HEEEEELLLO GEORGIA!

Yep, we are here and doing our very best to settle in...at least temporarily. We arrived about a week ago after a two day trip. The actual drive is only about 12-14 hours, but we knew there was no way Preston would hold up for such a trip, so we stopped in Jackson, Mississippi for a night to break up the drive. And, side note, don't stay in a La Quinta that allows dogs...or at least the one in Jackson. Good gosh, holy dirty hotel room! EEwwww! I know they allow pets, which we obviously needed since we made the drive with two of our four dogs, but, man oh man, was this place no bueno. I'm not even joking when I say that Preston's BLUE socks were literally turned dark dirty brown from him walking on the carpet for an hour before bed. Gross.  And if any of you have gleaned anything from my writing, then you should know that a dirty house, and especially dirty floors is definitely not on the menu. That was a rough night. Not only was it dirty, but my sister was also with us, so she slept on a couch right beside our bed, and Preston slept in his pack n play beside the couch -- so we were all in the same room---with the two dogs, in a room right beside the highway and beside a main entry door to the hotel. Needless to say, it was loooud, and none of us slept. But we made it through, and we hit the road again as soon as we could.

We made it here to Georgia without incident other than the electric window in my new Pilot stopped working. Arg. ...But the main thing is that we all survived one another and all made it safe and sound. :) We are now in our temporary apartment for the next month. Our estimated closing date as of now on our house is November 22nd. Fingers crossed there are no delays and we can work on the other big aspect of moving:  unpacking and getting resettled and moved-in, and doing our nursery!

Not too much has slowed down for us though in the one week we've been here. It seems when we complete one task, another is in line and needs to be handled. So it's been a slew of decisions, decisions, decisions, handling maintenance issues at our rental property back home here from Georgia, handling poor property manager issues with the rent house we moved out of back home, and just a slew of " administrative" stuff, as I like to call it. But there is just a lot involved in moving four states, breaking a lease, living in temporary housing, continuing to manage an owned rental property, starting a new job, preparing for a baby, taking care of a toddler, changing insurance ( especially while pregnant), finding new doctors pronto, and building and buying a house, and then handling everything that comes up in between. It'll slow down though! And it's still a ride and journey that we are so happy to be on. God has made his presence so known through every detail and in our spirits. It's been an incredible time for us to see more of His goodness, faithfulness, and ability to be in the details of our lives and truly meet us exactly where we are. He has orchestrated so many things for our good, well before we even knew we needed these things to work out the way they did. He's provided so many " yes's " at so many turns, big and small. I love seeing his brush strokes and knowing and loving Him enough to hand Him all the glory. He is the maker of all things good.

Kevin likes his new job and is getting his feet wet more and more each day. He really likes his coworkers, and I'm super excited that most of them seem to be in our same phase of life, young, married with little kids. Awesomeness! The same goes for our new house! Our next door neighbors are due with a baby in March! Super awesomenss! I really hope she's a stay at home mom, too. :)

Preston and I are getting out most days. We're at least going to lunch together or hitting up the park and giving him some outside time. Although it's already cold up here, at least to me, I still try to get P out and about to hes not couped up all day. Preston, for the most part, has been adjusting well, too. He's been a little off on his sleeping since he has to sleep in a pack n play, which is not great, and his eating has actually been horrendous, but, we're working through it all day by day. All in all, he is doing wonderfully! He is such and easy going dude. In other big news, although the timing is not ideal, I am just about out of frozen breast milk so we're in the process of transitioning P to his new milk. Total * sniff sniff*! Uhh! I knew this day would come, but it's still super sad for me. So as of right now he's taking 75% breastmilk and 25% of goat milk (with added things in it, like coconut and olive oil, blackstrap molasses....) to make it the closest nutritional profile to breast milk. So far, so good. It actually tastes really good! How can it not with all that molasses and coconut oil in it?! :) It's still surreal to see this phase leave for good though. But I give myself a big pat on the back. I worked my tail off to be able to keep him breastfed for these past 19 months, which is quite the task, so I'm going to relish in the good of it and be super proud of myself! Most don't make it this far, and being able to provide for Preston this way makes my heart happy.

Me and the baby are doing well, or so it seems, too. So far so good. I'm trying to be very conscious that this is the exact time that all of my problems with Preston began. I am 26 weeks now, and I went on bed rest at 25 weeks with Preston and remained that way until 32 or 34 weeks. So I'm being very aware of any Braxton Hicks contractions I get, drinking lots of water, and sitting down or taking a bath when I feel like I'm getting too many contractions. Regardless of what we have going on, or what needs to be done, none of it is worth potentially causing this baby to be born so premature. Far too many health issues to contend with, and it's just not fair to our sweet boy. So no worries, I'm being very mindful and will continue to be even as we start moving into the house. :)

We took Preston to a Fall Halloween Festival this past weekend at a local church. He had quite the time! He dressed up in his dragon costume and played and played. They had a " Toddler Town", full of age appropriate things for the little ones to do so they didn't get ran over by the big kids, and he had a blast. He actually wasn't interested in the cool animals, all he wanted to do was play with the push and riding toys, So funny. I had intention of making him a great, unique costume this year for Halloween, but with all that we have going on, that one just didn't make the list. So we went pretty generic, but that's okay, he still looked cuter than ever, of course! He was a dragon!

"Roar!!"

He LOOOVED this pink tricycle. He kept coming back to it.

" Big Hugs" as we say, for the baby goat. Preston loves to gives 'big hugs'.

Dad was so proud. He went straight for the golf club and ball and started putting. :)

The sweetest most beautiful dragon I've ever seen. :)



So there ya have it. A quick update. We will be headed out for a bit on Halloween, so I'll post pics after Thursday. We are alive and well, and things are moving along. Thank you for all of your prayers. They are certainly being honored. Love you guys.

My old man, Julian. He turns 12 in January!

This is what all the trees look like here, sooo gorgeous!

 ...and the trees are everywhere!! Everything is " natur-ey".

My sweet Glory who gets poked in the eye ball by Preston and ridden and used as a step stool about a 100 times a day! She's so sweet.

 Car break on the road to Georgia!

First night in town, out to dinner. Realized it's cold here!!

 Good Morning, Sunshine!

 Boxes. The best invention ever.

Trip to see the ducks one last time before we left home

So sweet!

Love you guys. I'll update soon. :)

A Long Good-Bye to Tejas

ohh Texas, we sure are going to miss you. Texans are like a different breed of people. We live in our own country in some sense. Texans epitomize pride. So, of course, we will always be Texans at heart, and it's so odd to even think about living someplace else. Kind of feel like we're cheating on our great state. 

Things have taken off around here. Lots and lots...oh, and did I mention lots to do. Kevin and I both work from long todo lists everyday. I've never made so many calls, sent and received so many emails, and had days in my planner so full  that things are running off the page in my life! :) But I know it's all for a greater good, and it's still exciting. We know this crazy time will pass. I try to stay mindful of still needing to be present with Preston and being a cozy home for Baby Boy #2, so I try not to let myself get too overworked or stressed. I'm not always successful though, but I do try. 

We've been trying to schedule all the appointments we need to get done here before leaving, like teeth cleanings, seeing my midwife and perinatologist, haircuts ( it's so dang hard to find a good hairdresser who won't butcher your hair), and on and on. Just to buy us some time once there so we don't have to do these things for a while, and this gives us a few less things to worry with once we're there and  living in a temporary space or moving and unpacking. 

I've also been working really hard on finding a good midwife group and a pediatrician for Preston and Bean #2. I've joined some local FB pages in the area we will be moving to in Georgia and asking others for midwife and pediatrician recommendations. I got a lot of great information! I was able to finally find a midwife and a pediatrician that I feel match what we're looking for and I got us all squared away and ready to go. What a relief! Those were the most important switches we needed to make. 

We've also had the pleasure of getting to spend some time with lots of people before leaving. Love this time with everyone. But goodbyes sure are difficult. : ( 

Birthday and Good bye time with Anthony!

 Soo sad to leave this guy. We sure are going to miss him.

Preston and Anthony had so much fun at dinner! Cheeeeesin'! 

In other news, our sweet baby boy dos is doing great. We had an appointment with our perinatologist today. Perfect timing! He looked great on sonogram, and was active as ever. He is quite the mover. I am one day shy of 24 weeks, and he is still measuring right on track, about 4 days ahead of schedule. He weights about 1# 9 ounces, nothing abnormal was found by the doc. My cervix is still nice and normal and measured 3.75cm.  The only downside to this visit, I found out I weight 127#!! Holy cow. I don't know how this has happened. Goodness. Things are going well with the pregnancy so far for the most part. I have had some continued issue with what I thought was passing a kidney stone..which I now know is actually a blood clot. Very painful. My midwife sent me for a renal sonogram and had me follow up with a urologist just to make sure we aren't missing anything, and all checked out fine. So no known cause, so we're just playing the wait and see game. But not worrying with it. I've also noticed things on my body are a lot more swollen--but not like swollen everywhere like a lot of preggo Mammas- and my vericose veins are out of control and spreading by the day.  I even have them in totally weird and brand new places. do.not.love.this. But I do love my sweet boy. So it's worth it. 

Mr. Preston is fantastic. He is so full of life and energy, so bright. He amazes me everyday.  He has finally refused us spoon feeding him any purees or oatmeal, ( which we held on to so long since he's such a picky eater and it was the only way we could kind of keep him eating somewhat balanced). So this is going to be a hard place for a while, as he barely eats anything and throws most things we give him. We saw his doc last week for his 18 month well visit, and his doc's only advice, " He's growing and developing perfectly normally, so just keep offering him different foods." ...AAhhhh.....wishing for a magic cure!  But Preston's appointment went super well. He passed his autism screen with flying colors, no signs whatsoever. He is meeting all milestones, he's growing--although his head is not and now in the 3rd percentile--but the doc is not concerned at all. He is in the 45th for height and 15th for weight, and holding steady on his growth curve. And at their 18 month visit they do blood work, and all came back normal. 

We only have a few more weeks of breast milk left in the freezer, so I'm getting geared up to start transitioning to an alternative milk. Fingers crossed this is a smooth transition during all of the other transition and he doesn't totally balk at it. He's a picky dude!  Praying! 

Preston is still full of puckered kisses and hugs. He randomly runs up to us and gives us big leg hugs. Love this. He's so sweet. He's still loving throwing mini fits when he doesn't get his way. He is all about pushing limits and boundaries, and thinks it's a funny game. He has also discovered tumbling off the couch head first. So he does this over and over and over. Boys. Anything he can climb on is his favorite activity!  

We're pulling out of here next week! Can you believe it?! It seems a little daunting considering when I look around our house there is a million and one things still to do. But, one day at a time. Very blessed to be on this journey. 

Love you guys! 

It's Officially OFFICIAL!

So more big news in the Wicker Home! 

Drum Roll, please...

We are moving...... And we're moving to Georgia,..... and in two weeks. Yep, you heard it correctly. I know, we're slightly crazy. But Kevin has been offered a position that's a great opportunity for him, so we've made the decision that it's the best choice for our family, and he's accepted the position, and will begin work this month. I never ever in a million years would have imagined myself ever ever being okay with moving with a toddler WHILE PREGNANT and leaving my docs and all of our security for a complete life upheaval. But God supersedes my plan and my own thinking. He has worked through me, and us, and this is the right decision for our family, and we're totally excited and at peace.  It's been in the works for a little while now but we're just to a point that all is definitely a for sure for sure 'go'. 

We went to Georgia last weekend for three days for a familiarization trip/house hunting trip, and found a house! It was a totally full weekend with our Realtor showing us about 25 properties in person after we went through over a 100 to make our final viewing selection. I sure love the homes up there! And what a beautiful green state! 

Preston stayed here with his Grandparents for a few days. He definitely wore them out! You should have seen them when we picked him up. Hilarious! I bet they couldn't wait to get back to work on Monday morning!  Preston has never stayed the night anywhere or been away from me even an entire day, so this was pretty abrupt for him, and it apparently showed in his eating and sleeping habits while at his Grandparents. Poor everyone. He ate almost nothing, and wouldn't nap, and was way over tired. I felt so bad for all of them. That couldn't have been too enjoyable. But everyone survived and Kevin and I had a great trip! Man, it was soo nice to have a break and some real time with just Kevin. Soooo miss it!  And although there is definitely a stressful element to house-hunting, we also found it very fun. So it was a great couples weekend, for sure. Much needed. 

We won't be able to close on our house until mid to late November, but Kevin has to begin work up there almost a month prior. Kevin was not okay with me staying here with Preston by myself for a whole month, so we're all moving up there in a couple of weeks and will be living in an apartment for a month until our house is ready. This will give me some time to get to know the area better and get good and set up with our new doctors for the family. The apartment community will only allow us to bring two dogs, so our other two dogs will be staying with my Mom for the next 6 weeks. So nice of them to agree to that! I will love that break too, but will also miss them terribly at the same time. :) 

I will be having a little earlier than expected baby shower, in mid November, which I will fly back for. It was originally planned for December, but I don't want to fly during flu season since none of us get the flu vaccine..and airports are flooded with hundreds of people. So I'll come back the weekend of the 16th and celebrate and see everyone one last time before the baby comes!  Already can't wait!! 

I'll update more soon, but I wanted to go ahead and share the info. as soon as we were able. It's been a whirlwind of a week since getting back from our house hunting trip..things have been CRAAAAZY busy with getting stuff taken care of with the relocation company and getting a contract executed on our new house, with not a second of any day free. I still can't believe we signed up for this some days. Although Kevin and I feel very confident about the move, the opportunity for him, and really, all of it. Kevin and I have talked a lot about, for a long time, that God has been preparing us for something big for at least the last year. I was given a strong premonition about it, which I shared with Kevin, so on some level we've just been waiting for God to show us in His time. And when the time came, we were prepared and ready. Super cool. Love our God. 

Much love to you all. I'll be back in touch soon. By the way, Mr.Preston is still as perfect as ever, and a mover and a goer. Love that sweet boy. I'll post pics soon. :)