We made it back to Washington! Nora and I arrived July 1st and Phil drove in July 4th just in time to celebrate with us. We spent just under a week at my good friend Becky's house, frantically waiting to close on our house. And after just a couple bumps in the road, we were able to move in July 7th (without our household good, of course. Those came 3 days later). Now finally, we are getting to the bottom of the piles of boxes, and I am able to take a breath and look around.
Wow. How lucky we are! Someday soon I will start posting pics (once I find the usb cable for the camera). The house is everything we need. Location, yard, and just enough space. There are so many little things we plan to do to make it really really work for our family, but we are fortunate enough to not HAVE to really do anything right away.
This weekend we will be taking a break from setting up the house and traveling down south for Camas days with my family. Grandma and Grandpa Reale will follow us home to get a look at the new house and help with some projects. It should be a WONDERFUL weekend.
Phil will go back to work the following week, and Nora and I have already found a Mom's group to hang out with! We are settling in nicely and can't wait to really start enjoying our surroundings!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
On the move again...
Well it is down to our last week in Missouri! Nora and I will be on our way July 1st and Phil will follow us up the next day. Hopefully we will all be able to meet up for the Fourth of July celebration on Ft. Lewis.
Our trip Memorial Day weekend was an outstanding success! My friend Becky took excellent care of all three of us, and we were able to go through the house with the inspector and on our own later as well. We are completely in love with it and so excited to spend the next chapter of our lives there.
In other news, as it turns out Phil won't be attending Sapper school this go around. After going through all the PT testing and medical checks, he finds himself in need of physical therapy for some hip issues. It isn't anything super serious; however, it will limit his ability to become the PT stud he wants to be. It is a big bummer for Phil, but we are so happy to have our family all settling into the new house together.
As always, we welcome house guests! We should have a guest room ready for visitors by the middle of August. So plan your trips our way! We would love to have you!
Our trip Memorial Day weekend was an outstanding success! My friend Becky took excellent care of all three of us, and we were able to go through the house with the inspector and on our own later as well. We are completely in love with it and so excited to spend the next chapter of our lives there.
In other news, as it turns out Phil won't be attending Sapper school this go around. After going through all the PT testing and medical checks, he finds himself in need of physical therapy for some hip issues. It isn't anything super serious; however, it will limit his ability to become the PT stud he wants to be. It is a big bummer for Phil, but we are so happy to have our family all settling into the new house together.
As always, we welcome house guests! We should have a guest room ready for visitors by the middle of August. So plan your trips our way! We would love to have you!
Friday, May 15, 2009
So many changes, so very fast!
First, we received orders to Fort Riley, KS. That news was upsetting to us for many reasons, primary the medical care available for Nora and I is unacceptable in that area. Second, we found out our orders were being changed to Fort Lewis, WA (our first choice!). As it turned out the unit in KS that Phil was supposed to go to was a new unit and the Army decided not to create it. Thankfully that meant we HAD to go somewhere else and we were at the top of the list for new assignments.
Our next big change, once we found out we were heading back to Lewis, was where we were going to live and when we would arrive there. We decided to purchase a home in Dupont, WA- a wonderful little community right next to Fort Lewis.
We had planned not to move until the end of them summer and spend sometime in July house hunting; however, we found a home that met all our needs about 2 weeks ago and put in an offer. We fly out to go through the home with the inspector next weekend!!! It has been an extremely stressful but exciting adventure for us, especially considering we still haven't seen the home in person.
If all goes as planned, we will close on the house July 15. We will move out of our house here in MO June 30, and Nora and I will be at Grandma and Grandpa Reale's house for the first 2 weeks in July (a trip that was planned before all these changes, things really do work out for the best!). Phil will be attending Sapper School here in MO until the end of July and will join us in August, leave the setting up of our new home to me and Nora :)
It is amazing how things turn out, and how flexible we have to be in the Army. Nothing seems to be for certain until it is happening and even then it could change! No one could have convinced me that getting Fort Riley would have been a blessing that put us exactly where we wanted to be, but that is just what it turned out to be!
We have to constantly remind ourselves that our "bad luck" might turn out to be "good luck" if we just wait long enough.
Our next big change, once we found out we were heading back to Lewis, was where we were going to live and when we would arrive there. We decided to purchase a home in Dupont, WA- a wonderful little community right next to Fort Lewis.
We had planned not to move until the end of them summer and spend sometime in July house hunting; however, we found a home that met all our needs about 2 weeks ago and put in an offer. We fly out to go through the home with the inspector next weekend!!! It has been an extremely stressful but exciting adventure for us, especially considering we still haven't seen the home in person.
If all goes as planned, we will close on the house July 15. We will move out of our house here in MO June 30, and Nora and I will be at Grandma and Grandpa Reale's house for the first 2 weeks in July (a trip that was planned before all these changes, things really do work out for the best!). Phil will be attending Sapper School here in MO until the end of July and will join us in August, leave the setting up of our new home to me and Nora :)
It is amazing how things turn out, and how flexible we have to be in the Army. Nothing seems to be for certain until it is happening and even then it could change! No one could have convinced me that getting Fort Riley would have been a blessing that put us exactly where we wanted to be, but that is just what it turned out to be!
We have to constantly remind ourselves that our "bad luck" might turn out to be "good luck" if we just wait long enough.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Family Outings
Now that the weather is nicer and Nora is a bit easier to pack up, we are trying to take one day out of every weekend for a family outing. Sometimes that means the necessary shopping we need to do, but I am hoping more and more that means fun stuff! This weekend we are taking advantage of an activity already planned for us.
As some of you know, we are participating in the March of Dimes March for Babies fundraising event this year. We feel we were so lucky to have the care and information that was available to us when Nora was born. The March of Dimes supports so much research that helped Nora (and me) in the hospital last year. Well, this weekend they are hosting a Family Fun Day at the Butterfly House in St. Louis. We are so excited to get out and meet other parents of preemies and enjoy the Butterfly House.
The March for Babies is an event that is so important to me. I hope someday to have the time to offer more to this wonderful organization. There are no words to describe how difficult Nora's first few months were because of her prematurity. If the research they do can prevent one family from going through that, it is worth it to me. Nora will have forever lasting effects due to her prematurity, but because of the constant research in preemie care done by the March of Dimes and other organizations, those effects are far less than they could have been.
If you want to sponser Nora's Team or Walk with us please please do! The website to donate or sign up is: http://www.marchforbabies.org/norabear
As some of you know, we are participating in the March of Dimes March for Babies fundraising event this year. We feel we were so lucky to have the care and information that was available to us when Nora was born. The March of Dimes supports so much research that helped Nora (and me) in the hospital last year. Well, this weekend they are hosting a Family Fun Day at the Butterfly House in St. Louis. We are so excited to get out and meet other parents of preemies and enjoy the Butterfly House.
The March for Babies is an event that is so important to me. I hope someday to have the time to offer more to this wonderful organization. There are no words to describe how difficult Nora's first few months were because of her prematurity. If the research they do can prevent one family from going through that, it is worth it to me. Nora will have forever lasting effects due to her prematurity, but because of the constant research in preemie care done by the March of Dimes and other organizations, those effects are far less than they could have been.
If you want to sponser Nora's Team or Walk with us please please do! The website to donate or sign up is: http://www.marchforbabies.org/
Friday, January 30, 2009
movin' and grovin'
Nora is movin' and grovin'! Now choosing to walk instead of crawl pretty much all the time, she is tough to keep up with. She dislikes pretty much everything that keeps her from exploring everything in sight. We have started to go to playgroup and will be adding even more to our schedule in the coming weeks.
Phil is keeping busy in the Captain's Career Course. PT and class everyday, plus he took on the responsibility of being team leader for his small group. I think it was a bit of an adjustment for him to go back to shaving everyday and putting on his uniform, but he is enjoying most of his classes and the people he is working with.
I am trying to get the wives in his team together for regular lunches and other outings over the next few months that we are here. Of course, the bulk of my days are filled with chasing, dancing, singing, reading, and playing with Nora.
Phil is keeping busy in the Captain's Career Course. PT and class everyday, plus he took on the responsibility of being team leader for his small group. I think it was a bit of an adjustment for him to go back to shaving everyday and putting on his uniform, but he is enjoying most of his classes and the people he is working with.
I am trying to get the wives in his team together for regular lunches and other outings over the next few months that we are here. Of course, the bulk of my days are filled with chasing, dancing, singing, reading, and playing with Nora.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Into EVERYTHING!
Nora is officially walking.
Actually I am not really sure what the rest of the world counts as official walking, but she can now make it across our living room (the long way) without assitance. She is pulling herself up and letting go and walking short distances from piece of furniture to piece of furniture. It is AMAZING! She has also figured out how to climb up the stairs, so we are on a hunt for a good baby gate. It is so much fun to watch our little girl discover and explore the world. Of course the drawback to all of this is that she is into everything! Maybe chasing her around all day will help me lose the last of the "baby weight".
Other than the occasional bump on the head (for Nora) we are all doing great! Phil is finishing up the first half of his Masters Degree this week and will be starting the second half in January. We had a wonderful (but very busy) trip to the Northwest for Thanksgiving and will be heading back that direction the first of January for a quick holiday trip before Phil starts back at school. I am keeping busy chasing Nora and starting some new projects around the house.
Actually I am not really sure what the rest of the world counts as official walking, but she can now make it across our living room (the long way) without assitance. She is pulling herself up and letting go and walking short distances from piece of furniture to piece of furniture. It is AMAZING! She has also figured out how to climb up the stairs, so we are on a hunt for a good baby gate. It is so much fun to watch our little girl discover and explore the world. Of course the drawback to all of this is that she is into everything! Maybe chasing her around all day will help me lose the last of the "baby weight".
Other than the occasional bump on the head (for Nora) we are all doing great! Phil is finishing up the first half of his Masters Degree this week and will be starting the second half in January. We had a wonderful (but very busy) trip to the Northwest for Thanksgiving and will be heading back that direction the first of January for a quick holiday trip before Phil starts back at school. I am keeping busy chasing Nora and starting some new projects around the house.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Busy busy Ambrose's!
All of the sudden it seems we have become a jet-setting travel family! We have 2 last minute trips over the next 2 weeks and then more travel planned in December and January. It is a busy time in the Ambrose household.
Phil is still plugging away happily at school, and Nora and I are plugging away happily at home. We are still battling suspected and confirmed food allergies with Nora. It seems every other thing we give her causes some kind of reaction, so we are taking things VERY slow.
Nora is movin and grovin even more. Desperate to walk, she climbs on EVERYTHING and cruises all of the house. We have even got a few independent steps out of her before she cautiously sits down on the floor. It won't be long before she is walking on her own-it feels like just yesterday we were watching her struggle to breath in an incubator. Time really does move quickly with a little baby!
If there are any tips out there for flying with a little one-I WOULD LOVE to hear them! Hope this finds everyone well :)
Phil is still plugging away happily at school, and Nora and I are plugging away happily at home. We are still battling suspected and confirmed food allergies with Nora. It seems every other thing we give her causes some kind of reaction, so we are taking things VERY slow.
Nora is movin and grovin even more. Desperate to walk, she climbs on EVERYTHING and cruises all of the house. We have even got a few independent steps out of her before she cautiously sits down on the floor. It won't be long before she is walking on her own-it feels like just yesterday we were watching her struggle to breath in an incubator. Time really does move quickly with a little baby!
If there are any tips out there for flying with a little one-I WOULD LOVE to hear them! Hope this finds everyone well :)
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