Traveling

We are without internet for another week but I have too much to write so I thought I’d dump my thoughts in a word sheet and post it later. The move went better than expected. We were able to do it extremely cheap thanks to the amazing Cindy. She drove with us down so we could take Nate’s Pop’s truck and my brother’s trailer and then she drove it back to Utah for us.  

Kendrick was a gem compared to what he could have been. He was running a fever of 103 pretty much the entire way and was not sleeping like he usually does in the car. He was cutting 2 molars and even with ibuprofen it was hard to keep his temp under control. We only had to pull over 3 times to either give him more medicine or to cool him down. Somehow he would magically be happier by the time we had to put him back in the car. He even learned how to say car while on the road.

The good news about him cutting teeth is that we were able to pack and unpack with him pretty much sleeping all day both days. When Kenny cuts teeth he sleeps. He possibly sleeps more than a newborn and yet somehow I have lucked out that every single time we move (even just for 6 weeks on Nate’s rotations) he cuts teeth and I am able to pack everything up without having to have anyone else watch him.

We are now cleaning scrubbing our house and unpacking. Apparently the people before us had a dog because I keep finding dog hair everywhere and it is really grossing me out. I love animals but having dog hair in places where it does not belong is not something I love. I don’t like what they leave behind in my living space. I especially don’t like anything near or in my bed and after having a jumping spider try to be our friend we called to have our house debugged. As a whole I think we will love AZ…we just have to not panic and keep telling ourselves that until winter. J

Outside

On Wednesday we went to the splash pad at Liberty Park. Kendrick was hesitant about the splash pad for about 3 minutes until he realized that it was water coming out of the ground. He went from clingy to independent so quickly that we felt like we came with a toddler but left with a 8 year old. 

Kendrick's favorite word to say is outside. It is so clear that there is no mistaking what he is saying. Yesterday morning a motorcycle drove by and Nate and I heard a little voice say "outside" coming from his crib. He is in love with the outdoors.

With all the time it takes to pack and move we have some of the best activities planned for Kendrick this next week. We have plans to go to Jump around Utah, The Aquarium, The Little Gym, and probably Liberty Park again. We want him to love his last few days in Utah and enjoy the outdoors as much as possible before we move to a unmistakable desert.

Passing Survival Mode

It just hit me the other day that Nathan and I have been in survival mode our entire marriage. Because of school we have had our lives biggest decisions like where to live and work planned for us. We have had to sacrifice a lot in order to keep afloat and get educated. It has been rough and yet I am slightly sad it is coming to a close. 

The best part about being in survival mode is that there are very few decisions to make. We knew our permanent location would be SLC for 4 years. Things like major vacations, electronic gadgets, 2nd car, yoga pass, movies, and anything else that cost $ wasn't even an option. Student loans were FOR SCHOOL and because of school there was little time to work for any extra play money. It became easy saying no to things because time or money would say no for us.

This next stage is completely different. We won't have to wing it and guess how much money will be coming in because Nate will get the EXACT SAME amount every week. We will have the money to afford things that we want/need but will have to say no to items in order to keep up with paying off his loans as quickly as planned. 

We really could have picked anywhere to live and there are so many doors open that it seems as if life is just beginning. The reason that I am slightly sad is because I loved our time together with forced decisions. It was so fun to dream of the future together and what it would hold. Long car drives always meant long talks about the upcoming future. Now living the future we dreamed about is heartrending to leave behind the past that we lived and loved. 

I will go back to school but I don't think we will ever have to really live as college students again. We are finally to the working/family stage. We will have set schedules that are not likely to change based on a semester. We can plan things months in advance and roughly know what it will look like. There are so many opportunities available that I think that is why moving seems overwhelming. 

We have so much to plan and change while we move and we have never had to make as many decisions in such a short amount of time. I'm still unsure how I feel about it all but I do know that being out of survival mode (once Nate takes and passes his last test) is going to be a very unique adjustment and we are ready for it!

Happy News

Nate has taken 2 tests now. Woot woot! He has passed his Utah law and we should know shortly on the results of the 2nd test. We are still waiting for him to get his authorization to test in AZ so he can test asap and we can have some play time with friends and family before moving. I am so proud of him and all of his efforts but I'm getting pretty anxious for it all to be over with.

We have had a difficult time with the moving truck. First we didn't lock in a rate soon enough and the next time we checked it was $80 more. We called immediately to lock in that price (or so we thought) before it went even higher. On Wednesday we called them again to get more info about our moving day and they never saved our reservation. Oh I was so livid. After about an hour of figuring things out on the phone we had to move our moving date back 4 days but were able to get the price we thought we reserved when we called the 1st time. I am still slightly bitter that we had to change our date but I am also relieved that we don't have to pay more than we planned. 

Now for the really happy news that this post was supposed to be about. We got the house rental that we wanted!! We are thrilled. It has been fun packing and thinking about where things will go in our house. We will have almost 2 1/2 times the amount of space we have now. We hope that it will mean lots of visitors for us! Whelp got to go to work but I will try to keep posting about our adventures. Happy Weekend!

Peace

With the chaos of tests, moving, finding a place to live, and work we have not had the easiest month of our lives. In fact some days have just been down right rotten. I'm selfish with the time I get with Nate and I have not liked sharing that time with study guides and books. In all of the chaos I came across this gem a few weeks ago:

"But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come." -Doctrine and Covenants 59:23

I know for a fact that the days where I try hard to do things that I'm supposed to my heart aches less and I am much more excited about all the change. The days where I really start to panic typically happen when I do things like distract Nate, waste time, and don't prepare for my day. I get overwhelmed so fast. It is rough to try to always do the right thing. I cannot even imagine how it would feel to have complete peace in this world but getting just a taste of it every few days is so magnificent that I had to share.

Mister Kendrick

 I love this picture because the flash is to bright for him to keep his eyes open but he still knows to smile and you can see all 8 of his teeth. He also has milk splattered on his cheek.

The excitement of the camera case. My ma and I took turns visiting my cousin and her new baby.  Kendrick was so good the ENTIRE time (about 2 hours). Who knew that a hospital could be so fun?

Kendrick has been changing so much over the past few months that I wanted to document some of his most recent developments.

*He can say Mama, Papa, Dada, outside, cheese, juice, keys, night night, banana, hi, ought oh and occasionally he will mimic other words but doesn't know what they are.

*He can sign all the sign language that I know (around 20 signs). It has helped a ton with tantrums because usually I can get him to calm down and sign please rather than just screaming for things he wants.

*He will crawl under his crib and fish out objects that he throws underneath it.

*If I'm not in the same room as him he will call out "Mama" and then when I say "Yes baby?" he will come and find me and play wherever I am. (Possibly my favorite thing he does right now even if I am in the same room and he is just being too lazy to look up).

*He sleeps like a champ. He still usually takes 2 naps and sleeps all night. Only when he is teething does his sleeping change a little.

*This one is embarrassing to say but because I want to remember it I will. He grunts when he picks up heavy objects or occasionally when he sits down. After thinking about it I think it is because sometimes I grunt when I pick him up and he is heavier than I am expecting.

*If I had to guess what kind of jobs he might have in the future this is what I'd guess.
Race Car Driver: Based on his need for speed and love for cars.
Veterinarian: He squeals with excitement over dogs and birds the most. He loves stuffed animals and hugs them whenever he sees one. I'd imagine that if he was potty trained he would probably wet his pants over his excitement.
Chef: His favorite toys are my cooking utensils. I can't be in the kitchen without him wanting to help.
Electrician: He loves to plug and unplug objects. Luckily he has not tried to insert anything into sockets other than what belongs there but it still frightens me.
Outdoors Man: I don't have a exact profession. I'm thinking like a hiker, mountain biker, tour guide, etc. This one is broad but Kendrick loves the outdoors more than anyone I know. He knows what "get your shoes" means because he knows that once he gets them we go outside.

*He loves tickles. He will sometime grab my hand and use it to tickle his face. He is also pretty good about attempting to give tickles.

*If I am sitting on the floor he will usually run up to my back wanting a piggy back ride.

*He knows to fold his arms for a prayer. He typically just crosses his hands like my mom does. Cracks me up. He keeps them folded until amen.

*He loves to watch anything on the computer. I try really really hard to not let him watch TV but I also think that it is so adorable that he will sit so still. He is such a busy body that it amazes me that he will sit through any TV episode as long as I watch it with him.

This list is probably long enough so I will stop now. I just love how much he is learning and wish I could have a permanent memory of all he does.

Life happenings

I have a battle field going on in my head and I can't seem to stick to one side for more than a few minutes. The battle is whether or not I am more scared or excited to move. It is all so new that I get so excited for the change but then so nervous for the unknown. I don't think a certain emotion will ever win I will just have to move with the continual battle.

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to drive to AZ and pick out a rental house for us to live in. It had to have been the most fun I have had in the car. My friend and SIL joined me and we didn't listen to a audio book for more than a hour total because our conversation was so constant and natural. While I love being home with my hubby and baby boy I loved the memories that were created in such a short amount of time.

We are still in the application process for the house we want but we are hopeful that all will go well. It is perfect for our needs and just what we are looking for. Part of the square footage is used in a big entryway but that just means less decorating and less $$ to try and fill a bigger living space. It has a big Kitchen and I will be able to see Kendrick wherever he plays while I cook. If there were no such things as scorpions and rattle snakes I think I might lean more towards excited and not so scared :)

Have a extraordinary Monday!

Mommy skills

I think moms have the most versatile jobs. The skill that I am currently working on is being a hair stylist. I am terrible. I really like Kendrick’s hair long but was unable to cut it and have it look good. So I finally cut it short again. Now that it is short I am having a hard time spiking it and making it stay. I’m just glad that I have a boy and his hair being done isn’t super important.

PICTURES! (old ones)

The blog really really needs some remodeling and pictures. My MIL asked to see these family pictures so I thought I'd post them here and add some excitement... along with the promise that many many pictures and updates will come AFTER we move. I might post more recent ones sooner but we'll see :)