28 weeks pregnant! New home, summer 2023, Nursery, and new milestones!

The past month has been a WILD one, to say the absolute very least! A whirlwind, actually! We got home from Colorado on June 23rd and although I enjoyed the time away, the car ride was long and I was so happy to be home. I woke up sick that morning but thankfully, we were back in DFW and all I had to do was get to Austin. Brandon had driven straight through so he could get back to work but Chandler and I needed to stay a night in Mckinney. Finally, a few hours later, we were home and all three of us were so happy! It was a great trip and wonderful way to celebrate his birthday but boy, was I glad to be home! Little Ruth has already had her first trip to the mountains and I look forward to being able to tell her about it one day! 

While we were gone, big HOUSE things happened! The builder let us know that our home was ready for closing, which meant we had to move fast and get busy! I've never been so proud of Brandon or impressed with his sacrifice and efforts to make something happen for our family. He worked endlessly with the title company, builder, loan officer, and every one else to get us to close! Long hours at night, a million emails, and all the stress of house buying- he willingly took upon his shoulders and I am so humbled by his hard work. Because of him, we did our final walk though on June 30th, officially closed on our new home on the 30th, packed that night, and moved on July, 1st, 2023. WE HAVE A HOME!!! THANK YOU, GOD! When we started 2023, I would have never dreamed that we would have a home this summer, a brand new one in an amazing community at that! Here we are though! God had bigger and better plans that we could have ever imagined! Chandler will have a brand new school to attend, a safe neighborhood, have several great colleges to chose from if he wants to stay close to home, and amazing amenities! Little Ruth will come home to a brand new home and nursery, and that makes me so overjoyed! I'm grateful for our new home and truly amazed at what God has done to get us here. 

Move day was busy as expected but also exciting! Things went very well and we had a great first night in our new home! During the loading, Chandler and I let the boys work and we took one last walk to the Rancho Alto pocket park, played, and spent time together. It was very bittersweet to me and I had some tears as I reminisced about his first walks in the neighborhood, all the time we spent outdoors by the big trees, the wagon rides and trips to the gas station for a treat, and all my runs at the local pond park. We went back just in time for me to give him one last bubble bath in our tub and then it was time to head to our new house! We were all so tired by the end of the day that bedtime for Chandler was smooth, and we were thankful. Brandon and I stayed up late sitting in our new living room, surrounded by boxes, and happy as can be! It's not often that we find the time to stay up late together chatting but we did and I really enjoyed it. It was very refreshing to have his company and conversation! The next day, we all woke up in our new home and started getting settled. So far, we slept like babies, have an amazing shower and bathroom, and are loving the extra space! We are the third house finished on the street, which means construction surrounds us but we don't mind! Chandler is in Earthly Heaven because we are surrounded by all the big construction trucks and machines! We sit on the front porch and watch mixers, bulldozers, skid steers, and wave to all the builders. God surely knew what he was doing when he brought us here 4 months early! 

The past two weeks I have felt the famous "nesting urge!" It seemed to just hit one day and I'm glad it did because I have really enjoyed getting Ruth's nursery ready and spending some time enjoying this season now that the distraction of house buying/moving has settled. Living below our means and planning for a mortgage/retirement, I've really been convicted to be more mindful (even more than before) of my spending and just having awareness of what things should cost versus what American's pay. It's really mind blowing when you evaluate what something is worth verses what the price tag is. With that, I had been looking at marketplace for nursery furniture before going out and spending thousands on new furniture. Not that Little Ruth isn't worth that and so much more, but at what point do we realize a crib is a crib and our time at home with our babies away from work is much easier to make a reality when we make excellent purchase decisions. Praise the Lord for hearing our asks and seeing our concerns because one day, when I wasn't even really looking, I got a glimpse of an amazing nursery set of Marketplace. Too good to be true, I thought, but messaged the lady anyway. She had JUST listed the perfect and beautiful Sloan Pottery Barn Acrylic crib for $275! I have adored that crib since I saw it come out but just could not justify the $1,000 price tag. It's a beautiful white and acrylic crib, modern in style, and just stunning overall. Definitely my taste and something we would love for her nursery. The lady replied and we hit it off! Turns out, her family is moving back to California to a furnished home, thus selling a lot of their furniture. Apparently, their move, like ours, got moved up so she was in need to sell things quickly! A few days later, Brandon picked up the Sloan crib, a pink ottoman and beautiful bow lamp I added to the purchase, and some amazing free additions that the seller tossed in (three sets of pottery barn crib sheets, new born diapers, a small chair side table, two boppy covers, and funnily enough- some snacks, oatmilk, and canned goodies since they were going to have to throw them out! I have felt so blessed during this season and am thankful! The crib and baby goods are just perfect and in excellent condition; I almost feel guilty for getting these items so affordable! To add, mom wanted to buy Ruth's crib so she actually sent the $300 to us! Brandon and Chandler put the crib together and it was so cute. I bought a new crib mattress and ta-da, our little girl has a beautiful new crib! It made me so happy to pull out some baby things, including Chandler's special mobile from London (if I remember right), wash the crib sheets and put her bedding together, and get her nursery set up. We decided to forgo a big dresser and book shelves so that we can have a queen bed in her room. May sound silly but the one thing I remember saying that I would do differently with Chandler is have a bed for myself and baby in the nursery! The long nights are endless sometimes and instead of playing musical beds, waking up the house, having to tip-toe around the master room with whichever parent is with baby, and the long nights in the rocker (so long that my hips go numb)- I would have a separate bed for baby and I to sleep comfortably in. Also knowing from experience now that Ruth just may not be a good sleeper for a solid year, like Chandler, it will make all the difference having our own sleep space. Plus, it's still good for the long nights with Chandler when he is sick or just having a bad night. Since her nursery is large, all the pieces fit together easily and it's coming together just beautifully! I have to add curtains, a rug, and a few little touches but it is really, really beautiful! 

Chandler has reached new milestones lately and is talking up a storm! He is growing so fast and we are so proud of him! The past week he has learned to jump and that is all he does! He runs around the house jumping and has also taken a liking to "if you're happy and you know it!" It melts our hearts when he does the claps and "hooraayyy" parts! Sadly yet wonderful for him, he has given up being rocked to sleep! Breaks my momma heart but also makes me proud of him and his comfort level and being able to identify that he's tired and ready for bed. It's also the perfect timing to transition him out of the rocker, get it moved to Ruth's nursery, and have this as our new normal so it won't be traumatic when Ruth arrives. On August 1st, it had been a few nights since he wanted to be rocked to sleep so I made the decision to officially move his rocker out of his room and create a reading/play area instead. I'm sad to not rock him every night but so proud of him to. We would normally read books in the rocker and when it came time for me to turn the light out and rock him to sleep, he would either get restless or start pointing to his crib. I went with it and would lay him down in his crib. Sometimes he would ask for mommy to "snuggle," which melted my heart, and other times he would root around and then get still and I would leave the nursery. In the past 7 days, he has done remarkable well with not being rocked to sleep and I still enjoy climbing in his crib when he asks for me to so we can fall asleep together. He is the sweetest little thing with such a tender heart. 

Today (8-8), I am finally feeling more settled and craving some routine! We have all been in a period of adjustment over the past month and schedules have been a bit off. I was up early today to get ahead of the boys. I love my early 5am mornings and get so much done! Semester prep is starting so I worked on that and am catching up on my blog, which always brings me peace and joy. Brandon is on a bike ride and little Chandler is sleeping peacefully. I plan on taking him to Little Land this morning to play. The Texas heat is really hurting us this summer and very restrictive on our time outdoors and just getting out in general. We are at months of 100 plus degree temps with no rain. It is sweltering and we find ourselves stuck inside a lot. Cooler temps are coming though and we are so ready! I'm 29 weeks pregnant this week and the heat is brutal on me! I weigh 133.4 pounds which is right on track to what I was at 29 weeks with Chandler. My labs look great, Ruth is more and more active each day and I love feeling her move and kick! Brandon put his hand on my belly last night when we were going to bed and she gave him the biggest kick! He was actually a little frightened, I think! He said "well, no wonder you don't sleep well at night! Geez!" It was a silly sweet moment and I'm glad he got to feel her move. I also got my third trimester packet at our last appointment and I cannot believe it already time to start thinking about labor/delivery! Wow! Time has gone by so, so fast! I'm so thankful though that we are moved, settled, house is bought, unpacked, work is going well, Chandler is thriving, and so much more so that now we can really nest and focus on Baby Ruth and her big entrance into the world! I pre-registered for the hospital today, ordered my cordless breast pump which I'm so excited about, and completed the birth plan paperwork! Little Ruthie Girl, you are already loved so very, very much and we can't wait to meet you in about 10 weeks!!! 

Feeling more caught up each day and as always, I enjoy blogging and just letting my mind go. That's it for now! 

Brandy