Whew!

The title says it all.

"WHEW!" aptly describes the last 2 1/2 months of our lives. In fact, it could also be used to describe the entire year of 2017 thus far.

After some back and forth on whether to keep going with this blog, I have decided to give it until the end of the year to make my decision. I was worried that since we are settling down (well...sort of) I wouldn't have any travel adventures to talk about, plus, Micah and I have both made the decision to step back from the internet-world and keep more of our lives off of social media. However, I enjoy writing- when I have time- which... is even more scarce now, with a 2 month old.

So, let's start where we left off.

First of all- I am no longer pregnant! Thatcher Rexton made his appearance in mid-July, just short of 2 weeks early. I will spare you all the details, but 20+ hours of labor and one blood pressure issue later, we had a healthy baby boy with a full head of hair.

Pretty much after that... everything is a blur. The baby is colicky (just like his momma was) so his stomach bothers him and he cries. A. LOT. I know what you're thinking- babies cry, it's normal, get over it. Let me tell you, this poor baby used to cry inconsolably for hours at a time. We would try bouncing, rocking, singing, walking, gas drops, gripe water, breast milk, Gentlease formula,  NOTHING worked for our poor baby. I am happy to report, however, that at almost 12 weeks, this is getting better. When he cries now, 99% of the time he can be consoled. Granted, he has to be moving most of the time he is awake, but I still count this as a win.

So far things I've learned as a mommy:

• Sleep is totally over-rated. I am amazed at how my body has adapted to little-no sleep. 
• Baby can sleep through the vacuum cleaner, loud music, video game sounds, thunderstorms, and me washing dishes. However, don't even THINK about sneezing or stepping on the creaky floorboard.

About a week after we brought him home, our tree got hit by lightning and part of it fell on my car..

 So, that tree went from this:

To this. 

Good riddance. It was mostly a dead tree to begin with.

At 2 1/2 months old he can: hold his head up, push off of things with his legs, roll over, hold his own bottle (now, whether or not he WILL is another story, but he CAN. He has done it several times). He jabbers, smiles, and is starting to show some personality.

His favorite band is Linkin Park. It's kind of funny, he will be screaming and we put on Linkin Park and he quiets down and either watches the music video (if we are streaming from youtube) or goes to sleep if it's just playing on our phones or something. He also enjoys Glenn Miller band and Frank Sinatra.

The cat and dog seem to like him well enough, Atticus doesn't want to be close to him, but he is never very far away either. Ellie loves to lick his feet, which he hates. 

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Thatcher from his first pumpkin patch experience.. he loved it, if you couldn't tell.

In other news, I am the newest travel agent for Travel Connections! I am so excited to get some training done and help other people experience how much fun vacations and traveling can be.

I am also in class to get a real estate license and have a job lined up for when I finish class and pass the state exam. One more week of class and then two exams left to go on this endeavor. Then, my hope is that I can help people find a place to call home. And my license will be valid for anywhere in Illinois, so if any friends in the Salem/Mt. Vernon area would like help buying/selling a home, let me know!

Micah and I are also taking a Japanese class at SIUE, because, you know, we don't have enough going on.

If everything goes as planned, our first major trip with baby will be in December. I won't tell you where we are going just yet, but, I am so excited to start traveling and taking Thatcher on adventures. I know, he is too small to remember anything quite yet, but it does this momma good to be out and exploring new places.