It's a girl.

The moment we were told there was a little girl joining our family in November, we were in a bit of a shock. "What!? A. . . GIRL? Are you sure? Are you serious? You're positive, right?"
I had a feeling throughout this pregnancy that she was a little lady but I was nervous to admit it, just in case I was mistaken and we were having a little boy. Which would have been AMAZING but, come on, who doesn't want a little girl?
The ultrasound technician wasted no time. She asked if we wanted to find out the gender and then as soon as my shirt was up and our baby popped up on that tv screen she blurted out, "Looks like you're having a girl this time." While we were still in our initial frozen state of shock, she moves on looking and picture capturing.
Que in our "Wait, wait, wait, WHAT!?"
 I think we've come around to the idea. Especially after I started shopping and seeing all the bows and sweet baby girl clothes. I'm on cloud 9!
Liam has completely adopted the "big brother" title. He's proud and excited to have a little sister. He may not completely understand what that means, but I love seeing his enthusiasm all the same.
We can't wait to meet this little girl in November.

Utahns on the east coast.

One day I'm talking about packing all our stuff up and moving across the country and the next I disappear! But good news is, we made it. We are here. We are now residents of South Carolina.
We arrived in January, yes that long ago. Seven months of neglecting this post.
When we first arrived there was a wait list to live on base. This being my first duty station, I wanted to live on base and get a feel for this new lifestyle of not only pcsing in the military but also living so far away from my family in Utah. The wait list was upwards of a 3-6 month wait. We decided to get an apartment until a place opened up.

Luckily enough, we were offered a home ready for move-in, the day our apartment lease was up. Hallelujah! We moved into our place the first week of July and we are loving it. Liam loves being able to run and jump as much as he wants and I love the space to not trip over Liam every time I turn around. Kidding, Kidding. Kind of.

South Carolina is a whole new world. Moving from Utah to the south is a bigger culture shock than I ever expected. But one thing that was a surprise I'm perfectly okay with is the people. The locals here are some of the nicest people I've met. I mean, takes your cart from you in the parking-lot to return so you don't have to make the extra trip, hold the doors for you, and aren't afraid to send their children over to say hi to your children while shopping.

I think the thing that is most difficult is being in the land of sweet tea. How do you say no to breakfast, lunch, and dinner of sweet tea!? It's in every restaurant, front and center in the grocery stores, and the first thing you're offered here. Sweet tea for all in these parts!

Liam misses Utah. I'll admit it. He asks about it at least once a day. "Can we go to Utah?" "Is Utah far away?" "Is grandma in Utah?" Sometimes it kickstarts my homesickness but the more he meets friends and goes on his little adventures in our new neighborhood, he's becoming more and more okay with this being our new home. Bless that little boy!


So many pictures to share over this last year but I'll spare you the endless scrolling and share some of the favorites.

Letter to Santa

You guys! I have a child that is old enough to write letters to Santa, get excited for Santa, and start to behave after I give him the ol' "Santa is watching you!" threat. When did that happen!?
The best part about this first letter is that it so perfectly describes him. Full of cars and treats. You better believe this Christmas will be full of gingerbread houses, cookies for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer. Because the holidays are so much more fun with a kid who can get you excited for the season all over again!

Halloween.

I think I say holidays are way more fun with kids every holiday, but I'll say it one more time (and probably again on Thanksgiving.) Holidays are way more fun with kids! Especially when they are old enough to really get into it with you. This Halloween was probably the best one yet. Not only did Liam pick out his own costume all on his own but he ran up to every house on his own, knocked on the doors, and managed to say "Please" at every door. (He said "trick-or-treat" to some but "please" seemed to make more sense to him and that's okay.)
He was proud of his collection of different candies by the end of the night and instinctively knew to dump it and sort it. What a natural. Next year we'll work on making sure he knows to grab more chocolate instead of skittles and gummy candy. 

Heber Creeper train ride.

I'm almost ashamed to say that I have lived in Utah my entire life and it wasn't until a couple weeks ago that I finally rode the Heber Creeper train. But that's okay because waiting until now meant sharing the experience with my 2 year old, and nothing makes things like this more fun than seeing the excitement on your childs face.
Liam is all about planes, trains, and automobiles. He was on cloud 9 when he got to not only touch the train but ride it!
On a side note: Anyone else have that one family member who can't take family photos seriously? In our case, two. *My dad and brother*