Hello road trip, goodbye Chicago!

We finally made it out of Elmhurst around 1:30 p.m. today. We not only had to leave today but we had a second showing so the house had
to luck VERY clean! Last night a neighbor had a going away party for us. It was so nice of Monica to do that so we could say goodbye to everyone at once. Late night, with wine and then sleeping on an air mattress. Needless to say we were moving a little slow this morning.
We got out with everyone in the car and headed to St. Louis, MO. We stopped in Springfield , IL so I could see Lincoln's house. We got there 5 minutes after the last tour left and I was to tired to talk my way into letting us on the tour. We walked on the outside of 8th and Edwards Street. The planked walkways and the coblestone streets added to the ambiance. We of course took pictures but none of us lasted long. It was a cold 31 degrees.
We finally made it to St Louis and were amazed at the site of the "Gateway to the West.". Nicolas didn't understand why it was called that when this is clearly not the west. We just let it be.
So we are all in bed and in the morning we'll eat and while Bella naps Nock and I will find the gym. Then we will head out tonedycate ourselves on the sites and then we plan on finding some good bar-b-q. Then it's off to Tulsa or Oklahoma City. We will see how the day and the driving plays out.
I will upload pictures when I'm on a computer. I'm blogging from my iPhone so I can't add pictures.
We are slowly making it to the West!

Happy First Birthday

Isabella Marie Mendibles turned one on December 23, 2009. It is so surreal that she's already one. I know people say all the time that time flies, but it really has. She is by far the happiest baby. In fact when we got back from AZ she was not feeling well. I took her into the Dr. and she commented Bella was by far the happiest sick baby she'd ever seen. She smiles and laughs all the time. She loves to clean up after herself and she ABSOLUTELY loves her big brother. When Nicolas comes home from school she lights up when he walks in the door.
She is not even interested in walking. She is one of the fasted crawlers I've ever seen. It is so interesting to see just how different her and Nicolas are/were. He walked when he was 10 months old and she has no desire. Nicolas was well, Nicolas even at 1. Bella is just a precious little girl. Not that Nicolas wasn't the cutest little boy and well behaved he just had his temper tantrums very early and they still haven't gone away.
Bella loves to climbed the stairs she's just not to sure about going down them. She eats anything we give her, except for green beans and peas. She loves to explore and reach for the highest item she can get.
Her birthday was celebrated in Tucson on December 28th. We invited some family and friends over to my Mom and Larry's house. We bought her cake from Costco so it fed 48 people. It worked out for the best so she could have her own side of the cake to play with. Nick thought it was best to let her dig right in and dig she did. She was up until 9:15 that night. Her usual bedtime is 5:30 pm or 6:00 pm and then gets up around 7:00 am. She had so much sugar in her. I think I could see it crystallizing right in her eyes.
She got some very fun toys. One of which was a giraffe with a homemade tutu and Bella got her own matching tutu. Brandi, my brother Sean's girlfriend, makes them. If you need anything homemade and crafty for babies contact Brandi Vanleer at bvanleer23@hotmail.com. She's a great at making just about anything. The toys will make it out to San Diego when we arrive on February 1st. Bella also got some VERY cute outfits. She did pack more shoes than I did. At least right now she's a princess. I'm sure she'll rebel and become an emu and paint her nails black and wear heavy black makeup. Although if Nick or I have anything to say she won't even leave the house dressed like that.
I believe that Nicolas and Vanessa's older daughter, Sydney, will be getting married. When they are in their 30's. They had fun together. Natalie, Vanessa's youngest, wanted to help open all the presents. She was a great helper. Melissa came to the party with her Mom. I had seen either of them since my Freshman year in college. We went to high school together. She brought her little boy named Andrew. He was shy at first but then he opened up and had a great time. Of course Alyssa and Andrew were there. Nicolas wouldn't know what to do if he didn't get to see his cousins. Angel and her parents, Nick's Aunt and Uncle came and brought Nick's Grandma. Mackenzie drove down to see "me" but mainly Isabella. Sean and Brandi were there as well as my good friend Monica and her Mom Gail. It was perfect weather for an outside party with great friends and family.
We are in a 2 week countdown. The moving company will be here in two weeks from yesterday. It all seems crazy at how fast it's all happening. It's gotta happen soon so............
I'll let you know how the move goes and how each child did while in the car that long. I'm excited. I love road trips. It should be an experience.
Love ya,
E

Christmas this year was spent in Phoenix and Tucson. Nicolas, Bella and I flew out to Phoenix by ourselves. Nick had to stay and work. The flight was delayed 2 hours and then we sat on the runway for 45 minutes waiting to be deiced, but we finally made it off the ground to warmer weather. We landed in Phoenix and Sean, my Dad and Betsy were all there to greet us. Nicolas was so excited to see Grandpa Phoenix. He practically ran to the waiting area. We were dressed in very warm clothes so we began stripping in the airport. My Dad and Betsy had a birthday party for Bells. My Grandma, Uncle Rick, Sean and Brandi came over to help us celebrate. It was good to see my Grandma and Rick. My Grandma was entranced by the baby. Brandi had made some super good goodies for us all. Unfortunately, my Dad inhaled it all, but I managed to get a few bites before it was gone.
We headed down to Tucson on December 22nd first making a stop at Pop's house. He is my Grandfather thus being Nicolas and Isabella's Great-Grandfather. We had lunch with him, my Mom and Larry and then headed down to Tucson. It took us 4.5 hours to drive 100 miles. There was a 20 car pile up with 3 fatalities. It took us about an hour to drive 8 miles. The distance between one exit to the one where traffic was being detoured. Luckily I had my iphone! I was able to get on the map and see where traffic was backed up and see the back way to get to back to the freeway. At one point we were on a back highway at a dead stop in between two trucks. We couldn't see the tires on the truck in front of us because of all the dirt flying around. It was the worst dust storm I have EVER seen. We finally made it safe and sound thanks to Larry's safe driving. Bella was a trooper and thank goodness for the bag of Kix that was had in the car. I just kept feeding them to her and she just kept taking them. Whatever kept her happy I was doing it.
Tucson was relaxing and COLD. It wasn't -15, but it was still colder than I remember Tucson being. Nick spent lots of time seeing his brother and Nicolas enjoyed playing with his cousins. We went and saw Avatar, and went up to his Uncle and Aunts house in Oracle, AZ. All the cousins played and all the adults ate tamales and menudo. Isabella loved the menudo as the beans. She was passed around and even took a nap. Nick's Grandma hadn't seen Bella in person so she was very happy to finally meet her.
Christmas is always fun with kids and babies. Isabella got lots of fun toys and Nicolas got everything he asked for. He even got a bomber jacket made just for him from Uncle Matt. He is in the Air force. The jacket has a patch with Nicolas's name on it. Nicolas was so excited about that gift. It was very neat to see his face light up about something that wasn't a video game. Nicolas and Grandpa Larry iced the cookies that Grandma made. The recipe was Larry's Mothers. Lots of pressure for my Mom to try to bring the nostalgia back for Larry but I think she succeeded. Santa came and only took one bite out of his cookie and Rudolph took one bite. Isabella found the leftovers and she had to investigate. She took her first bite of sugar and thoroughly enjoyed every bite. We have a great video of her eating the cookies. She finished both cookies and even cleaned up the crumbs.
We celebrated Isabella's birthday on December 23rd with a song and a bib that said birthday girl. We had a party for her on December 28th, but I will post a separate blog for that adventure.
We all had a great relaxing time with lots of laughing with tears. I think the highlight of the entire trip was watching Hangover with my Mom. I don't know what was funnier, the movie or watching my Mom's reaction to the movie.
A big thank you to Phoenix and Tucson for letting us takeover your houses for our stay. We can't wait to get to San Diego to be able to see you all more often.