Lots of "NEW" for the stotts fam...

... but where to start?  First, I apologize that we've had "sick bugs" as our latest post for so long - what a sad thing to look at?  Second, I'm sorry that this post got to be so long!  I did my best to summarize!  :-}

So I guess I'll go in order of happenings...

Sept 21 -- Ultrasound to find out we're having Boy #3!!  Please don't mis-read this as "three boys"... only one baby in the baker... whew!  We're very excited!  Roman has offered a few suggestions for names -- Isaac (think he's seen Gma Susan's "Bible on DVD" a lot lately!), and his newest pick, "Tree".  Oddly enough, he's been pretty consistent with this suggestion... trusting he will be happy with something different by the time Baby Boy arrives.

Estimated date of arrival... February 16!  

Sept 29 -- Closed on our new house in Ames!  Exciting day - went down without a hitch! Started right in with cleaning, followed by a weekend of painting... oh joy!  Had lots of help from Mom & Dad Yutzy, Jess and Justine & Lane - didn't originally plan to paint as much as we did but felt the fresh-paint-feel was nice!!  Glad that we went ahead and did it all before moving in!  We have some before/after pics ... will include in a different post... 

October 3 -- This started the week of moving.  Jake became a minivan man for the week - loading up the van in Ankeny each night with boxes/things that he could drop off at the new place in Ames en route to work in Boone!  He and co-worker Brian also made two trips with Brian's truck and trailer... taking as much of our "big stuff" as possible... so by Wednesday night, we were sleeping on an air mattress, and both boys were sleeping in beds that would be left behind or handed down to someone else.  It seemed like every morning, Roman would come downstairs and ask where something was (ie. bookshelf, dresser, couch) and I would reply with "at the new house, buddy!"  By the end of the week, Roman was adamant that he didn't like the old house anymore and wanted to sleep at the new house - so thankful he was leaning that way and not the other!  Continued with more cleaning throughout the week - great help from Mom Stotts, so that we could officially move in that weekend!

at the old house... the kitchen table was moved on Tuesday night,
so it was picnic fun all week long for us!

October 8 -- Our official "move in day"!  Started with a three mini-van caravan (FULL minivans driven by Dustin, Mom & Dad Yutzy, and me!) to Ames, followed by LOTS of unpacking and organizing!  It's amazing how many boxes one little family can fill --I think I was overwhelmed and amazed and shocked at how much "stuff" we had!  Definitely blessed in this life, we are.  Roman & Josiah got to spend the day at the Coy farm - Roman woke up talking about the chickens he would get to see at Dawn's that day!  :-)  We were blessed with lunch provided by Sonya and then dinner provided by the Delagardelle's -- so everyone was well-fed and able to work into the wee hours.  I won't say what time we finally went to bed -- but Roman & Josiah must have known, because they both slept in the next day... happy in their new (to them) beds... I was the first one up (actually out of bed) at 10:00 to get coffee going!  whew!

October 10 -- Jake drove to work for the first time from Ames to Boone... took him 15 minutes, I think?  This is a great switch from the usual 40-minute drive from Ankeny... ahhhh... and so it begins...

October 12 -- Almost debated whether this deserved it's own post... Roman is wearing big boy undies!  woo hoo!  I am a happy mama, on many levels!  He's doing great - only a few accidents since last Thursday, so I feel like we're in the homestretch here!  and little bro is very interested in what Roman's doing, too - says "potty" and "dirty" (sometimes at the right time), so we may be trying to double-up on this excitement/ learning time and go for a two-fer!!  (will let you know how that one turns out!)  ;-)  It's amazing how quickly Roman picked up on it, once he got started... and other things that he is sometimes doing now that he's declaring himself as a big boy (ie. randomly doesn't wear shirts at naptime because he's a big boy, doesn't always read books before bed because he's a big boy, etc.)  So he's taking this one and going with it!

Almost posted a pic of Ro in his undies but opted not...
thought this pic of him wearing some BIG SHOES was just as fitting!

Josiah has been just as excited about potty training - has actually gone twice in the
potty in the midst of us asking "do you have to go potty?" 

 October 13 -- Met with a couple that we know from Central, signed a 6-month rent-to-own agreement for our house in Ankeny! (They may rent for one or two 6-month chunks, then buy at 1 yr!)  They are a great family - have two boys (1-y/o and 3-y/o) so we can totally see them loving the house and fitting right in!

October 15 -- Boys rented a boom (sp?) and trimmed a giant tree in the front yard (Jake, Brian and Ross), started taking down clothesline, and then cleaned up. Britt and I hung some pics in this house, planned where other pics would be hung up soon, and supervised the cousins having a good time together!  (Since Saturday, Josiah has shouted "ADA" at nearly every baby that we've seen -- at church, Wal-Mart, wherever!)
  
 




After typing this post, feeling very blessed ... God is good!