Our Homes :) Places we've lived and our new place!

We have had quite the adventure......... It stared in 2008 :)

We sure have had our fair share of moving.  From when we started dating until now we have lived in 9 different places and we aren't done yet. This has been an amazing journey!

We first lived in Brewster Hall while I attended Eastern Washington University and while Justin began his Graduate degree at Gonzaga.

We then moved out of the dorm into our FIRST apartment. In Cheney WA

While Justin finished his degree he moved into an apartment complex with one of our good friends. I moved in to be a live-in Nanny and had an amazing experience.  We did this for 9 months.


From there Justin Graduated and we moved in with my family :) They were so gracious and let us live there!

After we got married we moved in to our amazing (my favorite apartment) in Woodinville. Beaumont. Just minutes away from our jobs, it was perfect.

After we found out we were having Ava we decided we wanted more room, so we rented a house! Our Monroe house was FANTASTIC, it was huge, Nice, Clean and perfect for our new family.

Now after Justin had the chance to improve his career path we have moved across the country, to Memphis TN. Though this is not where we want to live, or raise a family. We have found a perfect community and a perfect apartment for now. We plan to live here a year and from there we are hoping to buy a house in the WA area.  We will see where life takes us from here~ Hopefully to purchasing our very first home and getting rooted!!



Before Ava and I moved out to Memphis, Justin tested the waters and looked for housing. Unfortunately he had to live in a hotel, Yes it sounds wonderful..but it WAS FAR from wonderful. 

Here is our Memphis home.Still a work in progress because coming from our big house, to a tiny apartment with NO STORAGE we are having a hard time finding a home for everything:)


   Our living room.
 Patio with view of gym and pool :)
 Tiny laundry room, but perfect for what we need!
 Dining room

 Our Kitchen


Master Bedroom ( WAY WAY smaller than what we had in the house in Monroe, but perfect for now)

 =

Avas Bedroom

 


 

Guest Bathroom                                                            Hallway

36 Weeks

Taking weekly pictures use to be SO EASY. Now(like diaper changes) It is a WRESTLING MATCH

I officially think we will switch to sitting photos and probably soon enough standing:)

 

Where to start...

Ava is OFFICIALLY on the move. No more leaving the room and her being right where you left her..NOPE..She goes everywhere. Just in the last few days she can crawl for long periods of time ( Sometimes stops to rest her head, lol So cute)

Pulling up, Still cannot get it on camera but she can pull up and not only is she pulling up she is transferring from objects.

So far she has adjusted to the move really well, actually sleeping in her crib and ALMOST every night sleeping through the night (except last night, she was UP ALL NIGHT)

Storms in TN scare the poo out of Ava and I. Tornado warnings, severe thunderstorms, asking people to stay indoors and away from windows <----SO scary. I will admit the sound of the INTENSE rain and nice rumble of thunder can be relaxing but NOT the loud crazy apartment shaking thunder NO THANK YOU!

Tricks that Ava now knows :)
   * Bobble Bobble, Shaking her head
   * Spit bubbles ( * Yes we taught our daughter to stick her tongue out at us..cute now, we will regret later)
   * Waves hello and goodbye
   * Says Da da and Ma Ma
 

Ava is learning to feed herself with Puffs and officially is on formula. I packed the pump away this week..bitter sweet. Until next time good ol' pump :)

35 Weeks

She loved blowing spit bubbles during pictures :)

Well, We have been in Memphis for over a week. It is taking FOREVER to get settled. We have ALOT of stuff and not that big of an apartment. One thing we didnt look into when planning to move was storage space, because this apartment has NONE. Luckily we left some stuff in Seattle and we had to send some stuff to Cincinnati to store. We will make this a home for the time being and it will work great. Until our next move:)

Ava this week is more mobile than she ever has been. She can now stand for long periods of time, while holding on to things and she is becoming more and more daredevil-ish and trying to transfer from one thing to another. She can now easily move around her activity table. She also loves to "walk" while  holding your hand :)

She is a TALKER! Loves Da-Da, Ma-Ma when shes mad, and LOVES to screech and make silly noises all the time.

For a few nights we had a SLEEPER, that has again ended. But those 2 days were NICE!

8 Months

Ava is the biggest ball of FUN! She has such a personality and quite the attitude. She is such a spunky little thing. She learns new things everyday!


This month again, SO MUCH CHANGE.

- She has 4, yes FOUR, Teeth! And WOW are they SHARP.
-She is now mobile, loves to crawl around
-She loves all things that ARENT toys. She can be completely surrounded by toys but wants all CORDS.
- She can almost pull up unassisted. She has done it a few times unassisted but is getting stronger and stronger everyday.
-She can go from laying down to sitting up on her own.
- Ever since moving to Memphis ( 5 days) She has SLEPT through the night :) She now takes naps in her crib and sleeps in her crib. She occasionally will wake up but goes back down VERY easy.
- Loves to eat. Still taking it very slow because of her bowel issues :(
- Loves LOVES loves playing peek-a-boo
- So happy to be with her dad again.
-Misses her cousin, grandparents, but LOVES skyping them

* I am officially done breastfeeding(Pumping) It took a while to wean off, but I haven't pumped in days and don't get engorged or anything. I hate to say it but I am pretty sad. I know I did great, and I lasted 8 months. I do wish I lasted a bit longer but Ava is healthy and thats all that matters.

34 weeks. New week. New accomplishments. New home

 
The title sums it all up. Though we just got here and we are not settled in just yet, Ava is already adjusting to the move. Her and I are very tired still from our over night flight but we are getting lots of rest to tackle our apartment.
I cannot describe how much I miss our old home and our old routines but this is an adventure and its not forever. We will make the best of it.
Ava this week is standing( assisted) with her activity table for longer periods of time.
Ava constantly babbles and loves to yell "dada". I think it's incredible that she knew to say mama when it was just me and now that we are with daddy she says dada. Such a smart little girl.
Ava is also into throwing stuff out of reach so you have to get it for her, her little game she loves to play w grandpa Brancheau :) " grandpa go get it"
She is also learning how to get around more. She plays on her tummy, flips to get back, and then goes to sitting up all by herself.
We are still trying to eat more baby foods and get them into our routine but her little tummy is having a hard time transitioning. So we are taking it very slowly.
We love this little girl so much :) <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">

Let the adventure begin. Flying alone with a baby.

Lets just start off with staying that this day was one of the hardest of my life, such an emotional day(...week). Saying goodbye to my family/ friends was the most difficult thing I have ever done.
I am excited for Justin, Ava and I to do our own family thing for awhile and then move on. Maybe back to Seattle, buy a house, and start our life's :)

So flying with a baby ALONE:

* totally doable. Easy,NOT AT ALL but for my first experience it was awesome

**Best thing I did was packed a backpack NOT A DIAPER BAG.
**Worst thing I did was pack the stroller, next time I am checking it and just bringing carrier. ( yes it's nice to stroll her around the airport, but that's only necessary if we had a long layover and an extra set of hands would have been nice. Though our stroller Peg Perego is EASY to set up and take apart with baby in hand and only one hand :)

Inside the backpack I packed too much. But after what happened last time( poopsplosion and running out of water)I know better to have too much than too little.
* I had 3 bottles ready w formula dispenser inside. All pre measured.
* I had 6 Medela tiny bottles with nursery water inside them ( each 9 ounces)
* 20 diapers. ( only used 4)
* blanket
* 3 pacis
* 3 outfit changes
* whole can of formula.

When traveling w a baby u can have water. A lot of people don't know that but you can :)

I had a redeye flight w her. She literally slept the whole time. The flight was very turbulent but she remained asleep :) I didn't have her have her own seat ( too$$) so I had to hold her and with her being 7 moths old she was HEAVY)

GETTING SITUATED ON THE PLANE
PrE boarding for families is awesome. Because it does take time to get ready. Traveling alone Is a little more difficult. ( when traveling with someone it's easiest that one person pre boards with all the stuff and gets situated, while one stays back w baby changes her and walks around and is literally last one on the plane)

I set out 2 bottles. Pre mixed one. And put it seat pocket. Along w one toy and 3 diapers and wipes. That way you don't have to get into bag and search during a melt down or poopsplosion.

I changed her right after we got on plane, got situated and while people boarded. Best idea ever. That way she was nice and fresh for a majority of the flight.

I wait as long as possible to feed her until we actually start to take off bc of the pressure. The sucking helps with the pain. So either bottle or paci.

Luckily this time around she slept literally both flights beginning to end but knowing I was prepared felt great. I probably will never do a red eye alone again bc it's impossible sleeping w a baby in your arms w. a stranger crammed up next to you. But I WOULD do it again w someone with me so we could trade and get some rest.

33 Weeks...Packing Up

* Will finish post later******


Man O Man.. I never thought this week would come..I am not excited for this week, then again I am excited. So MANY mixed emotions....OY! What a mess!

This week overall was another great week, Ava is getting such a personality!

This week Daddy came back to Washington, We missed him a ton!!