With Matt quitting his job at the end of July, we had a little extra time to spend as a family, so did some fun things around Austin, including going to beautiful Zilker Botanical Gardens. This was where Matt and I took our engagement photos in the middle of winter 2007. As pretty as it was then, it is glorious now at the height of summer! Matt and I loved it, and I'm sure Michael would have too if he hadn't slept through the entire thing.
We were also able to go down to San Antonio to celebrate Matt Sr. completing the bar exam. After three years of dedicated study, it was a joyous occasion for the whole family! I also think it helped me put Matt going to law school into better perspective. --Yes, it will be three hard years, but there will be an end!
The week before we moved, my brother Jeremy came down from Ann Arbor with his family for a visit. We hadn't seen them in over a year so it was a lot of fun being together. It was especially fun to have Michael meet his cousin Hunter who is just 6 weeks older than he is.
Michael caught his first cold from his cousins, a time I had been dreading. But thankfully, it was a pretty minor case of crusty nose and, with all of them sick, I could just let him interact with his cousins and not worry about it.
One of the days they were there, we all went to Inter Space Caverns in Georgetown. Matt and I had fun toting Michael around in a carrier. We were pretty amazed that he didn't fuss at all. I think he's so interested in seeing new things that it never occurs to him to be scared.
Over the weekend, we had a family reunion of sorts. My brother Joel came down from Ft. Worth with his family, Alison had gotten home from Provo the week before, and Stephen came up from San Marcos. So, everyone in the family was there.
All five cousins! This was a fun shot to take. Try getting five active little kids to all look relatively happy and in the same direction all at the same time. If it weren't for digital cameras, we would have gone through a least two rolls of film.
After our week of fun, Monday the 11th, we got down to the work of moving. With lots of help from our family (including Jeremy and Megan on vacation) and members of our (church) ward, we loaded up a huge 24" moving van. Looking at the inside of the empty truck, I didn't think we would even come close to filling it up. But, we ended up using every bit of space. Who knew we had so much stuff?!
Tuesday morning we headed for Houston in a caravan. Matt drove his car (noone else could drive a manual), Jeremy drove my car, Alison drove her car (so Jeremy would be able to get back), and I got to drive the truck (I felt like quite the trucker mama). Matt's dad and brother, Ben, met us at our new apt. to help unload, along with my uncle Eddie who lives in Houston and some missionaries from our new ward. This is what we had to face after they unloaded. Two weeks later, we've gotten settled in fairly well and it's starting to feel like home.
Michael has been amazingly cooperative with all the changes and Mom and Dad being stressed out. He really is an amazing boy. We just celebrated his 6 month birthday with lemon cupcakes, of which he got to enjoy a few crumbs. Also on his half-birthday, he had his 6 month check-up with a new pediatrician here in Houston. Always the ladies' man, he made quite the first impression by peeing in her face as she was examining him!
During the past month, Michael has become quite adept at sitting up on his own and is enjoying playing by himself more. (This makes life much easier for me.) He loves bathtime and trying new foods. (He's liked pretty much everything he's tried except strawberries.)
I believe his most favorite passtime of all, however is still sucking on things. He's moved beyond his binkey now to sucking on his feet, his shirt, and anything else within reach.
