We are here.

We made it! Of course, we've been here almost two weeks now. I don't have any pictures yet, but we are starting to get settled in; there are still boxes yet to unpack and many things yet to do before little Jack comes to join us. I should be working on all those things instead of typing. Oh well.

Here are a few first impressions:
1. Very nice people. We have been VERY warmly welcomed. I am so grateful for all the people who have been so nice and friendly!
2. Tree lined streets and farms. Very green. Beautiful. Rural.
3. I am never going to learn my way around. All streets looks the same. . . two-lane, tree-lined, winding, and headed where? I don't know. That is the point.
4. Deer are EVERYWHERE. One day I counted 11.
5. Fireflies make me feel like a little kid.
6. Intolerably hot. Santa Monica spoiled me BIG TIME. Also, I am 38 weeks pregnant. That doesn't help.
7. Shopping . . . not so much.
8. No traffic. That is nice.
9. Very hilly. Running with a stroller is going to be a challenge. Plus, there are no sidewalks.
10. I have to walk down two flights of stairs, outside, down a hill, to the back of the building to do laundry. When it snows and I have a newborn and a toddler who likes to run away this is not going to be very fun.
11. The hospital where I am going to deliver is tiny. I know size is not a reflection on quality, but having come from working at Ronald Reagan UCLA which is regularly ranked as one of the best hospitals in the country, this hospital feels a little small. I mean, does it still count as a NICU is there are no babies in it? I shouldn't be nervous. Can't help it.
12. On Monday I picked 4 pounds of blueberries. Yummy! They are already half gone. If Jack doesn't show up soon, I am going to go pick some more.
13. An ice cream shop with 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream . I don't know if Maggie, myself, or Joe was most in heaven.

Maggie is adjusting somewhere between pretty well and not great. I don't know if she just happened to have a sudden onset of terrible two's coincidentally upon our arrival or if her behavior is really move related, but I am sure having a very pregnant (i.e. grumpy, hot) mom who is unpacking boxes instead of taking her to the beach doesn't help. Also, we accidentally set the fire alarm off in her room when resetting the fuse box while she was sleeping. It scared the poor little thing half to death, so she doesn't really care for her new room very much. I am hoping that she starts feeling more comfortable pretty soon. I am nervous about bringing a new baby into her world that already feels like it is sitting on it's head. But, she loves babies (and not much we can do about it now anyway). I am sure that it is just a matter of time before this place starts feeling like home to all of us. In the meantime, I am going to eat blueberries. Lots and lots of blueberries.

This is what we do while we wait

This whole move has been surprisingly harder on me than I thought it would be. I am really enjoying soaking up a little last minute family time, both with Joe's family in Utah and now with my own family in IF as Joe makes the drive east, but I have cried much more than seems reasonable, especially considering how much I wasn't really excited to move to L.A. three years ago. I am hoping that I can contribute at least some of the tears to being 36 weeks pregnant, but as Cathi once said, it is funny how the place that you don't want to move to always seems to become the place that you don't want to leave. That is certainly how I feel about Santa Monica. I have been the most sad over the last week when Maggie has started crying and asking to go home. I feel bad taking my baby away from her home, which is funny since it won't take long for her to forget it completely. Maybe that is why it makes me so sad. Now, I am just hoping that NY quickly becomes the next place that I don't want to leave. Wish us luck in our new home.

Bye, Beach

Right now Joe is somewhere in Illinois driving a big, yellow Penske while Maggie and I are hanging out in Idaho Falls waiting to fly out and meet him in Ithaca. It still seems a little unreal, but I am pretty sure it will feel a little bit more real on Wednesday night when I touch down in NY and see our apartment for the first time. In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures of our last family trip to our little beach in Santa Monica. Tear.

The other day I asked Maggie, "Are you cute?"
"No," she responded. "I just crazy."

 

Not exactly my best picture ever, but I think there is something so sweet about a toddler sitting on a baby belly

A few things I will miss about Santa Monica . . .
1. Friends
2. The beach
3. The beach
4. The beach
5. 65-80 degree weather everyday of the year
6. Sunday evening walks in perfect weather along a bluff overlooking the beach
7. Family coming to visit (Jeff and Sam, I think you might be our only hope! Come visit us!)

A few things I will not miss!
1. Traffic
2. Apartment managing
3. Joe's commute (i.e. traffic)

A few things that I am looking forward to . . .
1. Waterfalls
2. Lush, green
3. New England in the fall
4. Making a snowman with Maggie
5. Finally visiting DC
6. A new adventure . . .