We have been settling into our new life in Iowa quite well. We are reminded almost daily of why we chose to make this big move back to rediscover our roots. Thunderstorms, sitting on our front porch swing, lightning bugs, crickets & cicadas singing to us, neighbors who would give you the shirt off their back and are happy to drink Miller Lite...the list goes on.
I am way behind on posting updates, so I thought I'd go for a "snapshot smorgasbord" approach for a little catch up.
Here goes:
Isaac and Mama on Drake's campus, while Daddy gets his new office keys.
Our first Farmers Market bounty.
Isaac loves sweet corn.
Isaac gets a postcard from our sweet Juneau neighbor boy, Henry.
We drove to Michigan to see Brian's 102 year old grandmother and celebrate his aunt's 75th birthday. Isaac likes to play piano.
We are getting acquainted with the great parks Des Moines has to offer. No swinging is complete without a mountain lion in tow.
We went to the Iowa State Fair and Isaac got to be a "farmer" for a half-hour.
I ate bacon wrapped rib and Brian ate a corn dog. Comments about the corn dog are not welcome. 😉
Our neighbors gave us an old swing set from their yard.
Isaac and mama love to play in the back yard together. Sunshine! Do you see the sunshine?
Guess who is the most excited to be at the Drake women's volleyball game!
Isaac was surprisingly calm during the game and sat in our laps the whole time. Mesmerizing for both boys, clearly.
Isaac turned 15 months!
Brian and I got a date night when Grandma and Grandpa visited. We ate beef tongue for an appetizer and it was surprisingly delicious. The date was spectacular. I almost got teary-eyed with the waiter it was so nice.
Isaac loves, loves, loves his G&G and they clearly love him! Play time, snuggles and books galore!
Isaac snapped his first selfie.
We went to Ledges State Park for some time in nature. We went with some new friends who also work at Drake, also have a baby, and also live in our neighborhood. Fun stuff!
Isaac loves to explore our backyard, especially to smell the flowers.
Not pictured here is the YMCA where Isaac and I go almost daily for exercise and childcare room time. Brian already has a running buddy. He loves his new job and from my view is much lighter.
Also not pictured is our ongoing house-hunt. New territory for us to actually have a lot of options and factors to consider, unlike Juneau.
Also not pictured is Isaac's first ER visit after a drum stick (like, to bang on a drum) made its way up into the roof of his mouth. Terrifying, horrifying blood flowed out of his mouth and nose and we rushed him off immediately. It was terrifying. As it turns out, in the ER world, it was about equivalent to a paper cut. In our world, it felt like a gunshot wound. Thankfully, Isaac is all healed up, and Brian and I are wiser for it. I wish they would have prescribed the mama some Valium. Did I mention it was terrifying?
I think this about sums up our first month in Des Moines! More to come later, including road trip pics from the big move.
