Chase got to ride with "dad" in the van . . . they made quite a mess, but had a good time! The trip involved many, many viewings of Backyardigans, lots of re-filled sippy cups, and good snacks.
We wanted to do some sight-seeing, but the only thing we really did was a trip inside the St. Louis arch. It was an overcast day & we were the only ones at the top when we were there. We also got to pay a visit to my cousin & her family in Kansas City which was the highlight of the trip. We got to visit, go to her baby shower (our due dates were just days apart!) and Chase got to play with her daughter, which he loved!
The day after arriving in Colorado, we realized that finding a house in time for the arrival of the baby just wasn't going to happen. With the advice of our great realtor & friend, we decided to move into an apartment so we could be settled somewhere when the baby arrived & wait for our house to sell before taking on an additional mortgage. We moved into our apartment just a few days later, the day before Thanksgiving.
The day after Thanksgiving, I went into labor (Friday night) and Elesiv May Milius was born on Saturday at about 11am. She was born a full 2 weeks early and weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz and is just perfect. How thankful we were that we were settled somewhere & had a place to bring her home to. The movers arrived with our stuff on Monday (the day we were discharged from the hospital), and so we had a real bed to sleep in that night! For those who know how my delivery with Chase (first baby) went -- it was very, very difficult -- this was so much easier! 15 minutes of pushing, an epidural that worked, and she popped out on her own (no vacuum this time). I felt pretty good afterwards (considering I had just had a baby) and am up and doing things, trying not to overdo it. Soooooo grateful for such an easier delivery!
How grateful we were that we had attended church the week before in the area of our new apartment (even though we didn't know for sure that we'd be moving into that apartment). We were invited over to eat Sunday dinner that day with some people we met at church who were such a blessing for us through everything. They watched Chase when we headed to the hospital at 3am on Saturday morning & helped out all through the weekend, even picking us up at the hospital on Monday while Jeff stayed home to work with the movers.
My mom was scheduled to come & visit this week to help unpack our house since I was supposed to be soooo pregnant. Instead, she is now helping with unpacking our house & taking care of a new baby. I don't know how we would have been able to do all this without her!
Its amazing to me how everything can come together to work so perfectly when we don't know the beginning from the end. Throughout this whole experience, I have felt truly blessed and know that our Heavenly Father has been looking out for us & helping these tough times to be as easy as possible for us.
Here are some pictures of our little Elesiv! Chase just loves his new little sister & is adjusting pretty well (though there have been a few little tantrums), especially with a new house to get adjusted to & living in chaos & boxes!
One of our many times "eating out" while living in hotels during our move across the country this fall. Chase just wouldn't give up that corn on the cob!
Chase's favorite thing about the hotels was the "buttons" on the elevator & the sliding closet doors. He would grab you by the hand & want you to sit in the closet with him while he played with the toys he stashed there. This is Jeff & Chase sitting in one of the closets.
When we moved into our apartment, the new fascination became the empty kitchen cabinets. Chase loved to climb in and out of them . . . and he loves his new bedroom closet with a sliding door!
Another new fascination . . . the new washer & dryer. Chase loves to help put the clothes in the washer & dryer and will sit and watch the washing cycle.
This boy really loves his soccer ball! One of our favorite things is when he throws both hands straight up in the air and yells "GOAL"! You'd think we spent time teaching him that, but we didn't. He surprised us by doing it out of the blue one day . . . must've been from the time he spent watching Jeff's soccer games last fall.
Oh what fun a pack of toilet paper can be! Chase got his hand stuck inside the roll!
Chase likes to spend more time on "laps" these days since he sees his sister getting all the attention that way.
New pictures of Elesiv . . . 2 1/2 weeks old.
