Todd's job

Ok, I will finally post about Todd getting a job! As you can see in the image above, Todd got a job with Lowe's Home Improvement. He is working in their corporate office in Mooresville, NC as a Marketing Specialist!

When we first went down to Athens, Ga for Todd to go to business school, he thought he would probably go into real estate because that is what he was familiar with. But as time went on and he took more classes, Todd realized that marketing, more specifically product development, was just the thing he was looking for. When it came time to interview we decided that he would look into all aspects of business, be it marketing, finance, operations, etc because in today's job market we didn't know how picky we could be. We knew our ideal locations were Charlotte, Mooresville, or Winston but really we thought we'd end up somewhere like Atlanta. Finally, after many interviews, Todd kept being invited back to talk to more people at Lowe's and it looked like it was going to become our reality! I mean really, in this market, who would have thought we could have landed a Fortune 50 job in the small town that my parents live in!?!?! It seems that prayer actually works! :-D

So Todd started his job about 6 weeks ago. He lived in my parents' basement for the first couple of weeks until Molly and I moved up here and we moved into our apartment. We now live in Cornelius, NC and absolutely love it!!! Moving was an adventure (that blog will come later) but I'm so glad that we're here and getting settled in (still accepting offers to come help me organize this place!)

Hopefully in a year or two we will be ready to buy a house, probably in Mooresville. But in the mean time, I am loving staying at home with Molly and learning the area better. We are also starting to meet some new moms up here but I'll post about that later too!

It's been awhile!

For some reason I seem to think that the only things worth posting involve Molly (and I'm sure some of you agree!) Of course she has done post-worthy things which I, of course, have not yet posted about, but also so much has happened for our family. I really need to get on the ball with this thing! From now on I am going to try to get better at posting in a more timely manner. We'll see how that goes!

Ok, where to start?!!? Well, Molly is now a solid food eater! We were originally going to wait until after we moved (that blog will come at a later date) but I knew Todd wanted to be there for her first meal so we started on Father's Day! I had given Molly the spoon pictured below (our favorite, the Boon spoon!) a couple of weeks before we started food just to get her use to it. She loves chewing on it!
Here is Molly taking her first bite of rice cereal mixed with breast milk! Her Daddy got to feed her first since it was father's day. It's hard to tell by this face but she actually loved it! Since rice cereal, she has eaten oatmeal, avocado, banana, squash, and peaches. All went over well except for the peaches. I don't know if they are too tart or what but she makes the most awful face after each bite. The funny thing is, she continues to open her mouth for more. Silly girl!
We are taking a family trip into Charlotte tomorrow to the farmer's market there to get some fresh veggies so that I can make some more baby food for her for the upcoming weeks. I love being able to pick out the veggies and fruits and making her food by hand. I'm sure I will use canned food on occasion, already have some Earth's Best Organic Peas in the cupboard, but for now I'm enjoying making her food myself!

5 months! (2 weeks ago!)

So I'm doing a good job taking the pictures on time....but not so good at posting them on time!
Molly is getting so big! She has overtaken the bunny in length, though they have similar bellies!

Molly was better at sitting up than the bunny!

Ouch!

I have played sports my whole life so I've had a few injuries. I've been lucky enough to avoid the broken bones (other than my pinkie finger, which really did hurt!) but I've had my bumps and scraps and aches and soreness. But this morning I really did a number on myself!

When I reached to put Molly into the exersaucer it seems I pulled my back out. But not my lower back; it was the muscles behind my left shoulder blade. OMG it hurt so bad! It got to the point where I got really flushed and everything got brighter like I was about to faint. Quite scary actually. Luckily, I had my phone right next to me and was able to call Todd. (He was upstairs asleep and couldn't hear me when I yelled to him)

I have to tell y'all: I married the most wonderful man in the world. Todd starts work on Monday so of course he has the 'new job jitters' (sounds like a dance!); not to mention the stress of moving up to Mooresville a few weeks ahead of Molly and me, and the final, complete move from Athens to Cornelius. Add on top of that the horrible cold he has. Not just your normal sniffs and sneezes but pure, utter exhaustion! So keep all of that in mind when I tell you that I have never heard Todd get out of bed faster than he did this morning. And I didn't even have the chance to tell him that I was hurt. All I said was, "I need you to come downstairs." I'm sure he probably heard some panic/pain in my voice but he was downstairs faster than I imagined possible!

So, we spent the morning in Urgent Care. The PA thinks I torqued the trapezious (sp?) muscle in my neck/back and that is causing my pain. Unfortunately, I was suppose to go to a beautiful wedding in Lake Lure, NC but right now I cannot drive. I also cannot pick Molly up because of the pain. Now, remember all that I described about how Todd feels and imagine him having to be the primary care giver today (on his day to sleep in!) And Molly has been her crankiest today!

So, now we are hanging around Athens and headed to NC in the morning. Hopefully I will be able to drive my own car separately, and hold Molly. But we will just have to wait and see!

p.s. If you can't tell, I am so in love with my husband! :-D

The best Mother's Day I've ever had!!!

Sunday was the best Mother's Day ever!!!! Ok, so I understand that I'm a little biased since it was my first Mother's Day, but still....I was pretty impressed.
This Mother's Day was the best ever! The day before I had bought myself a jogging stroller at a yard sale as a MD gift to myself. And then, MD morning I woke up and Todd brought Molly to me in bed so that I could nurse her. I wasn't really in the mood to go back to sleep (Eric was visiting and I wanted to see him some before he left) so we got up and went downstairs. My fabulous husband cooked me pancakes and bacon! Then I came across a table full of gifts. Molly helped me open them of course. She had gotten me a pedometer. Now I know that may sound like an odd gift but it is something that I requested. This pedometer is awesome! I calculated my stride and input my height and weight and it not only counts steps, but calculates distance and calories burned! It is fabulous! I wore it at work and realized that I need to step it up (pun intended)!!!!
Todd had also gotten my pushing present engraved. When Molly was born, Todd got me a new charm bracelet with a silhouette charm of a little girl. He got her initials and birth date engraved on it. I love it!!! He also got me a gift card to a local salon so I can get a massage or treatment of my choice! I love presents!!!
After breakfast and presents, Todd, Molly, Eric, and I went on a walk. The weather was absolutely fabulous and Molly loves being outside. I can't wait until she can sit in a stroller facing forward, instead of in her car seat.
Todd took Eric to the airport and Molly and I headed to church. Now Molly has yet to let me sit through an entire service and MD Sunday was no exception. But an awesome thing did happen while we were there. During the childrens' service, 2 people in the congregation were recognized. They gave a rose to the oldest mother, who was in her 90s! And they gave a rose to the newest mother in the congregation. As you can see in the picture above, I got a rose (and it wasn't for being the oldest!) I was so glad that I had Molly there with me.
After church Molly and I went to a cookout to celebrate our friends, Elise and Jon North, because they both recently graduated! We had a great time: Molly loves being outside!As you can see, our allergies are starting to get to us:
The rest of the day was spent just hanging out with Todd and Molly. That is one of my favorite things to do. But it was even better than normal because Todd took the lead on all fussing babies and dirty diapers!

Todd has set the bar high for Father's Day!

Eric came to visit!!

Todd's Wake Forest freshman year roommate, Lord Eric, came to visit us from New York this past weekend! We had a great time showing him around Athens and UGA, and just hanging out. We miss Eric now that he thinks he's a big whig attorney in NYC.

Molly is taking after Todd and me in her love for reading!

Eric brought Molly her first Dr. Seuss books and Cat in the Hat stuffed animal. Of course they had to have story time!

We headed out to a local brewery, Terrapin, for a wonderful evening of music and beer (for the non-nursing folks). Molly absolutely loves being outside!
She even made an attempt at sitting up! She did pretty well for a few seconds and then tumbled. I'm excited about this new development, especially since we head to the beach in a few weeks!

Todd has an MBA!

Todd graduated from The University of Georgia last weekend!!! Of course, he had exams the week after graduation, but it was still exciting! His parents, Page and Clayton, and his great-aunt, Margaret, came to join in the festivities! Todd is now done with classes/exams and I know he is so thankful for it. He just told me he made a 4.0 this semester which is pretty impressive seeing as we have a 4 month old!!! But I've always known that Todd is sneaky smart!
Molly is very proud of her Daddy. She hopes to one day follow in his footsteps......but as a Tarheel! :-D