Don't Cry for me Oklahoma

Well, here's the big surprise. We live in Utah now. What?! Yep, you read that right. Morgan had a job offer that we couldn't turn down and OU is letting him finish his final semester in Utah. We had non-refundable tickets for our Christmas Vacation and decided that we might as well just pack everything up and move when we flew out then. We hired a moving service (so worth it when you have little kids and are moving halfway across the country) and our stuff arrived shortly after we did. You didn't see anything about this on the blog because we kept it as a Christmas surprise for my parents and boy were they surprised. It's been a really hard secret to keep. We're so glad to be "home" but we are really going to miss Oklahoma (I never thought I would say that either). Anyway, there are a few things that I learned here in Oklahoma that I don't want to forget, so this is my Ode to Oklahoma post. (*Disclaimer -- this post is still slightly unfinished, but seeing as how we don't have the internet for a while longer, it will have to wait...and then we'll post the rest as well as our wonderful Christmas and unpacking adventures oh yeah, and pictures too :)



Lessons I learned in Oklahoma:

1) There are genuinely good people everywhere you go. That is one thing that I will truly miss about Oklahoma-the people and not just the great friends that we made and were sad to leave behind, but just random people that you might see at the grocery store or the waiting room while your car is being worked on. People aren't afraid to say hi or strike up a conversation with a total stranger - this doesn't happen often in Utah and one of my goals now that I'm back is to try and be a friendlier person because I know I'm just as guilty and shy as the rest to say hi or talk to complete strangers.



2) The Lord watches out for all His children. So, maybe I already knew this before I came here, but Oklahoma has strengthened my testimony in this truth. Being in Oklahoma forced our small growing family to rely more on the Lord and each other and recognize the tender mercies we experience on a daily basis. In the last 18 months we have made a lot of "big" decisions and our lives changed with the addition of another baby...sometimes I think we were still getting used to the first one :) and as it has gone by both Morgan and I can truly see where the Lord has guided us, even if we failed to recognize it at the time. *We never got sucked out of our homes by a tornado--that we were grateful for each and every day...although when you talk to an Okie, tornadoes to them are like snow to Utahns and not a huge deal.



3)

Another One Bites the Dust

...another week of course before our Christmas Vacation begins. :) It's been another stressful week. Morgan has had to study later each night after school and clinical time, all I can say is that I'm sure glad that I'm not a single mother.
Logan is still teething and almost a "terrible two" (which I think really starts around 18 months). Let me tell you, he can sure throw a vicious tantrum, usually I just try to keep him out of the way of hurting anything, specifically himself. But after it's over and he comes and gives you kisses and his cute little grin, I forget about the whole tantrum, I'm such a sucker to his cuteness.

Damon too. He can be the neediest aka "normal" baby and not be satisfied until you have him in his favorite position (which changes about every 10 minutes), but he now smiles all the time and that boy can light up a room with his smile and I forget the ache in my arms (who needs weights when you have two little babies?)

Anyway, this week we are getting ready for our Christmas trip to Utah and I'm almost done packing--yes, I pack that early, it's tough trying to pack for me and two babies for a week and a half's time. Morgan's final is on Tuesday, so after that I'll have his help in getting the house all cleaned before we go and then Thursday is the day we fly out there and let me tell you, Logan is so excited. Every time he hears an airplane outside he shouts: airplane! airplane! Hopefully they will both just sleep the whole way there. :) And, I think that's basically it for this post, except I did manage to take a few pictures.

Damon has these big blue eyes (that I hope stick) and when he's looking around they are always wide open.
Sometimes after rough nights of Logan teething and Damon going through a growth spurt (meaning Mommy gets no sleep) we'll put in a movie when Logan wakes up. This became his little throne this past week. :)
I caught him mid-smile. Another thing about Logan is he LOVES to talk on the phone. He will jabber in your ear for hours if you let him. This is one boy who will not be getting a cell-phone anytime soon, I can only imagine the bill without an unlimited plan. :) Well, as far as posting goes, it might not be exactly next week since we'll be travelling and such, but if we get a chance we'll try and get up some holiday fun pictures....until next time.

One Week Down, Two to Go

Well, we have made it through another week of the semester, only two more left. Morgan took his graduation photos this week, and it just seems sort of surreal that he is almost done with school. He did his big presentation in his Physics class and "only" has the huge remaining absurdly comprehensive final. I think that is on Dec. 16th. His other classes are requiring a couple presentations as well and I think he's about halfway done with that.

We all finally got better this week and aren't battling any colds, but Logan is battling the teething monster. All 4 of his canine teeth are coming in at the same time...that happened with his molars too. Anyway, he's been waking up a lot in the middle of the night and either ends up on futon with daddy or sometimes in bed with us if it's early enough. He's a bed hog though and very fidgety...kind of like his mommy :)

Damon does really well sleeping though and sometimes will go 9 hours woohoo. He'll usually do somewhere between 6-8 on a regular basis, which is basically through the night. We got lucky with that. And with the fact that I basically put Damon down for bed when he's still awake and he already puts himself to sleep...I wish he would do that during the day, but no, he likes to be held during the day, but for a good night's rest, I think it's a worthy trade.

This week has also been filled with lots of Christmas music...even though I've been secretly listening to it since Halloween. Christmas just doesn't feel the same in Oklahoma though, last year everything was just so new that I didn't notice I guess, but I really miss the snow and I'm looking forward to our visit to Utah. I guess not a whole lot has happened this week and we've been kind of boring.

I did get a few pictures of Logan though. His new thing is pushing the kitchen chairs up against the counters and getting everything down...including the steak knives, I'll have to find a new place for them. I have resorted to putting up the gate when I have to feed the baby, or shower, or do anything that might get him out of sight or hearing range for a few minutes. This is what I caught him doing the other day.

He reached up on the counter and pulled the bread box open and starting taking a bite out of every piece of bread. It's was only 11:00, but I took that as a cue that he was hungry so we had an early lunch.And actually I was happy that he was actually eating the bread on his own, he hasn't been a huge fan and now he'll eat it, so it's one more thing I can add to his menu. :)This is classic though. I asked Logan "what are you doing buddy?" and he looked at me with this silly grin and I caught it just in time. He is very mischievous and my ultimate mess-maker, but we love him anyway. :)

Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of Damon since I've been holding him all week long. He's been kind of fussy again...I don't think he likes eggnog. I was so intent on making it feel like Christmas that I bought some and I devoured the whole half gallon in a week. I guess I need to drink it with a little more reserve and ration. Anyway, it's hard to take pictures of the baby and hold him at the same time, but I'll try and get some this week, if not, just check out the cute video from our last post. Until next time.....