July

July here has been unusually mild and rainy. We made it to the pool a few more times and spent a lot of time coloring, painting, playing at the park, and playing games. Here are a few pictures of our month:

1:00 church is hard on everyone, especially napping toddlers!

I love my kids! Being a mom is tiring and overwhelming and often frustrating but it is also very rewarding. My life would be very lonely without their constant companionship.

Clara is starting to get into dress up and princesses. Only natural considering how much her big sister loves it.

We took a trip to the Mall of Georgia. It is huge! They have a Disney store and Keith thought it would be fun for the girls to each pick a nightgown. Is there anything cuter than kids in PJ's?

This profile reminds me so much of my brother Caleb I had to post it.

Pretty, Pretty, Princess games usually end in Clara decorating herself with all of the jewelry

Can you see the fear on his face? Clara's getting better with Emmett but she still hasn't really learned what it means to be gentle.

They really do love each other

Such a great big sister!

He rolls, hooray! With all of the biotinidase stuff, I get a little more antsy/excited about his milestones.

The two fingers have been replaced by the thumb. It's adorable and he is a very quiet baby now.

Kenzie makes sure to get him a blanket and toy wherever he falls asleep. 

June pics and our Transition

This month...

Emmett found his fingers. He'll still take a binky but really prefers his fingers.

The boys sporting their Cardinal wear

Sleepy Sunday mornings

Keith's parents brought out some of his old toys and the girls had a blast playing with them.

On our second trip to the aquarium. I didn't manage to take any photos while we were actually there but we had fun. We stopped at Ikea afterwards to eat dinner and buy a few things for the apartment. The girls were squished on the way back with a long box that wouldn't fit in the trunk.

 I'm just in love with this sweet boy and his cute faces. He is SO happy. He's very generous with his smiles and Kenzie is the best at getting him to giggle. Nursing is FINALLY better.

She is such a mess when she eats. She has to explore every food and when she's done, she has to lick the plate/bowl clean.

Just a picture of my cute girl. She is at such a fun stage and I love all her little expressions. Please stay sweet when you're 2!

Transition: I don't like to complain but I do like to document real life, my thoughts and feelings. I knew I would be sad to leave Kentucky but I didn't get a chance for it to sink in until we were in settled in our apartment, the company was gone, and Keith was a working man again. The loneliness was almost unbearable at first. I was used to a complex full of friends and young women who stayed home all day with their children. My kids had friends, I had social interaction, I couldn't ask for more. It was a unique situation I know we will likely never have again.

Here, I found myself in an unfamiliar city in an apartment complex I didn't feel entirely safe in, without friends. There was a lot of crying and frustration. Sunday's usually leave me lonelier than ever because I miss the familiarity of our old ward. I also haven't had anyone sit by me in Relief Society yet. After a couple weeks, I made the effort to sit by someone and try to make conversation but I'm usually one of the first ones in there and will purposely sit in the middle of a row. It's so dumb and I know that I can branch out and try to sit by others but sometimes, I want them to recognize the new girl and try to make some effort. Our ward is a good size and they don't have a lot of move-ins. Most of the people have a relative or two in the ward. There are plenty of primary kids and a decent nursery but most of the kids are the youngest of other siblings. I seem to be one of the youngest women in the ward and the first Sunday I had a girl tell me if she had three kids at home all day she would hole up and cry. It seems everyone thinks my life is just too chaotic and busy to want friends or a life. It totally doesn't help that I'm pretty shy. We were car-less that first month so I couldn't go anywhere but I also wasn't invited to the daily activities. Plenty of older women in the ward told me how the young girls got together all the time for play dates but I didn't manage to meet anyone who invited me to them.

Two months later I still don't know if I have visiting teachers and haven't been assigned a route. It's just very different from our move to Kentucky where I was welcomed with open arms and made friends quickly with other girls who had young children.

I think this transition would have been hard regardless of where we moved. I'm still not in love with Atlanta but it is growing on me. I miss the Kentucky blue grass and the small town feel. I struggle sometimes being so far from family. It was especially hard to miss out on my brother Caleb's mission farewell a month after we moved. Money has been stressful and getting our affairs in order has been stressful. Emmett is sleeping through the night but I am not. I need to learn how to chill out again!

Now for the good parts. I feel like I am closer to my children. I play with them more and I make sure to take them out. I may have 3 kids 4 and under but that doesn't mean we can't go to the park and play or go to the library where there are plenty of nursing friendly chairs. 

Keith's schedule is wonderful! It's so nice to have him home around 5:30 or 6 and have nothing else to really worry about. I'm grateful we have a pool to swim in and that Kenzie was able to secure a spot in preschool. I'm grateful for a kind home teacher who invited us to his house last week for a date night. I'm grateful for the sweet single mom in my complex who brought me dinner one night because the Spirit told her to. I'm grateful for the missionaries. They helped us move in and it sounds funny, but they are the only ones who make this city feel a little bit like home. I'm grateful for Keith's boss and his concern for my happiness.

I recognize that though all of this has been hard, there are harder trials my friends are passing through right now. I have a blessed life and I'm grateful for the perspective the Gospel gives me and I know that time will heal our broken spirits and I will have peace and comfort in my life again.

New Van and Cow Appreciation Day

Around here, we love Chick-Fil-A. It's our fancy fast food option and we don't go often so I was pretty excited about cow appreciation day this year where dressing head to toe in cow attire would get you a free meal. The girls helped cut out spots and tape them on. I whipped up the masks with leftover felt and was pretty happy with the results. I love spending 50 cents on 5 costumes.

How awesome is my husband to dress up like a cow and not even complain but think you're an awesome wife for scoring free meals? In High School we always talked in leadership classes about ripping up your "cool card." aka not caring about what people think. 

This guy does not have one at all and I love him so much for that!

They were being so cute and were excited for daddy to get home so we could go for lunch.

We may have hit Chick-Fil-A for both lunch and dinner.

Cutest calf I've ever seen!

After our lunch, we headed South to a dealership with a handful of used Honda Odysseys. We have never been a two car family. We were totally fine with that because in Kentucky, Keith was able to take the bus to school and he was willing to do it as much as his schedule permitted him. When we moved to Atlanta, we planned on being car-less for a couple of weeks. It ended up being a couple more due to finances. I know I'll sound like a baby but being without a car for a month was pretty awful. We were in a new place, friendless, and it was raining EVERY single day so going outside was rarely an option. 

So finally the day (payday) came that we could get a car. We had been researching and hounding people about cars for months. We had settled on a Toyota Sienna but when we compared all the reviews between the Odyssey and Sienna, we decided to give the Honda a try. We knew it would be hard to make payments on a new vehicle and I really wanted leather so we both decided a few years old would work great for us. It seemed impossible to find used Sienna's so we decided to try finding a used Odyssey.

After 7 LONG hours at the dealership, we were incredibly proud owners of a 2009 Honda Odyssey. I can be OCD about getting the best price when it comes to the purchase of a hair dryer. I become certifiably insane when it comes to dropping thousands on a vehicle. Consumer Reports and edmunds.com became my Bible.We had to make sure we came out with exactly what we wanted at the price we wanted it at. The kids did so well and we came home with armfuls of free stuffed animals and coloring books that the manager kept bribing them with.

 

 

The girls are in love with all of the space and I am in love with the power doors, a/c, cd player and freedom of a vehicle. We feel so blessed to have something so nice.

Coca Cola World

After the aquarium we went to the World of Coca Cola. I love Coke so this was probably more fun for me than anyone else.

The end was probably our favorite part. They had different drinks from countries around the world that you could try. In the end, my favorite is still vanilla coke.

Georgia Aquarium

Randy and Joan are great to  vacation with. They research, plan and put everything together. They knew much more about Atlanta than we did so we were more than happy to have them take us downtown.

First stop was the Georgia Aquarium. It really lived up to the hype, we left with season passes and some very happy kids.

Kenzie's favorite attraction was the touch pools. They had a few scattered throughout filled with starfish, shells, stingrays, and various fish.

Clara's favorite attraction was this moving walkway:)

This massive fish tank has to be one of the coolest things I have seen. We spent a long time just watching all of the sharks and fish.

They had little bubbles you could stand in and get up close and personal with the penguins. I loved this as much as the girls, they are such cute little creatures.

Another highlight was the dolphin show. We got there late so we sat further back but we still had a good view. Clara and Emmett slept through the whole thing but Kenzie liked the live theatrical performance. I wish I had pics or video but it's not allowed.

We've gone back since and were able to sit a couple rows from the front. We got a little bit wet as the dolphins splashed just a few feet in front of us. Kenzie hated the noise and water but Clara giggled through most of it. The show is a must see if you go to the aquarium!