Union Pacific:: Here we come Omaha!

Let me just tell you about my amazing husband.

After we got married in 2008, Leigh and I lived in Provo for 4 months so I could graduate from BYU. We moved back to Eugene so Leigh could pursue his undergrad degree at University of Oregon. He was going going to the community college there and then transferring to Oregon. After moving to Eugene Leigh decided he wanted to do Business and we joked around how it was too bad we hadn't stayed in Provo. We were walking to an Oregon baseball game in the Spring of 2010 and we seriously talked about Leigh transferring to BYU and us moving to Provo again. We decided to do it. We spent hours researching about being a transfer student, how many credits would transfer, and how much longer he would have before graduating. The funny thing is that we found out he would graduate sooner if we moved to Provo than if we stayed in Eugene AND save money on tuition. Leigh applied and got in, which is no small feat. BYU is a difficult school to get in to, especially as a transfer student from a random community college in Oregon. He not only got in to BYU as a transfer student, but after one semester as a full time student he applied to the Marriott Business School and also got in (we found this great news out shortly after the girls were born). BYU's Business School is #5 in the nation and #1 in placement. Very competitive to get in and provides an exceptional education.  

In September 2011, Leigh went to the BYU Career Fair in hopes of getting some leads on summer internships. I helped him by making a list of potential companies to talk to that were going to be there. He talked to Union Pacific (you know the Railroad company, which by the way is a Fortune 150 company), but sadly they did not have summer internships for finance students. Leigh was bummed because he really enjoyed talking to the recruiters and loved the company. I remember him coming home and telling me all about it. He left them with his resume and hoped he would have a chance to apply for a job there the following year.

This past July one of the recruiters contacted Leigh and had held onto his resume. Leigh was so excited and his desire to get a job there grew. He kept in contact with the recruiter, went to the information sessions, and got a first interview. His first interview was the day the girls and I went to visit my parents in Iowa. My parents were very excited about the potential opportunity at UP because the job would be in Omaha and they had just moved back to Iowa. His first interview went really well and he was invited to a dinner that night--which meant he was one of the top candidates for second interviews. Leigh got the call the following week that he would be flying out to Omaha for a second interview (1 of 3 people that were given this offer). On November 5 Leigh flew to Omaha and was treated with a yummy dinner. He went to bed that night and realized he was sick--and losing his voice. He woke up the next morning with almost no voice and he was devastated. His interviews were all day, 8 hours, with 15 different people. 15 interviews!! He made it through all of them and did his best, but he didn't think he would get an offer. Leigh REALLY wanted this job, I have rarely seen him as excited as he was when talking about working there. On November 13 Leigh got a call while he was at school and was offered not one, but two jobs to choose from at UP. He was SO excited. We all were. He accepted the financial analyst job and will be starting work on June 3, 2013.We will be moving in May after Leigh graduates to Omaha, Nebraska. We will be about 45 minutes from my grandma, aunt, and cousins. And we will be about 2 1/2 hours from my parents. We are excited to live in Omaha--which a lot of people might not be, but we think it will be a fabulous place to raise our children and live. 

I'm so proud of the hard work my husband has put into his schooling. We have both sacrificed a lot to have him finish school here at BYU. He has been able to balance school, a wife, and two babies, now toddlers. He was going to school when the girls were born and was able to hold it together while studying, taking tests, trying to understand a hormonal wife, and having two tiny daughters in the NICU. How amazing is that? If he had not made the decision to apply to BYU we would not be going to Omaha, Leigh would actually still be in school. We are so excited to start this new chapter in our lives and know that it is going to be a great one. 

Family Pictures

 In November we got family pictures and they are awesome. We have the BEST photographer and are going to miss her when we move to Omaha: did I mention we are moving to Omaha? That is another post coming. http://victoriabainesharris.com/:: check her out! She took the girls' 1 year photos too. She was my roommate in college and is just awesome. 

 Lyla was all excited the entire session and gave great expressions!

 Kendal was a little more shy, but we still got fabulous pictures of her.

 my favorites: above and below

 I am amazed that Victoria was able to get the fabulous picture above, because I felt like I looked like below the entire time Lyla was on my shoulders--she just kept playing with my hair: silly girl!

true love.

Thanksgiving

 For Thanksgiving this year we got to spend over a week in Oregon. It was so much fun to hang out with family. We even got to spend an evening up in Portland with friends from college and have all 5 of our girls play together, so much fun to get together. And thank you HolliJo and Kevin for letting us stay at your beautiful home! The girls loved all the attention during the trip, of course. It is so much fun to see the girls grow and interact more with their cousins. They absolutely loved playing with all their cousins, I just wish we saw them more often!

 Preston is quite the piano player and he was showing Lyla how to play

 We spent a few days at the Oregon Coast in a big house that fit all of us and it was tons of fun. Our last day we went and checked out some things on the Coast.

 The girls loved walking (or running) down the paths.

 

 Kendal and Lyla are well loved.

 It is SOOO green there--sometimes I forget how green.

See those tiny people down there? They are the Hall's and they are crazy :). They went down there and the water almost got them! The water would have these little waves and then all of a sudden this huge crash of a wave. 

We were sad to leave and had a miserable plan ride back. You know that flight you were on that one time with the screaming child the whole time? Yeah, that was us....times 2. We got lots of people giving us "sucks to be you" and "I'm so glad I'm not you" looks. We lucked out that no one got angry or annoyed enough to say anything to us. And yes, I was prepared with a speech to give them if they did. :) Needless to say, we are hoping our next flight goes much better.

Polar Express Night!

 As the girls get older I am excited to do more and more family traditions around Christmas time. This year we started a Polar Express Movie Night. The girls (and Leigh) had never seen Polar Express, and I LOVE it. Next year I want to get the book and read it the night before too.

 The girls loved sitting in their chairs (for a few minutes off and on) with the lights off watching a movie.

We had our Polar Express snack for the girls (thank you pinterest!)

And hot chocolate for the grown ups! :)

18 months

 Kendal and Lyla are 18 months old (well almost 19 months)! They bring such joy into our lives and cause us to laugh hourly. We are so blessed to have them in our family and I am so grateful that I get to be their mom. 

The girls are learning new things quicker than I can write them down. We took them to the doctor last week and they had me fill out a questionnaire about their development. It was fun to fill it out and realize how much they really can do. They are pretty much with their actual age now, except maybe on communication, but that was the one area I thought might take longer for them to catch up. Although, they are communicating more and more each day with new words and cute gestures.

 Kendal Mae...

Weight: 23 lbs 4 oz. (55%!)

Height: 31.5 inches (32.5%)

-still loves her binkie, and I give into it--oops!

-is extremely active and has the cutest run

-LOVES chicken nuggets, string cheese, crackers of any sort, chocolate, ice cream, broccoli, oranges, oatmeal, yogurt, hot dogs, lunchmeat, ham, eggs--pretty much everything

-climbs into her chair when she is hungry

-climbs onto the kitchen table, end tables, entertainment center, our bed

-is really good at throwing a ball

-loves to yell Lyla's name

-has started answering no to every question I ask (ALREADY?!)

-words: Lyla, tree, baby, cracker, thank you, please, doggy, no, uh oh, whoa

 

Lyla Jane... (don't you just love that face?)

Weight: 21 lbs. 14 oz. (36%)

Height: 29.75 inches (2.5%)

-is very petite, hence the 2.5% for height. Yeah, Leigh and I were not meant to make tall children

-has THE best dance moves

-sings/dances to anything with a beat

-LOVES string cheese, milk, juice, crackers, fruit/veggies sometimes, oatmeal, applesauce, ham, lunchmeat, hot dogs, yogurt, granola bars, ice cream, chocolate--she seems to be kind of picky and just doesn't eat a lot of food in general

-randomly says 1, 2, 3 and uh oh A LOT

-will say 1,2,3 and then throw a ball or jump off something

-words: one, two, three, four, Lyla, baby, thank you, thanks, doggy, uh oh, whoa

-hates going to nursery at church

-makes the cutest facial expressions

-still has a language of her own that we can't quite figure out, but she tells the longest stories with laughs and facial expressions

 

Kendal & Lyla...

-love to play with one another (most of the time)

-LOVE to go outside or be somewhere they can just run

-push our double umbrella stroller together

-LOVE bathtime with daddy

-favorite show: Sesame Street

-love when I count to three and throw a ball for them to go get

-love making messes together

-give each other hugs and kisses

-LOVE playing with: babies, balls, blocks, big legos, books, our electronics

Aren't they just fabulous?? :)

First Haircut!

 Last week we got the girls' first haircuts! We went to this super adorable place that is specifically for kids, and it worked out perfectly. They were fast and knew how to deal with upset, fast-moving toddlers. Both girls just needed their hair evened out in places and cleaned up. Others might not notice a difference, but I think their hair looks so much better!

They are so big now! Definitely my little toddlers :)

HALLOWEEN 2012

 Our Halloween started the weekend before at the Pumpkin Patch! We went last year in Colorado and got to check out a place here in Utah. I had actually been there back when I was single, with a bunch of friends. It was way different now--they had tons more activities and fun things for little kids. We went on a hayride, played on these wooden playground things (they had big wooden trains, boats, firetrucks), played in a tractor, and picked out pumpkins!

On the hayride!

 We LOVE slides!

 a HUGE rocking chair 

For Family Home Evening we painted our pumpkins and made quite a mess!

Kendal was all over it--she dug in right away.

 For some reason they thought the paint that I put on the pumpkins should be put on their hands and then wiped onto their bellies...

Needless to say, I think we may be doing more fingerpainting around here--it was a hit!

On Halloween we went to Center Street in Provo and trick-or-treated at the local businesses. The girls were dressed up as skeletons, I even made some bone clips for their hair. We didn't get too creative--comfy and warm was the way to go. I thought going to Center St. would be perfect for the girls since they don't really understand the whole trick-or-treat concept yet, but it wasn't as fun as I anticipated. The girls looked adorable and we got a few pieces of candy, so it all worked out :)

 We went our for dinner at this fabulous new place on Center Street--seriously had the best burger ever there.

Isn't my husband handsome? 

The girls enjoyed their first pieces of real candy and we had lots of fun. A good Halloween indeed.