Boppi and Grandpa Al came to visit!

There was so much excitement and anticipation of my parent's coming to visit! So much so that Collin made himself sick....not really, but he did get hit with a flu bug a few days before they came. I sanitized the whole house before they arrived and thankfully no one else came down with it. Unfortunately for Collin he really didn't have his full appetite back until the last couple days they were here. Thankfully that didn't affect his energy though!

 I loved having my parent's come to visit, especially my dad since he hadn't met Derrick yet and doesn't usually get to travel as much as my mom because of work. They planned their trip (February 24- March 2) so that we could have a little bit of time to settle into the house and decide what home projects we wanted their help with. As much as we would have loved to tackle the kitchen or backyard we needed a bit more time to save money and decide what exactly we wanted to do. But we did get some good brainstorming in while they were here. We decided to paint the entire family room, entry, hallway and the boys room. And added a spur of the moment project of tearing out a little formica counter in our "office nook" and replacing it with some stained wood. And of course some other little odd projects like cleaning window screens and sprucing up the front porch. And one of my favorite upgrades was replacing all the switches and outlets in the rooms we painted. Such a simple thing but gives the house such an updated feel. It was a lot of really late nights and Michael and I had some bits to finish up after they left but I just love how fresh everything looks now! The shelf in our entry took a bit more work then anticipated- probably would have helped if we had primed it. But we used a paint the owners had left so that it matched the other trims and didn't realize at first that it didn't have primer in it. Oops! All the paint we had bought was a paint/primer combo. But 3 coats later it looks so much better then it did in that ugly chocolate brown.

 

Before and After. 

We also changed out our light bulbs for LED ones which really help brighten up the room! 

  

Funny I don't have any pictures of my dad working. But he did help, and was great at fulfilling his Grandpa duties! Although, I'm not sure we can trust him as a babysitter, he might end up sleeping on the job... ;)

We did manage to squeeze some fun in while they were here too. In between our many trips to Lowe's we took them to our favorite park to feed the ducks and showed them around town a little.

We spent a morning at Surfside beach and had a picnic lunch. We even got lucky and saw some horses. Collin liked them but not enough to pet them.

 

 

 

  

We took a day off from working and went to Galveston. We rode the Galveston Ferry, had lunch at Miller's Grill, and walked around some historic districts and played for a bit at a fun park we found.

And of course Sunday was Derrick's baby blessing. I was so grateful to have my parents here for it. It would have been a really lonely day without any family to celebrate with us.

We (meaning my dad and Michael) grilled a delicious steak dinner their last night. I am not a steak fan but this was good! My dad said that he couldn't come all the way to Texas without having steak.

Our New House!!

We bought a house! 

(And apologies for the super long and detailed post. This is my attempt at journaling)

Around August of 2015 we started house hunting. We got pre-approved and met with our amazing realtors, Susan and Monica. Houses in Lake Jackson are in really high demand. Many houses, especially ones in our price range, sell super quick, like 1-2 days quick! One of the first thing our realtors said was that when they call with a house be ready to go look at it that day. Thankfully Michael's work was very willing and flexible to let him leave to go look at houses. It seemed like house hunting went kind of up and down. There would be a week of several options and then a bit of a lull where we wouldn't hear from our realtors for a couple weeks, and then it would kind of repeat.

One of the early houses we looked out seemed to be a great option, we called it the "Ash House" since it was on Ash Ln. We put an offer on it and it got rejected. Then a few days later the seller contacted our realtors wondering if we wanted to resubmit our offer. So we resubmitted essentially the same offer. They rejected it again with remarks that it was the same price/conditions, but didn't counter, which was weird. We later found out the seller went with a cash buyer for a much lower price so she close quickly since she needed funds from that house to purchase another home. Which once we learned that it made much more sense. Our realtors still felt bad about how everything happened. But surprisingly I really wasn't too disappointed. Throughout the process we prayed that if it was the right house for us that things would fall into place. I had some moments of sadness, but in the end the more I thought about it the more I thought about things in the layout that really would have bugged me. So we were grateful we didn't get it, but enjoyed the learning experience.

In between the Ash house and finding our home we looked at lots more houses. There seemed to be an abundance of 1500 sq ft or smaller homes that came on the market. Our realtors were so patient with us as we kept wanting to look at them. Finally, me first and then Michael, realized that no matter the lay out, 1 or 2 stories, it was just going to be too small for us. And once we finally both agreed it seemed like our perfect house popped up

When my mom was in town after Derrick was born we walked through THE house! It was actually on December 14th, the afternoon before she left. It was fun that she was able to see it too. Based on the pictures online I honestly was not too confident that it would be something we would like. Even when we drove up my mom commented on the nice curb appeal and I still was just kind of so so. But walking in definitely changed my mind! It had some nice upgrades- like 6 panel doors, 2 inch blinds, painted paneling, no wallpaper (!!) newish carpet, a new roof, etc- that really helped it feel a step up from others that we had been looking at. And although it wasn't the biggest house we had seen it still had 4 good size bedrooms. And it had some charm like a front porch big enough for a bench, a bay window in the eating area and a beautiful brick fireplace! When we told our realtors we wanted to make an offer they said great...since they had already started drawing up some of the paperwork. My mom took the boys home to get dinner started and Michael and I headed off to their office to draw up the offer. I should add that the house had just come on the market that morning! We found out two days later that our offer had been accepted! We were so exited!!! We later found out that they had received 6 offers on that first day! Part of me likes to think that it may have something to do with the fact that we saw them drive in as we were loading up after looking at it. Perhaps they saw us loading our two boys in to the van as they walked into their house with their two slightly older boys. Maybe we reminded them of their young family when they bought the house a few years before ;)

Our closing date was set for January 29th, the day before my birthday, and exactly one year from the day we moved out of our apartment in San Antonio. Although I wouldn't recommend moving on your birthday two years in a row you really can't beat a house for a birthday present! In that month in a half we had a lot of stuff to do and all with a newborn! We had the house inspected, Michael did a lot of negotiating and shopping around with our loan and financing options. He was able to get a great rate for us- way to go babe! Thankfully really the only major appliance we needed to buy was a fridge- Michael scored another great deal on a used stainless one. While he did a lot of shopping around I nursed Derrick ;) kept Collin entertained and packed. And the sellers agreed to have the carpets cleaned for us before we moved in.

On our closing day, January 29th, we had some friends who were kind enough to watch Collin for us. Michael took the day off from work and we had our final walk through around 10 and then signed what felt like a million papers. And just like that we were home owners! Derrick was great and nursed and then slept in Susan's arms the whole time. (Funny memory- Right near the end Susan passed him back to me and in his half asleep state he immediately started rooting to eat some more. Totally made me laugh that he knew my scent!). I think I had a permanent smile on my face the rest of the day! We picked up Collin and celebrated with pizza for lunch (partially since everything was packed). Then we spent the rest of the day getting things in order for moving day (and my birthday) the next day.

 

First offical act as homeowners...Sweeping the garage!

 

We went by the house that night to take a van full of things and do some cleaning before moving everything in. We had a picnic dinner in our new dining room. And had fun running around our big empty family room. And Collin loved getting to see his new room. Although he was a little confused since there wasn't anything in it yet. One of my favorite memories those first few days in the new house was watching Collin run down the hall and mixing up the rooms or coming out of his room and pausing for a second before remembering which way he needed to go. You could just imagine the little wheels turning in his head as he tried to remember which way the family room, bathroom, etc was.

 

 

 

Someday we will give the kitchen a complete facelift, but for now we are embracing the avocado green counters! 

Cleaning the Master Bathroom

Collin showing off his bathroom. 

 

Hanging out in our new family room! 

 

Moving day came bright and early! It made me so happy to know that this was going to be our last move for the next several years. We have truly been blessed with such an awesome ward. We had a huge crew of people (even lots of my primary kids) come to help us move. They came armed with trailers, dollies, mini vans and trucks that we loaded everything into and took to the house. They did one big trip and then a couple vehicles went back for a few last things. Everything was done within a couple hours and we even got the fridge hooked up, and all the beds set up. They were seriously so much help! I think I may have moved one box the whole morning. I took Collin to the Wilcox's in the morning. And then picked up some food at the store for our helpers. And then ended up pretty much just holding Derrick while directing traffic. That alone was a pretty great birthday present.

 

My view from the minivan while nursing Derrick. Loved watching all our great help! I may have cringed and said a few prayers that things wouldn't get broken while watching some of the younger helpers try to carry something. Thankfully everything survived! 

 

My handsome hubby cleaning the fridge. I really have to give a shout out for all his hard work! When it came down to it he was really doing most of the work. Derrick was at tricky stage and my milk supply was starting to regulate/drop. So I was pretty stressed about that. I was nursing a lot and pumping a couple times a day to get it back up. Thankfully things worked out in that department but physically I wasn't a huge help with moving. 

 

Even though we were surrounded by boxes it really didn't feel bad since we had so much room to spread out. 

 

The Master bedroom

 

I texted this picture of our guest room to my parents. They were coming to visit at the end of February, I told them that we were all ready for them but they may have to share their bed ;) 

 

The boy's room

 

I remember after everyone had left sitting in our living room, surrounded by boxes, nursing Derrick and just feeling so incredibly blessed. The house was quiet (we hadn't gotten Collin yet) and I was just in awe that this was ours. And I had been receiving Birthday wishes via facebook, calls and texts all morning that made me feel so loved and special. (And just a little side note- I don't know if it was the fact that I was turning 25 or that in the last year we had bought a minivan, had a second baby and were buying a house but I was really feeling old!)

We did some unpacking and cleaning that afternoon, got all the food moved over from the old place. And mostly just got things ready enough for Sunday the next day. Then we decided to go to a restaurant on the beach for a birthday dinner. Unfortunately dinner was kind of a bust, probably didn't help that we were all exhausted and a little hangry. But it was nice to be out with my boys.

Beautiful view at dinner. It was a bit colder then we anticipated and the food was taking forever so we ended up moving to a table inside.

A birthday picture with my cute boys before bed! 

Oh, and a few days later we turned in the keys to our final apartment. We had lived in 5 different apartments in 3 different states in the 5 years we had been married! Words can't describe how good it feels to be settled in our own place! 

One long Month of Sickies

Between December 21st and January 21st we were at the Pediatrician's office once a week. Visit #1 was December 21st for Derrick's one month appointment. The next week we were there for Visit #2 to follow up on Collin's ER visit on Christmas night (see Christmas post for more details). Turns out the low fever he had been running was because of a double ear infection. So we got an antibiotic for that, on top of his breathing treatments we were doing a few times a day, and a steroid the ER prescribed for a couple of days. As hard as we tried to keep Collin away from Derrick he came down with this nasty virus too. So the first week in January we were there for Visit #3. Thankfully his was just a stuffy nose and a cough but since he was so young they prescribed a breathing treatment for him as well and we had a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia (he had already been sick for a few days since he start coming down with it over New Year's/the weekend).  Thankfully the x-ray came back clear. By this point we were nearing the end of Collins antibiotic round. But he still wasn't acting 100% and if I remember correctly his fever came back too. After a call to the nurse we decided it would be best to take him back in for Visit #4. Poor boy still had a double ear infection. So it was back to the pharmacy for round 2 of antibiotics, this one a little stronger. And instructions to come back in a couple weeks to make sure his ears had cleared up. We were already scheduled to come in later the following week for Visit #5 for Derrick's 2 month appointment. Thankfully they were able to save us another visit and check them while we were there and they were clearing up nicely! We finished up the round of antibiotics and thankfully both boys seemed to stay relatively healthy (minus 2 bouts of a stomach bug for Collin at the end of February almost exactly a month later at the end of March- poor boy seemed to catch it all!) the rest of the winter! By some miracle Michael did not catch the bug. Unfortunately I came down with a stuffy nose. Mom's should be exempt from being sick! Especially nursing moms, because it severely limited what I could take without fear of reducing my supply. I am fairly certain it turned into a sinus infection because it lasted pretty much the whole month of January. Thankfully some simple saline spray seemed to help start clearing things up and I was better by the time we moved at the end of January. It was pretty miserable while it lasted though.

At least our sickies looked cute while doing their treatments. Collin became a bit obsessed about medicine though, so we had lots of talks about only Mommy and Daddy can touch the medicine, etc.

 

I forgot that Collin broke out in a rash as well. Poor Boy! 

 

 Collin's treatment came in an inhaler form with this device we held up to his face. Thankfully we didn't have to keep him still for the nebulizer like Derrick had! He loved to help push the button.

 Thankfully Derrick slept through most of his! Most annoying part was that it lasted about 10 minutes each time and we were doing it a few times a day.

 Collin always loved to "help"!

Despite feeling crummy we got our 1st intentional smile from our cute boy on January 5th! And I caught it on camera ;)

And if I gained one thing from this whole experience it was confidence in managing both kids at the doctor's office solo- even when Derrick had to get shots at visit #5!

Christmas 2015

This was our first Christmas as our own little family. And as much as we wished we could spend it with extended family it was so nice to be together as a new family of 4. With Derrick being so young it was nice to move at our own pace and not have the chaos of so many people. And it was fun to finally start establishing our own traditions...although there still may be some tweaking in years to come.

Christmas Eve-
Michael had the day off. I honestly can't really remember what we did during the day. My family traditionally has clam chowder for dinner. But neither of us wanted all those leftovers so we opted for a personal favorite, Zuppa Tuscana. Plus it has sentimental meaning since we served it at our wedding reception. That night the boys got new pjs. Collin's were actually last year's from Boppi, but this year they actually fit ;) Collin wanted to see Christmas lights so we drove around our soon to be neighborhood in our pj's to see the lights. And then came home for the Nativity, acted out by our Little People set, and the Night Before Christmas reading. Then we left cookies (I was smart and froze gingerbread cookies when we made them earlier in the month) and milk and a note for Santa.

 Santa and Bernard left a note and really enjoyed the cookies! ;) 

Christmas Day:

Collin woke up pretty early with a cough (we didn't think anything of it at the time) and we all snuggled in bed for a bit before venturing to the tree. I grew up opening stockings, eating breakfast, enjoying the day, eating dinner, doing the dishes and then finally opening the gifts under the tree. Michael is not a fan of that tradition, and with nap time waiting so long to do gifts just isn't practical. So we did a modified version. Stockings and then breakfast (we made a full recipe of my family's Christmas breakfast casserole and biscuits. We were eating leftovers for days! Next year we will probably half it, maybe even quarter it!). After breakfast we opened presents under the tree. Then we hurried to get ready to enjoy chicken salad sandwiches at the beach. As long as we live close to the beach we want to keep this tradition! It was so much fun and we practically had the place to ourselves. Then it was home for baths and naps. After naps it was time to video chat with Michael's family and then with mine. We then joined our good friend's the Wilcox's for Christmas dinner. Someday I want to establish our own traditional dinner but for now with young kids this was great. We split the work load and didn't have loads of leftovers and got to enjoy some adult conversation. Win Win! All in all it was the perfect day! I was worried since we weren't celebrating with family that there would be too much down time and we would feel lonely and bored and it would be too much like a normal day. But we ended up having plenty to fill the day, with little time in between all the activities we had planned.

 Derrick slept his way through most of the festivities

 He did open at least one gift. Collin didn't complain about filling in for him on the other ones. 

 

He did wake up for some of the fun. 

 The boys made headbands with the ribbons

 

 We kept with tradition and gave Derrick his special toy for his first Christmas. (Collin got Bruno on his first Christmas). If we really keep with tradition it will be called Waldo, but his tag says Slowpoke which I think is really cute. We'll see what Derrick decides someday! He also got his first ornament for his collection. The soft little sock monkey seemed fitting for a little baby.

  Collin loves pretending to play different instruments we thought it was fitting he get his own little piano.

 The aftermath! I was surprised at the mess we made. Can't even imagine what it will be like as the boys get older and we add more kids to the bunch! We were definitely spoiled by family!

 Family Selfie. It was a warm but very hazy day.

 Super dad carrying both boys!

 Collin remembered taking pictures here with Boppi a few weeks before and insisted on another one.

 I made this fun veggie tray for dinner. We also made a raspberry pretzel jello salad and rolls.

 This was one of those "its all fun and games until someone gets hurt" instances. But it was hilarious while it lasted!

The end of our Christmas day was quite eventful. Like I said before Collin woke up coughing pretty early that morning. He was acting fairly normal throughout the day. However after nap he was pretty mellow/grumpy. We chalked it up to just so much excitement and Michael getting him as soon as he started stirring so he could talk to family. After dinner he and Ashton were running around playing and we was getting pretty sweaty (not unusual for him) but it was definitely making him cough more. We hurried home, I took him into a steamy bathroom before bed and we got the humidifier going. He went to sleep but woke up around 11 and this time it was pretty serious. He was wheezing and really struggling to breath. We called the pedi and she urged us to take him in. We said a family prayer and off he and Michael went to the ER. Broke my heart to see him go and he wasn't very happy that Mommy wasn't coming too. I texted some family to keep him in their prayers. At the ER they gave him a couple breathing treatments to open up the lungs, and did a chest x-ray. Everything came back clear and determined it was just a bad virus. What was so weird was how quickly he came down with it. I don't even remember him having a runny nose before which is usually how his coughs start. Anyway they got home around 2 and so began one long month of sickness...which deserves its own post!