Denver Zoo

I used what was left of my Birthday money and we bought annual passes to the Denver Zoo. (which was such a deal. only $80 for the entire family! And it included 2 free guest passes and parking.)

The kids had a great time. Ella was so into each and every animal, I think she could have stayed at the Polar Bear's for an hour. It was a little scary though the way the Bear zeroed in on her the whole time. I think that she thought maybe Ella was one of her own, that white hair and all.

Luke was so excited to see the... get this, tarantula. He's been looking at spiders a lot online lately, much to my horror and dismay. And he learned that the zoo had a big one. Too bad for him we took a right into the park and didn't get to the spider until the very end. This put a damper on the other animals, he only wanted that darn spider... o' and to see the cockroaches. What is with my Son? So that is why he was not in many shots, he was protesting the other animals until he saw what he wanted.

she wanted to be tall like the Giraffe. 

watching the Polar Bear swim.

this break was actually for Mom, not the kids. I got so tired.

She was a little nervous.

4 weeks to go!

I thought I'd have Dave take just a few pictures of the end of this pregnancy. Im not the biggest fan of these kinds of pictures but I have some with the other 2  and thought it only fair. So here are a couple of the bigger, pregnant Jill for you to view.

Like I told you all, I do end up getting big at the end. At least I feel like im about to explode. 4 weeks from today I will have a baby in my arms and this will have all been worth it:)

Here you go Vanessa

My Joys:
1. Sitting on my porch on a crisp Summer's evening
2. Watching my kids when they're happy and playing well together
3. Going an entire night without getting up to use the restroom

My Fears:
1. Luke having a bad day
2. gaining too much weight with this pregnancy. I have gained 17 lbs. so far but I have 4 weeks to go... the real test. I am just freaking out that in that time I'll gain another 15 lbs. and throw away all of my efforts.
3. a baby that will not sleep, nurse or like her car seat and swing. Pretty much another Ella, though I still loved her to death!

My Current Obsessions:
1. Napping... we're always on the same page Vanessa... and Jessica too for that matter.
2. crushed ice from Sonic. I buy it by the bagful and go through about 1 bag a week, they're 5 pound bags.
3. Decorating my house. Its the nesting thing in full force. And when Im not working on it I am trying to envision what I can do in certain rooms and spots to make it what I want.

Surprising facts:
1. I was not breathing when I was born, they had to work on me for a minute or so to get me going.
2. I absolutely love the smell of rubber, crave it. I must walk in the tire center at each Costco visit and constantly smell my kids new tennis shoes.
3.I cant wait to get pregnant again....HA!!! I cant think of a real third. Maybe that I never eat veggies... like EVER!!!

People I've tagged:
1. Jana
2. Jenn
3. Jenny J.

Pre-school starts!!!!!

Today was the big day. It finally got here. 

Luke was ecstatic all weekend long about starting School on Monday, he's been asking for what seems like months now. 

He is here now 4 days a week for 3 hours. And it just so happens to fall during Ella's nap times. This means I too get to nap for now, plus its nice to know there will be lots of nice one on one time with baby Olivia soon.

Luke was such a good boy the rest of the day, im hoping this is a sign of things to come. In the past he was always the best on Pre-School days.

I know some of my colors are a bit off. Im sad to say my photoshop is giving me trouble. Anybody want to edit some shots for me? 

In front of the School sign. I wanted to take more at School but he was just too excited to get into the classroom, cant blame him.

some of us weren't as thrilled about all of this as others were.

Excited?

I just love this boy.

Karate Kid

Luke has started Karate and just loves it. We really enjoy watching him do something that he likes so much and does so well in. 

Ella has stated " Mom, I don't want to do karate, I just want to be a ballerina."

Sounds ok to me Bell. Though she cant get into anything until she's 3. I sometimes forget that she is only 2 1/2.

Swimming fun

We love the pools in our beautiful community and have gone often. This time I actually remembered to bring the camera. 

Our new place

Some pic's of the new house. I took them at a terrible time of night so they're not too great. You'll get the picture though.

We are so happy here and are having the best time. Colorado is a great fit for us thus far. We're so thrilled to be here.

Also, thanks to Dave. He has been so great in not letting my neurotic "nesting" drive him crazy. I have been putting things up and making him help with all sorts of decorative touches. He has been great. I was doing lettering on the wall long before actual boxes were even unpacked. He gets me.... and my crazy prego mind. Love you babe.

part of the kids bathroom. There is another cute corresponding painting on the other side that my Sister did as well.

Master bedroom

I love our bed. We have these 3 beautiful, beaded silver wall vases with flowers from Pottery Barn . Im going to place all 3 behind the bed.

our bathroom... nothing fancy but it does the job. We have a white wall shelf we still need to put up.

Ella's room. The crib is on the other side of the room with the dresser. We're painting it pink and the window wall will be a dark brown. I know it's silly to mention it but we're getting a new nob for the end table. The frog came on it, we got it off Craigslist for $10!!! Amazing.

I love Luke's room, as does he. My Sister painted the baseball paintings and I hung them with the ribbon. The blue duvet cover has retro-looking baseball players all over it.

The front entry and room. We have a few things to do with this room eventually... when we have the money. Just some greenery maybe and we're going to put all of our Beach shoot pictures up on one wall... the one you cant really see.

I love the plantation shudders.

The Living Room. This couch is the best thing ever. I love that we can all sit together comfortably on it.... plus its insanely soft.

Our entertainment area. Yes, I gave into a great deal, and Dave's plea's, and we got this plasma. For those who didnt know our TV was the only casualty in the move. Accident?j/k. I do love how light it is. Those big tube TV's make me so anxious with the kids.
I just like this little wall. The vinyl says "grant me patience to deal with my blessings."

view from the kitchen. The door leads to our covered deck, which we have really enjoyed. And the great yard we have.

The kitchen was a bit messy, dinner time. I'll post that and some basement shots another time.

Speaking of which, I love having a basement. The kids play there all the time. And its great to have a bathroom down there too. It has this HUGE walk in pantry/ closet. All of the kids toys.. and then some... fit there. It has a door on it so I get to just close it off when I dont want to see it.

So, there it is. Come visit!!!!

He got in!!!

I have been a complete mess as we've been awaiting final word on whether or not Luke qualified for this amazing Colorado Pre-School program.  

They offer regular. tuition-based, Pre-School at some of the elementary schools. They are smaller classroom sizes and taught by teachers. Each location has 2 spots which are open to kids who need a little extra... free of charge. That's a savings of $290 a month for us. Plus he gets extra help from therapists where they may see a need. The best part is that he will have specialized attention while interacting with a regular group of peers each day. Its a wonderful program.

We've been waiting now for 2 weeks to hear if he qualified or not. And today the call came. He's in. He will be attending Cherokee Trail Elementary School starting next week. I couldn't feel more relieved. I can breath now. And sleep, minus that little baby girl kicking me.

More iphone uglyness

Dave surprised me by continuing my Birthday tradition of eating at Ruby's for lunch. Even though the only one here is 45 minutes away. It was a fun day with the perfect ending... dinner and b-day cake with the Wilkins and a date to see "Dark Knight" with Dave.

The kids were so excited that it was my birthday. All day long they wished me a "Happy Birthday!" 

my birthday kisses

Dave had them all sing to me.. kinda' embarrassing. They were the loudest singers I have ever heard!

Birthday cake and Birthday wishes at the house.

We really need to find our charger for the Nikon. Until then sorry, but the iphone shots are going to do the job. I will take pic's of the house as soon as we find it.