Hallie's Birthday!

Happy 6th Birthday to our oldest baby girl!!!!

Hallie:

-is so smart (sometimes too smart for her own good)

-is confident

-loves tomatoes, broccoli, and green beans

-will only eat plain vanilla ice cream

-is obsessed with technology

-is a great help with baby Karsyn

-doesn't like to play toys

-would much rather socialize

-is going into first grade at a new school

-talks ALL day long

-wanted a real phone or laptop for her birthday

-thinks she will be an adult and can make her own decisions soon

-is so loved!

We think the world of this little girl. Her big personality will take her far in life (she thinks Disney channel) and we can't wait to continue watching her grow!

Newborn.

 One.

 Two.

 Three.

 Four.

 Five.

 Six.

*HOW did this happen so fast?!*

KJ is 5 months

I can't believe my little baby is already five months. She still feels like my little newborn that I brought home from the hospital. Maybe it's because all she ever does is cry, eat, and poop. Still hasn't grown out of that newborn phase yet, I suppose. I say forget water boarding, let's use a screaming infant to torture people. It's enough to literally feel like you are losing your mind.
Shortly before Karsyn turned 3 modnths, she started getting really fussy all the time. I thought she was starting to teeth, and also remembered from Raegan (who was the best baby) that month 3 was just tough. So I was patient and waited for it to end. Only it hasn't. Since she was in the NICU for a week, she had a nurse who would do monthly home visits with her. With her fussiness and the amount of ones she spit up while the nurse was there, the nurse suggested we talk to our pediatrician about reflux. So I did. Dr said it did look like it, so she was put on a Zantac prescription. We left for California and she was a dream baby. Absolutely perfect in the car, which before we had never been able to be in the car for more than five minutes before she would start screaming until she would choke. I figured the medicine was working and all was well. But then the crying came back and got worse. She cries all day, and wakes up throughout the night. I have tried swaddling, teething gel, teething tablets, teething knecklace, Tylenol, gripe water, gas drops, switching formula. I have tried it all and she still doesn't stop crying. I took her into a pediatrician up here that suggested maybe she is having a reverse reaction on the Zantac and it's making her feel worse. So we took her off it. He also suggested we get an upper GI x-ray to rule out any issues with her digestive tract. We have one scheduled in August as soon as Tyler gets back. And so I hold on to every ounce of patience I have in me, and hold my screaming baby day and night. We hope to either have an answer soon, or she will just outgrow whatever this is. We love this little girl, and just want to see her happy. Mom could really use a night of sleep too!!!!

Back on the grid

It's come to my attention that we've been in no-man's land lately. Not just with blogging, but with social media in general. Moving 1000 miles and dealing with three needy kids will do that to you. So let me rewind,
My mom moved back up to Northern California in mid-May. Tyler wasn't currently pleased with his employer, so he started looking around at job openings in Cali just for fun. He found an open position for a Travel Centers of America mechanic, so he applied. Shortly after, they called him for a phone interview. He then flew up to Redding to meet in person. They hired him on the spot, but we had quite a bit to think about before we could give an answer. To spare all the lengthy details, we literally were thrown just about every loophole to jump through to make this move happen. From car issues to working with lawyers, we had one hell of a time working things out. Why did we pursue this move despite how hard it was? The problems we ran into, we're all problems that we would face in the future. We could have put them off for a year or two, but eventually, we would have encountered them. It soon became clear that this move was our best chance at a fresh start. To kick old habits and start new. We decided to grab the bull by the horns and do this because it was honestly the best thing for our future.
Now that the move is behind us and we are here, we couldn't be happier. In the few weeks we've been here, we just know that we made the right choice. Tyler has SO much more time at home with us. The girls are loving our new condo and being able to be outdoors more. Hallie has another month off school but is so excited to start because when we drove by her new school there was a family of deer in the parking lot. We are so excited to see where this new adventure leads us!

Family Walks:

Family Fun:

 At the Lake: