Finally Finished! Woohoo

I never thought this day would ever get here!  Residency Graduation Dinner....The last and final hurrah of this long journey to get to where we want to be.

It's a pretty big deal in Had's program, since it means they're officially done with residency, and it's the only thing out of the 3 years where the wives got to be invited.   It was in some fancy shmancy restaurant/club where you have to be a member, and they scan your face or handprint to get in.  (Don't worry, we're definitely not members, but Dr. Mendicino is.)

We ate some food that was too fancy for my tastebuds, and then they gave out awards and certificates.  Mendicino gave them all gag gifts and said a little spill about each resident graduating.  He talked very highly about Had, and told everyone how he is the resident that your blood pressure immediately goes down when he walks into the OR because you know he knows what he's doing, and the case is going to go good.  Then he went on about how he's proud of him because now he knows all the different alcoholic drinks (due to the fact that Hadley was the one that had to go and get all the alcohol for Mendo and their office).  So the gag gift he gave Had was a membership card to Specs-the alcohol store Had bought everything at.  Awesome.

As the chief resident, Hadley got a little gag gift for Mendo as well.  He got him vodka that was made from Idaho potatoes, and a little Spuddy Buddy stuffed potato toy.  Mendo loved it!

Here's the residency graduates with their director:

Hadley, Danny, Dr, Mendicino, Bonnie, and Hina

I am so proud of this guy!  

3 years of undergrad, 4 years of podiatry school, and 3 years of residency.  And during all that, we've had 3 kids and moved 6 times, plus numerous church callings.  Our life has been crazy, busy, exciting, and hard.  We've had a lot of fun times, and a little bit of hard times.  But through it all, he managed to stay at the top of his class, at the top of his residency, and the leader in our family.  I'm so proud of him and all he's accomplished.  He is going to be one awesome doctor!

Parks and Trails

We were eager to go exploring all the parks and trails by our new house.  Dashy is at the perfect age to cruise around in the running stroller and fall asleep as we explore.

This pond is right across the street from our backyard.  So now we can hop on our bikes or go for a little jog and go feed the ducks anytime we want, with this gorgeous view!!!

Dash is still a little young to ride in the bike seat, but we make it work!  Haha  We can't help it, we just want to go everywhere and see everything there is around us.

We Bought Our First Home!!!

Ever since we got married and went on a cruise for our honeymoon, we have wanted to do another one,  or at least take a vacation to some tropical paradise!  When we couldn't afford it in undergrad, we decided it would be when Had graduated podiatry school.  But then he had to start residency, like immediately, so then we said after residency.  It was finally gonna happen! It would be a "We finally made it, we're actually making money now/10 year anniversary trip."  

We ended up falling in love with a home here in Katy, and decided to do buy it, instead of a trip.  

Now the backstory, 

Had wasn't sure about buying a house yet.  I couldn't wait to get out of our rental, and find a house where Dash didn't have to sleep in our room!  So I met with a realtor myself, and told Had if I found one that I liked, he had to at least come see it.  The minute I stepped in this house, I knew it was for us.  It was perfect!  He came and looked at it and also knew it was supposed to be ours.  But... he was super busy with graduating, tests, and getting things wrapped up as the chief resident and had no time to help with the actual loan and buying the house.  So he said if I took care of it all, he was on board.  I jumped all over that and we bought this beautiful home in June!

4707 Butler Springs Ln Katy, Tx 77494

Well, when you buy a house you have to furnish it as well.  So we went on a splurge and got all the things we needed (ok so maybe they weren't a need, but we got the things we've been wanting for the last 10 years).

We were all so excited to get a fridge that has a water and ice dispenser!

We also got couches, a chair, coffee table, and end tables to fill this gigantic family room.  Here's Had posing for this pic.  HAHA

But after a long story of ripped couches and holes in them and returning them and getting new ones brought in 4 different times, we finally switched to this instead.

We also replaced our $100 Walmart table and chairs and bought us a new kitchen table and chairs.  In our new house we had this beautiful dining room with nice wood floors, but knowing us, we would never use that room and our nice new table and chairs, so we decided to make the room a little more functional for us.

 We turned it into a workout room!!!  I can't even tell you how excited I was over this.  We put our new table in the kitchen nook, and then in the dining room we layed down rubber mats, changed out the chandelier for a fan, and put a TV and our exercise equipment in there.  I love this room now!!!

We seriously love this home.  It is in a masterplanned community that has 13 swimming pools, tons of tennis courts, a golf course, and miles and miles of bike trails that all hook together!  It is 3,139 sq ft, with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, all on one floor.  One of my favorite things about this house, besides the location, is how open the flooplan is, and the fact it has the bonus room (which we'll use for a toy room) right off of the kitchen. It's tucked away from the front of the house, so the kids can play in there, without their messes being seen by anyone that comes over.

Ok, so to be honest, the thing that really sold me on the house was the pantry and all the closets.  I couldn't stop raving over them.  The pantry is the size of a small bedroom, and there's a ton of closet space everywhere!  Had kept asking me if I was gonna sleep in the pantry the first night in our new home cuz I couldn't stop talking about it.  The garage has a little workbench in it.  There's a huge attic where we can store stuff.  I just love when everything has it's own place!!!  We can't say enough good things about this house.  We' re so excited to live here and start our real adult lives with a job and a house and everything. 

Last Day of School

Oh man, this year has been hard for me to have my little guy be away from me all day.  I was so scared at the beginning of the year at all the unknowns and if/how he would be able to handle certain situations.  Mostly, I just hated missing out on those 8 hours of his day. I was used to being with him every minute of every day.  Watching all his progress and growth, and sometimes failures.  Then all the sudden I had to give him to someone else for most of his day.  I hated it!  But I watch the little man he's becoming and I know I have to let go a little. I feel like he has grown so much in the last year, and he is only going to get smarter, and more and more independent.

Look at him all struttin his stuff like a high schooler.  He's only just finishing kindergarten! 😢

Getting ready to cross the street for the last time.

We did it!!! One year down!

Kindergarten Graduate

Jeter graduated from Kindergarten!  OK, so really they didn't have a big ceremony, or even a graduation for these sweet little kindergartners.  They took these pictures without us knowing, and Jeter came home with it one day.  I was a little sad we didn't get to celebrate and gush over them and take a lot of pictures, even though it's just kindergarten.   Well, I'm still so proud of this little guy!  He was such a good student this year.  At the first of the year, I wondered what he'd be like in the classroom, away from me.  How he'd take instruction from someone else.  If he would be a good friend.  If he would dare to ask to go the bathroom.  If he would try hard in his schoolwork.  

Well, he went... and he loved it.  He never complained about going to school, or about waking up early to get ready.  At every parent teacher conference, his teacher Mrs. Garrity would praise him and praise him and tell me how she just loves having him in class.  She said he was ahead of the other students in his class academically, by far.  She said he is a good example to the other kids in the class, a good friend to them, and she can tell he always wants to do what is right.  She gave him a whole bunch of her very own chapter books at the end of the year, so he can keep reading through the summer.  Turns out I had no need to worry.  He is a good boy, and while I hate that he's school age now, I know I don't need to worry about him next year!

 I hope this cute little munchkin will continue to work hard and be a good kid and make me this proud every year! 

This Boy!!!

This boy is too much for me!  I can't take his cuteness!  I want to stare at him all day long so I don't miss one little smile, or trick he performs, or sound he makes.  I love him so much!!!  It's been fun to have a bigger gap between Jerzi and Dash, cuz the older kids can go and play and I can spend more time with this little cute face and not feel bad about it. 

He's still doing tricks and can stand up to the couch, at 3 months old!!!

Oh look at those sweet little cheeks!!!

We took him to his first baseball game.  He wasn't a happy camper, but he sure looked cute in his little baseball shirt!

First Swim

We took Dash swimming for the first time, and it was the kids' first swim of the season.  Most of the pools aren't open yet, cuz everyone's still in school. But it is definitely hot enough outside!  We went to our friend's apartment complex pool, and had the whole pool to ourselves.  It was a great day for a swim!  And as it turns out we didn't actually put Dash's whole body in the water, but put his feet and legs in.  He didn't really love it.  He is normally such a happy baby, and is always smiling.  But not once we put those cute little toes in the water.

Look at him curl his little piggies up!  Aww, the cutest thing ever!

He's not sure what to think about it.

But as soon as we got him away from the water, he was happy as a clam.  

And he got all tuckered out! 

 He slept here peacefully while we played, splashed, raced, and sprayed each other.