Driving Me Crazy

I've been surviving, barely, with just one car. I know many families learn to exist with one car, and we were able to during each of Mike's internships (NM & AK) and in Butte after we sold his truck to prepare for our move here. However, those places had marvelous bus systems. For some reason, the transit system here in Houston is lacking. That means that either Mike takes the car and I'm stranded or I wake up at 6 am and drive Mike through rush-hour traffic to work, and then pick him up in rush-hour traffic. On those days we use twice as much gas, and I get half as much sleep. We've had a plan to get me a car by the time Baby James is here (June), but out of desperation I shifted our time-frame, and tomorrow we are going test-driving! YAY! I made sure to get our financing in order before we even started looking at cars. No sense in getting unrealistic expectations and then being stuck with a good, but not-what-I-wanted, car. We are really blessed that our credit union is willing to give us a loan, even in this economy. I'm sure it helps that Mike has an awesome job, and we have an awesome track record for paying bills on time. As I look at cars online, I'm still trying not to get my hopes set on any one car - I did that with the Mitsu and when it had problems, it just crushed my love for the Lancer. Really, as long as it has 3 rows of seating, relatively good gas mileage, and low miles, I'll be thrilled. I'm a little worried about how our time at the dealership will go - when we bought the Mitsu we were at the dealership for 8 HOURS while they figured out our financing and what-not. This time around, I hope it's fast since Lily will be looking for a nap around noon. I'd hate to have to walk away from a great deal not knowing if it will still be there in two hours. But I'm willing to do it this time!

***UPDATE***
We got the car of my dreams! Meet Hybie, my 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. She seats 7 - isn't she a beauty?
***2ND UPDATE***
After the great deal we got on Hybie ($7K below blue book), Mike went back to the dealership (and the same salesman) and traded in the Mitsu for his first (and probably ONLY) luxury car; 2006 Acura TL. Man, he's spoiled ;) He got a great deal as well, at $6K below blue book.

Big Texas Hair

Hmm, no more third person. Gives me a headache.

I've come to the recent conclusion that the reason some people in Texas have HUGE hair is the humidity. It's been relatively dry since we got here, until last Wednesday. It was pretty humid - not quite raining, but almost - and I spent the morning blowdrying and straitening my hair in preparation for a play group at a nearby park. I got outside, we had our play group, and it wasn't until I got back in the car that I noticed I had a fro. My hair is long, below my shoulders, but literally the hair at the top of my head was sticking straight up and frizzy. I'm sure the moms I met for the first time that day wondered what was wrong with my hair. I did some asking around and discovered the answer is "product, and lots of it" if I want to keep my thick, wavy hair lying flat after I straiten it. Which I do. So I'm going to start up a relationship with Frizz-Ease, or whatever cheap-o copy-cat product I can find.

Lily has just figured out that walking is faster than crawling. Until yesterday, if you chased her, she'd drop to her knees and scurry away. Today, she came crawling towards me and halfway across the room decided "enough of this" and stood up and ran the rest of the way. I'm so glad she's getting more comfortable with balance. She's loving books and will pull any book of the shelf to "read". She babbles incoherently to herself all day long, but especially when she's reading her stories.

Baby James announced his intention to be just as active in the womb as Lily was. Lily sure gave me an internal beating (and bruising, and I think a broken rib) and I'm gearing up for more of the same with little James. I'm grimly greatful, because an active baby sure seems like a healthy baby!

New Year, New You!

Jessi has made a resolution - not for the new year, but for the new baby - to STRIVE to post to this blog every week. With or without photos. Because how else would you all know that we are having a BOY?!?!
Jessi's also going to continue typing this in third person. We're sure you all know she is the one writing these updates, but it just makes it a little easier to keep up with "who" is doing "what". Or is it "whom"?
Jessi went to her first OB appt last Friday and got a good look at the baby's gender *YAY* and is so excited. Probably more excited than Mike. But Jessi has wanted a boy for some time now (don't get me wrong, I love my Lily and wouldn't trade her in for a boy) and is so thrilled to get to use the boat-load of boy clothes she bought last time around.
Mike's started work at BP and is loving being busy. He's a little stressed now that he's actually responsible and accountable, but that stress is a great motivator. He's such a good provider.
We moved into our new house (don't get too excited, we're just leasing it). It gives us three times the space we had in Butte. We're very comfortable living upstairs, where all the furniture is. In time we'll have furniture downstairs and then we'll love being down there too :) I'm hoping someday to get pictures. Just know, Jessi LOVES her kitchen. Cabinet space and counter tops galore! Mike's enjoying home-cooked meals again.
Here are a few photos of the last couple of weeks, since we've slacked on the pictures.
At the hotel, cleaning the kitchen with Mike's sock:
She worked so hard to pick up the wipes while she was standing. So proud:
Jessi took this picture right before Lily toppled off the couch. Bad mommy award:
Lily has cut all of her top teeth! Ignore that she looks drugged:
Last but not least, the big hippo that Mike lives with:

Balmy Houston

Too often we don't update our blog because we don't have the time to download the pictures that go along with our adventures. Today we're going to suck it up and post a pictureless update!
December was a busy month! Mike was up at the school from 7 am until almost 11 pm most nights working on his final projects and studying for finals. All of his hard work paid off, because he graduated on the 22nd with Honors. Jessi tried not to go crazy with Lily to herself all day - the two of us ended up spending a lot of time playing in the tub so waste the day away!
A week before Christmas break, we got a call from BP's moving coordinator. She informed us that we needed to move *that* weekend! That was a huge shock for us, since we were expecting to need to come back to Butte after Christmas to move. The movers showed up on the Saturday after Mike's last final and packed us up completely by Sunday evening. We're greatful for the way it turned out, because we were able to spend a relaxing two weeks in Utah with our families with no worries about our move.
The day the movers came, Lily decided it was time for her to get moving too! She took her first real steps, and has been unstoppable since. She loved practicing walking with her Grammas and Grampas, and snuggling with her aunts and uncles. While we were in Utah, she cut all four of her top teeth! Even through the pain, she was a great baby. We know we are lucky that she rarely cries.
Jessi started getting super pregnancy-sick during the holidays and has had to start taking anti-nausea pills again. Modern medicine sure is a life-saver.
After New Years, we flew down to Houston to start our new lives as adults :) Everything still feels up in the air (since we don't have a place to live yet) but we are excited to get settled and to enjoy this new chapter in our lives.
We hope you have all had a great year and are starting off your New Year with a bang!