Watt's Happenin': So Long Nevada...Hello California (Part II)

This one's probably going to be a short one, but in the efforts of getting caught up to date, I thought I'd better get a little more written. (and I changed my background....I really have absolutely NO idea of what I'm doing, so I essentially just copy my SILs...thanks Lins!). Yay Fall!!!

So we had Luke's 9 month check up there in Reno.


Catching up on Golfer's Digest while waiting...are ya proud Papaw?

All was well (I don't have his 'stats' on me now, but he was right in the 50% for ht. and wt. and he was totally proportionate...yay Luke!). We told the doc that Luke was rejecting purees and I explained I thought it was due to teething as he didn't want anything put in his mouth unless it was by him. The dr. said that it was not due to teething and he was ready for the next step...real people food...aka chicken, hot dogs, fillet mignon...well, maybe not, but you get what I'm saying. So what else was there to do other than to go have lunch???


His first 'real people' food at Chili's...Yum!

But before lunch, since the dr.s office is right next to the hospital, for nostalgia (and because I completely forgot to get a picture with Luke and the nurse that was so instrumental in getting Luke home when we left the NICU) we stopped by the NICU to say thanks and goodbye.


Michelle...the RN we'll never forget!

Oh, and by the way...Luke is back to eating purees and LOVES them...it was the teething. A mother knows!

Then it was time to wait. The packers came on Thurs. and Fri. I was THRILLED....until I came close to breaking toes on several occasions because of the endless boxes stacked on pretty much every square inch of the house with what seemed to be a mouse maze chiseled out...nonetheless, I was so pumped!!!


we decided he was way too cute to not take with us!


so many boxes


Bud knew something was up and didn't like one bit of it!

The drivers arrived Mon. morning and loaded up our entire house...

...our lives...in one surprisingly small truck and a uhaul.

We spent the day cleaning...and cleaning...and cleaning. It was crunch time as we had decided to drive that night. We knew that would be best for Luke as he is not fond of being in his car seat if it's not nap time (so driving during the day had the potential to be sheer torture for all parties involved!) and I wanted to be sure to keep the transition as smooth as possible for him, so keeping him as close to his schedule as possible was the only way in my mind! I knew it would go one of two ways...1. he'd do wonderful and sleep the entire way or 2. he'd not sleep and we'd have a long road ahead of us...both literally and figuratively! Lucky for us it was the former.

We were running a little behind schedule, so I called in the troops...aka Stacey and Monkey Lamoure...aka the BEST NEIGHBORS EVER!!!! Stacey watched Luke at her house while we cleaned like crazy. We had done as much as we could during the week of waiting, but really we needed everything out of the house to do the big stuff. It was a strange feeling entrusting my child to someone for the first time, but strangely, I was fine. Probably because I knew it was Stacey and he was right across the street...and I just didn't have time to think about it! Then as we were nearing the end, the Monkey's came over and helped with the last bit of cleaning. They are THE BEST!!!!

So with that, we packed up the truck, went over to the Lamoure's, I put Luke in his P.J.s, fed him, Brian led a prayer circle with the Lamoures and then...I cried. I cried because this was the place I began my life with Brian. Because I brought my first baby home to that house. Because Stacey and Monkey are great. And because I was overwhelmed with joy to get the HECK outta Ferntucky!!! The time had come...praise JESUS!!!

Like I said, Luke slept like a champ! I was so excited. Brian and I had walkie talkies so we entertained each other the majority of the way...until Brian swerved a bit. Seeing as we'd been up since 7am and it was approaching 4am (that's 21 hours people!!!) we decided to have a little pit stop at a rest stop on the side of the road. I know, but I trust Brian and it was well lit...for the most part! So I got Luke out of his car seat and he slept on me in the passenger seat while Brian slept in the driver's seat of the Tahoe. A picture I wish I had gotten and a memory I'll never forget. So sweet. We woke up an hour later and finished the drive.

We pulled up to the base just as Luke was waking up...it couldn't have worked out better! Well, minus the fact that our 9 month old was right on schedule and awake and we...needed...sleep! Oh well, part of being a mommy and a daddy, I suppose! It wasn't all that bad!

So there you have it...California, WE HAD ARRIVED!!!!