The Happiest Place on Earth

On April 26, we took our first family trip to Disneyland.  As many of you know, this is my favorite place on earth.  Zac says he doesn't like it, but I think that's a lie.  I was so excited to take Beckett since he seems to appreciate everything Disney as much as I do.  I thought for sure that he would love it, and I was right.  Well, mostly right.

Zac's parents were nice enough to take us.  It was so fun to spend the day with them.  We found out I was pregnant the night before, so it was a pretty uneventful visit for me (no rollercoasters).  Beckett and I enjoyed the quieter rides while Zac, Sue, and Mark rode the others.  Beckett's favorite rides were Toy Story Mania and Buzz Lightyear.  I can't imagine why since all we do all day long is watch Toy Story and play with the loads of Toy Story toys that we own.   He also liked the Jungle Cruise and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  He would have spent all day in Toon Town; we practically had to drag him out of Chip and Dale's Treehouse.  And he danced the entire time we were on Small World.  Sadly, we somehow lost all the video we took, and I really wish we had the Small World Dance-athon.  He also loved the Disney Junior show that featured all his friends.  He was so excited to see Man Man (Handy Manny).  We had some great video of that too.  Stupid video camera.  Guess we'll just have to go back and do it again.

One thing Beckett did not love was the characters.  For how obsessed with Woody and Buzz he is, I thought he would love to see them.  I was wrong.  He screamed in Woody's face and wouldn't let any of them come near him.  He looks like he is being tortured in every picture that we took.  He had warmed up a little by the time we saw Mickey, but not much.  Maybe next time he'll like that part better.

Beckett was a trooper all day.  He stuck with us right until the end and then crashed on the way out of the park.  It was a great trip and we can't wait to go back.  I thought I loved Disneyland, but watching Beckett enjoy it was the best part of all.  He still talks about it and I know he wants to go back soon.  Looks like Zac is out-numbered now.

We're Due...Again

As you can see from the ticker on the side of the blog, we are pregnant again!  We started trying again and expected it to take a while, since we had to wait so long to get Beckett.  But the night before we went to Disneyland I took a pregnancy test and it was positive!  We are so excited for Beckett to have a little brother or sister.  Poor Beckett has taken the news in stride.  He still points to himself when we ask where the baby is, but he does carry around a sonogram picture and point to it and say, "Baby."  Maybe I will just have two babies for a while.  Let's just say it will be an adjustment for our little guy, but I know that he will be a great big brother.  He is fascinated by all the other babies we know, so hopefully he'll feel the same about ours.

We are due right before Christmas, December 21st to be exact.  This makes it a crazy week for us, as if that time of year weren't crazy enough.  We have baby coming (Dec. 21st), our 5th anniversary (Dec. 22nd), and then Christmas.  Not to mention that I am going to most of my doctor's appointments in Texas but will actually deliver the baby in Utah, since we are moving back to Utah for a short time in October.  We live a crazy life, but is there really any other way?

Back in the Heart of Texas

Oh how things have changed since I gave up (or just sorely neglected) blogging months ago.  In February, the company Zac was working for started having a little financial trouble.  Lucky for us, about that same time we were presented with the opportunity to buy in to Reliant Pest Management and help set up the Austin office.  So Zac quit his "normal" job and we returned to the life I had sworn we would leave ASAP.  Funny how things work out.  While working his "normal" job, Zac worked 12 hour days, so we actually saw him less than we did with pest control.  And it is nice to have the flexibility back that pest control offers.  So far, it is treating us well.
So we packed up a trailer and a storage unit and we moved back to Texas.  There were lots of tears from the grandmas (they miss Beckett more than they miss Zac and me), but we set out.  The packing was awful (I've never packed an entire house before), the drive was long (we caravanned for three days), but we made it here safely.  We have been busy since we got here.  Zac is selling and operating the office from our apartment, and Beckett and I have lots of playdates, gymnastics, time at the pool, etc.  We are so glad to be back in Austin.  We love the city and Zac has a great crew of guys working for him this summer.  Austin really is our home-away-from-home and we are excited to be here.

*Since I am so behind, I will start with the more recent events first, and then go back and fill in what I missed from last year.  It won't be pretty, but it will get done.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

This summer we found ourselves in Houston.  What a huge city!  But that was good because there were lots of people to sell pest control to.  Usually I am stir crazy in the summer; I'm used to having school occupy so much of my life that the downtime in summer is hard.  But thankfully this year I had Beckett to occupy my time.  Houston was so humid that we didn't get outside much during the day.  Every time we did I felt for the guys who were out selling all day.  We enjoyed wonderful dinners and outings with friends, we went to an Astros game, visited the Keemah boardwalk, and played volleyball and swam at the pool.

We really watched Beckett move from a baby to a little boy this summer.  He started crawling at the end of May right as we moved down there.  He loved to pull himself up and look out the big picture windows in our apartment.  He also started sleeping through the night while in Texas-finally.  At the beginning of August he started walking.  Let me explain how this kid works: Beckett had been standing on his own for a month.  He even taunted us by taking a couple steps and then sitting down.  He was the same with crawling-he won't do it until he wants to, even if he can.  Then, once he makes up his mind to go for it, there is no turning back.  He pretty much went from crawling to running in a day.  I think this is just his temperment-we couldn't get him to come out of my stomach until a week late and then he came quick.  He is stubborn-wonder where he gets that from?

The best part of Texas is the food.  We enjoyed Papasitos fajitas, Rudy's creamed corn, and declicious Italian from a hidden treasure found by the Parker family.  And we are blessed to have good friends to enjoy it with.  Moving away in the summer is hard, but our pest control family makes it better.

I don't have many pictures to post now because many of them are on Zac's phone, but I promise to round them up and get them on here.  Any even if I did have them Blogger is not cooperating right now.  Pictures to come later I guess.

The Worst Blogger Ever Returns

I know, I know, I am officially the worst blogger ever. While I am very good at checking everyone else's blogs, I have neglected my own for far too long. The major reason for this would be that when we got down to Texas the computer decided to die, and since it's very hard to blog without a computer, nothing got done. Since our return I've felt like we've been away more than we've been home. We've taken multiple trips to see cousins and stayed most of November in Park City to cut down on Zac's new commute. Here's a short update and a list of things I'll post more about later.

Zac - After another successful summer selling pest control, Zac has now found a "real" job. He works at Athletic Republic, which is a company that specializes in training athletes from 9 and up. He is the sales consultant for all of their franchises. He has been very busy setting up a new sales protocol and traveling to visit different centers. The only bad thing about the job is the commute to Park City. We miss seeing him as much as we used to, but are glad he is happy at work.

Katie - I am happy to be staying at home, even though it feels like we're never here. It feels great to be with Beckett all day. While I do miss some parts of teaching, like my cute students and my great co-workers, I do not miss grading papers. Being a mom is the best and busiest job out there. Zac and I recently started P90X, which is a workout system that totally kicks your butt. It's been fun to do something together each night and I am proud to share that I am now smaller than I was in high school. It feels good.

Beckett - One word: busy. He is such a good natured little boy. He loves Sesame Street, especially Elmo and Big Bird. They are our constant companions when we run errands. He loves to sing and dance and loves watching movies with music. In fact, he is such a TV junkie that sometimes I feel like an awful mother for letting him watch it. He has said a few words: mama, dada, baba, bubbles, and Elmo, but he doesn't use them often. He is a point and grunt kind of kid. He knows lots of animal sounds though: elephant, zebra (horse), lion, monkey, gorilla, sheep, cow, dog, cat, snake, dinosaur, as well as car and airplane. He keeps us entertained, that's for sure. Much to our dismay, he is a slow teether and only has 2 1/2 teeth, but he manages eating just fine and will eat just about anything. One of our favorite tricks is when he screams after hearing the Jaws theme. We love him and feel so lucky to be his parents.

Posts to look forward to (sooner rather than later):

• Our summer in Texas
• Our annual trip to Jackson Hole
• Beckett's birthday parties (yes, there was more than one)
• Our visit to Iowa
• The Witches at Gardner Village
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving

How Time Flies

These are some of our favorites from the family pictures we had taken on our California visit. It was nice to have everyone together.

Wow, who knew keeping up a blog would be so tricky once I actually had the baby. Between my favorite little guy and work my time disappears. So much has happened in the last few months and we have so much good news to share, so here it is:
1. Beckett can crawl! It's not the prettiest looking thing, but he sure knows how to get around. Nothing in our house is safe now. His favorite way to get from point A to point B is to roll, but his crawling has come a long way.
2. The summer is almost upon us. That means we are headed to Texas. This year we will be living in Houston. We are excited to try something new. Houston is a big place, so I'm a little nervous, but we look at it as an adventure for our little family. The beginning of summer also means that work is over for me, for good. This is my last year teaching, for now at least, and I am excited to stay home with Beckett. I now know that a mom has the busiest job in the world and I won't be bored staying at home (I was so naive for thinking that).
3. Zac graduates in a couple of weeks. He is so glad to be done with school, but then the job hunt begins. He has worked so hard and we are so proud of him!

Beckett update: He is huge! His next formal doctors appointment isn't until next month, but we're pretty sure he weighs well over 20 pounds. He loves to eat and will try anything. We are still anxiously awaiting that first tooth. He is such a happy little guy and we love having him around. He loves Baby Mozart and any kind of music and he has the cutest little laugh.

Yes, We're Still Alive

Wow, where have the last four months gone? Yes, that is how old my darling little boy is. Beckett is the happiest baby - he smiles and laughs and babbles all the time. He can roll from his tummy to his back and is trying really hard to sit by himself. Zac is in finals week right now. After this week we only have one class left, YEAH! I am busy teaching school. I love working part time. This is a busy time of year, but we are excited to have our first Christmas with our new little addition.