Ready to Move

So this past week we've been able to say goodbye to people and do some fun things before we go. We've always wanted to go to the Anthony Thomas chocolate factory and so we finally went. They are the local popular chocolate maker. It was a pretty interesting tour and they had this HUGE chocolate buckeye which is all the rage out here in the Buckeye state.:) On our way we had to stop by and take some pictures at the temple. We had some great experiences and opportunities to serve there. We will miss it. Mike has come along way with his thesis as well. He has been very blessed. I have been a little stressed and overwhelmed this week which is crazy since the movers are packing us up and moving us. It is going to be a slick process, so I guess it's just living in disorganization and all the changes that come with a move. It will be nice when they come and pack us up tomorrow because then things will be more real and we will be able to see progress. So, this Wednesday we will be official Californians. Wish us Luck.

There's No Place Like Home

So this post has double meaning. We were able to find a house. We haven't closed on it, but all the paperwork is in motion and we are pretty comfortable that everything will work out. It was a crazy weekend. Emma did alright on the trip considering the fact that she was extremely off of her schedule and we were packing her around all over the country and Bakersfield. There were only a couple flights that she was fussy on, but she was REALLY fussy. There was a man in front of us who just kept giving us annoyed sideways glances. He eventually got some earplugs and Emma fell asleep so he was nice at the end of the flight. It's amazing how nice it is to be home and even Emma is feeling it. While we were in Bakersfield Emma would cry every time we went back to the hotel and her sleeping wasn't the greatest. We got in at midnight last night and she slept the last 3 hours of the flight and she also slept in until 10:00 a.m.. This was such a blessing to me because I was really needing a day to sleep in as well. She must have jet lag because she has also been sleeping a ton all day long. She is noticeably happier to be in her own environment. So it's good to be home even though we will only be here for 1 more week!!!
So Bakersfield is a relatively nice city except for the fact that it is super hot. It was 100 degrees every day we were there and that is the end of September. I guess it doesn't start cooling off until November! So much for sweater season.:) We were really naive trying to go out for a weekend and being able to just buy a house without really having to think about it. We felt a little rushed into making a final decision, but we feel good about the decision we made. Our new home is ALOT bigger than what we need right now, but it has room to grow. It has 5 bedrooms and 3baths, but is only 2000 sq ft. The rooms aren't huge, but it is just the right size. We just feel so blessed to be able to have a home at all. Our home is a new construction home and we just got a great deal on it. They still have to put the flooring in and do some paint touchups on the interior and exterior, but other than that we will hopefully we ready to move in the beginning of November. So, once we move in we will be anxiously awaiting all the visitors we will be getting. Hey you can all have your own room.:) Since we don't need all the rooms we hope to eventually turn one into a living room.
Sorry this post was forever long, but there was a lot to talk about.

Ear Plugs and More

Lately Emma has been entertaining herself by making the most shrill scream in the world. I think she likes to hear herself squeal, but oh boy is she hurting mommy's ears. At first it was really cute, but when she does it all day long I am seriously in need of some ear plugs. This video will give you just a glimpse of what I listen to ALL DAY!:) In other news we finally heard from our relocation coordinator and everything is in the works. We are flying out to California next weekend to find a house and if everything works out we will put an offer down. We would really like to find something soon. We feel really blessed and the Nestle company has a very generous and fair relocation plan. On a side note, If you watched the Premiere of Glee, was anyone else EXTREMELY disappointed. They promoted it so much and I was so excited for just a fun show, but it was just so dirty I couldn't watch most of it. I hope future episodes aren't as bad. Maybe they'll change the subject matter a little if they get enough negative comments. Anyway, too bad.

Fitting it all in

So before we head out to California we have quite a few things that we want to do and people that we want to see. This past weekend was pretty full. First we spent a night as a family at a local Metro Park. We didn't bring the stroller this time and so we were able to "hike" down to the river. We love these parks, they are so pretty. Sunday we went to Fort Wayne, Indiana in order to see Mike's co-worker Sandra get married. It was a beautiful ceremony and really interesting for us to be at. That night we went to Michigan and stayed with Sister Hobbs, a sweet lady from Mike's mission. They are the family that we spent Thanksgiving with last year. They are really great to us and spoiled Emma with clothes and toys. We then went down to Detroit and tried to find more of the people Mike served while on his mission, but we only found a couple of them home. It was a good trip and Emma did really well considering she was in a car seat a lot of the time. At one period of time we think she was really overly tired because she just started cracking up for no reason. She was laughing so hard and couldn't stop. Her laugh is so infectious and we just couldn't help but laugh with her. We wish we had it on video because it was really funny. Well we have a lot more to do before we leave, but this past weekend was good start. Tomorrow I am having some co-workers over for dinner and hopefully it will be a good experience.

That's Better

So we decided that Emma needed a high chair, or at least something to sit in. Yesterday morning we looked on craigslist and found out about a yard sale that very morning. We rushed over there and came home with this cute high chair. We think we got a pretty good deal. "Supposedly" it hadn't been used very much and I liked a lot of the features. Emma had a much better time with her cereal yesterday, but she might have just been showing off for daddy.

Semi-solid Foods (Yum)

So today I decided to try Emma out on "solid" foods. We got all prepared with the good old rice cereal, bowl, and baby spoon. I was surprised at how watered down the cereal has to be once they first start on it. I was basically just pouring it down her poor throat. I was pretty excited to get going that I didn't think about the fact that we have no where to sit her to eat. We have been wanting to get a Bumbo chair or something similar since we don't have a ton of room for a high chair, but we haven't found one yet, and so I got a little anxious to just get going. Oh well, we managed. As you can see from the pictures it was received with mixed emotions. I'm sure it will get better as time goes on.

Before

Oh Boy That Looks Good!

What a Mess

Are We Done Yet?

Well I'm Done Mom! No More!

5 Month Update

So Emma is 5 months old today. It is so fun to see all of the new things she is learning and able to do. She is finally rolling over a little bit. She could roll over before now, but just chose not to I guess. She loves to grab onto things, especially her "bunny". She has been making the funniest vocalizations as well. Everyday she seems to learn a new one. She doesn't look a whole lot bigger to us than she did last month so maybe her growth is slowing down a bit, but she is growing in many other ways. The past few days she has been pretty sick. At first we thought she was teething because she was acting so miserable and had a runny nose, but we have now realized that there is a cold going around our house since both Mike and I have these similar symptoms. I can now empathize more with my poor little girl. No wonder she doesn't want to eat because she can't breathe and her throat is sore. I think she must be feeling a little bit better today though because she was pretty happy to see us this morning. She is always so smiley and chatty in the morning, it is a lot of fun.

So we are just waiting to find out exactly what our relocation package is going to entail, but as far as we know they will be packing us up and moving us. I hope that is the case or I am going to be in a big rush to find some boxes. It's funny because I am not a fan of change and so this whole move makes me a little nervous, but at the same time, now that it is real, I am really anxious to just get going and start the next chapter of our lives. We feel really blessed, thanks for all of your prayers and support.