Thankful Thursday

It's getting to be the time of the year where we start talking about Thanksgiving, and the time of the year I like to focus on all my family has to be thankful for.  So, through Thanksgiving, I'll be posting Thanful Thursdays...if you're a fellow blogger, you should do the same! :)

Of course, the most obvious thing to start out with this year is how thankful I am that I had an easy, uneventful pregnancy and an amazing natural delivery that resulted in our sweet Riley. What a fantastic addition she is to our family.  And I think it's quite fitting that it was last year on Thanksgiving that we found out we'd be welcoming another baby into our family, and now this year at Thanksgiving many in our family will meet her for the first time.  I can't wait to make the trip back to Ohio to see everyone again and introduce Riley to our {crazy} relatives!

I'm so thankful that Gavin adores his baby sister so much, and that the start of preschool went so well for him.  I love seeing him walk into his classroom everyday without any tears and really love picking him up and seeing the smile on his face.  His personality continues to develop and he's changing and growing everyday.  He's been making up songs lately, which is just too cute, and the jokes he makes up, no matter how ridiculous they are, crack us up.  Jarrod and I just love him so much.

And, I'm so thankful for my husband, who happens to turn 30 this weekend!!!  I never could have imagined back in junior high when we first met that we'd be on this amazing journey together all these years later, with five years of marriage under our belts, two perfect babies, and living all these miles from home.  Crazy how life surprises us, huh?  Thank you, Jarrod, for working so hard (and making sacrifices like giving up your truck!) to support our family and allow me to be a stay at home mommy to those little munchkins.  I love you.

One more for today - because it wouldn't be right to not express my gratitude for our wonderful families (despite how crazy they may be) on this first Thankful Thursday.  I know it's difficult to be so far away from Gavin and Riley, and I am just so thankful that you all continue to support us and love us.  We're so excited to see you all next month.  

What are you thankful for today?   

Wordless Wednesday

Crazy? Perhaps...

We may be crazy...but what's new, right?  Our lease is up in our current house in the spring and we're trying to figure out what we're going to do.  This house was perfect when we moved here.  Coming from a small apartment in New York to this house was like moving into a mansion!  And while we could continue to make the size work, it's other little things that we're hoping to improve on and possibly buy a new house in the spring.  We would love to have a community pool and playground, and we'd love to have a house that didn't get the afternoon sun blazing down on the backyard all summer long.  It's sad to me that we can't spend much time out in the yard or enjoy eating on the patio like we use to because of how hot the back gets.  So...we're talking about buying a house.

Now this is where we get crazy.  One day last week, someone came up to Jarrod at work and asked if he was interested in selling his truck.  It wasn't something that we'd thought about, but after it was brought up, we did talk about it.  Would it be a huge adjustment?  Probably.  Is it the ideal situation?  No.  Is it doable?  Yes.  And it sounds like the right decision.  So, we're running with it.  Not only is the guy paying us $3500 more than we owe, but it will be saving us at least $400 a month, just considering the truck payment and insurance.  


So our plan is this - Jarrod's friend from work will be picking him up on Tues/Thurs so I can have the car to take Gavin to preschool and do errands, etc.  Then, on M/W/F, he'll either take the car, or I'll take him to work if I need it.  This only works because we're all up in the morning anyway before he leaves, and the drive to his office is so short.  Our hope is that with that extra money each month, buying a home that we both love will be more of an option.  I think Jarrod is a little worried about giving up his truck.  He LOVES that truck.  But I also think he's willing to make the sacrifice to help us out financially.  


We'll see how this all goes...worst case scenario, we have to buy another vehicle sooner than we thought. 

A Riley Update

I didn't post last week after Riley's doctor's appointment so I wanted to do that now before I forgot...  Her 2 month check up was last Thursday, and despite the fact that so many people (including us) see her as being so much bigger than Gavin was, she actually didn't weigh as much!  At his 2 month check up, he was weighing 11lbs 5oz, and she weighs 11lbs 1oz (and 22 inches.)  She's doing great and smiling a TON!  She, of course, hated the shots, but it's amazing what a difference it was for me, having gone through shots with Gavin for the past three years.  I handled them much better than I did with Gavin and didn't cry!  :)  She calmed down as soon as I could pick her up and feed her, and then slept most of the day.  It was pitiful though to watch her sleep and see her periodically pout her little lip out.  I have pics to upload of her with her bandaids on.  I'll get them soon...probably post them for a Wordless Wednesday.  She didn't seem to have a temperature all day, but I decided to check it anyway before bed and it was 101.6, so I felt like an awful mommy.  She took a couple doses of medicine to get her fever down, and we had some crankiness the following day, but she's been good ever since.  She hasn't, however, been good with the bottle lately.  Since her shots, she's pretty much refused the bottle from both me and Jarrod.  It's so emotionally draining on both Jarrod and me...I hope we can get past it soon.  

Our Beauty

I couldn't wait to get this gown on Riley from the first day I received it from Hannah.  Rebekah, a friend from the playgroup I joined when we moved here, makes gorgeous baby items.  She's so talented!  I'd been eyeing the gowns she makes since we first found out Baby Hamm was in fact a 'she.'  And then, sweet Hannah, another great friend from the playgroup, came to visit us when we came home from the hospital, armed with lasagna and a gift for Riley - a GOWN!  I LOVE the colors.  It's so pretty.  Here are some of the photos I took the first time she wore it.

I LOVE this one!