Life as we know it...

As many of you now know, Grant interviewed for a job in Dallas last month. We knew before Barrett was born that this change in jobs was a possibility, but as I told Grant more than once, "Let me have a baby first please". There were so many things to consider with a move. We had only bought our home in Pflugerville a year ago, Grant really loved the people he worked with in Austin, that whole having-a-baby-thing, and the great friends that we had made during our three years in the capital city made it hard to want to leave. On the other hand, moving back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area meant living in the same place as family and more great friends. This in an area that both Grant and I grew up in and the idea of raising Barrett in such a familiar, wonderful place was totally appealing. We were quickly learning how drastically your priorities can change when your family expands with a little one. The job offered to Grant was also a pretty amazing career move and would provide growth in both pay and experience. This was something Grant had been asking God to bring since we found out Barrett was coming and that I'd be leaving my job to stay home.

After lots of prayer and trips to Sonic to discuss the pros and cons over root beer floats, we made the decision to jump into the unknown and take the Dallas job. There were many questions that we couldn't answer, but we knew two things. One: God was going to take care of our family and provide for us even if we weren't sure how. Two: We were COMPLETELY excited to take on this new adventure. It was difficult to tell the people we loved in Austin that we were leaving. It was equally as fun to tell our family and old friends in DFW that we were "coming home". With those announcements, the adventure began.

Grant put in his two-week notice at work a couple of weeks ago. We immediately called our realtor to get our house on the market for sale or lease. We called movers and began searching the area where we'd grown up for rental homes. In a matter of days, Grant was let go from his job due to the fact that he was going to work for a competitor, we found a rental home two streets over from my parents, Grant went to work in Dallas and I stayed in Pflugerville to pack up the house while caring for Barrett. Talk about a whirlwind!

A week ago, my mom and sister drove down to finish packing and helped me drive up with Barrett and our two dogs. My truck-bed was full of luggage, baby items, and various house stuff. My sister's car was also full of random items that we either didn't want movers to handle or that we thought we desperately needed before the movers would arrive. Grant had already been living at my parents' house for several days while he started his new job. With me entering the picture, we had one very full guest room.

It was almost comical to see our temporary 10x14 "home" filled with a baby swing, pack 'n play, rocker, suitcases, dog bed, etc. And yes, there are four dogs in that picture. With our two and my parents' two, it was a full house. And Patch, my mom's dog, is sporting the cone of shame for a few days due to a hot-spot on his tail. A dog in a cone who is bumping into your legs and doorways counts as two dogs! Since I had to get up with Barrett at night, Grant was forced to crawl over the foot of the bed at night to get some shut-eye. It was the most ridiculous set-up and yet in all of that chaos, it still felt right to be here. I spent this past week visiting with some of my best friends from college and their babies, going out to lunch and spending the night with my sister, and going to Barrett's first music class that we are lucky enough to have my mom teaching. Grant really likes his new job and co-workers. He has a lot of work to do, but loves that he is being given so much responsibility and support. Everything about us being here indicates that God knew what He was doing when he planted that first seed about the move back in the spring.

Today the movers are coming to deliver our boxed-up life to our new rental house! My mom is currently there giving the house a true mother's scrub-down while Barrett sleeps peacefully in his rocker. We are still waiting to hear whether some potential renters are going to put an application in on our home. While there are still loose ends in our adventure, we are enjoying the ride and thanking God for what He's already done and for the surprises He still has hiding up His sleeve.

2 months!

Another month has flown by! Barrett Ryan is now 2 months old and getting more adorable and fun by the minute! (I realize I'm a little biased, but hey, it's my blog!)

Barrett seems to be churning out new tricks every day. He recently started "talking". Every morning after he eats, the babe and I sit in bed and coo at each other for at least 20 minutes. Barrett's favorite things to say are "oh" in a cute little high-pitched voice and "ga ga ga". He has all kinds of other fun noises like gurgling, but has started to do less of the "bah" and "chipmunk" noises that were so frequent the first month. Barrett also loves when we sing together. Grant observed that I seem to sing to his son "all day long". His favorite song is "Skip to my Loo". I also recite the book "Going on a Bear Hunt" to him. Both of these things make him completely light up. He gets huge eyes, a giant smile, and will watch me like a big kid watches tv.

Baby boy has also discovered that his hands are great for sucking. And it is LOUD...like everything else he does. He has tuned in to his play-gym and will now lay under it for long periods, kicking at the hanging toys, and talking to them. He loves to wiggle and never seems to stop moving. (I have a feeling this is foreshadowing for the future!) Our little man loves to watch our dogs and is already used to licks on the face and barks in the face. He is a nature-lover and is content to sit or take a walk outside as long as he has trees and clouds to look at.

Barrett still hates tummy-time, but is even going so far as to punish me by staying grumpy long after we've finished practicing. I can hold him around his torso, though, and he will hold his head up while we chat. He doesn't seem to enjoy long stretches in the car anymore, which isn't good because we've been traveling a lot! Maybe it's this unrelenting Texas heat. Welcome home, little guy! He does allow me to get out at least once a day on errands around town and I enjoy getting to show off my studly babe.

This has definitely been a fun month as I've gotten into the swing of mommy-hood and am able to interact more with Barrett. He is my constant little pal and it's hard to remember life without my red-headed sidekick.

The Bear Cave

Sunday night, Barrett made the monumental leap from sleeping in Mom and Dad's room to his own room. While my 8-week old went right to sleep after a delicious helping of boobie-juice, I stood over his crib and did what I assume any mother would do at this stage. I cried my eyes out. Then I went and brushed my teeth. Afterwards I came back and cried some more. Barrett slept.

While I seemed to have a hard time with this huge step, Barrett was apparently ready and not phased at all. He woke up to eat around 2am as usual and then went right back to sleep in his "big kid's room". I suppose I'll join the party and celebrate my son's milestone with pictures of his pad. Congrats, Bear-Bear...remember I'm just down the hall.

I posted pictures of "the wall" back when Grant was still working on it. It took him three hours just to tape off all the squares. What a father will do for his son!
Personally, this is my favorite part of the room...