4-month check-up

Balian had his 4-month check-up today...or was it his 2-month?

Yeah...with all of the moving and job changing, we ended up not getting a 2-month check-up for Balian.

But everything went well. I like the doctor we went to, that was recommended to me by the wife of one of Neil's co-workers. Dr. Simpson has 6 kids of her own (crazy), is awesome about shots (everything is mercury free and preservative free and she spreads out all of the "live, risky" ones they have to get when they're older), and just has a really good way of doing things. She'll tell her patients what the AAP says, then tells them her own opinions, but then isn't all "my way or the highway" - and puts it into the parents' court. She said "I see your kids for 15 minutes; you see them all the time. You definitely have a better idea of what's best for your kid. I give you some options. It's your job to find what works."

Here's Balian's stats:

Length: 26.5 inches (95%)

Weight: 17 lbs. 12 oz. (95%)

HA! My kid is HUGE! Proportionate, but HUGE! Dr. Simpson asked if Bella was always big for her age, and of course..yes... It's so odd. Neil and I aren't very big people, but somehow we have very large babies :) She said that he definitely wasn't fat...just a big baby.

Everything else was good. vitals were good.

Talked about the reflux. we aren't going to put him back on medicine at this point. only if it starts to really bother him (burn when he spits up and he gets really fussy).

Talked about solid food (I have already started Balian on rice cereal from a spoon)

and of course...Balian got some shots...which he wasn't too fond of. The first one didn't phase him. The second one though, he let out the biggest wail I have heard in quite a while.

On another note...I finally got a FULL night of rest last night!! Balian has been going 12+ hours at night between feedings for about 3 weeks now, but he's been waking up A LOT for other reasons (gas, teething, etc.), so we haven't been able to enjoy his feed-less nights. Well, last night he ate at 7:30, was in Bed by 8:15 and woke up at 7:45 this morning!! woo hoo!! He stirred a couple of times, but was able to put himself back to sleep, so I am thrilled :) Now the question is - can he do it again??

Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History

My mom, Bella, Balian, and I went to the Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History on Tuesday. It was Bella's reward/celebration for learning all of her ABC's by recognition (knowing all the letters when she saw them...at random). She reached that accomplishment about a month or two ago, but between moving, unpacking, bad weather, and holidays, we haven't had a chance to go...until now! She had a blast playing in the Children's Museum - and Balian even had some fun too :)

Unpacking

While Unpacking, Bella found some fun stuff. This was the result:

Closing Time

We closed on the house in Granbury yesterday!! Let's just say that it was interesting. We showed up at about 2pm - the time we were supposed to close. It was obvious that somebody wasn't doing their job, and they weren't prepared with the correct paperwork. An hour later, we finally sit down and start going over all the paperwork...oh, but a lot of the paperwork is wrong - or somebody didn't go over the sales contract so that everything was organized as far as how much each person owes for what. At 4:30 we're still going over kinks in the closing, and at 4:45 we are finally in the car.
Mind you, we have both kids with us. All Bella has to do is a pen and an envelope to draw on, and her Tinkerbell doll to play with...and it's her naptime (2pm) and she wasn't really interested in lunch...so empty belly and tired. not a good combination. amazingly enough she was awesome! She didn't complain once - and listened and obeyed very well.
Balian ate as soon as we got there, so he was good for that...for the most part. He didn't take a nap, except maybe about 5 minutes, because he hasn't been sleeping in the carseat unless inside of a moving vehicle. :( But again, an amazing kid. He took a catnap in the car and held out for us until we got home :)
oh...and on the way home...Neil gets a call from the lady that did the closing...saying that she needed him to come up to the office and write another check. fabulous.

But, we have the house!
now, we get to rip the "grandma" out of it and make it our own! :)

Desert Song

I love this song... simply because it speaks about worship being more than a feeling...more than something that happens outwardly. But sometimes by going through the motions of just simply speaking (or singing) out loud WHO GOD IS - and lifting our hands in surrender - we gain victory over doubt, fear, circumstances, and the principalities of darkness!
And this is an incredible testimony of just that :)

Finally - some pictures!

Ok, it's been a while since I posted any pictures, so now you get a plethora of them! No pictures of the house yet...those will come later.

Balian smiled for us on November 1 - two days before we left Georgia :)

Here we are outside of our house in Georgia, just before leaving it

:(

Bella helping mommy out, by feeding Balian :)

While we were in Louisiana, Bella and Balian were able to see their very first snow (yes, Bella is 2.5 and had never seen snow...sleet, yes...but not snow)

This was when it started snowing.

And this is what was made the morning after... (however, when Balian was put next to the snowman, he was bigger...keep that in mind. still fun though!)

Bella enjoying the snow - she didn't want to go back inside!

Balian bundled up to see the snow - only this time, no flinching from snowflakes landing on his nose and eye-lashes.

This is what we saw coming into Granbury as a family. Welcome to Texas :)

And I was finally able to take some pictures of the kids the other day, because it was beautiful outside!!

Beautiful Bella...

And here's Balian (now 14 weeks) - check out the cheeks!!

And Big News: Balian Rolled over for real on Monday!! He was hating tummy time, so I started putting him on a pillow for tummy time on Saturday - and he loved it...and started rolling off of it - so Monday, I put him on the floor to see if he could do it totally on his own, and he did! He's done it a lot since then - so much fun!

Where Did We Go?

Ok, so it's been about 2 months since I blogged. Is it seriously almost Christmas? Time flies when life is crazy :)

Here's a recap of what has been going on the past 2 months:

October 30 - Neil's last day of Active Duty.
November 2- packed up to go to Louisiana
November 3 - left for Louisiana to stay with Neil's parents until Neil got a job and we knew where we were headed. Drove from Kingsland, GA to Gulf Shores, AL to stay with Aunt Linda and Uncle Jeff for a night. A normally 7-hr. drive took 10.5 hours.
November 4 - Arrive in Louisiana at Neil's parents' house - 7 hour drive took about 11 hours. :)
November 6 - Neil flies out of Alexandria, LA to go back to Georgia to take care of getting the house ready to put up for rent.
November 11 - Neil flies out to Texas.
November 12 - Neil interviews for a mechanical engineering position for Luminant at the Commanche Peak nuclear power plant in Glen Rose. Then, flies back to GA to finish up with everything.
The week of November 16 - roofers, painters, and setting stuff up with the realtor.
November 23 - Neil receives a phone offer from Luminant for the Mechanical Engineering position...and accepts!! Also, pictures taken of the house, keys given to the realtor, and Neil leaves to go back to Louisiana, stopping in Gulf Shores on the way.
November 24 - After spending some time on the way with Brent and Michelle Sawyer, Neil arrives in Louisiana at his parents' house again.
November 26 - Thanksgiving
December 2 - Neil left for a house-hunting trip to Texas and also signs the official offer from Luminant.
December 3 - House-hunting (looking for a rental) with my parents and realtor.
December 4 - put in an offer on a house to buy...found one that was for rent or to buy...older home, outdated on the inside, but solid construction...great price because of being outdated...we offered $9,000 less than what they asked (after taking into consideration how much it would cost us to update the inside) and they accepted the offer! Great neighborhood in Granbury.
Also, we heard that our house was going to be rented out. yay!
December 5 - Neil drives back to Louisiana from Texas.
December 8 - pack up the rest of our stuff in Louisiana.
December 9 - leave for Texas. Balian and I start out early...Neil and Bella start a little later and catch up to us on the Granbury side of Ft. Worth...and we caravan the rest of the way. We stayed at a hotel that night...not much sleep...the newborn wakes up the toddler...the toddler wakes up the newborn...not fun :(
December 10 - Realtor drops off keys to the house, we get all the information we need to be able to get into the neighborhood and we get into the house! My mom and dad come over with air mattresses, pots and pans, etc. to help us get by until the movers come.
December 11 - Neil leaves to go to Shreveport for Drill
December 12 & 13 - Drill
December 13 - Neil gets back.
December 16 - Internet Access and phone! woohoo!

I know most of this is what Neil was doing...so what was I doing? Taking care of the kiddos...easier said than done. This entire time, Balian has only been going 2-2.5 hrs. between feedings during the day...he just hasn't been sleeping well during the day. At night, he's great, doing one big stretch between feedings - anywhere from 7-11 hours. But not so much daytime...and eating has still been taking about an hour. ridiculous. All of this leaves not much time for anyone but Balian...cutting out on my time with Bella - and forget about any time to myself!
Since we've been here, he's been doing a little better during the day...he's eating a bit faster (sometimes) and we've been blessed with some 3-hour stretches during the day and we LOVE those! :)

Bella is adapting well - she loves her new room and new house, and surprisingly never really asks about our old house. She asks about people all the time, but not the house.

I'll post pictures of the kiddos and the house next time around...so look for it soon!