Moving to Arizona!

I guess it is old news now, but we've just been too busy to blog about it! In fact, there are many other things I really should be doing right now, but I wanted an excuse to post some cute pictures of the Billster, so now is as good a time as any!

We are leaving in one week and one day. It's crazy how fast everything happened, but we feel so blessed that it all has worked out as well and as quickly as it did. We are so happy to be able to be in Arizona among family when our baby girl is born in early December. I'm 31 weeks today.

If you read our blog, you probably already know that we are moving to Surprise. You wouldn't believe how many people I know that have a family member living in Surprise. It's a small world in mormon-ville! We are super excited. All we need is a place to live . . . Thank goodness for a family full of realtors to help us out! And thank you to all of the family members and friends helping us out!

Billy loves stickers. Usually, I put them all over his face and body, and he takes them right off. But lately, when he gets a sticker, he immediately sticks it to his left ear. Over and over again, as you can clearly see.

He never really took a pacifier, much preferring the tasty goodness of his thumb. But lately he has started doing this with his puzzle pieces . . .

We've discovered PBS cartoons.

Sam loves to curl up near him when he's sleeping. It's probably his way of saying thank you for all of the food and doggie treats Billy gives him.

It's crazy how much he has changed. I absolutely LOVE my son's dimples. I can only hope that Reagan has them, too.

Haircut

It was time. It is so hot and humid here that I always wore my hair in a ponytail or bun anyway. And the post baby growth, ugh; not pretty. My hair was long enough to donate, so I chopped it all off! This is the shortest I have ever had my hair, but it looks even shorter because it's wavy for the first time in my life! I've always had super straight hair, but between the humidity and the post baby growth coming in wavy, I have a totally new look! And it is soooo easy. Water, mousse, scrunch it up, and I'm done! Jay likes it, and since he has to look at me the most, that's all that matters! :) Here are the before and after pics:

South Padre Island

Jay's parents and brother came to visit us this weekend, so we made a trip out to South Padre Island. It was pouring rain on the way, and it got so bad we almost turned around. Yesterday the Rio Grande Valley got more than 3 inches of rain in about 3 hours, so we didn't want to get stuck in that madness again! We decided to continue on since Rod hadn't seen the island yet. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant right on the beach, and by the time we were done, the rain had stopped, so we headed to one of the public beach entrances. Billy absolutely LOVED the water. He went straight in and kept laughing and falling over every time a tiny wave would hit him, yet he shook my hand away when I tried to steady him. He didn't seem to mind the salt water at all, even when he went completely under (quite a few times). We definitely need to go back again soon, and take advantage of living so close to a beach.

My Sweet Boys

This is what happens after we spend 1 1/2 hours at the splash park! Billy had such a fun time playing in the water and going up and down the stairs on the playground. The Bishop's wife was there with her 5 kids, and they are especially sweet with Billy. Anytime he fell down on the splashpad, at LEAST one of them was there to pick him up! Sam had fun, too. He chased after us up the stairs on the playground and even went down the slide on my lap!

When we got home, we went to Billy's favorite spot (a pile of blankets in the corner of his room), ate a snack, read books, and barely got through one song before I realized he was snoozing! He ended up sleeping right there for about 3 hours! We're debating getting him a toddler bed, but I worry about what he would do in his room if he got up during the night. This kid loves to pull cords out of electrical outlets and try to put them back in!

I love how Sam is laying next to him in this picture. Lately, Billy has become much more interested in Sam. He likes to give him treats and toys and laughs when he gets hyper and runs around the house. He will randomly reach over and pet him on his back or poke around his face. Yesterday I caught him with a finger in his nose! Poor Sam! He is such a good dog. He has always been very sweet and calm with Billy. He has put up with a lot already as Billy has been growing up, so it's fun to see Billy becoming more interactive and playful with him. I'm excited to see how their little relationship continues to change as Billy gets older. I'm so glad he has such a sweet friend, and I hope that we'll be blessed to have little Sammer with us for a long time.

Blog Stalking

The more I read other people's blogs, the more I realize we are r...e...a...l...l...y...

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Splash Pad Fun

A new park just opened up a few minutes' walk down the street from us. There are a lot of parks here, but it's nice to have one within walking distance. The problem is, who wants to walk anywhere and be outside in this heat? Our heat index is over 100 today and there is a heat advisory for the coastal areas closeby. I know this doesn't sound that bad to my friends and family living in the heat of the AZ valley, but you have to factor in the humidity here. The fact is, it's just too hot to be outside at a park during the day. But this new park just made McAllen livable. It has a water area! Woo hoo! Billy had an absolute blast! He was a little wary at first, but quickly realized how much fun it was and was running around with all of the other kids there. We happened to know a few of them because there was a family from our ward there, so they played with him and helped him acclimate. I only took my regular digital camera, so I wasn't able to capture the great face shots, but here are a few . . . (ok, a lot)! I took Sam, too, and tied his leash up to the stroller while we were playing. Well, our little dog obviously has some separation issues - he broke his leash twice trying to get to us! It was a new leash, too. Think Target will take it back without a receipt?

The Chuck Liddell

Billy's hair finally grew out enough from his last buzz cut, so this is what I came home to on Saturday morning. Notice he's also sporting his Tapout shirt, showing support for the big UFC fights that night! Course, they are shown a little past his bedtime, but Jay got to go see them at a member's house.

Billy was a big hit at church yesterday! The kid is all over the place during classes. At one point, he was sitting on a sister's lap, playing with her jewelery, WHILE she was signing for some deaf women! Talk about multi-tasking!