My Girls

Get ready for picture overload. Here are all the pictures of the girls over the last month. Abby still can't keep her hands off Katie. She's constantly waking her up, kissing her and injuring her. We still can't keep clothes on Abby either. I'm sure you will see what I mean in all these pictures.

I love this look! A little confused cross-eyed baby!
Abby must have a picture taken of her any time Katie gets one. She sure loves her corndogs!

Once again, Abby tucked monkey and her blanket around Katie.

Abby is rocking Katie's swing with her foot while watching Mickey Mouse.

Katie has this little smile/smirk on her face all the time. I love it! I still haven't been able to get a picture of her huge grins with her dimples but I'll post it as soon as I do!

Katie is focusing on items in front of her and yesterday she was kicking her feet in the air to hit the hanging toys. What a smart girl!

She loves tummy time! I love this big head picture!

We pulled the bumbo out this week and Katie loves it. Abby has to be by her anytime she is in it.

Katie is smiling while Abby puts stickers on her.

I just can't get enough of these girls!

House Hunting Trip

We went to New York from August 13 - 20 to look for a house. We had a wonderful Real Estate Agent named Gail Macaioni who devoted her entire week to us. We came with a list of houses to look at but unfortunately half of them were already pending by the time we got there. There is a company bringing in 4,500 employees and the first wave just started so they have been snatching up houses left and right. Needless to say, the first few days were horrible! We thought we wouldn't find anything. On Thursday we looked at two houses for a second time and decided one was right for us. It's in Clifton Park, New York and is conveniently located near shopping, schools, restaurants, 15 minutes from John's work, 15 minutes from John's parents and has jogging/biking trails. We made an offer that day and as of today we close on September 30th. We met John's new boss and co-workers on Wednesday and they were so nice. John feels like he will love his new job and the people he will work with.

It has finally become a reality for us that we are moving. Our house here in Texas closes on September 26th. We have another wonderful Real Estate Agent here, Chrissy Caputo, who got our house on the market fast. We received an offer within a week of having it on the market. Our house is being packed up on September 22nd and hopefully delivered to our new house in New York on September 30th.

State Farm has treated us very well with this move. They move us completely and ship our cars. They pay all closing costs on the house and give us bonuses for the move. We have been so blessed to get this job and everything has just fallen into place so perfectly that it's hard to not recognize God's hand in all of it. We are getting very excited for this new step in our lives. I'm just so sad we can't move all our friends to New York with us!

On Friday evening we went up to Denise and Alan's vacation spot where John and Abby went out on the kayak. I went out as well and it was my first time in a kayak. It was so fun! We will have to do that again some time. Here is a picture of John and Abby and a video of them down below. The footage is a little shaky at first because I was still walking but it levels out halfway through.

Smile while you Roll!

On July 29th, Katie smiled at me for the first time! She had the biggest grin for me. It is so beautiful and makes me feel so glad to be a mother. Today she was a very happy girl and kept smiling at me. It was such a good day. Katie also rolled over for the first time! She went from her tummy to her back. I put her on her tummy again to make sure it wasn't a fluke incident and sure enough Katie tucked her left arm next to her and rolled right over. What a little smarty pants! She also slept through the night 2 nights ago. She slept from 10pm to 5:30am. Last night she slept from 10pm to 6:20am. I am so happy! She has this sleeping thing down.

Abby was so fun to be with today. We played Ring Around the Rosy with Abby holding one of my hands and one of Katies. She thought that was the best. As long as I include her and give her some of my time while I'm trying to keep Katie happy (AKA holding her), she is so happy and sweet. I'm still learning how to do this Mother thing with two kids and thankfully the Lord keeps showing me the way.

VanDerwerken Update

Here are just a few more pictures from my mom's trip to Austin.

Katie hanging out in the morning.

Wherever Katie goes, Abby goes too. Tummy time together while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Katie loves to be swaddled at night. She now will sleep for 5 hours, wake up, eat, go right back to sleep and stay asleep for another 4 hours. It's wonderful only having to get up once a night now and she has accomplished this at only 6 weeks!

Abby is constantly wanting to hold Katie. They snuggle lots!
Unfortunately, Abby has also decided that Katie is a toy. Yesterday she learned that while Katie is doing tummy time, that is a good time to jump over her. Needless to say, we have punished her multiple times but it doesn't seem to be working. Explaining to her that she can't do that and that she can hurt Katie doesn't work. Time out doesn't work. Spanking doesn't work. I don't know what I am going to do with that girl. Abby has been throwing tantrums anytime she doesn't get her way. She used to be so rational and I could reason with her but now I just let her throw her tantrums because there's nothing I can do to make her stop. I refuse to cave in and give her what she wants every time. I hope this is just part of the terrible twos and this will phase out soon enough.

On a different note, our house is on the market! It feels like it has taken forever but now that it's on the market, it is so hard to keep clean/perfect all day. It's amazing that while doing two dishes, Abby will climb onto the bathroom sink and get toothpaste or fingerprints all over the mirror. The cleaning is never ending. Pray that the house sells soon! While trying to sell we have been searching for houses in New York online. It has been hard because we aren't sure where we want to live and most houses aren't what we want. We feel that we will know what to do after visiting New York and we know the Lord will direct us to where we are supposed to be.

I would like to end on a happy note. I feel like I have been hard on Abby in this post. I do love her so much but I guess this is just a hard age, with a new member in the family, while trying to move. I love my family so much and I'm so thankful for each one of them.

John works so hard to provide for us. He is the one who always reminds us to read scriptures and shows Abby pictures of Jesus. He puts Abby to bed every night and reads her stories. I love how he worries about me and wants to make sure I am happy and surprises me with gifts (he got me a breadmaker and Kitchen Aid this weekend). He is such a good man and I know I am too hard on him sometimes.

Abigail is such a joy. She has the sweetest laugh and gives the best kisses and hugs. She loves me so much and wants to be with me all the time. She gives Daddy kisses and hugs every morning and runs to him when he gets home from work. She wants to help me with chores and does the sweetest things unexpectedly. She makes new friends instantly and is so daring.

Kathleen is adjusting to our crazy family so well. She is so good and is already on such a great schedule. I love that she wants to be a part of whats going on already and wants to interact with us. When she looks at me I have such enormous feelings of love for her and my family. She reminds me that my Heavenly Father loves me and is mindful of me.

I love my life and all the people who I have been blessed to have in my life.

We Are Moving To New York!

John interviewed for a Team Manager Position in Ballston Spa, New York with State Farm about 2 months ago. After hearing nothing for many weeks, John got a call on July 6th telling him he got the position! He starts October 3rd so we leave on Saturday for a house hunting trip for a week. We are very excited for this new opportunity for John's career and for the chance to live near family. Here is my list of pros and cons about this move.

Pros:

• Live near Family


• Promotion!!


• Do Church Historical Stuff


• Do US Historical Stuff


• Visit NYC lots!


• Visit Boston and other major East Coast cities!

Cons:

• Snow


• Lots of Snow


• Leaving all our wonderful friends here in Austin


• Leaving our subdivision with pools, tennis courts, new houses, awesome amenities (NY doesn't have these)


• Leaving the weather


• Houses cost more in New York

We have been spending lots of time looking for houses and our list of houses we like is pretty small. We know we will find the right one in the right location because we know this move is the right choice for our family. We look forward to making new memories and growing as a family in our new home. We are going to miss all our amazing friends who have been our family these past 4 years and hope to still have the chance to see them and continue our relationship with them. Austin, we love you and will miss you dearly.