19 Months!

1-18-23: We have a 19 month old! Just last night before bedtime, Brandon looked up at me and said "we have a little boy, babe. He's not a baby anymore." He is so right! Chandler is growing up way to fast and we are cherishing every moment with him! 

In the most exciting news ever, we are officially HOUSE SHOPPING!! EEEK! Our first home!!! We are so excited and it seems as though God has been very clear in leading us to where we should go! We have been praying for several months for direction and it seems as though all things are pointing and leading us to Buda! There is a new development, Sunfield, and we are so in love with it! Excellent neighborhood, great location, amazing schools, and we have found the home of our dreams! Brandon has been amazing and even though we are in the very earliest stages, he has been on it! It's been a week and he has arranged for us to meet with a realtor, see 2 model homes (one being unplanned and also the one we love), and we are receiving some very good news back from our early conversations! Brandon is leading the numbers part of things and we are ready to move forward! In fact, Brandon told the realtor today to tell the builder that "yes, we are ready to get serious and on track for a December 2023 move in, and wanting to start building in about 2-3 months!" 

Perhaps one of the best parts is mom was here this past weekend to stay with me since Brandon was on a cycle weekend with his race team, and on a whim, I took her to see it and we got to go in!! That meant so much to me for her to see it. She loves it!! I am so excited for this season and grateful to God for allowing this blessing upon us. 

1-24-23: Praise the Lord! I went to bed last night and within an hour of bedtime and getting comfortable, it was like God lifted my sickness and I felt instantly better! It was incredible to feel the difference over the course of a few hours and also confirmed that we truly have all suffered from illness this month. It's been 24 days for Brandon and I, and 29 for Chandler of respiratory suffering. Fever, aches, feeling better only to feel worse 48 hours later, coughing, congestion, and overall pure misery. The sound round really did me in. The hope of feeling better and any reserve effort we had to trudge on seemed to dissolve. Praying daily, over and over, for God's healing, we moved forward day by day. Waking up today was night and day difference! Still feeling a little weak and off, I am still so overjoyed to have some energy back and a resolve of all the head pressure. Thank you, Lord! 

Today, we are recovering, resting, and packing for DFW. Papa passed away and as sad as I am, I am so happy for him. Knowing he and nanny are reunited brings me so much joy. We will be driving up tomorrow and coming back Friday. As much as I'm not wanting to travel and risk getting sick again, I'm happy it's a quick trip and looking forward to being with family for a few days. 

In other news, today is the day we find out if we got our home or not!!! It has been an incredibly fast process and has gone from reaching out to a realtor to singing a contract all within 2 weeks! We are praying for God's guidance and we trust his decision. I'm so excited to be making this step and so hopeful that this process continues! 

1-27-21: It's been a quick little trip to DFW but I'm so glad we made it work and have really enjoyed the family time. Feeling better each day, I'm so encouraged and can realize, looking back, that we were so sick and no wonder I felt as bad as I did. We laid papa to rest yesterday and because he's a veteran, the service included military recognition and it was the first time I have seen that in person. It was truly beautiful and so amazing to witness the soldiers saluting the flag, playing the trumpet, and folding the flag before handing it to daddy. So noble and honorable. It was truly a sight to witness. 

We went to lunch after with the family at On The Border and then back to mom's to visit. Dad pulled me aside and said "You know what? I know God sent you to me to straighten me out. I needed you." That was the first time he's ever said something so heartfelt and it was hard to not cry! I told him "I know God sent you to me because I needed a good daddy to take care of me." He said, "well we needed each other!" It was really a sweet moment and I will cherish it always. 

In the most exciting news- WE GOT OUR HOUSE!!!! 162 Durian Loop, Buda, Texas is OURS!!! I am so thankful and it really doesn't seem real yet. I told Brandon I feel like I did when I was pregnant; I don't want to get too excited because I haven't "heard the heartbeat yet." He said it was a great analogy and that it'll feel real when he cycles past it and sees the frame, brick, and the home coming together. I totally agree! I still feel like something could happen and it doesn't work out! I'm so thankful to God for making this happen and happen so fast and easily! We are officially under contract as of 1-23-23, under financing negotiations as of 1-26-23, and I can't wait to have a home of our own!! I'm so proud of Brandon and how he has led us through this under God's direction. 

1-28-23: No place like home! We had a cozy evening, Willow and Kelli came over to play for a few minutes and drop off packages they picked up for us while we were out of town, and we are so happy to be home! We love sitting and playing with Chandler in the evenings and watching him learn and grow! Right now, he is all about dressing and putting his shoes on! He is very, very determined and strong willed when it comes to dressing these days. He runs around the corner to the living room, with his little Doc Martins on the wrong feet, and so proud of himself! We cheer him on and make the biggest deal when he pops around the corner! He is so amazing and we delight in him so much! I don't know how it's possible to love him more each day but it seems like our hearts capacity to love gets deeper and deeper each morning. He is also saying fun things like "touchdown!!" "Yee-haw" when he's on his pony, and will try to say anything we encourage him to. It's so amazing to watch him learn! 

Sadly, he is also have some night terrors and it is heartbreaking. We have had several rough nights but I know it's a season and we are just walking through this with him. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to calm him down, other nights it takes hours but we of-course don't mind! We love our little fella so much!

The other decision we've made is to cancel The Little Gym! It had been on my mind but since Mrs. Caitlin resigned and we met the new teacher, it was really an easy decision. That along with the challenge of parking, the lack of cleanliness since COVID has gotten better (frequently getting sick), and just the overall awareness that it seems to have ran it's course led us to the decision to cancel. Since spring and summer are coming, we would much prefer to be outside at the parks than inside anyway. Saving $100 a month is a big deal to since we are house focused. I'm so thankful for TLG and all the fun and development Chandler experienced there. It was such a great thing for us to look forward to as a family and especially as a new mommy! I have them to thank for so many great memories, Chandler meeting milestones early, and the encouragement it gave me as a new mommy to get out of the house and build confidence with my new baby! We are looking forward to trying Little Land in Buda near our new home for only $39 a month and more of a come/go style of play! This makes me so excited since TLG had basically become just that- with the busy toddler, his class seemed to have lost it's structure and kids just wanted to play and climb. I'm looking forward to a nice, new, clean facility that's close to our new neighborhood! Mom made the great point too that we can start to build relationships with kids that he will most likely go to school with one day. 

2-2-23: Happy Groundhog's Day! Boy, I'll say! We are currently iced in, in Texas and today is day 4! Snow days before a toddler were great; extra sleep, nothing to do, and lots of down time. Snow days with a toddler, although I adore all the time together, is rough! We are getting cabin fever and I feel so bad every time he runs to the front door and wants to go outside! I take him on the porch and teach him how cold and icy it is and even let him down so he could see how cold the ground was. He didn't last long before wanting to go back in! Today should be better though! It's supposed to melt and hopefully warm up a little bit!

To stay occupied, we decided to make the most of being cooped up and started having some fun! We have colored, watched way too much Snowman and Frosty, cooked relentlessly (guess being iced in makes for some very bored and hungry boys), make and icing valentines cookies, and build a superhero fort!! We wore our superhero costumes, put our nugget couch in cool fort-like architecture, and opened/turned on 40 battery powered tea light candles (who would have known that would be such a great purchase and come in handy!) Chandler loved our "messs" as he called it and we had such a fun afternoon! He and Brandon also loved the sugar cookies and although they were premade, it was still fun to get the little kid icing pouches out and let him have fun! Thankfully, we seem to be past the night terrors and little Chandler has been sleeping through the night again! I'm so thankful because this means that I get to get up at 5am and have some quiet time before the boys get up! This is my favorite time and of day and favorite routine. 

Ending on an exciting note and one of amazement is that Chandler used the potty!!!! For the first time, our little guy used his potty chair! I'm so glad I had bought it beforehand and had it ready to go. We were playing in the living room and he grabbed my hand (his new thing, grab and lead to wherever he wants you to go. I secretly love it), said "ettt, ett" (for wet), and then attempted to take his clothes off. I thought he had maybe spilled some water on himself but his clothes were dry. No knowing what he wanted, I listened to him and helped him take off his shirt. Then, he wanted his pants off, and then of-course he took his diaper off and proceeded to inspect himself. I told him we needed to put a new diaper and pajamas on and he said "tee-tee." I went with it!!! We walked to the bathroom, got his potty chair, and he sat right down in it! It took a few attempts and cycles of up/down, up/down but then he did it!! Several times!! He was SO proud of himself! Brandon and I made the biggest deal over it and praised him for being such a big boy! Next, we flushed his "tee-tee" down the big potty and waved bye, which he said and it was the cutest thing!! I'm not sure if he's actually ready but I'm definitely not going to discourage it! I forsee a lot of naked baby in our house in the future! Will be trying to teach him that he doesn't have to be naked to use the potty, ha! We are so proud of our little guy and constantly amazed at what he does!