoo in March 2009 and again last week.

Those teeth...

One thing I love about Allen's face are his top front teeth. They are always peeking through his little smile and for some reason remind me of an American Girl doll. Random thought, I know...but so cute all the same!

Well...today we had an "incident" that may bring an end to those adorable teeth. We finally got the full story tonight from the boys and it goes something like this...Drew & Allen had just watched an old Scooby-Doo episode that involved a ghost. As they were headed down the hall to their rooms for nap time, Drew decided they should "play ghost". Allen agreed and put his blanket over his head to be the ghost while Drew was Scooby-Doo and chased him. Allen ran face-first at full speed into a wall. I was back in my bedroom and came running out to screams, tears (which rarely come from Allen) and a lot of blood.

His front teeth were still intact, best I could tell, but he said they really hurt. I got the blood to stop after about 20 minutes but at least one tooth was pretty loose. I called the dentist and they were able to get him in this afternoon. After an exam and x-rays, we discovered that this is definitely not the first time he has had trauma on these teeth. The root system is damage and they both appear to be cracked above the gum line. The dentist said today's incident would not have caused that much damage and most likely he has fallen or hit something in the past. Obviously, he hasn't been around this child much. He falls, runs into, jumps (or falls) off of things all the time. The fact that we have gone 3 years without major injury is an amazing with this kid!

So the prognosis? The teeth will come out. We can choose to have them pulled now so we can control the time and pain when that occurs. Or we can wait to have them pulled until they 1) die and turn brown or 2) become infected and abscess. Finally, we can wait until they come out on their own either by 1) breaking off due to another trauma, or 2) reacting negatively to something he eats and fall out. No matter what, at some point those teeth are going to come out. I am beyond distressed about this thought!!! We will see his regular dentist on Monday for his scheduled cleaning and get his opinion. I also have the name of a pediatric dentist in KC and will try to get an appointment soon after we arrive to get his opinion and transfer care.

His adult teeth are visible on the x-ray but are at least 3 years from making their appearance. Since the root system is affected, there is no option to put anything temporary in their place. So he could be 3 years without his two front teeth. Not only am I sad about his appearance (and I know that is so shallow and there are much worse things that could happen to my child...but give me time to get used to this idea!) but I am very upset about the thought that his speech will be affected. He already has problems with his enunciation and people really have a hard time understanding him. This is compounded by the fact that his vocabulary is rather advanced so people aren't expecting the words he uses so they don't try to hear them. This is very frustrating to him and we have experienced some behavioral problems because of it. So it makes me sad to think it will only get worse. Not to mention the fact that he might be made fun off by kids at school. And it is all compounded by the fact that we move next week where he has to go to a new school, make new friends, and generally have the life as he knows it turned upside down.

I know they are just teeth. I know I am completely overreacting at this point. But it just makes me sad. I'm sad for my baby...and those adorable front teeth...

Enjoying the sunshine...

As people across the country are enjoying (yet another) snowfall, we are enjoying a beautiful day in the sun. I took the boys to the park to spend some time outside since, very soon, we will live somewhere too cold to be outside playing! (I keep reminding myself that I can handle a couple of months of winter there just like I handled the summers here...this too will pass, right?!)

The countdown is on...one week from today the movers come to start packing our stuff. I don't think I am ready for this AT ALL!

Christmas Part Deux

As I recently put on my Facebook status...I have discovered the secret to keeping Christmas toys exciting.
Step 1 open Christmas Day.
Step 2 pack up all toys 5 days later into boxes.
Step 3 ship across country.
Step 4 have boxes arrive a week later. It's like Christmas II only 12 days after!
Optional: Have movers come 10 days after kids get toys back to box them up another time and keep them on a truck for 7-10 days! I might win mom of the year.

The boys received their 6 boxes from Nana's house today containing all our Christmas presents from multiple sources. They are so excited to open them and play with everything again. I am trying to keep some control - I have limited them to one box at a time until everything is looked at and then we figure out where it is going in the playrooom. I'm trying to keep chaos to a minimum in our house for the next 2 weeks! (Yeah...right...)

Have I mentioned that having to keep a house clean and in "show" order is miserable?! There is a reason we have always moved out of a house before we put it on the market. But since this is a rental, they either wanted another month's rent or they would list it for showing 30 days before we moved out. Needless to say...we've had multiple showings since Christmas!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to everyone! May 2011 bring you love, health and happiness!

Preschool Christmas Programs

This week the boys had their Christmas Programs at school. They were adorable...as usual! Drew's group (older 4's and 5's) did really well and sang all their songs with energy and precision. Allen's group (younger 3's) was so small and tiny but they did a pretty good job too! The teachers said they didn't make a sound during rehearsal on Tuesday so they were sure Thursday was going to be a silent moment in the sanctuary. But they sang! It was exactly what you think of when you imagine a preschool Christmas program!


Drew's group on Wednesday


Allen's class on Thursday

I'll try to get video uploaded as well!

The Polar Express

Well, it didn't snow this year and they knew what was going on so it wasn't quite as magical. Then there was the fact we almost didn't get there thanks to two little boys deciding they would rather stay in the hotel than go ride a train. It could have ruined the night, but it ended up being another great ride on the Polar Express. Allen was much more into it this year - chanting for Santa, grinning from ear to ear when he entered our coach, and being completely enamored by the experience. Drew was a little more low-key this year but still seemed to enjoy it. Overall we are glad we went again since it was probably our last chance!


Waiting to visit with Santa


Cookies!!!





A sad attempt at a family photo...if you crop out our children it's not so bad! :)


I only wish you could hear all he was saying at this point...his stories are priceless! I need to stick a recorder on him at all times!


Are we at the North Pole yet?! Can you see him?!


Waiting anxiously for the man in the red suit...


It's Santa!


Can you hear the bells??!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Decorating our Christmas tree...





(Allen put all his ornaments on the same branches...at one point there were 8 ornaments on these 2 branches alone! I left them there because I thought it was cute. The next day they were all spread out...Drew apparently didn't like the condensed version of decorating that Allen had used!)




Their tree with Christmas Thomas...this little tree holds all the thumbprint ornaments from the Fantasy of Trees every year as well as the ornaments they have made at school over the years. And it's the perfect size for Christmas Thomas to travel around (an added bonus is that mommy doesn't have to stress about them crawling under her big tree to play with him!)

This year the two trees, our stockings and a couple of other random decorations are all that made it out. Oh - and of course the inflatable Mickey driving a Christmas train in the front yard! The prospect of decorating the entire house was just too much with the stress of finding a new home in Kansas, starting to clean out this house in preparation to pack, and holiday travels. But it's enough and the boys love what we do have out. I figure next year I will go all out with the decorating!