Kiddo Update

Olivia is so much fun these days! She is constantly writing words down and especially loves to take a notebook to the store so she can write new words. She gets mad at me if I try to move away from the aisle where she's copying a word. She has the biggest imagination and it's quite hilarious. She is married to a giant stuffed chicken whom she calls "Chicky" and she has many children. Her baby doll is now named "Dolphin" and her bunny is named "Flower". Her favorite show to watch is "Phineas and Ferb" and her favorite songs to sing at bedtime are "Book of Mormon Stories" and "Nephi's Courage." Her favorite food is pizza and her favorite colors are red, pink, and purple. She is so witty and sassy and I am really enjoying this stage right now. She's super helpful and has a desire to please people and do nice things for them. She has just started swim lessons again and is already 3 levels into her age group. It amazes me how well she listens to other people when they're trying to teach her something. We've also decided to put her back in ballet/tap dancing in the fall. She really loves playing with her brother. I know it won't always be like this, but I'm always going to remind them how much they loved each other when they start fighting. I'm glad I have proof of their friendship because I know I'm going to need it one day. Olivia is quickly making friends here in San Antonio and my little social butterfly couldn't be happier about that.

Romney is 7 months now! He started scooting at 6 months and he is so fast! Today he started crawling on his knees and he also pulled himself up to a standing position from a sitting position! I'm practically crying for someone to give me my baby back! He loves to eat baby food. He loves sweet potatoes, but he's not so keen on peas and green beans. He is happiest when he is playing with his sister. He can't fall asleep without his muslin blanket. He has started giving sloppy wet kisses and I've been teaching him sign language, which he is starting to respond to. The other day I was talking to someone and he laid his head on my shoulder like he was saying, "this is my mom, I love her." I love his little personality and I love how affectionate he is. It warms my heart to see how much these kids love each other and I I'm so glad I get to be their mom. These kids give me a lot to smile and laugh about.

Jordan's Graduation/Commissioning Ceremony

Paging Dr. Gisseman!!! Captain, iceberg ahead! 

It's crazy that Jordan received two titles in one day. After we moved to San Antonio, we headed back to Houston to hammer that last nail in the coffin and attend his commissioning and graduation ceremony. Both sets of parents came from Utah and we had such a good time hanging out! We felt incredibly blessed that our parents could be here to celebrate such a huge life event. The kids loved having their grandparents around and we loved showing off our new home and new town. I won't talk much about the visit, as I want to dedicate this blog to the details of this day celebrating Jordan.

The morning of his commissioning we went to get kolaches and then headed back to get ready. I ran to Dollar Tree and made him a candy bar lei. The parents were awesome at helping to get the kids ready and then suddenly we were running out of the hotel room so we wouldn't be late to Jordan's commissioning. We got there right on time (as if they could start without us) and I was taken aback by how many people were in attendance. Baylor's PR department were all set up and taking pictures and assuring us they would send us videos of the the commissioning. A friend of mine sent me a screenshot of Baylor's instragram newsfeed with Jordan as the headline. He was the star of the day! 

Dr. Porea, who was Jordan's military advisor, spoke at his commissioning and swore him in with this Oath of Office. Dr. Alicia Monroe, Dr. Klotman (the president of Baylor), and Chief of Staff at the VA hospital Dr. Kalavar all spoke. 

Of all the speeches I heard, the most memorable excerpt said that although Jordan was now a captain, he needed to gain the respect of those that have been in the Army and that may be his subordinates, but have been in the Army much longer than him. I have gained a much deeper respect for the military and especially for those who enlist in the Army just to serve our country. This was what had drawn Jordan to serve in the military initially and all the perks of the scholarship just helped him leap into it. Since we've moved to San Antonio, I have met a lot more people in the military and my love for this community has only grown. We may be sacrificing a lot to be in the military, but there are many who have sacrificed so much more than us and we are humbled to be around so many awesome people. 

Another speech spoke about the sacrifice we, as a family, had made allowing Jordan to serve in the military and as a doctor. It was nice to be recognized and I won't lie: there have been some hard times already with Jordan not around and I have a lot I need to learn to be self-reliant and independent. I'm so glad I'm around a lot of ladies who have had to learn these things already. 

Anyway, back to Jordan....The commissioning ceremony was so nice and they even had a nice cake afterwards. It was a whole affair, and I felt honored to be apart of the fanfare. 

When the commissioning was over we headed out to The Original Ninfa's for some amazing Mexican food, and then off to graduation. The kids were great and it was so satisfactory to see Jordan walk across the stage and recite the Hippocratic Oath. The day was a wonderful tribute to all the hard work Jordan has put in the last four years and thank goodness it's over! I'm so excited for this next stage of our lives together. 

Jordan has always striven to put family first. He does every menial task I pile on him when he gets home and he is so great at playing with the kids. I know he is going to be an incredible doctor and an honorable soldier. He is also a really good husband! I am so lucky to have him and I'm glad I can write this post before Father's Day to honor him. 

 

Moving to our new home!

Since we moved with the military, they hooked us up with a full-service move, which was great since after we came home from California, we only had a week to prepare. We had to take all the decorations off of the walls and take apart all of the electronic items. First, we were told that they were coming for two days, then we were told they were only coming on the last day to pack and load the truck, then we got a phone call the day before they were supposed to come and they said they were outside waiting to come and pack us up! It was crazy! I threw myself out of bed and into action! Thank goodness we had prepared almost everything to be moved already, but it was still chaotic. It wasn't a terrible experience and I was really grateful for all of those people who reached out and offered to help. We got to sleep on our bed that night and then the next day they loaded the truck. It was weird to see all of our stuff in towers of boxes and trying to still live in a place that was basically lifeless.

The next day they loaded all of the boxes into the truck and I cleaned the rooms as they cleared boxes. Although we weren't supposed to be out of the apartment until the next day, we were done cleaning the apartment by late afternoon and we were itching to get to our new home. We convinced our apartment to let us leave a day early, then we were out of there! We got to our new place in the evening and walking in to our new home felt so good! Our real estate agent was there to greet us and give us our keys and then we were alone in our new home. Empty though it was, it looked better than I remembered and it felt better too. The first couple days it felt like we were invaders in a home that belonged to someone else, but we met some of our neighbors and soon we started to feel like this is where we belonged. We made countless trips to Home Depot, At Home, Walmart, and Target to get our house ready. There was a lot to do and I was grateful for the five days we had without our stuff so we could settle in before the movers came. It wasn't the greatest experience sleeping on an air mattress for those five days, but we survived! 

Our dog Loki loves the squirrels he is constantly chasing and jumping after. Our cat Stella is eager to make a break for it the first chance we aren't watching her and sneaking onto the couches. Olivia loves running around in the sprinklers and swimming in our HOA pool. She loves coloring with chalk on the patio and having her own room again. Romney loves it when I open the blinds next to the changing table and (right on time) has started scooting EVERYWHERE like he has a motor attached to his bum. He is super fast! I've already had to baby-proof the house! I love watching the lightning storms in the backyard and dreaming about what we'll plant in the future. Jordan loves the new grill his parents bought him and loves fixing all the things in the house and dreaming about future home improvements. I think we all LOVE the abundant space of our new home. If there's one thing that has made us feel better about our move, it's having such a nice home to move into and the fact that I can find EVERYTHING I need on one street. It's been really easy learning to find my way around, which, if you know me, I have a terrible sense of direction and learning new places makes me nervous! Thank goodness for Google Maps! It has saved me so many times! 

Our new church has been so welcoming and we truly feel like we are where we are supposed to be. Transitions are always hard, but I know that soon we will make San Antonio our home, just like Houston.