Kids really do change everything! (not that I ever doubted it)

As I wrote in the previous post, we have been doing a good bit of traveling lately! Jerry's car, a 2007 Ford Taurus, was tearing up and down the road everyday between his work trips to Union, SC and our travels. We have been having a good bit of trouble with his car for the past several months. We would take it in, get it looked at, pay too much money to "fix" it, and then not long after, have another problem! Our frustration levels continued to rise as the dependability and safety of our newer, supposedly "better" vehicle fell. I kept saying, "Why on Earth is my 10 year-old car driving better than your 4 year-old car?" Finally, we reached a breaking point. We began browsing for any potential affordable vehicles to replace his car. While it wasn't in our plans financially, we knew we needed something dependable, safe, and something we wouldn't continue pumping money into to "fix." After shopping around, talking to some dealerships, and crunching some numbers, we ended up purchasing this:

2008 Toyota Sienna

Yep, that's right. We now have a minivan. I still can't believe it myself in some ways! I remember even less than a year ago Jerry saying, "I will NOT be a guy driving a minivan after we have kids," and my nodding in agreement. Imagine my surprise when Jerry is searching for cars and says, "Let's look at van prices." As I said, we've traveled lately . . . with a baby . . . and all her stuff! I was worried we wouldn't have enough room on our trip back from TN! We made it, but it was a tight squeeze! Now, we have enough room for ALL of Audrey's stuff and can even bring along Betsy, our dog, when possible! We plan on driving this vehicle for a long time, and we are thankful that something worked out as quickly as it did. I still plan on hearing the jokes about driving a van from some of my friends who are in different stages of life than I am ("Hey, soccer mom!"), but I also know they'll be the first to suggest I drive if we all carpool somewhere since I'll have more room! All in all, it was just another example of how having kids really does change everything in your life, including your previous mindsets! And hey, now we are as cool as these people in this hilarious video:

Trips & Travels

One of the reasons I had not updated in awhile is because we were very busy for a couple of weeks! My mom and sister came down for a visit on June 7 and stayed for the rest of the week. We had a great time shopping for Audrey, celebrating Aunt Jill's birthday, and more. Then, on Saturday, Mom, Jill, Audrey, and I left and headed for TN. I was a bit anxious about the long car trip, but not half as nervous as I was the last time I took her to TN when I was by myself! This time, Audrey did not sleep the whole time! She got very sick of being in her car seat, and it was clear she wanted OUT! We still made it in pretty good time, but I was dreading the upcoming drives we had to make to IL, back to TN, then back home within the next week. We spent a few days at my parents' house and enjoyed meeting some of my parents' church friends and my Dad's coworkers. Then, we headed north to Mattoon, IL. June 18 was my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary (wow, 50 years!), so our family had planned a party for them and combined it with a "Welcome Audrey" type of party. There was a huge turnout to celebrate my grandparents' anniversary, and they enjoyed showing off the newest addition to the family. While in IL, we were also able to celebrate cousin Kollin's 1st birthday! He really enjoyed his first birthday cake! It was adorable! Also, we got to meet my friend, Lindsay's, new baby Will, who was born in May. It was a trip full of new things and experiences! Jerry and my dad arrived in Mattoon on Friday night (the celebration was Saturday), and Jerry was quite anxious to see his little girl after nearly a week! He said she had grown since we left, and I believe it!

Sunday, June 19, was Jerry's first Father's Day! There were several father's around us since we were staying at my grandparents' house! There was Jerry, my dad, my uncle Doug, and my Grandpa Max! We headed to church, enjoyed lunch out, then headed back to TN. The next day, Jerry, Audrey, and I headed home. I am pleased to say that on all these remaining car trips, Audrey did wonderfully! She slept several hours at a time and barely fussed! We were so proud (and relieved)!

A few pictures of the trip are below. Now, we are happy to be home. I walked Audrey into her room the day we got back, and she smiled as she looked around. I'm sure she was thinking, "Hey room! I've missed you!" More pictures are... HERE. Even more are HERE!

On Daddy's first Father's Day!

A friend of mine from junior high, Stacey, was able to stop by and meet Audrey. I was so excited to also meet her baby, Aubrie, who was born about 2 1/2 weeks before Audrey!

Jerry's first Father's Day

Grandma Laine' & Grandpa Max - Married 50 Years!

Our cousin, Kollin's, 1st birthday party!

Sitting at Kollin's party with cousin Rebecca

At the 50th Anniversary/Welcome Audrey party. Adorable cake made by Tina Hesse!

3 Months Old

I have a lot of catching up to do, as it's been over a month since I've last posted! However, we'll start with the update of Audrey, who is now over 3 months old!!! It still has not ceased to amaze me how quickly time has passed, but at the same time, I feel I can barely remember life without our wonderful daughter. We (Mom, Jill, Audrey, & I) were traveling from TN to IL on the 15th, when Audrey turned 3 months old.

Wearing her Illini onesie for her Illinois debut on 6/15/11

As a 3 month old, Audrey is...

• Still squeezing into some 0-3 month sized clothes, but has also started wearing size 3-6 month.
• Wearing a size 1 (sometimes 2) shoe--depends on the shoe!
• Wearing size 2 diapers
• "Talking" all the time!
• Giggling and laughing constantly! Especially when we let her "stand up" by holding her hands. It's as if she knows she's "on top of the world!"
• Communicating with noises to let us know when she's happy and when she's not
• Usually eating about 6 times/day
• Sleeping through the night (she slept 11 hours last night! WOW!)
• Not the best at napping. She takes several cat naps as opposed to long naps usually.
• Has decided to does NOT like to be in her car seat for very long, and she lets us know!
• LOVES putting her hands/fingers in her mouth. We think she is at the beginning stages of teething because she's drooling all the time and always wanting to chew fingers!
• Absolutely loves bath time still. I have given her a bath just to calm her down sometimes!
• Really likes to be outside. She just stares at the trees, birds, etc. and takes it all in. It's another great way to keep her calm when needed!
• Knows her Mommy & Daddy and learns to know others if she's around them for several days at a time (which we discovered on our trips recently).
• Enjoys reading books with Mommy (and I swear, she even turns the pages on one book --because it has really thick, foam pages that are easy/fun to grab! I saw her doing it all by herself the other day! I know she has no idea that she's turning pages, but hey--the teacher in me is QUITE impressed and pleased!)

Jerry and I are learning more about parenting and more specifically, parenting Audrey, each day. She is so full of life and always able to brighten your day with her wide open-mouthed smile! I could go on and on about her, but there's so much else to catch up on! We are so thankful for our blessing God gave us 3 months ago! We love you, Audrey Blair!