Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Why the move to Austin?

I think for a lot of people it was pretty much a shock that Dan and I picked up and moved to Austin this summer. It kind of was for us too to make a big life decision like this so quickly. Everyone close to us knows why but I haven't been able to be forthcoming with a lot of information until now and I'm so excited to share. 

We moved to Austin for a new company that I have been working on for a long time. I have partnered with two amazing women to start out own manufacturers rep group called W3 Sales. We have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this company and we finally get to "open our doors" on January 1. The three of us were all based in Dallas and we really needed more coverage in Texas. We divided up the state and they asked if I would cover Austin. Of course I would! I love Austin! Dan and I used to travel to Austin all the time pre Charlotte! Traveling weekly down there would be no problem. Then Dan and I decided to try for Baby #2 and when we got pregnant traveling weekly seemed a little daunting to leave two little kids at home. 

One Sunday I brought up to Dan that we could move and it took zero convincing. He turned his sales pitch on me to get me to make up my mind quickly because he was so excited. We had always talked about moving somewhere but I didn't know if we would actually do it. My mom lived basically around the corner, my best friends were in town, we had great jobs...it was really hard to make the decision to leave.  
Now we have been here for almost six months and we LOVE it. Yes, it's hard to be away from what we have always known. Yes, it's been really hard being away from my mom. Yes, it's hard to make new friends. But we have done it! We are living in central Austin in a little neighborhood that adorable. Our house is over 60 years old and has a lot of character and very low ceilings (bad for 6'8" people).  Our neighbors are awesome and super friendly. We have always wanted a close knit neighborhood and we found it by luck here.  When we decided to move Dan was able to transfer with his company and he is so happy here.  Dan's drive to his office is 8 MINUTES...he drove well over an hour each way when we lived in Argyle.  
Our family life has completely changed since moving here. For one, I have been staying home with Charlotte since July. I respect every stay at home mom even more now. This job is HARD. I have loved being with her and I am so grateful I have had this time with her but I am looking forward to getting back to work full time. Is that bad to say? I hope not, but it's the truth. One of the things I love about being in a sales job is that my hours are flexible and I get to spend more time with our kids. We have found a nanny for Ryan that we are sharing with our neighbors who had a baby boy the week before we had Ryan (I told you we lucked out in the neighbor department here) and I found a full time school for Charlotte that I love.  So far, this move has been great for us. January we will go through another round of changes but I suppose that is just life.

A quote I found after we decided to move fits this stage in our lives perfectly. It said "If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives." So true and fitting for this stage we are in. I'm excited for what the future brings. 
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Thursday, December 4, 2014

One month in!

I cannot believe we have had Ryan for one month.  Doesn't every new parent say that?  It feels like Ryan has always been in our family. He just kind of slid into our household like he's been here forever.
 The transition from one kid to two has been pretty easy so far. I am actually really surprised! Or maybe it's easy when you have Super Baby Ryan who eat and sleeps awesome. From day one he has woken up once during the night. I guess that's the beauty of delivering a baby the size of a turkey (really, our turkey on Thanksgiving was 11 lbs 13 oz this year). Charlotte was a good sleeper and it looks like Ryan is too...so far. Hopefully I didn't just jinx us. 
 At his one month checkup he was 13 pounds and 23 inches long.  He's the same length but has put on over a pound. Yay! I've got to start switching arms holding him or else my left arm will be bigger than my right.
One month checkup!
I love tiny baby feet
Ryan is just your typical newborn right now. He really only cares about eating and sleeping and cries when he's hungry or needs a diaper change. I'm looking forward to more baby coos and getting a smile out of him. I'm trying to cherish these newborn moments because now I know how fast time goes. Before we know it he will be running around like his sister.
Dan and his twin...see pic below
Twins!!  They look so much alike it's creepy!!
This past month we made a road trip to Dallas for my mom's birthday. I drove the kids and Dan flew to meet us there after he got off work. We survived the car ride and it wasn't bad at all! It was nice to get out of the house for a few days.
Road Trip!
Charlotte with Daddy's "asses"
 We have had a lot of visitors this month! My mom was here the first week and it was amazing. She took over taking care of Charlotte while Dan and I took Ryan. I might have cried when she left.

My dad came in one weekend to meet Ryan and he was just smitten with him. 
Dan's parents have been here the past two weeks and have been a huge help! We are blessed with great parents!
 This past month has been a whirlwind and I know that time will just keep flying by. Hopefully I can keep up with this blog again!
My world.
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