New Bloggy Blog! {ch. ch. ch. check it.}

So it isn't finished BUT I have a new blog started! Please visit it. Bookmark it. Come back and look at it often! I'll be updating more often now that life here in the James and Amanda Mattila household has become a little less insane. http://family.amandamattila.com/

And now for something completely different...

Woo! I just got off my butt and started installing the wordpress application onto my other domain that I already host for my business blog...and am creating a new family blog! Big pictures! Easier to update = more updates! I'm excited. It probably won't be done for a little bit but I'm hoping to get pictures from our move and our recent vacation up in Michigan up asap! I will make a post when it is up with the new link.

YIPEE.

Izzie is 11 months old!

Wow, 11 months old! She is almost a year! Amazing how it flies. I've been thinking about her birthday and I'm going to do a little party here. My mom and Steve and possibly Chrissy, Roger, (and hopefully more) are maybe coming down the weekend of her birthday. It is Steve's 50th birthday and we originally had planned to go to Lake Michigan but with the move, it was going to be a lot so they might be coming down here. Plus, Steve is into the Civil War stuff and wants to see some battlefields and such. I came up with some ideas for her party so I plan to start once I get back from Michigan. I found a dress for her that I just love... here!

So, what has our precious Isadora accomplished in the last 11 months? Besides being the little angel that has us wrapped around her tiny finger... she has 2 teeth, eats table food, she climbs (yay, another climber), can walk more than we can count her steps, tries to blow kisses (which looks like smacking herself), she claps when we say clap or we clap or we sing a song that has clapping, dances when we sing or music is on, says "mama, dada, hi" along with babbling which sometimes sounds like words. The other day, I think she sang "abcd"!

Stafford.

Still no pictures to post. One, I lost my cord for hooking up my phone to the computer. So I have to find that. And every single time I finish a client order and I think I'm going to be able to start my personal ones, another order comes through! Seriously, I was so excited last Thursday night because I finished everything that I had on my plate and my plan was to blog and edit the kids' pictures over the weekend. I no sooner got the words out of my mouth to James "yay, i'm excited that I'm all caught up. Those wedding album orders will hopefully not come in until after our vacation" that I check my email and have the orders! Blah. And because I'm so, um, compulsive about work orders that I've put it on hold. So you all will be bombarded with photos soon. soon.

We are moved! Our new address is 72 Belladonna Ln. Stafford, VA 22554

We had checked on several townhouses/houses to rent but the process was taking a long time. We ended up renting a townhouse sight unseen over the internet/phone just to get us moved out there. The townhouse is nice. Now that I've gotten it pretty unpacked and organizing it, it is a lot better than I was thinking. All of our stuff in boxes...staring around at the place I was really unsure of where all of our stuff was going to fit! But it is going well. And feels even more organized so far than our last house. Maybe because of my huge closet! lol.

James is really liking his job. It is more organized and he works with some nice people. We just found a few sitters so we will have a date soon. We did have a trial run last week and went to the bank (woo hoo for a date! ha.) and to starbucks. That was really nice to get out even for a short time.

The kids are good. Isadora is walking. She gets going and she clears rooms. She does a lot better if she is holding something for balance. So it is really funny to see her carrying a bucket around the house. :) They love having a pool! With it being so hot here, the water is really warm too. We haven't done too much exploring since we've moved. We probably won't get into a normal routine until after summer because we just nicely moved and are heading back to MI for a trip with James' family. Then I fly back in not even 2 weeks later for a wedding. And my parents are coming down 2 weeks after that! I did find a Trader Joe's, so that made me happy. And we have some very convenient stores/shopping near us. With it being so late in the summer already, I'm not sure if Berlin will be able to go to preschool now. I'm a little bummed. Even if we do enroll her, we are planning on moving in 6 months, so we may not be able to keep her in it anyway. So I'm going to do some searching now that I have the internet! Just got it on Wednesday!

Hmm. I can't think of anything else to write now...so talk soon!

Distance.

Not sure about making the heart grow fonder but man, sure makes us miss him! The kids really miss James and so do I. Elijah about breaks my heart when he calls around "daddy, where are you?". The week has been going well though so far. God really has granted me patience because I'd think I should be pulling my hair out by now. But I'm not... Thank you God! James is in Virginia working and looking for a place for us to move. Last night he looked at a couple of houses and as I write, is looking at more. I hope, I hope! Work is going good for him but it is long days Mon-Thurs, so he is tired. It will take him time to get used to working 12 hours. Plus, he could probably use a wife to cook him healthy meals rather than eating junk to keep him going.

Elijah locked my keys in the car today--well, I did with his help. He threw a fit as I was buckling him in and grabbed at my keys in my hand...setting off the panic button. I turned off the panic button and he knocked the keys out of my hand. I shut the door to the van, not realizing he must have hit the lock button too. Door shut, kids buckled, phone, purse, and keys in the car. NOT cool. It is pretty hot too. So big ordeal with having the cops unlock the door. They couldn't open it. The other police department was on the way but would take about 15 minutes in traffic, lock people were going to be a little while, soooo the police said that they would have to break the window open if no one came soon. Ah, I was stressed because I know how hot it can get and wanted the kids out, but also didn't want my new van window broken. Grr. But animal control came! My hero! They wedged the car door open enough to stick a pole through and hit the unlock button.

I've gotten a lot packed already. I started unloading things from the studio today and that made me sad. I barely got a chance to enjoy having it. The basement is about 3/4 packed, kitchen is packed except necessities, bathroom packed, kids room mainly packed, my room packed. Garage, photo equipment, and rest of basement needs to be done. I'm going to try to get my wedding editing done this weekend but other than that, try to relax. Then I'll just have to have it go time once we find a place and plan a day to move.

News: Isadora cut a tooth! And I'm going to be an aunt again!! My brother Roger and his wife Sarah are expecting! We don't know the due date yet but sometime late Feb or March is the guess at this point.

Virginia.

Well, a lot has happened since last post. A LOT. Most of you know that we are moving to Virginia. James applied for a job which he thought was in Detroit and it turned out to be in the DC area... he went through some tests and they determined he was qualified to do the job, sent him on a bus to Dulles, Va to the M.C. Dean headquarters for an interview, and then offered him a job that was to start on May 24th. The company is very big and has huge opportunity for advancement and educational training which James plans on taking up. We'll see where this opportunity takes us. We weren't sure whether this was the direction we wanted to go since we are both against the work 80 hour weeks to have a bunch of stuff that you don't get to enjoy and miss out on your kids life mentality. But we like food too... and clothes... and a house. So since Michigan has nothing for him he took the job and are moving. The idea is that it will be temporary until the next opportunity arises-- hopefully in Michigan by our family!

So we headed out this last Sunday to Dulles for him to start. The first couple of days was going over company employee handbook, 401k, insurance stuff, as well as a CPR class and certification and then OSHA safety training. Wednesday he started his first day on the job and he is assigned to building a hospital at a military base in Fort Belvoir. I'll let him tell you the details about his new job. We are looking for a place in Woodbridge. Possibly further out to Warrenton or Remington but I'd like to find something closer so he doesn't have a long drive to work. Especially because he has had to work 12 hour days so far and we aren't sure what they are expecting of him in the future. They say overtime is optional...but we aren't so sure if optional means that if you option out that you don't get a job.

Everyone said that Virginia is beautiful...and they weren't kidding. It is so pretty! There are some not so great parts near the capitol. We had to stay in Alexandria and both of us hated it. Looking for a place is getting off to a slow start. We thought we might just do an apartment at first but finding a 3 bedroom place is proving difficult. There aren't any vacancies or even soon coming. I did find one that we really liked in Leesburg but we think that it might be too far of a drive, especially for an apartment. We'd be more willing for an awesome house or something. We are also finding that apartments are about 1700-2100 for 3 bdr. Houses for rent are really expensive too...anything under 2k is a townhouse and not very big. So we've had to increase our house budget we originally thought. It is a little nuts to me considering what housing costs in Michigan are like... and that like 2 hours from the area he is working it costs even less than Michigan.

The kids are doing good. It is a little boring for them but we are making it. My sister, Sarah, is awesome! She made us snacks for the road and got the kids presents to open on the ride to keep them busy and happy. That has helped a lot--the flashlight toy she got them really helped when I was stuck in the hotel room and ran out of ideas to entertain them. We went to a park the other day. It was really pretty... although I'm not sure if it is just like this here but everytime I was out in the middle of the day around grass, we would get swarmed with gnats! In our eyes, mouth... bleh! So the park trips have been short.

I haven't taken many pictures but here are some from my phone.

Minivan! Yay for room! Kids love it...and so do we! We picked up dual dvd player for the drive too!

Dodge Grand Caravan :)

Kids opening their gifts from Aunt Sarah!

This is in Pennsylvania on our drive in... different to look at than Michigan!

We had to stay in a really bad hotel... longer story... and so I booked a new one and I was SOOO thankful! I took this picture to send to my mom because I couldn't have been happier to see this.

Park we stopped at...river is behind those trees.

More later!

Wow. Juggling acts aren't easy!

This blog isn't over! I promise! I've just had a whirlwind lately. Some of you know of James working in Pennsylvania the past 2 weeks...on top of all the other stuff, it makes it hard to find time to blog. I plan to pick it up again on a regular basis the minute things calm down here. But, in the meantime, make sure to check my Photography Blog at www.amandamattila.com/blog which should stay updated. I plan to add more of my personal life on there as well. Not as open as I am on here... but you know... pics of the kids and stuff.

My new blog makes it super easy to do the photos too because I can load them right from my blog site...I don't have to host elsewhere which is awesome.

So for a little update of the last month or so:

Berlin is now sharing a room with Isadora. Eli has his own room. Good...almost all around! Isadora is getting older now and I trust Berlin with her. Elijah had given Berlin a black eye while she was trying to sleep (on accident) because he wants to play at bedtime. Now that they have their own rooms... Bedtime is SOOO much easier! There isn't anyone to feed off of when behavior is less than optimal.

My dad, Angie, and grandma came to visit at Easter with Myah. I was pretty excited to meet her! She looks just like my dad. She was a sweet baby...and all the kids liked having her around. It is unfortunate that I won't be able to be around her as much as she grows up. We had a nice Easter though with both of my sides of family...felt like I was 8 again.

Elijah is saying a lot more now. I think his frenulum is receding a little...not that I'm sure it effects it or not. He has a dentist appointment next Monday to check everything out. His newest things is "no, wait" "not yet" and "in a minute". Irritating but funny too. And I'm just so happy that he is putting more words together.

Isadora is growing so quick! She says "mama" and "dada" with purpose. As well as babbles a lot. She can crawl and has pulled herself up to standing. She tries to walk along things sometimes but not so great. She was really proud of herself by taking the walker across the kitchen...big smiles. She is teething really bad these last 2 weeks. I'm taking her to the doctor today though because I'm wondering if her whines also mean an ear infection. We'll see. For the most part, she is a super happy baby...and a mama's girl. She is eating a ton now...which now includes a bottle a day, usually. As well as cereal, veggies, and fruit. She has eaten banana and baby rice puffs too.

James has been working in Erie, PA as well as odd jobs for this same contractor. He just got called back for some work at CCM where he sorta was employed by for the last 2 years. I'm not too keen on him working there so I'm hoping he'll find a job with a more communicative, competent and honest boss...that pays him. He was offered a job in Tennessee... the job isn't a for sure yet. We will find out in July. We are talking about going down to there to do a test run with the contractor at the beginning of July to see about it. James has been gone a lot so we haven't had much time to sit down and talk things through...so we'll see. Weighing our options and praying on things. He still plans on going to school this fall to pursue writing in some fashion. He also started a blog that he hasn't published yet. He has some really great ideas that I'd love to see written. Time...time... ah, not enough time.

Me, not much of an update. I've got the studio but haven't had many opportunities to do anything yet. So... we'll see.

Pictures soon... I hope! I do take a bajillion. :D

March 11th.

Here are a few recent pictures! I'm still waiting on my lens to be fixed but I got my brand new camera! I LOVE it! I have not played with the video part yet but I will when I get more time. I have lots to say but now that I've done the P365 blog and loaded these pictures...it is 12:30am and I'm tired.... so photos for now!







Elijah is in a stage of liking getting dressed...which includes putting on a LOT of layers. So far the cutest is him wearing full snow outfit, minus the pants. The snow boots and diapers are so cute!





James had to finish a test for Journeyman update...which he did in December. But he finished the test in 2 hours instead of the mandatory 15 contact hours...so he had to leave the computer logged in for a couple of days... finally done! Now, hopefully he will get his masters license.


daddy love.



If she isn't sleeping, this is her usual position in the swing... playing with her feet.


DJ came by to hang out... it has been a long time!


They missed each other :D


We stopped by Holly and Joel's for a little while. It had been 3 months since we had seen them...so it was nice. Gabe wanted me to take his picture...this is how it started.


And this is what it led to....

With All My Love, Kenneth.

Kenneth Coy. Photo taken March 16, 1946.

My grandpa passed away yesterday morning at 82 years old. He told me last week that he knew the cancer had spread and he wouldn't being going home and not to be upset. He said he had five great children and is happy with that. I didn't get as much time with him as my other grandparents but I will forever remember going over to his house as a young child, just enjoying the peace and quiet. Taking walks to feed the ducks at an area pond or just down the street. I will also remember how he reminded me every time I saw him about how much I loved going to his house to have some quiet and how he thought it was funny for a kid so young. :) Sending me home with National Geographic magazines and old records whenever I'd visit. It has been interesting this week to find out about his life... like serving in the U.S. Navy and that his career was as an upholsterer.

I don't really know what else to say but I thought it would be weird to not post on an event in my life since this is my life event blog.

Because of my grandpa being in the hospital, my aunt and uncle and cousins came out from Florida. Although the circumstances aren't great, it was really nice to see them. I miss them lots. I don't even like the sun bathing, very hot weather, shorts, bathing suits, having to wear sunscreen, possibility of hurricanes, or the weird grass down there but whenever I see them, it makes me want to move!

Birthday Funs. (POST #250!!)

WOW, 250 posts! I can't believe it! Well here are 2 days of snapshots... The day after Eli's birthday we went to Chuck E Cheese. Then we had a sibling GTG and had a kid-free night!


Driving... i like this new toy camera :)








James wasted Eli at the whack a mole, ha ha.




The kids just kept wanting to ride this Barney train. Berlin sat there with her arm around Barney.


He liked putting the tokens in.


The look on her face... i love seeing her happy.


This game was lame. But Eli thought he was a big boy.


On our way to Nana & Papa's house... he is saying hi.


What a wonderful thing to see in February... THE SUN!


i liked both of these. :)


Tim and Cody were the hosts of sibling GTG night


Playing games.


Happy Birthday John!

more Christmas?!

And more from James' camera of Christmas...


Pre-Christmas baking.




John and back of Ethan's head at Christmas


Katie Pie! Yep, just gave you that nickname for the minute.


He was into taking CLOSE ups I guess!


Bob.


Opening gifts.


Adorable hat made by Aunt Erin.


Izzie and Papa.


Tree. Someday all the ornaments will go on...but we will wait until kids are a little older.


Eli opening stocking.


New robe.


opening an awesome journal... i had picked it out but totally forgot about it. I was excited all over again!


Hannah Montana!