an update

We've been a busy little American family.

A brief update...

Matt left for Texas and started his new job last week. He has had nothing but wonderful things to say and is excited about the future.  Last week he took care of some safety trainings and had the opportunity to visit a few job sites.  We are still pinching ourselves with the idea that he will be working normal hours and no weekends!
Matt didn't hesitate in easing into the Texas culture. He purchased a new truck. He loved his truck in Texas, so there wasn't much of a discussion on what he would be driving this time around.


Matt also found us an apartment. We will be living in Pearland, located on the southeast side of Houston. We've signed a short term lease to give us some time to get to know the area and begin our house hunt {again}. The apartment is dog friendly and located in a retail area, which is quite conventient for Lauren and I. There's a nice walking trail nearby so we are looking forward to many family walks, complete with our Bella Rose, and a few shopping trips.

Lauren and I spent some time last week at the house. On Tuesday, the moving company sent some people to pack everything up. At first I was unsure of how I would feel about someone coming into our home and packing all of our belongings, but by the time they arrived I was thrilled we went this route and so over the idea that I would have been able to do this myself.

{my end}

The following day another group of gentleman came out to load the truck and head out for Houston. I can't imagine what our neighbors {who we never had the pleasure of meeting} think about us. We move in, disappear, and then a semi shows up to load everything up and we are gone.
When the truck pulled away I was so relieved that my part of the 'moving' was complete. They made it to Houston and met Matt at the apartment on Friday morning. Surprisingly we have more than we thought we did and since we are in a two bedroom apartment for the time being, we also have a storage unit.
Poor Matt was definitely on the more difficult end of this move, the receiving end. He worked his way through the boxes and has done a wonderful job of making our new little space our home.
{until we do this again in a few months}


{Matt's end}

Lauren is loving life in America.

{L sporting some Air Force Ones from Uncle Tyler}


During the day at least.
We have been spending time with the pups, taking lots of walks in this beautiful weather, running errands, and soaking up the time with Grandma & Grandpa.




The nights have been a different story.

Our little dolly has gone from a generally good sleeper to being up, quite often, through the night. We've been through a list of things, trying to help our baby girl {and ourselves}.
We were in a pack and play and switched back to the crib, we've been to the doctor to check for an ear infection, called the doctor to get their opinion on introducing rice cereal, increased feedings at night, and re-introduced the swaddle.
Lauren transitioned out of the swaddle in Colombia, it's too hot to swaddle.
With the swaddle, things have gotten better.
But we still have room for improvement.

I feel pretty responsible for the long nights, as we have put Lauren through a lot lately and there isn't much of a routine left at this point.

Regardless of the night, she wakes up with a smile each morning and melts my heart a little more each day.

So, I'll take the long nights.

We've got time to get into a routine when we get home.