New Apt

Here is our new apt.  It's not a picture of everything since there were still some boxes in the way and some pictures we hadn't hung yet but it will give you a general sense of the place.  I actually have come to like the hard wood floors a lot more than I thought I would.  I still like having carpet in the living room and rooms, but everywhere else is kind of nice being able to sweep.  The kids really like the place too which is super nice.  It's just comfortable and has a homey feel about it.

She was so excited to be able to use her table again.  It has been put away because it was broken and Kelvin's dad fixed it and the chairs.

She's missed her princess piano.  We originally were going to keep it out, but don't have much room for it right now, so we will wait until about Christmas when Jason's big toys are put away.

Living Room

Hallway, Kelvin was so happy about having pictures in a hallway.

Desk, the Kitchen table is on the opposite side of the desk.  They both fit very well in the dining room.

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Kids room

Other side of kids room.  It's cozy in their room.  They feel it and so do we.

One half of the kitchen and our Washer and Dryer.  The other side has the sink and dishwasher.

Moving Day

Well, on July 10th the day finally arrived.  At 7:30am Kelvin loaded up the kiddos off to his parents house and I stayed at the apt doing a little last minute organizing.  Funny how I felt the need to do some packing when people were being paid to pack for us.  At about 8:30 the movers arrived and got to work packing our belongings.  When I answered the door I said Good Morning a little too cheerfully I guess because one guy laughed and told me I said it a little too happy.  But truth be known, I was VERY happy to see them.  It was weird watching people pack my stuff and not having to do anything and also liberating at the same time.  They seemed to be very careful about how they packed stuff so when Kelvin came back we weren't too worried and I ran some errands.  It was nice to be able to get stuff done while our house was being taken care of.

When the afternoon came around was when you were able to start telling that things were progressing.  I guess that's because  they started to move the boxes outside onto the truck.  We ordered pizza for the guys for lunch and offered them cinnamon rolls in the morning when they first arrived.  At about 4pm I was getting tired and antsy for them to finish.  At 5pm both Kelvin and I were ready for it all to be done.  The driver said that he thought they would be done by 6pm but it came and left too.  We got pretty tired at 6pm and wondered why it was taking so long but thought maybe there was a few things we hadn't considered.  Well, when 7pm rolled around, the other 2 guys were getting pretty fed up with the driver.  He was kinda hanging out and not really doing his job or helping the guys do theirs.  They made clear that they were displeased about that with both him and us.  Apparently no one will work with this guy because he is so slow and lazy.  But at 8pm they had finally loaded most everything and were doing the small last min stuff. They left about 8:30 and we finished cleaning.  We got out about 9pm and were SO glad to rest.  I have to admit that I cried when we left.  I felt like that place was home to us and I knew that I was going to miss it.  So much of our lives happened there.  Lydia fell out the window, Jason was born, so many memories are there that it holds a lot of sentimental value for me.

We spent the night with his folks and then Kelvin left about 6 in the morning so the internet guys could set things up and he could get to the storage unit for the movers.  We had to get a storage unit because our new apt is smaller than our other one and there is no way we were going to be able to fit everything in it.  Lufkin doesn't have very big apts.  But after putting a lot of stuff in storage our apt looks really good for only being 100 sq ft smaller than in Carrollton.  It's nice to have some room and not feel cramped.  Even our closets are not very packed.  We figured if there was anything we hadn't used in a year, then we could wait until we got a house in another year.  It will be like Christmas with all the stuff we forgot we had.

Lufkin is pretty interesting.  It's a lot different than Carrollton that's for sure, but it's not terribly small either.  There is a small mall and enough shops that I can get most everything I need and the rest can wait until we visit Dallas.  I like how peaceful it is here.  We really like our apt although the management leaves a lot to be desired.  The manager is a little rude and condescending.  It unfortunately has tainted our experience here and if we end up staying in Lufkin, will not stay here again.  Other than that, everything has been pretty good.  The people are quite friendly and warm and we feel very much at home here.  I think that's partly because we are where we are supposed to be.  That can make a big difference.

Here are some pictures of the fun the kiddos had while we were dealing with the moving. 

Gotta love this little guy!

She LOVES Tea sets!  She has 3 different ones but loves them all and can't do without them anywhere we go. I love this picture of her with her current favorite.

Look at those curls!

You Can Take A Girl Out of Texas......

No words are necessary.... (except the awesomeness of her Afro!)

Silly Kiddo's!

Jason is a growler.  We just laugh all the time when he does.  One night he started growling and Kelvin started to growl back at him.  Well, he then responded with another growl.  It went back and forth for a while.  Kelvin thought it was the funniest thing.  We sure love this little boy.

Lydia love Kelvin's Legos.  He of course loves it and tries to encourage her by playing with her.  Some days when he is not home, she will sneak into his Legos and start playing by herself.  I caught her the other day doing just that.

This Boy Can Eat!!

Jason can eat!!!  It's been amazing to me to see how much he eats.  Lydia doesn't eat very well, she never has since she was born.  Jason on the other hand eats very well, and a lot!  It always makes me giggle when he keeps on going after I've fed him what I think should be enough food for him.  I guess that's boys for you.

  

Poor Sick Girl!

Just 2 days before we moved, Lydia got really really sick.  We put her to bed super early at her request and were amazed that both kids were asleep at 7pm!  We couldn't believe our luck.  Well at about 10pm she woke up and was really fussy and couldn't go back to sleep like normal.  I thought she was just too hot (the A/C in out apt didn't go to their room very well) so we let her come sit with us in our room for a while.  Pretty soon after that she started gagging and we knew she was going to throw up which she did.  Luckily we made it to the bathroom first so we didn't have a mess to clean up.  I got the thermometer and sure enough 103.5!  Poor baby!  We cuddled her, gave her some medicine, cooled her down as much as we could and she did go back to bed.  The next day she still had a temp but she was back up and playing by 2 that afternoon so maybe it was just a 24 hour bug.  Either way I am grateful that I didn't have to feel guilty leaving a sick child with my mother in law while we were at the apt coordinating the move.

What better than Chicken Noodle Soup when you are sick?  I love the way it looks when you cook it.  So healthy.

She started to play a little that afternoon but I was laughing at what this little girl was doing.  She just randomly took her stretchy bracelets for dress up and got daddy's old pinewood derby car, then put a polar bear on top and the bracelets across the wheels as "chains".  Where does this girl come up with this stuff?  She may be her daddy through and through, but she is still a Wager girl!!

Daddy Horse/Bucking Bronco

I have posted pictures before about how Lydia loves to ride her "Daddy Horse".  Well, one day after having been gone for a few hours, I come home to find a new trick that daddy had taught her.  I'm still laughing over this one.  

In case you can't hear it, she is saying "Yee Haw" in the background.  SO CUTE!!

The Inseparable Duo

Those two kids love each other so much that they just want to be together all the time.  Lydia is constantly asking to hold Jason and plays with him on the floor.  Even though there are the occasional accidents with Lydia's foot somewhere on Jason's body, they get along so well.   Lydia can get Jason almost in tears from laughing so hard and then we all end up on the floor laughing. We have such a great time as a family.

Play Jason, Play

It's so fun to watch Jason grow and do all the things that Lydia would never do.  They are opposites in almost everything they did/do as babies.  Lydia hated the exersaucer because she felt confined, while Jason loves it because he feels independent.  He can entertain himself for about 10-20 minutes sometimes which is great when I need to get something done.  Lydia never entertained herself and is only now okay with playing by herself for a while.  It's not because of some "parenting" method that we have done or changed, it's just the way she is and it's just the way he is.  I love that we have been able to experience different things as parents with another baby.

The Long Drive Home

So flying to Utah was great because I was dreading driving 20 hours with a toddler.  I am glad that we only had to drive the one way and hope that when we make the trek for Christmas that things will go a little better.  All in all the trip home wasn't really that bad.  It's just hard being in a car for that long, toddler or not.   The kids did really well until the last few hours which was to be expected.  The first day was awesome and we were hoping that we could just drive all night with the kiddos asleep.  But while Lydia took a great nap in the car, she did not sleep at night in the car.  Jason was fine, but Lydia moves a lot at night when she sleeps and couldn't get comfortable.  We were then forced to get a hotel room at about 1am and slept for a few hours before we got going again.  It proved to be the best thing.  Lydia didn't even fight us to get in the car seat the next morning.

We had lots of new toys and books for her to be distracted, but she was still pretty tired at the end.  The hardest part with Jason was feeding him while we were driving.  We didn't want to stop every 2 1/2 to 3 hours so he could eat even though he is a fast eater.  So I would turn around and feed him from the front seat.  That hurt my arm every time.  I don't know how else we could have done it though.  We were all very happy when we walked through our front door and being away for 2 weeks made it almost seem like a new place.  It was good to be home.

We bought a CD of some Primary Songs that were supposed to have fun upbeat tempos to them.  What we got was an arrangement of songs to reggae and hip hop music.  We were less than impressed or pleased.  At least a few of them were pretty good and we had a fun time singing them and dancing to them. 

Home Sweet Home

I laid him down for a nap in the bassinet and realized that he is officially too big for it.  Sad day!!  My baby is getting bigger and I just want to slow down time.

Jordan's Party

We went to Marta and Ed's house the night before we went home for a celebration of Jordan's graduation, birthday and being ordained and Elder.  The Montanares showed up and it was really great to see all of them and their kiddos.  We had a great night even though we had to leave early so we could head home the next day.  But we were proud of Jordan and it was good to be with family.

Jennifer, who is an AMAZING photographer, took some fun candid photos of the kids and I have just fallen in love with them.  Thank you so much, Jen!!!  We love them!

I love that all the girls are with Brother Montanares.

Talking with Mami Eca and Margot in Chile.

SO sweet!!!  I love this one.

She was sharing her Cheetos which is a big deal!

The shadows on this are incredible.  She just has an eye for these things.

Classic Lydia expression!

Such a happy boy.

My baby girl!

Matt's Graduation

One HUGE factor to us making a trip to Utah when we did was my little brothers high school graduation.  Kelvin made it to Utah on Friday evening a few days before Matt graduated.  Which happened to be the same time my cousin and her family came to visit Utah and were staying at my parents house.  Her parents also happened to be in town and so I got to spend time with some Aunts and Uncles I haven't seen in a while and also with one of my favorite cousins.  It was just a coincidence that Erin and Tom were going to Utah the same time we did, but it was a very happy coincidence.  We had some good fun with them around.

The day after they left though was my baby brother's graduation.  I just can't believe that he is graduated from High School.  I will admit that I cried at the ceremony.  He's my baby brother and I'm so proud of him. I have no doubt in my mind that he will go on to do great things in this world.  I also am very confident that his mission will make him a stronger person and bring amazing changes to his life.  My brother is one of those amazing young men that we hear about in Conference.  He is always willing to serve, gives his all to his calling, is very concerned with others, can communicate in a very efficient way and is a peacemaker.  I love him so much and can't think of what life would be like without my "babe" in my life.  We have always been close even when I got married and I love that Kelvin is close to him as well.  I love that we still hang out too.  One morning he, Lydia and myself went to a fundraiser breakfast the Pleasant Grove firemen were having.  It was just the three of us while Jason was sleeping but we had a good time being together. Maybe now that he's graduated we can convince him to come to Texas and work at Lockheed. ;)

After all the graduates had walked in.

Crossing the stage.  I was tearing up at this point.

It's now official!!!

Their last child graduated.  My poor dad had to come straight from work so he wan't dressed up.

SOOO glad we were there for the big event!

Oh yeah!!  I'm a free man!

And this is why I love him so much!!  He came home and played with my babies.  What a sweetheart!  He is truly one of a kind.  He took lots of pride in the fact that he was the only one who could get Lydia to go to sleep when we were in Utah.  Those kiddos love him so much!

We love you so much Matt!!  I thank my Heavenly Father that I get to be your big sister.  And what would Lydia and Jason do without an Uncle like you!  You are the best and we are so proud of you!