Brenna Rose: 7 Months

Here it is officially 2013 and I am just now getting to your 7 month post! Oh dear! At least I have a fairly good excuse.  This past month we were very busy packing up our 2 bedroom apartment in Tyler.  Daddy was busy moving all of our things to a storage unit while I was busy packing us up for our 3 month stint in MN.  We will officially be residents of North Carolina in April this year!  It's hard to believe you will be turning 1 by the time we are settled in North Carolina!

But back to your 7 month post.  This month we took a trip to Sioux Falls for our friend Todd and Tatia's wedding!  Some might call us crazy since the trip involved driving 19 hours from Tyler to Sioux Falls and we already had a 19 hour trip scheduled just two weeks after this one!  But to support our friends and to get another trip to Sioux Falls in, we decided to make the trek.  I was so proud of how well you did on the drive.  In fact, you have been a good traveler for quite some time!  The initial drive from Lafayette, LA to Tyler, TX when you were 3.5 months old was a little rough but that's because you didn't know what to make of all the head lights flashing in and out of the window after it got dark! We did have one oopsie on the trip though.  Daddy pulled over because I needed to use the restroom.  He decided to fill up with gas while I ran into the gas station. I was heading back to the truck when I noticed Daddy was  at the gas counter on the phone.  That's odd, I thought to myself.  Turns out while we were both outside of the vehicle, our sweet puppy Lola decided to lock us out of the car- with you sleeping inside!!!  I panicked and stood outside the truck (it was chilly out!) until we finally found someone to unlock the car.

What a way to kick off our trip! Thankfully the rest of the trip was uneventful.  Except for the stop we made in Anthony, KS to visit the McDermott family!  Oh how we love Ted, Holly, Blake, Payton and Zach!  The boys couldn't get enough of you.  They even had toys out waiting for you when we arrived.  Since we've been traveling so much it's been easier to let you sleep in the big girl bed with mommy vs setting up your pack n play everywhere.  You sleep so much better when you are next to me!  We spent time with the McDermott's before bed and we were back on the road first thing the next morning.

Thanksgiving was over the time we would be in Sioux Falls so we got to see lots of friends! Barbara and Joe had us over for brunch. There were at least 14 people at the brunch and it was a little overwhelming for you.  You are such an observant baby that it was too much for you to take  in all at once!  I took you into the bedroom for some quiet time and you were much happier.

Development wise, 7 months was a big one! You  went from sitting assisted to unassisted!  Although I still like to put pillows around you if I step away just in case you topple.  When you do topple you fall forward and we don't want you toppling on your cute little button nose!  By the end of November, the 30th to be exact, you started making clicking sounds!  It's so fun to watch you learn to do new things.  You are also a huge fan of blowing raspberries and you still sing before bed.  Sophie is definitely your favorite toy right now. You light up every time we squeeze her and say, "It's Sooophieeeee!"Still no signs of teeth or teething.  I'm okay with that! You have eaten avocado, sweet potato, carrots, and bananas!  Your favorite seems to be bananas, although some days you really don't want anything to do with solid food! Again, ok by me!

With all the traveling we have been doing you are getting used to sleeping just about anywhere! I am so proud of you. The day of Todd and Tatia's wedding you slept in your pack n play in the sound booth of the church! Although, it was more of a random room and definitely not sound proof but you took a nap like a rockstar!  Grandma Colleen joined us in Sioux Falls to help take care of you on the wedding day since I was their photographer and Daddy was a groomsman! You were even a part of the wedding as a flower girl! Funny story.  About 30 minutes before the ceremony I had Grandma put the dress on you.  It was a decent attempt by her and the mother of the bride but that dress was NOT going to fit!  My sweet little chubby baby.  Thankfully Grandma knows a thing or two about adjusting clothing so we were able to rig up something just minutes before the ceremony!  You were absolutely adorable in that white fluffy dress!  Daddy and I have hopes of renewing our vows someday so you will get to be a flower girl again!

After we returned home from Sioux Falls it was packing time! You would think after all the packing we have done that we would be experts by now but that was not the case. We have learned a ton about packing things efficiently and safely so we utilize space and things don't break but when it comes to the amount of stuff we have, it still seems nearly impossible to fit everything in! Most of our things went to storage. We will pick them up sometime in March when we move them to our new home in North Carolina! Speaking of home, that has been the one major task assigned to me during our time in MN.  It's January 2nd and I think I'll give the realtor a call.  A friend of a friend recommended her. I am really hoping we get as lucky with our Winston-Salem realtor as we did with our Sioux Falls realtor, Wendy!  We are hoping to find a house to rent.  While we had good apartment living experiences- especially in Tyler, we are ready for our own space and a yard for the puppies to run around in!  We've heard great things about Clemmons- a city just southwest of Winston-Salem so we will check that area out first.  Hopefully the realtor has a lot of good suggestions for us!

As for the next three months we plan to spend them seeing family and friends in MN and SD.  We will head out of Tyler on December 15th and head to MN.  The plan is to stay with Grandma Colleen for the first month or so and then when Daddy travels for work, Brenna and I will head to Grandma Cindy and Grandpa John's house!  I am looking forward to you getting to know your grandparents.

If there is one thing I know it's that you my littlest love, will have experience a lot of people and places by the time your first birthday rolls around! I am very excited to plant some roots, though.  The older you get, the more I want you to be surrounded by familiar things and people.  I am praying for our move and for the time we get to spend up north with family.  I am also praying that God would prepare our hearts for the move and what is to come in North Carolina.  It was a big decision deciding where we were going to move.  It's bitter-sweet that North Carolina is so far away but we feel God is leading us there and we pray it will be a very good fit for our little family!  I know Lola and Stella are very excited to have a permanent home again.  Stella gets sick every time we start packing suitcases or boxes!

I am very proud of your daddy for his job and all that he has done to provide for us. It's been quite the journey but I am happy to be continuing onto the next phase!  2013 will be one for the record books!