Goodbye to Beth and Nathan..

Friday night we went out to dinner with Beth, Nathan, and their three kiddos. It was quite the production with five kids in tow, but it turned out pretty well, I think. Beth and Nate are moving to Georgia this week, so it was our last little get together before they leave. We are SO sad to see them leave. Beth was the ONLY person I knew here in Alaska before I moved here, and she has been a great friend to me. Hopefully some day we can reconnect again in OKC.
We love you guys and are praying for this new journey you are about to embark upon!

Happy 8 Weeks!

Yesterday Chloe turned the big 8 weeks, she is growing up right before our eyes. She won't be the youngest cousin on either side, by the end of the summer though. Rachel is ready to have her little girl any day now, and Anna will have her little baby (I'll let her tell you what she is having, b/c she knows!) at the end of the summer. We feel SO blessed that our kids will grow up with cousins around their own age. We plan on taking full advantage of that and planning lots of "cousin" time in their futures. Yeah for cousins and yeah for more babies, we can't wait!

Sunday Pictures...

These pictures were taken two Sundays ago...I was planning to do a family picture, but Chloe fell asleep in the swing. :(

These pictures were taken Easter Sunday. Still no family picture, Chloe had a blow out before we got one of the four of us! This poor college age guy at church was holding her, and she got it all over him too. Yikes, I think he is scared for life!
Maybe next Sunday we will finally get a family pic??

ADVICE PLEASE!

Okay all you Mommy/bottle experts...
Since Chloe turned 6 weeks last week, I have been trying to get her started on the bottle. Austin would never take the bottle, which was not so fun, so I am determined to get Chloe to take one. This is what we've tried so far...

1. Gerber bottle with formula--she wouldn't touch it
2. Gerber bottle with formula--she wouldn't touch it
3. Soothie bottle with expressed milk--she drank two ounces (which was all I had pumped)

So, we've only tried 3 times...and she took one out of the three. What is the best way to get her to take the bottle and KEEP taking the bottle? Do I need to give her one every day? It seems silly to me to pump and then feed her the bottle, b/c its so much work, but I'll do it if I need to (right now, Nate is only home for one of Chloe's feedings, the one right before bed, and I don't think the bottle will soothe her to sleep, so I'd rather him not feed her then). Is there a kind of formula that seems to work better than others? I have only tried Enfamil, and I can't blame any child for not wanting that stuff...it stinks!
SO, give me your advice! What has worked for you?

A little Chloe Cuteness...

Chloe turned 6 weeks this past Thursday. This past week has been such a turn around for her. She is finally sleeping better at night again, so that has been a huge relief to me. Hopefully she will keep it up! I decided last weekend to give up caffeine to see if it made a difference in her sleep, and apparently that was the culprit. Good for Chloe, bad for me, I am so sad to give it up. :(
Other happenings around here...

• I survived my first seven days without Nate here to help. It was a LONG week for all of us, and we are thankful to have it behind us, at least for now. :)
• Chloe turned 6 weeks, which means I went in for my 6 week check-up. They gave me the go ahead to start exercising...yipee :(...this is what I bought, and hopefully it will whip me back into shape.
• Nate became a Major-select. Which means he will pin on within the year as a Major.
  
• Nate also received a school slot, which means he will go to school for a year to get another Masters degree. There is a lot I could say about this, but just so I don't confuse you all I will just say this...this isn't something I necessarily wanted (although it is a huge honor), but we are looking at this as from the Lord, and are looking to where He will lead us for the future. Isn't that how it should always be? :)
• Mount Redoubt has been blowing often. We have only gotten ash fall from it once, so I am thankful for that. Most of the ash fall has blown in a different direction than us. It was actually quite interesting to experience, now that I look back on it. They say the mountain will probably continue to blow for months, so mostly likely I will get to experience it again.
  
• We are still getting snow here. Boo. I keep hearing about the nice weather everyone else it getting, and it makes me so jealous. We are still in the 30's if we are lucky.

That's all for now! Hope you all are having a great weekend!

You Know You Live in Alaska When...

your two year old looks at a toy horse and says, "Moose"!