{MOVED}

Well, it is official...we have moved! I have been so behind on my blogging and have so many things to post, but we've just been busy these past couple weeks...packing up the house, trying to entertain family at our empty house the weekend before we moved, getting sealed to Zoe and blessing her at church, moving, unpacking and trying to get situated here in Cali! It has been a crazy 3 weeks!!

Luckily the week before we moved, my mom came to visit and help me pack up the house...I really don't think I could've done it without her!! It's amazing how much stuff you realize you really have when you are trying to fit it all into boxes and store everything in a 10 x 20 storage unit. Jeremiah was lucky to have his great friend, Chris and his brother, Branden helping him out with the moving process. It was a miracle that everything fit into the storage...the way they had it packed, there was not even room to slip a piece of paper in an empty crevice!! Oh and I guess I forgot to mention that Jeremiah also had great help from his little assistant, Ayden!! Here they are taking an otter pop break after loading a couple things into the moving truck!

Anyway, the packing up process was a lot harder than I expected! I'm not sure if we just have so much stuff or what!! It could've been that I had 2 kids to deal with this time around...and every time I packed a box up, Ayden wanted to unpack it! Watching the whole "packing up" thing was pretty traumatic for him...he cried whenever we put anything of his into a box. He cried when we took furniture out of the house (he would say "my chair, my couch"). And he cried the most when we took everything off of the walls in his room...he was most torn up about taking the letters that spelled his name off of his wall. He kept asking where his letters were.

Our family all came out to Utah last weekend for Zoe's blessing and sealing. We felt bad that they came out so close to when we were moving and that our house was empty, but we had no idea we were moving when we planned the weekend events! It was great to have everyone there for such a special time for our family!! More on those events a little later!! =)

So went spent our last night in our house on Sunday night sleeping on the floor because our entire house was in storage!!! All of us slept on the floor!! Well, except for Zoe...she had her pack n play! We were lucky enough to have the Trevinos offer to bring over a mattress for us to sleep on, so we slept on that in the family room. By this point, the house was getting so empty and looking so depressing that I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible!! It was awful...when rooms start to echo, you know it's time to get out!!

On Monday, we started the long trek from Utah to Cali...this drive usually only takes us about 9 hours. But this time took us 11 1/2!!!!!!!!! ARGH!!! It was a nightmare...between pulling a trailer with all of our goods and stopping a million times because the kids were antsy, it took FOREVER!!! We finally got here at 1:30 am on Monday night and that was an interesting task trying to get the kids to go right to sleep in a brand new environment! It all worked out though and we have spent the last week trying to get situated, get back into a routine and trying as hard as possible to annoy the grandparents the least amount possible!! That has been the biggest task...we don't want to wear out our welcome the first week here!

So far, so good! There are SO MANY things and people that I miss about Utah!! And I really don't think it has really hit me that we don't live there anymore...this just feels like we are visiting for vacation! However, I was so sad when we were driving out of our neighborhood for the last time on Monday...I just wanted to cry when I thought about what we were leaving behind! I have never felt this way about moving before. But my mom told me that things like this feel different when you have kids involved! And I think that is exactly what has made me feel so sentimental about leaving! I hate that I am taking Ayden away from all of his best friends there (Emma, Mckay, Jakey, Drew, Bridger, Caleb, Ollie, Zach)...these are all friends that he frequently talks about! I know he will make new friends here, but it's sad to take him away from his old friends! Luckily we have blogs so I can show him pictures of his old friends and tell him what they are up to!! =)

But I do have to admit...it feels really good to be back! Tonight as we were driving back from trick or treating in the city that I grew up in, I told Jeremiah that I really feel like I am "at home" here! This just feels like home and I know this is where we are supposed to be right now! That may all change someday, but for the moment...this is it!! And it is so wonderful to be back with family!! I love that I can meet my mom for lunch anytime I want to! We were able to do that twice this week already!! Poor Ayden is so confused...he goes from seeing his grandparents a couple times a year to all of a sudden having too many to keep track of!! Oh and I just can't forget to mention the weather...it was in the 90's the first 2 days we were here! And tonight for trick or treating, Ayden had to take off his hood of his costume halfway through trick or treating because he was sweating like a pig!!! This is his 3rd Halloween and I can't remember him ever going trick or treating without having at least 3 layers on!! THIS IS "the life"!!!

{Grateful}

As I sit here to write this blog, I laugh at myself because there are so many other things I "should" be doing since my kids are asleep and I am moving in two weeks!! Today I was ready to kindly kiss Utah goodbye when we looked out Ayden's bedroom window and saw this...

Are you serious?!?!?!? Did it really snow on October 13th??? I have to admit that I was a little jealous when Jeremiah drove off today...on his way to Cali!

As I was looking over my last few blog posts, I realized that Zoe has kind of been manipulating all the blogging I have been doing! It's only because she is a lot easier to photograph than a moving 2 year old target! It is a miracle if I can ever get a good picture of Ayden! So I wanted to post a blog with some pics of just him!!

We seriously live in the greatest neighborhood EVER! I am so sad to leave our friends here! Today was my first day alone since Jeremiah left this morning! I have to say...it is going to be a VERY LONG week!! Being a single mom has to be the hardest job EVER!! But, it's a good thing I have such great friends! My day today for sure proved that. It started at church when wonderful Marci saw that I was having a hard time managing Ayden and Zoe all by myself, so she let Ayden sit with her family (and let's be honest...he would of course rather be hanging out with his buddies Jakey and Ma)!! Then, when he was done with that family, another friend let him sit on her lap and read him books and shared snacks with him. Then, at least 15 people at church today offered to help me pack/watch my kids/whatever!! This afternoon, my visiting teachers came to see if I needed anything...while they were there, a friend came to see if I needed help with Ayden and Zoe and another friend brought us dinner (thanks so much Lindsay)!!!! Seriously...I feel so blessed to have such wonderful support here!! We had such a yummy dinner and Lindsay made these DELICIOUS caramel apples (with homemade caramel)...as you can tell from the pictures above, Ayden was in HEAVEN!! He kept saying, "Mmmmm...is good Mommy!!" At least we got to end our day with such a happy moment eating this yummy dessert! And let me just say that I am counting DOWN the hours before Jeremiah comes back for the weekend on Friday night and then my mom comes on Sunday!! But until then, I just want everyone here to know how grateful I am for your friendships!

{GoInG bAcK tO CaLi}

It's so funny to me how quickly word spreads in our neighborhood. I mean, if you really EVER wanted to keep a secret it would pretty much be impossible!! So, I decided to write a post about us moving even though everyone already knows about it!! Ha!

We have had a month filled with quite a few trials and it has all been a huge test of faith. A little over a month ago, Jeremiah posed the idea "maybe we should move back to California..." This was a shocker to me because it is usually ME that goes through moments where I want to move back, but it is ALWAYS Jeremiah that puts me in check and gives me the laundry list of reasons we can't go back (mostly because we can't afford it)!! Jeremiah started doctoring up his resume, but there were still so many reasons we shouldn't really go right now (my preschool, seling our house, looking for a job, etc.)! We thought long and hard about it and started doing the research when all of a sudden Jeremiah got laid off from his job! Could anything in life be more stressful??? Especially when your other half is a stay at home mom??? We thought the timing of all of this was a litte crazy and maybe this was our sign that it WAS our time to move back! All of a sudden, our job search kicked into high gear!! We were applying to at least 10 jobs a day (both in Utah and California) and not getting much response! Long story short, he finally got A call which led to AN interview early this week and he got THAT job!! He starts on Monday!

We are so glad that his unemployment was only for about 3 weeks and we really enjoyed the time we had at home together. It should have been a stressful time (and we did have our moments), but for the most part, I wasn't too worried and I knew that it was all gong to work out (this is really strange for me since I am such a worry wart)!! Our stresses haven't stopped with the job search...we have have had to worry about what to do with our house (in this awful market) and what to do with my preschool! It has all been stressful, but again, it is all working out!

This move is a little bitter sweet! I am so so so excited to move back and be near our family...so glad for my kids to finally be near their grandparents and see them more often than a few times a year...so glad for them to be able to see and play with their cousins...so excited for the weather and we coulnd't be leaving at a more perfect time (I won't miss days like these where we go out for a walk and have to bundle up in October because its about 50 degrees and windy)!!

All of those things will be so nice, but at the same time....I am so so so sad to leave our friends here. We have made such great friends and met so many wonderful people here! When we moved out here, we had no family, so our neighbors have become our "family" away from home! I am amazed at how many people have already offered to help or watch my kids if we need it during these next 2 weeks...we really live in such a great area!! I am so sad to leave that and I know for sure we will NEVER find a neighborhood as great as ours! There are so many things I will miss and when we get there, I'm sure we will realize that there are even more things we will miss! I am so glad that we have the blogging world so that I will be able to keep up with all of my friends here! ***Side note...Yesterday when I was upstairs trying to pack up some boxes, Ayden was busy downstairs with a bag of fresh tomatoes the Bargerons had given us...this is what I found when I came downstairs...

I think I may need to take up the offer that friends have given me to watch my kids...otherwise, I'm not sure how I'm gonna get this house packed up if I have to keep cleaning up things like this!!! At least he offered to "help" me clean up!!

For now we are trying to rent our house, but have had 3 people in our neighborhood interested in buying our house...so we will see what happens! Hopefully we can just sell it! We are planning to stay at Jeremiah's parents house in Fullerton for a little while. Luckily, it is only 8 miles from Jeremiah's work, so at least he won't have to brave the crazy California traffic!! It should all be an interesting adventure!! So for now....it is bye-bye to this house and all that goes along with it!!! =(

{It's "official"...she's OURS!!!}

Today we got to go to court to finalize Zoe's adoption. We have had physical custody these past 6 months, but the agency has had legal custody for the first 6 months to make sure that we are fit parents! Well, we passed the test and today that all got to be final...Zoe is now "officially"...

ZOE GRACE SMITH!!!

This is definitely an exciting event and one that we looked forward to with both Ayden and Zoe, but it is also kind of anti climactic...we really feel no different today than we did the day we brought her home from the hospital. In our minds, she has always been ours...but I guess it is nice to have it all be finalized and be legal! I am most excited because now we get to finally be sealed to her and bless her at church! Can't wait for all of that in a few weeks!!

I've never actually had to go to court for anything, but all the attorneys always say how much fun it is to go and be there for a happy occassion! Everyone in the court room (the judge, the bailiff and the court reporter) all just kept looking at our little family of 4 and smiling at us throughout the whole thing! I'm sure it is nice for them to have cases like ours every once in a while and not have to be looking at a criminal!!

Ayden really had a blast being in the court room...he especially liked the 2 microphones that were sitting on the table that we were sitting at. At one point, while our caseworker was up on the stand answering questions from our attorney and the judge, Ayden shouted in the microphone "Amen"!! We were a little embarrased and shushed him while the 3 of them continued on! When they were finished, the judge said, "well, he sure knows what to do when he wants something to end!!" We joked and told the judge that when he gets tired of hearing someone talking, he says "amen" because he thinks he is telling them it's time to stop! What a silly guy!! Then Ayden also kept asking me, "we at church Mommy??" I guess because our attorney and caseworker were wearing suits...he thought we must have been at church! It was pretty funny and luckily the judge had a sense of humor and wasn't irritated by our little busy body boy!!

{Our BIG girl}

I have really enjoyed doing these car seat pictures to see how much Zoe changes and how much she grows each month! When I put these 4 pictures next to each other, there is no way that this looks like the same baby to me!! I know that it was just 6 months ago that she was so tiny and so fragile, but I can hardly remember that!! All I see now is a growing, chunky little girl!!!




We had her 6 month check up today and the doc said that she looks great! She is doing everything that she should be doing developmentally by now. The doctor was a little surprised when he saw that she already had 2 teeth!! She got a bunch of shots and wasn't very happy at all! She had such a sad little cry!! I don't blame her one bit though...before she got her shots, they gave me a flu shot and it HURT!!! And that was just 1 shot...this poor girl had to get 4!! Poor thing!! I took this picture of her with her little bandaids on after the appointment and when I looked closer, I realized that her 2 little bottom teeth are showing! If you click on the pic, you can probably see them! She is such a cute little girl!!

{6 months old!!}

I feel like I am saying this all the time, but I really can't believe that Zoe is 6 months old! She is half a year and these past 6 months have gone by SO FAST that I can't believe in the same amount of time, she will be having her 1st birthday!! Wow!! She has been so much fun these past few weeks. My favorite baby stage is from 6-12 months, so I am excited for these next few months and all the fun things she will learn!

This past month, she has mastered rolling over both ways and she now loves to be on her tummy! I think she loves to be able to see the world instead of staring at the ceiling! And one of my favorites is walking in on her after her nap to find her like this....

...I love that little head that is popping up...over the bumper in her crib...that has a huge smile on her face when she sees me walk in the room!

She has also mastered sitting up...which is making life much easier since I can plop her down with a handful of toys around her and she is entertained...until she falls over!!

We are getting into a good routine around here...life is getting much easier with 2 kids and I now believe all those people that told me, "trust me...the first 6 months will be the hardest and then life will get easier!!" I am definitely seeing that to be true!

Here are some of Zoe's favorites right now...playing in her exersaucer, sitting up, her pink puppy, her pink blankie, playing peek a boo, laughing at Ayden, her binky, naptime, applesauce, pears, and watching TV (uh-oh)! Here is Ayden and Zoe watching Saturday morning cartoons...

We are still having issues with feeding her solids! She absolutely HATES rice cereal, even though I have tried all different varieties of it! The last few days, I have tried mixing it with fruit and it seems like she eats the fruit and still manages to spit out the cereal! We are in trouble...I think we already have a picky eater on our hands!!

Lastly, we are finally out of 0-3 month clothes and have bumped up to 3-6 months and some 6-12 months! I'm excited for the cooler months coming up to see that cute little girl in jeans and sweaters!! I can tell that she is plumping up and gaining weight, but we will have to see how much at her appt on Tuesday!

Here are some pictures of the last month...

Oh...I almost forgot!! This last picture of Zoe chewing on her hand reminded me of her biggest news this month! She has TWO TEETH!! They started coming in about 2 weeks ago and now she has her 2 bottom teeth! I can't believe that they came in at the same time exactly! I am still yet to get a good picture of her smiling and showing off her pearly whites, but I'm sure I will soon!! She looks so cute!!