We are now in Chicago!

Now that we have finally unpacked everything, I think I can get back to this whole blogging thing! My computer is also fixed and I am now loading all the needed software onto my new 1 terabyte hard drive! Once I get it all working, I can finally upload some new pictures!! Here is the news on the kids!

Matt is now back in school in Kindergarten and loving it. He sees the bus and runs to catch up to it! The program here is very similar to his old one in Chesterfield and the teachers are wonderful! He is bused upto a school in Shorewood which is about 20-25 minutes north by Joliet. He is becoming more talkative and seems to be settling in here!

Denise (Didi) is loving their new playrom. Each day, she begs me for "school stuff" which is a collection of educational toys I have to work on letters, numbers, shapes, colors, patterns, reading and math. She continues to astound me by sounding out simple words and being able to read them. She is way to smart for her own good sometimes, especially since having a verbal child is a new experience for us. She started a once a week preschool program at the preschool and loves it! We are comtemplating putting her in each morning so I can help out at the office until we need full time help.

Genevieve (Evie) is now 9 months old and is growing like a weed. She is beginning another growth spurt and it concerns me since she is in 18 month clothes and I am not ready to have a 9-10 month old in 24 month clothes! She is still ahead of both of the other 2 kids on the growth charts and I just hope she has a great jumpshot! Tooth number 4 broke through this weekend, which I am thankful for. She wants to eat solid food, but has had to gum it to death.

John's practice continues to grow and we are now providers for Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Illinois which is the largest provider in this area. Our biggest problem is that he keeps healing everyone and then they move to wellness care which is less frequent. However, this is a major plus in the long run since referral-based advertising is the best advertising, but the slowest!! Shortly, we will also be having our first Radio ad run!

Now that the house is all unpacked, I have restarted my crazy job of moving wearing many hats! (Motherhood, Home Maker, Office Manager, Bookkeeper, Craft Lady, Chef, and Taxi Driver!) Life is busy, but we love being back up north and in the Chicago area. We went camping this weekend (just one night since the kids had never been camping before), and then decided to go to the Field Museum in Chicago. The kids loved it and we even stopped bya nd saw Aunt Lulu for a few minutes. She lives north of the museum, since Northwestern Law School is right there on Lake Shore Drive. The kids loved it all and even got to help daddy row a boat and see a dinosaur! However we had to laugh when Didi told us that every skeleton (even the Walrus, Donkey and Snake ones) was a dinosaur!

Hopefully the computer issues will all settle down and I will be able to get our latest pictures up for all to see!

OK everyone! I stink at blogging! Evie is now 5 months and is helping me type this message. She rolls everywhere and one of these days I need to have her weighed. She is growing out of her 9 month clothes already! Didi now knows all of her letters and the sounds most of them make. If I make the phonetic sound, she can spell out simple words! She never ceases to amaze us all! Matt just finished his regular school year and will head back for summer session on June 2nd. He completed several of his goals and will start on new ones this fall in Kindergarten! He too can spell out familiar words and surprised his teachers when he spelled out "teamwork" on 2 separate occasions on Wednesday! Meanwhile, John is in Chicago! We are heading home to the burbs of Chicago where John is going to start a practice. He should have his licence around June 5th and hopes to have all the equipment ready to go in the office location at that time. We are actually heading to Braidwood, IL which is where John graduated from High School and spent time there before his mission. He is already working on our website (www.bigjohngentlehands.com) and will open Gentle Hands Chiropractic sometime after his licence clears. I will let everyone know when the website is up an running. We will also have pics of the office and Big John hard at work! I am just maintaining the home and prepping it for sale sometime this summer. John will remain in Braidwood for the next few months and once everything is prepared, we will move the rest of the family up there! We are looking forward to being close by friends and my sister who will be downtown Chicago this fall for Law School. All our love! Mandi
ps-I will try to get some new pics up once John comes back with my camera!

Easter Egg Hunt

Last Saturday, Aunt Lulu came to visit. First stop of the morning was the Hare in the Air event at Logan College of Chiropratic. They had a petting zoo, fire trucks to check out, Easter Egg Hunts, and the Easter Bunny arrives in the Channel 5 Helicopter. Didi loved the animals, but Matt was unsure of them. Didi and Matt loved the Egg Hunts, and Matt even got to have a "special" friend help him hunt. Didi did a nose dive on the sidewalk, but was still chomping at the bit to get out there on the hunt. We all took a picture with the Easter Bunny--even though Mommy had to sit next to him and let everyone else sit on her lap! And, of course, Evie slept through it all!! The innocence of children never ceases to amaze me and helps me to love and cherish their little lives. Enjoy Easter everyone!

New to blogging

OK - so I am now officially a blogger. Everyone begged me to get on to Facebook and I did that and now everyone is asking for me to blog. Apparently, we have funny stories on a daily basis from my kids and so those of you who have asked for a blog of these stories, this is for you!

Evie is growing like a weed. She is officially 3 months old. At her 2 month check up she was 15 lbs and 14 oz and 25 3/4 inches long. She is bigger than either Matt or Didi were at her age. She is in 6-9 months clothes and size 2 shoes!

Didi is learning so much. She knows her numbers, shapes, letters and colors. She is almost perfect on green, but still wants to call it yellow. When Uncle Travis visited, he videoed her saying orange, which she pronounces "orgy." He is going to put it up on YouTube. Soon, we are going to start potty training. She is a wonderful sister to Matt and understands his differences and loves to pretend with her baby as I take care of Evie.

Matt is now 5 1/2 years old and is in his 3rd year at Clarkson Valley Special Education Preschool. He loves to color and "read" books. He has several memorized and his favorites are "Bubbles, Bubbles," "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb," and "There's a Moster at the End of This Book." He is a very good big brother and now is officialy Potty Trained! YEAH!!

We are currently living in St. Louis while John finishes up his Masters in Sports Therapy and Rehab. He obtained his Doctor's of Chiropractic in December. We are looking at John teaching school while we build his chiropractic business on the side. If all goes well, we will only need to teach for one year and then we'll get a clinic setup shortly after that.