Living in AZ

We have lived here almost a month and I still haven't posted pictures so I thought I would. Part of the reason I haven't yet is because there are some things missing, I need a bookcase (books are the only thing still in boxes) and I haven't figured out where I want all of our art/pictures. As I finish projects I'll do a separate blog post for those. 

I realized as I started writing this I don't have a picture of the front but it's dark out now so I'll just have to add that in later. 

The front door, it has a really nice security/storm door

This is the front door and the front room which is Kyleeann's playroom. It is so nice having more than just a small corner. It is easier to organize and for her to get to her things. She got that slide for Christmas but I just had it sent here since we didn't have room for it in our apartment. The refrigerator box is a play house, it has two windows, a door and even a door handle (out of duct tape). 

When you walk in the front door and go to the right it is this room, the guest room/my craft room. This room has two entrances, French doors by the front door and a single door (where I took the picture) that goes to the hallway. Not pictured is the closet which has great shelves and has sliding mirror doors. The house is on the corner, can you tell from seeing the stop sign out the window? 

Walking into the house is this view, the kitchen to the left, living room to the right. 

The kitchen 

Differen angle of the kitchen. My favorite part of my kitchen besides the fact that there is more room is the dishwasher. It has a delay feature that I use pretty much every time. It is not as loud as our apartment dishwasher but it is still loud enough I don't want to hear it so I just load and fill the soap and then set the delay, no more forgetting to press start before I leave or before bed! 

and yes that is open up above that you can see from both the front room and the kitchen. I have no idea what to put up there. 

Here is the living room, still some work to be done in here. Those baskets beneath the tv I got after we moved here, they were just open spaces with those wires that seemed like soon to be trouble once we get a crawler, not to mention a major eye sore. This place is full of wires, that spot and the guest room closet are just unbelievably full of wires to who knows all what. This photo I took tonight, all the other photos I took yesterday afternoon, so that explains the lighting differences. 

Looking down the hallway. The first opening where you can see the painting is the door to guest room, the next door is a bathroom, the door after that is a closet, after that where the wall turns is the laundry room/path to garage, and then the other two bedrooms have the doors open. 

Girls/Guest bathroom

Laundry room/path to garage. I love all the shelves in here! It is also really convenient having a sink by the laundry, especially with all the diaper blow outs I have dealt with here. 

The garage, well part of it, I was going to take another picture but it really just looked like a picture of my car. That side door is where my trash and recycle cans are. It is so nice to have an attached garage and not have to walk so far hauling kids/stuff etc... or that far in the pouring rain. Also very convenient for times when I remember something I forgot as I'm buckling Kyleeann in. 

The girls room. Which still has a lot of projects left to do but I did get that accent wall done last week. 132 gold vinyl dots which took way longer to do than I thought it would! It was a pain and I didn't do a great job of them being level but I don't think it's super obvious. 

Masrer bedroom, it has French doors which I love, and that door you can see is the girls room. That's a bedpost at the very bottom of the picture and then the opening is to the bathroom. 

That nice big tub that I am dying to try out! I think pretty soon my incision will be 100% closed and I will be able to us it. I am still trying to find a seat for the vanity. 

The shower is to the left. There is only one towel bar in this entire house and it is in the garage, even in the guest bathroom there is only a towel ring, weird. 

Toilet room and walk in closet. It's nice. It having to wait for each other to do what we need to in the bathroom. And all you can see of the closet is my stuff but Robert really does have plenty of room in there. 

Back to the bedroom which still needs a lot of work, like curtains and pictures. I have them they just haven't gone up yet. 

View from the door. 

That's everything on the inside. Only the girls room and the guest room have carpet, everywhere else is wood or tile which Kyleeann loves because it makes it easy to ride her bike all over the place. She got that indoor bike for her 2nd birthday, glad it's still getting good use, although it does end up in random places, right now it is in the middle of my bathroom. 

Outside deserves several pictures because it is so nice having a yard and being able to be outside!

I'm excited to eat outside sometimes. 

And Kyleeann's favorite part... Only a few steps away from Granma and Papa's house!

This was her one day wanting to "go outside" after I told her she couldn't go over there. I don't think she believed me that they weren't home. 

Long post but there is my house for all those wanting to see it! I can't decide my favorite part, there are so many things about a house in general that is just so much better than an apartment, no quiet hours (I always remember my laundry at 9 or 10 at night), having a garage is a huge blessing, having a place for Kyleeann to play outside, having a place to put everything, being close to family, just too many to choose one favorite! I asked Robert and he said garage, I did hear him also say he really likes having a fridge with a water and ice dispenser. Kyleeann loves having room to play (inside and outside), grandparents next door, and also that I'm not constantly telling her to not jump/ walk so loudly. Our poor neighbors downstairs had to put up with a lot of noise from her little feet, I was sure they were going to be so excited we were gone but then they moved a few weeks before us. 

Whatever our favorite part of the house is we are all just excited for the memories we will make here. I wish I had a photo of all of us with the house but I don't, I'll have to get one when Robert gets back. 

Appointments, appointments, and more appointments!

The first six weeks of Loralei's life was filled with appointments for the both of us, lucky us. 

Loralei hanging out at home on the day we were discharged (Thursday). 

On Loralei's discharge instructions it said to get a weight check on Friday. Robert had school and I couldn't drive because I could barely walk and so my mom hauled me and the two girls to the doctor. She was right at losing 10% of her birth weight and so the doctor wanted me to do a follow up weight check on Sunday. Once again my mom had to haul me and the two girls for that weight check but since it was Sunday our appointment was in Galveston. The appointment was at the pediatric urgent care and we ended up waiting for awhile for the doctor so Kyleeann was playing and eating until the doctor comes in and then she decides to fake cough. The doctor asked in a concerned voice "how long has big sister had a cough" while I'm sure was thinking "why do you have a coughing toddler around a newborn?!" Loralei had gained weight since Friday but hadn't passed her birth weight but the doctor wasn't concerned. 

Over the weekend I was running low on my strong pain pills and was trying to stretch them out. For some reason the discharge doctor only gave me 10 pills to take 1 every 4-6 hours as needed. At the hospital I was taking 2 every 4-6 hours along with other strong meds. It was kind of a miserable weekend pain wise but on Monday I called my doctor and she hooked me up with plenty more. I should have called sooner but I didn't think she was on call and wasn't sure whoever was would give me more, I should have tried anyways. That was a stupid lesson to learn. 

Then we got a week break from doctor appointments 

Then Loralei had her 2 week check up where she was still under her birth weight so we had to schedule another weight check in 2 weeks. What I didn't think about until after we had left was the fact that each time she had gotten weighed in her short life it was a different scale each time. And pound wise that's not a big deal but in ounces a few either way could have made a difference in how many weight checks we would have had to do. Oh well. 

The next day was my 2 week check up. My mom was still hauling the three of us to the appointments and I'm not exaggerating about that, she had to carry Loralei in her car seat, get Kyleeann up in the car, keep track of her, was always trying to carry my bag as well as driving in traffic which she hates. I couldn't have done it without her. At my two week check up I got my bandage off which was not an enjoyable experience but I did get the all clear to drive which was good. 

On Friday Loralei had her first orthopedic appointment to check for hip dysplasia. Because she was a breech baby she got checked, Kyleeann did as well so I knew what would happen. For some reason they scheduled me at the South Shore office so it was a 25 minute drive for a 2 minute appointment. And a lot of work for me and my mom (mostly her) with the two kids. 

During the week free from appointments my parents offered to have Kyleeann fly home with my mom and stay with them for the three weeks until we moved out there. After much thinking, praying, debating (in my head), and changing my mind several times Robert and I decided that would be best. 

Kyleeann and my mom right before they left for the airport.

It was hard for me to have them leave, my mom was such a huge help, she cooked, cleaned, packed, took care of Kyleeann, Loralei, and me. The apartment seemed so different without Kyleeann there. As hard as it was, it really was the best option. My recovery was different from mine with Kyleeann, some things were easier and some things were harder. Having Kyleeann around was one of the things that made it harder, and it would have been worse when it was just me alone with her, I still had more appointments to go to for both me and Loralei, and driving to AZ would be easier without her. For Kyleeann it was the best option because she wouldn't be stuck in our small 2nd floor apartment where it's hard to get outside, instead she got to be with papa and granma (she says it cuter than I can spell it) who she just absolutely loves, got to go outside and play everyday, play on the swing set in their backyard, play with cousins, and get use to our house before we moved in. I think she transitioned better having been there for three weeks and going to where we were going to live rather than if she would have just showed up to it for the first time after spending two days in the car. 

Back to doctors appointments. Loralei had an ultrasound at UTMB on the island. As hard as I knew it would be going by myself, other circumstances made it worse. I am not suppose to lift anything heavier than the baby or 10 lbs for 6 weeks. The car seat is at least 8 pounds and so add a 7 pound baby and I can't lift it, so Robert had to put it in my car before our appointments and I would just carry Loralei to and from inside. When I got to the hospital parking garage it was full and there was a guy directing cars to the lot across the street. It was a very full lot so I ended up having to park at the back of the lot and it was raining. Not fun carrying a newborn and my bag in the rain when it was hard enough for me to walk fast and carry that much. I was very annoyed as I walked in and saw that guy letting cars in. As annoyed as I was we did make it in and back out just fine, exhausted and sore but fine. Her ultrasound went great, there was a nurse, doctor, a 1st year resident and 2 other doctors or med students. They told me her hips looked good but the orthopedic doctor has to officially read and give me the results so this was only 2 of 3 appointments for her hip. 

That week I managed to split open my incision a little bit on the right side. I called to get in and have it checked but couldn't get into Dr. Pilla so I saw one of the other partners, Dr. Robinson. She was really nice but I could have done without her digging in there. There was one small piece of a staple sticking out so she removed it. It was similar to getting my bandage off, ouch! I was really glad I could just focus on Loralei and my pain and not have to worry about Kyleeann as well. 

The next week Loralei had her weight check which went great, she was above her birth weight. 

The day after her weight check she had her last hip appointment. We waited for almost an hour for another 2 minute appointment. I ran into Dr. Pilla's nurse Kelli (who is awesome) on my way in so she carried Loralei to the appointment for us which was fun. 

The following week (also moving week!) I had my last appointment with Dr. Pilla. I hate going to doctors offices except hers, she has been my favorite doctor I have ever had so it was hard to have it be the last time. 

Dr. Pilla holding Loralei. I wish I would have thought to get a picture of Kyleeann with Dr. Pilla and nurse Kelli before she left. They loved her and were so good to her at all of my appointments. Thanks Dr. Pilla for delivering my two beautiful girls!