Hello, Fall. Family Updates Too!

  That Texas summer was something! Growing up in SOCal, I'm used to the heat. The difference is, this is heat plus humidity- and it doesn't get as cool and breezy in the evening as the dry heat in California. So, thankfully our temperatures are dropping and summer is officially leaving! Time for our first fall in Texas.

The rains have come back and will be here through next week. Though humidity usually rises a bit with the rain, the overall weather is cooler, and there's always a nice wind. Plus, these thunderstorms are neat. Didn't get big storms in California (regularly, that is). So, we're enjoying it all. I'd say the only downside to so much rain is all the bugs and critters it brings. We don't have the cute little brown crickets here. We have the large black crickets, beetles, bright spiders, and other friends who love to visit. Thankfully I've been able to (for the most part) keep them out of our home. Every now and then I'll see a cricket, and toss it outside (yes, I'm nice. Beetles die though. Every time). The problem with beetles is they infest. They lay their eggs in furniture, carpet, and other fabrics. However, by keeping the floors clean, the issue can be prevented. I've only found a few inside over the summer and I've been crazy-lady cleaning the floors since. Apparently Texas has a major cricket issue, and it's been very obvious! After rainfalls, the streets, shopping centers, and other areas are just flooded with those things.

Onto human matters. A couple of days ago I woke up for the first time in weeks without nausea! I didn't want to get too excited and get my hopes up, but around my normal "crash" hours (2-3pm), when I feel I can't go on, I had tons of energy. I made Gary take us out when we got home just because I could breathe! Then, the next morning, same deal. So, though I still get tired, it seems the worst of it has finally come to an end. Onto the second trimester! I was sick with Alex until about 14 weeks, but this one seemed to end around 12. However, though it was shorter, it was definitely worse. Now I can actually feel excited about growing another child, LOL.

Gary's job is going well. He really likes Golfsmith and gets along really well with his team. It's a huge IT department, and they all work together really well. He also loves how he can wear jeans everyday (last job was a suit), and he can hit the driving range during his lunch break. It's therapeutic for him to hit tons of golf balls during breaks. He's becoming a pretty good golfer!

Alex is being crazy, goofy Alex. I just love him. He's SO toddler and it's fun, even if he has his moments. That boy can SCREAM! Seriously. Neighbors probably wonder what the heck goes on in here. Diaper change? Ear-shattering scream! Time to come inside? SCREAM! Want something he can't have? Super scream! Bored and why the heck not? Scream! His screaming isn't always related to tantrums. Kid just likes his voice. I'm surprised my ears are still working. Apparently I liked my voice too when I was his age. Besides that, he can:

Count to three (loves stacking his blocks while counting)
Identify most of his toys when I ask him to grab something
Understands "play, outside, time to eat, fruit snacks, milk, juice", etc. He hears all!
Holds our finger everywhere we go. If we're walking down the street, walking through the mall, walking through the store, he walks with either me or Gary and just holds our finger the whole time without running off. Gary taught him that one!
        He says so many words! Besides the typical mama and dada, he says: hi, bye, kiss (shish), shoes (shoosh), Elmo (eh-mo), ducky, touch (ta-ch), nice touch (ni ta-ch), kitty, doggie (gaw-gee), boobie (yep, and grabs or smacks my boob), baby, play (pay), so much more, and mimics our yawns by sighing.
        Alex also can identify and say out loud objects in his books (moon, bee, nest, squirrel (skl), etc.). I can't believe how much this boy can talk! It's amazing to see him grow and develop like this. I'm pretty sure babies and toddlers learn much more quickly than adults. He also is a total bookworm and LOVES reading, even to himself.

Anyway, that's the long update for now! Pictures will come later!

We're Growing!

    So, a few weeks ago, we learned some big news:

     It started when I was feeling more tired than usual, followed by a few days of nausea. Suddenly pieces fell together, and I knew pretty quickly I was pregnant. I took a test that day, and it instantly popped up positive! Gary and I had been discussing trying for a sibling year or so from now, so this was definitely a surprise for this to happen so early. But we are excited to add a new family member to our bunch!

     This pregnancy has definitely been a challenge with this morning sickness, but I know it's completely worth it. I was pretty sick with Alex, but I seem to be doubly so with this one. I have lost almost 10 lbs. so far and some days it's almost impossible to get out of bed and move around. It's definitely hard to be a mommy and pregnant! I went in early to my doctor's appointment, only to discover I was further along than I thought. So, the due date was moved from mid May to early May. This means we will have 2 May babies! Almost 2 years apart exact. Anyway, the ultrasound came back perfect and I saw and heard that cute little heartbeat. As for the rest of me, besides having anemia, everything else came back great.

     So, that's the big news! Our family is growing! 

Our August

      The weather in Texas during August is really exciting stuff. I know, Southern California gets pretty hot too- just minus the humidity. We hit some nice triple digits for a couple of weeks. It seems to be cooling down this week though, and the rain is coming back a little. When we first moved in, we had storms nightly for about 2-3 weeks, then it calmed down to no rain, but now the sprinkles seem to be returning. If only we could send some of the rain over to California!

     Since it's been so hot, Alex and I haven't done much park hopping. We've basically been avoiding outside time all together. There's some indoor fun he enjoys though. There's a place called Mt. Playmore, and he's free. It only costs me $1.50 to get in, so I just grab some change and we head over there. He runs around like crazy in the toddler area and has a blast. I guess it used to be a Discovery Zone, or it's something like that. I remember Discovery Zone was the coolest place as a kid.

One of the bouncy toys at Mt. Playmore

     Speaking of discovery, we're still enjoying exploring everything around us. Gary and I had a date night at Top Golf, a high tech golfing venue. It was SO much fun! We had dinner there, then played some rounds. The goal was to hit the ball off of this rooftop area into colored nets spread out on the field. Depending on where you hit it will depend on your points. It's really a perfect date night and group date night area.

      We also took Alex to play so miniature golf on Lake Travis. He had a blast running around with his little club and having daddy help him hit the ball. It was a kid-friendly place, so we weren't worried about taking him. He did great. And the views weren't too bad either.

Having a blast, as you can see

      My new job teaching piano has been going pretty well too. During July, I taught a few hours each day at the summer camps, but during the school year it will only be about 90 minutes in the afternoon- which is perfect because I still get lots of Alex time. I also am doing a couple of private lessons in the evenings.

      Well, speaking of teaching, I am officially going back to school full time this fall at a Texas University (Western Governors University, Texas). I spent most of July taking all of the necessary steps to get started. Not everyone gets accepted, so I was happy when I was accepted into the Teacher's College to earn my degree in interdisciplinary studies. Not only will I earn my degree, but the program includes the student teaching and all of the steps to become a teacher. I was also happy to discover that many of the units I took at Bakersfield College were able to get transferred over, so it cut down some of the time to finish. Alex will be in school when I finish anyway, but I'm excited to do this.

     I never really knew what I wanted to do educationally- all I really knew I wanted was to be a mom. I think it's what prevented me from really pursuing an education. I never imagined it would take so long to get pregnant, but I still believe everything happened for a reason and it was all in God's planning. I thought I wanted to go into healthcare, but it just never seemed right. Teaching was always on the back of my mind, but since I was already working the schools, I just never really got around to moving it any further. I've been working in education for about 10 years, so I kept thinking about whether I wanted to teach or not. It wasn't until after Alex was born everything seemed to fall into place and it seemed like the right move.

    Growing up, my mom worked at the elementary school we went to- and it was wonderful. We saw her everyday, and she was always home when we were. She had summers off, winter break off, spring break- you know, the typically school holidays off, and it was really nice. Especially since my dad worked for the county in law enforcement, and his hours sometimes got crazy.

     Then, of course, my older brother is a 5th grade teacher, so I think the education gene just runs in our line ;). Honestly, I don't know if I would've started working for the schools if it weren't for my mom. She urged me to apply when I was 18 for an after school job, and when I did so, I was hired. There were so many other young applicants, but the vice principal saw my last name and said, "Yes! I love Holsonbakes!" So, that began. Thanks, Mom ;).

     Okay, long post. Till next time! 

   

Getting Settled In

Though they were two weeks late, the moving company finally arrived with our stuff!

   While it was nice for awhile being without many of our items, it was definitely nice to have it all back again! We will certainly not be using that company again! Not only were they late (we had to call them repeatedly for days when they did not arrive on time, only for them to tell us they were going to be 2 weeks late). Even worse, we noticed a lot of our boxes were mislabeled, meaning somebody had gone through them. Nothing was missing as far as we know, though we still have several unpacked boxes stored away.  Anyway, that part is done!

   The good news though, is we LOVE our new city! We've been on so many fun adventures and just getting to know the area. We also learned Texans are way friendly! Been here a little over a month, and at least 5 different neighbors have come to say hi to us. Our new ward is great and friendly as well. I have to say I definitely feel at home here.

    One of my favorite things about Round Rock/Austin is the greenery. It's SO GREEN here! Just fields of green. There are so many parks, lakes, and outdoorsy things too, which is wonderful. Alex and I have been to 3-4 different parks, but there are many other areas I still want to visit.

    Austin itself is really nice too. The city and skyline is just beautiful. The lakes are gorgeous, and you'll just see people out riding their bikes, running, and walking. It's also considered the live music capital of the world- which we've clearly seen. Concerts and live music in the parks is pretty much nightly, there's live music at many restaurants we go out to, and we've been enjoying it all too. Gary and I had our first date night in downtown on 6th street at an Irish pub/restaurant, where we saw Celtic music as well as folk music. We also met some friends while there. Definitely a blast!

One of our favorite restaurants we discovered, County Line on the Lake 

We went to the Dell Diamond during 4th of July for the baseball game and firework show

Mayfield Park in Austin- full of peacocks! Alex was enjoying going up to them until one of them did a call to another bird-and he was done. FYI- peacocks are LOUD!

Checking out the ponds

His bravery before that thing brought him to tears

Swimming in our pool! 

Playing at an inflatable play place

Live Celtic music!

Brushy Creek Park

Splash pad fun! We have a lot of these around here. 

Yum!

     Anyway, as you can tell, we've been having a good time here! I also think we're finally getting used to the humidity. The first day we arrived here, we were outside with our luggage trying to find our specific place- and I was certain I was going to die. I remember visiting family back east in Georgia and wondering how people could live in humidity- yet here we are! Luckily Austin isn't as bad as the cities on the Gulf, but it still can get pretty humid.

   Okay, that's the update for now. More later!

Alex is ONE!!

 On May 29th, our cute little boy turned ONE! Crazy, huh? This year flew by. As someone once told me, the days are long but the years are short.

Aww, I want to go back in time and snuggle him!!

      Alex is such a fun, sweet little guy. He is all over the place. He loves to: climb, run, chew on everything (including wood chips and leaves from outside), steal shoes from the closet, help me clean, chase the cats, get into EVERYTHING, pull down rolls of toilet paper, throw his food on the floor, suck his thumb, suck his thumb while grabbing the collar of my shirt and resting his head on me, car rides, reading books, going places, people, socializing, snuggling, the outdoors...can you tell he keeps me busy?? Haha. Never enough entertainment for this little one.

      For his one year checkup, he weighed just under 18 lbs., and did great! In fact, it was the first time the dot went ABOVE his growth curve and knocked him out of the 3rd percentile. So, he's definitely growing! We love his little self though.  His height was in the 50th percentile, so he's just long and lean like his doctor says!

    Anyway, we traveled to Bakersfield for his 1st birthday party, where it was thrown at my brother and SIL's house. They did such an awesome job with everything and completely went out of their way! We stopped by Valencia on the way there to pick up the cupcakes make by my friend Amber Teague, who seriously makes the best!!

Lemon with cream cheese and chocolate mint

"Happy birthday- Fun to be One"

His "All Aboard" theme

Pushing a Hot Wheels

Playing with the boys- Alex LOVES cars!!

I think all the boys at the party were more excited about opening presents than he was.

My dad made him a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting-YUM! He also happened to grab a chocolate cupcake someone left next to him. Well, he enjoyed that too!

     Anyway, it was definitely a success as there were more than 30 people and friends who attended! Some of my family traveled from out of town as well, so that was super nice. He had a blast!! Thankfully his tummy handled the cake well.

    I can't believe we have a KID now, instead of a baby. Well, he's still my baby. Definitely a Mama's boy :). He is a blessing!!

We're Here!

   Well, it's almost been a week in our new place, and so far so good! It was hard finding a place online without checking it out in person (I spent an entire day doing this), but we are pleased with the results. We are walking distance from lots of shopping, and our apartment is probably the most luxurious we've had so far. We are in Round Rock.

    I'm also glad the moving part is done. It was stressful getting everything planned and prepared within a 3 week span. We had our cars shipped here, we got rid of a lot of our old furniture so we could start fresh, we had to find a good, affordable moving company, and to save a couple grand, we packed the boxes ourselves. It was hectic. But it's done! We saved another 4 grand by having the moving company deliver within 2-3 weeks instead of 3-4 days, so a lot of our supplies are still en route. But, it's fine. It's kind of nice living a simple life like this. No television, fewer electronics (just our phones and my laptop), and all sleeping together (though we just transitioned Alex to his new room). He misses his crib as it's still on the way. We had him on an air mattress for awhile, but it was just too bumpy for him, so we bought a new Pack N Play, and he's done really well in there. I do miss sharing him on our air mattress though because he literally slept ON me the entire night when he was with us- and I loved it. I'll take all the snuggles I can get.

    He's been transitioning to the move okay. The time change was hard on him, and he's been a little crankier than usual. I also think he's been bored with less toys and things to explore, but the change itself has been a little challenging. We're also experiencing the toddler side of him with the tantrums, tensing up and screaming when things don't go his way, and throwing things when he's mad. It's cute to see him express himself, but of course it can be frustrating at times. I just have to roll with it and know that he's just a little guy learning his own personality. This is good for him. We're slowly moving him over to whole milk and he's eating a lot better now.

     Anyway, Texas has definitely been different! The humidity is something to get used to, and we've been having on and off storms. We don't get sprinkle warnings here like California. It will just suddenly rain hard out of nowhere, then calm down and be clear again. We did have a pretty wicked thunderstorm a couple of days ago though, and it was nice. Alex is also experiencing his first heat rash spread out on his tummy and back. Poor guy. We now know it's important to take off his humid, wet clothes when we come inside and put cool, loose cotton clothes on to prevent it.

He did GREAT on the plane!! We left pretty dang early (flight left at 7:55am, we were there about 6:30am). He fell asleep as soon as takeoff started, then slept the first half. After that, he chatted, played and relaxed. We were complimented a lot on his behavior during the flight. 

Checking out our new ice cream place across the street. 

A little creek behind our place, near the shopping center. Love the big Texas skiy!

Got our new couch a few days later- now we just need to decorate!

After receiving his animal (giraffe) balloon at the Boathouse Grill.

Playground fun

Good food, but boy was it fried!

Checking out our new Bass Pro Shop that just opened up last week down the road.

Playing on our patio- definitely his favorite part of the new place.

His fun outside that particular day didn't last long due to sudden rainfall and storms. 

     Anyway, all has been well so far and Gary is loving his new job. It was nice having him home for so long, too! But he gets to choose his hours, which is nice. He's been able to sleep in a little more, and since his job is a 10 minute drive away, he's been able to have more family time.

    Also, in a separate post, I will talk about Alex's first birthday and party! Can't believe he's ONE!!

Bye Bye California!

   Well, most of you have heard by now- Gary and I are moving out of California!

  We have been wanting to get out of Los Angeles for awhile now. Not only is it affecting Gary's health, but the prices of rent and homes keep hiking up to insane prices. Plus, him taking the subway everywhere was just being a little too overwhelming after some time. So, I asked him one afternoon if he felt like we should start looking for something out of the area- and he agreed. So, the job hunting began.

   He had several phone interviews over the course of a few weeks-month from companies in South Carolina, Tennessee, Montana, Oklahoma, Virginia, and a few other places. One company in Louisiana was really interested in him, but after some research on the location, we decided it wasn't what was best for us and declined to move forward.

    The one company Gary was hoping to hear back from was a golfing company in Texas. It was a job he knew he'd enjoy, and everything seemed very positive about it all. He had two phone interviews with them, then didn't hear anything for a few days. He started to feel a little down, but I had a good feeling and told him they'd call by the end of the week. Sure enough, the next day they called him and asked him more questions. This was a long, 2 hour phone interview from several different people. They told him they'd let him know by the end of the week. 2 hours later, they called and offered to fly him out to Austin to interview in person. He was so excited!

  A few days later, he was in Austin for his in-person interview. He flew out that morning, and came back that same night (long day! Alex and I spent time at the ocean). Then, the next day, they offered him the job! They told him they loved how he communicated with everyone and were impressed with his skills. So, he is now the new Business Intelligence Developer for them!

  So, we are moving to Austin! The company is north of Austin, right between Austin and Round Rock- and since we like the Round Rock area, we were able to grab a nice place there (so technically we're moving to Round Rock). It's next to parks and shopping, so we get to walk everywhere.

Veterans Park in Round Rock

      

Beautiful shot of the Pennybacker Bridge in Austin

Austin's skyline

   We are excited! It's located right on the Colorado River and many other lakes- and Austin is also considered to have the fittest and healthiest people in the nation. It's HUGE on sports and athletics, which probably explains it. Austin and Round Rock are on the list of the top safest cities, and the number one school district in Texas is in Austin. The housing prices are also great, so this will be a great move for our family.

     I understand all the floods and storms going on, which is crazy! We contacted our management to our new apartment, and they told us it's not serious in Round Rock, and it should be improved by the time we get there. Just some of the lakes are flooded. New adventures for sure!

    So, Gary starts on the 15th of June, and we fly out the 10th. This gives us only 2 weeks to get all the packing and moving done. C.R.A.Z.Y. YES, we have been busy! Thankfully his company is paying for a huge portion of the move. We are having our cars shipped, we're flying ourselves, and we are still in the process of finding movers. Most of everything else is settled. I seriously can't believe that in 2 weeks, we will be in our new place in a new state! 

     We will miss being so close to family for sure, but we're just a plane ride away. We are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives!