Time to say good-bye

I know I've mentioned moving on this blog, but I should probably give more of a story. At least, I know that I like to read blogs where context is provided and I hate when they refer to something but never explain it - or worse, when they only hint at it but never explain.

We are moving out of Texas. Yeehaw! As most of you know, we moved here about three years ago riding high on the anger of a Los Angeles traffic ticket and with a lot of chutzpah and bravery. We hardly knew anyone in the city, but thought that with Ryan's schooling and resume, it wouldn't be difficult to find a job. Now, three years later with not much success, we are finally leaving.

In all honesty, Ryan and I both did not want to make the move down here, but things got rolling and in the end we felt a little trapped. In life, we are told to study it out and pray for inspiration, but when you don't have it you should just make a decision. Well, we did make a decision and then we stuck to the plan! As we were packing up our L.A. apartment, we just did not want to come, but I think we attributed a lot of it to nerves and we also felt stuck because he had just taken and passed the Texas bar exam. Most of our time here, we have not felt like it was the place for us. Within a few weeks we knew we wanted to leave, but taking another bar exam is a lot of work and money and we thought we needed to give Houston the ole' college try. This experience has taught us a lot about listening to the Spirit. I like to think if we did it again, that we would say, "Wait, let's slow down. Let's stay in California a few more months and take another bar exam." But, who knows. We acted the best we could on the knowledge that we had. We took a risk and it was very brave. You have to give us props for that.

When we had been here two years, we faced the decision to extend our apartment lease or possibly move out of state. We just did not feel right about either option, and then the chance to rent our current house came up. We moved and felt at peace for almost the first time of being out here. I thought we would be here for a while. However, when June was born, Ryan's sister came out to visit us. She lives in Nevada and has really wanted us out there for a long time. Through her love, persuasion, and extreme generosity, she arranged for Ryan to take the Nevada bar exam this past July.

Meanwhile, Ryan has had steady work most of our time here. It's been mindless, benefits-less work, but it has provided for us and we've been blessed. As major lawsuits have gotten settled, the work really started to dry up. As in, no work at all for a few months. Happily, most of this time coincided with the time he needed to study for the bar exam. In a way, it feels like everything is coming to a head. He has taken the bar in another state and the work that has kept us afloat here is on its way out; so we have no reason to stay here and every reason to leave. In fact, we plan on leaving the first week of October. Even if he doesn't pass the bar exam, we recognize that this is not where we want to be. Also, without work, we really can't afford to keep staying here anyway. One job has come up that he is working on right now, it should only last about another week, but it has given us a chance to tie up loose ends and to save a little more money for our trek.

That's our moving story. We will have a few regrets - leaving the Thalmans and my harp students - but that is about it. We've put down a few roots, but really, this place has not agreed with us. We are SO excited to live near Rebecca and Brandon and be so much closer to family.

I just want to share one anecdote that represents our time in Texas. While I was in the YW, I helped plan and organize a Cardboard Regatta. My branch in Bloomington, Indiana does it every year and it is hilarious and fun. It's a boat race where the boats are made entirely out of cardboard and duct tape, and you have to ride in the boat. Ryan made a nice powerpoint presentation showing photos of past races so that we could introduce the concept to the youth. The first year was so fun that they wanted to make it an annual tradition. The second year, they invited another ward to participate and while it was fun, I noticed that our ward's boats took a serious downward turn. A few weeks ago, Ryan and I went to the third annual regatta. It was just our ward youth again and it was dismal! None of the Young Women even made boats! Instead, they basically took single sheets of cardboard and covered them in duct tape. It looked like they were trying to make a boogie board (but smaller) or a float like the beach life guards use. Obviously, these things did not float at all. When they started to sink, the YW just picked them up and tried to run the course since the water was fairly shallow. They completely missed the point of the race - which was not to win by running on foot, but to build a great boat that may or may not disintegrate before it reaches the end. It felt like I had given them a really great idea and fun activity and with each year instead of getting more creative, they came closer to average. Their boats were worse each year instead of better. It just so encapsulated what bothers me here sometimes. They just didn't get it. Anyone reading this from that awesome Bloomington Branch knows what I'm talking about.

Here is a slide from the powerpoint presentation that Ryan made. The photo is from one of the Bloomington races. I believe the capsizing boat in front was entitled "Ragnarok."

June is Six Months!

Can you believe how time flies? I feel like June should just be around three months old right now. She is such a happy, easy baby. Rolling around, eating her toes, babbling, laughing, smiling. As you can see, she loves to grab nearby toys and is squirmy in a cute, roly-poly baby way.

I tried giving her solids two days ago. The first time we tried rice cereal mixed with breast milk. She did not like it. Last night I tried the rice cereal again mixed with formula, but I tasted it before I gave it to her. That stuff is disgusting! I could taste some of the chemicals and it was just nasty. I tried giving it to her and when she refused, I didn't press the issue. Instead, I opened some yummy sweet potatoes. The first taste she look a little confused, smacked her lips, and then smiled. Then she liked grabbing the spoon from me and slurping all over it until the food was gone. She's such a cutie, I can't stand it. I didn't start Willa on solids until seven months, but June has always seemed more interested in food and since she won't take I bottle, I thought it was time to start introducing solids. I'm not going to push quantity since she is getting lots of milk; I just want to slowly get her used to the taste and texture and the act of eating. Such a big girl! Again, I'm shocked that she's big enough for a high chair :(.

Happy sweet potato face!

 Very sad rice cereal face. "What are you doing to me?!"

June's hair is very curly when wet. The other morning I squirted it with some water and put some mousse in. Miss Curly Sue! Not sure if it's a good or bad thing yet.









Trying out the exersaucer. It feels good to finally get out these old toys that I've been hoarding since Willa grew out of them. There is always this impulse to purge what we're not using. I feel a little vindicated for keeping them now.








June is such a good baby. Her main issue is still sleeping through the night, or not sleeping through the night. She is doing pretty well, and has done ten hours a few times, but not often. Right now she usually does between 7-9 hours before waking up. I'm thinking of letting her cry out at the seven hour mark because recently she has been waking up at the same time every night and usually that means that she's waking up out of habit and not out of hunger. I went back and read Willa's six month post. Apparently at this point she was consistently sleeping 11 hours a night and taking three solid naps a day on breast milk alone. I guess what everyone says about each baby and child being exactly the same isn't true. June's wake-ups right now aren't bothering me too much, often I'm still getting 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Still, I'd like for her to be able to stretch it out a little longer if she could. Maybe the solids will help.

Whomever gets June up from a nap or sleeping is the luckiest person because they get the biggest, happiest smiles that you will ever see. One of my favorite things to do is nurse her and watch her upper leg kick around with the feet splayed. Anyone who's ever seen a baby knows what I'm talking about. Those chubby, dimply legs kick and kick and the little toes flex out while she nurses and it's about the sweetest thing ever. My other favorite thing is singing to June. She immediately smiles whenever I start to sing to her, even if she is in the middle of crying. It is just so heart melting.

Tell June to stop growing so fast. She is our big sweetheart and brings so much joy and happiness to our family. She loves to watch Ryan and follows him with her head and a big smile wherever he goes. She also loves to be around Willa (the feeling is not reciprocal), and of course she loves me because I'm the mommy.

Pee Pee in the Potty

The title of this post is self-explanatory. Last night Willa had just gotten out of the bath and I had just started bathing June (they normally don't bathe together yet because Willa is super possessive of her space and there is a loud tantrum whenever I try it). Willa said she needed to go pee-pee, which is not unusual. I asked if she wanted to use the toilet in the bathroom and she said no and ran into the other room where her training toilet was. Since she often does this with no results, I didn't think anything. Suddenly she came running back to me yelling, "Mommy, I go pee-pee in the potty!!!!" She was sooo excited!

I got June out of the bath and sure enough, there was some liquid in there. She was pretty proud of herself and got super hyper and it was all very adorable. I made her a chocolate ice cream cone to celebrate and right then Ryan got home from work. Then she got REALLY hyper because she loves to play with him. She demanded that he dance with her to music for the next 30 minutes. It was so cute and so fun. I just love her little personality so much. We've tried not to put any pressure on her about potty training. I felt like she would do it when she was ready. Still, she's no dummy and she knew that a lot of her friends were using the potty and don't wear diapers anymore.

We haven't repeated it. I put a diaper on her this morning since we were going out. I'm just not going to stress about it, especially since we're moving. When we're home, she can run around naked and get used to going in the potty if she wants, but if not then I'll put a diaper on her. She is pretty well trained in the fact that she will almost always tell me if she needs to go so that I can put a diaper on, she just hasn't had the control to relax and sit on the pot.

Our almost potty-trained, almost three-year old. Catch a glimpse of the magnificent training toilet on the far left of the photo. That's where this glorious business all went down.

This week

We started a little preschool co-op in our ward with about five kids. The number is fluctuating because a new person just moved into the ward and we might be moving out of the ward. Today there were four kids, though, and it was a handful! It's really basic since most of the kids are still two, mainly learning to sit still occasionally :). We're doing a letter and number each week and a monthly color. The three little girls were okay, the boy was a tornado! He ran inside and immediately pulled the window treatments completely off the back sliding door. While Ryan was reattaching them, he started kicking the back door repeatedly. As soon as they were able to play outside, he beelined for the shed where the lawnmower is kept and figured out how to open it. He was a magnet for destruction and a bit exhausting! His mom does work with him a lot, though, so he was pretty obedient when you directed his energies.

First day of school picture with Willa and Bridgett. Willa had a little struggle since I was the teacher and since other kids were playing with her toys, but overall she did well.

 Photo of June sitting up in her favorite couch corner. She's not quite strong enough to sit on her own, but this corner is a little more comfortable than the bumbo and she can play with her favorite toy: an almost empty container of wipes!

We took out the new stroller for a Sunday stroll. I love Babyjogger! It rides like a dream and hardly feels like you're pushing anything, much lesson nearly 100 lbs of baby/toddler/stroller weight. We are so grateful for Rebecca and all her connections. She was able to get this stroller for us hot off the presses! I love Babyjogger so much. I ran with the single stroller with Willa basically every day for two years straight. It still looks and works just like new. I was a little nervous to switch the the double wide behemoth that you see, but really it is so agile that I don't think running is going to be a problem. It fits onto sidewalks and through doorways.

The girls were super comfy and hopefully the novelty of the stroller will keep Willa happy for at least 40 minutes for the first few mornings. I haven't had to use it for actual running yet since Ryan has been home, but he has a project starting tomorrow so it looks like we'll be back in a routine. I'm very happy for him to work but I'm also dreading it a little. He will be gone a lot so it will be an adjustment doing everything by myself. I've definitely gotten spoiled the past few months.

Who's Who

I realized that June now fits into an outfit that I posed Willa in in an attempt to recreate this classic photo of me. You don't have to look at the photos if you don't want to. I just wanted to document the same age/outfit/pose so I can compare the babies. Sometimes they look nothing alike to me, but other times they are definitely sisters. People either say to me, "Wow, June looks completely different." Or, "Wow, she looks exactly like Willa." I just smile because to me both statements are true at times.

Me

 Willa

 June-bear! - I forgot to wet and style June's hair to match the other photos, but it really is quite curly when it's wet.

On Being Thankful

I've been thinking about this for a while and wanted to share a few experiences we have had lately. Two weeks ago we were having a grand old time with Ryan's family for a few days. I had made an appointment for Ryan to get his teeth cleaned at the dentist and the only time available was during this family reunion. Neither of us had had our teeth cleaned in about four years (gross, I know). After working at the dental school and seeing firsthand the questionable ethics of many of the students, a bad dental experience in Los Angeles, and then no money for dental insurance since we've been in Texas, the teeth cleanings have been on the back burner.

Anyway, I was in Utah and figured my dad could hook me up with a good ethical dentist who would charge reasonable rates or perhaps give a discount by trading some work with my dad. I got my teeth cleaned, hooray it was awesome! Now it was Ryan's turn since he had finally gotten into town. It was annoying that he had to leave the family reunion for a few hours but we figured that it wasn't too bad.

Ryan got his teeth cleaned in the morning and they wanted to fill a teensy tiny cavity. They didn't have time right then, but scheduled it for about an hour later. He ran some errands and then headed back to the office for round two. As Ryan was turning into the parking lot at the dentist's office the steering suddenly gave out on the car. The engine and everything was running fine, but he couldn't steer at all. The car had been in an accident two weeks earlier, but was supposedly repaired. Ryan called me, I called my dad who was at the cabin, and he called the garage where the car had been fixed.


It was decided that Ryan would go finish his dental appointment. After he was through, he needed to call AAA and they would tow him back to the garage in Bountiful. Then, our neighbor would pick him up and take him to the car rental place where he needed to show his ID in order to be placed on the insurance for the rental car. Finally, she would drive him back to our house in Centerville where he would pick up the rental car that was there and the drive back to his family reunion in Pleasant Grove.

Meanwhile, I started to get really annoyed. Why did this have to happen? Ryan was losing a whole day of hanging out with us and it was such an annoying trip for him to get the car back, etc. I was pretty negative. Then I started thinking about the positive. The steering went out in the car. That could have been so dangerous if he had been on the freeway or just on a regular street. Thankfully, he had just barely turned into the parking lot when it had happened. This was also the first time he had driven the car without the girls and me with him. Think how much more nightmarish if we had been in the car and been in a bad accident. 

Finally, my parents had given Ryan a AAA membership for his last birthday. How nice that he had it so calling a tow truck was so easy. The mechanic shop had just had the car in so it was very easy to connect with them again when he dropped the car off there. And, since the car had so recently been repaired, my parents had left to the cabin without being able to return the rental car so it was sitting at our house ready to be used when we needed it.

This car problem could have been really bad. Instead, a mildly annoying thing was dealt with as smoothly as possible. It's been a good lesson to me to really think more about being grateful to Heavenly Father for our lives and the little things in them.

Yesterday we were just finishing dinner and Ryan and I were talking at the table. I was holding June and Willa had gotten up and was riding around the kitchen on her little trike with a doll saying, "Green light, go." It was just so pleasant. I felt so blessed for our little family. We're going through a bit of vacation depression as we struggle to get back in the swing of everything, but little moments like last night are so peaceful and special to me. Even unemployment has it's upside. I would never wish it on anyone, but it is so great to have Ryan home with me to help. It's going to be hard when he starts working again.

There's no real moral here except that I needed to acknowledge the blessings that we have been receiving lately. There are so many more, but these were notable ones recently.

We're back from our long and lovely vacation! I mainly had my mom take pictures with her Iphone and then I forgot to have her send them to me. Here are a few cute ones that I managed to take with my dinosaur camera.

At the last minute, we decided to take Willa with us down the river this year. You might remember two years ago when I took her at 10 months at it proved to be a big mistake. This year she was helping us load up the kayaks and got so excited about the "boats with sticks" (paddles) that we decided to bring her along. She thought she was very, very cool with her own little paddle, life jacket, and sunglasses. She actually did very well and only got nervous for a few of the rapids. She told me, "Mommy, I no like the crazy water."

On our very last day of our second trip to the cabin, Ryan finally got her on a waverunner (another "boat" to her). She was fearful at first and then loved it. Note how green the water is, the levels were getting lower each day leading to a huge accumulation of algae that loved to collect on our swimsuits, yum.

Finally, here is a picture of June-bear on one of our last Utah days. She had just rolled over for the second time and is in the middle of crying :(. Of course, I had to get a picture before I picked her up and administered comfort. She's got the back-to-tummy down now, but still can't figure out how to get from tummy to back.