This little girl is pretty much a champion roller.
As soon as I lay her on the ground, she is off!
And if I ever leave the room, there is no telling where I will find her.
In a box
Under the hutch at grandma’s
Under her exersaucer
In a bucket
See what I mean!? Crazy roller.
Perhaps she just thinks she’s a big girl…
I mean, check out her latest trick:
Stop growing, Livvy bug!
Last Saturday, I flew back to Arizona with my two kids and my parents.
I expected to spend the rest of the day in the pool, watching Riker play with his cousins (and possibly consume some Mexican food!).
When we landed at Sky Harbor Airport, we learned that my grandfather had died just a few hours earlier…so instead of lounging by the pool, we rushed to my grandparents house to be with our family.
The happy reunion that I had envisioned with all of my family was instead a tear-filled one.
My grandpa was an amazing man and I am so sad that my children will not have the opportunity to grow up with him in their lives.
At the funeral, my mom and all her siblings stood up to share memories that they had of their father. As I listened to all of the stories being shared, some I had heard before and others that were new to me, I was constantly saying to myself “That is so something Grandpa would do!”
My grandpa was kind, loving, hardworking, honest, trustworthy, resourceful, funny, sincere…and kind of a redneck.
I have so many memories of the time that I have spent with my grandpa: going camping, vacations in Mexico, spending time in Show low and snowflake, listening to his stories, hearing him cheer for me at my softball games, and on and on and on!
it isn’t easy to lose someone you love and my grandpa is definitely going to be missed.
This past weekend was bittersweet.
TJ is done with law school.
He is done with school forever.
After being a student for the last 23 years, he is finally done with school.
As excited we are to be done with law school, it also meant it was time to leave Ohio.
And as excited as we are to move back to AZ, we are so sad to be leaving behind all the wonderful friends we made in the Buckeye state.
But TJ’s graduation was a cause for celebration, and celebrate we did.
I don’t have an awesome camera, and the lighting in the auditorium was pretty bad, so pictures from the actual graduation are pretty crappy.
But he was given his “hood” and empty diploma case (we hope the actual diploma comes in the mail soon!).
Riker and Livvy both missed naps, so pictures afterwards weren’t that great either.
But we were all so proud of our graduate and wanted to capture the moment!
The current graduate with a future graduate!
A picture with the Martindale’s was a must.
They moved into our complex a week after we did and we became instant friends.
We will definitely miss our game nights and dinners and outings with them!
The day after graduation, I boarded a plane with both kids and my parents to fly back to Arizona.
TJ stayed behind in Ohio to load up the ABF truck and finish clearing out our house.
The kids did surprisingly good on the flight but I was certainly grateful to have my parents with me, especially since Riker required multiple trips to the potty and Livvy needed an outfit change!
And now…
now the kids and I are crashing at my parent’s house for the week.
TJ will fly in on Tuesday and our ABF truck will arrive on Friday.
Riker loves that he gets to play with cousins and can’t wait to jump in grandma’s pool tomorrow.
We are eager to get settled in to our new lives here in Arizona!
After three years of hard work and long hours, TJ is graduating from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law!
I don’t know if I could ever express how truly proud I am of TJ.
Law school was not fun for TJ…it involved a lot of work, a lot of criticism, and a lot of stress.
Over the last three years, TJ has not only been a full time student, but he has also been working on the side to ensure a career for himself as well as provide for his family as best as he can.
I can go on and on about all the things I love about TJ, his honesty, his compassion for others, his patience, etc. etc. etc.
We have enjoyed our time in Ohio and we will miss all the amazing friends we have made.
And football season. You know we will miss football season!
After three years of living in Ohio as students, we are heading back to Arizona to start our new lives.
Congratulations to my sweetheart…you are now a law school graduate and I am oh so proud of you!
Little Miss Olivia is getting some teeth.
Two to be exact.
Two teeny tiny little teeth on the bottom.
One has already broken through and the other should pop out any day now.
She chews on anything she can fit in her mouth, from teething toys to fingers to burp rags.
She hasn’t been too fussy…nap times have been a little shorter (2.5 hours instead of the standard 3 hours)
and sometimes she just needs to snuggle for a while (which I totally don’t mind!)
It isn’t ever fun to see my babies in pain…
but I can’t wait until those two little teeth pop out and she looks like a cute like jack-o-lantern!
In case I haven’t mentioned it lately, I detest humidity.
Yesterday it was 82 degrees, which sounds super nice.
Instead, it was super yucky.
Luckily, our neighbor has a blow up pool and let Riker go swimming too!
The water was a tad cold when he first got in, and when Samantha poured a cup of water on his head…well, lets just say Riker wasn’t too happy.
But once all the little girls climbed into the pool, Riker was one happy camper.
It was seriously adorable to see all the kids playing together, all squished into the little pool together.
And once a few girls climbed out, Riker fulfilled his biggest desire of being a fishy.
Definitely looking forward to spending our summer in a pool!
So…I’ve only completed like 6 things.
TOtal.
including the recurring items on the list.
I really need to step up my game.
*fit into “those jeans” again
HOLLA! That’s right my friends…my baby girl is 5 months old and I am back in “those jeans” and back to my prebaby weight.
*try one new recipe a week
I did one. one new recipe for the entire month. I blame it on the whole “I’m packing my house and don’t want to cook” thing.
However, the one recipe I did try has been made 3 times this month…because Riker loves to “help”
Pizza rolls…riker helps by eating the cheese and pepperoni before I have a chance to roll the balls up.
*read 30 books
-The City of ember…good book. don’t know if I care enough to read the sequels, but it was a good read.
-The Resistance…sequel to a book I’d previously read. did NOT love this book.
-Never have I ever…sequel to the lying game. I am a sucker for cheesy teen lit.
-shatter me…good, kind of. don’t know if I will read the sequel or not.
*Try a new restaurant
DIRTY FRANKS Hot dog palace
that’s right, it’s a hot dog palace.
so many different topping combinations, not enough time to try them all.
So far, we’ve been twice.
I have had a hot dog topped with cheese and potato chips, one with fries and coleslaw and chili, and one with chili and cheese and fritos.
it is amazing…life changing, almost.
I love dirty franks.
so that’s what I did in April.
and now I shall attempt to step up my game for may.
but if we are being realistic, that probably won’t happen…because we are moving to AZ in 10 days (!!!!) and I don’t know if I will have time to do much.
but I will try.
Can you believe this little bug is already 5 months old?
Because I seriously can’t.
Olivia is seriously the happiest, smiliest baby ever made and we just cannot get enough of her.
Facts and tidbits about this little 5 month old:
*she is the squirmiest little girl ever…loves to be held and supported while she stands and always wants to be watching Riker as he plays
*she drinks 8oz, 4 times a day.
*we offered her rice cereal once, but she really didn’t care…we will try some applesauce or sweet potatoes another time.
*she has recently discovered her toes and loves to hold onto them (which, combined with her rolling skills, makes diaper changes oh so fun!)
*no teeth yet, but she loves to chew on anything she can get her hands on…her paci, teether toys, my cellphone, Riker’s action figures, whatever!
Also, hooray for warmer weather…I cannot get enough of those chubby arms and legs hanging out!
