Adjusting...

So it has been a while since I last updated the blog due to all the changes our family has taken on. I left Children's Center for Therapy on March 30 and it was a bitter sweet ending. I will miss my coworkers and patients dearly. That same weekend we moved from Iowa City to Cedar Rapids. Thanks to all the people who helped make that happen. We are pretty settled into our new place by now. Then on April 3 I started my new job at Witwer Children's Therapy, but not without a few bumps along the way. Eli came down with the pink eye, Hayden got a fever, and I came down with a fever and a cold (one that I am still fighting). Ted has been the only one to stay healthy. He even transferred to the Cedar Rapids Best Buy and things have been going well there. My job has also been going well. Witwer has an extensive orientation process and is making it a smooth transition for me. I am really excited about the mentorship available at this clinic.

We also enjoyed an awesome Easter in Minnesota with the Kyte family. It was nice to get together with my sisters and parents and all the kiddos. We got to enjoy a nice Easter service at church, great home made meals made by my mom, Easter egg hunt, and just time to hang out.

Happy Easter from the Kyte Grandchildren!

Egg Hunt

Hayden cracking his egg.

Reuben and Hayden

Papa Joe and Eli

Gustafsons: Ted, Camille, Hayden, Eli

3 Pregnant Sisters:
Sarah (June), Camille (May), Lisa (April)

Baby update: No news is good news at this point.  Our current challenge -  finding a doctor in Cedar Rapids. While it is feasible to commute to Iowa City for labor and delivery, Ted is opposed due to the rapid delivery of Eli. So the hunt is on! Baby is constantly moving and I am even having some contractions.  But before this little baby is born, we look forward to the arrival of the Schlaak baby due this month.

Birthdays

So we had the opportunity to join in celebration for Papa Joe's and Papa Mark's birthdays recently. My parents were able to come down to Cedar Rapids were we went to the Schlaak kiddos basketball games and enjoyed some time together. Then we headed to Minnesota the following weekend to celebrate with Mark.  We are so blessed to have such great men in our family to lead the role of a God fearing father. We love you both!

Papa Joe with grandkids: Micah, Caleb, Lincoln, Hayden, Gracie, Eli, Reuben

Papa Joe's "too much chocolate cake with strawberries."

Buddies: Hayden and Reuben

My little Eli at the park

Gustafson Family: Lezlie, Cleo, Hayden, Evelyn
Camille, Ted, Eli, Mark, Vicki, Katherine, David, Beth

Papa Mark and his grand babies: Hayden, Katherine, Eli

Ted and Grandma G (they hadn't seen each other in 2 years!) 

Mark, his mother Cleo, and sister Joan

Mommy & Eli

29 weeks and growing!

2 cute boys on a swing

Just a little change....

So Ted and I decided to change things up a bit. The week we left for Puerto Rico I had a job interview for an OT position in Cedar Rapids. When we got back, I had a second interview following with a job offer. So after several prayers for wisdom and guidance, Ted and I decided to uproot our family in Iowa City and head north to Cedar Rapids. So on Thursday, March 1, I officially accepted the job offer and resigned from my current job at Children's Center for Therapy. I didn't anticipate leaving my first job so soon, but we believe this is for the best. I will be working at St. Luke's Witwer Children's Therapy Center.  I will be working at 2 different clinics, each 2 days a week. One clinic is in Cedar Rapids and the other one is in Hiawatha (just a few miles north of Cedar Rapids).

Here is the website if you want to check out were I am going:
http://www.stlukescr.org/our-services/pediatrics/witwer-childrens-center

Since then we have been busy looking for a place to live in the Cedar Rapids area. We also put in our 30 day notice for where we are currently living, which means we have to find a place quickly. We started packing this week already.

My last day at Children's Center for Therapy is March 30 and my first day at Witwer is April 3. So everything is moving quite quickly! (and maybe a little bit stressful for this pregnant momma)

Other news: baby is growing well. She has her most active times in the early morning and evening. Hayden has even been able to feel the movements! We are very excited to meet her! (but not until May)  On Tuesday, March 6, my co-workers threw me a surprise baby shower! It was incredibly kind of them to do this! They also have impeccable taste and this baby girl will be dressed very stylishly :)  Thanks ladies!

Eli learned a new trick while Ted and I were away on vacation. He can now climb out of his crib! So we have to frequently put him back to bed. He is such a blessing and is also learning new signs, body parts, and words! So fun to see such a young little mind take in so much!

Hayden has made great progress as well! He was struggling with not sucking his thumb and keeping his bed dry at night. Well, we are almost past it! He has a sticker chart and has earned some prizes with the most recent prize being some studly sunglasses!

Puerto Rico

Ted and I were able to escape from our busy lives to enjoy some time together in the lovely Puerto Rico! It was A-mazing.  Be prepared for lots of pictures to justify the amazingess we saw and enjoyed!

Day 1: Flying- We flew out of MSP airport to Philidelphia then to Puerto Rico. It was a day filled with traveling. We got to our resort around 7:30 in the evening and enjoyed a meal together.

We are looking mighty chipper for 6:00 am.

Day 2: Beach/Pool/Gender Reveal - This day we spent some time familiarizing ourselves with the resort, making our site seeing plans, and revealing the gender of our little pumpkin.

Our room.

The view from our balcony.

Atlantic Ocean

Mountain view

24 weeks

 Is the baby a......

 OR a ....

Only this envelope knows...

So we went to a nice restaurant on the resort. We told the server that we would like them to prepare a desert for us with the necessary pink or blue to reveal to us the gender of our little pumpkin.

Here it is!

The server presented this desert to us with the chocolate box covering the gender colored sherbet. Together Ted and I lifted the box to reveal the gender of our baby! So fun!

It's PINK!

And it was tasty!

Letter to prove it and one happy momma!

Day 3: El Yunque National Rainforest, Old San Juan

Our rental minivan. Awesome!

So we took the van and drove up through the mountain rainforest. We then stopped at various trails to truly experience the rainforest. This is one of our favorite things we did in Puerto Rico.

Waterfall....

Tree Star for my Hayden.

The treacherous path that lies ahead. Whew!

Ted wanted to take some high elevation trails with "difficult/challenging" paths. Ones that require approximately 45 minutes (one way) of hiking with a pregnant wife........hmmmm. 

The beast of a trail.

Lookout tower.

The glimpse we got as the clouds were surrounding us  to rain.

The next trail we followed took us to La Mina Waterfall. The hike was downhill following the entire waterfall. It was an amazing site when we reached the bottom. 

New Trail to La Mina Waterfall.

La Mina Waterfall.

So it was a little chilly.

Beautiful

Later that day we drove to Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Our first stop was to visit the fort.

We finished the day in downtown Old San Juan.

Downtown Old San Juan.

Day 3: Beach Day! We spent the day at the resort relaxing by the beach and pools. It was also the day that we got so sunburnt that to this day my hands are peeling. That's a first.

Burning....

The resort had some iguanas on location. There is a daily feeding of these 3-5 feet "small dinosaurs" as they called them.

We ended the day with supper.

All this gave us the meat sweats. Whew!

Day 4: Culebra Island. This consisted of taking a 1 1/2 hour ferry to the island of Culebra to swim in the 2nd rated beach in the world and snorkeling. This was another highlight of the trip for us.

Our Ferry

Flamenco Beach!

Snorkeling at Tamarindo Beach.

Sea Urchin

Coral Farm

Coral Reef

We also saw 4-6 sea turtles. We never thought we would see one, let alone 4-6 of them! Pictures didn't turn out the best, but we got a good video.

Ferry ride home.

Sunset from the ferry.

Day 5: Go Home.

Hope to see you soon Puerto Rico!

Our boys on the drive home supporting their Puerto Rico shirts. Good to be together again. We love and missed you guys!

Well that summarizes our trip. We can't thank the grandparents enough for taking such good care of our little boys. We had a great time and would love to go back to Puerto Rico again some day.