Carson Rebecca Boling has arrived

Carson's Homecoming

Sweet boy the next minute...

Welcome to life with your big brother...

Sweet baby girl

Gigi and Papou meet Carson

Happy to finally meet my baby girl (it was a looooong pregnancy)

Proud Daddy

Cheeks!

So our daughter is 5 weeks old and I'm finally blogging about it (largely in part to a month with intermittent or non-existent internet, but we're back online, so get ready for lots of posts).

Carson Rebecca arrived on Wednesday, November 9th at 12:51 AM, she weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 17.5 inches long. She's beautiful and we feel truly blessed to have welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world.

My parents arrived at 1:30 PM on Tuesday, November 8th. We picked Gus up from school at 2:00, had a late lunch, and we're outside playing in the yard when I went inside to use the bathroom and my water broke at 4:00. My parents had driven 1600 miles from PA to get here in time to take care of Gus and be here for Carson's birth - they arrived just in time!

We are slowly adjusting to life as a family of four, we've been on our own for almost two weeks now and we're still here to tell about it. We hope to be online and blogging more in the coming weeks, because lets be honest, I'm no scrapbooker and without the blog my kids won't have any record of their childhood beyond pictures!

Girly Girl Budget Nursery

So we are 2.5 weeks or less away from baby girl's arrival and our nursery is finally on its way to being finished. Other then hanging the curtain (which may require professional help), the mirror and the custom artwork to come (via the very talented artist Gigi) we have a complete girly girl room ready for her arrival. We painted the room a light chalk pink and striped the accent wall with the pre-existing green, light pink, dark pink and white. Other then the chair and the pink chandelier we haven't had to purchase a thing for the nursery thanks to my very generous sister in law who did a super cute nursery for her daughter 9 years ago - and it still looks great!

Craigs List glider for $65

We also scored an orange BOB Double Stroller on Craigs List this weekend for $250 - they retail for $600 - we still need a few attachments for it - but it was a great deal and anyone who knows me knows what a bargain hunter I am!

We spent the weekend enjoying fun Halloween festivals at Gus's school and our church and we finally toured the hospital where we'll be delivering. Its all starting to come together and with only a few days to spare I'm finally starting to feel "ready" to welcome baby girl.

All Moved In and Over

Its been a crazy month to say the least. After 2 months of urban living in downtown Fort Worth, we closed on our house in the burbs on September 16th. We spent the next month unpacking, painting, and getting organized - leaving little time for phone calls, emails or blogging!

The Monday after we moved in we went to the OB for our bi-weekly appointment and my placenta previa still hadn't cleared up, so our doctor gave us the news that we might be delivering 4 weeks early. I just about had a breakdown in the parking lot after the appointment. We've had an ultrasound every week since then, and got a 2nd opinion this week and we're happy to report that my placenta has finally moved and we are clear for a normal delivery. So many prayers were answered and stress relieved after our appointment this week.

I'm 36 weeks pregnant, and finally starting to feel settled in Texas, just in time for newborn upheaval - but we're so excited to meet our baby girl. It hasn't been until the last week or so that I've actually had time to really process her upcoming arrival and really get excited about it. Moving 3 times in 6 months will cut into your pre-baby nurturing time just a bit!

We've been overwhelmed by the kind people we've met. We joined First United Methodist of Keller last weekend and have started to become active a bible study there. We are constantly meeting new friends on walks in the neighborhood or just at the park. Texas really is just as friendly as its reputation - its also just as hot weather wise.

We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend and it was 85 degrees, but despite the heat we had a great time as a family. We went on a hay ride, BJ and Gus on a death defying train ride, and had popcorn and sprite for lunch - it was so much fun.

No fear on the bounce house

I think this train ride would have sent me in to Labor

Horsies - a new obsession (along with cows) since we moved to TX

Gus has grown up so much since we left SC, he is such a little man now. He sings and wants us to sing all the time, he knows all the verses of Wheels on the Bus, and can sing most of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - it comes out like "Twinkle Twinkle Star, Up Above, Diamond in the Sky" - its the sweetest thing. His love of football has won his Daddy's heart, and he wants to wear his Clemson jersey every Saturday. He wakes up asking for the "ball show" and cheering "Go Clempson! Go Tigers!" - we think he might be behind the winning streak :) He loves preschool and Gymboree and hasn't met a stranger yet. He actually hugs other kids at preschool so much they have to ask him to stop because he is so big he knocks them over - this makes me laugh.

We look forward to sharing more in the next few weeks now that we're more settled.

Little Monkey Goes to School

Our little buddy started preschool yesterday, his report at the end of the day said - he ate very little, slept like a champ, and was happy and played all day - sounds about right! He was all too happy to pose for these pictures before school.

We celebrated Gus's first day of school and BJ's birthday with jambalaya for supper and derby pie for dessert (the birthday boy's requested meal). Gus said Happy Birthday Dada all day long - it was so sweet.

Family Fun in Fort Worth

So we've been a busy family the past few weeks, we just spent a great Labor Day weekend visiting many of the museums and attractions in downtown Fort Worth before we move out the "burbs" next week. With cooler temps and sunny skies we spent as much time outside as we could as we know the 100 degree weather is going to return next week.

Trinity Park Train Ride

The Trinity River runs all throughout downtown Fort Worth and we live within walking distance of the park and the fabulous Miniature Train ride that runs alongside the river. For $10 (whole family price :) its an hour long scenic train ride, complete with bridges, and tressles along the river. Since Gus is king of the choo choo trains right now, and since we know this phase won't last forever we hopped aboard and went for a ride.

Waiting patiently for the train

Getting ready to board

All aboard!

Gus explaining train mechanics to BJ

Fort Worth Zoo

The Fort Worth Zoo is incredible, we are so lucky to live within a few miles of one of the top five zoos in the country. This was our first trip as a family, and the third trip for Gus and me in just a few weeks - we finally wised up and purchased the membership this weekend. I've never seen a line for the zoo like this one - it was like all of Texas realized they'd been holed up indoors for 3 months due to the heat wave and it was time to break free and get outside. Luckily we beat the crowd and got there when they opened. A good time was had by all.

Feeding the Parrots (we drew straws for who had to take Gus in - pregnant lady won!)

BJ - "Katie did you get your picture, I'm not liking the parrot swarming..."

Fort Worth Stockyards Cattle Drive

The Fort Worth Stockyards are one of the biggest attractions in "Cow Town" and we've been a few times. BJ and I came on our house hunting trip to see what it was all about and decided that its a wonderful blend of cowboy history, tacky gift shops, bikers, and family entertainment. Its not somewhere we're going to frequent, but they do a cattle drive everyday twice a day through the main street and we hadn't been there with Gus yet. So here are a few pictures of the longhorns we saw on Monday afternoon.




Trinity Park

This was our first trip to a park since we left Greenville, the temperatures had simply been to high to go at all. Gus had a blast and was much more capable then the last time we went to the park, we spent most of our time chasing after the little monkey. He was worn out and took a 3 hour nap after we got home :)

Mommy - A tunnel, A tunnel


Weeeeeee

We didn't capture our bbq dinner, free trip to the Science and History Museum (which houses the FW Children's Museum), or hours of football watching, but we had a blast and really enjoyed the weekend.

Two Weeks in Texas

We've been in Texas for a full two weeks now and I would remiss if I didn't recap what we've been up to and how we're feeling about all of it.

Gus and I arrived on Tuesday, August 2nd. He was an awesome little flyer, despite the 6:30 AM flight, he enjoyed his window seat on the plane, his complimentary orange juice, and new Thomas the Tank books and portable train set. We also watched a few "choo choo" movies on our portable dvd player. We arrived to 110 degree heat that didn't let up for a week. Within 3 days Gus had the routine down and was saying hot as soon as we got in the car to go somewhere - smart little buddy.

We spent our first 3 days playing chauffer to BJ (whose car hadn't arrived yet) and touring preschools. We found a preschool by Thursday - one of the teachers was from Mt. Pleasant and the other from Lancaster, PA - I believe it was God's intervention that led us to that school and allowed us to meet such wonderful people during our first few shell shocked days in Texas.

We then spent Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday looking at nearly 20 houses (keep in mind we'd already looked at 25 during our house hunting trip in early July). We were exhausted, but we found a house, made an offer this past Friday, and signed the contract on Saturday. We close on September 16th - just in time, as our temporary apartment runs out on September 18th!

We've visited First United Methodist Church of Keller for the past 2 Sundays. After the first Sunday, I told BJ it felt like being back at Mt. Horeb but on a smaller scale. Its a growing church with a new minister. There are lots of young children and its a very community and youth driven church. It feels good to reconnect with a strong spiritual community after so many months in limbo.

We wrapped up our second week in Texas at the Junior Achievement Rock N' Bowl tournament (of which Lockheed was a sponsor) on Saturday morning. Gus was totally in his element, balls, lights, and rock music - he had a blast. And in an effort to embrace our temporary urban living situation we headed down the street on Saturday night for the Amon Carter Museum's 50th anniversary celebration. Free food and family fun were promised and delivered. Gus had Cheetos and Frozen Custard for dinner, enjoyed some Texas Swing music, and appreciated some truly beautiful artwork. It was a great way to get a feel for the Fort Worth community.

So here's what we've learned during our last 2 weeks in Texas:

• Its HOT!!!
• Hamburgers, Steaks, Donuts, and Mexican are readily available food options
• SC bbq sauce is superior to what we've had here
  
• We really miss Publix - the grocery stores here just aren't up to my lofty standards
• People in Texas are extremely friendly
• Urban apartment living with a dog, a 20 month old, while 6 months pregnant poses challenges that I hadn't thought about (i.e. child napping when dog has to pee, dilemma?)
• There are a lot of trucks (much to Gus's delight)
• Fort Worth is a family friendly town and there are lots of fun things to do with kids
• Bigger city means bigger commute
• We're still in the South - sweet tea on every menu
• There is an unbelievable amount of road construction here
• 15 minutes is a "short drive" to get somewhere
  

Moving here was not planned, nor has it been easy, but we both believe that God has a plan for our family and moving to Texas was all part of his plan. Its hard to relinquish control and follow his plan sometimes, but we're here and trying hard to be quiet and listen for a change. We miss SC and our families, but we've already made a few contacts who are similar situations to us, and its made us realize that we're going to be ok here, and who knows we may even like it!

Where in the world are the Bolings?

So its been a solid two months since my last blog post and to say a lot has changed would be the understatement of the year. Here's a brief timeline/ recap of what has happened and what's coming up next:

April 15th - Sell our house in Lexington
April 29th - Buy our house in Greenville
May 4th - Move into our house in Greenville
June 2nd - BJ is offered Senior Media Relations for F-35 Program with Lockheed (the catch....its in Ft. Worth, TX)
June 2nd-5th - Tears, joy, anxiety, prayer and everything in between
June 5th - Offer accepted
June 28th - Our house in Greenville is for sale
June 30th - 20 weeks pregnant - we get to find out what baby 2 is!
July 11th - BJ starts work in Ft. Worth

The decision to move to Texas was not an easy one. Lockheed was outbid on a contract at the end of May, and although BJ's job is secure here in Greenville for at least another year, we knew an opportunity like the one he was offered might not come up again for a long time and with the economy in the tank seemingly forever, we knew we didn't want to join the unemployment ranks for the second year in a row. We feel so blessed by the opportunities God has provided our family in the last year and after much thought and prayer about our decision, we knew it was the right one. We will probably be in Texas for quite sometime, but we hope to make it back to SC one day. This East Coast girl isn't trading in her love of the beach and mountains for cowboy boots forever!

Our little monkey has grown so much while all this has happened. He loves his house in Greenville and spending time with his grandparents and cousins, so we hope to move right around the time preschool starts so he'll move into an immediate kid-friendly schedule in order to make the transition a little easier on him. Gus is now 19 months old - I can hardly believe it. I love him more and more everyday. He loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone and his vocabulary is expanding by leaps and bounds.

His words now include:

ChooChoo
Truck
Car
Plane
Ball
Cracker
Cookie
Chips
Juice
Water
Chicken
Pasta
Peas
Elmo (and we don't watch Sesame Street)
Light
Bobby (his pacifier or blanket - we're still unsure which, but he asks for Bobby a lot)
Book
Block
Shoes
Hi
Bye
Cool
Ele
Mommy
Dada
Grandma
Papa
Papou
GiGi
Nonnie
Addie
Dezzy (his word for every dog that is not his own)
Quack Quack
Woof Woof
Baaaaa
Moooo
Cockadoodledoo (sounds more like Cockatoo)

I find it ironic that after months of cooking my way through Deceptively Delicious for my picky toddler that the food words he knows are chips, cookie (which he says with such delight), juice, cracker, peas, chicken (referring only to chicken nuggets), and pasta. He will tap his mouth and make smacking noises when he's hungry - so we've come along way from the hunger strikes that plagued us a few months ago. He is so into trains and trucks and playing ball - all boy much? We read Freight Train no less then 4 times a day and he loves it everytime.

Its hard to believe that in just a few short months Gus will be a big brother. We find out what we are having on Thursday afternoon. Unlike when I was pregnant with Gus, I've hardly had time to process the fact that I'm actually pregnant with another baby. I've picked up What to Expect When Your Expecting less then 5 times, but that might not be such a bad thing. We have days where we freak out about adding another little one to our family, but we know we will love this child so much when he or she makes their debut in November. We're hoping to be settled in Texas by Labor Day and before I'm deep into my third trimester so that this child isn't born into chaos.

So that's the long and the short of our family happenings over the past 2 months. Its been crazy, but fun, and we're looking forward to our next adventure in Texas.

An impromptu trip up the East Coast

I'm a little behind in posting about our whirlwind trip to DC and PA a few weeks ago. BJ had to be in the DC area for work for the entire week before we moved, and since we didn't have to pack a thing I decided to go with him, Gus in tow. We purchased a portable dvd player, loaded up on some Bob the Builder and Dora movies, packed the car and hit the road. Gus did remarkably well on the trip up and it was nice to take our time and enjoy some long overdue family time.

We spent Sunday night in DC and then while BJ was at work Gus and I went to the National Zoo with my friend of many years, Rachel. Gus loved the zoo, but with only mommy to lug the stroller, his bag and the monkey on the Metro the camera didn't make the cut, so no pictures :( Then my dad came to pick us up in the afternoon and we spent 3 days in Pennsylvania with Grammy Gigi and Papou - we had so much fun together. Here are a few pics from our days in PA.

We headed back to DC and had just enough time before returning home to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom and visit the Jefferson Memorial. These pictures truly capture what a 16 month old looks like at a national monument - too funny!

The trip home was long and traffic filled, but we made it in one piece and are so glad we seized the last minute opportunity to visit our nation's capital and catch up with family and friends.

Zoo Day

Two weeks ago we went to the zoo with a bunch of our friends. Gus and Trent were too cute not to photograph in the wagon together.




Is it nap time yet?


Mommy, I need a hair cut, I don't want to look like a real monkey

Clemson Weekend

The first weekend of March was equally fabulous as we purchased our new house in Greenville and spent the rest of the weekend at the lake and in Clemson with our good friends the Scotts and their precious little girl Andie.

Clemson had a basketball game on Saturday and a baseball game on Sunday - these were Gus's first Clemson sporting events. I will never forget the look of pure joy and excitement on his face when we entered packed LittleJohn Coliseum - his eyes were the size of basketballs themselves. We spent about the half the game out on the concourse letting Gus run around, and the other half enjoying the game. It was a big win for the Tigers and so much fun for our family.



We had lunch with some of our other friends the Players and the Clamps and then headed over to the game. This is how we spent most of the baseball game thanks to the one hour rain delay, but luckily it was another big win for the Tigers and a beautiful day.