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 :)

"Better than I deserve"

I love Dave Ramsey. I think he is a genius in helping America become debt free. I just finished his book The Total Money Makeover and I loved it. I am excited to get gazelle intense on Nate's student loans. We have always been living debt free and now that we have a very large debt I can hardly wait to pay it off as quickly as possible.

Because of our motivation to pay off the debt and still have a need for change we are moving to Arizona. We know it is HOT and yes we are still excited!! Nate got a job in a matter of minutes after taking to the district manager in the area we were interested in. It could have possibly taken months if we stayed in Utah and waited for one to open here. We really feel blessed for this opportunity.

It will be an adjustment for Kendrick but I think his love for water and the outdoors will help him adjust fast. We can swim in the summer and play outside all day in the winter! Woot woot. Here is to a new chapter in our life.